Living The Dream

by Kickass222urmom

Rating: mature
Tags: Main 6, Princess Luna, Drama, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Adventure, Sex, Profanity, Discord, Violence, Princess Celestia, Death, Human
Length: 997235

When the world ends, a young man gets a chance to relive his life in the world of Equestria.

The world has ended for humans, but people get a choice; heaven, hell, or a world of their choice. A young man chooses to go to the land of Equestria where he becomes a pony himself.

Part 1: Jovial timeline
Part 2: In the end, nothing matters
Part 3: The dark timeline
Part 4: Eternal Plains
Part 5: Sins of the past

Credit for cover art: Plantrune/Yamston

Published 2011-11-26 05:46:31 UTC
Last updated 2024-11-11 00:03:31 UTC

Meeting the mane six

Good to see that people liked my story, so I'm going to keep it updated. I plan to have it has a continued, that may go on to chapter 20 or more.

Please enjoy this.

Chapter 2

I landed in the middle of the town and glanced around. It looks different from the cartoon. Everything is bigger, and the town expands further than the cartoon portrayed. The town is painfully colorful, but I think I can get used to it.

Some ponies were looking at me weirdly and whispering to each other; it must be the clothes.

A small filly walks up and looks me over. "What's wrong with your fur, mister?" she asked innocently.

Before I could reply, a mare rushed over and pushed the small filly away. "I thought I told you not to speak to strangers, especially strange ponies."

I watched the mare and filly walk away; what does she mean, 'strange ponies?' My clothes must have that much of an effect on them or something.

I started walking down the street toward a large tree that had been hollowed out, and a building had been put in it.

Once I reached the door, I raised a hoof and prepared to knock on the door. But before I could, the door opened and a tiny baby dragon stood there with his back turned and yelling into the house.

"Okay, Twilight, I'll hurry." He turned back around to see me in front of him. The baby dragon did a double take and backed up a few feet. "Wow, I've never seen a pony like you before."

I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? I look like any other pony here."

He looked me over. "Well, unless you're a zebra, then no, you do not look like any pony I know."

"What?" I was still confused about what he was saying.

He looked like he was getting annoyed. "You have stripes like a zebra all over your body, but you're a Pegasus."

Stripes? That's odd, why would I have stripes. "Well.." Come on, think of an explanation, "Well, my mom was a Pegasus, and my dad was a zebra, so I got the stripes from my dad." That's actually pretty believable; good job Lance!

He seemed to consider what I said. "That's interesting. Twilight would love to know more about you. If I were you, I would turn and run now, or you'll be here for hours answering her questions, which will be boring for all of us but her."

I considered my options: stay and try to become friends with her. Or make it easy and run. My mind was made up for me.

"Spike, who are you talking to?" A purple mare came down the stairs and looked at the door where Spike and I stood. She did a double take just like Spike. "Wow, who are you?"

I cleared my throat. "I am Girokon, I just arrived here in town a few minutes ago."

She came down the rest of the stairs and walked to the door. "Why do you have strips like a zebra all over your body? That's strange. And why are you wearing those clothes? They look depressing."

I smiled at the last comment. "Well, like I told Spike, my dad was a zebra, and my mom was a Pegasus. And for your second question, I am a retired guard. So I chose to wear those clothes."

She stepped aside and let me in. I walked past her and into the house, which was the town's library.

Twilight closed the door behind me. "A retired guard? Why did you retire?"

I turned toward her, and she turned her head swiftly to the side like she was looking at something she wasn't supposed to. "Well, I just didn't feel up to the job and decided to move here to this small town." I'm too good at lying on the spot, which is a good thing, too.

She shook her head up and down slowly and considered what I said. "How long was you a guard?"

"A few years, but I got bored and moved on."

"I see." She walked over to a couch and sat down. "Come and sit; I have more questions to ask."

I walked over and sat down on the couch with her. I thought it would be hard to sit as a pony, but it was actually easy; it felt normal.

"Okay, Girokon."

"Please, call me Giro." I interrupted her.

"Sorry, Giro. As I was about to say, can you tell me more about your appearance?"

I thought for a second for an answer, "Well, aside from the stripes and clothes, the goggles are mostly for flight. I'm sorry, but that's all I can think of to say."

"Well, you could explain your wings; I've never seen wings like that before."

My wings? I looked back at my wings and extended them a little. Then I noticed that they looked different. They had a red thing going along the top part of them.

"Are those from the royal guard or one of the branches?" She asked, trying to figure it out.

That sounds good. Let's go with that. "Yes, I was able to keep them. If you know what they are, why ask?"

She looked at my wings again. "Well, I never saw them before; I just thought they were from the royal guard."

Damn, I thought she knew, this better not come back to haunt me. "Any other questions?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"I can't think of anything else to ask at this moment." She said, deep in thought.

Thank god, I thought she would keep asking questions.

She looked over to Spike, who was still there. "Spike, can you go get the girls? I want them to meet Giroko... I mean Giro."

He jumped up. "Sure thing, Twilight." He said as he ran out the door.

Twilight looked back at me. "Do you have a place to stay since you're new in town?"

I thought for a second, I haven't thought of that, "Uhhh, no. I don't know anypony here in town."

She shook her head as if in thought. "Well, once everyone else gets here, we can find you a place until you can get a place of your own."

"Thanks, Twilight." I looked around at all the books on the shelves. I like this place. I may have to come back here and see if she would let me borrow a few.

Twilight noticed me looking at her books and smiled. "Would you like to borrow a few books, Giro?"

I looked at her, wondering if she could read my mind or something. "Yes, I would. Thank you again."

She smiled, clearly happy that she had found someone else who enjoyed books. She jumped off the couch and went to one of the shelves. "What kind of books do you like?" she asked.

I don't think they have all the books I like, but maybe, "Do you have any books on flying, science, magic, and history?"

She looked overjoyed. "I have all of those and many, many more."

She started pulling books off the shelves and laying them before me.

I looked down at the books she was placing in front of me; The book of Equestria Science, Flying and you, History and uses of Magic, A complete history of Equestria.

She walked over and sat down. "You can borrow all those for as long as you want, and feel free to look through the rest."

I looked over the books again. "Thanks, Twilight, I can't wait to read them."

Twilight looked down at my flank. "Wait, do you have a saddle bag to carry those?"

I didn't think of that; that's one thing I will need here. "No, I don't have one. I never bought one."

She stood up and walked out of the room. She returned, holding a saddlebag in her mouth. "Here, you can have my spare one. I have no need for it." She placed it in front of me.

"Thanks," I stood and looked at her. "Why are you being so kind to me? You don't even know me."

She looked around, "Well, um." She looked like she was about to pass out.

"Are you okay? You look sick."

She looked at me and smiled, "I'm okay, just uhhh... a little tired."

I shook my head, understanding. "I see. You should rest more at night because, let me guess, you stay up all night reading."

She laughed. "Yeah, I do stay up too late reading."

Before I could say anything else, the door opened, and five mares and Spike walked in.

Rainbow Dash looked at me. "Hey, you're the Pegasus who was impressed by me." She smiled proudly.

Applejack looked me over. "What are yah suppose to be, ah've never seen a pony like you before."

Pinkie Pie bounced around everypony. "Ow ow, I know what he is. He's a ponzeb, a pony AND a zebra. Oh! We need to have a party, just for him. Should the party be in stripes or normal? Oh! I know, striped with normal. Oh oh! I need to start getting it set up." She said at an impossible speed. Then she ran out the door.

Rarity watched Pinkie Pie leave, then turned to me. "I do say, he is quite the sight, and his clothes. They are, how do I say this, depressing."

Fluttershy remained silent.

I looked at them all. "Well, to start off, my name is Girokon, but please call me Giro. As for why I have stripes..."

Twilight interrupted me. "His mom was a Pegasus, and his dad was a Zebra. He is a retired royal guard, and he chose to wear those clothes, maybe because he wore them in the guard."

I was happy she explained it for me, because I was getting tired of explaining it to everypony.

Rarity looked at my goggles. "Why does he wear those goggles? I mean, he can take them off since we're inside."

"Oh, they're just to keep the wind out of my eyes when I fly."

I reached up to take them off, but once I pulled them down, everypony in the room jumped back and gasped, Fluttershy screamed slightly and hid behind her mane.

I looked at them, wondering what was going on here. "What is it? Did I do something?"

Twilight looked at me. "Your eyes, their..." She levitated a mirror to my face.

I almost jumped back at the sight of my eyes. They were red and had the pupil of a snake with lines going out all around it. Wow, I look scary but awesome.

"What's wrong with them? They look weird but look cool," Rainbow Dash exclaimed, still looking at my eyes with a sparkle in her eyes.

Come on, Lance, think. "My eyes? Nopony knows, but doctors say it came from my dad. I don't know how, though. That's the main reason I wear those goggles." Smooth Lance, very good.

Twilight pondered this. "I can fix them if you would like."

I thought about it but decided against it. "No, it's okay. I like them; I had them too long to part with them."

Fluttershy looked out behind her mane. "I've only seen those kind of eyes on snakes or dragons. But yours look different from those." She said in a small voice.

I put the goggles back on my face and looked at them. "I know their scary, I'll leave the goggles on if you all want me to."

Rainbow Dash moved forward. "Leave them off; those eyes are awesome! I wouldn't mind having eyes like that."

"I'll leave them on; I don't want to scare other ponies."

Applejack turned. "Well, ah need to get back to the mah farm. Big Mac musta already bucked half the trees by now."

Twilight's head snapped up, like she just remembered something. "I almost forgot, Giro needs a place to stay. Does anypony know a place for him?"

Applejack stopped at the door/ "We have a spare room at the farm, he can stay there."

Twilight looked disappointed, "Yeah, that would work. What do you say Giro?"

I considered sleeping at the farm. I have experience with farms before, thanks to my grandfather, who owned a farm. When I stayed there, they made me wake up early every morning. It was horrible. My mind purposefully glossed over a certain incident. "Uhh, sorry, but no, I do not like farms that much."

Twilight perked up at that. "Well, if you don't want to stay at Applejack's farm, you can stay here. I have a spare room next to mine."

Hmmm, stay at a library and have all the books to read, or go somewhere else? Well, since I already know Twilight more than the others, I might as well. "Okay, I'll stay here, I guess."

Twilight looked like she was about to jump with joy, "That's great! I mean, you can stay as long as you want, Giro."

Fluttershy was inching her way to the door Applejack had left open when she left.

I looked at her and almost laughed. "Where are you going, Fluttershy?"

She jumped with a yelp. "Oh, I.. uhhh.. I need to..ummm." She ran out the door.

"What's with her?" I asked everypony.

Rainbow Dash walked up beside me. "Oh, she is probably still scared of your eyes." She snickered. "But I think your eyes are cool. You should come hang out at my place sometime."

That could be fun; I could learn more about her than the show presents. "I may."

Rarity walked up and looked me over again. "You should think about changing your appearance or not wearing anything. Because those clothes, darling, are not very appealing."

I looked at my clothes and laughed. "Well, I like them. I'll just keep them."

Rainbow Dash looked me over. "Come on, Rarity. I think he looks pretty cool in them." She bumped my side with her flank.

Twilight looked a little angry. "Rainbow Dash, I think you should go help Pinkie with the party."

Rainbow Dash looked at her. "Why? She can handle it."

"You can help her put up the banner and then help set up the rest of the party."

Rainbow Dash looked unhappy at it. "Fine." She headed towards the door. "We'll talk more at the party, Giro."

Rarity started moving toward the door. "I almost forgot. I have to get back and fill out the rest of the orders for the day."

After everypony left, Twilight looked at me. "Would you like to see your room, Giro?"

I looked at her. "Sure, just lead the way."

She led me up the stairs and to two doors, side by side.

"The one on the right is my room, and the room on the left is yours. Feel free to check out your room."

I walked to the door on the left and opened it. I'm still surprised at how easy it is to use my hoofs to do things.

Once I stepped into the room, I took everything in. There was a two-person, or two-pony, bed in the corner, as well as a desk and a bookshelf. The room was small but big enough for me to move around easily.

Twilight walked in behind me. "So, what do you think."

I looked back at her. "I like it, thanks." I walked past her. "I'm going to get those books you showed me."

"Okay, you'll have time to read one. The party won't be for at least a few hours."

I walked downstairs and put the books in the saddlebag she gave me and put it on. It felt like wearing a backpack but on your ass.

When I walked back up to my room, Twilight was still there.

I looked at her, "Thanks again for the help Twilight."

She turned her head away from me, which I don't know why she did. "Oh, it was nothing. I'll leave and let you get settled in."

"Okay, just come get me when it's time to go to the party."

She left the room slowly and closed the door behind her.

I put the saddlebag on the desk and pulled out one of the books, Flying and you. I figure I should start learning about flying since I'm a Pegasus. I laid back on the bed and held the book in front of me. Which came natural.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Twilight stood outside the door thinking. 'Am I falling for Giro? I don't even know him!'She blushed and turned to go to her room; time to get ready for the party.

Party time

Here is chapter 3, may be a few days before the next chapter is put out.

Thanks to the guy who reviews my story and points out mistakes. I have fixed the past chapter.

Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 3

I closed the book 'Flying and You' and put it on the nightstand beside the bed. That book had so many things in it I didn't even know about, like you're supposed to stretch your wings a little before flying or that you're not supposed to fly at high speeds during a storm.

Wait, how long have I been reading? The book has over two thousand pages, and although I'm a fast reader, it still would have taken me at least two or three hours to read since it had diagrams that I spent a lot of time examining.

I slipped out of bed, stretched out my wings, and popped my back—that felt great. I slowly walked over to the door and opened it.

Outside the door, everything was quiet except for two voices downstairs. I made my way to the stairs and listened.

"...That cute? Darling, don't you think you should wait a little longer before showing those feelings?"

"But, I've never felt this way before. I've read books about this kinda thing, but it's different when you experience it."

The first voice was obviously Rarity; that voice was easy to identify. The second voice sounds like Twilight. What are they talking about? It sounds like girl stuff.

"Twilight, the real thing is different than what the books tell you. If you show those feelings now, you will likely ruin the only chance you have at happiness with him."

Are they talking about a stallion that Twilight likes? Weird, she never showed an interest in stallions in the show. Things must be different here in a few ways.

"I guess you're right, Rarity. But when should I show my feelings towards him?"

"Darling, I couldn't tell you that. It would have to be a time when you're ready to tell him. But if you ask me, I would wait till he likes you before telling him."

"Maybe at the party? I could try there; it seems like he likes me."

"No deary, that's too soon. Just wait a while. Okay?"

"Okay, Rarity, you've never steered me wrong before."

There was a little movement below, then a door closing. I heard somepony sigh loudly, then head for the stairs. I backtracked into my room and slowly closed the door. I climbed back into bed and put the book back in front of me, not wanting her to know that I was eavesdropping on her and Rarity. I didn't want to betray her trust after only being here a day.

The door opened, and Twilight walked into my room.

"Hey Giro, it's getting close to time to go to the party. Are you ready to go?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face while looking at me.

I put the book back on the nightstand and got out of bed. "I'm ready; just lead the way," I said.

She turned and walked out but motioned for me to follow.

I followed her out the door and out of the library. We walked down the street in silence, which gave me time to think.

Twilight said that she could try to get the stallion to like her at the party and that he seems to like her. If I look around, I may see the pony she's talking about. If I can get her and him together, then I can repay her for letting me stay at her place. Yeah, that's a great way to show my thanks, getting her and her dream stallion together.

When we neared the bakery, Twilight stopped and looked deep in thought.

I stopped a few feet in front of her and turned to her. "You okay there, Twilight?"

She looked at me and smiled. "Yeah, just a little... Ummm nervous."

"Why are you nervous? If anypony should be nervous, it's me."

She laughed slightly. "Yeah, I guess."

I turned and started heading toward the door, wanting to get my plan underway.

When I reached the door, I turned to see that Twilight hadn't moved. She must be nervous because the stallion she likes is here. Well, if I want her to get together with him, I might as well force her into the building.

I returned to her and smiled. "If you don't hurry, I'll be forced to carry you in."

She turned her head, "Sorry, just feeling a little queasy."

I laughed. She was nervous to see him. "Well, you forced my hand... I mean hoof."

I walked around her and put my head under her until I was able to get her on my back. I was surprised at how much she weighed, the ponies on the cartoon don't look this heavy. I started walking back towards the door.

Twilight wrapped her hooves around my neck, making it hard to breathe. Then she put her face in my mane. She must be really nervous or really sick.

"Uhh, hey Twilight. You're making it hard to breathe up here."

She quickly unwrapped her arms from my neck and removed her head from my mane. "Sorry about that... I uhh... I told you I was feeling a little sick."

It's just my luck; I better not get sick from this. We reached the door, and I sat down, which made her slide off my back. "Let's get in there and enjoy this party. What do you say, Twilight?"

"Yeah, sure." She said, looking uncomfortable.

I walked into the room and looked around. Darkness greeted me; I couldn't see a thing. Then, the room filled with light, and a crowd of ponies appeared in the middle of it.

"SURPRISE!" They all screamed at the same time.

A banner above the room said, 'Welcome to Ponyville, Girokon!'

All the ponies in the room stopped cheering and looked at me. They all had a confused look on their faces.

"What is he?" Somepony asked.

"I have no idea. He kinda scares me." Another one said.

"I think he looks kinda cute." One said.

Then Pinkie Pie jumped in front of everypony and yelled. "Come on, everyone, let's party!"

A pony in the corner of the room, who could only be Vinyl Scratch, started to play music on her spin table. But the ponies all remained still, all looking at me.

I looked around uncomfortably. I hate crowds staring at me. I started feeling lightheaded. I need to say something to get them back to normal.

"Come on, everypony. It's a party. A party means dancing, so let's shake our groove thangs." Well, that's embarrassing. Why did I have to say what Pinkie Pie said in the last episode of season one?

The crowd of ponies all got worried looks on their faces. Oh great, now they think I'm like Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie bounced in front of me and continued to bounce. "You sound fun! I like you."

Damn, now I have the crazy and annoying pony liking me. Come on, Lance, say something to break this tension. "Anypony know the pony pokey." Damn you, Lance, why did you say that!

Pinkie Pie's smile grew bigger. "I do! I do! Watch this." She ran to the front of the bakery and jumped on the counter. "Come on, every pony; it's time to shake those groove thangs!"

Twilight walked up beside me. "Why Giro? Why would you encourage her, just prepare for the worst."

I looked at her in confusion, "Why should I prepare for the worst?"

As soon as I finished saying that sentence, Pinkie Pie began to sing.

"You reach your right hoof in, You reach your right hoof out, You reach your right hoof in, And you shake it all about. You do the Pony Pokey meeting lots of folks with clout. That's what I'm talking about."

She jumped off the counter and started to dance to the song.

"You step your left hoof in; You pull it right back out. You step your left hoof in, But you better help him out. You do the Pony Pokey, but you find a different crowd. That's what it's all about."

She ran over to a wall and reenacted the song as she sang.

"You kick your back left in, You pull your back left out, You reach your back left in. Just be brave and have no doubt. You do the Pony Pokey feeling like you're gonna pout. That's what I'm singing about."

Rainbow Dash flew into Pinkie Pie and tackled her to the ground. "Pinkie, please stop singing. I had enough of that song after you sang it every day after the Gala."

Pinkie Pie laughed. "Oh, come on Dashie, everypony loves that song."

Rainbow Dash let her up. "No, they don't, Pinkie. Please let the DJ play the music."

"Okay." She said as she bounced off into the crowd of ponies, all still looking at me.

Well, that was weird—worse than the time my aunt started singing 'So what' at my high school party. I wish I could forget that.

Rainbow Dash walked up to me, smiling. "Do you hate us or something? Telling Pinkie to sing is the worst thing you can do to us right now."

I couldn't help but laugh at that comment, "Sorry about that, Dash. I didn't think she would."

"Oh, so you're calling me Dash, now? I like it when you say it."

Is she hitting on me? Well damn, I already got one pony liking me. Who's next, that mare over there in the corner? Oh wait, that's a stallion.

"Rainbow, shouldn't you be talking to that one stallion you like, the one over there," Twilight said as she walked up beside me.

"I am talking to the stallion I like." Rainbow Dash said as she moved closer to me.

"Not what I meant, Rainbow; go talk to the OTHER stallion you like," Twilight said a little furiously.

Rainbow Dash looked at her and walked her to a corner. They started talking with low voices.

That was weird, why all the affection towards me from Rainbow Dash. I turned back to the crowd, who were all talking to each other. Good, they're done looking at me. It's time to try and find that stallion Twilight likes.

I walked over to the crowd where all the ponies were. I looked around until I saw a few mares talking. I moved towards them, "Hey, does anypony know the stallion that Twilight likes?"

They looked at me with blank faces, then started laughing.

One looked at me, "Are you dumb or something."

I looked at her, "What do you mean by that?"

They laughed again, and another said. "He is stupid. He can't even see the obvious."

What's that supposed to mean? I looked back at Twilight and saw that she and Rainbow Dash had split, and Twilight was now talking to a brown stallion. So that must be the stallion she likes. Well, that was easier than expected.

I walked over towards them, and the mares behind me began to snicker again. What is with them?

I reached Twilight and the brown stallion, who turned to leave as I approached. Twilight turned around also to talk to Applejack, who was standing behind her. I looked at the brown stallion, who was going towards the door. I half ran, half walked towards him.

"Hey there," I said when I was near.

He turned and looked me over. "Well, you're a weird thing, aren't ya?"

I smiled nicely. Be nice, Lance. You have to get him and Twilight together. I put out my hoof, "Yeah, it's from my parents. My name is Girokon, but call me Giro."

He looked at my hoof and then at me. He slowly shook my hoof, "Nice to meet you, Giro. My name is Doctor Whoof. Now, why are you talking to me?"

"No reason."

"Oh, okay then." He turned and walked out the door.

Smooth Lance. I ran out the door after him. "Wait, I need to ask you something."

He turned to face me. "Yes?"

Now, how do I do this? "Do you like Twilight?" Oh, that's great, Lance. Just go on and say it.

"What?" He said, looking confused.

"Do you have feelings for Twilight? I kinda need to know."

He looked me over. "Why would I answer a question like that?"

I didn't want to do this. "Because..." I pulled my goggles off, and he jumped back, a look of horror on his face.

"What are you?" He asked, slowly backing away.

"Oh, just a Pegasus that had a messed up family. Now, please answer my question."

"Okay, okay. Just put the goggles back on."

I pulled the goggles back up and over my eyes. "So?"

"No, I do not have those feelings for her."

Damn, there goes my only lead.

He looked me over yet again. "Why did you want to know?"

"Just trying to set her up with the stallion she likes."

He turned to leave. "You are a moron."

... Did he just insult me? "No, I'm not! Say that with my goggles off!"

But he was already walking away.

I turned to head back inside, but Rainbow Dash blocked the door.

"Somepony is sure asking a lot of questions." She said with a weird look on her face that I could only interpret as lust.

I backed away slowly. "Uhhh, yeah. Just getting to know everypony in town."

She slowly approached me. "Well, I think you would love to get to know me some more."

"Uhh, sure, I guess."

"Let's go back to my place, then I'll help you get to know me."

Okay, now I know where this is heading, but it's my first day here. I don't think I want to have sex with a pony. I just want to live here, not get in a relationship. "Ummm, never mind. I should really get back to the party."

I started to go around her, but once I was by her side, she jumped on me. She pinned me to the ground with her front hooves. "Oh no, I'm not letting you go that easy." She leaned down and put her mouth next to my ear. "After all, when will I get another chance to mate with a pony like you."

Now I'm worried about being raped by a female pony. "I don't think..."

"Oh shut up, you cute stallion. You know you'll enjoy it." She interrupted.

She leaned her face down to mine, but then her body was engulfed in a purple light. She was then lifted off me by an unseen force.

I looked up to see Twilight holding Rainbow Dash in place while she stomped toward her, anger in her eyes. Thank you, Twilight!

"Rainbow Dash, what are you thinking!" She roared.

"Oh, come on, Twilight, we all know you don't have a chance with him. So just let me have my fun with him."

Twilight's face lit up with anger. "You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do. You're too much of a bookworm to enjoy a stallion like him." If Rainbow Dash wasn't frozen in place by Twilight, she sounded like she would be smirking.

Does Twilight like me? It sure sounds like it.

Twilight's face dropped like she knew it was true. "Well, at least I wouldn't rape him just to have fun."

"He would have liked it, am I right, Giro?"

I looked their way. "No, I would not have enjoyed being raped by you, Dash."

Twilight levitated Rainbow Dash into the air and toward the bakery door. With her magic, she opened the door, put Rainbow Dash inside, dropped her on the floor, and slammed the door in her face.

She turned to me. "I'm sorry, Giro. I don't know what came over her."

"Oh, it's fine; thanks for helping me out there."

She smiled a little. "You're welcome, but I'm sorry. All this excitement has made me feel weak and tired. I'm heading home."

"I'll come to. I don't want to be here with Rainbow Dash like this; I have no intentions of being raped tonight." I laughed at my last comment.

Twilight seemed to brighten up, "Thanks Giro."

She turned and started heading towards her house, and I followed behind her.

So, I get the notion she likes me. Could I be the stallion everypony is saying she likes? Wait, that must be why those mares said I couldn't see the obvious. Well, she is cute and has a nice flank, and I'm a pony now. I guess I could take back what I said earlier about not getting into a relationship here.

While deep in thought, I didn't notice that I was about to walk into the door to Twilight's house.

*Bang*

I took a step back and put a hoof to my head, that hurt.

Twilight looked at me. "Are you okay, Giro?"

I looked at her and blinked, still thinking about the thoughts I had of her. "Uhhh, yes, just a little tired." I let out a small weak laugh.

She opened the door and started to head straight to her room. Think Lance, get her to stop. "Hey, Twilight." That's the best you can come up with, you suck at romance Lance.

She turned and looked at me, a smile on her face, "Yes?"

Damn I'm not good at this, I should just give up on this idea, "Never mind."

Her smile faded, "Oh, okay." She turned to continue up the stairs.

Nice going, Lance. "Wait, Twilight, my room isn't right, can I stay in yours tonight?" What the hell, Lance, what's wrong with you? Are you trying to sound like a rapist or something? She is so going to kick you out for that one.

But instead of telling me to leave, she smiled brightly. "Sure, just let me get the bed ready."

What? Is she serious? Am I serious? I must be either really stupid or really smart.

I gulped and headed up the stairs; this better not end up with sex and regret.

I walked into the room and saw her pulling the covers down. She turned to me and smiled, "I need to get ready for bed, so just make yourself at home."

"Sure thing."

She walked out, leaving me alone.

Okay, how am I supposed to get ready for bed as a pony? Well, I could start with those clothes.

It took me a few minutes to strip off the clothes and boots. Lastly, I pulled off the goggles and laid them on a desk. I looked around and saw a mirror at the end of the room. I headed over to it and took a look at myself.

My body was light blue with red stripes all over it, and the front of my face was red. My mane was slightly spiky, and so was my tail. The wings looked kinda weird with that red thing going along the top of them. My ear was torn at the top. I had to admit, I did look scary and weird, and my eyes made me want to go into a corner and cry.

But the thing that made me feel scared was my cutie mark because where it was supposed to be was nothing; I was a blank flank. How am I going to explain this one?

I heard Twilight coming back to the room. I looked at my flank again. I can't let her see it now, and I have no idea how to explain it right now.

I jumped in bed and pulled the covers over me with my mouth. Trying to cover my blank flank.

Twilight walked in and looked at the bed, "You must be tired."

I smiled nervously, "I sure am; it's been a long day for me."

She turned a knob, and the lights went out. I couldn't see, but I could hear her coming around the side of the bed and coming in on the other side.

This is the first time I've been in bed with a female, and it's a pony. I never would have thought it.

"Good night, Giro."

"Yeah, good night, Twilight," I said, trying to keep as close to the edge as possible.

I lay there for a few minutes until I was sure she was asleep. Then I let out a sigh, time to think to myself.

Today had been weird in more ways than one. A female pony almost raped me, found out there were a few ponies that liked me, I was in bed with one, and I just noticed I left my party without even saying anything.

I laughed, then put a hoof to my mouth. I listened for a few seconds; she was still asleep.

I lay there, listening to her breath lightly. Why was I doing this? I looked over at where she lay; even though I couldn't see her, I could see where she was. I sighed. "Might as well enjoy this," because I could already tell she was going to kick me out tomorrow.

I put a hoof over her waist and relaxed.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Rainbow Dash continued flying towards her house, still mad at what had happened earlier.

'Who does Twilight think she is, stopping my attempt at getting Giro back to my house. It's not like she even has a chance with him or anything.'

She landed on her doorstep and walked inside towards her desk. She then picked up a small bottle.

Let's see her stop me without her magic. She turned the bottle over, 'Magic be gone potion.'

Unexpected turn of events

Well, I know I said I was going to wait a few days, but I had this one in the works.

So I decided to upload it, I know its short, but its a quick one to keep everyone happy.

Please enjoy.

Chapter 4

I slowly opened my eyes, still full of sleep. As everything in the room came into focus, I noticed that everything was upside down. Why is everything upside down? Oh, wait, I'm the one who's upside down. During the night, I must have moved away from twilight and moved to the edge of the bed, where my top half hung down.

Now, how do I get down without hurting myself? I tried to pull myself back onto the bed but failed. I fell out of bed and hit the floor with a loud thud.

I sat up and put my hoofs on my head. Why do I keep hitting my head? If this keeps up, I'm going to end up like Derpy.

I pulled my hoofs from my throbbing head and looked out the window. It looked to be about dawn, and the sun was barely showing.

I stood up and glanced at the bed. I could see that Twilight was still asleep.

I turned to the mirror and looked at my weird pony body. Why do I have this body? Why couldn't I have the body of a normal pony? At least that way, I wouldn't stick out as much.

Well, live with what you got.

Now, what am I going to do today? I could go to Cloudsdale and check out the Wonderbolts. Or I could go to Canterlot. I always wanted to see that maze from the first episode of season two.

Cloudsdale or Canterlot? I'll just check out Cloudsdale's first, then Canterlot tomorrow.

That's one problem solved, but now I have another. How do I put my clothes on? It was hard enough taking them off.

After about fifteen minutes of working at pulling them on, I finally had all the clothes and boots on. I left the goggles dangling around my neck.

I walked downstairs and looked around. Where is the kitchen in this place? I don't think they ever showed it in the cartoon.

There were multiple doors that could lead anywhere. Well, this isn't a big building, I'll find it soon.

I went to the first door and opened it. Oh, what a surprise, more books. I closed that door and moved to the next one. More books. Weird, how many books does she own? The next three doors were the same thing: books.

Finally, the second to last door was the kitchen. I walked in and examined the room. It looked like a typical kitchen, just smaller and more colorful.

I walked over to the cabinet and opened it. The contents included hay, flowers, bread, jams, and sugar. I don't know about the hay and flowers, but the rest seems like it will be good.

I pulled out the bread and some jam. I put them on a counter and looked back at the hay and flowers. I wonder. I picked them up and put them with the bread and jams.

Then, I put some hay and flowers on a piece of bread and spread some jam on the other piece. I picked up the sandwich and took a bite out of it.

I dropped the sandwich back on the counter. That sandwich tasted... AWESOME! I thought it would taste horrible, but my taste buds must be made for hay and flowers because they tasted like fruit.

I finished the sandwich and rubbed my stomach with my front left hoof. I need another one, but the book on flying said not to eat a lot before flying long distances. The book said that Cloudsdale was about a thirty-minute flight from Ponyville.

The door behind me opened and closed. I turned around to see Twilight, with a messed up Mane, standing there looking tired.

"Oh, hey, Giro. Did you sleep well?" She asked while rubbing her eyes.

I smiled. "Yeah, I fell out of bed and hurt my head. But yeah, I slept good."

She looked at me worried. "You fell out of bed. Are you okay?"

I walked towards her, getting ready to leave. "Yeah, but I have a hard head." I knocked on my head with my hoof, "I can take a few bangs to the head."

"That's what Derpy Hooves said before she became... the way she is now." She said looking concerned.

What does she mean by that? Did Derpy get hit on the head to become the way she is? "What do you mean?"

"Everypony tells me that she crashed into a tree while making a delivery. Before that, she had been hit on the head by a chariot. Eventually, her brain kinda... messed up."

Okay, I don't want to know more about this. "I see. Well, don't worry. I'll be careful."

She looked at me and smiled, "You better."

Come on, hurry up, Lance. Let's get on the move. "Well, Twilight, I was about to head out to Cloudsdale, so I'm just going to head out."

She looked a little disappointed. "Oh, well, have fun, Giro. It's a nice place. I went there once to watch Rainbow Dash perform in a contest."

"That's cool." Wait, which way is Cloudsdale? It never said it in the cartoon. "Umm, Twilight, which way is Cloudsdale?"

She gave me a funny look. "It's to the west. I thought you would know that?"

Damn, be careful, Lance. You don't want to look too out of place, well, more out of place than you already are. "Yeah, just needed a memory refresher."

"When will you be back?"

"A few hours, maybe. Why?"

She turned her head, but before she could, I saw her face turn bright red. "I just want to know when to make cupcakes."

She's making it too obvious that she likes me. Why didn't I catch this sooner? "Cupcakes sound nice." Wait, cupcakes. I don't know if I want to eat them after reading that one fan fiction. Well, as long as Pinkie Pie doesn't make them, I'm okay.

Twilight walked over to the counter and started pulling out ingredients.

"What are you making Twilight?" I asked, starting to move to the door.

"Just breakfast. I can make some for you if you want."

"No, it's okay. I already made myself some."

With that, I left the room as fast as possible, excited to get in the air. I walked out of the building and looked around, barely any ponies was out at this hour.

I flapped my wings, jumped into the air, and flew up above the library. Cloudsdale is to the west, easy enough. The only problem is that I don't know which way to go west, and I don't feel like going back inside the house to ask Twilight.

Well damn, I'm too stupid even to ask which way is west. Now what? I don't feel like flying to Canterlot; I would rather Twilight be with me for that trip.

I looked up at the clouds, which hadn't been cleared by the Pegasus yet. I flew up to one and landed on it. Let's see why Rainbow Dash is always laying on those. I fell backward onto the cloud. I sunk in a little, but the cloud was so comfortable. I relaxed and closed my eyes.

Two hours later.

I sat up fast and looked around. The sun was farther up in the sky than it was a while ago. Did I fall asleep? How long has it been?

I looked over the cloud down towards the library. Wait, I need to get back. I said I would only be gone a few hours, and it could have been three or four already. I rolled off the cloud and glided to the ground in front of the door.

The door had a note on it, it read:

'Giro,
I'm sorry, but I have to go to Sugar Cube Corner for a while. If I'm not back, feel free to read some of the books.

It looks like Twilight is out for a while, so I might as well stay here. And, like always, I'm starving.

I walked into the house and headed towards the bookshelf. I looked around till I saw a book titled, 'Far Away Lands.' It looks interesting. I'll read this while I eat. I pulled the book off the self and laid it on the table in front of the couch.

Then I walked into the kitchen and noticed something that wasn't there when I left. On the counter was a single cupcake, with a note under it.

I looked at the note, it read:

'A present from me to you, from your friend R.D.'

Is this for me? Why does Rainbow Dash want me so bad? Why am I asking myself questions?

I looked at the cupcake, covered in blue frosting and sprinkles. I had to admit, it looked pretty damn good.

Well, I can't let good food go to waste. I picked it up and ate it in two bites. It was tasty. It has a small, plain, bitter taste with a hint of sourness.

Wow, I'm starting to feel light-headed. I stumbled into the main room and saw Twilight walking in.

"Hey there, Giro. What are..." She looked at me and started to look worried. "Giro, are you okay? You look pale, and your eyes are starting to lose their color."

Oh great, am I sick already? I feel like a truck ran me over and backed up over me for good measure. "I don't..." I said before collapsing onto the floor.

"Giro!" She screamed before running to my side.

The door across the room opened, and in walked Rainbow Dash, a smug smile on her face. "So Twilight, how does it feel to not have your magic?" She walked in a few more feet and then spotted me lying on the floor. "Oh no. Giro, did you eat the cupcake?"

I looked up, my vision spinning, I could barely see her, "Yes..." I said before my vision blackened, and it became hard to breathe.

"No, that was meant for Twilight!" I heard Rainbow Dash yell.

"What do you mean, Rainbow? Please tell me you didn't put that 'Magic be gone potion' in a cupcake. Do you know what that does to non-unicorns?" I heard Twilight scream, sounding close to tears.

"No." That was all Rainbow Dash had to say.

"It can kill a non-unicorn! We have to get him to Canterlot, NOW!"

There was silence, but then I felt myself being lifted onto someponies back. I started to lose feeling in the lower half of my body, and all my senses were slowly fading.

"Please Giro, please don't die."

My world went blank.

Death and love

Here, have another Chapter. One thing though, Chapters on the weekdays are going to be short and the ones on the weekends are longer.

Well, please enjoy

Chapter 5

Twilight paced around the waiting room at the Canterlot Emergency Care Center, watching the double doors that lead to the ER.

Rainbow Dash sat in a corner, looking at the floor and messing with her hoofs.

Twilight chewed on her bottom lip, nervous. The nurse had said there was a chance they could save him, but still.

She looked over at Rainbow Dash. Why would she do this? Even if it was meant for her.

The double doors opened, and the same nurse from before walked out. She was looking at the floor.

Twilight looked at her, eyes full of worry. "Is he going to be okay?"

The nurse looked up; sadness was in her voice. "I'm so sorry, but he didn't make it."

Twilight stepped back, tears running down her face, "He can't be..." She began before her voice cracked.

The nurse looked sad to be the one tell them this. "We did the best we could. But the dose was too large, and his body couldn't handle it all. We used every spell and every piece of equipment we had, but it wasn't enough. I'm truly sorry."

Twilight went to her knees and began to cry lightly, then hard.

Over in the corner, Rainbow Dash silently wept, knowing this was her fault.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Whiteness. There was nothing but whiteness all around me. Where am I... Oh great, did I die again?

"You're back so soon, young one? But you just arrived in that world a little under twenty hours ago. How could you already be back here?" A loud, familiar voice boomed.

I looked down at myself. I had my old body, the human one. I already miss my pony body. "Yeah, I kinda ate a poisoned cupcake."

"How did that happen?"

I scratched the back of my head, "A pony left it on a table, and I thought it was for me. Just my luck, too."

"Would you like to go back?"

I looked up and searched for the voice. "I sure would; it was fun while I was there. But why are you giving my a third chance at life?"

"You were only there seventeen hours. And died due to the jealousy of another. I think that earns you a redo."

"Thank you. This time, I will be more careful."

"You better because the next time you die, you're heading to heaven or hell. Whichever one you earn."

"Don't worry, you won't see me here for a while, I hope."

"Enjoy life, young one."

Everything began to spin like a whirlpool.

I opened my eyes and blinked. A white sheet covered my face and the rest of my body. Where am I?

There's a slight scent of decay and old in the air. Weird.

I sat up, and the sheet fell off my face, revealing where I was. I was in a sort of white room with a row of tables, where I was, with white sheets on them and the shapes of ponies under them. I think I'm in a morgue of sorts.

I pulled the sheet off the rest of my body. Oh great, my clothes are gone. I put my hoof to my eyes, and so are my goggles. Damn it. I slid off the table and popped my back. How long was I on that table?

I walked to the door and turned the nob.

Outside the door was a long white hallway. I moved out of the room and turned left down the hall.

Okay, all I need to do is get out of here without being seen and get back to the library. Somehow.

I turned a corner and came face to face with a white unicorn stallion. He wore a white lab coat and a name tag, "Dr. Stronghoof."

He looked me up and down, looked me in the face, and glared, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know, I just woke up in that room down there. The one with the bodies."

Dr. Stronghoof's eyes widened. "Wait, you're the pony who died of poisoning. But, you just died ten minutes ago. How is this possible?"

Shit, I forgot I died. Come on, Lance, talk your way out of this.

"I wasn't dead. I have a condition where my body goes into a shut-down-like state for a while. It's perfectly normal for me."

He looked at me skeptically. "I've never heard of a condition like that before."

I looked at him, putting on the best smirk I could muster, "Oh really? Tell me, doctor, have you ever seen a pony like me before?"

He looked me over. "No. But that doesn't explain how your condition."

"Yes, it does, my good sir. My body is very different than other ponies. So, everything is quite different with me. As for the condition, I blame my father."

Dr. Stronghoof looked like he was thinking about what I said, "Well then, may I examine your body a bit more?"

That sounds creepy, I hate doctors, "Sorry sir, but maybe another time."

Dr. Stronghoof frowned. "Oh, come now, your body could save lives."

Yep, I definitely hate doctors, "Sir, if you please. I want to get my clothes and leave this place."

Dr. Stronghoof shook his head, "Your clothes are in the storage chest in the morgue."

The doctor walked past me and looked at my flank, "A blank flank? You sure are a weird pony."

I waited for him to turn a corner, and then I headed back to the room I came from. Once there, I located the chest. I pulled the clothes back on; it was becoming easier to put them on. I pulled the goggles over my eyes.

After a short walk, I found the double doors that lead to the main lobby. I walked through them to see that Twilight was still here, by herself. She was sitting on a small bench with her face in her hoofs.

How do I approach this? Should I just walk up, or should I make it seem like I just got here? A direct approach is always the best.

I walked over to her and put my hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, Twilight."

She looked up and looked shocked, but then her shock turned into tearful joy. "Giro! You're alive!" She jumped up and wrapped her hoofs around my neck.

I put one of my hoofs around her neck, "It'll take more than a little poison to kill me."

She stepped back and whipped her face, "I was so scared I had lost you."

Don't cry, Lance, don't you dare cry. This may be tugging at your heart, but don't you cry.

I couldn't stop myself. Tears started to flow down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to..."

She put her hoof to my mouth, saying, "It's okay now, Giro. " Then she leaned in to kiss me.

Oh damn, what to do, what to do? Do I kiss her? Should I kiss her? She's a pony, but so am I. So it's not wrong, but still. What do I do?

Once again, my mind was made up for me.

"Giro! You're okay!" Screamed a familiar voice.

Something slammed into my side, knocking me to the ground with whatever just hit me and what was wrapped around my chest.

When I looked down, Rainbow Dash was attached to my chest, tears running down her face.

"Giro, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to eat that cupcake. It was meant for Twilight." She said as she nuzzled my chest.

Twilight stood above us, a sad look on her face.

I looked down at Rainbow Dash, "But why Dash? Why try to poison Twilight?"

She looked up at me, "I wasn't trying to poison her; I was trying to take her magic away."

Confused, I asked her another question. "Why would you do that?"

She looked at me like I should already know the answer. " Because I want you all to myself, duh."

I put my hoofs on hers and tried to loosen her grip on me. Sadly, me against a strong Pegasus like Rainbow Dash is like a mouse against a cat. "Dash, I don't look at you the way you do at me."

She looked hurt. "But, I'm irresistible! I'm the best flier in Equestria! How can you not be attracted to me?"

Damn, she has me there. Well, I guess I could tell her the truth, "Dash, I'm not into the kind of mare you are."

She looked at me strangely. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not attracted to the big-time mares, the ones that are irresistible to the point of... never mind about that part. I'm just not attracted to your type of personality."

"Then what type are you attracted to?"

I don't know if I can tell her this next part. But if I don't, she will bother me with this forever. Fine, I'll just come out and say it.

"I'm attracted to the nerdy type of mare. The ones who don't boast about their skills."

She looked a little shocked and angry. "Wait, you're attracted to ponies like Twilight!"

I hope I'm not blushing. "Yeah."

"You like nerdy bookworms! I had you wrong Giro. You're not the cool Pegasus I thought you was. You're just a boring weirdo! Do you like Twilight or something!"

Damn it, "Yes."

Rainbow Dash stood, "Why?"

Time for the truth, Lance. "Because I find her interesting and nice. She's just so adorably nerdy, I can't help but like her."

Rainbow Dash turned and started heading for the door leading out of the Hospital. She turned and faced Twilight, saying, "He's all yours!" With that, she turned and left the building.

That went well. I laid my head back on the hard floor and put my hoofs on my face. Now I'm embarrassed because Twilight was right there the whole time listening.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation in my body. It was like I was being shocked by a small wire, and it was going throughout my body.

I moved my hoofs from my face and looked around surprised. We were back at the library. "What the..."

"I transported us back to the library, more private. All those doctors and nurses was watching you and Rainbow Dash."

I Didn't even notice that. I slowly stood, kinda dizzy from the transportation spell she performed.

She walked closer to me, "So, you think I'm adorable. Or, like you said, adorably nerdy."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, Twilight."

She smiled, "Who said I was offended?"

She walked over and hugged me.

I have to say, I'm surprised. I didn't expect this.

She backed up and laughed, "Your face is red."

I knew it, I was blushing. "Uhhh." Lance, you suck at this romance stuff.

She leaned in and prepared to kiss me.

I might as well kiss her. After all, I already said I liked her. I leaned in to kiss her.

Our lips were inches away from each other. Then, centimeters away. Then, finally, our lips connected.

My heart began to beat harder, and I started to feel light-headed. But this time, it wasn't because of sickness or poison. This time, it was because of love.

So, was it good?

Also, if your wondering why I'm doing the GiroXTwilight Pair when Rainbow Dash is my favorite character. Its because a fellow brony talking me into doing a different pair up than it was first intended to be.

I had fun writing it though.

Job hunting

I think I did good on this chapter. Also to the guy asking if there will be lemons later on, maybe. I'm still trying to decide if I want to write a sex scene.

I'll let you all decide, put it in your review if you want me to do it.

Chapter 6

Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to tell you that a new pony has arrived in Ponyville. He is a strange Pegasus, with stripes and evil looking eyes. He also claims to be a retired Royal Guard, which I think isn't true. I think he's hiding something. Please do something about him.
Sincerely,
The best flier in Equestria, Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash smirked. Nopony breaks her heart and gets away with it. This letter should get rid of him. Because if she can't have him, nopony can.

Now, to just find Spike and get him to send this letter

ooo000<^>000ooo

Peace. Finally, I have some peace and quiet. I knew going outside of town and lying on a cloud would be relaxing.

This place may be fun, but it puts a person under a lot of pressure.

One of the main things I need to figure out is how to make money. If I'm going to live here and own my own place, I'm going to need a steady income of cash, or bits as it's called here.

I wonder what jobs they have here. I think I can do almost any job this place has to offer—just not making cupcakes. I draw the line there.

I sat up and looked towards Ponyville. There must be plenty of job opportunities down there. It will take a while, but I think it will be worth it once I have enough cash to buy a place of my own.

Time to start job hunting. I jumped off the cloud and glided towards the town. A few minutes later, I was standing in the middle of town.

I think I should ask around, that way I can find a job easier.

I asked around town and came up with a few jobs. As of this moment, there are only four places that are accepting employees. Sugar Cube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres, the Café down the street, and the Carousel Boutique. I can easily rule out two, Sugar Cube Corner and the Carousel Boutique. I can't cook and Pinkie Pie scares me, and I hate the idea of making clothes.

So that leaves Sweet Apple Acres and the Café. Well, I can't work at the farm, because of my grandparents and the fact that I'm not that strong. So, I guess I could work at the restaurant.

Yeah, sounds easy enough.

I walked down to the café, inside, and straight to the front desk.

The mare behind the counter looked up at me and smiled, "Yes? How may I help you?"

"I came here looking for a job. Are you hiring?"

She turned and walked into a back room. Moments later, a gray stallion walked out, "So, I hear you're looking to work for my establishment. Is that true?"

"Yes, I would like to work here. Are there any openings?"

He looked down at a notebook and flipped through a few pages, "Ahhh, yes. We have an opening for a waiter. How does that sound?"

Hmmm, a waiter. I don't know, it seems kinda low. "Sounds interesting. May I ask what the pay is?"

"The pay is twenty bits an hour, plus tips. How does that sound?"

Twenty bits! That's a lot of cash. "Twenty bits an hour huh? Sounds good, when do I start?"

He smiled and closed the notebook, "You haven't gotten the job yet my good sir. First, you need to be interviewed. Please, follow me." He turned and walked into the back room.

I followed him inside. He was sitting behind a desk with books and files around him.

He waved his hoof at a chair in front of his desk, "Please, take a seat."

I sat down in the chair.

He picked up a notebook and looked at me, "Do you have any experience in being a waiter?"

Well, there was that one time my mom made me work for Sonic, so I guess that counts, "Yes, I've done work as a waitress before."

He flipped the page over, "Any previous jobs?"

"Yes, I was in the Royal Guard."

He looked up at me, "The Royal Guard? You mean for the princesses?"

"Yes, I retired the other day and moved here to Ponyville."

He nodded and looked back to the notebook, "Okay, last question. How's your attitude towards other ponies?"

What? "I'm a pretty nice Pegasus, despite my looks. So, I would say great."

He nodded again. Then he reached into a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here, fill this out and we'll hire you." He put it in front of me and put a pen next to it.

Do I use my mouth or hoof? I'll just do what they do in the show. I reached down and took the pen in my mouth, then looked to paper over. It was just basic questions, like my name and personality. I filled it out easily and nudged it towards him.

He looked it over and smiled, "Well, Mr. Girokon, your résumé looks good. You've been hired."

Yes! This was easier than I thought it would be. "Great. When do I start?"

"Today if you would like, but there's only two hours left till we close, so you'll only make forty bits. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that sounds good. Just tell me what to do."

He stood and reached into a chest. He pulled out a set of clothes, "That is your waiter uniform, just put them on and go to the front counter."

He held out his hoof for me, I extended my hoof and took his and shook it.

"Also, my name is La Fluky, but you may call me Fluky."

Interesting name, "Okay, Fluky. Also, are you my boss?"

Fluky laughed, "Yes, yes I am. If you want the full two hours, you may want to hurry."

Fluky left the room, leaving me alone. I stripped off my clothes, except the goggles, and laid them in a neat pile next to the chest. I then pulled on the waiter's uniform. It was a button up dress shirt with a bow tie and high collar. It's a good thing I like to get dressed up in suits, or this would be uncomfortable.

I headed out of the room and walked over to the counter. The mare from before looked up and smiled, "So I see you got the job then. Well, you can start by taking that table's order, here take this notebook and pen and take their order."

I picked up the pen and notebook and turned towards the table. A couple, both light blue, was sitting there holding menus. I walked over and placed the notebook on the table, "May I take your order?"

The light blue stallion looked up over his glasses, "I would like the daffodil and daisy sandwich and a glass of water."

I picked the pen up and wrote down his order, "And for you miss?"

The light blue mare smiled, "A hayburger and flower sandwich, also some apple cider."

After I wrote down her order, I looked up, "Will that be all today?"

The stallion sat back, "Yes, that will be all."

I picked up the notebook and pen and walked back to the counter, "Okay, I have the orders."

The mare behind the counter reached down with her mouth and took the notebook, she then ripped the page out, "Now just wait here, I'll have the order out in a minute."

She walked off towards a set of double doors, probably the kitchen.

About five minutes later, she returned with the food on a big silver plate, "Take that to them. After that, just keep taking orders and giving out the food."

Easy enough. I picked up the plate carefully and carried it to their table, "Here you go madam," I placed her food and drink in front of her. "And here's yours sir." I placed his food and water in front of him.

I turned and went to pick up my notebook. Seven minutes down, just one hundred and twelve more to go.

When it became time to close, I walked out fully dressed in my clothes and forty bits in my saddlebag. That was boring, but worth the cash. Too bad the full time shift for me is five hours. The only good thing is I can choose when to come in, as long as I go at least three times a week.

I walked down the street, the night sky above me clear and beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. Hard to believe that Princess Luna placed each star individually.

I looked ahead, towards the library. I wonder if Twilight will let me sleep in her bed again? I neared the door and smiled. I opened it and walked in, "Twilight, I'm back. I started working at the Café down the..." I stopped talking and looked in awe at who stood in front of me with Twilight.

Princess Celestia stood tall, at least two feet taller than me. "So you're the new mysterious Pegasus who just arrived here."

I remember what I saw in the show, I bowed, "Yes Princess, I just arrived here."

She looked down at Twilight, "Twilight Sparkle, could you give me and Girokon a few minutes of privacy?"

Twilight looked up at her, "Yes Princess." She left the room and closed the door behind her.

Princess Celestia walked over to me, "I know who you really are, Girokon, or should I call you by your real name, Lance."

I was dumbfounded. How did she know? "How did you know?"

She smiled, which shocked me, "Lance, I've known this day was coming for a long time. I knew you were going to arrive here in Equestria from your home, Earth."

What the hell? "But how?"

She winked, "I'll keep that a secret." Then she smirked, "I hear you were you were a retired Royal Guard."

Damn! Shit! "Yes, I'm sorry."

She put a hoof on my shoulder, "It's okay, I'll keep it a secret. And if you would like, I can make you a Royal Guard, that retired. Would you like that?"

She is nice. Those fan fictions I read all made her look and sound like a tyrant. "I would love that. Does that mean I can join the Royal Guard? You know, come out of retirement."

She laughed, "Sadly no, it takes years to train to be a Royal Guard. I think you would be happier here."

She has a point there. "So what are you going to do with me?"

She patted my back, "Nothing. I've known the time and place you were going to show up, and you're not dangerous. So, I'm going to let you live here."

I smiled brightly at that, "Thank you Princess. But can you do one thing for me?"

"Maybe."

"Could you give me a house in Ponyville or Canterlot. Because after Twilight makes me leave, I'm going to need a place to live."

She laughed and shook her head, "I can do that for you, I can get you one in Canterlot. But do you really think Twilight will make you leave her home? She's in love with you, and you're in love with her."

Damn it! How much does she know? Can she actually read my thoughts?

"No Lance, I can't read your thoughts." She said smiling.

"Oh, okay." Wait a minute, she just did, "Wait a second, you just read my mind!"

She laughed yet again, "I know, I just wanted to see your reaction."

A scroll appeared in front of her face and opened. She read over it and frowned, "I'm sorry Lance, but I must go. I'm needed at the palace. I'll send you the dead to your new house soon."

With that, she disappeared in a blinding light.

Twilight ran back into the room, relieved to see me still here. "Giro! What did she want? I thought she was going to take you away!"

Why is she so worried, "Oh, she just came to tell me that I can have a house in Canterlot for being in the Guard."

Twilight looked a little sad, "Oh, you're going to be leaving."

Damn that face of cuteness, "Don't worry, I'm not leaving. I'll stay as long as you allow me to live here."

She smiled brightly, "That's great! You can stay, I don't mind." She ran over and hugged me.

Meh, might as well. Besides, I do like her. I returned her hug, and she nuzzled my neck.

She backed up and smiled, "Are you hungry Giro? I can make something for you."

I smiled back, I had planned for this, "I ate my dinner at the Café, but thanks for offering. But, I do have some food for you." I reached back and pulled a daffodil and daisy sandwich, and placed it on a desk. "Made it myself."

She looked at the sandwich, then to me. A tear in her eye, "Thank you, Giro. That's so sweet of you."

She sat in a chair and levitated it up to her face, "Umm, Giro, could you bring me that book over there? I kinda like to read while I eat."

"Me too. And sure." I walked over and picked up the book, I glanced at the title, 'Love and how it works.' She really does turn to books for all the answers to her problems. I smiled and brought it to her, "Here you go."

She levitated it up in front of her and opened it, "Thank you." She started reading the book and eating, obviously already into the book.

I turned and headed upstairs to do some reading of my own. Once in my room, I pulled out the book 'A complete history of Equestria.' Might as well start learning the history of this place if I'm going to live here. I sat on the bed and opened the book.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Fluttershy walked out of her house smiling, because the duck's eggs had hatched and she had just finished setting up a place for them to stay.

Today had been a great day for her. The animals outside were all playing with each other and doing their daily routine of getting ready for the night ahead.

She walked over to a rabbit hole where three bunny's were about to go inside their hole. She reached into her saddlebag and dropped some cotton in front of them, "There you go. That will make your beds more comfortable."

One of the bunny's picked up the cotton and brought it inside the hole, while another one walked up to her. The bunny rubbed its nose against Fluttershy's nose. "Awww, you cute little bunny's."

Right then, all the animals behind her started to scatter and make noises. Fluttershy turned around and let out a small scream, then relaxed, "Oh, Rainbow Dash, its just you."

But Rainbow Dash looked mad, "Princess Celestia just let Giro go. She didn't even try to do anything. And she kept calling him Lance for some reason."

Fluttershy looked at her friend, trying to think of a way to work out the situation, "Maybe he really is a retired Royal Guard."

Rainbow Dash looked to be thinking about the idea, "No. From where I was outside the window, he didn't seem to act like a Royal Guard."

"Well, maybe he's different."

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, "He is DIFFERENT! He's a weird, dangerous pony. I know he's hiding something, and I'm going to find out what it is." She turned and flew off into the sky.

Fluttershy watched her go. What is wrong with her friend? Maybe she should go talk to Giro. But what if he is dangerous? She looked around at the animals around her, all looking at her. Maybe another time, when she's with everypony else.

Bronies in Equestria

Chapter 7

I stepped out of the library and into the early morning air. The sun could barely be seen over the hills.

I stretched my wings out and let out a relaxed breath. Last night was the most relaxing night of my life, I have never slept so well in my life.

I've only been here three days, but it feels like I've always lived here.

What should I do today? I don't have to be at work for another seven hours, my job starts at twelve.

So, what should I do for the next seven hours? Maybe I should visit the other mares, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

Well, I don't know about Pinkie Pie. The thought of spending seven hours with her makes me want to eat another poisoned cupcake. Applejack's also out, no farms for me.

You see, the main reason for me hating farms is not because of my grandparents. That's only part of it. The main reason is because of what my cousins did to me. Not something I like to think about.

So that leaves Rarity and Fluttershy. Tough choice. Well, Rarity's is closer and easy to find. I don't even know how to get to Fluttershy's house.

Rarity's it is then. But which way is it? I looked left and right. Hmm, maybe I should ask somepony.

I walked over to a stand, which looked to sell only soap, and looked at the stallion behind the chart.

He looked at me and smiled, "Yes?"

"Do you know where the Carousel Boutique is?"

He looked down the street, "Yes, just go that way. You can't miss it." He pointed down the street.

"Thanks." I turned and headed down the street. Soon, I came upon a fancy looking building, better looking than all the ones around it. That's definitely the Carousel Boutique.

I walked up to the door and knock three times. Inside I heard a cheerful and pleasant voice, "One minute."

I stood outside the door, listening to the sounds of hoofs approaching the door.

Seconds later, the door opened, "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, I am... Oh, it's you, Girokon. Please come in."

She stepped aside and I walked in. She closed the door and turned to me, "What brings you to my boutique darling? Do you need some clothes made?"

Do I? No, my clothes are fine. "I just stopped by to talk, and maybe help if you need it."

Rarity smiled, "No, its quite alright deary. I don't have any orders today."

"Oh, I guess we could talk. What have you been doing today?"

She walked over to a chair and sat. She then pointed to the chair opposite of her. "Please, take a seat, Girokon."

I sat in the chair and smiled, "Please, call me Giro."

She frowned, "I'm sorry Giro."

"It's okay, you're not the first." I said while smiling.

She smiled back, "But Giro, you must tell me. Why do you wear those...Clothes?"

Why does she not like my clothes? I think they look cool. "I just like them. Why do you not like them, Rarity?"

She looked me over, "I just don't see the point in wearing black with you. I mean, your coat is light blue, and that does not go with black."

I looked down at my chest, "Yeah, I see your point there. But I appeared here with them, so I'll just keep them."

Rarity looked at me strangely, "What do you mean by appearing here?"

Did I say appeared here? Oh damn I did! Come on Lance, time to talk yourself out of another situation. "It's a figure of speech. I meant that when I arrived here."

She nodded, accepting what I said, "But you must let me make you something new to wear."

Hmm, is there anything I would like to wear around? Oh I know. "Well, there is one thing."

Her eyes seemed to sparkle at my words, "Yes?!"

"I've always wanted to have a suit of my own. The kind that you wear to fancy parties and formal meetings. Is that possible?"

She jumped up and smiled, "I can do it. But I'm sorry to tell you that you will have to pay."

Good thing I have some cash on hand. "That's okay. How much?"

She thought for a minute, "Well, if I use the good material and put my best effort into it. I would say around a hundred and twenty bits."

Damn, I only have forty, "I only have forty, but after work today, I will have enough. Can I pay you then?"

She kept smiling, "Why yes darling, it's going to take me a day or two to finish it anyway."

"Great. When are you going to start working on it? Would you like me to help?"

She walked over to me and started nudging me towards the door, "No darling, I can do it myself. But you must leave, I want to surprise you with it."

"Okay, but can I..." She pushed me out the door and prepared to close it, but stopped and smiled.

"I'm sorry to act rude Giro, but I'm really excited about getting this suit made for you." With that the door slammed shut.

Well, that killed five minutes.

Now what am I going to do? I started walking down the street aimlessly, just sightseeing.

Suddenly, a bright light engulfed me and I appeared in a large white room.

What the hell just happened?

"I'm sorry Lance, but my sister had to meet you." Said a familiar voice from behind me.

I turned to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing side by side.

Luna looked me over, "You were right Tia, he is a strange looking pony. And you said he is really a human?"

Celestia looked over at Luna, "Yes, his world ended and he has been brought to this world."

Luna rubbed her neck, "But I thought there was only one world, ours."

"Oh no, there are many." Celestia looked back to me, "And Lance, she's not using the traditional royal canterlot voice because she is trying to learn to speak like we do now."

How did she.. Oh right, she can read my mind, "Oh, that's good. I didn't like that way of talking."

Luna looked at me strangely, "What do you mean? We have never met before."

Celestia laughed at her sister, "He knows more about us then you think dear sister."

"But how Tia, he just got here."

"I will have to tell you another time. Right now is not a good time, because I will have to have you in private to tell you everything."

"Tell me now. Please Tia!"

Celestia looked down and smiled, "Okay little sister." She looked up at me, "Lance, please give me a moment to explain this to her.'

I nodded my head and they turned away from me.

I wonder if she's about to tell Luna about their cartoons in my world. And Luna actually calls Celestia Tia, just like in the fan fictions.

Speaking of fan fictions, I remember reading one called Princess Molestia. That was a messed up one, where Celestia was molesting all the ponies of Ponyville. It was pretty weird but also..

"I would never do that! Why would you think something like that!" Said a slightly angry Celestia.

Shit! Damn it to hell! I forgot she was reading my mind. Why did I have to remember that one fanfiction?!

"It was a story from where I came from. I didn't write it." That's all you have to say Lance? Wow, you're so going to the dungeon.

She suddenly smiled, "Don't worry, I know about those stories." She turned back to Luna.

I laughed slightly to myself. She is so Trollestia.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Shut the hell up Lance, you're making things worse. "Uhh, just a stupid saying, doesn't mean anything." I laughed lightly.

She shrugged and continued talking to Luna.

Okay Lance, try to think of something else. Well, there was that one time when that girl at school was.... No, don't think of that. Just think of a song or something.

For the next five minutes, I stood there humming the 'Pony Anthem'.

Finally, they turned back to me. Luna had a look of amazement on her face.

I looked at them, "So... What do you need with me?"

Luna walked forward, examining me, "So, in your world we're just a made up thing for children?"

"Yeah, somewhere along those lines."

"And the ponies... I mean people there who liked us were called bronies?"

"Yes, there were a lot of them. But there were more people who hated them for it."

"So you're a brony?"

"Yes I am."

She took a step back and stood next to her sister, "I like him, Tia, he seems kinda nice."

Wait, I just remembered something I've been wondering about, "Princess Celestia, may I ask you something."

"Yes you may."

"Did any other humans come here also?"

She looked to be thinking about the answer, "Yes, but too many to count. They are spread out among Equestria, but there are four in Ponyville counting you."

"Three other human ponies in Ponyville? I haven't seen any of them yet? Are they bronies?"

"Yes, they are bronies. But not all the humans brought here are bronies. There are a lot of them who are not the kind of pony we approve of here, and I have yet to seek them all out. As for why you haven't seen any of them yet, you have. Just watch next time you're going through town."

People came here that weren't bronies? They must be trying to cause trouble. "Princess, I would like to go back to town now. I would like to look around town a little before I have to go to work."

"Of course Lance. I will summon you back here in a few days, I may have something for you to do."

A bright light filled the area and I appeared back in Ponyville, right in the middle of town. So, there's three other bronies here in town huh? I wonder if I can spot them just by walking through town.

I began walking through town and watching everypony that I passed, but they all seemed normal to me. I kept walking through town for another four hours, with no success at finding the other bronies.

They must have left town or something. Wait a minute, who's that talking to Rainbow Dash.

Up ahead, Rainbow Dash and a brown stallion were talking and laughing. Just maybe.

I walked up to them and said hi.

Rainbow Dash glared at me, "What do you want?!"

"I need to talk to him, one minute."

I motioned for the stallion to come over to me.

"Ummm, what do you want?" He asked, looking a little scared by my appearance.

"I need to figure something out. Does this mean anything to you, 'Rainbow is the best pony'?"

He looked at me a little shocked, "How do you know about that?"

Found one, easily I might add, "Ahh, so I finally found a fellow brony from earth. You are a brony right?"

He smiled, "So you're a human too huh? I thought I was the only one here. Also, I am a brony."

"There's way more than you could think, apparently every brony chose to come here."

"That's cool, but that's a lot of competition for the mane six."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you know that every brony likes a pony here, so you know that most of them are going to try and win them over. As you can see, I'm working on Rainbow Dash. What about you?"

I smiled, "I already won over Twilight Sparkle."

He looked impressed, "Well, you just scored one of the six, and I'm about to get one."

Yeah, good luck with that, "Do you have a place to stay while here?"

"No, I've been staying at random places."

"I may be able to get you to stay at the library with me and Twilight."

"Sounds great. I'll go there after I'm done with Rainbow Dash."

"Alright, I'll be at the Café for the next five hours."

"Why?"

"I work there now."

"Dude, you work too fast. I've spent my last two days trying to get here."

"Well, you should be able to get Rainbow Dash easily, just be interesting."

"That's easy." He turned and headed back to Rainbow Dash.

I better get to work, only thirty more minutes before I'm late. I turned to leave, but heard the stallion running back to me.

"I forgot to ask, but what's your name?"

I looked at him, I'll just give him both, "My real name is Lance, but the ponies here know me as Girokon, or Giro for short. What's yours?"

"Mine is David."

"Is that your real name or pony name?"

"Real. Why do I need a pony name?"

"I would suggest you get one."

"I'll think about one, but for now, I have a date with destiny, or a pony." He laughed and turned back to Rainbow Dash and galloped towards her.

Oh come on, he hasn't thought of one yet?

I turned and started walking towards the Café, time to get to work.

A dog is a brony?

Chapter 8

I walked out of the Café, a hundred and forty bits in my saddlebag. That job may be easy, but it is extremely boring. I just stand around, take orders, hand out food, and repeat. Well, at least the pay is good.

Should I go back to the library or should I walk around and try to find the other two bronies? I want to search for them, but working five hours really makes a guy tired.

The sun was almost down, barely showing over the hills. The moon was just beginning to rise.

I started walking towards the library. Maybe David is there now. Or he may have gone home with Rainbow Dash. I'll find out when I get there.

A few minutes later, I walked up to the library's door. The lights were on, so that means Twilight is here. I opened the door and walked in.

Upon stepping inside, I saw David looking through the books on the bookshelves.

I looked him over, finally seeing him in full detail.

He was a brown Pegasus with a shaggy tousled light brown mane and slightly spiked tail. He had small streaks of greenish blue through his mane, and a thick streak going over the top of his tail. He also had light green eyes.

I wonder if he's come up with a pony name yet?

David turned to me and smiled, "Lance, there you are. I've been here for the past two hours waiting for you."

I walked over to him, "David, you can call me Lance when we're alone. But when we're around other ponies, just call me Giro. Okay?"

"Okay Lance. Also, I finally came up with a name for myself."

Finally, "Good. What is it?"

"Whitemark."

Whitemark? Why that name? "I like the name, but it doesn't seem to fit your appearance."

"Because I have a small white mark under my wing, see." He lifted up his wing to reveal a small patch of white.

Okay, now it fits him. "Well, it's good to know you have a name here. So, how did it go with Dash?"

He smiled, "She's all over me. I think? I don't know, I'm not so good with girls. But it seems like she likes me."

"She probably does. She was all over me when I got here, so I think you have a chance."

Whitemark smiled happily, "I'll be flying to her house tomorrow. If I can find it, that is."

"Just ask Twilight. She'll know."

He looked uneasy for a second, "Yeah, while we're talking about her. I don't know if I can live in this library. I mean, I love books, but also I would rather have a place where I can talk freely."

Well, too bad there's no other places to.... Oh wait! I forgot that Princess Celestia gave me a house in Canterlot. And that's just a twenty minute flight from and to Ponyville. "I know of a place where we can both live, or until you get your own place."

"Where?"

"Canterlot. I own a house there, thanks to the Princess."

He looked amazed, "You own a house. In Canterlot! How did you do that?"

"I don't know. The Princess just let me have it after I asked for one."

"Nice dude. When can we go there? I hope it's big enough for a room where we can keep books."

He must like books also. Great, now I'm not the only one here, besides Twilight, that likes books. "I'm sure it's big enough, it is in Canterlot after all."

"When can we go there?" He asked again.

Tomorrow maybe? I don't have work tomorrow, so I think that will be the best time to go. "Tomorrow if you want, I would like to stay here one more night."

He nodded his head, "Okay, good. I'll just sleep down here on that couch." He pointed to the couch against the wall.

"No, you can sleep in the guest room. I'll be sleeping in Twilight's room."

He raised his hoof, "Nice going dude! Already in bed with the pony."

He must want a brohoof. We slammed our hoofs together.

Twilight walked in through the front door, "Hey Giro, are you here?" She looked around till she saw me and David standing by one of the many bookshelves, "Hey Giro. Who's your friend?"

"He's an old friend of mine. Can he stay the night?"

She smiled, "Of course."

David walked forward, "Hey, my name is Dav.. I mean Whitemark." He raised his hoof.

Twilight reached out and shook his hoof, "Hello Whitemark. My name is Twilight...

"Twilight Sparkle, I know all about you!"

Oh damn.

"What do you mean? We just met each other. How can you know all about me?"

I stepped forward, "Because I've been telling him about you."

Twilight smiled, "Oh, okay then."

I looked at David, "Whitemark, come here for a second."

He walked over, "Yeah?"

"We have to keep us being humans a secret. Princess Celestia doesn't want us to tell the ponies about us and our world."

He nodded, "Sorry, I didn't know."

I patted his back, "It's alright dude, just be careful what you say."

He smiled, "Got it."

Twilight walked up behind me and tapped her hoof on my shoulder, "Giro, I forgot to tell you, but Rarity wants you to come to her shop. I don't know why though, all she said was that she had it ready for you."

So, she's already done? That was fast. "Okay, thanks Twilight." I turned to white mark, "Do you want to come?"

He looked excited, "You know it dude."

Twilight looked at him, "What does dude mean?"

Damn it, "It's another word for stallion. Mostly used by younger ponies." I looked at David.

He shrugged and mouthed the word 'Sorry.'

Twilight looked to be thinking, "I've never heard about it before."

"That's because it's new."

She nodded, "I see."

We better get going before David says something else, "Come on Whitemark."

We headed for the door, but Twilight walked up beside me, "Hurry back Giro." With that, she kissed me on the cheek.

When Whitemark and I stepped outside and closed the door, David smirked at me, "Lucky."

We began to walk towards Rarity's, "You know I am." I chuckled a little.

He hit my shoulder with his hoof, "Yeah, but I'll be getting more than a kiss on the cheek when I go to Rainbow Dash's place tomorrow."

"Maybe. If your lucky." He will definitely get some when he gets there. I smiled at the thought.

"What are you smiling about?"

I looked ahead and kept smiling, "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

I kept smiling, "Just don't get her pregnant dude."

He laughed loudly at my words, "I better not. I don't want a mini pony me running around this place."

I started laughing and looked down at the ground, trying to stop laughing, "Dude, that's a scary thought right there."

Before I knew it, I slammed head first into the door of the Carousel Boutique. I stumbled back and landed on my flank.

David started to laugh and fell backwards onto his back.

Why me? I rubbed my head with my hoofs. Damn, that hurt like hell.

The door opened and Rarity looked out, "Please, no slamming into the door... Oh my. Giro, are you alright."

I slowly stood, my head throbbing, "Yeah, I'm okay. I may have a knot or brain damage, but all in all I'm okay." I stopped rubbing my head and looked up at her, David just starting to stand, "Twilight said you needed me for something."

Her face went from one of worry to one of excitement, "Oh yes, this way darling." She turned and headed back into the Carousel Boutique.

I walked inside, David close behind.

She led us to a room with a single pony model stand, a nice looking suit on it.

She turned and smiled at me, a gleam in her eyes, "Here it is Giro. What do you think?"

I walked over to the suit and looked it over.

It had a white under shirt, and a black tuxedo like jacket over the white under shirt. There was a black tie going under the collar of the white shirt and tucked under the jacket. It looked like the kind of suit you would wear to a wedding back on earth.

I looked at Rarity and smiled, "I love it! It looks just the way I wanted." I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out a bag that held a hundred and twenty bits. "There's the bits. May I have the suit now?"

Her horn glowed and the suit came off the model and went into my saddlebag. "There you go darling. I'm glad you like it."

David stepped forward, "Can you make me some clothes?"

Rarity looked at him, "I can dearie, but it's not free."

He looked disappointed, "Oh."

I looked at him and felt sorry for him, "I'll pay for it Whitemark."

He looked at me and smiled brightly, "Thank you Lan... Giro."

Rarity smiled at me, "That's very nice of you, Giro. Come with me Whitemark, we'll start coming up with ideas for your new clothes."

She walked into another and motioned for Whitemark to follow. "Giro, I'll meet you back at the library."

"I may not go back, I think I might just stay here and take a nap."

He followed her into the room, "Alright."

I sat down on a couch and laid back. I hope he doesn't want an expensive piece of clothing.

I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Thirty minutes later.

I felt a hoof on my chest, shaking me. I opened my eye's sleepily and looked up at the owner of the hoof.

"Giro, I heard you have a new house! And I've been thinking that you need to have a housewarming party. But I don't know where you live. Can you tell me? Ow ow, after the party and when I know where you live, I can come over everyday and we can party every day of the year! How does that sound? I think it sounds great!" Said a way over an active voice.

Oh god, why. Why Pinkie Pie! "I don't really want a party, Pinkie Pie. And ask Twilight, she knows where I live."

She stopped bouncing, "What? No party! Are you loco in the coco or something? Everypony loves a party! Come on Giro, let's have a party!"

I can already tell that I can't talk my way out of this, "Okay Pinkie, you win. Just wait till tomorrow, then we can have a super big party."

Her smile became impossibly bigger, "YAY! I can't wait to party again! I'm going home right now to get to working on the decorations for tomorrow!"

She turned and bounced out of the building.

I shuddered. Waking up to her isn't something I wanted to do. Kinda scared the hell out of me.

I closed my eyes again, but I heard somepony galloping over to me.

"Giro! Rarity just helped me come up with the coolest idea for a suit." Said an excited Whitemark.

Rarity walked up and smiled, "It really is a lovely suit he's come up with. I'm going to love working on it."

I sat up and smiled, "And the price tag on this suit is?"

She looked uneasy, "Three hundred bits."

Three hundred bits! What the hell has he come up with? "That much?!" Calm down Giro, David looks happy about the suit he's come up with, "Well, I can make that much in three days. Is it okay if I pay you then?"

She smiled sweetly, "Yes darling, I know you'll pay."

David ran to the door, "Come on, Giro! Let's leave so she can get to work on it." He ran out the door.

Rarity turned to me and smiled, "He sure seems excited about it. I guess I should start working on it."

But its close to ten at night. "No Rarity, I think you should go to bed and work on it tomorrow."

"Don't worry about me darling, I've done this before. Now go catch your friend before he runs off without you."

"Yeah, I don't think I should let him get too far ahead."

I walked out the boutique and saw Whitemark standing next to the door.

He looked at me and smiled, "Thanks for paying for it Giro."

Thanks for putting me three hundred bits in the hole. I laughed at that thought, "No problem buddy. Come on, let's get back to the library."

We walked on in silence for a few minutes.

Whitemark broke the silence, "So, there's other bronies here."

"Eeyep." I said imitating Big Macintosh.

He laughed, "Stop acting like Big Mac. But seriously what if they get jealous of us."

"Why would they be jealous of us?"

"Because, you and Twilight are together. Me and Rainbow Dash are about to be together. Thing about it, what if they come here and we are dating their favorite pony. There could be a fight."

I hadn't thought of that. What if there is a fight? "Well, first come first serve is what I say to that."

He shook his head laughing, "Yeah I guess so."

We neared the library to see a small dog jumping up and down at the door.

"What's with that dog?" Asked David.

"I don't know." I said while I walked up to it.

The dog turned to us and barked.

The dog was black with a brown spot on its side. It was about the size of a beagle.

The dog ran up to us and barked again and ran back to the door.

David laughed, "That dog is just like the one we had back home on earth."

I smiled, "I had a dog once, but a car hit it."

The dog stopped barking and looked at us, a weird look on its face.

Now what?

It walked over to us and started pawing at the ground.

"What's he up to?" Observed David.

The dog stopped pawing at the ground and backed up.

I looked down at the ground to see that it had actually been writing in the dirt! The writing said, 'Are you two humans also?'

What the hell?! Is that dog a brony?

"Yes. Are you a human also?"

The dog nodded.

"Why are you a dog then?" Asked David.

The dog began pawing at the ground again. When it was done it said, 'I thought being a dog would be cool. I was wrong.'

I laughed, "Should have said pony."

David also laughed, "And why are you here at the library anyway?"

The dog pawed again at the ground. It read, 'I want to see Twilight. She's the best pony ever, I think I can win her over in this body.'

I walked forward and smiled, "Sorry, she's already with me."

The dog looked down sadly and pawed at the ground again, 'Oh, I wasn't fast enough.'

David walked up next to me, "If you want, you can hang out with us. We have a house in Canterlot."

The dog looked up happily, and began to paw at the ground again, 'Thanks, I'll stay with you two. But to get something straight, I am not your pet. Got that?'

I smiled, "Okay, you're not our pet. What's your name?"

Again, he pawed at the ground, 'My name is Luke. What about yours?"

Nice name, "Mine is Lance, but everypony knows me as Girokon, or Giro."

David smiled, "My name is David, also known as Whitemark."

I looked over at Luke, "You know Luke, your name doesn't fit a dog." I looked at David, "How about we call him Louie?"

David nodded, "I like it. Do you like it Luke?"

Luke looked to be thinking, then shrugged and barked. He wrote out the word yes in the dirt.

"Great. Louie it is."

Louie barked again.

"Come on guys, let's get inside. I'm still tired."

We walked in and were greeted by Spike.

Spike looked at Louie, "What's with the dog?"

David beat me to the answer, "He's my dog."

Louie looked at him, a glare in his eyes.

Spike shrugged, "What's his name? He seems kinda mad to me."

I spoke first, "His name is Louie. And he probably is." I laughed a little.

Twilight came down stairs and smiled, "Hey Giro, your back."

I looked up at her, half way down the stairs, "Yep. What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for bed. I'm beat." She looked down at Louie, "Awww, who's dog is that?"

David spoke up, "He's mine, his name is Louie."

Louie barked and ran up the stairs. He ran up to Twilight and started licking her face. She began to laugh, "He's an active one."

Oh come on Louie. You really have to do that.

I walked up the stairs and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. I flew down to the ground floor and sat him down, "Louie, remember that me and her are already together."

Twilight walked up beside me, "But you haven't asked me out yet."

Damn, she was behind me. Wait, I haven't? I thought I did.

Louie barked happily and ran up to her. He started pawing at the floor, but noticed he wasn't able to write on the wood floor. He looked down sad.

Sorry Louie, but since you can't talk and I can, I think we both know who has won this. I smiled at that. I walked over to Twilight, "Well, since I forgot to ask. Would you be my marefriend?"

She smiled and a tear rolled down her face, "Yes!" She jumped on me and hugged me tightly.

Behind her stood David, smiling. He raised his hoof out in front of him, in a kind of salute.

Twilight let go and looked into my goggles. She reached up and pulled them off.

David's eyes went big and he jumped back a little. Then he laughed a little.

Louie yelped and ran behind David.

Twilight smiled sweetly and gazed deep into my eyes. She leaned forward, lips pursed.

Am I blushing? I hope not. I leaned forward and pushed my lips against hers.

Her tongue pushed against my lips, wanting entry. I opened my mouth and her tongue slid into my mouth. I moved my tongue past hers and into her mouth. She ran her tongue along my gums and across my teeth. My tongue gilded around her mouth, along her gums,teeth, and the top of her mouth.

We pulled back and took a breath. She was blushing brightly, "I have never done that before."

I smiled. I could taste a sweet flavor inside my mouth.

David cleared his throat, "Please don't do stuff like that while I'm here."

I looked past Twilight, David seemed to wince at my eyes, "Sorry about that Whitemark."

Twilight turned towards him, "Sorry Whitemark, I kind of forgot we weren't the only ponies in the room."

David smiled, "It's alright."

Twilight started heading for the stairs, "Giro, I'm going to bed. You can sleep in my bed again if you want."

"Okay Twilight, I'll be up soon."

When Twilight had disappeared into her room, I turned to David. "That was awesome dude."

He chuckled, "I bet. It looked like you were having fun."

I smirked, "I was."

Louie barked and looked unhappy.

I looked down at him, "Oh come on Louie. I was here first."

He looked up at me and barked again, glaring.

I patted his head, "Calm down there. I'll tell you all the details."

He turned and barked back at me.

Only if I knew what he was saying.

David smirked at me, "Do not have sex with her tonight Lance. Wait till we're not here. Okay?"

Damn it! "Fine. But you owe me."

He laughed, "Deal."

I shook my head laughing, "I'm going to bed."

"Why?" Asked David.

I put on a proud smile, "Do the math. Me plus Twilight plus bed equals?"

"Sex?"

"That, but not what I mean. Try one more time."

"Oral sex?"

"Okay, you're not going to get it. It's cuddling."

He laughed, "I should have thought of that."

"Now, I'm off to bed. And Louie, we'll get you a nice little dog friend."

Louie turned and seemed to be smiling.

I turned and headed up the stairs, behind me I heard David talking to Louie.

"Come on Louie, let me read you a story. And I don't care if you want me to or not, because I'm going anyway."

I heard a small yelp and David laugh, "You'll like it, I love to read."

I walked into Twilight's room to see that she was already in bed. I stripped off all my clothes and smiled. Even in the dark, she looked cute.

I climbed into bed and relaxed.

Twilight turned over and put a hoof over my waist, she laid her head on my chest.

I put a hoof over her and closed my eyes. Tomorrow, I'm off to see my house and get moved in. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me and David.

A dragon, a brony?

Chapter 9

We began to near Canterlot, the wind flying past us. David had an excited look on his face, and so did I. Even Louie, who was in a saddlebag on David, had a sort of smile on his face.

We had woken up early and headed out as soon as we were ready to fly. We had been making great time. Ten minutes and we're already almost there.

David looked over to me and yelled over the wind, "Lance, do you even know where your house is?"

I looked over and yelled, "Yes, I'll take us straight there, just keep following me."

David nodded and looked ahead.

I hope this house is big enough. It better not be one of those small one pony houses.

A few minutes later, we landed in front of a nice looking building.

David looked it over, "Is that it? Because if it is, it's better than I thought."

I shrugged, "I think it is." I had to admit, it looked better than I thought it would.

Louie jumped out of David's saddlebag and looked around. He nodded as if he was happy at what he saw.

"If this key works, it's our house." I walked forwards and pulled a key out of my saddlebag. I pushed it into the keyhole and turned it with my mouth. The key fit perfectly and the nob turned. The door opened to reveal a comfortable looking living room on the other side.

David whistled, "It is a nice place."

I smiled despite myself, "I agree."

Louie barked happily and walked inside.

I turned to David, "I think there's enough for all of us to stay here for a while."

David nodded and smiled, "I can't wait to get a study set up inside."

Yeah, me too.

Two ponies, a stallion and mare, walked up to us.

The stallion was wearing a fancy suit and the mare was wearing an elegant dress.

The stallion's suit consisted of a black dress jacket and tie. He had a spectacle over one eye. There was a small mustache over his lip.

The mare's dress consisted of a long sleeve blouse and skirt. She wore a bonnet with a feather stuck to the top.

I could only think of three words to describe them, high class fancy.

The mare looked us over and looked directly at me, "I do say. What is THAT you're wearing?"

I gave them an obvious answer, "Clothes."

She snared, "I knew that! I mean, why are you wearing them?"

Another obvious answer, "Because I like them."

The stallion looked at me, "He looks like a troublemaker if you ask me."

Offensive, "My good sir, I am no troublemaker."

The mare looked at the stallion, "At least he has manners."

The stallion looked me and David over again, "Why are you two here in the royal city of Canterlot?"

David spoke up first, "We live here now."

The couple looked shocked, "Live here? How could a couple of low class ponies such as yourselves earn the right to live here?"

Low class? Rude, "The Princess gave me this house, so we are now moving in."

They looked even more shocked, "The princess gave you this house? How could you, a low class, get such an honor as to meet the Princess."

I smiled, "It's a secret."

Louie walked out of the house and barked happily.

The mare looked at him in disgust, "A dog! Why would you bring that flea ridden thing to Canterlot?!"

David stepped forward, "Don't you call him flea ridden! I think he has more class than you two will ever have."

They both laughed, "A dog?! With more class than us?! How obscure."

David smiled, "Show them Louie."

Louie smiled miscellaneously and walked towards them with a small stride in his steps.

What's he up to?

He walked beside the mare and raised his left leg.

That little genius. I thought while smiling.

Louie relieved himself right now in the mare's skirt.

The mare screamed in disgust and started stomping her hoofs, having a fit.

"OWW! That mutt just urinated on my favorite skirt!'

David and I broke out laughing.

The stallion looked at us in anger, "You foals! Your dog is.."

I interrupted him, "Now now, don't say something about Louie." I reached up to my goggles, "Now, please leave."

I removed the goggles and the two high class ponies looked at me in horror.

The mare's eyes were large, "What are you?"

I smirked, "Leave now."

They turned and left, muttering to each other.

David laughed again, "Those eyes do come in handy." He walked over to Louie, who stood proud. He petted his head, "Great job Louie."

Louie shook his head away from David's hoof, and began to paw at the ground. 'I'm not your pet.'

He walked past us and back into the house.

David walked past me and smiled, "He'll come around sooner or later."

David walked into the house and I followed.

Upon entering, I was surprised to see that the house was fully furnished. A living room, kitchen, four bed rooms, two bathrooms, a study, a second living room, and best of all, a small library like room.

David went straight to the home library. "I'm going to love this place."

I smiled, "Me too. And I think Louie loves it too."

Louie had already claimed a chair as his own. His name was already scratched into the side, 'Louie.'

I walked up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were. I walked into one and smiled. This one is mine.

The room was medium sized, with a king sized bed, desk, bookshelf, night stand, closet, and a great view of the palace.

I walked over to the desk and placed my saddlebag on it. I reached into it and pulled out a small knife, given to me by David. He bought it last night. After I went to, he took all my cash and bought himself a few things. At least he bought me something, with my own cash.

I walked up to the outside of the door and cut my name into the door. 'Girokon's room.'

David walked up behind me, "Oh, so you get first pick at the rooms?"

I turned and smirked, "Yep. First come first serve my friend."

He laughed and walked to another room. "Never mind about that, I'll take this one." He walked in and closed the door.

I walked to the stairs and yelled down to them, "Louie, there's two more rooms if you want one."

I heard a scraping sound like nails against wood. Then I saw Louie running up the stairs.

He ran up to a door and looked back at me.

What does he want? "Oh, sorry Louie. Forgot you didn't have hands... or hoofs." I pushed the door open for him.

He ran in and looked around, then ran out and to the next door. I opened it for him. He walked in and barked.

Louie walked out of the room and used his nails to scratch his name into the bottom of the door.

I smiled, "Don't scratch your name into everything you own."

He looked up at me and put on a sort of troll face.

I laughed at him.

David walked out, "We need to go buy some things for this place."

I turned towards him, "I know that, but we can't."

He frowned, "Why not?"

"Because you spent all our money."

He smiled, "Oh yeah."

Wait a minute, I just remembered something. "David, are you late for something?"

He thought for a minute, "No, I don't think so. Why?"

He forgot, "Rainbow Dash."

David looked up, "Oh shit, I forgot all about here. I have to go like right now."

He turned and ran down the stairs, then a door slammed shut.

I laughed and looked at Louie, "Do you want to explore Canterlot?"

Louie parked happily and started heading down the stairs.

I'll take that as a yes then.

Me and Louie walked out of the door, and started walking down the street.

Louie was walking, his head held high and tail wagging.

I held in my laugh, a Brony dog that acts like a real dog.

I looked around us as we walked. I then noticed something. Every pony here was high class!

I feel so out of place. I should have put on my suit, that way I would look a little better than I do right now.

The ponies around us were looking at me like a strange creature.

As we walked by a table, I heard a mare tell another mare, "What a sight! That thing should leave town as soon as possible. It has no place among us high class ponies."

Typical. All high class people are the same, even here.

We continued walking down the street, getting strange looks from all the ponies along the way.

I looked down at Louie, "I'm starting to get uncomfortable about all of them watching us."

Louie looked up at me and smiled, as if saying, "Suck it up."

We kept walking till we arrived at the Palace.

Two guards stood guard outside of the gate. Looking straight ahead.

Louie jumped up and down with excitement.

I looked down at him, "Calm down there Louie. I don't even know if we could even get in."

He looked up at me and made a gesture for me to try.

I sighed, "Fine." I walked up to the guards and put on a smile, "Hello, I am wanting to know if you would allow us to enter the courtyard of the palace?"

They didn't say anything.

"Okay. We're just going to head on it." I started to walk past, but their wings stopped me.

"Nopony is allowed to enter unless invited."

Damn it. I wanted to see the garden. Wait, I wonder if this would work. "I am a retired Royal Guard and I need to enter."

One looked me over, "I've never seen you before. What's your name?"

"Girokon."

They looked at each other, "Girokon? Did you say your name is Girokon?"

What's going on, "Yeah. Why?"

The one on the left looked at me, "The Princess sent a message to Ponyville requesting your presents over an hour ago."

To Ponyville? We must have just missed it. "Then can we enter?"

"Yes, but one of us is going to have to escort you. Follow me"

The one on the right turned and headed into the gate. Me and Louie followed behind him.

He led us into the Palace, through the lobby, up the main staircase, through many halls, through double doors, and into the Princess court.

She sat on her royal throne and smiled down at me and Louie. She looked at the Guard, "You are dismissed."

He bowed, "Yes Princess." With that, he left.

Princess Celestia smiled, "I see you found one of the bronies."

I looked at Louie, who's mouth hung open, "Yeah, he kind of surprised me. But what did you need, they said you requested my presents here?"

She nodded, "Yes. I sent some guards into the Everfree forest to find a human dragon."

A human dragon? "A what?"

"It's a dragon that was a human. Apparently, one of the humans chose to be a dragon, and they caused trouble. They have already devastated a small village. I sent some guards to take care of it, but they haven't returned."

Well that's not good. "What can I do? I can't fight a dragon! I'm too damn weak for that."

"I don't expect you to fight it. I just want you to go and see what you can do, and find out what happened to my Guards."

Really? I don't have a death wish.

"I'm sure if you tell the dragon that you're human and want to help. He may let you, it's not a real dragon, just a human who wants to destroy everything."

That doesn't help anything! "Why can't you send more Guards to do this?"

"Because none of them will volunteer to go."

What can I do that the Guards can't? I don't want to die!

"You won't die, I can promise that. And you can do something my Guards can't."

I hate the mind reading thing, "What's that? Your Guards are trained, and me and my friends are not."

"True, but they can't talk to it. You on the other hand can, since you're a human like it was."

"Okay, we'll try to. But if we die..."

"You won't die. I promise."

"Alright. Do we get a reward for this?"

She smiled, "We'll see."

Fine, I'll do it. "We'll do it, but not until David gets back. He's at Rainbow Dash's house."

She laughed and smirked, "Oh, he was at her house. But she left him to go to Cloudsdale. He's on his way back."

A small grin appeared on my face. Turned down for a trip to Cloudsdale, sad. "Well, we'll leave when he gets back to my house."

Celestia smiled, "How about now?" Her horn glowed and a flash of light emitted from it. Then, in the middle of the room stood David, a confused look on his face.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Teleportation spell." Said the Princess.

David looked around, "Why am I here?"

I quickly told him what the Princess wanted us to do.

"WHAT! I'm not going to die on my fourth day here!'

"Don't worry dude, you won't die. It's human, remember?"

"Yeah, a pissed off human that's a dragon!"

"Dude, if something goes wrong. I'll buy you some books."

David shook his head, "Fine, but only because I know something is going to go wrong."

I looked at the Princess. "Well, we're off to the Everfree forest, it should be an hour."

She smiled, "Or two seconds."

What does she... The room filled with light and me, David and Louie stood at the edge of the Everfree forest.

David frowned, "I hate that spell already.'

I smirked, "I hated it the first time." I looked to the forest, "Let's get this over with."

We headed into the forest, taking in the uneasy feeling of the forest put out.

The forest was dark, which is weird because it's mid afternoon and the sun is high in the sky. It feels like something is watching your every move and ever so often something moves in the bushes just out of sight.

David looked uneasy, "This place is creepy. I think we should go back, you know, for Louie's safety."

But Louie had his head held high and a smirk on his face, as if to say, "I'm not afraid."

I looked from Louie to David, "He looks okay to me."

David smirked, "Oh yeah." He reached over and touched Louie's back with his hoof.

Louie jumped in the air and let out a loud yelp of surprise. He turned and glared at David.

I turned and looked at them, "Stop it you two. We're not going back until we find the dragon."

David looked up from Louie and at me. His face became one of shock and horror.

What's his problem? "What is it David? What, you shocked to see me take charge or something?"

David shook his head and pointed above me, "No, that."

What's he talking about? I turned and almost jumped back. My head trailed the large thing in front me all the way up to its head. The dragon!

It was red with a black under belly. It looked like the one out of the episode 'Dragonshy.'

It smiled, "Am I the one you're looking for?"

Damn, it's bigger than I thought it did.

David spoke up, "What the hell! I thought he would be smaller!"

I kept looking up in shock.

The dragon smiled bigger, "The names Malbatorus. Why are you searching for me."

Damn that voice is scary, I gulped, "We came here to tell you to stop destroying everything just because you're a pony hater."

David yelled behind me, "Haters gonna hate."

I turned, "Quite David. Let me talk." I turned back to the dragon, who had a confused look on its face, "I know you're a human, and so are we."

Its shock turned to happiness, "Finally! Humans!"

Why the excitement? "Why are you destroying everything?"

He looked down, sad. "I'm not. I didn't mean to destroy that village, I just sneezed and flames came out."

What's going on here? "Wait, are you a brony?"

"Yes."

"Then why the dragon? Why not a pony?"

He looked around sadly, "I was picked on back on earth. I thought if I became the biggest thing here, I wouldn't be picked on anymore."

Now things are becoming complicated, "Well, the ponies here wouldn't have picked on you. Unless you went to Canterlot or looked like me."

He smiled, "Yeah, well I'm stuck with this body now."

Wait, the Guards. "Where are the Guards that came here after you?"

He frowned, "Back there. I didn't hurt them, just scared them off."

Good, they're still alive. "So, you're not trying to destroy everything."

He smiled, which seemed more like an evil grin, "Nope, I just wanted to be friends with the ponies. Now, I'm going to be alone, just like back on earth."

He's making me feel bad. "We can be your friends, just as long as you don't destroy anything else."

Malbatorus smiled bigger, creepily I might add, "Thank you! I promise I won't destroy anything."

David turned and ran back the way we came, followed by Louie.

What's their problem? "Sorry about them."

Malbatorus hung his head, "It's okay. Just leave me alone for a while."

Today just keeps getting weirder, "Alright, I'm out of here."

I turned and half ran and half flew out of the forest. When I flew out, I saw David and Rainbow dash talking. That must be why he ran out, must have seen her flying overhead.

She looked at me and glared, "Why are you here?!"

I walked up to them, "Because I was sent here by the Princess, so were they."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She turned back to David and kept talking.

I reached back into my saddlebag and pulled out the notebook that Twilight gave me before I left for Canterlot. It has the words, 'Love Twilight,' written across the top. It may only have a few notes from her written inside, but it's special to me.

I opened it to a page, intent on reading one of the notes she had written. I smiled as I read her notes.

Suddenly, a cyan colored hoof grabbed it and flew straight up.

I looked up and became angry. Rainbow Dash held the notebook in her hoofs, smirking, "Is this special to you?"

I glared up at her, "Yes! Give it back."

She smirked again, "Want it, come get it." She turned and flew away, at a slow speed, waiting for me to chase.

I looked at David, "Meet me back at the house."

"Alright. Just don't hurt her dude."

I smirked, "I have no intention in hurting her." With that, I flew straight up towards her.

She looked behind her and smirked, she held the notebook tightly in her hoofs. She picked up speed and started ascending.

Damn, if she goes too high, I may not be able to keep up.

She ascended up till it was hard to breath, but she kept going. Finally she stopped and turned towards me.

I slowly flew in front of her, "Give it to me." I said, trying to breathe.

She pointed down.

I looked down to see that we were above a large lake. I looked back at her and she had a smug look on her face, "What? It's just water."

She waited a few seconds and held her hoofs out. But there was no notebook!

My eyes went big, "Where is it?!"

"Dropped it ten seconds ago." She said finally laughing.

I looked back down and could barely see a small dot falling. Damn.

I angled downwards and flew straight down, the wind slamming painfully into my face. I was picking up speed, but not enough speed to catch the notebook.

Damn it! I need to go faster! I pushed myself to the limit. I could still see that it was going faster than I was.

The thought of losing it and losing Twilight's trust sent me over the edge.

A scream of rage erupted from my lips and I felt the air around me start to bend. I felt myself pick up speed, a lot of speed.

I could feel the wind going past me, picking up speed and my skin felt like it was peeling off my muscles.

Then, something unexpected happened. I felt myself spring forward, like I was shot out of a cannon, and pick up an impossible speed. A loud boom was heard behind me.

I saw the notebook quickly nearing me, and I barely had time to reach out and grab it. I held it tightly in my mouth, it felt like my teeth were breaking from the pressure I was putting on the notebook.

The water was quickly approaching, too quickly. I pulled up as hard as I could and slowly began to tilt back up.

Seconds before impact, I pulled up and began heading back into the sky.

I looked behind me and saw that I was leaving a trail of red and black. Farther back and higher in the sky was a shock wave of red and black.

What the.... Did I just do a sonic boom?!

I looked ahead and started to try and slow myself down. But it was almost impossible at this speed.

I pulled back as hard as I could, feeling myself slow down slowly.

A gust of wind hit me in the under belly, sending me spinning in the air.

As I spun out of control, I had a thought. This is going to hurt, like hell.

Seconds later, I was able to regain enough control to steer myself into a tree and through the branches. Definitely not the smartest idea I've ever had.

I felt myself slow down. I looked ahead to see a pond coming up, perfect.

I looked down at the pasting ground and dropped the notebook into a patch of bushes.

Moments later, I angled down and hit the water. I skipped a few times on the surface before flying out and slamming into the hard earth, where I slid for about twenty feet before coming to a complete stop.

Pain. That's all I felt, my whole body was screaming in pain. I let out a pained breath, and inhaled. It felt like I had just swallowed broken glass and it was now in my lungs.

I looked at my hooves, still there. I raised it to my face, and felt something wet. I pulled it back to see blood. Shit!

Something was walking up to me. I turned my head too fast. My head began to spin out of control, my vision blurred. Something was standing over me. I forced my eyes to focus.

My vision was clear for a second, but it was enough time to see a pony in a purple suit and hat and a light black cape on. The pony had a mask pulled down over its face.

I felt something lay on my chest, I raised my hoof to feel paper, my notebook.

I forced out the only word that came to mind, "Hospital!"

My body went limp and my mind began to blacken.

One last thought came to my mind. What the hell is wrong with Rainbow Dash?

With that, everything stopped working and I passed out.

Close call!

Chapter 10

Warmth. Crackling sound. Softness. No pain.

That's what I could feel and hear as I slowly came to my senses. Where am I? I slowly opened my eyes.

I was on my back, looking up at the night sky. The light from a fire next to me spilling light all around me. What happened?

All I remember is trying to catch my notebook, doing a sonic boom, catching the notebook, and slamming into the ground. Wait, before I passed out, I remembered somepony walking up to me. Who was that?

Think Lance, think back to that moment. Purple suit and hat, black cape, mask. Wait! I know who it was now. Mare Do Well.

I looked over towards the fire. On the other side was a pony, Mare Do Well. Which pony is it? Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, or Rarity? I looked at the ponies. No wings, so it's not Fluttershy. Can't be Twilight or Rarity. Twilight wouldn't have had time to come all the way out here or know I was in trouble. Rarity just wouldn't do it.

So that leaves Pinkie and Applejack. But which one is it? I sat up slowly. How are my injuries gone? I was hurt pretty bad after that landing.

Mare Do Well shifted uneasily as I looked at her. "So, who are you? Applejack or Pinkie Pie?"

Mare Do Well looked away and shook her head yes.

"Which one? Are you Applejack?"

Mare Do Well shrugged.

Helpful, "Pinkie?"

She hesitated and shrugged again.

Got it, but why would Pinkie Pie save me? "Okay Pinkie Pie, you can take off the mask."

She shook her head.

"Why not? I already know who you are."

Mare Do Well shook her head and turned.

"What? Not going to say anything?"

Again, she shook her head.

"I'm just loving this conversation."

She didn't move or make a sound.

I sighed. Why is she keeping up this secret identity thing? I looked around at the darkness that surrounded us. Creepy, are we in the Everfree Forest?

I looked over at Mare Do Well, "Are you going to even talk to me?"

She shook her head again.

Stubborn much? "Well, if you're not going to talk, I'm just going to lay back down and sleep till morning. After that, I'm heading back to my house."

She turned and nodded. She laid back and started to relax.

"But, thank you for saving me."

She looked over at me and nodded.

I turned over and laid down. Might as well sleep, it's not like Pinkie is going to talk to me or anything.

It does make sense though, she is the only one who could have sensed I was going to get hurt. Pinkie sense.

I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Next morning, dawn.

I opened my eyes to a very faint light, dawn. I sat up and glanced around. We were in the Everfree Forest alright, it gave off that creepy sense of being watched.

I looked over across the smoking logs of the fire to see Mare Do Well, still asleep. I want to get back home, I bet David and Louie are worried about me.

As I stood, Mare Do Well shifted. She slowly sat up and looked over at me.

"Awake I see. Are you finally going to talk, Pinkie?"

Mare Do Well shook her head.

Damn, she is really in character. Wait, that's right. She was throwing a party for me the other day, I missed it thanks to Rainbow Dash, "If you're not talking because I missed the party. I'm sorry."

She just shrugged and stood up.

This is going to be a long walk back to town. Wait, I have wings, I can just fly there. No, lets not do that. I owe it to Pinkie to walk with her back to Ponyville. After all, I did miss her party.

"Come on Pinkie, let's get back to town."

She nodded and walked up beside me.

Which way is it? "Uhh, which way is town?"

She pointed down a path.

Alright then. I turned towards the path and started walking down it, she followed next to me.

After walking twenty minutes in silence, I broke it with a question, "Why are you not talking to me Pinkie? I already know its you. You can drop the secret identity act."

She shrugged and kept walking.

Just give up Lance, she won't talk. Fine with me, I like her better this way anyway.

Now, when I get back to town, should I head straight back to Canterlot or look around for the last brony? I know David and Louie are worried, but I really want to find the last brony in Ponyville before they leave or start causing trouble with the mane six or what ever pony they like.

Canterlot or search for brony? I think the Princess would like it more if I reported back to her about the dragon, so Canterlot it is.

But first, a visit with Twilight. I kinda miss her, even though I saw her the other day. I wonder if she will....

The bushes on the left side of the path shook violently. We stopped and looked over at the bushes. They stopped shaking.

"Weird, I thought something was going to jump out." I looked over at Mare Do Well, who was on my right, and let out a little laugh.

The bushes shook again, before I could turn back to them, I felt a heavy large object hit me in the side. Sending me sliding away from whatever it was and Mare Do Well.

As I stopped sliding, I felt my chest heaving at every breath. Damn it, a broken rib already.

I looked back to the creature and gasped. A manticore!

The lion-like creature roared at Mare Do Well and swiped at her with its large paw. She easily jumped out of harm's way.

I hope Pinkie Pie can stop this thing, because if she can't, we're dead.

Mare Do Well dodged another swipe of the manticore's clawed paw. She jumped over the paw and jumped forward, bucking it in the face. The buck didn't have an effect, probably because Pinkie isn't that strong.

I let out a sigh, I'm so going to die. I let my head slump back to the ground.

I heard a loud thump, like meat and bone being hit with a large mallet. I looked back up to see Mare Do Well sliding across the ground and into a tree. Damn, I'm screwed.

The manticore looked over at me, obviously content on killing me first. Shit!

It started walking towards me, licking its lips.

Why me? What have I done to deserve to die three times?

There was a loud stomp behind me and the manticore stopped and looked up. A large red clawed hand grabbed the manticore and lifted it into the air.

I turned my head and looked up at what had grabbed it. It was Malbatorus! The brony dragon.

He looked down at me, "So I see you're still here in the forest. You should thank me for deciding to take a morning walk."

I smiled, "I'm just lucky you were here. I guess you becoming a dragon was a good idea after all, huh?"

He smiled, "I guess you're right. At least no one can pick on me this way." He looked at the manticore and smiled, "Can you fly without your wings."

I heard a crunching sound as the manticore's wings were broken.

Malbatorus laughed loudly, "Fly." He threw the manticore high in the air. Without its wings, it was unable to fly its way to safety.

I slowly stood, feeling the broken rib grind against the other ribs. Painfully I might add. I looked up at Malbatorus, "I owe you one man."

He smiled proudly, "Anything for a fellow brony."

I looked over at Mare Do Well, who wasn't moving. Shit!

Malbatorus looked at her, "Mare Do Well? Which pony is it?"

I started walking over to her, "Pinkie Pie I think." Once I was next to her, I could tell she was unconscious, but alive.

I looked her over. She looked to be okay. I reached up to her mask and pulled it off. I gasped at what I saw.

Twilight! She was the one being Mare Do Well this whole time! But how did she know I was in trouble?

Well, now that I think back, I should have figured it out. I was badly hurt, but I woke up without a scratch. Only she could have been the one who healed me.

I reached down with my hoof and shook her slightly. No movement. Damn, she must be really out of it.

I turned towards Malbatorus, "Do you think you can take us to the outside of Ponyville? I need to get her back to her house."

Malbatorus Smiled, "Sure, just hop on my hand." He put his hand down on the ground.

I propped Twilight up on my back and walked over to Malbatorus' hand and climbed up onto it.

He smiled down at me as he raised his hand up, "We'll be there in a minute."

He began walking, fast, towards Ponyville. Minutes later, he sat me down on the ground outside of the Everfree forest.

I smiled up at him, "Don't worry. I'll tell the Princess that your a nice human dragon and she'll tell everyone that you can be trusted. You should be able to come out of the forest then."

He smiled brightly, "Thank you!" He turned and walked back into the forest.

Okay, its not like I wasn't done talking or anything. I turned and started walking back to town, but stopped. Twilight's mask!

I turned my head and pulled her mask back over her face. There we go.

I walked into town and headed towards her house. All the ponies staring at me.

A young orange filly ran up to me, "Is that Mare Do Well?"

I looked down at her, "Yes."

She looked over excited, "Awesome! Why is she on your back?"

"She's hurt, just taking her to Twilight's."

The filly looked up at me, "Why Twilight's? Rainbow Dash's would be better."

I shook my head, "She wouldn't be able to do anything."

The filly glared at me, "Yes she could! She's the coolest pony ever!"

I laughed, "I know cooler." I walked up to the library's door and opened it. I walked in and turned.

The filly was still glaring at me, "Oh yeah, you try doing a Sonic Rainboom."

I looked at her bored, "Already did." I slammed the door in her face and turned and headed up the stairs.

Spike watched me head up the stairs, "Why did you bring her here?"

I stopped and looked down at him. He doesn't know? "Only Twilight can help her."

He nodded, "True."

I walked into Twilight's room and laid her on the bed. I pulled down the mask again, revealing her cute face.

I smiled. Now to just wake her up. I nudged her with my nose, "Time to wake up Twilight."

After a few more nudges, she started to stir.

She opened her eyes and looked up at me surprised, "What..."

I smiled down at her, "What's up Twilight?"

She sat up and looked around, "How did we..."

"I carried you."

She looked at me and smiled, "Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.

We held the kiss for a few seconds before I broke it, "Twilight, I'm confused. How did you know I was in trouble?"

She smiled, "Pinkie Pie told me I may want to be out near the pond near the Everfree forest dressed as Mare Do Well. Now I know why she told me to go."

I smiled, I need to thank Pinkie Pie when I see her, "Why wouldn't you talk to me?"

She blushed, "I was embarrassed to be seen as Mare Do Well."

Why? "I understand." Not. I leaned forward and kissed her again on the lips.

She stood up and smiled, "I have something for you."

"What is it?"

She jumped off the bed and pulled off the Mare Do Well suit. What's she up to?

Her horn glowed and I lifted up and was placed on my back. What the hell!

Twilight jumped up on top of me and held my hoofs down with hers, and she sat down on my stomach.

I looked at her confused, "Twilight?"

She leaned down and kissed me, passionately, "Giro, I've been wanting to do this for so long. And I know you want to too."

"Do what?"

She leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Mate."

My eyes widened, shit! I can't have sex with a pony! Wait, why am I worried? I'm a pony now, this isn't wrong.

I smiled up at her, "If we do this, I'm on top."

She kissed my neck, "Deal."

I turned over till I was on top. I held her hoofs down with mine.

Okay, how do I do this? I'm still fully dressed. Her horn glowed and I felt my clothes shift under me.

She smiled, "There it is."

I looked down to see my member hanging out. Where did that come from? I laughed a little, never even noticed it before.

She shifted under me and looked up at me, "I'm ready."

Am I ready? Hell yeah I'm ready. I looked her in the eyes, "Then get ready."

I put my member against her mare hood and put the tip on it. This is going to be so fun.

A bright light flashed around me. I fell forward a little but caught myself. I looked around the Princess's throne room.

Damn it! Right when I was about to stick it in. This happens!

I looked over at Princess Celestia. Princess Luna stood next to her, blushing. Why is she blushing?

I looked down to see that my member was still hanging out, fully erect. Crap!

I fell back on my back and started pushing it back under my clothes. When it was back in, I looked over at the Princess's, "Sorry about that. You kinda caught me at a bad time."

I'm pissed! I was about to have sex with Twilight and then this!

Celestia looked at me, strangely, "You were about to mate with my most faithful student?!"

Shit! Lance, why did you just think about that! "Uhh, yes. But she's the one who wanted it. She started it."

Celestia laughed, "I see. Let me send her a letter telling her that I'm the one who took you away from the activity." A piece of paper floated in front of her and she wrote down something. Then it disappeared in a green flame.

"So why did you need me?" I asked, trying to figure out why they brought me here. During the best moment of my life!

She smiled, "How did it go with the dragon. I hear it's actually a nice brony."

"He is. It was just a misunderstanding is all."

"I see."

Almost forgot, "Also, can you tell the ponies that he's a good dragon so he can come out of the forest?"

She smiled again, "I will."

I smiled, "Thanks. Can you teleport me to my house?"

She nodded, "Sure."

Her horn glowed, but Luna stopped her, "Wait Tia, I want to walk him out."

Celestia looked down at Luna, "Okay sister, just make sure you lead him the right way. Not to your room." She winked.

What does she mean by that?

Luna smiled up at her, "I will Tia." She looked at me, "Follow me Lance." She walked past me.

I turned and followed her out of the throne room. She led me down a few halls and down the main stairs till we were next to the doors that lead out of the palace.

She turned to me and smiled, "How has your stay in Equestria been?"

Weird thing to ask. "Great so far. Why do you ask?"

She blushed again. Please tell me it's not hanging out again. I looked down and relaxed, still in my suit. I looked back up at her to see her blushing even more. "What?"

She gulped, "Can I come to your house?"

What? Why would she want to come to my house? "Why do you want to go to my house?"

She looked to be thinking, "I want to see what a bronies house looks like."

"It looks like any normal house."

"I still want to see it."

Fine, just hope David doesn't do something stupid, "Alright, fine."

She looked over joyed, "Let's go then."

We walked out of the palace and out the front gate.

One of the Guards spook up, "Princess, you shouldn't leave grounds without an escort."

We stopped and turned. Princess Luna smiled, "I know. But it's safe in Canterlot."

The Guard shook his head, "I can not allow you to leave without a Royal escort."

Luna frowned, "Fine, you're coming with us."

The Guard nodded, "Yes Princess."

We began walking again, the Guard walking behind us.

As we walked, all the high class ponies around us gawked. A few whispered to each other.

We arrived at my house and I walked in followed by the Princess and the Guard.

I looked around. Louie was asleep on the chair with his name on it. I yelled out, "David, you here?"

A loud thud came from above, followed by a door slamming open and David running down the stairs, "Lance, there you are!" He stopped and looked at the Princess and the Guard, "Why are they here?"

I looked up at him, "She wants to see the house."

He nodded, "Cool. Feel free to check out everything but my room. I've kind of picked up drawing and I don't think you'll like the drawings on the walls."

What has he drawn? Better not be... It probably is.

The Princes nodded, "Okay." She looked at me, "Lance, would you mind showing me around?"

"Sure."

The Guard went to the front door and stood still. Yeah, protect a door that nopony will even enter.

I lead the Princess through the first floor. Through the kitchen, living room, small library, and then to the next floor.

After showing her all the rooms, except David's, she smiled, "Can I see yours again?"

Why? Its just a plain room. I haven't even had a chance to decorate. "Alright."

She walked in and walked to the desk, I walked in behind her. "Nice room." She walked over to the bed and pushed down on it, "I like your bed, very comfortable."

Yeah yeah, it's a bed. Nothing special.

The door behind me slammed shut. I turned around and looked at it. What the hell? I walked over to it and tried to turn the nob, but it was stuck. What's going on here? I turned to see Princess Luna on my bed.

She smiled, "Where do you think you're going?"

Oh my... Is she wanting to have... No! Just no! I gulped, "Come on Princess..."

"Call me Luna."

"Okay.. Luna. I don't want to do this with you."

She smirked, "Who said you have a choice?"

Shit! Think fast Lance! "Luna.. I'm already with Twilight."

"Oh, but I'm so much better." Her horn glowed and I lifted up in the air.

"Luna, don't do it. This is rape!"

She looked at me and smiled, "Not rape, just surprise sex."

"Same thing!"

She smirked, "You'll like it either way."

I'm screwed, literally! "Luna, if you do this... You'll be losing a friend!'

She hesitated, holding me above her, my member already out and angled to go in. "How?"

Good, she's listening, "If you do this, you will lose me as a friend."

Again she hesitated, "But..."

"No buts, if you force me to do this, I will never want to see you again." That’s it, Lance state your stance on the subject.

She looked at me sadly.

"Listen Luna, if you stop and don't do this. I may do it with you on my own free will at another time."

She looked up at me, "Really?"

"Yes really. Just put me down and leave. Please."

She looked sad, "Okay." She placed me on the ground and used her magic to open the door and put my member back under my clothes. "I'm sorry Lance. I thought... I just... Sorry."

She left the room and headed down the stairs. I walked to the top of them, "It's alright Luna. You didn't do it, that's all that matters to me."

She turned and smiled, "Thanks Lance."

I smiled, "Have a good day Luna."

Luna and the Guard left.

David ran up the stairs to me, "Dude, what happened?"

I looked at him, "I was almost raped, again."

"Again?"

I smiled, "I'll tell you later."

"Alright."

I smirked, "Now let me see those drawings."

He laughed, "Oh hell naw."

Alright then. I turned to his door and opened it. My mouth hung open.

Inside were drawings, but not any drawings. Drawings of ponies, but in the form of... Nude.

I turned to him, he had a smirk on his face. "Really? You drew clop pictures of the mane six."

He smiled, "I did it on earth, I'm going to do it here."

I shook my head laughing, "Oh David. Just don't let any ponies see this."

"Oh, I won't." He walked into his room and closed the door.

Weird. I turned and went down stairs.

When I stepped into the living room, Louie was looking at me, a smirk on his face.

I smiled and walked over to him, "Louie, you won't believe the day I've had."

The last brony

The sex scene has been removed.

Chapter 11

Four days. Its been four days since the scene with Luna. I haven't seen her since, but that's a good thing.

A lot has happened over the last four days. One thing is that David finally was able to buy that suit he wanted made, thanks to me working my flank off. I haven't even seen it yet, he just left it in his room.

Another thing is that I haven't had a lot of time to spend with Twilight, but I told her I would make it up to her.

The princess did give us a reward. A pass to enter the Palace at any time and five hundred bits, which we're going to use to remodel the house a bit.

I haven't seen Rainbow Dash since she almost killed me, again. That is actually a plus in my book, I could go on living with out seeing her again.

The rest of the time I've been extremely busy. Working at the Cafe, Looking for the last brony, and doing research on Equestria.

But that's enough of a recap of events of the past few days. Because, as of this moment, I finally have time to myself and I'm going got use it to relax.

I was laying on a cloud above Canterlot. I told David I was going for a walk, but I figured out that laying on a cloud was much more relaxing than walking.

The wind picked up and the cloud began to move. Well, there goes my relaxation. I slide off the cloud and glided down into Canterlot.

Once I landed, I was met with the familiar stares from all the high class ponies. They all had the same look, disgust.

It was getting pretty annoying. The same thing every time I left my home, stares and whispers.

Sooner or later, I'm going to snap. They view me as a freak, which is fine, but they should learn to move on.

I shook my head and began walking down the street, all their eyes on me. I laughed to my self, this would be the perfect time for 'Boulevard of broken dreams' to start playing.

I already know what I'm going to do for the rest of the day. Head to Ponyville and look for that last brony.

After a few more minutes of walking, I came upon my home. I opened the door and yelled in, "Yo Louie! I'm heading to Ponyville, what to tag along?"

There was a bark from inside and scamper of paws. Louie came around the corner and barked happily.

I smiled down at him, "Hop in my saddlebag and we'll get going."

He nodded and climbed into my saddlebag.

Seconds later, we was on our way to Ponyville.

______________________________________________________

Fluttershy walked out of her house and took a deep breath. She exhaled and smiled brightly. A new day.

She hadn't been to Ponyville for the past few days, because she still didn't know how to approach Giro. But that didn't matter to her, she comfortable here with all the animals.

Fluttershy walked over to the small river next to her house and smiled down at the small critters that ran around on the mud and water.

The ground slightly shook, and the animals behind her all made sounds of horror.

Fluttershy turned and screamed.

In front of her stood a dragon. A full grown dragon!

The dragon smiled down at her nicely, "Hello, my names Malbatorus. I didn't mean to scare you."

Fluttershy passed out and fell back.

_______________________________________________________

I landed in Ponyville and smiled. Man I love this town.

Louie jumped out of my saddlebag and barked happily.

I looked at him, "Follow me Louie."

First, lets check Sweet Apple Acres.

I walked down the street followed by Louie, wagging his tail. Soon, we was walking down rows of apple trees.

Louie barked again.

I looked down at him, "Louie, will you stop barking all the time."

He looked up at me and smirked, and barked again.

That little bas....

Applejack walked out of a row of trees, two apple baskets on her sides.

She looked over at me and smiled, "Well howdy there Giro. Ah haven't seen ya since ya got here."

I smiled back, "Sorry about that. I've been in Canterlot and kinda busy with work."

She laughed, "I hear ya. Say, who's your little friend?" She asked while pointing at Louie.

"Oh, hes just my..."

Louie glared up at me.

I smirked, "Pet."

Louie looked at me evilly.

Applejack nodded, "Ah think he and Winona would get along great."

I smiled and my eyes went big. Idea forming. "Hey Applejack, where is Winona. I want Louie to meet her."

Applejack laughed loudly, "Well, ah reckon shes down near the barn. Here, Ah'll take you to her." She turned and started heading down the path.

Louie did a sort of sight and started following Applejack. I followed Applejack, smiling to myself.

As we neared the barn, Applejack yelled out, "Winona! Come here girl."

A second later, a small brown dog ran around the barn and headed towards us.

Winona ran up to Applejack and sat down in front of her, panting.

Applejack reached down and began to pet Winona's head, "Here she is."

Winona looked past Applejack and over at Louie. A sort of smile appeared on her face.

She ran over to Louie and started sniffing him. Then sat down in front of him and barked.

Louie barked, and turned way.

Winona tilted her head and nudged his neck with her nose.

Louie pushed her away with his head and sat down, definitely.

I smiled. I walked over to Louie and put my mouth next to his ear, "You do know that your a dog and don't have a chance with any pony, right? Besides, your a dog, shes a dog. So its not wrong."

He tilted his head side to side, thinking about what I just said. Then he smiled and turned to Winona. He barked a few times.

Winona jumped up and barked happily. Then they both ran off towards the small field.

Applejack laughed, "Should have gave them a ball or something to play with."

I smiled, then remembered why I was here. "Hey Applejack."

She turned to me, "Yes sugar cube?"

"Have you seen any new ponies around town?"

She thought for a second, "Well, just one."

Great! "Where, when, and what did they look like?"

She thought again, "Down near Sugar Cube Corner. Two hours ago. And its a unicorn with a dull green coat and neon blue mane. Sorry, but that's all ah remember. But don't worry bout missing him, he looked like he was going to be there a while."

Great, now I have his location and looks, "Thanks Applejack."

"Sure thing sugar cube."

I turned, "Also, tell Louie to meet me at Twilight's."

"Tell him?" She asked confused.

Oh, that's right, "Don't worry, he'll know what you mean."

"Alright then."

I began running back to town, not wanting to miss him.

Soon, I was standing in front of Sugar Cube Corner.

I glanced around. The crowd of ponies around me indicated it was lunch time. Not a good time to look for a brony.

A flash of dull green appeared on the other side of the crowd.

I ran through it and emerged on the other side, but only to be disappointing at what I saw. It was just a sign being put up on a building.

I sighed and turned, only to be surprised to see a dull green unicorn standing along next to the entrance to Sugar Cube Corner. Finally! I ran over to him before he had a chance to disappear again.

He looked at my strangely, "Wow! Strange pony dude."

Yeah, that's definitely a human. "So let me guess. Brony?"

He smiled, "Yep! And proud to be one."

I laughed, "Aren't we all? Anyways, I'm also a brony."

He laughed again, "I could have guessed that dude."

I looked him over. His mane was down to his neck and straight, and his tail was also straight. That's all I could see other than the blank flank and the slight glow in his eyes.

I smiled, "I've been looking all over for you. Now, I finally found all the bronies in Ponyville."

He nodded, "Cool dude." He reached out with his right hoof, "Names Greg."

I reached out and shook his hoof, "Mines Lance, but I'm know as Girokon or Giro for short to all the ponies."

He smiled, "A pony name? I like." He put a hoof to his face and looked deep in thought, "Aha! I got it. Call me Mellow Haze, or Haze for short."

Well, that was fast. "Nice pony name dude."

He nodded with a smirk, "So how many bronies are with you?"

"Three of us. But there are thousands of others in all of Equestria"

"Dude! That's like... to many bronies." He said in a relaxed voice, like the kind a stoner would use.

I laughed, I already know what he was back on earth.

He smirked, "Have you fucked a pony yet. Because I total have already."

Nice chose of vocabulary. "Almost. Which one did you do?"

He smirked again, "Dude... like I don't know. I think it was that... I don't know... She was like blue.. but not on the show."

That sums it up. Its not like there are over a hundred blue mares in town. "Good for you."

He closed his eyes and nodded, "Man, I need to learn to use magic. There's something I want to bring here."

I already know what he wants. "I have a book on it back at my house. You can..."

He got a determined look in his eyes, "Dude, take me there. I must read it!"

"Alright, just let me make a stop at Twilight's."

He nodded, "Dude, shes so hot. I could so tap that."

Wow. "Actually, shes already mine."

He laughed, "Oh I see dude. Take the second best pony for your self."

"Who's first?"

He looked at me like the answer was obvious, "Damn dude! Pinkie Pie of course. That bitch can party."

I can already tell I'm going to like and hate this guy. I smiled, "That's great."

I turned and started walking towards the library, "Come on Haze."

I heard him trot up beside me, "Dude. I so need to find that one pony. You know the one with... with the... I forget... Oh yeah, the one with the nice ass."

I sighed, "Which one would that be."

"Dude, like I would know. I can't remember... That's right, the one with the rainbow sticking out of her ass."

"Rainbow Dash?"

He nodded, "Yeah man, that one."

God, why me? Why did you put this guy, out of all the bronies, in Ponyville?

I walked up to the door and opened it. Spike walked up and looked at Greg.

"Who's that? Giro, where do you keep finding all those new ponies?"

I smiled, "Oh you know...."

Greg jumped forward, "Wow! Little dragon dude! Like.. can you breath fire and burn things." He picked up Spike and examined him.

Spike started to squirm, "Hey! Watch it buddy. I'll show you what I can burn!"

Oh shit! "Haze, put down Spike before you lose your mane."

Greg dropped spike, "Not my mane! This thing is awesome!"

I sighed, "You two get along now. I'm going to speck to Twilight."

Spike looked at me, "Shes not here Giro."

I turned to him, "What? Where is she?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. She left a few hours ago."

Well shit, that's just my luck. "Tell her I stopped by."

Spike nodded, "Sure thing."

Me and Greg walked out.

Greg turned to me, "Dude.. I just noticed something!"

I looked at him, "What?"

"That dragon dude was Spiro!"

What the hell?! "Okay?"

He nodded, "Ah yeah man. We was in the presents of the almighty Spiro."

Damn, this is going to be a long stay here in Equestria.

I looked up to see Louie running towards us, fast. He stopped in front of me and pawed at the ground quickly, 'We have to leave now! Its hard to explain but fly!' He jumped in my saddlebag and pointed to the sky and barked.

I sighed, what did he do. "Greg, get on my back. I'll take you to my house."

"Awww yeah! I get to ride a flying horse!"

I hate my life.

Greg climbed on and imitated Louie and pointed to the sky, "To the wind magic flying pony."

I sighed loudly and slowly lifted up. Its going to be a long flight home.

_____________________________________________________

Twilight walked into the Royal Throne room. She had been called here by the princess to discuss an important matter. What it was, she did not know.

Princess Celestia smiled, "Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student, I'm so glad you could make it."

Twilight bowed, "The pleasure is mine Princess. What did you want to discuss."

Princess Celestia motioned for her to come closer, which she did, "I want to talk to you about your friend Girokon."

Oh no. "Why?"

She looked uneasy, "There's a secret I've kept for many years. And hes part of it."

Twilight looked at her, confused, "What do you mean Princess?"

Celestia smiled warmly, "I think its time you learned the truth about the outside world of Equestria, or what was the outside world."

"What?"

Celestia kept her smile on her face, "What I'm about to tell you is a secret and can't leave this room. Its about another race of beings."

Twilight, still confused, looked up at the Princess, ready to learn,"Please, tell me more."

Celestia nodded, "You are going to need to accept this, because if you don't, you may not want to see Giro again."

Twilight looked down, but her nerdy side took over, "I can accept it."

Princes Celestia smiled, "Then lets began at the beginning."

_________________________________________________________

I slumped down in my bed, tired as hell. I let out a relaxed breath.

It was hard flying with Greg on my back, and he didn't help by moving around a pointing at every thing. If I hear, 'Dude, I could so tap that' again,I'm going to scream.

I closed my eyes, I've been home for the past six hours showing Greg everything and trying to help him learn magic. To much work for me.

The moon outside my window was high in the sky. Time for the much needed rest I've been craving all day.

As I began to fall asleep, I heard my window pop open.

What now?!

I looked over to see Twilight climbing in.

She looked over at me and smiled, "Hey Lance."

"Hey Twil..." Did she just say Lance! "How do you know..."

She smiled weakly, "The Princes told me. I know everything about you and your race now."

Well, there goes my happy relationship. "Oh."

She smiled warmly, a smile that melted my heart, "This doesn't change the way I look at you. In fact, its made me more into you."

That's just... damn. I smiled, "That's good."

She then smiled miscellaneous, "We never got to finish what we started a few days ago."

"What do you... OH!"

Her horn glowed and I was pined to the bed as she climbed up on top of me.

I shook my head smiling, "You seem to forget. I'm on top remember."

She kissed my neck. "Not this time, you had you chance on top."

Well, shes got me there.

"You ready for this?" she asked.

I chuckled slightly, "Lets find out."

Rivalry ended

Chapter 13

Twilight's pregnant?!

That's all that was on my mind while I sat alone on the edge of my bed.

I just don't believe it. I don't know how to raise a family. Well, it can't be harder than keeping a dog.

A smile began to play across my face. I just realized that me and Twilight are going to have a kid.

Is it going to be a colt or mare? I hope colt, I've always wanted a son.

I wonder what he'll look like? Me or Twilight?

My thoughts was interpreted by my door opening.

Greg walked in smiled stupidly, I could already tell he had smoked a blunt, or two, "Dude, you knocked up... that one pony... Twilight I think... Yeah Twilight."

I stood and sighed, "Yeah, I did."

He laughed crazily, "Hell yeah man." He said as he left my room.

I waited a few seconds and headed for the door. I have something I must do.

________________________________________________________

David looked at Stormy Vision, a brony. His real name was Zane. He and Greg had ran into him a few weeks ago while looking through the Whitetail forest for Louie's pups. They still didn't know how Louie had had enough time to have sex with that one dog Winona. But who cares, they all had a pup of their own now.

Back to Zane. He was a light black Pegasus with light blue splats dotting his coat, he also had a grayish blue snot. His mane and tail was the color of fire. His eyes was yellow.

Zane looked over at David, "When will I get to meet Lance?"

David shrugged, "I have no idea. When ever he stays at home for more than five minutes. If you want to see him, I suggest going to Ponyville and wait for him to appear."

Zane nodded, "Anything I should know about him?"

"Yeah, you'll know him when you see him, his looks are extremely different from the other ponies. Also, don't ask him to take off his goggles."

"Why?" Asked Zane confused.

"Trust me, you don't want to see them."

"If you say so." Zane turned towards the door, "Well, I'm off. I have a date."

David smiled, "With who?"

"Oh, just a pony." He said as he left the room.

_________________________________________________________

I landed on the door steps of a house made of clouds, the home of a certain Pegasus. I knocked on the cloud door, surprised that it actually made a sound.

A voice from in side yelled, "I'm coming!"

The door opened to reveal Rainbow Dash. She looked at me and glared, "Why are you here? I though I made it clear I didn't want to see you."

I shrugged, "I just came here to..."

She cut me off, "I know why your here. You want to brag about doing that Sonic Rainboom. Well you know what? I don't care, I'm still better than you."

"Well, that's not why I'm here, but I wouldn't call it a Sonic Rainboom since it didn't resemble a rainbow."

She raised her eyes at me, "Oh yeah. What would you call it then?"

I've been thinking of this for a while now, and I already have a name for it, "A Shadow Blast."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah. Why are you here?"

I held out my hoof, "To apologize to you and to say I'm sorry."

She nodded, "Apology accepted." She shook my hoof, "Only if you give me a kiss."

Damn it! Is it really worth it? I sighed, of course it is. If I want her off my back, this is the only way. "Fine."

She smiled, like she knew I would say yes. She leaned forward, lips pursed.

I sighed again. Its worth it Lance, its all worth it in the end. I leaned forward and gave her a two second long kiss.

She pulled back, grinning, "Come in Giro." She waved me in.

I walked in and looked around her house. Blue walls and floors, furniture made of clouds and everything else a normal home would have. The one thing that stuck out to me was a picture of the Wonderbolts, that was hung up on the wall.

Rainbow Dash walked up next to me and smiled, "So, what do you think?"

"Nice place I guess."

She smiled, a smile full of lust, "Follow me."

Damn it, again!

_________________________________________________________

Twilight stood in the library, reading a book about parenting. She smiled to her self. This book makes being a parent sound so exciting and fun.

She closed the book and thought of Lance, her lover and soon to be husband. If he purposed, which she was sure he would sooner or later.

She smiled to her self. Where is Lance anyway? After they had left the hospital, she had set off for Ponyville, leaving him in Canterlot. Alone.

Twilight's smile faded. She had left Lance all alone in Canterlot, right after finding out she was pregnant.

She bit her lower lip, she would need to do something to fix that.

_________________________________________________________

I ran down the hall and jumped through a door. I twisted around and slammed it shut.

I began gasping for air, "Damn, I need to work out more often."

The door flew open and in walked Rainbow Dash, a lustful smile on her face, "Come on Giro. You know you want to taste me."

I do.. Lance! Bad boy! Remember Twilight! "No Dash, I... I..." I gulped loudly, "I don't want to."

She laughed in a sexy voice, "Yes you do." She said as she backed me into a corner.

As my flank hit the wall, I knew I was trapped, and screwed.

She walked up and licked my cheek.

Shit! I've seen something like this in porn.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do this." She said as she reached forward.

A light flashed around me, forcing me to close my eyes. When I opened them, I was happy to see that I was in the library.

"Hey Lance."

I turned and smiled, "Twilight, you forgot to say bye when you left."

She blushed, "Sorry. Its just that I wanted to get home and read about parenting, and I sort of...."

I cut her off with a kiss. I pulled back and smiled, my right hoof stroking her mane, "You talk to much."

She smiled and blushed at the same time, adorably I might add, "I know."

I nuzzled her neck, "Is there anypony here?"

She shook her head, "Spike is at Rarity's helping. Why?"

I looked at her and took off my goggles. I winked, "I think you know why."

She blushed brightly, "Oh." Then she kissed me, "Somepony can't wait till bedtime."

I smiled, "How could I."

We laughed as we walked up towards her room.

_________________________________________________________

Greg took a drag from is blunt and laughed. "Awww yeah! That is the stuff."

A pup sat in front of him, wagging its tail. The pups name was Weedy, given to Greg by David. The pup was Louie's, but he only seemed to want two of the five that that one dog had had.

Greg smiled down at Weedy, "Dog, you want some?"

Weedy let out a small bark. Greg laughed, and reached into his saddlebag and put a blunt in Weedy's mouth and lit it with his magic, the only spell he knew by heart.

Weedy took a few puffs front the blunt. Causing Greg to go crazy with laughter. "Weedy, me and you are going to get along just fine."

Weedy nodded and took another puff from the blunt.

Greg took a long drag from his blunt and sat back on a couch. Weedy jumped up next to him and sat back on his back, looking to be relaxing with a blunt lit in his mouth.

Greg smiled crazily, "Weedy... I need to get us some bitches. A nice pony for me and nice dog for you."

Weedy nodded lazily, becoming high.

"You know it dog." He said as he held his hoof in front of Weedy.

Weedy raised his paw and hit Greg's.

Greg smiled, "Brohoof man."

The David came down the stairs and looked at them. "Greg! What are you doing?! Giving a dog marijuana!"

Greg waved him off, "He likes it man. See." He pointed to Weedy, who was nodding his head, a smile on his face.

David shook his head, "At least my pup isn't like yours."

Greg sat up, felling the weed taking full affect, "Oh yeah.. What can your's do that Weedy can't?"

David smiled, "Play the drums. I'm already teaching him so we can set up a sort of band."

Greg laughed, the high obvious in his movements and voice, "Sweet! Call yourself's the... the nerds of magic pony land."

David shook his head, "What ever man." He said as he turned and went back up stairs.

Greg looked at Weedy, "I bet you can get the ladies better than his dog."

Weedy smiled and nodded.

__________________________________________________________

I walked out of the library, a smile on my face. Twilight was learning, she knew a lot more about sex now. She must be reading a book or something.

I fixed my suit and smiled. Back to Canterlot.

A revenge plot

Chapter 14

Greg fell back laughing, his blunt falling out of his mouth.

Weedy sat on the ground, still puffing his blunt.

Greg sat up and put his half burnt blunt back into his mouth and smiled lazily, "Damn Weedy! That's your fifth one, do you ever stop?"

Weedy smiled and shook his head.

Greg nodded and looked at their surroundings. Ponyville, or to be more specific, out side the entrance to Sugar Cube Corner. "Weedy, how did we get here? I though we was just walking around the corner, not to... that town... I can't remember."

Weedy shrugged and spat out the blunt, now just a stub.

Greg tilted his head, deep in... well a sort of thought. He smiled crazily. "Weedy, I just remembered something. Lance said he had that one white pony make you something. Its at... at.... the... somewhere? Oh yeah! Library!"

Greg began staggering down the street towards the library, followed by a staggering Weedy.

Upon arriving at the library, he noticed that the door was unlocked.

Weedy walked up beside him and nodded.

Greg looked down and smiled, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Weedy looked up and smirked. He pointed at Greg's saddlebag.

Greg pulled one out and lit it, then placing it in Weedy's mouth, "Not what I mean. I mean... I forget... never mind. Lets just get the things we came for."

They walked in and looked around. Same old place from... Wait! A box with Weedy's name on it. That must be it.

Greg popped the lid off and smiled, "That's pure awesomeness right there."

He pulled out a hat, or known on earth as a fedora, then a black scarf, followed by sun glasses, and lastly a black jacket with many pockets.

Greg smiled, "Lance sure knows what we like huh Weedy?"

Weedy barked.

Greg placed the fedora on Weedy's head, the sun glasses on his eyes, the scarf around his neck, and then put the jacket on him.

He stepped back to take a look, "Damn Weedy! You look pimp dude!"

Weedy nodded, looking awesome in his new duds.

He walked over to a mirror and nodded happily.

Greg walked to the door, "Come on Weedy, lets go get some bitches."

Weedy ran up behind him, blunt still firmly placed in his mouth.

They walked down the street, getting looks from all the ponies. Greg smiled, loving the attention. Weedy just nodded and puffed on his blunt.

After walking for a while, Greg begin to notice that a certain pink pony was following them, trying to stay out of sight.

Greg looked down at Weedy, "Dude, I think that one pony is following us. You know, the totally awesome one."

Suddenly, a pink pony jumped in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Hey there! I've never seen you before! Ow who's this? Why is he wearing those super duper clothes?! I like them, I want some like that! Ow ow, whats that in your mouth? It smells funny. But I kinda like it! The smoke coming off it makes my head go, whoa whoa!" She said as she spun her head around and around.

Greg smiled and nodded lazily, "Wow bitch, you talk fast. I can barely keep track of your words."

Pinkie Pie continued to bounce in place, smile never leaving her face, "Whats a bitch? I've never heard of one of those before. OW! I know, is it a place? A pony? Wait I know, its a party decoration. A super secret party decoration!"

Greg's head began to spin from the marijuana. But he was loving the vibe this pink pony was giving off. "Party! Man I love parties, I could party all day long. As long as there's plenty of alcohol and bitches!"

Pinkie's eyes went wide, even wider than they was a second ago, "Party! We must have a party!"

Greg smiled crazily, "Do it! Like right now, as of this moment! Get it set up now. I want to party my fucking ass off!"

Pinkie Pie began to shake with excitement, "Yeah! That's the spirit! We will party all day and all night!"

Greg grabbed her hoof, "What are we waiting for! Lets get this party started!"

Pinkie Pie giggled, "Silly, we have to set it up first."

Greg frowned, "Fine but lets hurry!"

Weedy shook his head, he needed another blunt. And it looked like it was going to be a while before he could get another one.

_________________________________________________________

Malbatorus smiled. Things had turned out pretty well for him over the last month. Him and Fluttershy was great friends. The ponies was no longer scared of him. And best of all, he can go any where he wants now.

He looked down at Fluttershy, who was busy feeding animals. He had to admit, she was pretty cute and sweet. The kind of girl he always wanted back on earth but could never get due to the popular kids taking all of them.

Well, that can't happen here. Right?

Fluttershy looked up at him, "Ready to go Malbatorus?"

He smiled down at her, "Sure am Fluttershy."

She smiled up sweetly to him, "I'm so happy your here to help. It use to take me so long to bring all the food from Ponyville all the way here."

Malbatorus patted his muscles, "Yeah, I'm just that strong."

She laughed in her little voice, "You sure are. Lets get going, the animals really want their food."

"Lead the way." Malbatorus said as he started walking towards Ponyville.

_________________________________________________________

The music! It was awesome!

That DJ is awesome, she can really make a beat.

Greg smiled to him self as he staggered to a small chair. Tired and sore from the hard dancing he had been doing.

Weedy walked out of the back room, followed by another small dog.

Greg smiled and waited for Weedy to come over to him. The music and strobe like lights in the background.

Weedy came over to him and sat down, a smile planted on his face.

Greg laughed, "Did you get any dude?"

Weedy looked his way and smirked.

Greg held up his hoof, "Way to go! I knew you could get the bitches!"

Weedy bumped his paw against Greg's hoof.

_________________________________________________________

David sat back, a big smile on his face, "Great job Leonardo, I knew you could do it." He said as he looked at his pup.

Leonardo barked happily and beat the drums again.

David smiled, he loved this dog. It could play the drums like a pro, and easily draw small pictures.

Soon, he will be able to get a band set up, just him and Leonardo. All he had to do was learn how to play an instrument of his own and they're set.

"Okay Leonardo, from the top."

Leonardo nodded and raised his paws.

_________________________________________________________

Cody looked down at Ponyville, directly at a building with music and lights flooding from it.

Cody wasn't a brony, he hadn't chosen this world just because he liked it, he was on a mission. He was a green Pegasus, with a blood red mane and tail.

He grinned to himself, "I wonder if Lance is down there? I've looked everywhere, and thanks to a few unlucky ponies, I now know he lives in this town."

Cody and Lance may not know each other, but they met once. On an unlucky night in New York.

Lance may not know this, but he ruined Cody's life. It could have been an accident, but Cody would remember that day for the rest of his life. You don't forget the guy who pretty much killed your whole family!

It was New Years Eve, 2011. Cody had come to New York City to see his dieing aunt, who want him to come to her and pick up his inheritances, over fifty thousand dollars.

His family was poor, couldn't even pay the bills. This forced his father to look for a job, which was hard for a high school drop out. So his father did the next best thing, he started his own business. Selling car parts.

The only problem was his father didn't have the money to start a business. So, he asked a local loan shark for a loan of sixty thousand dollars, and pay back sixty five thousand once his business started.

After months of no sells, the dead line neared. The loan shark told his father he had one month left before they took action.

So, Cody called his aunt, who had cancer, and asked if she could give it to him now. She agreed, and Cody left his home country of Cuba to the United States of America, to the great city of New York.

After he had visited his dieing aunt, he had left for the hotel he was staying at. A check for fifty thousand dollars in his coat pocket. It wasn't enough for the full dept, but it would be enough to buy his father more time.

He walked down the streets, the sun already down and the night sky over head. Only a few more blocks and he would be back at the hotel.

But, as he pasted an ally, a sound came from with in. Cody stopped and looked down the ally, surprised to see a man holding a teenager at gun point.

Cody had two choices, run or save the teen. He chose to save him, which now he wishes he would have let him die.

Cody had ran towards the man, surprising him. After a brief struggle, the man had knocked Cody off him, and ripped off his jacket. The man had ran off into the night, never to be seen again.

The teen stood up shakily, "Thank you! I thought I was going to die."

Cody looked at him, dazed, "No problem," He held out his hand, "Names Cody Benson."

The teen reached out and shook his hand, "Lance Greenfield." Lance looked at his watch, "Sorry man, but I have to run. I was suppose to be home an hour ago. Thanks again for saving me."

Lance ran out of the ally, waving back. A smile on his face.

Cody smiled and rubbed his shoulder. He went to check the pocket of his jacket for the check. But his jacket wasn't on him, the man had torn it off him.

Cody, full of rage, punched the wall. Breaking two of his knuckles. Thanks to his kindness, he just killed his parents. No, he didn't kill them. That kid Lance is the one to blame.

He will pay for this.

Cody shook his head, new found rage filled his head as he thought of that night.

His father was found dead in his car, out side his failing business. A single hole in his head.

He was going to enjoy watching Lance suffer. It is going to be a slow and painful death for him.

Cody laughed, a horrible laugh that sent chills through the ponies below who heard it.

Party crasher

Chapter 15

I sat down, the party around me in full swing. All the ponies dancing and having a good time.

All the bronies I've found are here, Greg, Zane, Louie, but not David or Malbatorus. David had stayed home with his dog Leonardo. Malbatorus was at Fluttershy's last I heard.

Zane was new, well new to me. David said they've known him for a few weeks now. Zane was a nice guy, always polite, but also fun to be around.

I have to admit, this place just keeps getting better and better.

I looked across the room at Greg and his dog, weedy. I think its hilarious how his dog smokes like him, but its also kinda weird.

Louie gave me one of his pups also, but I can't remember where he ran off to. I haven't even named him yet.

Zane walked over to me, "Lance, I need your help."

I glanced over at him, "With what?"

He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a card, "Could you sign this so I can enter the palace? I want to talk to the Princess."

I pulled out a pen from my saddlebag and signed the card, "There ya go."

Zane put the card back in his saddlebag and smiled, "Thank you Lance." He turned and headed for the door.

I put the pen back in my saddlebag, and looked towards Zane.

Zane walked up to the door and opened it, but as he was starting to walk out, a green Pegasus with a dark red mane pushed past him. Zane looked at him angrily, but continued out the door.

Strange, I didn't know the ponies here could be so rude. I shrugged and looked over at Twilight, who was talking to Applejack.

I walked over and smiled, "Hey you two, enjoying the party?"

Applejack looked at me and smiled, "Sure am. Pinkie Pie throws the best parties, but ah heard she had help from your friend Greg."

I nodded, "I don't know Greg to well, but he seems to know how to throw a party."

Twilight smiled, "He sure does. I need to get to know him better."

I patted her back, "Go talk to him, he doesn't bite."

She smiled and turned towards Greg, who was lighting a blunt for his dog. I stifled a laugh at the sight.

Applejack tapped my shoulder, I turned to her, "Yes?"

She looked uneasy, "Sugarcube, have you noticed Twilight's belly is kinda, bigger?"

Oh shit, shes already starting to show. "Umm, yeah. Why?"

"Cause, ah have a hunch that sees pregnant. By you."

Now I was uneasy, "Ummm... well..."

Applejack laughed, "Don't ya worry. Ah'm not judgin you or anything. Ah think its great you two are together and have a filly on the way."

I smiled, relieved, "Thanks. We have been..." A hoof tapped my shoulder.

I turned to see the green Pegasus who had knocked Zane out of the way.

"Are you Lance?"

"Yes, why?"

He smiled, a sort of disturbed smiled. "Great, I need to speak to you. Privately."

His voice had a sort of accent to it, but I couldn't place it, "Sure."

He nodded, looking pleased, "Follow me." He turned and headed for the door that lead outside.

I followed. Who is he and what does he want?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Aaron edged his way towards the DJ, Vinyl Scratch. He was nervous, very nervous.

Aaron was a brony. Just arriving in Ponyville in search of one pony, Vinyl. A pony he admired as a human, but now that he's here, he was determined to meet her.

Aaron was a black coated Pegasus with a red mane. Brown eyes and a blue snot.

He gulped when he neared her DJ booth. "Uhhh, hey hows it going."

Vinyl looked over at him, her head bouncing up and down to the beat of the music.

Aaron blushed, now clearly embarrassed, "I love the beat."

She just smiled and continued to bounce her head to the beat.

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck, "I love the way you... uhhh... The way you... ummmm... Oh, play the music."

She chuckled to her self, continuing to bounce her head.

Aaron took a step back, but tripped over a wire coming from the DJ booth. He fell back on his flank.

Vinyl started laughing and hit a switch on her Mixing table. She took off her head phones and walked over to him, "Smooth one." She said while grinning and holding out a hoof.

Aaron blushed and grabbed her hoof and stood, "Thanks."

She nodded, "No problem." She looked him over, "Names Vinyl Scratch, a.k.a DJ PON-3. And you are?"

Aaron smiled, happy to be talking to the pony hes always wanted to meet, "I love the name. Mines Aar... I mean Nightwing ."

Vinyl smiled, a smile that made Aaron feel dizzy, "I like the name. Fits you perfectly."

Aaron nodded, a furious blush on his face, easily seen due to his black coat.

She smiled again, causing Aaron's blush to intensify, "I can tell you want to ask me something. So, what is it?"

Aaron's body felt weak and his mind wasn't working properly. Everything seemed to slow down around them as Aaron started to ask the question he had been practicing over and over in his head for the past two months, "Ummm." He gulped, loudly, "Would you like to go on... on a... on..."

She finished his sentence, "On a date?"

He nodded furiously, mind spinning out of control. A feeling of nausea swept over his body.

She put a hoof to her face, a kind of fake thinking, "Where would we go on this date?"

He looked around for an idea, "There's a Cafe down the street. We could go there tomorrow."

She smiled, "Then its a date. Meet me there at noon."

Aaron smiled, almost jumping with excitement, "Awesome! I mean, I can't wait."

Vinyl smiled and turned started walking back to her DJ booth, still spilling out a steady beat, "I can tell."

As she sat back down and put on her head phones, she could see Nightwing beaming with joy.

Aaron walked around the party, a stupid smile on his face. Life was good.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I walked out of the building, right behind the green Pegasus who needed me.

I was curious at why he needed me, "So, what do you need."

The Pegasus stopped, not facing me. "Your life."

What does that mean? Before I could ask, he reared back and bucked me in face. Not a very strong hit, but enough to crack the right lens in my goggles and chip a tooth.

I staggered back, blood coming out of my mouth, "What the hell?!"

The Pegasus ran at me and head butted me in the face.

What the hell is wrong with him? I held a hoof to my nose and held it out. Blood.

I'm not much of a fighter, but it looks like I'm going to have today.

I twisted around and bucked backwards. But my hoofs hit air. Where did he go?

A pair of hoofs hit the side of my head, hard.

That hit hurt. I can't see straight.

Again, I felt a hard impact on my side. Sending me to the ground.

I looked up at the Pegasus, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He smiled, a horrible smile. His eyes where full of hatred, "What? Can I not get revenge on the guy who killed my family!"

What is he talking about, "I haven't killed anyone!"

"Yes you did. One year ago, I saved you from being shot. And for that, I lost everything."

A year ago? Can this be the boy from the ally? "Cody? Cody Benson?"

He nodded, "The very same."

But, I did nothing in that ally, "How did I kill your family? I don't even know you."

"You was being mugged, I helped. I was robbed by your mugger. He stole the very thing that would save my family!"

"Its still not my fault that they died! You chose to save me, so its your fault."

His face twisted into anger, "SHUT UP!" He shouted at the top of his voice.

Cody raised his hoofs and brought them down on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.

I quickly recovered and jumped to my feet, "Think about what your doing!"

He smiled evilly, "I have for the past year. I've craved this moment." He jumped forwards and headbutted me again.

Damn, this guy is mad. I don't want to fight him, but if I don't, I could die.

I stood my ground, "Cody, don't do this. Let it go, don't let hatred rule your life."

He slammed into me and slammed me into the door that lead back into the building. "But the hatred keeps me warm."

This guy is scaring the hell out of me, "Damn it Cody! I don't want to fight you."

He laughed, holding me against the door, "Good, more fun for me."

He raised a hoof and slammed it into my face, over and over again.

With each punch, everything blurred. Those punches may not be that strong, but damn they hurt.

He jumped off me and turned around. I was to dazed to move. He slammed his back hoofs into me, sending me through the door. The door breaking in half.

I slide across the floor, face covered in blood.

Damn, he has some power in those legs.

I heard the ponies that was at the party gasp. The music stopped.

I looked at the door, Cody on the other side grinning, evil in his eyes.

Cody walked in and laughed, "Now, you can have a crowd watch you die!"

I stood up, shakily, "You don't have to do this Cody. Just let it go and move on."

He shook his head, "I can not stop. I've let evil control my heart and I'm going to use it to make you suffer."

Cody galloped forward.

Seconds before he reached me, a dull green pony jumped on him.

I looked down at the two struggling ponies and smiled. Greg was on top of Cody, holding down his hoofs, "Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Cody tilted his head, "So, I take it as your his bitch."

Greg sneered in anger, "I'm no ones bitch!" He said as he stood up, "Come on, fight me."

Cody stood, smiling, "You sure are stupid aren't ya?"

Greg smiled, "Come over here and find out."

"My pleasure."

Cody flew forward, slamming his head into Greg's jaw.

Greg took a step back and rotated his jaw, "That the best you got?" He twisted and bucked Cody in the face.

Cody's head snapped back, blood seeping from a cut under his right eye. "You bitch!"

Greg laughed, bad move.

Cody slammed into Greg, sending both of them across the floor.

They stopped, Cody pinning Greg to the floor. "Now what?"

Greg smiled.

"What the hell are you smiling about?"

Greg slammed his head upward, impaling Cody in the chest with his horn.

Cody's eyes widened in shock and he fell off Greg. He brought his hoofs to his chest, "Why? I can't die, I haven't... haven't had my revenge." He closed his eyes and went limp.

I stumbled over, "Greg, why did you have to kill him?"

Greg smiled, "Who said I killed him? I used a spell I learned and put him in a shut down state."

"Okay, but why did you stab him with your horn."

"I was pissed." Greg answered causally.

I patted his back, "Thanks for not killing him, I want to have a word with him."

Greg slumped down on to his flank, "Whoa I'm tired. Your going to have to wait a while. I put all I had into that spell. May be days before he can talk again."

I sat down, "That's great."

The ponies around us were still looking at us in shock. This was obviously the first violent act they've ever seen.

The first to recover was Twilight, "What just happened?"

I looked over at her, felling tired from the brief fight, "I'll tell you later."

She nodded.

I laid back on the hard floor, "Hey Greg."

"Yea man?"

"I need a vacation from all this excitement."

He laughed, "What? This is the first thing to happen to you that even qualifies as excitement."

I smiled, "You don't know the half of it dude."

Twilight walked up and looked down at me, pain in her eyes, "Lance, your hurt."

I smiled and waved her off, "Its fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. I'll live."

I felt my self being lifted in the air. I looked at Twilight to see her horn glowing, "No, your hurt. I'm taking you to the library to heal and rest."

I laughed, "When did you become my mom?"

She shook her head, "The moment you busted through the door."

I shook my head laughing, "Just put me down, I'll be fine."

She started walking towards the door, holding me in front of her with her magic, "No."

I looked back at Greg, "A little help here man?"

He laughed, "Your on your own."

I hung my head, "Fine."

As she walked us to the library, I pulled off my goggles.

The crack in them went all the way up the right lens. The red lens looked off, but still held. I hope Rarity can fix those.

I felt my face, which sent a searing pain with every touch.

Damn it, why my face? I need this you know.

Well, at least Cody's down and out, but not dead. I must speak with him, I have to convince him to drop his grudge against me.

I let my muscles relax. Now to just let Twilight take care of me. A smile crossed my face.

Royal crush

Royal crush

Chapter 16

Greg sat up in bed, rested from his long night of partying. His head was spinning, probably because of all the blunts he had smoked at the party and before going to bed.

He shook his head and looked down at the end of the bed, where Weedy lay. His cloths where still on, but wrinkled.

Greg laughed, causing Weedy to wake. Greg slide out of bed and stretched, "Man Weedy, last night was fun. We smoked, partied, you got laid, and best of all, I kicked a ponies ass."

Weedy nodded.

Greg stumbled over to his saddlebag, which was on his desk, and pulled out two blunts. "One for you and one for me." He said as he put on in Weedy's mouth and one in his.

Greg opened his door and walked down stairs, followed by Weedy.

Upon arriving down stairs, they say Lance, passed out on the couch. His dog laying on the floor next to him.

Greg looked down at Weedy, "Looks like he came back from Twilight's late last night." He looked at Lance's face, which still had cuts and small bruises on it, "Damn, that guy really did a number on him. Good thing I was there huh Weedy?"

Weedy barked happily.

Greg nodded, smiling, "Yep, he would have been screwed without me."

Greg walked over to the stairs and looked back up them, "I wonder who that purple pony was that was here when we got back? David said he was a brony, but I don't know."

Weedy shrugged.

Greg turned and walked over to the door, "Come on Weedy, lets go to Ponyville. I want to check on a few things."

They headed out the door and began the long walk to Ponyville.

_______________________________________________________

Purple Blaze walked out of David's room. He had met David a few days ago at the music store in Canterlot. Apparently, David is teaching his dog to be a musician, and Blaze just had to see that.

Purple Blaze was a purple Pegasus with deep yellow eyes. His mane and tail was both blond. His real name was Peter, but who needs human names when you can have a pony name?

Peter smiled to himself as he walked down stairs. David was right, that dog of his sure can play the drums.

As Peter reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked into the living room to see a Pegasus, who David said was Lance, laying on the couch asleep. A puppy on the ground next to him.

Lance's face was covered in small cuts and bruises. His goggles red lens was also creaked on the right side. What happened to him?

He walked over and examined Lance. A small smile creeping on his face. This opportunity is to good to pass up.

Peter walked into the kitchen and picked up a few items. He walked back into the room and smiled to him self.

Time for a little prank.

_________________________________________________________

Iron Clad sat back, looking at his finished piece of work, a piece of armor for the Royal Guards.

He was a human, but not like the rest of them here. He died a few years before the rapture, but was given the choice to chose a world to live in since he was murdered. Murdered by his own father, at the age of twenty, something he doesn't like to think about.

He arrived in Equestria and after a while, was allowed to join the Royal staff. He joined the Lunar Sentinel, the part of the Guard that protected Princess Luna, but he could only be the blacksmith. Which was okay with him, as long as he could be close to the Princess.

His real name was Frederic, a Canadian. His life before Equestria was the worst. Hated by his own father.

After he died and was brought here, he quickly was picked up by the Royal Guard. After a few weeks of work, was allowed to join the Royal Guard, as the leader of the blacksmith.

Frederic was a brown unicorn with a black and light grey mane and tail. His eyes was the color of sand, a very settling color. He always wore a vest with plenty of pockets on it. His cutie mark was a anvil with a hammer hitting it.

Well, back to work.

He whipped the sweat off his face and pick the hammer back up with his magic. He pulled a sheet of searing hot metal out of the fire and placed it on his anvil. He began to hammer and shape the metal into a breast plate.

After several minutes, he stopped hammering and put the metal breast plate in a tub of water. Smoke rose from the cooling metal.

He pulled it out and placed it on the table with the rest of today's work.

Now, its the painters job to pain and decorate the bare armor and get it ready for use.

He smiled to himself and turned for the door, time to get back to his room and rest.

Before he reached the door, it opened.

What now?

Princess Luna walked in and surveyed the room.

Frederic dropped to his knee and bowed. Why was she here?

Frederic, ever since he arrived here at the Palace, has developed a crush on the Princess. More than a crush, something he couldn't explain.

"Iron Clad, I need you to do something for me."

Frederic stood up, "Yes Princess?"

"I need you to accompany me to Ponyville in a few days."

He looked at her confused, "Why? Can't you use the real guard, eh?"

She smiled, "Yes, but Princess Celestia told me to take you instead. But I don't know why."

Frederic smiled, "It would be my pleasure Princess."

She nodded, "Then, be ready in two days, by my chariot."

"I will Princess."

She turned and left.

Fredric smiled. That's one of the things he likes about her, always on the move and never into conversations.

He headed out of the workshop and down the hall to his room.

________________________________________________________

I sat up quickly. What is that on my face?

I held a hoof to face and felt something, but it wouldn't come off. What the hell? It feels stiff.

I looked over to the mirror beside the couch. I began to laugh at what I saw.

A clowns mask had been painted on my face. Who did this? It kinda creeps my out, but its also funny.

I stood up and a note fell to the floor. I picked it up and read it.

'Hope you like clowns. Love your official prankster, Purple Blaze a.k.a Peter.'

I smiled, "Looks like there's another brony. A prankster too." I looked around, "Who am I talking to?"

My dog jumped up and ran over to me. It jumped up on my right front leg.

I smiled at him, "There you are. I thought I lost you last night. Decided to come back I see."

He nodded.

I looked at him confused, "Can you understand me?"

He nodded again.

I smiled, "Well I'll be damned. That must be why Greg keeps talking to his dog."

The pup shrugged up at me.

He was a brown dog with a white spot on his side and on his face. Kinda cute if you ask me.

I haven't even named him yet. What should I name him? "What can you do?"

He smiled, and walked over to a book I had left out, 'Medieval Equestria.' And opened it. He began to read through it.

What the hell! He can read?! "Can you really read that?"

He looked up and nodded.

Damn dog is just like me in every way it looks like. I'm starting to think Louie planned this all. Fucking troll.

I laughed at my self, "I have a name for you. How about Einstein?"

He shook his head.

Damn, that would be a good name for a dog.

Ow better one, "Okay, then how about Vince?"

He shook his head again.

I give up, "Fine, chose your own name."

He smiled and walked up stairs.

Where is he going?

Then, he came down stairs with a notebook.

I looked the notebook over, insistently seeing that it was mine, the one I use to write down details about my favorite war, World War Two.

"Why did you bring me this?"

He dropped it and flipped through the pages with his paws. He stopped at a page and pointed at a word with his paw.

I looked over and smiled, "So, you want your name to be Winston Churchill?"

He shook his head and covered Winston.

"Churchill?"

He nodded and smiled.

I laughed, "Alright, Churchill it is then."

He wagged his tail and looked up at me.

"What?"

He walked over to my saddlebag and pulled out a notebook.

I ran over to him and stopped him, "Oh no. That is not for reading. Its my journal of every thing me and Twilight have done together."

He smirked and grabbed my notebook in his teeth and dashed up the stairs.

Shit! I ran after him.

After I reached the door he had ran into, I stopped. Churchill was already reading it.

I sighed, "Fine. You can't tell anyone anyways. Just don't get any ideas."

He looked up and nodded.

I laughed. He was going to see a few things in there that he would wish he had never seen.

I turned and walked over to David's room. The sound of a drum being hit could be heard in side.

I knocked on the door, "David, you in there?"

The door cracked open and David looked at me, "Whats with your face?"

I chuckled, "Just a prank. So whats up?"

He laughed to himself, "Oh nothing. Just teaching my dog to play the drums."

I smiled, "Really? Whats his name?"

"Leonardo."

"Nice name. Like Leonardo DiCaprio."

David laughed, "No, like Leonardo da Vinci."

I'm stupid, "Oh, well that sounds better."

He smiled, "Sure does. Now please go away. Leonardo needs to concentrate."

I nodded, "Got it."

The door slammed shut in my face.

I shrugged and turned to see Churchill in front of me, smirking.

"Did you get to the first night with us together in bed?"

He shook his head and kept smirking.

"Second night?"

Again, he shook his head.

"The part where she's pregnant?"

He nodded.

I walked over and patted his head, "Good thing you can't talk or write. Or I would be screwed."

As I headed for the stairs, something strange happened.

"That's what you think."

I turned, but no one was there, just Churchill. "Who said that?"

No response. Damn it! Someone heard me say that.

I walked over to Churchill and looked around, "That was strange wasn't it boy?"

He looked up at me, "What is strange? Me talking or your stupidity at not knowing it?"

I looked down, eyes wide, "Did you just..."

"Talk? Yes, yes I did."

What the hell is going on here? "How?"

"You tell me."

"How, I don't even know how you could talk."

"Wake up."

"What?"

"Wake up Lance."

_________________________________________________________

My head was throbbing, hard. Like a brick had hit it at mach two speed.

I opened my eyes, vision blurred. Everything began to slowly come into focus.

David stood in front of me, a look of concern on his face.

I shook my head and held a hoof to it, "What the?"

"I'm so sorry man. I didn't mean to slam the door into your face."

What? "What do you mean?"

"When I slammed the door. Your head was in the way. I came out to see you passed out on the floor. I'm so sorry dude."

I waved him off, a smile on my face, "Don't worry about it dude, I've had worse."

He grinned, "Yes you have."

I stood up shakily. Damn, I need to stop getting hit in the head, "I'm going to lay down."

"Alright man, sorry about that."

"Its okay, I'll live." I said as I made my way to my room.

I walked in and collapsed on the bed, head pounding.

Churchill jumped up on the bed and laid next to me.

I looked over at him, "You can't talk right?"

He looked at me strangely and shook his head.

I smiled, "Good."

I rolled over and put a pillow over my head.

Churchill climbed over me and curled up by my side.

I like this dog already. I thought as I slowly relaxed.

Love and blood

Chapter 17

Frederic stepped off the Royal chariot, followed by Princess Luna.

Frederic was dressed in his usual attire, a vest. He wanted to put on the Royal Guard's armor, but they told him that he was only allowed to wear his normal cloths.

He looked around at the small town of Ponyville. He had only been here once, when he first arrived here. It looked the same to him as it did a few years ago.

He glanced over at the Princess, his heart jumped a beat when he looked at her, "So Princess, why are we here?"

She looked down at him, a smile on her face, "Celestia wanted me to let you meet somepony."

Frederic looked at her, a look of confusion on his face, "Who Princess?"

She put her hoof on his shoulder, which sent a wave of nausea over him, "I'll take you to him. But don't be put off by his appearance."

Frederic nodded his head, "Okay Princess."

"Follow me."

Princess Luna lead Frederic down the street, to a building. Well, a building in a tree.

"Isn't this the towns library Princess?" Frederic asked in confusion.

"Yes it is."

"Why are we going there then?"

She smiled and kept walking in silence.

Once they arrived at the door, the Princess knocked on it twice.

The door opened to reveal a purple unicorn, who Frederic knew was Twilight Sparkle.

She smiled and bowed, "Princess, its so good to see you."

Princess Luna nodded, "As is it good to see you Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight moved to the side, "Please come in."

The Princess walked in, followed by Frederic.

Twilight looked at him and smiled, "Its nice to meet you..."

He held up his hoof, "Iron Clad."

She shook his hoof, "So what brings you two to Ponyville."

Frederic shrugged, "The Princess wants me to meet somepony."

Twilight looked at him, "Who?"

Princess Luna walked up and smiled, "Lance."

Twilight smiled and nodded, "Oh Lance. Your in luck, hes upstairs in my room asleep."

Princess smiled, "Excellent!"

Twilight laughed, a hearty laugh, "You'll be lucky if he wakes up anytime soon. He usually sleeps for hours after work."

Frederic tilted his head, "Work?"

Twilight nodded, "He works at the Cafe down the street."

Frederic nodded, "Got it."

Princess Luna walked up the stairs, "I'll go wake him."

As Princess Luna walked up the stairs, Twilight turned to Frederic, "Why do they want you to meet him?"

Frederic shrugged, "I have no idea."

She nodded, "Maybe?"

Frederic looked at her, "Maybe what?"

She smiled, "You'll see."

He shrugged and turned to the stairs to see Princess Luna walking down them, followed by a Pegasus. A strange looking Pegasus with stripes and weird clothes. His face was covered in fading bruises and cuts.

The Pegasus walked up to him and smiled, "Hello, my name is Girokon, but everypony calls me Giro." He held out his hoof.

Frederic shook his hoof, "Names Iron Clad." Then he looked at Giro in confusion, "But they said your name was Lance?"

Giro looked at Twilight, "He knows?"

She just shrugged.

Princess Luna walked up to them, "Iron Clad, Giro here is a human also."

Giro looked straight at Frederic, "Your a human?"

Frederic shrugged, "Yeah, been here about five years."

Giro looked at him strangely, "Five years? But the bronies only came here over two months ago. How could you be here five years?"

"I was murdered by my father and was given a choice. So I chose this place."

Giro nodded, "Well, the rapture happened and people got a choice also. Guess others got the same choice too."

"I guess." He held out his hoof again, "My real name is Frederic. I already know yours is Lance."

Lance reached out and shook his hoof, "Nice to meet you, again." He broke a smile across his face.

Frederic turned to the Princess, "So why did you want me to meet him?"

The Princess shrugged, "All Celestia said was to take you to him and let you two meet." She put a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to blush, "I think she just wants you two to get to know each other."

Frederic did all he could do and nod, the blush still on his face.

Lance smirked, "Frederic, come here for a second."

Frederic walked over to him, "What do you need eh?"

Lance lowered his voice, so only Frederic could hear him, "You like Luna don't you?"

Frederic's eyes widened, "Its that obvious?"

Lance smiled, "Yes, I saw it the instant she put her hoof on your shoulder."

Frederic chuckled, "Don't tell her, please."

"I won't. But I think I can get you two together."

Frederic pondered the idea of letting him help, "How could you get us together?"

He smiled, "I have my ways. Do you want me to try?"

Frederic shrugged, "Go for it. What could I lose."

Lance smiled, "Alright then."

Lance walked over to the Princess and looked back at Frederic, a smile on his face.

Whats he up to?

"Princess, could you do something for me?" He asked in a loud but pleasant voice.

Princess Luna smiled down at him, "Anything Lance."

"Could you take Frederic out on a romantic date?"

Frederic's heart stopped, his breath began to slow. Did he just say that?! She'll say no and I'll be kicked out of the Palace. That idiot! Why did he use the direct approach?!

Princess Luna looked at Frederic and smiled warmly, "I would be delighted too. I've been thinking about doing something like this for a while now."

Frederic smiled and began to fill light headed. She said yes!

He slumped to the floor and passed out.

________________________________________________________

Twilight looked at Frederic, who had just passed out. What just happened.

Lance began to laugh, "Poor guy was so over joyed, he just passed out."

Twilight looked at Lance, "Please explain Lance, I don't understand why he passed out at something like that?"

Lance turned to face her and smiled, "Its called true love. I take it he is deeply in love with Luna."

Luna looked over at Frederic's unconscious body, "Really?" A warm smile played across her face, "That's so.... Sweet. I've never had anypony do this to me."

Lance walked over and patted her back, "Well, you have one now. Treat him well, I can already tell he's waited a long time for you to accept him."

Luna smiled and picked up Frederic's unconscious body with her magic, "We might as well leave, looks like we have plans for tonight."

Twilight smiled, "I see Princess. Have fun and come back soon."

Luna walked to the door and turned, "Thank you Lance."

Lance Smiled, "No problem Princess. Happy to set up couples."

She nodded and left the library.

Twilight turned to Lance, "That was sweet of you."

Lance just smiled, "I know."

_________________________________________________________

Louie walked out of the barn and yawned.

Its been a few days since he had been back to Lance's house, but who cares. It was so much nicer here and not so much noise.

He looked back into the barn to see Winona and his pup still asleep. He smiled, life was good for a brony dog.

_________________________________________________________

Cody Benson opened his eyes.

What happened? All I remember is fighting that bitch Lance, then that other one jumped me.

He tried to sit up, but something bound him to the bed. What the hell!

He looked down at his front hoofs to see a thick strap holding his limps to the bed, and one across his waist and chest.

Why am I strapped down?

He began to struggle against the straps.

"Your not going bud."

Cody looked to the door where the voice had come from. An armored stallion stood by the door, an unemotional face.

"Why am I strapped down?"

The Guard didn't blink, "Your receiving medical care. But after this, your heading straight to the Royal Dungeon."

The Royal Dungeon! "Why?!"

"You attacked two of Canterlot's residence's."

Cody shook his head, "No I didn't!"

"What ever you say. Your still going to the dungeon."

Cody laid his head back. He didn't attack residences of Canterlot. He attacked a killer, not innocent ponies!

He closed his eyes tightly. Lance was still alive, and there was nothing he could do to change that now.

Unless. "Hey, could you give me some water."

The Guard sighted and left the room.

Cody quickly moved his hoofs around, slowly working at the straps. Which wasn't as secure as they could have been. Slowly, they began to give.

A loud snap was heard as on strap broke. This gave him a free hoof, which he used to undo the one holding down his left hoof.

Soon, he had them all off. He placed them over his body and limps again, to give off the effect of being secured to the bed. But not before grabbing a small object that was next to the bed.

The Guard returned with a tray, a glass filled with water on it.

Cody smiled, "Just put it on the table for now, I'm not thirsty."

He shook his head and put it down on the table next to him and turned to go back to the door.

Cody smirked evilly and lunged off the bed and landed on the Guards back.

The Guard gasped in surprise and started thrashing around, trying to knock Cody off him.

Cody held the small object he had picked up off the table next to his bed, a scalpel. He laughed, a devilish laugh, and plunged the scalpel into an unarmored piece of skin.

The Guard began to stagger, but stood his ground.

Cody pulled out the scalpel and laughed again. He plunged the small scalpel into the Guards right eye.

The Guard let out a small scream of pain and slowly fell to a knee.

Cody pushed the scalpel deeper, causing another scream to leave the Guards lips.

The Guard, with that last of his strength, throw Cody over him.

Cody hit the ground and quickly stood. He charged at the Guard and slammed his hoof into the scalpel, pushing it all the way into the Guard's eye and into his brain.

Blood sputtered out, and covered Cody's face in specks of blood.

The Guard slumped to the ground, blood oozing out of his right eye.

Cody turned to the window and smiled.

"You're next Lance Greenfield!"

Night attack

Chapter 18

Captain Barehoof examined the scene before him.

One of his Royal Guards lay dead in a pool of blood.

Captain Barehoof was the leader of the Princess's Royal Guard. He was a white Pegasus, and being the commander of the Guard, wore a special suit of armor. His armor was bright blue with a golden strip going along the side. The helmet had a red star on the front.

He looked over to his second in command, Lieutenant Brink. He was a grayish unicorn, the same kind of suit as Barehoof, but without the golden streak and star.

Captain Barehoof walked over to him, a blank stare on his face, "Do we know who did this?"

Lieutenant Brink turned to the Captain, "Maybe sir. This room belonged to a Pegasus named Cody Benson."

The Captain nodded, "And why would we suspect him?"

The Lieutenant waved his hoof over the bloody scene, "Cody is wanted on the account of assault on two Canterlot citizens. This leads us to believe he is the one responsible for this."

The Captain looked to the corner, where a white sheet was hanging, "What is behind that sheet Lieutenant?"

"Look." The Lieutenant said as he walked over to the sheet and pulled it down.

The Captain recoiled a bit at the sight. On the wall, written in blood, was the words, 'Your next Lance!'

The Captain looked at the Lieutenant, "Tell me, do you know what this means? As in, who is Lance and why he's next?"

The Lieutenant nodded, "We do sir, thanks to Princess Celestia. He is the one this Cody Benson is after."

"I see."

The Lieutenant walked up to the Captain and saluted, "What are our orders sir?"

Captain Barehoof turned to the Lieutenant, "Relay a message to the Princess, tell her we need to know what to do next."

"Yes sir." Said Lieutenant Brink as he turned for the door.

_________________________________________________________

I looked at Twilight, who was reading a book. "What'ca reading Twilight?"

Twilight looked up at me and smiled, "Oh nothing, just a book about parenting."

I chucked, "Again? That's the fifth time this week."

She just smiled and went back to reading.

I turned to Frederic, who was off in dream land. "And what are you doing?"

Frederic shook his head and came to his senses, "Just thinking about my date last night with the Princess." He said while smiling to him self.

"How was it?"

He clapped his hoofs together, "Great! We ate, talked, and best of all, sat on the side of the hill outside of town and watched the moon rise and fall."

"Rise and fall? Was you out there all night?"

He smirked, "Sure was."

"Doing what?"

"Talking, laughing, that sort of stuff."

I shrugged, "Sounds kinda fun."

"It was."

I turned to the bookshelf. Hmm what do I want to read? History, science, magic, flying, or what? To many choices.

Might as well learn more about Frederic. He's been here about five years! Shit must have happened between that time and here.

"Hey Frederic."

He looked up and was about to answer when there was a knock on the door.

Twilight looked up from her book, "Who could that be?"

I shrugged, "Beats me. I got it." I said as I made my way to the door.

Upon opening it, I was surprised to see a armored Pegasus and Unicorn standing there. Both Royal Guards but wore the symbols of high ranking members.

"Yes?" I asked in a forced happy voice.

Damn, what did I do? No, better question is, what has Greg done.

The Pegasus with the blue armor spoke first, "I am Captain Bare hoof, and this is Lieutenant Brink. We are here under the direct order of Princess Celestia herself to protect you. You are Lance, correct?"

Protect? "Yes, I'm Lance. But why would you need to protect me?"

Lieutenant Brink spook up, "The Pegasus Cody Benson as killed a Royal Guard while escaping his hospital room. He wrote the words, 'Your next Lance.' In the Royal Guards blood on the wall."

Wait, he's escaped! And killed a Royal Guard! Shit, I'm screwed. "What are you going to do about this?"

Captain Barehoof nodded behind him.

I looked past him to see at least ten Royal Guards standing in two lines.

"We are just here to Protect you while a bigger force searches for Cody." Said the Lieutenant.

Captain Barehoof looked past me to Twilight, "Miss Sparkle, do you know of a place outside of Ponyville that would be safer."

Twilight looked at him, "Safer? Isn't this place safe enough?"

He shook his head, "No. This is likely the first place Cody will look for Lance."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin, "Well, there is no place outside of Ponyville that would be safe, but there is a place in Ponyville that would be just as safe."

"Where?"

"The school house. There's no classes going on, so I think we can all go there till Cody is caught."

The two Royal Guards looked at each other. Then the Captain looked at her, "Is it defensible?"

Twilight smiled, "Yes, plenty of rooms. Also a small tower on top to keep watch."

The Captain nodded, "Great, lets move out."

I looked at Frederic, "Come on lover boy, lets go to school."

Frederic looked at me and laughed, "I thought I was out of school when I turned twenty?"

I smiled, "Guess not."

_________________________________________________________

Cody sat watching the library and the Royal Guards outside.

Two of them walked forward and knocked on the door. It was soon answered by Lance.

The sight of Lance sent waves of anger and rage through Cody's body.

They talked for a few minutes, then all of them, even the Guards, left the library and started walking down the street.

Cody smirked, perfect. He looked up at the sky, the sun almost down.

Night would be here soon, and when night begins, the killing begins.

Cody smirked evilly as he looked down at the two weapons he had. A Royal Guard sword, very few of those, and a small cooking knife.

Cody twisted his head around, popping his neck. Oh how much fun it is going to be to spill all their blood.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof looked at the civilians in front of him. All seated in the small desk.

They was at the school house. The night sky above them making everything loom and creep.

He had put six Royal Guards out side, in groups of two, to patrol the grounds. There's one in the tower, one by the door to this room and two walking around the rest of the school, keeping guard of each room.

Lieutenant Brink was by the window looking out at the grounds.

He had all his Guards armed with the standard issue curved swords. The sklash's as they were called by the Guard.

He looked back to the two civilians, and at the Royal Blacksmith, "We may be here all night. Is that okay with all of you?"

Lance looked up from a book he was reading and smirked, "Oh yeah, I could stay here all night." Heavy sarcasm was in his voice.

Captain Barehoof shook his head and turned to the window. It was going to be a long night.

_________________________________________________________

Lieutenant Brink sighed. Why did they have to stay here, of all places?

He would rather be back home, with his beautiful wife and filly. Tomorrow was his daughters ninth birthday, and he couldn't miss that. If he did, she would be devastated.

He shook his head. He was not going to miss that, not this time. He loved her to much to put her through that.

His horn glowed and he pulled a picture out of his breast plate. A picture of his wife and daughter.

A small smile crept onto his face at seeing their happy expressions.

A loud knocking sound came from outside the room. At the front door that lead outside.

Captain Barehoof looked at him, "Lieutenant, go see what it is. Probably one of the patrols."

Lieutenant Brink nodded and left the room. As he neared the door that lead out side, he started to sense something. Something felt off.

When he opened the door, he jumped back in horror and let out a small yell.

Because, right outside the door was the six Royal Guards, all missing their heads.

He shook his head and pulled the door shut.

"Captain!" He yelled as he ran back to the room where everypony was. "Captain, their all dead! All dead!"

The Captain looked at him in shock, "Who's all dead?"

"The Royal Guards who was sent outside. Their all dead!"

The Captain walked over to him and shook his shoulders, "Get a hold of yourself!"

Lieutenant Brink took a deep breath and exhaled, "Sorry sir. Its just... I've never seen death like that."

The Captain nodded, "I know Lieutenant, none of us have. This is all new to us."

Frederic walked up, startled at the news, "Dead? That can't be. Who can take on six Royal Guards, all armed with weapons I made, and live?!"

The Captain shook his head, "I don't know." He looked Frederic over, "You do have that ruin with you, right?"

Frederic nodded, "Never leave the workshop without it."

The Captain nodded once, "Good, use it. You'll need the protection it looks like."

Frederic nodded and his horn glowed. A bright light surround his body and burst outward.

When the light faded, he stood there, completely different. A steel colored suit of armor covered his body, his full body, not like the Royal Guards armor that only covered some. There was also two swords by his sides, each one of the sheaths had the name 'Sanger' and 'Yolosh' carved into them.

It was strange why he would name his swords, but nopony asked questions.

The Captain nodded, "Stay here and protect those two." He then looked to the Royal Guard standing by the door, "Sergeant Romper, go get Private Daily and bring him down here. We need to all stay together."

The Sergeant nodded and left the room.

Captain turned to the Lieutenant, "We're in trouble now."

The Lieutenant nodded, "I agree sir."

_______________________________________________________

Sergeant Romper walked up the sprawling stairs that lead to the small tower.

He sighed, "Why me? I didn't sign up to fillysit the low ranking members."

When he was near the top he yelled, "Private Daily, come down to the main part of the school. We're regrouping."

No response came from the Private.

Sergeant Romper sight, stupid colt must be asleep or something.

He walked up the remaining stairs, ready to give the Private a piece of his mind.

But, when he reached the top of the stairs, he was meet with a horrifying sight.

The Private was stuck to the wall, his own sword sticking out of his chest. His face was carved to make him look like he was smiling. A sight that sent chills down Sergeant Romper back.

He must tell the others.

Sergeant Romper turned to go back down the stairs, but stopped. A Pegasus sat on the edge of the towers window, a smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you." He said as he swung a blade at the Sergeant.

_________________________________________________________

Corporal Blitz turned to the sound of something falling above.

He turned to his partner, Corporal Link, "What was that?"

Corporal Link shrugged, "I don't know. Should I go check it out?"

Corporal Blitz nodded, "Yes. I'll come up behind you."

They made their way to the stairs that lead to the tower. Corporal Link went up first, followed by Corporal Blitz.

When they reached the top, Corporal Link peeped his head in the room.

A loud slicing sound was heard.

Corporal Blitz looked at his partner, "What is it?"

As he said those words, the body of Corporal Link slumped back, his head cut down the middle.

Corporal Blitz screamed in horror and turned to run down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, there was a sharp pain in his back. But he kept going, all the way back to the main room.

_________________________________________________________

Lieutenant Brink looked to the door. What was that scream?

Seconds later, the door burst open and there stood a panting Royal Guard, Corporal Blitz.

The Captain walked forward, "What is it Corporal?"

The Corporal caught his breath, "Hes in the building. Everypony is dead, everypony!"

Everypony in the room recoiled in shock. All the Royal Guards are dead!

Lieutenant Brink looked at the Corporal's back, "Corporal, whats that on your back?"

The Corporal looked back and gasped, "Buck me!"

Upon looking closer, Lieutenant Brink could see that the object was a knife! Stuck deep into the back of the Corporal's neck bone.

The Corporal staggered back into the hall way, just now beginning to feel the pain of the blade in his skin. "Help me."

The Captain began to walk forward, but a green blur outside the door stopped him. The Corporal had a look of surprise on his face. His surprised face fell to the floor, followed by the rest of his body.

The mare named Twilight Sparkle screamed in horror at the sight and Lance began to throw up his dinner.

Lieutenant Brink winced at the sight and began to close the door with his magic.

But as it closed, the same green blur dashed in and slammed into the Lieutenant. Send him into the wall, pinned by the thing that had slammed into him.

When he looked down at his attacker, he knew who it was. Cody Benson. Cody had a amused smile on his face.

The Lieutenant winced from a pain in his chest. When he looked down at his chest, the full pain hit him.

Cody had a small knife jammed into Lieutenant Brink's chest, blood slowly seeping out of his breast plate.

"Good night." Cody said in a evil voice.

He stepped back and let Lieutenant Brink fall to the ground.

His last thoughts was of his family and how much he was going to miss.

_________________________________________________________

Frederic was shocked at the sudden attack from Cody, as was everypony else in the room. Everypony was to shocked to to move or think as they watched Cody kill the Lieutenant.

The Captain was the first to recover, "You bucking..."

The Captain stomped his hoof in anger and charged forwards, straight at Cody.

Cody laughed evilly and twisted around. He bucked the Captain in the face, a hit that sent the Captains helmet flying off, along with a few teeth.

The Captain hit the floor and slide. He than lay still, barely breathing.

Frederic lunged forward, while Cody was distracted and pulled out his two swords with his magic.

Cody turned back to face him, a look of surprise on his face.

Frederic plunged the first blade into the top of Cody's back and the second into his flank.

Cody screamed in pain and collapsed. Blood oozing out of his two wounds.

Frederic shook his head and brought both blades over Cody's head, ready to end all the killing.

"Stop Frederic!"

Frederic turned to the source of the scream to see Lance, a determined look on his face. "What Lance?"

Lance shook his head, "Don't do it."

Frederic's eyes widened, "Don't do it? But this will end all the killing. The killer will be dead, and everything can go back to normal."

Lance shook his head fast, "But then you would be a killer. If you truly want the killing to stop, then let him live. Let the Princess deal with him."

Twilight nodded, "The Princess will give him a fair trial."

Frederic squeezed his eyes shut, "No, he can't be allowed to live. He's a blood cold killer, nothing more."

Frederic felt a hoof on his armored shoulder, "Frederic, we left a world of killing behind. Do you really want to become a killer? Something of the old world that doesn't belong here."

He hung his head, Lance had a point.

"Just let the Princess deal with him. Twilight can send him there right now."

Frederic nodded, "Do it. I don't want to be like my father."

Lance nodded, understandably, "Thank you Frederic." He turned to Twilight, "Okay, you two transport to Canterlot. I'll stay here and... clean up this mess."

Twilight nodded, "Just leave them, the Princess will send a group to do it."

Lance nodded, "Alright. I'll round up the bodies I guess."

Twilight then walked over to Frederic, "Ready?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

With that, he, Twilight and Cody was transported to Canterlot and before the Princess herself.

_________________________________________________________

I sat back and sighed, all the bodies laid side by side in the main room.

The Captain was okay, the only surviving Royal Guard of tonight's events. He was unconscious on a make shift bed.

I put my face in my hoofs. I thought I left all this killing behind on earth, but its a plague. It follows humans where ever they go.

The killing will never stop. As long as a human remains alive in the world.

Aftermath

Aftermath

Chapter 19

Aaron sat up and yawned. What a night!

Last night was his second date with Vinyl Scratch, and it was amazing.

They had spent most of the night in town, but ended up at her house.

He chuckled to him self, remembering the events of last night. He looked to the pony next to him in the bed.

Vinyl was still asleep, a smile on her face. Her goggles was off, taken off before they got to the bed.

Aaron laid back and put his hoofs behind his head. Wondering if she would be ready for round three when she woke.

_________________________________________________________

Zane walked down the dirt road, alone.

He glanced around him as he walked. The forest on either side of him seemed to beckon him towards it.

He looked straight ahead, keeping his destination in mind. He was on his way to New Mane City.

The Princess had told him that what he was seeking would be there.

So, three days into the trip and he's not even close. He had at least another four days of walking and flying to go.

He sighted, it may be a long trip, but would be worth it in the end.

_________________________________________________________

Peter smiled with pride at his work. His newest prank.

He connected the string to the door knob and smirked. He knocked on the door and ran down the hall. Ready to see it in action.

_________________________________________________________

David stood in front of his newest painting. It was a painting of Ponyville.

He put down his brush and turned to Leonardo, who was asleep on a pillow.

Leonardo had finally been able to perfect his drumming skills.

A knock at the door broke David's train of thought.

He walked to the door and opened it. A large barrel pointed straight at him.

His eyes widened, "What the..."

There was a loud bang. Something wet and creamy slammed into his face.

David blinked. What just happened?

Somepony began to laugh outside in the hall. He looked down the hall to see Peter, laying on his back laughing.

Peter stopped laughing and smirked, "Got yeah dude."

_________________________________________________________

Twilight stood reading the letter from the Princess, a smile on her face.

Next to the letter was a stack of tickets, enough for all her friends and Lance's friends.

She turned to Spike, a large smile on her face, "Spike! Do you know what those tickets are for?!"

Spike shrugged, "Beats me."

Twilight beamed with joy, "Those are tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Spike smiled, "Already time for it again, huh?"

Twilight nodded, "Yep." She smiled, "This year is going to be fun."

Spike looked at her strangely, "Why?"

"Because, Lance and his friends are going. It is going to be very interesting."

Spike smirked, "I have to see that."

_________________________________________________________

Greg looked at the School house, and at the ponies in white walking around it.

What happened there?

He looked down at Weedy, who was looking at the scene with amusement. "What do you think happened?"

Weedy looked up and shrugged.

Greg looked back at the scene. Something happened, and it doesn't look like it was pretty. Considering that they have already brought out five pony shaped bags.

He pulled out a blunt and put it in his mouth. "Looks like things aren't as peaceful as they seem, huh Weedy."

Weedy just barked in response.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof slowly made his way down the long hall of the Royal Guard Barracks.

It had been a long night for him. His body was sore, his face was still throbbing from the kick, and two of his teeth are missing, but worst of all, he lost eleven good Stallions today.

He walked down the rolls of bunk beds, all the Royal Guards looking at him, looks of concern on their faces.

They all knew what had happened the night before. This was the first ever killing in Equestria history for over one thousand years.

Captain Barehoof walked up to his bunk and pulled his armor off and the suit under it. He placed them in the trunk with the rest of his things.

As he laid back in bed, a young private walked up, "Captain, was it really as bad as they say?"

The Captain looked at him, a look of sadness on his face, "Worse, Private, so much worse."

The Private looked down, "Oh." He kicked at the floor and looked up, "Do you think it will happen again sir?"

"I don't know Private." With that he turned over and closed his eyes. Ready for the peacefulness of sleep to take him.

Great day

Chapter 20

I walked down the streets of Canterlot, accompanied by my dog, Churchill.

I had a large cheerful smile on my face. I don't completely know why though.

Churchill had a skip in his step.

Today just seemed like a happy day for some reason.

The night at the school was four days ago. The Princess's clean up crew had cleaned the scene before anypony saw it.

But, I do find it strange how Twilight just shrugged that nights events like it was nothing. I thought she would have at least stressed over it, like I did, but no. She went back to normal Twilight after we arrived back at her house.

Speaking of Twilight, she gave me a few tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. She told me to give them to all my friends, just the bronies.

I've already gave out most of them, but I haven't seen Zane in a while. I wonder where he is.

The Gala seemed kinda boring on the show, unless something goes wrong. And knowing Greg, something is bond to happen. Just two more days till the Gala.

I stopped walking and smiled, I know what to do with Zane's ticket. There's a pony who deserves it more.

I turned about face and started walking towards the Palace.

_________________________________________________________

Rarity ran to the end of her shop, looking desperately for the right material.

She was in the process of making dresses for her friends to wear to the Grand Galloping Gala.

She had spent the past few days working on the designs and patterns for each dress. After a little consideration, she had decided to go with last years design, just with a few new things here and there.

She levitated a piece of fabric in front of her and quickly cut it into small strips.

Two dress had already been made, Twilight's and Applejack's.

Rarity sighed, she had a lot of work ahead of her, and very little time.

_________________________________________________________

Greg laughed loudly at the thing that lay in front of him.

A suit, for the Gala. Lance had told him he would have to wear it there.

Greg shook his head laughing. Does Lance really expect him to wear a suit?

He levitated a pair of scissors in front of him. He'll wear it, but only after a little work.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof trudged down the roll of bunks in the barracks.

He had just spent the entire day in the Royal Meeting Room discussing an important matter.

It seems the Griffin's are getting anger at the Ponies of Equestria. Because a group of bronies made their way to their land and went on a rampage trying to find a Griffin. They was then captured by the Griffin army and held for questioning.

The Princess tried to get them back, but it seems the Griffin's aren't going to budge on this one.

Years of compacted hate and anger are about to explode, causing a war that Equestria does not need or want. The only solution that the Princess can think of is to send an ambassador over and talk them down.

Two days ago, a group of five were sent to try and talk the Griffin's out of war.

Captain Barehoof sighed as he reached his bunk, he was confident it would work.

As he sat, he saw a note on his pillow. He reached over and picked it up.

It read:

'Captain Barehoof,
I want you to have my last ticket to the Gala. Think of it as a thank you for keeping me and my friends safe.
Sincerely,
Lance'

The Captain pulled out the ticket and smiled. He had never been to the Gala before, just there as a Guard. Lance really was a nice stallion, just like Princess Luna kept saying.

He laid back, for the first time in a long time, he felt happy.

_________________________________________________________

Zane galloped down the dirt road at his top speed, the blood thirsty manticore quickly catching up.

The thing had been chasing him for over a mile, and didn't look to be letting up anytime soon.

As he ran, he had a thought. Why me? All I want to do is get to New Mane City!

A loud thump came from behind, but Zane didn't stop long enough to look back.

He kept running till he ran clear out of the forest and into a open area, with fields on either side of the road.

He stopped and looked back, no manticore. Strange?

He looked forward, so close now. Just a little further.

_________________________________________________________

Princess Celestia paced back and forth, a grim look on her face.

What is she to do? Equestria is on the verge of war, and because of bronies.

She can't just send the Equestrian Military into Griffin territory and take back the bronies. Not without starting war.

The Equestria army doesn't even have real combat experiences, just what the trainers put them through.

The trainers would cast a spell on the soldiers, putting them into a combat simulation trance. This was the closest they have ever been to actual killing and war. But it would have to do.

The only comforting though she had was that the Griffin's hadn't made a move to attack, and probably wouldn't.

_________________________________________________________

"State your name and rank." Said the officer behind the glass.

"Private Dune, 7th Sword Division of Equestria Army." Said Private Dune.

The officer looked up, "Okay Private Dune, your Division is scheduled to go to Manehattan as soon as the Princess gives the order."

Private Dune nodded, "Yes ma'am."

He turned about face and walked down the hall and to his platoons barracks.

They had been assigned to move to Manehattan in case the Griffins decided to attack. Which he knew they wouldn't.

The Equestria Army was not the same as the Royal Guards. Even thought they wore similar armor, they were not the same. The Equestria Army was created to guard against foreign attacks only. The Royal Guard was just for show and protection of the Princess's.

Their armor was not the golden color like the Guards. The Equestria Army's armor was grey with the mark of the sun on the sides. Their swords was also different. Instead of the Sklash's the Royal Guard carried, the Equestria Army had straight swords with double edges.

Private Dune walked into the barracks and was greeted by the happy faces of his team mates.

They where all excited about going to Manehattan, the big city.

Private Dune joined in their conversation about mares. He was going to enjoy himself for awhile. Besides, once they arrive in Manehattan, they will all be able to party and have fun.

That was something to look forward to.

That's not possible!

Chapter 21

"So, you think we should arrive together or separate?" Asked Twilight.

"Together of course." I said, putting a hoof over her shoulder.

She giggled and moved as close as she could to me.

We was a my house, downstairs on a couch planning out the night of the Gala.

We've been planning for the past hour, but haven't made much progress.

"Should we arrive with everypony else, or just me and you?" She said while she held my hoof with hers.

"Just us. We'll meet up with the others while we're there." I said as I nuzzled her neck.

Before we could continue planning, David walked into the room.

I looked up at him, "Yes?"

"Umm dude, there's this mare here. She said she knows you and needs to see you."

Who could it be? "Well, I guess send them in."

David nodded and left the room.

I looked back to Twilight and nuzzled her cheek.

"Oh my God! Lance, honey there you are!"

That voice, it can't be! I looked up, my eyes widened in shock. This can't be possible!

"Mom?!"

She smiled brightly, overjoyed, "I've looked all over for you. Two months of searching and I finally found you."

I began to stammer, "But, how did you know I would be in this world?"

"I just asked God to send me to the place that you went."

No! Why this?! I haven't done any thing to deserve this!

Let me describe my mom. She is over protective, I mean way over protective. Always telling me what is safe and what is not. If you asked me what I thought about the things she believed in. I would laugh you off, because I don't.

I looked my mom over. She was a earth pony, that's good. Sky blue with a black mane and tail. And those same, watchful eyes she had on earth.

She looked me over, "Lance! Why are you wearing those type of cloths. You know how I feel about gang related things!"

Twilight looked at me, confused, "That's your mom?"

Before I could answer, my mom jumped in, "That's right! And who might you be?"

I put my hoof over Twilight's mouth before she could respond, I need to handle this, "She's my friend Twilight."

My mom looked at my face, "Take those goggles off, we're indoors!"

She asked for it. I reached up and pulled the goggles down, revealing my reptile like eyes.

She jumped back and stomped her hoof, "Good heavens! What's wrong with your eyes?! I'm taking you to the doctor right now."

What the hell?! "Their my normal eyes, mom!"

She shook her head, "Oh no. I'm taking you to get those checked out. What if you have disease!"

What'd I tell ya! To damn over protective. "Their fine."

Twilight stood, "Lance's mom, his eyes are okay. You don't have to worry about them."

I looked over to Twilight and my eyes widened. I had forgot she was showing, and right now, it was pretty obvious she was pregnant.

My mom looked at her and her face light up with anger, "Is that horse pregnant?!"

I sighed, shit, I'm going to have to tell her. Because if I don't, Twilight will, or Greg. Probably Greg since hes high most of the time. 'Yes mom. I did it." I grinned to my self at how I said I'm the one who made her pregnant.

Her eyes light with fire and rage, "I thought I taught you better than this! Your coming with me and leaving that animal behind!"

She just crossed a line with me. "No."

She looked at me, confused, "No? What do you mean no? You've never said no to me before."

That is true, I always tried to be nice to her, "I'm not leaving, and there's nothing you can do about it. Also, she is not an animal. She's my fucking marefriend!"

She took a step back from my choice of words. Never before had she heard me cuss. "Lance Greenfield! Your coming with me right now, and your going to be ground for a long time for that little comment."

I sat back and put my hoofs behind my head, "Make me."

She walked over and put her face to mine, "You obey your mother right this minute!"

I shrugged, "Why? I already have a better life here than I did with you."

She looked hurt and pissed at my response, "I gave you a home and a happy safe life. How could you say that?"

"Yeah, a safe life. But not happy. At least here, I get to be my own person... I mean pony."

She shook her head, "Your not a pony Lance. Your a human, a healthy human boy."

I sighed, "Since I came here, I've been a pony. Accept the fact mom. I'm now and will from now on be a pony."

She turned and walked to the door, "Come on Lance, or am I going to have to force you?"

I smirked, "Forcing sounds good."

She shook her head, "Fine! Have it your way! I never thought I would have to do this, but I'm going to get the police to make you leave."

I laughed, "You do that."

With that she left, slamming the door.

Twilight looked at me, "I thought mothers was suppose to love their colts?"

I shrugged, "She does, she just loves to much. So how about you transport us to the library and we'll continue making plans."

She smiled, "Sounds good to me."

Her horn glowed and the familiar bright light engulfed us.

_________________________________________________________

Dana walked out of the house and let out a loud breath. How could her son Lance say those things to her? He had always been a nice boy growing up.

Why would he want to come here to a world of horses? And want to be one of them?

She felt like crying at the fact that he had actually had intercourse with one of those animals. How could he do that? It was wrong and sick!

She would straighten him out after she found a police officer to make him go with her. All she had to do was find one, a police officer should be wearing blue, so look for a horse wearing blue.

She walked down the street, asking questions and searching for something that doesn't even exist in Equestria.

_________________________________________________________

Greg held in his laughter through the whole scene between Lance and his mom.

He had been at the top of the stairs listening, and he had to say, it was fucking funny.

This little twist was going to bring on a lot of fun for him to watch and enjoy.

He lifted up a blunt to his mouth and puffed. All he needs now is popcorn and he's set.

_________________________________________________________

David stood with his back to the wall, listening to the conversation between Lance and the mare, who turned out to be his mom.

After it was over, he became worried. What if his mom came here to and was looking for him?

That would be horrible! She would ruin everything hes worked for and destroy his new life.

He then laughed at him self. She wouldn't come here, she would have went straight to heaven. That's what she always wanted any way.

_________________________________________________________

I sat back on the couch, pleased with our plans.

Me and Twilight was finally able to get every thing planned out. All the way down to the last detail. Strange how we both like to plan out how to approach things like parties and events.

She stood up and yawned, "Well, that's everything. We have our clothes ready, our transportation, our schedule for the night, and everything else."

I stood up and stretched, sitting for three hours is not a good way to help a sore back. "Yep. Now to just go there and enjoy ourselves."

She walked up stairs and I followed.

I jumped into bed and yawned. Man am I tired. Not doing anything really does put you to sleep.

I began to fall asleep before Twilight even had a chance to get in bed.

I smiled to my self. Tomorrow is the day. The day of the Gala, the most magical night of the year. Its going to be one hell of a party with all of us there.

With that, I let my mind relax and I went into a restful slumber.

The Grand Galloping Gala

Chapter 22

I stepped off the chariot and breathed in the night time air. Twilight stepped off next to me.

She looked at me and smiled, "Beautiful isn't it?"

I nodded, looking at the magnificent Palace in front of us. It was beautiful, and the fireworks in the background gave it that awesome look. "It looks better in person than it did on the show." I muttered.

Twilight looked at me, "What was that?"

I looked over at her and smiled, "Nothing."

Twilight was wearing the same dress she wore in the show. But the cape she wore had a few extra stars on it and slightly darker. She was simply beautiful in my eyes.

I was wearing my suit that Rarity had made for me, and also my goggles. Can't leave home with out them.

Twilight began walking towards the Palace gates.

I smirked, "What, no musical number?"

She turned, a confused look on her face, "What do you mean?"

I chuckled, "Oh, nothing. Shall I escort you to the door?"

She giggled, "Yes you may."

I walked up beside her and together, we walked to the Palace entrance.

Upon entering and greeting the Princess, we made our way to the ball room, where the real party was.

We walked in and I smiled, just like the show, but so much better. Food, dancing, music. It had everything.

I looked over at Twilight, who had an excited look on her face.

I held out a hoof, "Shall we dance?"

She took my hoof, "Yes."

_________________________________________________________

Greg walked into the Palace, a smug look on his face.

All the high class ponies around he looked at him like he was a street rat.

Greg had cut the sleeves off his suit, let the tie hang half done. He looked more like a punk pony than a high class pony.

He walked down the red carpet and headed for the ballroom.

Once he walked in, and frowned. This party sucks! Fancy dancing and talking. Now he knows how Pinkie Pie felt on the show.

Time to raise the bar. He reached back into his saddlebag, yeah he wore it, and pulled out a blunt. Once hes high, this party will get going.

He started smoking it, getting strange looks from the ponies around him.

As he looked around the room, he saw that one purple brony. Peter maybe? Messing with a punch bowel.

A few moments later, he walked away, a smirk on his face.

What did he do?

The answer was soon presented. A high class mare walked up and picked up the spoon to fill a cup.

The the punch in the bowl seemed to explode outward, covering the mare in punch.

She started stomping her hoofs and screaming. On the other side of the room, Peter stood laughing.

Greg shook his head, a grin on his face. Looks like he's not the only one trying to spice up things.

Spice things up. Spice. Spike. Spike drinks.

Greg smirked, an idea coming to him.

Since he had learned how to bring marijuana to Equestria, he had decided on learning how to bring different things here. So, after some work, he was able to bring one of his favorite drinks here. Vodka.

He walked over to another punch bowl and pulled out the full bottle of vodka, glad he had brought it. He poured the whole bottle into the punch bowl.

He dropped the bottle and kicked it under the table. He then backed up and smirked. Things are about to get interesting.

_________________________________________________________

I leaned my back against the wall, sweat under my suit. It really was hard to slow dance, harder and needs more work than real dancing.

I let out an a sight, and enjoyed the music. I looked towards the stage. What do you know, Octavia is up there playing.

She had been one of my favorite ponies back on earth. To bad I can't speak to her, since she's performing.

I shrugged and looked across the dance floor, which had a few ponies slow dancing together, to see Greg.

What did he do to his suit?! That thing cost me four days of work salary.

Wait, what is he doing with that bottle? What is that? I looked closer.

Well, I'll be damn. He's spiking the punch. Should I stop him?

I shrugged, it might be fun to see what happens.

Twilight walked up to me and smiled, "Tired already?"

I grinned and shook my head, "No, just needed a break. How about another dance?"

She nodded, a smile on her face, "Sure, just don't drop out of it in the middle this time."

_________________________________________________________

Dana sat on the edge of the bench, a confused expression on her face.

She had looked all over the town, but couldn't find a single police officer. And, all the horses just laughed and made complements about her looks, not very nice ones at that.

She still didn't know what to do with Lance. He had never be so rebellious with her. He had always obeyed, never disobeying.

But now, he's just like his older brother, Mark. Always resisting and trying to be his own person.

And, who's house was he staying at? She can't have him living with others people like that. What if their sick or try to give him something like nuts or something he may be allergic to? She can't have that!

She jumped off the bench and stomped her hoof. She was going to go back and drag Lance back if she has to. Its time she put her foot down and be the tough parent.

She began stomping back to the house, not realizing its been a full day and night and he may not be there.

_________________________________________________________

Frederic was sweating uncontrollably under his suit. He was also feeling slightly sick to the stomach and light headed.

He looked down at the box in front of him. It was sort of small, but held a very important item.

He took a deep breath and walked straight up to Princess Luna, who had been standing next to the stage, just standing there.

As he neared, she looked over at him and smiled sweetly, "Well, if it isn't Iron Clad, or should I call you Frederic?"

Frederic smiled weakly, "You can call me Frederic if you want to."

She nodded, "Okay then, Frederic."

His head began to spin, a feeling of nausea wasted over him. This was harder than he had thought it would be.

"Ummm, Princess. Can I ask you something?" He sputtered.

"Sure, make it quick please." She said while turning towards him.

He took another deep breath and knelled down on his front knees.

She looked at him strangely, "Frederic, what are you doing?"

He gulped loudly and used his magic to put the box in front of him. He took a deep breath. "So long ago, five years to be exact, I was at a loss. I had no clue where to go or what I aspired to. One evening, I decided to look at the skies for answers and it was not it that brought me the answer I sought; it was who brought the night sky and it's infinite beauty. I saw a glow of magic coming from the tallest tower of the palace and it was then I saw you, I saw the most beautiful creature any living being could ever gaze upon; I saw the princess of the night, princess Luna. I witness every action she did. Every star she lit was a like a spark in my heart that ignited the fire of my passion. And when she brought out the moon, it was then that my heart ached for this artist. My craft lies in metal and heat. Hers lies in the skies and grace. Two beings, a world apart. When she was done, my heart lead me to the castle where I asked for weeks to let me enter, to let me work for the palace, to be closer to the one that claimed my heart. I proved myself worthy of being a member of the royal staff and chose to work with those that brought me the most odds of meeting my love, I joined the Lunar Sentinels. Years of devoted work had given me chances to speak with my beloved Luna. A few nights ago I was graced, honored to have a romantic evening with my greatest love and since that fateful night I knew desperately who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Now I stand kneeling in front of you Luna, I ask of you this favor." He opened the box to reveal a golden bracelet with a diamond on it and two onyxes on either side of it. "Will you take me as your husband as I would take you as my beloved wife?"

Her jaw dropped and she let out a surprised gasp. "Frederic... I... I..."

All the ponies in the room held their breath. Suspense filled the air.

He looked away, squeezing his eyes closed. She's going to say no. He knows it.

Frederic opened his eyes slightly and noticed that everypony in the room was looking at him and the Princess.

He heard the mare named Rarity gasp and whisper something to somepony.

"Yes."

He looked back to her, "What?!"

She smiled, "Yes. Yes, I will." A tear in her eye, but it was of happiness.

Frederic, possessed with happiness, jumped up and wrapped his hoofs around her neck.

Everypony in the room either cheered or aww'd at the scene before them.

Luna seemed surprised at his sudden action, but she returned the hug.

Frederic broke the hug and smiled, "May I?" He said while holding up the engagement bracelet with his magic.

She held up her hoof, "You may."

He fastened it on her hoof, a smile on his face and her face.

Frederic slowly stood, grinning up at her.

She examined the bracelet on her hoof and smiled.

_________________________________________________________

I stood looking at Frederic and the Princess.

That was unexpected, Frederic proposing to the Princess, and she saying yes.

Proposing? Ummm, that makes me feel like I forgot to do something.

I picked up my drink, the spiked punch, and took a sip.

Wait a damn minute! I haven't proposed to Twilight! And she's pregnant!

I started tapping my hoofs against the floor. I need to do something.

I looked up and smiled, I got it. I have seven hundred bits back at the house, and there's a nice little jewelry store down the street. Just maybe.

I turned and headed for the door. I need to hurry and get back before Twilight notices I'm gone.

_________________________________________________________

Greg looked at David, who was already passed out outside in the garden.

Greg shook his head, a large smile on his face, "What? Can't handle a little vodka in your drink?"

He picked David up with his magic and put him on his back. Time to get the weak drinker home.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof walked into the ballroom, dressed in a full three piece suit. Something he barely ever wore.

He looked around the large room, at all the ponies he knew would flood over him if he told anypony he was the Captain of the Guard.

He sighed, there wasn't a pony for him to dance with. Or anypony to talk to. He missed Lieutenant Brink. He had been his only true friend, and now he's gone.

He shook his head, this is the Grand Galloping Gala, its a time for enjoyment, not sorrow.

As he stood there, he didn't notice the sky blue mare behind him. Looking him over.

"Excuse me, but one of the soldiers down stairs said you was the one in charge of the army."

Captain Barehoof turned and examined the Sky blue mare behind him. She wasn't wearing a dress, which is odd since this is the Gala. Her mane and tail was black and slightly curled. Her eyes were green and gentle, but had a determined look in them.

"Yes, I'm the Captain. Why do you ask?"

She nodded, "Good, I need you to help me bring my son back home with me."

The Captain sighed, can he not get one night to himself? "I'm off duty for tonight and tonight only. Can you wait till morning?"

She shook her head, "No, I can not wait till morning. He could die of an allergic reaction over the night."

The Captain raised an eye brow. Die over night due to a allergic reaction? Who is she? "I just got here, can you let me have a few hours to myself first?"

She looked furious, "No! I need you to get him home now!'

He sighed, "This is the first night in seven years that I've had to myself. Please let me enjoy it."

She seemed to soften, "Seven years? You haven't had a night off in seven years?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm a very busy stallion."

The mare looked down, "Enjoy your night." She looked back up at him, "But tomorrow, I want you to get my son to come home with me."

The Captain relaxed, "Thank you." He turned and went back to standing and watching the party.

The mare walked up beside him, "What? Seven years and tonight your first vacation and your going to spend it standing around."

He shrugged, "I have nopony to dance with or talk to."

She bit her lower lip, "I can dance with you if you want."

He looked at her and shrugged, there wasn't anypony else who would, "Thanks, I'll take you up on that offer."

She smiled and nodded, "After you Captain."

He held up his hoof, "First, I need to know your name."

"Dana."

Weird short name. "Well, Dana, lets dance. Shall we?"

_________________________________________________________

I ran back into the ball room, sweaty and out of breath. I had to run all the way home, grab the cash, fly at top speed to the store, then make a mad dash back to the Palace. I was gasping for air once I stepped inside.

I had a smallish box in my mouth. I looked around the room and saw Twilight, talking to Rainbow Dash. Why Rainbow Dash?

I walked up and smiled, "Twilight, can I speak to you? Alone?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yes." She looked back to Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow, let me talk to Lance and we'll talk later."

Rainbow Dash laughed, "Okay Twi, I'm heading over to the Wonderbolt's V.I.P area."

I smiled, "Follow me."

I lead us through the crowd of ponies, past the Captain and.. is that my mom! Turn to the left to avoid them, head out double doors and into garden. Walk down a few rows of flowers and into a secluded area.

I turned to Twilight, who looked to confused.

"Why did you bring me all the way out here?" She then looked me over, "And why are you covered in sweat stains?"

I smiled weakly, "Long story."

She looked at the box that was in my breast pocket, "Whats that?"

I gulped. How do I do this?

I knelled down and put it on my hoof. "Twilight, I've never done this. So, I'm kinda lost right here."

She still looked confused, "What are you talking about Lance?"

"I don't know what I'm suppose to do or say, but.." I opened the box to reveal a silver bracelet with a small diamond on it. "Will you marry me and make me the happiest stallion in Equestria."

Her face showed many emotions. Surprise, shock, happiness, joy, love.

Tears of joy began to roll down her face, "Yes!"

She jumped into me, wrapping her hooves around my neck. We both fell to the ground, holding each other.

I laughed, "You going to let me put it on?"

She nuzzled my neck, "Yes, I'm sorry."

We stood up and I grinned, "Its okay." I held the bracelet out.

She raised her hoof and smiled.

I placed the bracelet on her hoof and closed it. I stood up and smiled, "Shall we go back inside and dance the night away."

She walked up to me and put her head next to mine, "I would love to."

We walked back to the ballroom, smiles on our faces and love in our hearts. Tonight really was the best night ever.

The Grand Galloping Gala part 2

[

Chapter 23

I sat back, gasping. Damn, I need to work out more often. This dancing is to much work.

I whipped the sweat off my head with a hoof. I must look horrible. I've been doing nothing but sweat. This suit must be covered in sweat stains by now.

Twilight was standing next to me, a large smile on her face. She hasn't stopped smile since I proposed, which is about the same for me.

"Lance, can you dance more than ten minutes with out needing a break?" Twilight asked, still smiling.

I chucked, "Its this suit, to hot and tight."

She shrugged, "Sure it is big guy."

Sarcasm, funny. I patted her back, "Give me a few minutes and I will dance some more with you."

She moved closer to me, "Take your time."

I looked across the room at the one pony here that was doing anything interesting.

Peter was walking away from a table, a smirk on his face. What is he up to this time?

I watched as a stallion made his way to the table. When he neared it, he reached over to grab some fancy food off it.

When he picked it, a snapping sound was heard. A pie flew from the side of the table and hit the stallion on the side of his head.

Peter began to laugh loudly. He had a large smile on his face, but suddenly, it changed to one of sadness. He looked on the verge of tears.

His sudden change in mood didn't make sense to me. He was just laughing a second ago, now he's on the verge of tears.

Twilight also noticed, "What's wrong with him?"

I shrugged, "I don't know Twi."

He turned towards the stage and walked behind it. He soon emerged with a acoustic guitar strapped across his side.

I didn't even know there was acoustic guitar's here.

He walked out the door that lead to the garden. A sad look on his face.

I looked over to Twilight, "Should we go after him?"

She nodded, "I think so. He is your friend after all."

I nodded. I began making my way through the crowd of ponies, followed by Twilight.

We walked through the door and into the garden.

I looked around, but couldn't see Peter. Than, at the other end of the garden, a purple pony was making its way down a row of bushes.

I pointed to where I had saw the purple pony, "Over there."

We walked through the garden and finally came to the row the pony had went down. We walked down the row, which went on for what seemed like miles. Finally we emerged in a clearing.

I could see Peter sitting on a log, holding the guitar in front of him, setting up to play.

I put my hoof to stop Twilight, "Not yet."

She nodded understandably.

Peter strummed the guitar. He then began to play a song that I heard once before. After a few seconds he began to sing in a sad voice, "There's an old tale wrought with the mystery of Tom
The poet and his muse
And the magic lake which gave a life
To the words the poet used..."

Twilight looked at him then me, "What is he singing? It sounds kinda sad."

I shrugged, "I don't know Twi, I think I've heard this song before."

"... The muse she went down to the lake
And in the waves she drowned..."

I know I've heard this song before, but where?

"... The poet came down to the lake
To call out to his dear
'When there was no answer
'He was overcome with fear..."

I got it! I heard it at my uncles, after his wife died of cancer. But why is he singing it.

"... By the stories he'd create
Nightmares shifted in their sleep
In the darkness of the lake..."

Twilight had a tear in her eye, "He sounds so depressed and sad."

I put a hoof over her and pulled her close, "I know."

"... In the dead of night she came to him
With darkness in her eyes
Wearing a mourning gown
Sweet words as her disguise..."

I too felt a tear in my eye. Why is he so sad?

"... Now if its real or just a dream
One mystery remains
For it is said on moonless nights
They may still haunt this place." His voice slowly began to get lighter. He dropped the guitar, and put his head in his hooves.

I walked forwards, "I didn't know you could play the guitar, or sing."

He jumped, and turned towards me, tears streaming down his face, "I didn't know you was there."

I walked over and sat on the log next to him, Twilight slowly maker her way over to us, "Are you okay Peter?"

He nodded his head and turned away, "Yeah, just bad memories."

"What kind of memories?"

He turned back to me, "Two years ago, me and my friend was out on Halloween, you know, doing pranks and things like that."

I motioned for him to continue.

"Well, we was kicked out of a party because we pulled to many pranks on the guest. He wanted to just head home, but I wanted to go to another party that was happening across town. He complained that he should get home, but I talked him into it." He put his head in his hoofs.

Twilight walked over to him and put her hoofs over his neck, "Then what happened."

He looked up and continued, "We was crossing a interstate. I made it across easily, but my friend was still on the other side. I yelled for him to cross... but a.... a... drunk driver just came out no where and..." He began to cry.

Twilight began to comfort him.

"He didn't even live long enough for me to say I'm sorry." Peter said as he sobbed into his hooves.

I was still confused on one thing though, "But why sing that song?"

He looked over at me, "It was our favorite song to play together."

Now it makes sense. "Is there anything you want us to do?"

He looked up and smiled, whipping the tears away, "Yes, you can help me with something."

I nodded, "Sure. What is it?"

He smirked, "A prank."

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof walked over to the table that held all the food, followed by Dana.

He picked up a fancy sandwich and took a bit. He was famished.

Dana looked the table over, "Looks the way my mother always set food out."

Captain Barehoof looked over at her. Why was she still here? It was fun dancing with her, but she was sort of stuck up and to safe. The sort of mare that the Captain hated.

"How did you get in? Its invite only, and you don't seem like the type that would be invited to the Gala." Observed the Captain.

She looked over at him and laughed, "Its called charm. You need to work on your guards Captain."

He shook his head. He knew putting two Privates, fresh out of training, at the front doors was a bad idea. "Well, they shouldn't have let you in."

She shrugged, still smirking, "Get better guards then." She held up a hoof, "Dance?"

The Captain looked at her hoof, then her. She just don't know when to leave does she? "Sure, why not. Not like I'm doing anything."

_________________________________________________________

I stood holding the rope that Peter had given me. It was attached to a lever across the room. I don't know what he's planning, but it looks like its going to be funny.

Twilight was standing a few feet away from me. She was told to drop the pies she was holding in the air with her magic.

Peter walked up to me and smirked, "Pull it when those mares over there walk past that table."

I nodded, "You got it."

He looked at Twilight, "Drop them five seconds after Lance pulls the rope."

She just nodded in response.

I looked over at the group of mares, slowly making their way to the table.

A few seconds later, they pasted it. I pulled the rope, which caused the lever across the room to be pulled.

The table flipped over, causing the mares to stop and look at it.

Twilight let go of the pies and let them fall.

The mares was covered in the creamy pie. All of them screaming and stomping their hoofs.

Peter began to laugh, followed by me and Twilight.

_________________________________________________________

Greg dropped David onto his bed and sighed. He was missing the party just so he could bring David back home. That sucks.

He turned and left David's room, headed down the stairs, and out the front door.

He pulled a blunt out of his saddlebag and lit it. He put it in his mouth and began the long walk back to the Palace.

As he walked, he looked around him. Nopony in sight. Must all be at the Palace or something.

Once he gets back, he is so going to get that party kicked into high gear.

_________________________________________________________

Twilight walked over to Rainbow Dash, who had just finished talking to that one Wonderbolt. Spitfire maybe?

As she neared, Rainbow Dash smiled, "Hey Twilight. Guess who just got asked to hang out with the Wonderbolts at their HQ."

Twilight walked up to her, "You?"

Rainbow Dash smirked, "That's right! Me, the best flier in all of Equestria."

Twilight grinned, "You'll be a Wonderbolt soon at this rate."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "You got that right." She looked down at Twilight's leg, "What is that?"

Twilight looked down, "Oh this? Its nothing, just my engagement bracelet that Lance gave me."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, "He proposed?!"

Twilight nodded, smiling, "Yep, in the garden."

Rainbow Dash, who you would have thought would be furious, actually smiled, "That's great Twi. I'm happy for you."

Twilight looked at her strangely, "I though you would be angry or something."

Rainbow Dash shook her head, "No, its okay now. I know there's no way he would go with me. So, I'm happy your happy."

Twilight smiled and hugged Rainbow Dash, "Thank you Rainbow. I know there's a stallion out there for you."

Rainbow dash smirked, "Of course there is Twi. Who wouldn't want to date me, the best flier in Equestria."

Twilight chuckled, she had missed Rainbow Dash's boasting.

_________________________________________________________

Frederic sat smiling. Happier than he had been in years, because he was finally going to be able to spend the rest of his life with the one he loved. Luna.

He has been dreaming of this event for years, always hoping it would come true. And tonight, it has.

Luna sat beside him, smiling and looking at her engagement bracelet.

He looked over at her, smiling.

She looked at him, "How did the stars make you fall for me Frederic?"

"They was a master piece, special and beautiful. Just like you."

She blushed and smiled, "Your the first one to say that to me."

Frederic took her hoof in his, "I love you."

She leaned down to him, "I love you to."

They leaned into each other, their lips meeting each other. They shared a long and passionate kiss, one filled with love and passion.

_________________________________________________________

I looked onto the dance floor to see something strange.

Captain Barehoof and my mom dancing. The Captain looked like he was bored, and my mom looked to be having a good time.

Well, I know where I'm not going. As long as I stay clear of her, this night should still be fun.

I began to back away from the dance floor and move towards the stairs.

As I began to near them, I saw Princess Celestia shaking the hoofs of everypony that entered. At the entrance was two guards, who looked to be bored out of their minds.

It must suck to be a guard. I turned to go back into the ballroom. Time to look for Twilight and enjoy the rest of the night.

The Grand Galloping Gala part 3

Chapter 24

I walked into the ballroom and glanced around. No Twilight, but I did see Peter in the corner. He had that guitar in front of him and looked to be playing it.

On the dance floor was the Captain and my mom. The Captain still looked bored. Poor guy.

I looked back over to Peter, still playing his guitar. I began to make my way over to him. As I neared, I heard the My little pony: Friendship is magic theme song. Just the tone, he wasn't singing.

"How many songs can you play on that thing?" I asked, a smile on my face.

Peter looked up and chuckled, "More songs than you know."

I chuckled and looked around, "So, what happened to doing pranks?"

He shrugged, "Got bored. It's actually funner to play the guitar."

I nodded, "I wish I could play an instrument. I suck at it, along with most things."

He laughed and put down the guitar, "Well, if you want. I could teach you sometime after the Gala."

I held out my hoof, "Thanks Peter."

He slammed his hoof into mine, "No problem dude."

_________________________________________________________

Greg walked over to Pinkie Pie, a large grin on his face.

Pinkie Pie was wearing a very festive and pinkish dress. With candy images over it. To Greg, it looks awesome.

"Yo Pie, think you could help me with something?" He said in his relaxed, high voice.

Pinkie Pie spun around, "Hey Haze, I haven't seen you in a long long time. Like three days I think. Ow ow, I LOVE your suit. It looks super awesome. Where's your dog friend, he is so cool."

Greg smiled, his head spinning from her talking speed and the marijuana, "Wow, to fast for me. I need your help making this party cooler and more exciting."

She began to bounce in place, a smile that seemed impossibly big on her face, "That's easy! All we need to do is get the music going, and get the ponies dancing. Ow ow, the pony pokie would be the best song to play, just like last year."

Greg laughed, "I have a better idea." He pulled a bottle of vodka and a blunt out of his saddlebag. "How do you feel about being a crazy bitch tonight?"

Her smile never faded, "That sounds super duper. What do I need to do?"

He plopped the blunt in her mouth and lit it, "Puff that and then drink this." He put the bottle next to her.

She nodded excitedly.

Greg grinned, this was going to be awesome.

_________________________________________________________

Twilight looked at me, a smile on her face, "So hows your night going Lance?"

I shrugged, "Great so far. How about yours?"

She held up her hoof with the engagement bracelet on it, "The best night of my life." She reached out and took my hoof in hers, "I love you Lance."

I pulled her into a hug, "I love you too Twi."

As I hugged her, I saw Greg and Pinkie Pie. I looked away but then looked back, a feeling of worry in my gut. What is she drinking?!

I looked closer and gasped. Damn it Greg! You just doomed us all!

Pinkie Pie was gulping down a full bottle of vodka. One of the strongest and fastest acting drinks out there. What will that do to a pony like Pinkie? I don't think I want to know.

_________________________________________________________

Greg began to step back, a smile on his face.

Pinkie Pie had just finished the blunt and the vodka. She was now shaking up and down, extremely fast.

Now that he thinks about it, this may not have been a good idea.

Pinkie Pie insistently stopped shaking up and down and stood still.

Maybe it didn't have the effect he had thought it would.

She shoot towards the stage, faster than was thought possible. She knocked Octavia out of the way and grabbed her cello, and yelled out at the top of her lungs, "Come on everypony. Lets party."

She began to slam her hoofs into the cello, breaking it in half. Before it hit the ground, she jumped up on the piano. She started jumping up and down on it, cracking it with every hit.

Greg started backing away and towards the exit. Things were starting to get a little to crazy and better to leave early.

As he backed away, he bumped into somepony. "Sorry, but I must..."

Lance stood there, a stern look on his face, "Greg, do you know what you've done?"

Greg shrugged, "I don't know, I'm just leaving."

Lance shook his head, "No, I saw what you did. Gave Pinkie Pie vodka and a blunt."

Greg just laughed, "Its awesome dude. But I really have to leave."

The sounds of destruction and the laughs of a crazy pony could be heard behind him.

Lance raised an eyebrow, "What? Can't handle your creation?"

Greg nodded, "Exactly. Now I'm out of here, peace." He began to walk around Lance, but a hoof caught him by the neck of his suit.

"Oh no. Your staying here and clean up your mess."

Greg smirked, "Make me." His horn glowed and he disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and light.

He blinked to see his room. It actually worked. Its a good thing he had borrowed those spell books from Twilight.

Weedy jumped up on his leg, barking happily.

Greg looked down and laughed, "Man Weedy, tonight was crazy."

Weedy grinned and pointed to Greg's saddlebag.

Greg chuckled and pulled out a blunt for Weedy, "You little bastard, always wanting my blunts."

Weedy smirked and puffed on his blunt.

_________________________________________________________

I shook my head. Damn it Greg! Thanks to you, Pinkie Pie went on a crazy drunken rampage. Destroy most of the ballroom. It was worst than what happened on the show.

The Gala had been cut short, mostly since all the ponies ran out, fearing their lives. The only ones still here was me, Twilight, Frederic, Luna, Princess Celestia, and a passed out Pinkie Pie.

I stood looking at the destroyed ballroom. The statue was destroyed, the stage was a wreck, all the tables was broken, food scattered every where, everything that hadn't been nailed to the floor was thrown and broken, and lastly, all the windows were broken.

I have to admit, she did more damage than I though she could have done. I'm surprised this building is still standing.

Frederic looked over the room and sighed, "Please, next time don't give her alcohol."

I looked at him, "I didn't give it to her, it was Greg."

Princess Celestia chuckled, "Well, I wanted this year to be different. I guess I got it, even if this isn't what I meant."

I laughed, "You brought bronies to the Gala. You should be lucky there still is a Palace."

Twilight looked over at Princess Celestia, "I'm so sorry Princess. I didn't...."

Princess Celestia held up a hoof, "It's okay Twilight Sparkle. I had a feeling this may happen." She pointed to the door that lead to the courtyard. "I want everypony to leave. Its going to take the clean up crew all night to fix everything."

I nodded, "Yes Princess." Me and Twilight walked towards the door. I don't know about her, but I need a nice long night of rest.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof stood next to the mare named Dana, looking at the Palace.

Dana looked around the area then at him, "Well, that was unexpected."

The Captain nodded, "It certainly was. I should have stayed, but you drug me out."

Dana chuckled, "Sorry about that. I kinda freak out in moments of panic."

He waved her off, "It's fine. I'll help you with your son tomorrow."

She nodded, "I'll be outside the gate first thing in the morning. I want you to be out here early and ready to help."

She's very demanding isn't she? "I'll do my best. Now, head home. The Gala's over and I intend to sleep the rest of the night away."

She shrugged, "Fine." She turned and walked out the gate.

The Captain sighed and headed for the barrack's, loosening his neck tie along the way.

_________________________________________________________

I flopped down in bed, letting out a relaxed breath.

Twilight climbed in next to me, and I put my hoofs over her. She slowly relaxed into me, and laid her head on my chest.

I closed my eyes and let the darkness around me take me and push me into a restful and peaceful slumber.

Mothers know best

Status: Still in hospital and sick.
This is sort, because today has been a very busy day for me. I put out the Christmas Special, which is said to be very good.
So please, enjoy this short chapter.

Chapter 25

Captain Barehoof and Dana walked up to the house that her son was staying.

The Captain had met up with Dana at the Palace gates, right where they had planned on it. She had been very eager to get going.

The Captain was dressed in his full Royal Guard armor.

As they stood outside the door, she turned to the Captain, "If he refuses, I want you to force him to leave."

He sighed, "If I have to ma'am, I will."

She rolled her eyes, "Call me Dana. I hate being called ma'am, makes me feel old."

He looked at her, "Alright, Dana, lets just get this over with."

She nodded and knocked on the door.

On the other side came the sound of crashing and things being knocked over.

The door opened to reveal a dull green unicorn with a blue mane and tail. He had a weird look on his face. "Oh, look its that one pony... the mom."

Dana nodded, "Where is he?"

The unicorn stepped back, motioning for them to enter.

The Captain and Dana walked in. The house was kinda plain, but had a certain touch to it. There was a strange smell in the air.

Dana looked at the unicorn, "Where is he?"

The unicorn began to laugh, "You just repeat your self don't you?"

Dana shook her head, "Just tell me."

The unicorn turned and laughed loudly, "With that one bitch I think."

Dana stepped forward, "Don't use that kind of language!"

The unicorn turned back to them and laughed, "Sure thing bitch."

Dana stomped her hoof, "Stop that right now."

Upstairs, a door opened and closed. A purple unicorn walked to the stairs and began to walk down them, "What's with all the noise Greg!"

The Captain looked up at her, instantly recognizing her. It was Twilight Sparkle, from the school. And by the the looks of the bracelet on her hoof, Lance's fiancee. Wait, if she's here, does that mean... that Dana is Lance's mom?

Dana looked at Twilight, a glare in her eyes, "Go get Lance right this minute!"

Twilight shook her head, "He's still asleep and I'm not going to wake him up."

Dana shook her head, "Then I will." She started moving towards the stairs.

Twilight moved and blocked her from going up the stairs. She got a forced smile on her face, "No, he needs his sleep. We was all up late last night at the Gala."

Dana's eyes widened, "You was at the Gala last night?"

Twilight nodded, "We all was."

Dana look dumbfounded, "But, I was there."

Twilight grinned, "We knew that, we just chose to avoid you."

Dana came face to face with Twilight, "Lance would have walked up to me."

Twilight smirked, "He's the one who chose to avoid you, not me."

Dana raised her voice, "Let me through now!"

Twilight shook her head, "No."

The sound of a door opening made everypony in the room look up stairs.

Lance walked to the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes, "What's with all the noise Twi?"

Dana looked up and half screamed, "Lance Greenfield! Come down here right now, we're leaving."

Lance looked half asleep, "What? No, I'm not leaving."

Dana pushed Twilight out of the way, "Oh yes you are!" Twilight feel to the floor.

Lance insistently snapped to full attention, "Don't you dare push my fiancee! I don't care if your my mom!'

Dana pointed a hoof at him, "Don't you use that tone with me mister! I will ground you for a long time if you even try!'

Lance walked pass her and over to Twilight. He helped her stand, "Mom, I don't give a fuck. You can do what ever you want, but I'm not leaving."

Dana looked over to the Captain, "Captain, make him come with me."

Captain Barehoof was at a lose for words. He had thought once a pony was old enough to take care of them self, the parents sent them on their way. Why was Dana still on Lance's back? "Dana, I can't force him to leave."

She looked at him shocked, "What do you mean? You said you would help me!"

The Captain nodded, "I did. But that's when I thought you was talking about a colt. I didn't know your son was a full grown stallion. He has every right to live away from home."

Dana shook her head, "No! He's only seventeen, that's to young to be living alone. Besides, he doesn't have a house of his own to live in."

Lance raised a hoof, "Ummm, mom. If you haven't noticed, this is my house. I own it."

She looked at him, surprised, "How can you own your own house?"

He shrugged, "It was a gift."

She shook her head, "I don't care, your coming with me. I don't care if I have to drag you out of here, because I'm not afraid to."

Lance shook his head, "I'm not going mom, please understand that I'm happier here."

She walked up to him, "No, you'll be happier with me."

Lance let out a sigh, "You have no idea what makes me happy."

She came face to face with Lance, "I'm your mother, I know everything about you."

He smirked, "Then tell me who makes me the happiest."

She grinned, "Me of course."

Lance sighed, "Wrong. Its Twilight."

Dana looked hurt, "Whats wrong with you Lance? You use to be such a good boy."

Lance turned away from her, "I learned to live mom. I think you should leave."

She looked to holding back tears, "I'm leaving, and I really think you should follow."

He shook his head, "No mom, I'm not going to follow."

Dana turned and left the house.

The Captain looked at Lance, "She's quite the hoof full."

Lance chuckled, "You have no idea Captain."

The Captain turned and followed Dana out the door. She was standing there, a sad look on her face.

She looked at him and smiled weakly, "My little boy is growing up, to old for his mother I guess."

The Captain nodded, "Its normal."

She walked over to him and smiled, "Well, how about you take me out for breakfast."

He looked at her strangely, "Why?"

She shrugged, "Because you want to."

He thought about what she said for a second and shrugged, "Well, I guess. I am famished after all."

She nodded, "Then take me to your favorite restaurant Captain."

He looked around, "Uhhh, follow me."

They turned and headed down the street. Heading towards the Captain's favorite restaurant.

Morning date

Status: In hospital and still sick.
Fun chapter, enjoy1

Chapter 26

I stepped out of my house and took a breath of the fresh air. Being in a house that smells like weed makes you dizzy after a while.

I shifted my saddlebag so that it fit better and began walking down the street. I almost forgot about my job at the Cafe. Good thing Twilight remembered.

_________________________________________________________

Zane stood out side of New Mane City. Finally, after days of traveling, he had arrived at his destination.

If the Princess was right, she would be here. The only person he had to meet.

But now, a new problem is presented. Where will he find her? She could be anywhere in this large city.

He sighed, might as well start looking.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof looked at the menu in front of him. What should he order?

The waiter stood next to the table holding a notebook and pen in front of him with his magic, "Sir, what will you be having today?"

The Captain sighed and put down his menu, "Just give me two hayburgers, two salads, and a lemonade."

The waiter nodded and looked over to Dana, "And you madam?"

She looked at the menu, "Just a salad."

He wrote down the order, "It'll be out in a few minutes."

As the waiter walked away, Dana looked at the Captain, a smirk on her face, "Someones a big eater aren't they."

The Captain chuckled, "I'm just hungry."

She gave a sly smile, "Of course you are."

The Captain sat forward and put his hoofs on the table, "So why did you want me to take you out for breakfast?"

She shrugged, a strange smile on her face, "No reason. Just thought you would like to eat after this mornings events."

He nodded, "Well, I didn't have time to eat this morning. Thanks to you wanting to get going so early."

She leaned forward and put her hoof on his, "I'm sorry. I just want whats best for him."

The Captain looked at her hoof on his, "Well, that's understandable. Parents should want whats best for their kids."

The waiter came back with their food, "Food for you sir," He put the Captain's food in front of him, "And food for you madam." He placed Dana's food in front of her.

Dana nodded towards him, "Thank you."

The waiter bowed, "Your welcome madam." He turned and walked back to the counter.

The Captain picked up one of the hayburgers and took a bite. Delicious.

Dana poked at her food before taking a bite. She chew it for a second before nodding her head, "Taste pretty good."

The Captain nodded, "This place serves the best food."

She took another bite, "I think I have to agree with you on that one."

The Captain finished the first hayburger and picked up the second, he took a sip of his lemonade.

Dana looked at him, "You already ate the first one?"

He shrugged, "I eat fast."

She chuckled, "I see that." She sat back, "But I eat faster." Her bowel was empty.

The Captain held back a smile. It seems shes not as stuck up as he had thought, "You was distracting me. I would have finished way before you did."

She laughed, loudly, "Oh what ever Captain."

He finished the last of his hayburger and took a large gulp of his lemonade, "How about I prove it." He pushed one of the salads over to her, "First one to finish wins."

She smirked, "Your on." She quickly began eating her salad

The Captain dived his head down into his salad and started chewing. When he finished he looked up smiled.

Dana was sat back, her bowel empty and picking her teeth, "Took you long enough Captain."

He chuckled, "Unfair, you had a head start."

She shrugged, "I still beat you."

He looked over to a waiter and waved him over, "Round two?"

She nodded, "You ready to lose again?"

The waiter walked over, "Yes?"

The Captain looked up at him, "Yes, bring us five hayburgers."

The waiter nodded and turned for the counter.

Dana chuckled, "Five huh? Wouldn't there be one left over?"

The Captain smiled, "Who ever eats three wins."

She smiled, "Sounds good to me."

The waiter brought out their food and placed it down in front of them, "There you go."

The Captain smirked, "Ready?"

She nodded, "Oh yeah."

He reached forward, "Begin!"

Greg's new spell

Status: Still in hospital and sick.

Chapter 27

Captain Barehoof and Dana walked out of the restaurant, laughing.

"I told you I was faster Captain." Dana said while patting his back.

The Captain sighed with a smiled, "Your just lucky."

She shook her head laughing, "I sure am, but I also have skills."

The Captain chuckled, "We have to have a rematch sometime."

She nodded, "Oh, we will. How about tomorrow night?"

The Captain raised a eyebrow, "Are you asking me out?"

Dana's face lit up with a slight blush, "Maybe. Do you want to?"

The Captain put a hoof to his chin, thinking about it. He smiled and held up a hoof, "Its a date."

_________________________________________________________

Rainbow Dash landed in the park. While she was flying over, she had heard a very catchy tone. Curiosity took over and she landed to investigate.

Upon looking around for a few seconds, she saw a purple Pegasus playing a guitar. He was pretty good.

She smiled and walked over to him, "Hey, nice playing."

He looked up and smirked, "Thanks." He looked past her, "Want to know a secret?"

"Sure, bring it on." She replied with a smirk.

He pointed past her, "See that tree?"

Rainbow Dash turned around and looked at the tree. It looked like any normal tree, "Yeah, and?"

She turned back to the purple Pegasus. Something slammed into her face, wet and creamy.

"What the hay!" She yelled. She could hear somepony laughing.

"You should never turn away from me. Bad things may happen." She heard the Pegasus say.

Rainbow Dash whipped the creamy stuff of her face. Pie? "Why did you do that?!" She half asked, half screamed.

The Pegasus grinned, "Just perfecting my P.I.T.F. skills."

She stomped her hoof, "What the hay does that mean?"

He smiled evilly, "Pie in the face."

Rainbow Dash glared at him, "Your dead!"

He smirked, "Bring it on."

_________________________________________________________

I walked into my house, tired from today's work. So many tables, so many orders. Why am I the only waiter there? It's next to impossible to serve every table at once.

I sighed, I need some sleep.

I walked up the stairs to see Leonardo and Churchill staring at each other.

"What are you two up to?"

They both looked at me, and smiled.

Okay, that's kinda creepy. "What are you two doing?"

Churchill looked at his paw and shrugged.

They both went their separate ways.

That was strange. I shrugged and walked over to my door.

The door across from mine opened and Greg walked out. "Ahh, Lance. Just the guy I wanted to see."

I sighed and turned, "What is it Greg?"

Greg smiled, "I just read something in one of those old spell books Twilight gave me."

I nodded, "Okay, and what did you read?"

"A awesome spell."

"And its called?"

"Its called, 'True self revealed.'"

Yeah, that explains so much. "And what does it do?"

"It shows your true self, duh." He said like it was obvious.

I sighed, "Dude, I got that, but what does it do?"

He nodded, "Well, it shows who you really are."

Sounds cool. "Interesting."

"Yep, and I want you to be my test dummy."

I chuckled, "I'm no test dummy."

"Come on dude, please." He begged.

I sighed, why not. "Okay, fine. But you owe me."

He grinned, "Deal. Come in my room and I'll reread the information on how to do it." He turned and walked into his marijuana smoke filled room, motioning for me to follow.

I walked in and saw him opening an old looking book.

"Page two hundred and fifty three." He said as he read it to himself.

I looked around the room. He hasn't even tried to decorate his room yet.

"Okay, I think I know how to do it now." He said as he turned back to me.

I raised an eyebrow, "You think?"

He shrugged, "Yeah. Now are you going to shut up and let me concentrate or are you going to bitch about it?"

I held back a smile, "Just hurry and do your spell. I need to sleep."

Greg's horn glowed brightly. A green glow began to engulf me. Then it just stopped and his horn stopped glowing.

"What? Did it work?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No, I just need some weed." He said as a blunt floated up to his mouth.

I shook my head, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yep."

"Just do the damn spell." I said a little annoyed.

His horn began to glow again and the same green light engulfed me. A bright flash filled the room and I had a strange feeling in my gut.

I fell back and landed on his bed.

I heard Greg chuckled, "So that's what it means by true form."

I sat up, "What do you mean. I feel the same."

Greg walked up, "Dude, open your eyes and then you will see what I mean."

I shook my head, "Can't dude, that damn light was to bright. All I see is big bright dots."

A hoof connected with my head, "Does that help."

I sighed, "How the hell would that help."

"I don't know. Just wanted to hit you."

I sighed and put my hoof to my face. Wait, that doesn't feel like a hoof. It feels like a... "Greg, what did that spell do?"

I heard him laugh, "Open your eyes."

I forced my eyes open and they began to focus.

Greg used his magic to push a large mirror in front of me.

I squinted my eyes, and jumped back on the bed in shock.

I was a human again. Dress in the same black clothes I had been wearing when this all began. My black hair with red highlights was the same length as it had been, down to my neck.

Greg nodded his head, "Damn dude, you look like a punk rock dude. Which is weird since I though you would look like a nerd."

I blinked my eyes, "Change me back into a pony now!"

He shrugged, "I can't dude, you have to wait. It wears off after a while."

I stood, standing way over Greg. I was 5'9, he was 4'5. "How long does it last then."

"Five days."

My eyes widened, "Five fucking days!"

He shrugged, "Yep."

"I can't stay a human for five days." I said starting to pace.

"Sure you can dude. Now, explain the clothes. Because, I always pictured you wearing button up shirts and dress pants."

I sighed and looked at my clothes. My shirt was a black T-shirt with a light grey ace on it, along with a black plain jacket. My pants were worn light black jeans. Lastly, my shoes were red high tops. Why did I have to die wearing this stuff?

I looked down at Greg, "I don't usually wear those kind of clothes. I usually wear plaid and blue jeans."

Greg stifled a laugh, "I knew it. You was a nerd back on earth."

I shook my head, "No, I wasn't a damn nerd. I just chose to wear nerdy clothes is all."

He looked at my clothes, "Then why are you wearing emo slash punk clothes?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, "I was tying to impress a girl. See, me and my two friends, Jan and James, was having an End of The World party. Well, Jan had a thing for guys in black, so you know."

Greg grinned, "So you wore those clothes to impress a bitch, I see." He held up his hoof, "Way to go dude."

I chuckled and bumped his hoof, "Now, how am I going to explain this to Twilight?"

Greg turned and walked to the door, "Lets find out." He stuck his head out the door and yelled, "Yo Twilight, can you come to my room."

My eyes widened and I ran over to Greg and picked him up by the waist. Damn, he's heavy. "Greg, what the hell are you doing?"

"Getting Twilight so you can explain it to her."

I shook him, "Dude, I don't even know how to."

"Just say I did it. That's how my bro always got out of trouble."

I dropped him, "I'm so going to get you back."

He shrugged, "Alright, I don't care."

I took a step towards him, but stopped when I heard the sound of hoofs coming towards the door.

_________________________________________________________

Twilight made her way to Greg's room, wondering why he had called for her.

She rounded the corner and walked up to his rooms door, which was open. She stepped in, "What did you..." She stopped when she saw a strange creature standing on its hind legs.

She gasped and took a step back, looking the creature over. It's mane was black with red on the tips of some of the hair, and it wore black clothes that covered most of its body. The top seemed to have two layers of cloth, one under it with a strange design on it and the other that covered it had a zipper on it. On its feet was red shoes that were kinda high up. Its face was gentle looking, but had a certain look to it. To her, it looked strange and slightly frightening.

The creature stood up straight and smiled awkwardly, "Uhhhh, hey Twilight."

She looked at the creature in confusion. That voice, it can't be! "La..Lance, is that you."

The creature scratched the back of its head with its hoof... thing. "Yeah, its me."

She took a few steps closer, "What happened to you?"

Lance pointed down at Greg, "He did it."

Twilight shifted her gaze from Lance to Greg, "And what did you do?"

Greg chuckled, "I just performed the, 'True self revealed' spell on him. Nothing big, he'll be back to a pony in a few days."

Twilight shook her head, "Greg, don't be doing magic on other ponies. Your not ready."

Greg looked at Lance, "I seem ready."

Twilight sighed and looked back to Lance. She had to admit, in his human form, he did look good. But, not as good as his pony form.

Lance looked uncomfortable, "What are we going to do about my looks?"

Twilight thought it over, but couldn't come up with a idea. "I guess you'll have to stay in your house till it wears off."

Lance groaned and fell back on Greg's bed, "But its so boring here."

Twilight smiled. She hadn't seen this side of Lance. The whining side that is, "Its not all that bad."

He looked up, "How? This place has nothing to do."

She smiled slyly, "You still have me."

Lance raised his eyebrows, "Well, I guess that's a plus."

Greg started laughing. Twilight looked over at him with a confused looked on her face, "What's funny?"

Greg pointed at Lance, "I just noticed he's a weeny."

Lance sat up, "And what do you mean by that?"

Greg waved his hoof at Lance, "Just look at you. You look like my friend Jared, and he was weak."

Lance stood and pointed at Greg, "Oh yeah, look at you. I could beat you at anything."

Greg raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

Lance smirked, "I can run longer than you and hold my breath longer than you, you damn smoker."

Greg shrugged, "True, but I can drink more, smoke more, and fuck better than you could ever."

Twilight held up a hoof, "Okay okay, no need to fight."

_________________________________________________________

I looked at Greg, "We're not fighting Twi, just a heated argument is all."

Greg grinned, "Heated argument my ass." He pulled out a second blunt and lit it, "I wouldn't mind fighting you Lance. Might be fun to fight your skinny ass."

I couldn't help but laugh. I agree, Greg could kick my ass even as a pony. Damn, I should have worked out more back on earth. At least then, I could have had a cool body to show off at this moment.

Twilight coughed from the smoke.

I glanced over to her and back to Greg, "Dude, put out the.."

"Blunt." He finished.

"Yeah, put out the blunt, Twilight's in the room."

He shrugged, "My room, my rules."

I sighed, "Fine, come on Twilight." I said as I walked over and scooped up Twilight and held her in my arms. Damn, she's even heavy. I really need to work out.

I walked out of the room holding Twilight the way you would hold a new born baby and walked towards my/our room. "I'm going to bed Twi."

She looked up at me, a slight blush on her face, "But its still early?"

I shrugged, "Long day of work."

She snuggled up close to me in my arms. "I guess I could try and sleep, even if I'm not tired."

I smiled and laid her on the bed. I then climbed over and laid back and relaxed. Which was hard since this bed was pony sized, and my legs hung off the bed slightly.

Twilight laid her head on my chest.

I felt sleep taking over. How do I get this damn tired just from working as a waiter, even if its hard work and keeps me running around for six hours.

I relaxed and let sleep take over.

_________________________________________________________

Twilight sat up and looked at her lover, Lance.

She smiled to her self. Its been only a few minutes and he was already out.

She brought a hoof up and began to rub his mane... hair. It was sorta soft, but also rough. It wasn't as long or as spiky as it had been when he was a pony.

She found it strange that he could still be cute, even as a human. She looked at his clothes. Why is he wearing all those clothes? She shrugged, because the question didn't mean much. He wore clothes all the time as a pony anyway.

She chuckled and laid her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her in a embrace. She may not be able to sleep, but she could still enjoy the moment.

Date night

Status: In hospital, but getting out on the 24th.
Also, making a audio video for this tomorrow. I'll post link in comments and next chapter.

Chapter 28

Peter flew at his top speed, trying to reach Lance's house. He looked forward and saw Lance's house coming up.

He slammed into the door and fell to the ground. He stood and shook the stars from his vision and opened the door. He ran in and slammed it shut, and put his body against it. Barricading the door with his body.

He looked to the top of the stairs to see Twilight, a confused look on her face, "What are you doing Peter?"

Peter smiled awkwardly, "Oh you know." The door behind him jumped forward, like something was slamming into it.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, "Peter, what did you do?"

Peter took a deep breath, sweat covering his face, "Nothing."

The door jumped again, "Blaze! Open this door right now!"

Twilight raised a eyebrow, "Rainbow Dash? Peter, tell me what you did."

Peter smiled, "Well.."

The door was hit again, harder.

Peter braced himself against the door better and continued, "Well, I kinda pranked Rainbow Dash. As in, I slammed a pie in her face."

Twilight sighed and shook her head, "You should apologize."

He shrugged, "I'm fine."

The door was hit again, "Oh Blaze, if you don't open the door, I'll brake your guitar."

Peter's eyes widened, "Not my guitar!" He jumped off the door and opened it.

Rainbow Dash stood there smirking, "I can't believe you fell for that. I don't even have your guitar."

Peter facehoofed, "Shit." He looked up at her, "Do what you want. I can't run anymore."

She walked up to him and held up a hoof, "Good prank, I didn't even see it coming."

Peter looked at her and grinned, "Well, that was unexpected." He bumped his hoof against hers.

She chuckled, "I like you. You know how to pull a prank and live up to it."

Peter nodded, "You know it." He walked out outside, "Want to hang out?"

She spread her wings, "Oh yeah."

_________________________________________________________

I sat up and stretched, fully rested.

I climbed out of bed and yawned. Okay, maybe not fully rested, but enough.

After using the bathroom, very small toilet, and taking a shower, very small shower, I walked out to the stairs. Ready for a day of laying around.

"What the hell!" Said a voice behind me.

I turned and laughed, "Like my bod David?"

David looked me over, "Dude, how did you get your body back?"

I shrugged, "Greg did it."

David laughed, "Thought so. You look like a punk wannabe."

I sighed, "Don't even start on the clothes."

He turned for his room, "Got it. Don't ask, don't tell."

I crossed my arms, "You know David, I've barely seen you out of your room. I though you was going after Rainbow Dash?"

He stopped and stood still, "Shit man, I forgot."

I laughed, "Yeah for two months."

He stomped his hoofs, "Fuck!" He turned, "I got to go."

As he walked past me, I chuckled, "Good luck."

He went down the stairs. I heard the front door open and slam shut. Someone's pissed.

I looked in his room and saw a guitar. A smile came to my face. Might as well try and learn the guitar. I have an idea.

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof stood in front of the mirror in the restroom that was in the Royal Guard's barracks.

He put the comb down and examined him self in the mirror.

"Got a date or something there Captain?"

The Captain turned around to see Staff Sergeant Irony leaning against the door frame, a smirk on his face.

The Captain chuckled, "Shut it Irony."

Sergeant Irony raised his eyebrows, "So I'm right then. Who's the unlucky mare?"

The Captain walked over to him and grinned, "Just a mare. Step aside Sergeant."

Sergeant Irony chuckled loudly, "Have fun Captain."

The Captain walked past him and adjusted his suit as he walked.

_________________________________________________________

Dana finished putting the dress on and looked in the mirror. It was beautiful. Simple, but beautiful.

The dress was red and covered most of her body. It looked like a dress she would have worn back on earth.

"Looks good on you dear." Said Bluetail.

Dana turned and smiled, "Thank you for letting me borrow it."

Bluetail was a mare that had let Dana stay at her house. They had become good friends since she arrived. She was white with a black mane, but blue tail. Hence her name Bluetail.

Bluetail smiled, "Its no problem deary." She walked over to Dana and put a hoof on her shoulder, "Go get that stallion."

Dana chuckled, blushing, "I will, tonight is going to be fun."

_________________________________________________________

Rainbow Dash landed on the steps to her home.

Today had been fun, pranking ponies with Purple Blaze had been awesome.

She opened her door and walked in. She was starving.

She went into her kitchen and opened the cupboard. Barely anything. She sighed, she forgot to go to the store again.

A knock at the door caused her to jump. Who could that be?

She walked to the door and opened it. She couldn't see anything at first because it was dark out, but she could see a stallion outside, "And you are?"

The stallion stepped forward, into the light coming from the open door, "Hey Dash, remember me?"

She looked him over and insistently knew who it was, "Hey Whitemark, I haven't seen you in a long time."

Whitemark chuckled, "Sorry about that. I've been kinda busy."

She stepped aside, "Please come in."

He walked in and looked around her home.

She walked up beside him, "Sorry about taking Lance's notebook and leaving you behind."

Whitemark nodded, "Its fine."

She bumped his side, "Can I make it up to you?"

Whitemark held back a smile and blushed, "You can try."

She walked to the door, "How about dinner than? On me."

Whitemark turned and smiled, "Sounds good."

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof stood outside of the restaurant that he and Dana had agreed on.

He couldn't pronounce the name of the restaurant and he wasn't even going to try.

"Looking good Captain."

The Captain turned to see Dana. His jaw dropped at the sight of her. She wore a dress that made her look... Beautiful, just beautiful.

He smiled, "Same goes for you Dana." He held up a hoof, "Ready to get this rematch started?"

She looked at him determined, "You know it. I'm going to beat you again."

The Captain chuckled, "We'll have to see."

They walked in and talked to the waiter, who than lead them to their seats. After they ordered their food, four hayburgers, four salads, four daisy sandwiches, and two lemonades, they began to talk.

After talking for a few minutes, the waiter brought out their food.

The Captain took two of everything and put it in front of himself, so did Dana.

Dana smirked, "Bring it Captain."

The Captain leaned forward and, "Well see." He looked past her, "Who's that?"

Dana turned, "Who's who?"

The Captain began eating the first hayburger. Half way through it, Dana turned around.

"Oh you little cheater." She said smiling before diving into her food.

The Captain chewed through the hayburgers easily, and began on the salads.

"Umm, Captain, you can stop."

The Captain looked up to see Dana smirking, her plates empty.

He sighed while smiling, "I'll never know how you are so fast."

She shrugged, "I'm just to fast for you."

He sat back and had a though, "Did we just go on a date to settle a score?"

She laughed and leaned forward, "I was hoping it would be more."

The Captain leaned forward, "It can be, if you want it to be"

She raised an eyebrow while smiling, "I do, but the real question is, do you?"

The Captain smiled warmly, "I'll answer you with a question."

She nodded, "Alright, what is it?"

The Captain hesitated for a second, "Do you want to be my marefriend?"

She looked a little surprised, "What do you think?"

He shrugged, "I don't know anymore."

She chuckled at his response, "Yes, I would love to be your marefriend."

The Captain looked over joyed, "Really?!"

She leaned closer and smiled, "Yes really. Your the kind of guy... I mean stallion that I've always wanted to meet. Fun, but also strict."

The Captain blushed lightly. Their muzzles where close, very close.

Dana began moving closer, eyes slowly closing.

The Captain began to feel light headed. He had never kissed a mare in all his adult life. He gulped and leaned forward.

Their lips connected.

_________________________________________________________

I shuddered.

Wow, what was that? I have a weird feeling, like something weird and scary just happened.

I shrugged and continued trying to play the guitar.

Learning

Status: Out of hospital, but still slightly sick.
I have made a audio for chapter 1. But, that one sucks, so here's a better one made by kingqball,
Living the dream: Chapter one

Chapter 29

I stood up and dropped the guitar.

I let out a loud sigh and rubbed my hands together, "Damn it! It's harder than I thought to learn how to play the guitar." I looked around the empty room, "Who am I talking to?"

I laughed a little to my self.

Learning the guitar is not easy, unless you have a teacher.

Hmmm, teacher. I got it! Peter said he would teach me.

I walked out of the room and looked around. Where's Twilight?

I looked around a little more and sighed, "This feels like Where's Waldo. I could never find that guy."

"Who's Waldo?"

I turned to see Twilight. I'll be damned, how does those ponies do that? Always popping up when you least expect it. "Oh, just a guy. Anyway, I need your help."

She nodded, a smile on her face, "Sure, what do you need?"

"Can you transport Peter here. I need help with the guitar."

She laughed, "Sure, just give me a second."

Her horn began to glow and the light flashed a few times. Then a brighter light filled the room.

Then I saw Peter, mid flight, appear in the room. Bad thing was, he was still flying and slammed into the wall head first.

He sat up holding his head, "Damn! What the hell happened."

Twilight chuckled, "Sorry about that. I didn't know you was flying."

Peter stood, holding his head, "Don't worry about it. I've been in car crashes worst than that."

Twilight cocked her head, "Car crash?"

Peter chuckled at her confusion, "It was just what we used to get from place to place. A car crash is when we crash into each other."

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin, "Interesting. What else did you have on earth?"

I held up my hand, better stop them before they go into a long conversation. "Peter, I need your help."

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, "Whoa, dude what happened to your pony body? Your human again."

I sighed, I forgot I was human for a second, "Long story, I'll tell you later. But first, I need help learning the guitar."

Peter got a cocky smile, "I see, and you need the best guitar player in Equestria to help you learn."

I laughed at his boasting, "Yeah yeah. Can you help?"

He shrugged, "I can, for a price."

I sighed, "Fine, what do you want?"

He walked over and flew up till his mouth was next to my ear, "You have to let me play at your wedding."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Uhhh, deal."

He landed on the floor, "Alright then, lets get to learning."

_________________________________________________________

Frederic stood out on the Palace balcony looking up at the morning sky. A smile on his face.

He was still overjoy at Luna saying yes. The wedding was already planned out and everything, by Luna. But he didn't care, as long as there was a wedding, he didn't care what was going to be there.

He turned around to his servant, Tinker. Since he was marrying the Princess, he was able to get the benefits of a prince.

Tinker looked at him, "Do you need something sir?"

Frederic looked around then back to Tinker, "Yes, go to the workshop and grab the black bag on my desk."

Tinker bowed, "Yes sir." He then turned and walked off the balcony.

Frederic turned back, and continued looking out over Canterlot.

_________________________________________________________

David opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around in confusion, trying to remember where he was. He looked over to his side, and smiled at the pony next to him. He now remembers the night before.

He and Rainbow Dash had come back from dinner talking and laughing. The next thing he knew, they was in bed.

He sighed, he didn't even know all those positions where possible.

Rainbow Dash stirred and sat up. She looked at him and smiled miscellaneously, "Wanna go for another round?"

He raised his eyebrows, he hadn't expected this, "Ummm, sure."

She sat up and jumped on him unexpectedly, "This time, I'm not holding back."

David's eyes opened in surprise, "Oh my."

_________________________________________________________

Zane walked out of the club, yet another dead end during his search.

He sighed loudly, he had thought finding her would be easy. Guess he was wrong on that one.

The city of New Mane is a large city, with a large population. It would take forever to find just one pony.

_________________________________________________________

Greg made his way to Sweet Apple Acres. He knew Louie was there and he wanted to see what was keeping him away from home.

That brony dog, making pups and leaving home. They grow up to damn fast.

As he walked, he heard a rustling coming from a bush.

He looked at it and saw something sticking out of it.

He walked behind the bush to see two ponies.

One was white with a red and black mane and tail. He was laying on his back with his hoofs behind his head.

Next to him was another stallion who was light grey with a gold and grey mane and tail, both looked like metal, but was clearly hair. He was holding a pair of binoculars and was using them to look at the farm.

Greg cleared his throat, "What are you two doing?"

They both turned around, and the white one spoke up, "Oh nothing. Fearanger here is just spying on Applejack."

The one with the binoculars spun around, "Dude! Not spying, observing."

Greg looked at the pair, finding it strange that they where spying on Applejack. He looked at the white Pegasus, "And you are?"

"Rendan." He responded.

Weird names. Greg thought to himself, "Why are you spying on her?"

Fearanger turned, "Not spy, observe."

Rendan smirked, "He has a crush on her. So he's going on this long quest trying to win her heart."

Fearanger rolled his eyes, "I'll win her heart, you just watch."

Greg smirked, "This I got to see. Mind if I join?"

Rendan moved over a little, "Sure thing man. Should be fun watching him fail."

Fearanger sighed, "I'm not going to fail."

Greg chuckled, "Sure, we'll see."

_________________________________________________________

Princess Luna stood in her room, looking over the plans for her and Frederic's wedding.

She smiled brightly at the thought of them getting married. She couldn't believe that the whole five years he's been here, she never once told him of her feelings.

Only a few more days till the wedding.

All it needs now is the entertainment. She smirked, only two ponies she knew that could deliver a great performance, Vinyl scratch and her new singer Nightwing.

Not spying, observing

Not spying, observing

I know I said I wouldn't do a chapter today, but you know me. Can't stay away from writing. So I made it easy on me and just focus on one scene. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 31

Greg sat beside Rendan and Fearanger. It was starting to get boring just watching Fearanger watch Applejack through the binoculars.

Greg sat up, he didn't even know their real names, "So tell me, what's your human names?"

Fearanger answered without turning his gaze from Applejack, "Zorrow Bialeki."

Greg stifled a laugh. That's one funny name.

Rendan just shrugged, "Seth."

Greg looked at him, "Just Seth? No last name?"

Rendan smirked, "Well actually its, Seth Sethity Sethinston The Sethinteenth."

Greg's head was spinning from Seth's choice of words. "I'm just going with Seth."

Seth grinned, "Most people do."

Zorrow waved his hoof at them, "Quiet guys, she may hear you."

Greg sighed, "When are you going to be done spying on her dude?"

Zorrow shook his head, "I'm not spying, I'm observing."

Seth smirked, "Same thing."

Zorrow sat up, "No it is not. Spying is hiding and taking notes on someone so you can give the information away or something along those lines. Observing is where you observe their habits and learn about them. Know everything about them so you will be able to approach them the right way."

Greg grinned, "So by observing, you mean stalking?"

He and Seth burst out laughing.

Zorrow's eye twitched, "No." He shook his head, "I give up." He went back to 'observing' Applejack.

Greg looked over to Seth, who was laying back on the ground again, "How long do you think he'll keep this up?"

Seth chuckled, "Could be a while. Back on earth, he did the same thing to this one chick. We stayed out in the forest out side of her house for weeks before the dad caught us. He's always dragging me into things like this."

Greg laughed, he's done things like that before back on earth.

He than thought about what Seth had said. Weeks? He didn't have weeks. He smirked, maybe he can speed up the process.

He used his magic to break the lens of the binoculars.

Zorrow pulled back and looked at them, "Damn peace of crap. I knew I should have bought a better one, instead I go for the cheapest piece of shit they had." He turned towards them, "Looks like we're going to have to get closer."

Damn, instead of speeding up things, he had just made everything worst.

Seth sighed and stood, "Last time you made us move closer, we ended up being chased by five cars filled with pissed off parents."

Greg let out a small laugh, "Why five cars?"

Seth held up a hoof, "Long story. I'll tell you later."

Zorrow went low to the ground, "Come on guys, we gotta move up with out being seen."

Seth and Greg both sighed and went to the ground, following behind Zorrow in a slow crawl.

Once they came upon another set of bushes big enough for all of them to fit, they jumped behind it.

Zorrow peeked out of the bushed, "Oh yeah, this is a perfect spot."

Greg peeked out of the bushes and saw that Applejack had her back to them. From their position, they could see her round flank and..

Greg pulled back, he may be a lot of things, but he was no perv.

Seth sat back, "Zorrow, when are you going to be done spying on Applejack?"

Zorrow tensed up and turned, "I'm not spying on her for the last time, I'm fucking observing her!" He said a little to loud.

Seth shook his head, "So much for not being caught. They're sure to have heard that."

Zorrow peaked out of the bosses and sighed a sigh of relief, "Doesn't look like anyone heard me." He sat back and smiled, "Am I good or what?"

"Nope." Said a rough country voice.

Greg and Seth looked at Zorrow, behind him was a red stallion.

Zorrow was pale white. His eye's wide with fear.

Behind him stood Big Macintosh. Big Macintosh stepped over the bushes and stood in the little circle they was in. "What are ya folks doin' spyin on mah lil' sister?"

Zorrow took a loud gulp, "Not spying, observing."

Big Mac looked at him, "That's the same thing."

Zorrow looked to be about to explain the deference between spying and observing, but Seth shook his head with fear.

Big Mac glared at them, "Ah don't take kindly to folks spyin on my sister. Ah give ya to the count of five to run."

Greg tried to clear his head and do something smart.

He quickly reached out and grabbed Seth by the hoof and yelled out, "Don't hate the drugs, hate the dealer!"

They disappeared in a green light.

They reappeared in Greg's room. Greg let out a sight of relief, "That was close, but I saved us all from the red dude."

Seth looked around, "Ummm where's Zorrow?"

Greg looked around, "Oops, must have forgot to grab him too."

Seth chucked, "I'm sure he's fine. Why did you say that before teleporting us here?"

Greg shrugged, "I just said the first thing that popped into my head. So, do you really think Zorrow is fine?"

Seth smiled, "Dude, he talked a deranged father with a shotgun to not shoot him after having sex with his daughters. I'm pretty sure he can talk a red pony out of attacking him."

Greg nodded, "Wish I could do that. Anyway, how about me and you go hang at your place till he gets back."

_________________________________________________________

Zorrow ran down the path at his top speed, not even trying to catch his breath.

Behind him was a pissed off Big Mac.

All he had said was that Applejack had a nice body and flank, something he could tap. How could that offend anybody?

Now, he had one pissed off stallion chasing him. He could literally see steam coming from its snout when it breathed. That scared the hell out of him.

At least he was out running the big guy. He may just get away.

Something connected with his hoof, sending him flying to the ground. When he looked back, he saw a stump. Fucking stump, what's it doing in the middle of the road?

Big Mac moved in close till he was looming over him, a look of anger on his face.

Zorrow did the only thing a cool and awesome pony like him self would do. He pulled his legs together, going into the fetal position, "Okay, you can do what ever you want. Just stay away from the face and hair, I need those."

Big Mac raised a hoof and smirked, "Ah don't make promises."

Zorrow tighten into his ball. Damn, him and his damn mouth. Its always getting him in trouble.

Royal wedding

Here it is, the wedding. Enjoy.

Chapter 32

I stood in front of the mirror adjusting my suit, just finished tying my tie and buttoning the dress jacket.

I looked into the mirror at my pony body and smiled. Thank you Princess Celestia. She had turned me back into a pony, she said it would have been hard, but since Greg's magic is new and weak, it was easy.

I missed this body. I look so much better this way.

I pushed the goggles down over my eyes. I was wearing the new ones that Frederic had given me, and they really worked. Not only did they give me the ability to see in the dark and fog, but also improved my eye sight by a little.

I walked away from the mirror and walked down the stairs and to the front door.

Now, all I got to do is wait for Frederic to come and pick me up. I wonder what being best man will be like.

After a few minutes of standing outside of my house, a Royal Chariot landed in front of me, pulled by two Royal Guards.

Frederic stepped off, a large smile on his face. He was wearing a suit similar to mine, but had a few extra pockets and looked more official.

I smiled as I walked towards him, "Looking good Frederic."

He grinned, "Thanks." He looked me over, "Nice suit. You ready for this?"

I smirked, "What you should be asking is: Are you ready for this?"

He chuckled, "Oh, I'm ready for this. I've been ready for five long years." He moved to the side, "Get on Lance, I don't want to be late for my own wedding."

I walked on and turned, "No, you wouldn't want to do that now would you?"

He walked on, "No I would not." He walked to the front of the chariot, "Okay, take us back to the palace."

The two Royal Guards nodded and lifted off.

Frederic turned to me, "You know what to do right?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, just stand up there and look pretty."

He laughed, "Good, help me keep this wedding from going down hill."

I nodded with a smile, "You know me, I'll make sure everything goes the way its suppose to."

He patted my back, "Thanks."

The chariot landed and we stepped off, and made our way towards the ballroom where the wedding was starting to begin.

_________________________________________________________

Twilight sat on one of the many benches that was in the ballroom. She sat with all of her friends, the only one not with her was Lance. But that was because he was Frederic's best stallion.

She glanced around and saw Frederic making his way to the alter, followed by Lance.

She smiled at him and he smiled back. He was looking good in his suit.

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly, "When is this going to be over?"

Twilight chuckled, "But it hasn't even began yet."

Rainbow Dash sighed, "But we've been here forever!"

David, who was sitting next to Rainbow Dash, grinned, "We just got here not to long ago."

Rarity put a hoof to her face, "Darling, we've only been here for five minutes."

Rainbow Dash looked to the ground, "But its so boring. It felts like hours."

Applejack looked over, "Ya'll need ta learn some patience."

Big Macintosh, who was next to Applejack, nodded, "Eeyep."

Twilight nodded, "Just sit back and enjoy the wedding."

Rainbow Dash sat back, "Fine."

Twilight smiled and returned her attention to the alter, where Frederic stood, looking nervous, waiting for the wedding to begin.

She looked over to Lance, who was rocking on his hooves, and smiled. She couldn't wait for their wedding. She was so happy that all her friends were helping her plan it out. She wanted it to be perfect for her and Lance.

_________________________________________________________

Greg walked into the ballroom followed by Seth.

Seth was pushing a wheel chair with Zorrow in it. Zorrow had a full body cast on, and a head bandage. An IV was stuck into his left hoof. Big Mac had really done a number on him.

Once they were inside and sitting on a bench, with Zorrow's wheel chair next to them, Zorrow sighed and looked towards them. "I'm going to get you back. Both of you. You guys left me behind."

Greg shrugged, "Sorry dude, you wasn't close to me, so I forgot to grab you."

Zorrow sighed, "You could have came back for me."

Seth chuckled, "We did come back for you."

Zorrow grunted, "Yeah, after it was all over and the crap had been beat out of me."

Greg laughed, "At least we came back."

Zorrow closed his eyes and sighed, "I can't believe he shaved my hair off."

Seth and Greg laughed, "You look good bald dude." Greg said grinning.

Zorrow looked at him, "Fuck you man."

Greg smirked, "Time and place dude."

Zorrow rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

Greg smiled and looked up towards the front, where the alter was. He saw that one brony, Frederic, standing there. Over to the side was Lance, who was looking at the front roll smiling.

Greg chuckled to himself. Looks like Lance found a way to turn back into a pony. Wondering how he had done it.

He looked back to see that Zorrow was complaining to Seth.

Zorrow was complaining about his cast and everything else. "Damn, those lights are to bright. Can you turn me to the side a little?"

Seth sighed and turned Zorrow's wheel chair to the side a little.

"Now I can't see the alter, turn me back."

Seth groaned and moved him back to the spot he was before.

"Why did you put me back in the light? Move me to the right a little."

Seth's eye twitched and he moved the wheel chair to the right.

Zorrow sighed, "Come on dude, now I'm looking at a door. Move me to the left a little."

Seth stood, "You want me to move you? Oh, I'll move ya." He bucked Zorrow's wheel chair towards an open widow. The wheel chair hit the window and stopped suddenly. Zorrow flew from the chair and out the window.

Seth sat back down, "I think he'll like the fresh air."

Greg chuckled, "Good one dude."

Seth looked over at him, "I'm tired of his whining."

Greg shook his head, "So was I. I wanted to throw him down the stairs, but out the window works to."

Seth grinned and looked towards the alter. The wedding was already starting.

Greg looked around and heard a tune that sounded like 'Here comes the bride' playing.

The double doors opened and out walked Luna, dressed in a white wedding dress. Greg had to admit, she looked pretty damn hot in it.

She walked down the aisle, a large smile on her face. She stepped up in front of Frederic and Princess Celestia, who was acting as the priest or what ever they call them here, began to talk.

Seth tapped Greg's shoulder, "Damn, that guy up there is pretty damn lucky."

Greg looked at him, "Yeah, you got that right. I mean, he got a Princess to marry him. Think about all the fucking benefits he's going to get."

Seth nodded, "I know dude." He looked back to the front.

Greg looked back to the front. Damn, he wishes he was the one up there getting married. That way he could be a real royal pain in the ass.

He laughed at his own joke and focused on the wedding.

He noticed that he had missed to much of the speech, because she had just finished asking Frederic if he would take Luna to be his wife.

Frederic looked at Luna and smiled, "I do."

Celestia nodded and looked over to Luna, "Princess Luna, do you take Iron Clad to be your husband? Do you promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and honor him all the days of your life?

Luna looked at Frederic smiling brightly, "I do."

Celestia nodded, "I now pronounce you as husband and wife. If anypony has any reason why those two may not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Greg smirked. He stood and yelled, "I have a reason."

_________________________________________________________

I stood off to the side of Frederic, smiling at the scene before me. So far the wedding was going great.

Luna had just said she would marry Frederic and Celestia nodded, "I now pronounce you as husband and wife. If anypony has any reason why those two shall not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Now, all she has to say is he can kiss the bride.

From the back of the room, a pony yelled, "I have a reason."

Everypony in the room gasped and turned around.

I looked at the pony who stood, a shocked look on my face. When I saw who it was, I sighed. Damn it Greg, what are you doing?

Celestia looked at him, "And what would that reason be?"

Greg stood tall and smirked, "Because, I want to tap that first."

Everypony sighed, and Celestia shook her head, "Anypony else have a reason?"

Greg jumped up again, "I do!"

Celestia sighed, "What?"

Greg shrugged, "I forgot, continue."

Celestia shook her head and looked at Frederic and Luna, "You may now exchange bracelets."

Frederic picked up a wedding bracelet with his magic and hovered it towards Luna. She raised her left fore hoof. He placed the bracelet on her left hoof and closed it.

Here's something I've learned about those wedding bracelets. Once you clamp them on the one you love, it never comes off. It isn't meant to come off, as you and your lover are not meant to leave each other.

Luna smiled and picked up a wedding bracelet with her magic and moved it towards Frederic. Frederic raised his left hoof for her. She placed it on his hoof and closed it.

Celestia nodded, "You may now kiss the bride."

Frederic and Luna moved close together. Luna bent down to Frederic's height. Their lips connected.

Everypony in the room cheered and clapped.

Celestia took a few steps back.

Why is she stepping back?

Then, a light began to show where Frederic's and Luna's lips met. The light than began to engulf Frederic.

I shielded my eyes against the bright light. When I looked back at the two, my mouth dropped.

Frederic stood there, now as tall as Luna. But what really took me by surprise was the wings he had grown out of nowhere. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Frederic was now an Alicorn, complete with horn, wings, and height.

Somepony spoke up, "What just happened?"

Celestia stepped forward to explain, "When a Alicorn marries another pony, that pony becomes an Alicorn also. But it only happens if the two truly love each other."

She walked over and stood next to Frederic, who was now as tall as she was, "All hail Iron Clad, the new Prince of Equestria!"

Everypony cheered and stood, clapping.

I looked down at Twilight and smiled, she smiled back.

Frederic took Luna by the hoof, and together they walked down the aisle towards the double doors.

I stepped off the small stage and reached out a hoof to Twilight. She stood and took my hoof, and we headed for the doors that lead into the garden. Where the reception was being held.

I smiled to my self. This should be fun.

Wedding reception

Wedding reception

Chapter 33

Me and Twilight walked into the garden. All the ponies that was inside where now outside, talking and having a good time.

I looked towards the stage and saw Vinyl Scratch and Aaron setting up their DJ booth and mic's.

Their the live entertainment? This should be good.

I shifted my gaze over to Frederic and Luna. They was standing close and talking to a group of ponies.

I looked at Frederic, damn he is lucky. Marrying a Princess and becoming a Alicorn! I want to be a Alicorn, that would be so cool. To be able to fly and use magic at the same time.

I turned to Twilight and smiled. She was looking around with a happy look on her face.

She turned to me, "I want our wedding to be like this."

I chuckled, "I'll do my best, but I'm not good at planing."

She grinned, "Don't worry, Pinkie's got it covered."

"That's good, less work for us." .

She nodded, "She's a good friend."

I smiled, "She sure is."

Before we could continue our conversation, up on the stage, Aaron walked up to the mic, "Hey everypony! We have a special treat for all of you! I'm Nightwing and she's DJ Pon3!"

I stepped forward, closer to the stage. I have to see this.

_________________________________________________________

Aaron pushed the last wire into the turntable. He stood and smiled proudly, "Done."

Vinyl sat up from behind the turntable and nodded, "Everything's in order. Time to start the show. You ready?"

Aaron nodded, "Oh yeah."

She got in her place behind the turntable and prepared to start the music.

Aaron walked up to the mic and turned it on, "Hey everypony! We have a special treat for all of you! I'm Nightwing and she's DJ Pon3!" He turned and nodded to Vinyl.

She nodded back and started the music.

A steady beat began to pour from the speakers. Aaron and Vinyl began to bounce their heads to the beat of the music.

Aaron put his face to the mic and yelled, "Party rock!" His voice echoed.

He bobbed his head, then went back to the mic, "Yeah!" Again, his voice echoed.

He continued to bob his head, "Woo!"

He then jumped in front of the mic, "LET'S GO!
Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind
Everybody just have a good time

Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind

We just wanna see ya!

Shake that!"

He began to walk around the stage, a smug look on his face. Bouncing his head as he went. Then, he jumped back in front of the mic, "In the club party rock, lookin' for your girl
She on my jock (huh) non stop when we in the spot
Booty move away like she on the block
What the track I got to know
Tight jeans tattoo cause I'm rock and roll
Half black half white domino
Gain the money Oprah Doe!

Yo!
I'm running through these hoes like drano
I got that devilish flow rock and roll no halo
We party rock yea! that's the crew that I'm repping
On the rise to the top no led in our zeppelin
Hey!

Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind
Everybody just have a good time

Let's go
Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind

We just wanna see you!

Shake that!"

He hung his head for a few seconds, "Every day I'm shuffling." He said in a low voice before jumping back up and striking a pose. The beat continued from the speakers, never stopping.

He stood up on his hind legs and started pumping his hooves out in front of him. "Shuffling shuffling."

He jumped back in front of the mic, "Step up fast and be the first girl to make me throw this cash
We get money don't be mad now stop hating is bad

One more shot for us
Another round
Please fill up my cup
Don't mess around
We just wanna see
You shake it now
Now you wanna be
You're naked now."

"Get up get down put your hands up to the sound
Put your hands up to the sound
Get up
Put your hands up to the sound, to the sound
Put your hands up!
Get up get down put your hands up to the sound
Put your hands up to the sound
Get up
Get up
Get up
Get up
Get up
Get up
Get up
Put your hands up to the sound, to the sound
Put your hands up!
Put your hands up!
Put your hands up!
Put your hands up!
Party rock is in the house tonight (Put your hands up!)
Everybody just have a good time (Put your hands up!)
And we gonna make you lose your mind (Put your hands up!)
Everybody just have a good good good time

Oh! Oh! (Put your hands up)
Oh! Oh! Time to fill it now!
Oh! Oh! (Put your hands up)
Oh! Oh! (Put your hands up)

Shake that!
Every day I'm shuf-f-f-ling

Put your Put your
Put your Put your (Yeah Yeah)
Put your Put your (Whoa!)
Put your Put your
Put your hands up
Your hands up
Put your hands up."

The song ended and he stopped singing, catching his breath.

The crowd of ponies that had gathered all cheered and clapped.

He smiled, "Thank you! Now, for some originals from DJ Pon3!"

He nodded to Vinyl and she started a new song. This time, it was one of her prerecorded songs.

Aaron walked over and smiled, "That took a lot out of me. Singing and dancing are hard."

She chuckled, "Tell me about it. That's why I became a DJ. You was great Nightwing."

He smiled, "Really? Thank you Vinyl. You wasn't so bad yourself."

She held up a hoof, "Thanks partner."

He slammed his hoof in to hers, "I need a break before I can do another round of singing."

She nodded, "Okay with me, you look like you need a break."

He smiled and walked behind the DJ booth and sat down next to Vinyl. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before relaxing back in the chair.

_________________________________________________________

Greg stood up, followed by Seth, "That was cool."

Seth nodded, "That guy can sing." He began walking towards the side of the building.

Greg looked at him, "Where are you going?"

He kept walking, "Come on."

Greg shrugged and followed. Seth walked around the corner and began to laugh. Once Greg turned the corner, he began to laugh.

Zorrow was on his back, a small tree on collapsed on his chest. A rabbit was sitting on his face.

Greg walked over and kicked the rabbit off his face, "Damn rabbit."

Zorrow spit out some fur, "Thank you dude."

Greg nodded, "No problem."

Seth walked up and kicked at Zorrow, "I wonder if we can throw him down a hill."

Greg smirked, "That would be pretty damn funny."

Zorrow's eyes widened, "Come on, don't do that."

Greg picked him up with his magic, "Lets drop him off that one hill in Ponyville."

Seth smiled, "Lets do it."

Zorrow eyes widened more, "Lets not!"

Greg and Seth began to walk towards the gates, Zorrow in front of them.

_________________________________________________________

Frederic stood next to Luna, watching Greg and his friends leave. He was going to have a little talk with him later.

He looked over to Luna, his new wife, and smiled. He still couldn't believe that they were married. Five years of waiting had payed off.

Luna looked at him, "Having fun?"

He smiled, "Best day of my life." He picked up a knife to cut the cake, "Time for cake."

She giggled and picked up a piece with her magic, and so did he. Everypony gathered around them to watch.

Frederic smiled, and moved the cake towards her mouth for her to take a bite, and she did the same.

The piece of cake Luna was holding neared his face, instead of going towards his mouth, it slammed into his face. She smeared it into his face laughing.

Frederic whipped his face and smirked. He slammed his piece of cake into her face and smeared it all over her face.

She squealed and started laughing. She jumped on to Frederic and they both went to the ground.

They began to roll around, laughing the whole time.

The ponies around them all laughing at the scene before them.

They rolled to a stop and Luna looked down at him, "Who's the one on top now?"

Frederic laughed and rolled them over, "I am." He leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

He stood and helped her up, both covered in mud and grass stains.

She looked him over, than her self, "Wow, we're a mess."

Frederic smiled, "You still look good."

She giggled, "Thanks, so do you."

All the ponies around them awww'd at the scene. Frederic and Luna blushed, forgetting where they were.

Frederic chuckled and held up his hoof, "Would you like to dance my lady?"

She smiled and grabbed his hoof, "I would love to."

They walked out onto the dance floor while a slow song began to play.

Hangover

Yes, I watched the hangover part 2 XD

Chapter 34

I opened my eye's slowly, my head spinning slightly. I sat up and glanced around. My room? How did I get here? Last thing I remember was sitting down and drinking some punch that Greg had brought back from my house. I didn't even know he left the party.

I rubbed my head and looked my self over. My suit was a mess, the jacket gone and just the under shirt. The tie was undone slightly and a few buttons were broken.

I reached up to my face and sighed a sigh of relief. My goggles were still there and felt untouched. I climbed out of bed and grunted. Why do I feel like like I have a hang over? I didn't drink anything.

I stumbled over to the door and opened it. I held a hoof to my head and walked towards the stairs. When I reached them, I saw David slumped against the railing about half way down them.

As I walked down the stairs, I started to notice that his suit was also a mess. When I was next to him, I kicked at his side, "Come on dude, wake up."

When he didn't respond, I gave him a slight kick and he fell down the stairs.

He hit the bottom and groaned. He slowly stood and looked around, "What happened?"

I walked down the rest of the stairs, "I kicked you down the stairs."

He shook his head, "No, I mean what happened last night? Last thing I remember is Greg giving me and Rainbow Dash some punch, then nothing."

I nodded, "Same with me."

We walked into the kitchen and saw Greg, making himself breakfast.

He turned and smirked, "Interesting night?"

I walked up to him, "What did you do to us last night?"

He smiled proudly, "I just cast a spell on your drinks to make you more interesting and more of a party animal."

I shook my head, "Why would you do that?"

He shrugged, "Thought it would be funny, and it was."

I looked around, "Where's Twilight and Rainbow Dash."

He shrugged, "I don't know where Twilight is, but Rainbow Dash is on the couch."

David turned and ran for the living room.

I rubbed my head, "Why does it feel like I have a hangover?"

He laughed, "That shit was funny man."

I looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"

He grinned, "You and David got into a drinking contest here at the house. I kept giving you two beer and vodka, and you both drank till you passed out."

I shook my head, I'm not a drinker. "Where did you see Twilight last?"

He laughed, "You and her was going up stairs, but after that I don't know."

I sighed, and turned for the door.

As I walked up stairs, I began to feel sick to the stomach. Damn it Greg, let me drink alcohol! I can't take that much, it makes me sick.

I walked into my room and looked around more carefully. I couldn't see any sign of Twilight. But the closet door was slightly opened.

I walked over to it and opened it. The sight that greeted me made me jump back and chuckle.

Twilight was tied to the wall in a... position.

I must like it Kinky when I'm drunk. I quickly untied her and placed her in bed. Better not let any one find out about this.

I hope we didn't hurt the baby. That would be terrible, like super terrible. I pulled the covers up over her and left the room.

When I walked into the living room, David was sitting down next to Rainbow Dash, patting her back.

I walked up behind them, "What's wrong with her?"

He looked up at me, "Just a little headache, you know, hangover type headache."

I nodded, I remembered my first hangover. That was a crazy party that night.

Rainbow Dash looked up at me and chuckled, "You look horrible."

I smiled and looked her over, "Your don't look so good your self. Your mane is a mess."

She waved me off, "I don't care, I always look like this in the morning."

David nodded, "Its true, she does."

She slugged him in the arm playfully, "Quiet Whitemark, don't tell him about my mornings."

David smiled, "Sorry about that."

I shook my head while chuckling, "You two have fun, I think I should have a little talk with Gre... I mean Mellow Haze."

They both nodded and went back to talking.

I turned for the kitchen and prepared for a long speech.

_________________________________________________________

Aaron lifted his coffee to his mouth and took another sip, glad that this place had it. He though they didn't have coffee, but they do.

He chuckled and finished off his coffee. As he made his way over to the sink to drop it off, Vinyl walked in. Looking like she had a fight in her sleep. Her mane was a mess and so was her tail. But to Aaron, she looked adorable.

She smiled when she saw him, "Morning Nightwing."

He smiled and walked over to her, "Morning Vinyl." He said as he kissed her on the cheek.

She walked over to the fridge and opened it. She pulled out a pre-made sandwich and sat down to eat it, "We was great the other day."

Aaron sat down across from her and nodded, "I think we were awesome, blew away the crowd."

She smirked, "I think we can do better."

He raised an eyebrow, "How?"

She sat back and grinned, "Its a secret."

He shook his head laughing, "So how am I suppose to do better if you don't tell me the plan?"

She shrugged, "I guess you'll have to wait for me to come up with it."

He began to laugh, "I see how it is."

She swallowed the last of the sandwich and stood, "I'm bored."

Aaron stood up and walked to the door, "I can fix that."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Oh, and how will you do that?"

He reached down and picked up a basket, "Picnic?"

She smiled, "I've never been on a picnic before."

Aaron smiled, "Then this should be fun for you. And romantic."

_________________________________________________________

Captain Barehoof stood out side of Princess Celestia's throne room. Wondering why she had called him there.

He took a deep breath and walked in. Upon entering, he saw the Princess sitting on her throne, a smile on her face. "Hello Captain."

He bowed, "Princess."

She waved her hoof, "Stand Captain. I have a task for you to complete."

He stood, "Yes Princess?"

She smiled, "I know about the mare named Dana you have been seeing."

His eyes widened, scared that she was mad.

Her smile stayed, "I want you to move out of the castle and move in with her in your new home."

He blinked in confusion, "What?"

"Think of this as a thank you for all your years of dedicated work for the Guard."

"But, I don't want to be kicked out of the Guard."

She chuckled, "Don't worry Captain, you will still be in the Guard, just not on duty."

"Thank you Princess. But where will we live?"

"I already have a house ready for you, right next to Lance's. I think she'll like that."

He smiled and bowed, "Thank you Princess, thank you so much."

She nodded, "Your welcome Captain. Now, go collect your things, I'll have a Royal Chariot go pick her up and take her to your new house."

He smiled and walked out of the throne room. He hadn't thought he would actually be able to live with her. This was unexpected, but a good thing.

_________________________________________________________

Twilight sat up and rubbed her head. Why did she have a headache? What happened last night?

Her body was sore, and her hoofs felt sorta raw. Like she had been tied up.

She slowly crawled out of bed, groaning from the pain in her muscles. She's not a very athletic pony and not use to muscles being strained. It was very uncomfortable for her.

She staggered to the mirror and looked at her self. Her eyes were blood shot, like she hadn't had any sleep. Her mane and tail was matted, like she had been working out all night and had done nothing but sweat.

She looked down at her stomach and smiled. The thought of her having a baby always brought a smile to her face.

She took a few steps towards the door, but felt a pain in her flank. She winced and began to rub her flank. What happened last night?

The pain began to fad, so she opened the door and walked down stairs.

Once she stepped into the living room, she saw Lance laying on the couch, rubbing his face.

She smiled and walked around till she was behind his head. She put her hoofs on the arm of the couch and put her face above his.

He removed his hoofs from his face and smiled up at her, "Morning Twi."

She giggled, she liked it when he called her that. All her friends call her that, but when he says it, it has more meaning and love behind it. "Morning Lance." She leaned down and kissed him deeply.

He wrapped his hoofs around her head and pulled her closer.

When she broke the kiss, she was blushing deeply. No matter how many times they kissed, it always felt like the first time for her.

He smiled up at her sweetly, "You look cute when you blush."

She felt her blush deepen at his comment.

He kissed her cheek and slowly stood up from the couch. He walked over to her and smiled, "How would you like to go for a walk?"

She smiled, "I think I could use a walk."

He nuzzled her neck, "But first, you should comb your mane."

She laughed, "Yeah, I know." She said as she levitated a comb up to her mane. She began to comb it.

Lance chuckled and walked towards the stairs, "I'll be down soon, I need to freshen up." He said as he disappeared up stairs.

Twilight smiled and went back to combing her mane. She couldn't wait to take a walk with Lance. She had a idea of where to walk to.

Broken bones and love

Chapter 35

Private Dune walked out of the club with a smile on his face. Just because the war was a false alarm, doesn't mean they can't enjoy their stay in Manehattan. It just gives them more time to party and sight see.

He smiled to himself as he walked down the street, out of uniform. It felt great not to have to worry about being forced to wear it. That suit was uncomfortable and tight.

When he came upon the hotel that his unit was staying at, he stopped. Their unit was scheduled to head back to Canterlot after tonight. First thing in the morning actually.

The thing that bugged him the most is that he didn't fully enjoy him self. After tomorrow, its back to training and no fun.

He sighed, he should have broke his leg or something to get out of it. But, he didn't like the idea of breaking a leg.

He walked into the hotel lobby and headed for the stairs. Making his way to the fifth floor where his room was.

Upon entering it, he walked over to the window and looked out at the city of Manehattan. Another sigh escaped his lips and he turned for the bed. He had missed the nights of partying and having fun with his friends.

Being in the army has taken all that away. The worst part is when you join the Equestria Army, your in it for five long years. Most of the time that's great, but when your use to a life of fun and partying, it just slowly eats away at you.

But, its life. His life.

He walked over to the bed and jumped in. Dreading the next day.

_________________________________________________________

I stumbled into my house, holding up my left hoof.

Damn it! I just had to try and do that stupid trick didn't I?! I was doing great till I got to cocky and slammed into that tree. I hope my hoof isn't broken.

Twilight walked up behind me reading a book on how to treat sprung and broken hoofs. I want to tell her to put the book down and get a real doctor, but I just don't have the heart to do that.

She looked up from the book and lifted me off the ground with her magic, "Okay, the book says your not suppose to be walking on a broken or sprung hoof."

I nodded, "I know that."

She looked back at the book, "It says your suppose to lay down and support the broken or sprung hoof with a sling or bandage." She said as she sat me down on my back on my couch.

She then levitated a roll of bandages over to me, "Okay Lance, can you lift up your hoof so I can bandage it?"

I raised an eyebrow and shook my hoof, which I can now tell is broken because its at an awkward position, "Uhhh, does it look like I can lift it Twi?"

She smiled weakly, "Sorry." She used her magic to lift my hoof up.

When she lifted it up my hoof, there was a loud snap.

My eyes went wide and I quickly reached over to the small table and grabbed a shirt. I shoved it in my mouth and let out a muffled scream.

Her eyes widened and she started reading through the book again, "I'm sorry, uhhh.... ummmm... Aha! It says not to move the broken hoof." She looked at me and smiled weakly, "Oops."

I looked at her, my eyes tearing up. I pulled the shirt out of my mouth, "Oh its fine. I just love the look of my broken hoof. I mean, all bent back and broken off the bone. I could keep it this way forever."

She rolled her eyes, "Even with a broken hoof, you still use sarcasm."

I smirked, "Ya gotta love me."

She smiled and went back to reading the book.

Seriously? She's relying on a book to fix my broken hoof? I'm so fucked.

As she read, a smile began to form on her face, "Aha! Now I see. I'm suppose to use a bone mending spell on it."

I went to clap, but screamed out in pain when I clapped my front hoofs together.

I winced and then smirked, "Bravo! Bravo! Now, do the damn spell... Please?"

She smiled slyly at me, "Somepony's a smart mouth."

I shrugged, "It keeps me busy."

She chuckled and turned, "I'll go get the spell book."

I nodded, "Yes, you do that. I'm not going anywhere."

She shook her head and walked into my library.

I laid my head back and tried to rest.

Sadly, that was not going to happen. Because right then, Greg walked in, high off his ass.

He stumbled over and looked at me with out of focus eyes.

I looked at him, "Uhhh, yo?"

He smiled with an open mouth, "Wow! Look at your hoof! Its all broken and hanging." He reached out and rotated it.

I held back a scream of pain and pushed him away with my free hoof. "No, Greg, you do not touch the broken hoof."

He shook his head, "Man, I'm not a damn dog. Just say leave me alone."

I grinned, "Leave me alone."

He shook his head, "I don't wanna." He said while crossing his hoofs.

I looked over to a small table and saw the water that David had poured sleeping pills in. Why did he leave it out in the open? "Hey Greg, I bet you can't chug that glass of water."

He smirked, "I bet I can." He said as he levitated it to his lips and chugged it. When he finished it, he threw it across the room and smirked, "Told ya I could do..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence because he was already falling backwards asleep.

I laughed, that had been funnier than I thought it would be.

A door opened and a few seconds later Twilight walked in.

When she saw Greg passed out on the floor, she shook her head, "Do I even want to know?"

I shook my head, "No. But I would like that spell right about now."

She smiled, "Somepony's a little needy today."

I shrugged, "Its just that time of the month."

She looked at me strangely, "What does that mean."

I chuckled, she didn't get the joke, "Oh nothing. So, spell?"

She sighed, "Coming up." Her horn glowed a deep purple. The same glow began form around my broken hoof.

It began to straighten up. And it felt like a thousand pieces of glass grinding against my skin and muscles.

Soon it was back to normal. Yay, now I can go break it again.

I stood up and put weight on it. Felt normal.

Twilight smiled proudly, "It worked!"

I laughed, "Of course it worked. You cast the spell, and if you cast the spell, its bound to work."

She smiled, "Thanks. And I'm sorry for telling you to do that trick."

I waved her off, "Oh its fine. I would have done it even if you told me not to."

She poked my chest, "Oh, you think you would?"

I smirked, "I know I would."

She bumped me and I fell onto the couch, on my back. "I wouldn't have let you."

I shrugged, "I still would have done it."

She jumped up on the couch and stood over me, her face inches from mine, "I don't think you would if I told you not to."

I grinned, "There's nothing you can do to stop me from doing tricks like that everyday."

She sat down on me. Her stomach against mine and her lips centimeters above mine. "Try me." She leaned down and began to kiss me.

Her tongue pressing against my lips. I opened my mouth and allowed her tongue in. I moved my tongue into her mouth and began to run it along her gums. She used her tongue to move mine out of her mouth and took full control. Her tongue began running along the top of my mouth and teeth.

I pulled her body close and undid my wings. I then wrapped them around her, holding her with my wings in a cocoon like embrace.

She broke the kiss and looked me in the eyes. "I love you Lance."

I smiled warmly, "I love you to Twilight, forever and always."

She blushed.

I chuckled and tighten my embrace around her, "So damn cute."

Her blush deepened, causing me to laugh.

I pushed her head down next to my neck.

We lay like that for a few minutes. My wings and hoofs wrapped around her in a loving embrace, and her head next to mine.

She let out a small yawn and snuggled up to me more.

I smiled, "Tired?"

I felt her nod, "Very."

I yawned. Damn it! Its true, yawning is contagious.

I put my head against hers, "Are you warm?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

I smiled, I couldn't help it.

After a few minutes of laying there, I felt myself falling asleep.

_________________________________________________________

Greg groaned and slowly sat up. What happened?

He looked over to the couch to see Lance and Twilight laying together. Lance's wings wrapped around her.

He raised an eyebrow, why are they laying on the couch together? Why not the bed?

He shook his head and pulled out a blunt. As he light it, he heard the sound of paws coming down the stairs.

Soon, Weedy ran into the room and looked up at him, begging for a blunt.

Greg laughed and put one in his mouth, "You come when I light a blunt, but not when I call you?"

Weedy shrugged and turned to go back up stairs.

Greg sighed and followed. Might as well get some more weed, he was running low.

Test dummy

Chapter 36

Dana sat down and exhaled. Moving all of her stuff from Bluetail's to her new house was hard work, even with the Captain's help.

She looked around her new home. It was bare, but she would fix that after a few trips to the furniture store. She slowly stood and walked over to the side window that faced Lance's house.

She sighed, she didn't like the idea of her son living on his own. Especially with friends and his fiancee.

She finally accepted the fact that her son loves a horse, mostly because she had fallen for one herself.

She turned for the door and left her house. She walked across her lawn and over to Lance's house. She walked up the door and didn't even bother with knocking this time. She just walked in.

When she stepped inside, she could smell what could only be marijuana. She shook her head, she didn't like the idea that her son was living in this kind of environment. She walked into the living room and looked at the couch.

On the couch was Lance, but also on the couch was that one horse, the one he's going to marry. He had his wings wrapped around her, and was holding her extremely close. To close for Dana to be comfortable.

She didn't like the sight of her son being so close to a girl, especially not in an embrace. As she walked over to split them up, something hit her. Not physical, but mentally.

She can't always be on him about his life choices, he wasn't her little boy anymore. He has the right to live his life the way he wants.

Dana sighed and sat down on her haunches. She knew that one day she would have to let him go, but she just thought he would want to live at home. Looks like he wanted to leave home instead.

She smiled, it looks like hes doing well for himself. A house of his own, a soon to be wife, friends, and he always seems happy now.

She stood and went for the door, time to let Lance be his own person.

_______________________________________________________________

Seth walked out of his house and smiled, today was going to be great. All he had to do was find where they had left Zorrow and then take him to see Big Mac.

He walked to the hill that he and Greg had dropped him down. Upon looking around the base of the hill, he saw a white lump by a tree. He walked over laughing, "So, how was your night Zorrow?"

He heard him mumble. He moved him onto his back and smirked.

Zorrow glared up at him, "Fuck you man."

Seth smiled, "No thanks, I'm good."

Zorrow rolled his eyes, "Just take me home dude."

Seth grinned, "Nah, I was thinking about taking you to see Big Mac, how does that sound?"

Zorrow's eyes widened, "Dude, don't play around!"

Seth chuckled, "I'm not playing around. I'm seriously about to take you to see Big Mac." He said as he lifted Zorrow up on his back.

He could feel him start to struggle in his cast, "NO! NO! Dude, don't you fucking dare!"

Seth began to hum the song by Linkin Park, 'What I've Done' and continued down the dirt road.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I splashed some water in my face, trying to wake up. I didn't mean to fall asleep on the couch, so I just wasted three hours of my day. Me and Rainbow Dash are suppose to go and practice together. What? I can't just be friends with her?

I almost missed it, but luckily, I have another thirty minutes before I'm suppose to go meet her.

I quickly pull on my goggles on and dashed out of the house. Flying full speed towards Rainbow Dash's house.

After a good fifteen minutes of flying, I landed on her door step. I reached up and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, too quickly. Rainbow Dash walked out and grinned, "Ready for some training Lance?"

I nodded, "Yeah, just go easy on me. I'm not as good as you are."

She smiled proudly, "Got that right. Follow me." She jumped into the air and began flying north.

I quickly jumped into the air and followed her. We flew for a few minutes until coming upon a area with an open sky and clear ground.

She waved her hoof out over the area, "Welcome to my training grounds. I always come here to work on my tricks."

I looked around and nodded, "Nice."

She smiled, "Now, to start this off. We will both do individual training, then later, we'll train together."

I grinned, "Sounds good to me."

She flew off on her own, leaving me there to try and think of a way to practice.

I shrugged and decided to try to do a barrel roll. I flew forward and began to pick up speed. When I felt like I was going fast enough, I twisted my front forwards, causing me to spin. I felt my self spinning forwards, a good sign. Now to stop myself. How do I do that?

I tried to pull my self out of the barrel roll, but ended up spinning side ways. Finally, I was able to stop spinning. As I hoovered in place, I held my stomach. I feel like throwing up.

From behind me, I could hear Rainbow Dash laughing. I turned to see her holding her stomach laughing.

I felt my cheeks turn red from embarrassment, "I meant to do that."

She stopped laughing and smirked, "Of course you did Lance."

I turned away from her, I was going to be stupid and try this again. I'm sure if I just try hard enough, I can do it.

I fly forward again, picking up speed. As I twist my body, I feel myself doing a barrel roll. Now, if I can stop myself from spinning, I will have this trick down. Sadly, when I tried to stop, the same thing happened like last time.

When I came to a stop, I held on to my stomach. I think I'm going to pass out. I began to descend to the ground, feeling nauseous. Once my hoofs where back on the ground, I began to feel a little better.

Rainbow Dash landed next to me laughing, "You can't do any tricks can ya?"

I sighed, it was true. I don't think I can do any of the tricks she can, "So."

She slugged my arm playfully, "Its okay, not everypony can be half as cool as I am."

I looked at her and chuckled, gotta love her boasting, "I think I can vouch for that."

She grinned, "Oh, so you think I'm cool?"

I shrugged, "Well, you are cool, and awesome."

A happy smile began to form on her face, "Yeah, I'm pretty awesome."

I nodded, "I agree with that. How about you show me a trick."

She smiled, "I got one. But I'll need your help."

I sighed, "Sure, I'll help."

She grinned, "This is a new one, so this is more of a test."

I nodded, "Alright, what do I need to do?"

She pointed up in the sky, "Go up there and just hoover in place."

I began lifting up, "Sounds easy."

She smiled, "It is."

I flew up till I was pretty high up in the air, I looked towards Rainbow Dash to see that she was angling herself with me.

She screamed out, "Ready Lance?"

I yelled back, "I guess."

She started flying straight at me, picking up speed as she went. As she neared me, I began to have second thoughts about this. Before I could change my mind, she tucked her wings in and rolled up into a ball. My eyes widened, I know what she's doing. She slammed into me, sending me straight to the ground.

As I speed towards the ground, I rolled my eyes. She just did a pinball type move on me. I slammed into the ground, but this time I barely felt it.

I lay there looking up at her, she was laughing her head off. I couldn't help but smile. I just realized that I make a pretty good test dummy. I was always the one to try out everything back on earth, and well, I guess its the same here. Its always fun to be the one to get to test out new things, even if they hurt.

When I stood, she landed next to me. "I'm sorry, but I've always wanted to try that move out, but it requires two Pegasus."

I chucked, "That was actually kind of fun. Any other moves you want to have me test?"

Her eye brighten up at my words, "I have so many moves I've wanted to try, but they all need two Pegasus."

I smiled, "Well, what are we waiting for? Lets get to testing."

Several hours later.

I stumbled into my house and up the stairs. That had been fun. Rainbow Dash had so many tricks and moves to test. I don't care if I sprang my front left leg, it was still awesome.

I walked into my room and looked at my self in the mirror. I was covered in bruises and small cuts. I smiled, reminded me of the times me and my friends would do parkour, I would always come home covered in bruises.

I pulled off my goggles and tossed them on the desk. Next I pulled off the small cape like thing on my back and put it on a chair. Finally, I pulled off the leg bands and the tight suit.

As I removed the tight black suit, I looked up at the mirror and saw something on my flank. I pulled the suit off and looked at my flank. What I saw made me slam my hoof into my face. I had a cutie mark, but that's not why I facehoofed. What it was is what made me. It was a circle with yellow and black in it, it was the symbol that represented a test dummy. I slammed my hoof into my face a few more times. That is just sweet fucking irony right there!

I shouldn't have been praising my ability to be a test dummy all day. I wanted a cool cutie mark. Like a lighting bolt or something along those lines, not a symbol that means I'm a freaking test dummy!

I sighed, I'm so going to get made fun of for this one. I shook my head and picked up a book off of the desk, 'Equestria myths' and climbed into bed. I opened the book and tried to concentrate on it, but my mind kept traveling back to the fact that my special talent was being a test dummy.

Jackflank!

Chapter 37

"Come on dude!" Begged Greg.

I stood and looked at him, "No dude, I'm not going to do it."

Greg bit his lower lip, "Please! You have the cutie mark for it!"

I shook my head, "I'm not stupid, I'm not looking to die."

He shook the camera in my face, "Dude, come on! We have to do a Jackass parody!"

I sighed, "If I do a few scenes, will you leave me alone?"

He smiled brightly, "Hell yes! Come on, I have the first stunt set up."

I shook my head, I was going to regret this.

______________________________________________________________

Frederic pointed the camera at me and smiled, "Okay, we are recording!"

I sighed and put on a fake happy voice, "Hi, I'm Girokon, and this is Jackflank!" I sat down in the cart and nodded to Greg.

Greg kicked the cart, sending it and me flying down the hill. Halfway down the hill, Greg used his magic to stop the cart, sending me flying out of it and down the hill.

My body bounced a few times before coming to a stop.

Greg and Frederic ran down the hill towards me, the camera never leaving me.

Frederic reached me first and pointed the camera at my face, "Dude, you okay?"

I shakily stood and glared at Greg, "Fuck you!"

______________________________________________________________

Peter looked back at use and waved his hoof, "Here he comes!"

We all tried not to laugh as Zorrow walked in.

He looked around at all of us and smiled, "Hey guys, I'm back from the hospital. Finally got that cast of, but they said if I get hit in the testicles again, I'm going to lose them."

Peter laughed and pointed at him, "Dude, whats that on your stomach?"

Zorrow raised an eyebrow and stood up on his hind legs, "What?"

Peter twisted around and bucked Zorrow as hard as he could right in the family jewels.

Zorrow's eyes widened and rolled up in the back of his head. He fell to the ground and covered them with his hooves, and began to grunt and groan, "Why?"

All of us began to laugh. I feel back and slammed by head into the wall. But I didn't care, because I couldn't stop laughing.

Zorrow started rolling around on the ground, "Come on, I wanted kids!"

______________________________________________________________

Greg looked at the camera, a smile on his face, "I'm Mellow Haze and this is blam!"

He walked over to where Seth sat and walked up behind him. He levitated two pies on either side of Seth's head and slammed them into him.

Seth jumped up and twisted around, "What the hell is wrong..." He began rubbing his eyes, "What did you put in those?" He began thrashing around the room.

Greg turned to the camera and smirked, "I though he would have liked a pie filled with salt."

______________________________________________________________

Greg looked back at us, "Do I have to?"

I nodded, "Yes, you have to."

Greg sighed and walked forward. He walked up to Big Macintosh and tapped his flank, "Yo, big ugly. Bet you can't knock me out."

Big Macintosh didn't even turn around, "Bet Ah can." He bucked his back legs out and they slammed into Greg's face. He didn't fly back as expected, he just slumped to the ground, out cold.

I turned the camera to me, "K.O."

David ran over to him and slapped his face, "He's out man."

Big Macintosh smiled, "Of course he's out, Ah used most of mah strength in that buck."

______________________________________________________________

I stood on the box, looking at the camera, "I'm Girokon, and this is Foal killer." I looked at Greg and nodded. Quickly bracing myself for what was to come.

Greg smiled and picked up the rock. He used his magic to send it backwards a few yards. Then, using a speed spell, he sent it flying straight at me, at a speed only possible by Rainbow Dash.

It hit its mark, my jewels. I yelped in pain and flew forwards with the rock. Once I hit the ground, I covered them and slowly stood.

Greg and Frederic ran over to me and started laughing.

I stood up on my hind legs and groaned, "Oh god, their swollen."

They just laughed harder.

I fell forward, "I think one of them are broken!" I grunted in pain.

Greg walked over and smirked, "Again."

______________________________________________________________

Frederic stood outside of his and Luna's room, "If I do this, you both owe me."

Me and Greg shook our heads yes, "Do it!"

Frederic took a deep breath and walked into the room, "Hey honey. I have to tell you something."

Luna turned and smiled, "Yes?"

Me and Greg stood in the door way, trying to hold back our laughs.

Frederic gulped, "You see..." He opened his saddlebag, "Well, its important..." He began moving closer to her. "And, I think you have to know."

He quickly pulled out a water balloon and slammed it into her face, followed by lifting her up in the air and wrapping a rope around her hoofs. He than sat he on her back and put an apple in her mouth.

Me and Greg began to laugh like crazy.

Luna became over raged and snapped her mouth shut, crushing the apple. "Frederic!" She snapped the ropes off that bond her hoofs and jumped up.

She looked over at us and throw the bed straight at us.

Greg jumped back and pointed the camera at me.

I sighed, all for comedy. The bed slammed into me, crushing me against the wall.

Greg quickly grabbed me and pulled me out from behind the bed and out the door. When we closed the door, we could hear Luna going on a rampage. Things where being smashed and the sound of stone being destroyed could be heard. Then, everything went silent.

I looked at Greg, "Run?"

He nodded, "I think that would be best."

We turned and ran down the hall at full speed.

______________________________________________________________

We sat in my living room. Me covering my cuts and bruises in bandages and Greg smoking a blunt.

He looked at me, "Great video dude. I think we will be hits on Youtube."

I looked up at him and raised my eyebrow, "Umm dude, there's no computer's here. So that means there's no Youtube."

His jaw dropped, "What!"

I nodded, "I can't believe you didn't know that. We've been here about three and a half months."

He slammed his hoof into his face, "I guess that means we did this for nothing."

I shook my head, "Nope, we can all just enjoy it."

He shrugged, "Fine, but one last scene."

I sighed, "What is it?"

He smirked, "Nut crush."

I raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

He pointed the camera at me and pointed above me.

I looked up and became confused. There was nothing there. I looked back down at Greg and my eyes widened. He was using his magic to hold a hammer above my nuts.

He smirked, "Nut cracker anyone?" He slammed the the hammer down.

My eyes rolled up in the back of my head and I fell over, trying to catch my breath. I felt like throwing up, "Why? They was already swollen!"

Greg laughed loudly, "Wow, I didn't know they could be that big."

I closed my eyes tightly against the pain and gritted my teeth, "Shut up!"

As I lay there trying to make the pain go away, I heard a door open.

"What happened to him." Frederic said while looking at me.

Greg smiled, "We just played nut crush. You wanna play?"

"Uhhh, no thanks."

A few seconds later, I heard Frederic grunt and slam into the ground.

Greg stood over us laughing.

Frederic looked up at him, tears in his eyes, "How do you like it?" His horn began to glow.

Greg's eyes widened and he looked down to see that his foal makers were being engulfed in a white light.

He fell to the ground with a loud scream, "Let go of my balls!"

Frederic's horn stopped glowing and he laughed weakly, "There, that should keep you on the ground for a while." He went back to holding his own jewels.

I looked over at Greg and let out a weak laugh, "Can't take a little squeezing?"

He shook his head as he held on to his, "Fuck up! He wasn't squeezing, he was fucking crushing!"

Frederic smiled, "That was enough force to break bone."

Greg groaned loudly as he rolled around in pain.

I slowly stood.

Greg rolled over to me, "Your not going anywhere!" He slammed his hoof into my family jewels.

I fell over in intense pain. Everything began to go black around me as the pain began to take over.

The long awaited wedding!

Chapter 38

I shifted uncomfortably as all the ponies in the pews stared up at me. I gulped and tugged on my tie.

I was standing at the alter, waiting for Twilight to walked down the aisle. Frederic behind me, my best man.. or stallion... what ever.

The wedding was being held in they Royal Ballroom, just like Frederic's and Luna's. But this time, it was Twilight and I that was getting married.

As I stood at the alter, I began to feel an uncomfortable sensation in my groin. They still hurt from that Jackass video we made. It's been two weeks, and yet the pain is still there. May need to see a doctor about that.

Frederic leaned forward, "You alright? You look nervous."

I shook my head, "No, its my jewels, they still hurt from our stunts."

He chuckled and patted my back, "Its a good thing you alright got Twilight pregnant."

I nodded, "I know right!"

I looked to where Twilight's maidens stood. Instead of one, she had all five of her friends as her maidens.

I shifted my gaze out to the pews, to where Greg and all of the other bronies sat. I glared at him. I had had a talk with him before this began. If he does what he did at Frederic's wedding, he will pay.

As I stood there, the music began to play. Signaling the beginning of the wedding.

At the other end of the aisle, the double doors opened, and out walked Twilight.

My mouth dropped at the sight of her. She was wearing a wedding dress that made her look... magnificent. Beautiful. Stunning. She made my heart flutter, my stomach fill with butterfly's, my head spin, my... Lets get back to the wedding.

As she walked down the aisle, towards me, our eyes met. We both smiled at the same time.

She walked up the small staircase and walked up to stand in front of me.

Celestia nodded and began to read from a old looking book, "Twilight Sparkle and Girokon,have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? Will you honor each other as stallion and wife for the rest of your lives?"

We both nodded and said at the same time, "Yes."

Celestia looked back down at the book, "Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hooves, and declare your consent before me."

Me and Twilight grabbed each others hooves.

Celestia smiled and looked at me, "Girokon, do you take Twilight Sparkle for your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

I smiled and looked at Twilight, "I do."

Celestia then looked at Twilight, "Twilight Sparkle, do you take Girokon for your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Twilight looked at me and smiled, "I do."

Celestia nodded, "I now pronounce you as husband and wife. If anypony has any reason why those two may not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

I looked out into the pews and glared at Greg. He waved his hoofs in front of him, and mouth the words, 'Not this time.'

I nodded and looked back at Twilight.

Celestia looked at both of us and smiled warmly, "You may now exchange bracelets."

Twilight raised her left hoof for me. I turned and Frederic handed (Hoofed?) me the golden wedding bracelet. I turned back to Twilight and clapped the bracelet on her hoof.

She smiled and levitated her bracelet towards me. I held up my left hoof and let her clap it on.

Celestia closed the book and grinned, "You may now kiss the bride."

I put a hoof to Twilight's face, resting it on her cheek and leaned in. Our lips connected, making my heart pound against my rib cage. Everypony in the room began to clap as we deeply kissed each other.
______________________________________________

Peter galloped into the garden, surprised and angry to see that he had missed ceremony and most of the reception.

He cursed at himself for taking the time to take a nap. He quickly looked around till he saw Lance and Twilight, standing together by a table full of food.

He galloped over and grabbed Lance, "Come on dude, we have to get ready for the performance!"

Lance sighed and began to follow him, "Alright, lets get this over with."

___________________________________________________

I picked up the guitar as I stood on stage in front of all the ponies that had shown up for the wedding. Peter, David, and I had worked hard to memorize this song. I hope I can do it. Because for this song, I'm going to need to sing and play the guitar. All my past attempts have been somewhat unsuccessful.

I looked behind me to make sure everyone was ready. Peter was holding his guitar, ready to begin. David was sitting behind his drums, preparing to begin.

David began hitting his sticks together, on the third strike, we began to play.

As we played, I looked through the crowd till I found Twilight. I locked my gaze on her, and she locked hers with mine. I leaned into the mic and began to sing, "I hold on so nervously
To me and my drink
I wish it was cooling me
But so far, has not been good
It's been shitty
And I feel awkward, as I should
This club has got to be
The most pretentious thing
Since I thought you and me
Well I am imagining
A dark lit place
Or your place or my place

Well I'm not paralyzed
But, I seem to be struck by you
I want to make you move
Because you're standing still
If your body matches
What your eyes can do
You'll probably move right through
Me on my way to you

I hold out for one more drink
Before I think
I'm looking too desperately
But so far has not been fun
I should just stay home
If one thing really means one
This club will hopefully
Be closed in three weeks
That would be cool with me
Well I'm still imagining
A dark lit place
Or your place or my place

Well I'm not paralyzed
But, I seem to be struck by you
I want to make you move
Because you're standing still
If your body matches
What your eyes can do
You'll probably move right through
Me on my way to you."

There was a pause in the lyrics. My gaze had never left Twilight during that whole part, this song was for her and only her. As the song began to pick back up, I smiled and leaned into the mic.

"Well I'm not paralyzed
But, I seem to be struck by you
I want to make you move
Because you're standing still
If your body matches
What your eyes can do
You'll probably move right through
Me on my way to you

Not paralyzed
But, I seem to be struck by you
I want to make you move
Because you're standing still
If your body matches
What your eyes can do
You'll probably move right through
Me on my way to you

You'll probably move right through
Me on my way to you

You'll probably move right through
Me on my way to you."

As we finished the song, the crowd exploded with cheering. But I didn't care, I was still looking at Twilight, the only thing that I cared for.

She was smiling with tears in her eyes, but they were tears of happiness. I smiled back, a tear in my eye also. I felt happy, truly happy.

I pulled the guitar off and dropped it to the ground. I jumped off the stage and ran through the crowd towards Twilight. When I finally pushed my way through them, I ran up to Twilight and wrapped my hooves around her in a tight hug.

She returned the hug.

We pulled back and looked into each others eyes. We then moved towards each other and began to kiss passionately and deeply.

___________________________________________________________________

Greg walked towards the stage, a smile on his face. As he neared it, he saw that Peter was just stepping off the stage. Perfect, just the guy he wanted to see.

He walked up to him and stopped him, "Yo, I need your help."

Peter stopped and looked at him strangely, "And what do you need help with?"

Greg smirked, "A new spell."

Peter sighed, "What does it do? Will it hurt?"

Greg shook his head, "Nah, it doesn't hurt. All it does is give you a mustache."

Peter seemed to be considering it, "Fine. But just that one spell."

Greg nodded, "Got it. Hold still."

As his horn began to glow, and the spell started to take affect. David ran past them at full speed, bumping into Greg, breaking his concentration. His horn glowed even brighter as he accidentally thought of five spells at once. The light from his horn began to fill the room, engulfing Peter.

When the light from his horn began to clear, he looked to where Peter had been. But he wasn't there, he was gone. All that remained was a small burnt spot on the floor. He facehoofed, "Why did I think of a transportation spell and all of those other ones?" He looked up and thought for a second, "I wonder where I sent him?"

He walked over to a box and pushed it over the burnt spot. Better to cover up the evidence before anyone saw it.

________________________________________________________________

I walked out of the Palace, Twilight by my side. We continued down the street, towards my house.

Tonight was going to be a night to remember.

The Stare!

Chapter 39

I awoke with a smile. Last night had been wild and crazy.

I'm not going into detail, but lets just say it involved me, Twilight, a bed, a locked door, and three hours of alone time.

I climbed out of bed and felt a sharp pain in my groin. I yelped in pain and fell to the floor holding them. Shit, why did we have to be so rough? It was already damaged!

I took a few ragged breaths and stood with effort. I staggered to the door and opened it. I walked out and headed for the stairs.

Once I arrived at the top, I took a deep breath and started to walk down them.

With every step, I let out a small yelp of pain. Halfway down them, I stopped and leaned against the railing.

I was breathing heavily from the effort of walking down the stairs. Who would have thought that your groin could be hurt so bad, you can't even walk.

I raised my head and facehoofed. I forgot I had wings, I don't have to walk and endure this pain.

I spread my wings and slowly flew down stairs, careful not to hit anything.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I slowly hovered into the kitchen.

Once I entered the kitchen, I shook my head. The kitchen was a mess. Dishes piled high, food wrappings everywhere, old food on the counters, and I was pretty sure that a family of rats where making a home under the table. David and Greg need to learn to clean up after themselves.

I flew over to a cabinet and opened it. Empty. So was the others. All there was to eat was a single apple.

I let out a sigh and picked it up. I took a bite and shuddered. It was rotten! I spit out the pieces in my mouth and flew into the living room. I lifted up my saddlebag and checked to make sure my bits were still there.

Luckily they were still there, all eight hundred.

I picked it up and held it with my teeth. I then flew up to my room and quickly pulled on all of my clothes and the goggles. I put the saddlebag on and strapped it down.

I looked over to the bed and smiled. Twilight was still there, sleeping peacefully. I flew over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I then turned and flew down stairs and out the front door.

As I hovered in place, I took a deep breath of fresh morning air. It was early, the sun just coming up. How did I wake up this early?

I began flying forward at a steady speed, looking for a store to buy some more food.

After a hour of searching, I came across a nice little store on the outskirts of Canterlot. Owned by a nice old stallion, who's coat was a dull grey and white mane and tail.

Upon entering the store, I was greeted by the sound of old music. I scanned the small store, happy to see that it sold food. It even sold other goods.

The old stallion looked up from a book he was reading and adjusted his glasses, "Well now, your a strange fella aren't ya?"

I chuckled and walked up to the counter, "Yeah, I'm pretty strange. In more ways than one."

The old stallion chuckled and fixed his glasses again and went back to reading his book, "Don't worry. Your not the only pony who is strange. I mean, look at me. I'm old and brittle, yet, I still try to work and own a business."

I smiled and began picking up the items I needed, "Well, I know a lot of old peo... ponies who still work. But you seem to be doing well for yourself."

He nodded with a smile, still reading, "I'm persistent, I'd rather work than sit around all day."

I picked up the last item I needed and put it in the basket I had picked up, "I don't think I could do that. I'd rather sit around all day than work." I spotted a bag of animal feed and smiled, I think I know someone who would like that. I put it in the basket and made my way back to the front.

He looked at all of the items and calculated the cost on a notepad. "Hmmm, that comes to about... Ah, sixty eight bits."

I nodded and pulled out the correct number of bits. I placed them on the counter and smiled, "I like your store."

He smiled proudly, "Thank ya. I've had it for years."

I put the food I had bought in my saddlebag and turned back to the old stallion, "Your welcome. I think I'm going to shop here from now on."

He grinned, "That would be great."

I walked out of the store and lifted off the ground. Glad to be off my feet and away from the pain in my groin.

I lifted up in the air and pulled out the animal feed. I think Fluttershy could use it. But, before I go there, I'm going to have to drop off my food.

_______________________________

David scratched the back of his head, where was Peter? He was suppose to meet him at Lance's house to talk about future performances.

This was odd, he usually was on time.

As David sat on the couch wondering where Peter was, Greg walked in through the front door. He saw David and began to back out of the room.

David looked over at him and jumped up, "Greg! Where's Peter, you was the last one to see him."

Greg smiled nervously, "I don't know."

David glared at him and took a few steps closer to him, "Where is he? I know you know!"

Greg gulped loudly and his horn began to glow, "Sorry, but your Peter is in another dimension!" He then disappeared in a green flash.

David shook his head, "What did he mean by that?"

___________________________________________-

Fluttershy ran to the front door and closed it. She then quickly turned and smirked in her signature way, "There's nowhere left to run Angel!"

Angel ran to the other side of the door and began to jump up and down.

Fluttershy shook her head, "No, you know the rules. You must eat first before going outside to play."

Angel sat up and crossed his arms. Stating that he wasn't going to eat first.

Fluttershy's patience ran out, they had been at this for hours. She began to stare at him, a stare that she rarely used and had no control over. The Stare!

Angel's eyes widened, but before it could have full effect, it was interrupted.

____________________________________________________________________

I landed outside of Fluttershy's cottage, the bag of feed in my saddlebag.

I smiled, I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when I handed (Hoofed? I give up, I'm staying with handed!) it to her.

I walked up to the cottage door and was about to knock when I heard her on the other side. I shrugged, no use in knocking.

I walked in, "Hey Fluttershy, I..." I looked at her and my eyes widened. She was doing the Stare!

Her eyes looked deep into mine, looking into my soul. They penetrated my mind, digging away at my sanity. I could fill my sanity being ripped form me. All my memories and thoughts where being replaced by those eyes, those piercing eyes.

Thankfully, she noticed it was me she was using the Stare on and stopped, "Oh my... I'm so...ummm... I'm sorry... So sorry."

I didn't hear her, or see her. My mind was still filled with the image of those eyes. I collapsed and curled up into a ball. A small whimper escaped my lips.

She looked down at me, a look of concern on her face, "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to do that to you... Are you okay Giro?"

My left eye began to twitch, I couldn't think straight. I was on the verge of insanity.

After a few minutes, she was able to get me to look at her. Which was hard because every time I did, I remembered those eyes.

She put on her best smile, trying to calm me down.

I sighed, trying to clear my head, and slowly sat up on my haunches, "I'm okay. Its just.. those eyes!"

She nodded, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it to you. It was meant for my pet bunny Angel."

I let out a ragged breath and stood, "I forgive you. Just please don't let that happen again, I don't think I can take that again."

She smiled shyly, "Don't worry, I'll be careful around you with them."

I smiled and pulled out the bag of feed, "Here, I brought this for you."

Her eyes brightened when she saw the bag, "That's the best kind of feed on the market! Thank you!" She took the bag of feed and put it on her back.

I turned for the door, actually in a hurry to leave, "Your welcome Fluttershy, I'm glad you like it."

I heard her speak behind me, "I love it! The animals will certainly love it also!"

I smiled as I walked out, "I hope they like it." I closed the door and quickly took to the air, desperate to get away.

As I flew through the air, I shuddered. I couldn't stop thinking of those eyes. I was still on the verge of insanity, so close.

I gulped and flew faster towards my house. I have to get back to my bed and hide under the covers. That's all I can think of to do!

Twilight opened her eyes and smiled, remembering the night before. It had been funner than their first time.

As she sat up, she became confused. There was a large lump under the covered where Lance had been. She raised an eyebrow and pulled the covers off the lump.

It was Lance, in the fetal position and shaking.

She became worried. What if this was because of last night. She had been sorta rough with him, "Lance? Are you okay?"

He stopped shaking and looked up at her, a look surprise on his face, "Uhhh yeah, I'm fine."

She glared slightly at him, "Tell me whats wrong."

He shook his head, "No!"

She leaned her head in and glared harder, "Lance!"

He winced and covered his face, "I was given the Stare by Fluttershy!"

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, that was something that nopony should go through. "Are you going to be okay Lance?"

He gulped and nodded, "Yes, I'll be fine."

Twilight kissed his cheek, "You better be."

He smiled and jumped up at her and wrapped his hoofs around her waist, "I will be, if you let me hug you for a while."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Fine."

He tightened his embrace on her and pushed her onto her back. He climbed up on top of her and laid down on her. He rested his head next to hers and smiled, "Just five minutes."

She smiled, "How about ten?"

He chuckled, "Deal."

Twins

Twins

Chapter 40

"Shit!" I yelled while jumping back from the flaming stove.

I had been trying to make soup, but I'm not much of a cook. Like seriously, how do you catch soup on fire?

I began to look around quickly for something to put the fire out with. I spotted a glass of water sitting on the other side of the table. Perfect.

I rushed over and put my hooves on the table. A smile began to form on my face. I knew of a cool way to put the fire out. I would slam my hooves down on the table, which will cause the glass of water to fly past me and put out the fire.

I brought my hooves up and slammed them down on the tables edge. The table flipped over, sending the glass of water flying past me. It flew through the air and hit the wall five feet away from the fire.

I slammed my hoof into my face. Stupid!

I don't think I should be the one dealing with this. I'm clearly not certified to deal with fires.

I turned for the door and yelled, "Twilight! I need your magic pronto!"

The sound of hooves could be heard coming towards the door. But instead of Twilight, it was Greg who walked in.

He looked at me and than the fire, "She's taking a shower, what do you need?"

I sighed and pointed to the fire, as if its not obvious, "For starters, I need this fire put out!"

He looked at the fire and walked over to it. He levitated a blunt out of his bag and held it over the fire. When it was lit, he put it in his mouth and puffed on it.

I facehoofed, "Greg! I said put out, not use it as a lighter!"

He shook his head and turned off the stove. When it was off, the fire slowly began to die down, "All you had to do was turn it off." He said with a large smirk.

I had the urge to facehoof, but resisted, my face was feeling sore, "Well I didn't know that."

He laughed and walked out of the room.

I glared in his direction and went back to the stove. I guess I could try again. Maybe this time I'll be able to make some food without burning it.

I turned the stove on, and the soup caught fire again. I sighed and went to turn off the stove, but the knob wouldn't turn. Shit!

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Frederic turned the page in his journal and wrote down the last sentence. He had been keeping a journal since the day he arrived at the Palace.

Behind him, he heard the double doors opened that lead to his study. He turned to see Luna standing in the doorway, a happy and worried look on her face, "Frederic, I have to tell you something."

Frederic smiled and closed his journal, "What is it my love?"

She walked in a few steps and smiled, "Well, the Royal Doctor told me some important news, and my sister gave me even more news."

Frederic stood and raised an eyebrow, "What did they say?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant, with twins."

Frederic's mouth hung open in surprise and shock. Then without warning, he jumped into the air and smashed through his window. He flew over Canterlot and yelled at the top of his lungs, using his new found Royal Canterlot Voice, "YES!"

He quickly changed course and flew straight towards Lance's house. Upon reaching his house, he didn't even bother with the door. He flew through the window, which caused it to be smashed, and landed in the living room.

Lance and Twilight looked up from the couch with a surprised looks, "What the hell!"

Frederic grabbed them in his hooves and pulled them close, "Come my friends, I have wonderful news for you to hear!" With that, he teleported them back to his study.

When they appeared, Luna was still there, a very confused look on her face.

Frederic dropped Lance and Twilight to the floor. Both of them very confused at what was going on.

Frederic smiled brightly and looked over to Luna, "Tell them the news!"

Luna blinked and then smiled, "Well, I'm pregnant with twins."

Lance stood and smiled, rubbing his head, "That's great! I'm happy for ya."

Twilight stood next, a warm smile on her face, "Congratulations Princess!"

Luna smiled and walked over to Frederic, "Thank you, both of you." She looked at Frederic, "And Frederic, next time don't fly off and destroy a window. I though you was mad."

Frederic put a hoof to her cheek, "I'm sorry Luna, I was just overjoyed at the news."

She giggled, "Its okay Frederic, I was overjoyed when I learned the news also."

Frederic smiled and looked over to Lance and Twilight, "Huh, we're going to need some alone time." His horn began to glow and both Lance and Twilight was engulfed in a bright light. Then they disappeared in bright flash.

Frederic looked into Luna's eyes, "Now that we're alone, how about some fun?"

She smirked and used her magic to close the door, "Oh, your on."

____________________________________________________________

Greg, Seth, and Zorrow sat on the hill overlooking Sweat Apple Acres.

Zorrow yet again had his binoculars, 'observing' Applejack.

Greg puffed on his blunt, "Dude, when are you going to just walk up to her?"

Zorrow shook his head, "I'm not done observing her yet. Besides, I don't have my nuts anymore." He cursed at Peter, "And that's something the girls want and need."

Greg and Seth began laughing, both rolling around. Greg's blunt fell out of his mouth and was crushed into the ground by his body.

Seth sat up and wiped a tear from his eye, "Wow dude, just wow."

Zorrow sat up, "I told you guys that I couldn't get hit there anymore, but after I told you, Peter slammed his hooves into my balls!"

Zorrow began to whine about all the things he wasn't going to be able to do anymore.

As he was whining, Greg pulled a rope from his saddlebag and grinned to Seth. Seth shook his head yes.

Zorrow turned back to his friends and stopped whining. They were walking towards him smiling, holding a rope, "Uhh, what you guys doing?"

Instead of answering him, they both jumped on him. They bond his hooves together and put a apple in his mouth.

Greg nodded his head, "There we go. Now your ready to meet Applejack."

Zorrow started shaking his head.

Greg and Seth pushed him to the edge of the hill and started laughing.

Seth put his hoof on Zorrow and prepared to push him down the hill towards Applejack's barn, "I think if we push hard enough, he'll roll right up to Applejack."

Greg smiled, "I think that's a great idea. Lets give him a hard push."

They gave Zorrow a hard push and he began rolling down the hill. Seth fell back laughing, holding his stomach.

Greg looked down the hill and saw that Zorrow was still rolling towards Applejack. Perfect, this will be funny.

Big Macintosh stepped out from behind a tree and put a hoof out and stopped Zorrow mid roll.

Greg backed up, "Shit! Fuck! Big Mac just caught Zorrow!"

Seth jumped up, "What?!"

Big Macintosh looked down at Zorrow, "And where do ya think your rolling to?"

Zorrow spit the apple out and smiled up weakly, "Well hey big guy, how ya been?"

Big Mac began to glare down at him, "Ah though Ah told ya not to come around here anymore!"

Zorrow's eyes widened, "But I was forced to come here! That's why I'm tied up!"

Big Mac raised an eyebrow, "And who would force ya here?"

Zorrow pointed his head to the hill, "They did!"

Big Mac looked up at the hill and became madder, nopony was there. Greg had used a cloaking spell to cover him and Seth.

Zorrow smiled awkwardly, "Can you let me go, I kinda have a date with an apple pie."

Big Mac looked down and snorted, steam coming out of his nostrils, "Ah think Ah know what ya mean by apple pie! Ah think its time Ah showed you some Apple family hospitality!"

Greg and Seth held back laughs as they watched Big Mac carry Zorrow off into the bushes, towards the barn.

Greg then got a concerned look on his face, "What do you think he's going to do to him."

Seth shrugged, "It can't be worst than losing your nuts."

Greg nodded, "True."

Seth turned, "How about we go prank some ponies?"

Greg chuckled, "Lets do it!"

Weird events

For this to make complete sense, your going to have to read this chapter by Nathan Traveler.
A Blaze of...Glory?
Read that first, or after this chapter.

Chapter 41

Zorrow walked out of the barn, wiping his mouth with his hoof.

Who would have thought that what Big Macintosh meant by 'Apple family hospitality,' he actually meant giving Zorrow an apple pie.

Zorrow shook his head with a chuckle, he had thought Big Macintosh was going to kick his ass. All he did though was make Zorrow join him and his family for lunch. A pretty damn good lunch at that.

He licked his lips and smirked. Time to get Greg and Seth back.

_________________________________________________________

I stood in front of the window that Frederic had flew through.

Damn, how could a guy be so happy, that he actually flies through glass to tell his friends. I bet it hurt.

I scratched the back of my head, how much does it cost to replace a window? I hope not a lot, I've been looking to buy Twilight those new spell books that just came out.

I picked up the broom in my mouth and began sweeping the glass up. Once it was in a pile, I put a pan down and swept the pile of glass into it. I put the broom down and smiled proudly, I knew I could do it.

I picked up the pan by the handle with my teeth, I then began walking over to the trash can. Halfway there, the pan fell out of my mouth and hit the floor. The glass scattering around the floor again.

I sighed, shit, I'm no good at cleaning.

As I went to pick up the broom, Twilight ran into the room, a large smile on her face, "Lance!" She yelled. She stopped in front of me and looked at the glass on the floor, "Let me get that." Her horn glowed and all the glass lifted up and fell into the trash can.

I chuckled, "Thanks Twi. So what did you need?"

She stood up on her hind legs and grabbed my hoof, "Fell this!" She then placed my hoof on her stomach.

At first I was confused, but then I felt something move.

I looked up to see that Twilight was smiling happily, "You feel that!"

I smiled and nodded, "That's our foal." I felt another small movement.

She came down to all fours and beamed with joy, "I can't wait for it to be born! I hope its a colt."

My smile grew slightly, "Me too, I've always wanted a son."

Twilight pulled me into a hug, "Your going to make a great dad for our foal."

I wrapped my hooves around her neck, "Thanks Twi."

She broke the hug and began bouncing around slightly, clearly overjoyed, "I'm going to teach him every subject!"

I laughed at her, "Oh Twi, your going to turn our foal into a mini you aren't you?"

She stopped bouncing and laughed, "That's not a bad thing, is it?"

I shook my head with a smile, "Not at all. As long as you let me teach him a few things."

She held out her hoof, and grinned, "Deal."

I shook her hoof, but before I could say anything, Greg walked down the stairs.

He had a look of surprise on his face, "I think I saw Peter and some other pony walking towards the front door."

I looked at him, "And where has Peter been?"

Greg's eyes widened, "Nowhere, nowhere at all."

As I opened my mouth to speak, the door flew open, and in walked two cloaked ponies. Their cloaks where brown and both wore jester hats. Strange?

They lifted their heads, and I instantly recognized Peter, but the other I didn't know. The other pony was brown, with a goatee type beard, and glasses. I've never seen him before.

Greg put on a fake smile and excited voice, "Blaze, dude! You're alright!" Greg said, trying (and failing) to sound relieved. "What's with the getup?"

What did he do? I know this has something to do with Greg.

Blaze had a wicked smile on his face, he and the other pony both lifted two giant pies into the air. "My name is Purple Wan Prankenobi…"

Where did those huge pies come from?

The brown pony smirked, "And I am his new ally, Luke Piewalker…"

Then, they both slammed the pies into Greg's sides, encasing him in a aluminum type box. "And we are Joki Knights!"

While Greg tried to kick his way out of the massive pie tins, Peter and the brown pony ran up stairs. A door slammed shut.

Me and Twilight looked at the large pie tins holding Greg in confusion. What the hell just happened?

Greg finally kicked his way out of the tins and huffed, "Damn it!"

I raised a eyebrow and smiled slightly, "What was that about?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. But I have to get out of here. He's crazy!" He said while running out the front door.

I looked at Twilight and chuckled, "Today is super crazy."

She nodded, "I agree."

A door upstairs opened and slammed. Then, Peter came down the stairs, wearing a suit. Wait a fucking second! Is that my suit?

He looked at us and smiled proudly, "Hello Mrs. Sparkle, hello Mr. Greenfield, how are you today?"

We both looked up at him in confusion. Where did this attitude come from? "Umm, Peter, whats gotten into you? And where is that one pony who came with you?"

He laughed in a gentleman kind of way, or better word, gentlecolt, "I've learned how to be a gentleman, for a special reason. Also, he was just a friend I've made. I don't think he wants me to tell you any more details."

I shrugged, "Fine with me. But... Never mind, just don't tear my suit."

He bowed, "You got it my good sir." He then looked at Twilight, "Also, don't fall behind on your studies, Mrs. Sparkle."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "I won't."

He walked out of the house, holding his head high.

I put a hoof to my face, "Today really is the strangest day of my life."

Twilight shrugged, "I've seen stranger."

I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped. No use in asking, I think I know what she means.

The front door blew open and Greg ran in, "Holy shit, I almost forgot my weed!"

He ran up the stairs, almost tripping over himself in the process. A few minutes later, he came down smoking a blunt.

When he reached the bottom, he looked at us strangely, "This blunt feels off somehow. Has a certain taste to it."

I shook my head, "That's why you shouldn't smoke them. Anyway, I think your finally losing your taste for them."

He chuckled and puffed on it, "No way dude, I'll never stop smoking weed."

He then walked out of the door.

I turned to Twilight and motioned for the door, "Quickly! Before another weird scene begins!"

She looked at me strangely, "What do you mean?"

I grabbed her hoof and began running for the door, "You'll know when it happens."

Once I had pulled her out the door, I threw her, or more alone the lines of climbing under her, onto my back and jumped into the air.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

I began flying in the direction of Ponyville, "The Library, then to the rest of Ponyville. You haven't been back there in a while. I think you should get Spike to move in with us."

I felt her shift around on my back, "Oh my gosh! I forgot about Spike!"

I laughed, "Don't worry, I heard he was staying at Rarity's."

She chuckled, "I should have known."

I nodded, "We'll get your thing, then you can move in with me completely."

"Lets hurry!" She wrapped her hooves around my neck and buried her head in my mane. This caused a smile to form on my face.

I picked up the speed slightly, ready to get Twilight moved into my house.

Love for a musician

Love for a musician

Chapter 42

I landed in front of the library, letting Twilight slide off my back.

She stepped towards the door and opened it. She walked in and looked around, "I've missed this place."

I walked in and took a deep breath, "What should we pack?"

She levitated a large chest in front of me. Where'd that come from? "Well for starters, you can fill this chest with the books I own."

I nodded, "That's easy. Where's the books that you own?"

She pointed to a large bookshelf, filled with books, "They're all on that shelf."

My jaw dropped, I didn't know she owned that many books! I thought all of those belonged to the library.

I put on a smile, "I'm on it Twi!"I walked up to the chest and opened it.

Twilight began walking up stairs, "I'll go pack my things and Spike's."

I nodded as I started placing books into the chest, "Have fun."

I picked up another stack of books and dropped them in the chest. After placing a few more stacks in the chest, I noticed something. At this rate, this chest is going to be full before all the books are in.

I put a hoof to my chin and began to think. I looked at the disorganized books in the chest, then to the half full bookshelf. I looked back to the chest and facehoofed. If I stack the books in a organized order, I'll be able to fit them all in.

I began reorganizing the books in the chest. Once that was done, I began putting the rest of the books in it.

After I was done, I closed the lid and smiled proudly.

And then I frowned. Where were we going to put all of those books? All the bookshelf's in my small library are full already. There's no room for those.

I shrugged, we'll figure that out later.

I walked over to the chest and sat on it, facing the stairs.

After a long wait, forty seven minutes, Twilight started walking down the stairs. She had two chest levitated in front of her, a large one and a small one.

I chuckled as I stood, "Whats in the chest's Twi?"

She grinned and sat them next to the one holding the books, "Oh, just my clothes and supplies, and the smaller one has all of Spike's things in it."

I raised an eyebrow, "Supplies?"

She nodded, "Yep. I've forgotten about my studies, but thanks to Peter, I'm going to get back to work on them."

I grinned, "Finally, you've been slacking off since I arrived here."

She giggled, "Well, you can't blame me. Its hard to study with you around, I'm too distracted by you."

I smiled and shrugged, "It's my job."

She laughed and walked up next to me, "Well, I'm going to focus on my studies from now on." She glanced around, "Ready to go back to our house?"

I shook my head, "You go on Twi. I'm going to walk around Ponyville some."

She shrugged, "Hurry home." And with that, her and the chest disappeared in a purple flash.

I smiled and walked out of the library and looked around. Lets see if I can find something new to do here in town.

_________________________________________________________________________

Peter walked out of Lance's house for the second time. He had come back to return the suit, that he had torn. It wasn't his fault (It was!) he was just trying to fly through a tree.

He laughs to himself and begins flying towards Ponyville. But not before making a quick stop at his house to grab a present. It was a golden necklace with the finest sapphire bits could buy. He had worked his flank off to buy it. (He borrowed the bits from Lance and Frederic!) It was the perfect present for her. It was in a white box, with a purple ribbon. He grabbed his faithful guitar and began to fly to Ponyville.

He quickly flew to Ponyville, leaving a trail of purple fire behind him.

Soon, he landed in Ponyville, a very nervous look on his face.

He gulped and began the long walk, which was just twenty eight meters but seemed like more to him, to the Carousel Boutique. Upon reaching the door, he took a deep breath and summoned all of his courage. He knocked on the door three times.

Rarity opened it and smiled, "Why, Purple Blaze dear, what brings you to my Boutique?"

Peter broke out in a cold sweat, becoming nervous and shy at the same time. Something that has never happened to him before. "Uhhh..." He quickly handed (Hoofed? Never mind, we've been over this) her the present and turned about face and bolted off.

_____________________________________________________________

Rarity watched Purple Blaze run away, a confused look on her face. She opened the box and gasped at the beautiful golden necklace with a equally beautiful sapphire. She lifted it up with her magic and smiled.

Her smile quickly faded at a thought. Does Purple Blaze like her? He seemed very nervous and shy when she answered the door. Which wasn't like him. She had seen him play on stage at Twilight's wedding, he didn't show any signs of shyness or nervousness then.

Her expression turned to one of determination as she began galloping after Purple Blaze.

She caught up to him, just as he was sitting down on a bench and tuning his guitar.

Rarity stopped a few feet behind him, wanting to hear what he was going to play. It was obvious he was preparing to play a song.

He took a deep breath and strummed the guitar. After a chords of sad sounding music, he began to sing, "D' you breathe the name of your saviour in your hour of need,
And taste the blame if the flavor should remind you of greed?
Of implication, insinuation and ill will, 'til you cannot lie still,
In all this turmoil, before red cape and foil come closing in for a kill

Come feed the rain
'cause I'm thirsty for your love dancing underneath the skies of lust
Yeah, feed the rain
'cause without your love my life ain't nothing but this carnival of rust

It's all a game, avoiding failure, when true colors will bleed
All in the name of misbehavior and the things we don't need
I lust for after no disaster can touch, touch us anymore
And more than ever, I hope to never fall, where enough is not the same it was before

Come feed the rain...
'cause I'm thirsty for your love dancing underneath the skies of lust
Yeah, feed the rain
'cause without your love my life ain't nothing but this carnival of rust
Yeah, feed the rain
'cause I'm thirsty for your love dancing underneath the skies of lust
Yeah, feed the rain
'cause without your love my life ain't nothing but this carnival of rust

Don't walk away, don't walk away, oh, when the world is burning
Don't walk away, don't walk away, oh, when the heart is yearning
Don't walk away, don't walk away, oh, when the world is burning
Don't walk away, don't walk away, oh, when the heart is yearning."

He dropped the guitar and put his face in his hooves, a few tears running between them.

Rarity also had tears in her eyes, feeling a strong sense of love in the song he had sang.

She took a few steps forward and put a hoof on his shoulder, "Blaze?"

He jumped up and twisted, his eyes red from crying. Apparently he had been crying while singing. "Oh... hey Rarity. How much did you hear?" He said hanging his head.

She let a tear roll down her face, "All of it."

He continued looking at the ground, "Oh."

She looked at his head, seeing tears slowly fall to the ground. She pulled him into a tight hug, ignoring the urge to pull away due to the dirt on his coat from running.

When she pulled back from the hug, he had a large blush on his cheeks.

She smiled at this, "Was there something you wanted to ask me back at the boutique?"

He gulped loudly, his blush growing, "Ummm... yeah... I mean, yes Miss Rarity."

She giggled at his attempt at being a gentlecolt, "Its okay Purple Blaze, you can be your self around me."

He smiled weakly, "Okay, that makes it easier on me." He took a deep breath, "Rarity?"

She nodded, "Yes dear?"

He took a few breaths and looked her in the eyes, "Rarity, I've been holding back feelings for you. Ever since that day I walked into your boutique, looking for Whitemark. I've been fighting with those feelings for the past three months, but I just can't hold them back anymore. I want us to be more than friends." He let out a loud breath and instantly hated himself. That sounded cheesy!

Surprisingly, she smiled warmly and a twinkle formed in her eye, "Really?"

All Peter could do was nod.

A very adorable look appeared on her face, a look that melted Peter's heart, "Nopony has ever felt that way about me. Well, plenty have said that, but none of them had the meaning and the love you just showed."

Peter smiled, a happy smile.

She lifted up the necklace he had given her, "I adore this necklace Purple Blaze, its just simply beautiful. I love it!"

Peter couldn't help him self, he pulled her into a hug, "I'm glad you like it Rarity. I spent days searching for the perfect gift for you."

She returned his hug, "That's so sweet!"

Peter broke the hug and stepped back, he felt light headed at the question he was about to ask, "Uhh... umm... Rarity?"

She smiled again, "Yes?"

Peter steadied himself and prepared for rejection, "Will you be my marefriend?"

Rarity's eyes widened and her mouth hung open slightly.

Peter cursed himself and turned away from her, "I'm sorry."

She turned him back to face her and smiled lovingly, "Purple Blaze, I would love to be your marefriend."

Peter's vision blurred slightly and a large goofy smile formed on his face. He jumped into the air and yelled at the top of his lungs, "FUCK YEAH!!!"

He then quickly landed in front of her and smiled awkwardly, "I'm sorry about that."

She giggled, "Oh its alright. You have a reason to be overjoy."

He smirked, his confidence returning, "I know." He then smiled at her miscellaneously, "Wanna do something fun?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Not on a first date deary."

He laughed, "No, not that. I mean, do you want to do something that will be funny?"

She chuckled, "Sure. Its a date then."

He smiled, "Oh yeah, its a date alright. Do you like Pranks?"

She smiled, "Not really, but I'm willing to give them a try."

Peter clapped his hoofs together, "Sweet! Come on Rarity, lets get this pranking a rolling!"

Living Their Dream! Part one

CROSSOVER:
Living Their Dream! Part one.
(Crossover with ‘Omnius's Travels: Equestria’ READ IT!.)
Yes, this is Chapter 43.

(Omnius's Point of View)

“You’re leaving?” Twilight said as I packed a few essentials into a set of saddlebags. “But it feels like you just got back!”
“Yeah, but don’t worry,” I replied, lifting the bags onto my back. I tightened a strap, and grinned at my friends. “I actually know that I’ll only be gone from this world for only a few minutes this time.”
With a grin, I popped open another bottle of soda, and chugged it down, relishing the fizzy drink. Applejack looked at me with concern in her eyes, and said, “Well, still. You never know if anything’ll happen to ya.”
“Actually, I’ve been to this world once already,” I replied, wrapping my forelegs around the others in a quick goodbye hug. A couple of days after I had helped Purple Blaze with his revenge on Greg, my curiosity had been piqued. See, while I was there, I had gotten a memory back, but quickly lost it when I returned. Problem was, I could remember remembering that memory, but I couldn’t remember what memory it was.
…Okay, I read that sentence, and I still find it confusing! Anyways, I wanted to go back to his Equestria for a quick visit, just to satisfy my curiosity on the matter. I had told Twilight my plans, but she instantly assumed that I would be gone for a few years (she tends to overreact easily, does she not?) and she had gathered the rest of the girls for a goodbye.
“Oh, well, be careful though, Sugarcube. We know yer immortal and all, but that don’t mean you cain’t get hurt,” Applejack said, playfully punching my shoulder.
“Don’t I know it? I still have bruises from when Rainbow Dash tried to teach me how to do a Sonic Rainboom,” I chuckled, teasing the Pegasus I was in the middle of hugging.
“Hey, how was I supposed to know that you weren’t going to pull up? I thought that when you saw the ground coming up that fast-”
“Shaddap.”
I gave the rest of the girls a quick hug, and then saluted at them, saying, “You all know what I’m gonna say now, right?”
“Goodbye?” Pinkie said, tilting her head.
“No! I never say goodbye! I just say I’ll see you later! But that’s not what I’m gonna say,” I said, laughing.
“Well, shoot, just come out and say it!” Applejack said, shaking her head at my antics.
With a crazy grin, I leaped out of the open window (even though my door was still open…screw logic) and shouted, “IT’S GOOD TO BE THE TRAVELER!”
As my hooves touched the ground, I willed myself into another world, and felt the wind rush through my hair as I plummeted to the ground.

XHXHXHXHXHXHX

Seven things popped into my head as I was falling through the sky:
1)I’m falling. Again.
2)This was the right Equestria.
3)I’m a Brony.
4)Holy Shit, I’m a Brony!
5)Sweet Glory Hallelujah, I’m a Brony who’s been with the Mane 6 since the beginning!
6)I’ve been a Brony since before I started Traveling.
7)I’m still falling....

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” I screamed, as the ground rushed up to meet me. I put my forelegs in front of my face in an attempt to ward off the inevitable crash, when the small part of my brain that wasn’t screaming, calmly said, “Don’t we have wings?” THANKS FOR MENTIONING THAT EARLIER!
I quickly unfurled my wings, caught the air in them, and managed to pull out of the sharp nose dive…then I crashed into a tree. And then the momentum of the fall carried me through that tree, and into another one. And another one…And another one…And then a boulder…And then another tree.
As I peeled myself off of the me-shaped imprint I made on the tree, I saw stars fly around my eyes, and I sang in a slightly quavering tone, “Nate, Nate, Nathan Traveler, living Eternally! Watch out for that tree!”
I felt myself fall onto the ground, and I laid there for a moment, waiting for the world to stop spinning. I felt my soda try and make a less than triumphant return, but I barely managed to keep it down. After a few minutes, my brain decided to say, “Okay you sunuvabitch, get up!” Why Brain? Why must you torment me so?
As I stood on trembling legs, I made sure that my saddlebags were still firmly attached to my sides, and then nodded once satisfied they hadn’t been damaged.
“Okay. I’m still in one piece, I’m not splattered all over the ground, and, oh yeah, I’m a Brony,” I listed, taking stock of the situation. “That just blows my freaking mind. Welp, I’m not gonna accomplish much just by standing here and talking to myself. Let’s see if I can find my way to Ponyville!”
With a grin, I flew into the air, and took off towards Ponyville. As I reveled in the wind that rushed through my mane, I started to let my mind wander.
So wait a second, if I didn’t know anything about this Equestria (other than the Brony bit), then that means that I still remember my friends, but they don’t remember me. I remember the events that happened on the show, and I also remember what happened when I got involved. How the hell am I gonna manage to explain that? And why am I doing all this thinking when Sugarcube Corner is just below me?
I snapped myself out of my thoughts, and felt my mouth start to drool with anticipation as I spotted a few tables that stood outside the by now all too familiar Gingerbread house shaped bakery. I landed just outside the shop, and walked in, inhaling as I went.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” A sweet and happy voice called out from the counter. I looked over to see that Mrs. Cake was running the shop, and she was greeting me as if I was new to town. Wait, technically I am. Dammit, I can already tell this is gonna get awkward.
“Howdy,” I said, trotting up to the counter. “You wouldn’t happen to have any Blueberry Muffins, would you?”
“Well you’re in luck! We just finished pulled a fresh, hot batch, right out of the oven!”
Alternate Universes, same delicious sweets.
Oh yeah: It’s good to be The Traveler.
XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX
I sat at a table inside, and looked through the windows, taking in my surroundings. Everything and everypony still looked the same, except for that Pegasus over there. He was clad in all black clothing, and he had a set of thick goggles on his face.
“Hm…Don’t remember seeing him in the show or in another universe…” I muttered, as I munched on a muffin. “Could he be Girokon?”
Shrugging, I decided, “What the hell, I ain’t got nothing to lose.” I finished my muffin, and then hollered out, “HEY! ARE YOU GIROKON!?”
Oh yeah. Master of subtlety, right here people.

[Lance’s Point of View (written by kickass222urmom, author of ‘Living the Dream)]

I looked at the muffin in front of me, trying to decide if I should eat it or not. I'm not much of a muffin man (Muffin Man! Get it? Oh, forget it), I'm more of a cupcake kind of guy.

I shook my head and glanced around the building. I was at Sugar Cube Corner, taking a snack break. Walking around town sure built up an appetite.

"HEY! ARE YOU GIROKON!?" a loud voice called out.

I looked up and began searching for the pony who yelled my name. It wasn't hard, since there was a brown Pegasus standing on its hind legs and waving.

I raised an eyebrow, and thought to myself, who is that? I've never seen him before. I pressed the button on my goggles and zoomed in on his face. I don't think... Wait a second, I think I know him. He's that pony who had been with Peter this morning.

I stood up and reset the goggles back to normal view. I then began walking over to the brown Pegasus.

As I neared, the brown Pegasus smiled, "So, you ARE Girokon."

I nodded, "The one and only. So, why did you call me over here?"

He got a smug look on his face, "I never called you over, I just asked if you were Girokon."

Okay, I'm stupid, "Oh." I looked him over, I never saw him on the show or around town. "I haven't seen you around town before. You don't seem..." My eyes widened and my mouth started drooling when I looked at his saddlebag, which was slightly open, revealing a single object.

I pointed a hoof at his bag, "Is that...A COKE!?!"

He looked back at his saddlebag and smirked. "It sure is."

I pulled my saddlebag off and put it on the table. I opened it to reveal muffins, a bag full. It’s a good thing they messed up on my order. "I'll give you all of those for it!"

You see, I have a huge weakness for Coca-Cola. Those things are amazing! Let me say that again: They. Are. Amazing! I would do anything, and I mean anything, for one bottle.

He looked at the bag and its contents and his eyes widened. He let out a squeal of delight, "Deal! It’s a freaking deal!" He pulled the coke out and put it on the table before diving into the bag, sticking his head in and chewing through the muffins.

I quickly grabbed the coke in my mouth, as if it was about to disappear, and used my teeth to rip the cap off. I then tilted my head back and began chugging the coke, gagging a few times when it went down the wrong pipe. I then spit the empty bottle out and belched loudly. I smiled sheepishly and turned to face all the ponies, "Sorry about that everypony."

I felt somepony tap my shoulder. I turned to see the brown Pegasus, his beard flecked with the remains of the muffins, (Messy eater much?). "I didn't tell you my name, did I?"

I shook my head, and replied, "Nope."

He held out his hoof, "Well, the name’s Omnius."

I shook his hoof. "Cool name."

He nodded, and said, "Thanks. Sounds better than Mr. Snuggles at least."

I chuckled and looked around…I think I can tell him my real name, since he seemed to be a Brony. Come on! He has COKE! "Well, I think I should tell you my real name, since you’re obviously human."

He nodded.

"My real name is..." I looked around to make sure nopony was listening, "Is Lance Greenfield."

He stroked his beard, "I think I might have something to tell you too."

I raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What?"

He smirked. "I'll tell you on the way to the library. I need to check on something."

I shrugged, thinking it was no big deal. "Okay, but if you’re looking for Twilight Sparkle, she doesn't live there anymore."

"What!? Where does she live then?" He said, shocked, a look of surprise on his face.

I laughed at his reaction, "My house in Canterlot. Come on, I'll take you there. You can tell me what you had to tell me while we fly there."

He nodded, "Alrighty then. Let’s hit the road...er, I mean, sky."

I smiled and we turned for the door. Once outside, we took to the air.

When we were high enough that nopony could hear us, I looked over. "So, tell me what it was."

[Omnius's Point of Veiw!]

Lance and I were flying towards Canterlot, and I tried to think of a good way to tell him. I mean, come on! He’s a dude who died (at least from what Blaze said) and chose Equestria as his afterlife. Why wouldn’t he believe me about my Traveling?
Wait, I bet you’re all wondering why I decided to tell him. Mostly because a little voice in my head that sounded like a certain someone (Who’s name starts with “Princess” and ends in “Celestia”), told me that I could. Well, if a Goddess of Good says it’s good to do, I can’t exactly argue with that!
“Hm…How do I put this…Okay, screw it, Imma just say it,” I said, rolling lazily in mid-air.
“What?” Lance asked, confused.
“I’m the Eternal Traveler of Good,” I said simply. “I am doomed, fated, and destined to Travel throughout all of Time, Space, and Matter, and across all of the Realities for all of eternity, and beyond, for the side of Good.”
He looked at me, one of his eyebrows raised quizzically on his face. “Are you being serious?”
“To quote a certain pony, Eyup!” I replied, smiling.
He was silent for a few moments, before I heard a very familiar sound…barely suppressed laughter. I sighed, and waited for the eventual outburst, which, if my calculations are correct, will happen in three…two…one…cue the giggles.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Lance laughed, almost forgetting to flap his wings in his mirth. As soon as he got quiet, he looked at me again, and the laughing started up again. “Seriously?” He finally managed to sputter out, grinning at me.
“Yeah. But seriously, is it as unbelievable as you being a Zebragus?” I asked, looking at him.
“Well, yeah! At least mine you can see! What about you?” (Wait, here comes my favorite line!) “How can you prove that what you said is true?”
Oh, I love it when someone asks me that!
“Well, I can show you my true form,” I said casually, positioning myself so that I was right above him. He looked up at me, and I grinned. “Make sure you catch me!”
“Catch you? What are you-” He started to ask, but I didn’t let him finish. I was too busy shifting back into human form.
I felt the pins and needles feeling pass, and then the expected falling sensation. I shot past Lance, and waved at him cheerfully as I fell, a huge smile on my face. Then, just to really mess with him, I pulled a nail file (a remnant of my lessons on Jail Breaks) out of my pocket, and started to go over my finger nails with it, whistling as I did so. The wind pulled the sound away from me, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
As I cheerfully fell, seemingly about to become a street pizza again, I felt a sudden tugging sensation around my armpits, and turned my head to see Lance, who had just grabbed me. I saluted at him, and said, “Top ‘o’ the marnin’ to ya laddie!”
“ARE YOU CRAZY!?” He shouted, as he slowly flew over to a nearby outcropping of rock that was large enough to hold the both of us.
“Probably. I hear voices in my head all the time,” I said nonchalantly, as he set me down. I looked at him, and asked, “Hey, you alright there? I didn’t mean to hurt you or anything, I just wanted to make a point.”
He panted, and shrugged his wings carefully, as if testing them to see if they still worked. “I think I’m fine. You’re just heavier than anything I’ve ever had to carry,” He said, once satisfied his wings were in working order.
“Good. Hey, wait, was that a fat joke?” I said, smiling. We both laughed, and I leaned against the mountain, and added, “So I take it that now you believe me?”
“Well, after a stunt like that…” he mumbled, scratching his head.
“Good! Now then, take a rock,” I said, sitting down on one that would allow me to lean against the wall of the mountain. “Or maybe just stand, or sit, or whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got a few things that I need to tell you before we go on,” I explained patiently. “Just to clarify a few things, and let you know why I might suddenly burst into flames, or maybe jump into a burning building to save a few kids.”
“That doesn’t make much sense…”
“It never does,” I agreed. “Now then, let’s start off with a quick story…There are Gods, capitol G, and Goddesses…”

XHXHXHXHXHXHX

After I was finished explaining everything (and after I finished a couple of bottles of coke) I shifted back into Pegasus form, and cracked my neck.
“So…You can’t die?” Lance said, confused.
“Nope.”
“Then why did I have to catch you?” He asked almost indignantly.
“Because ‘can’t die’ doesn’t mean the same thing as ‘can’t feel unbearable pain’,” I replied, already taking off. “And I did tell you about the whole ‘regenerate on a home-world’ thing, right?”
“Oh yeah,” He replied, with a hint of chagrin in his voice.
We flew in silence for a while, before finally reaching the city of Canterlot. I still have to say, no matter how many times I see that city, it still sends a certain amount of chills when I see it approaching on the horizon. It’s such a serene picture; a castle that hangs onto the side of a mountain, with the sun shining it in an almost perfect light, casting its many turrets and towers into a frame of illuminated gold…Yeah, the cartoon definitely didn’t do it justice.
“So you and Twilight are hitched?” I asked, just as we reached his home. Gotta say, it looked pretty nice from here.
“Yes, we are,” He answered simply, landing in front of the door. He opened it, and walked inside, calling out, “Twi?”
I looked over, and felt my jaw drop to the ground (again) as I took in the appearance of my friend…Er, I guess I should say, my friend’s alternate universe self. She looked like the normal Twilight Sparkle, with a lavender coat, and the same cutie-mark…but now she had a swollen gut that was very disproportionate to the rest of her body.
I recalled what Purple Blaze had said before I got him back here…Twilight was…HOLY SWEET GLORY HALLELUJAH, TWILIGHT’S PREGNANT! And I also remember her on the show…GAH! Conflicting thoughts in my head!
“Hello Lance,” Twilight said warmly, as she nuzzled Lance affectionately. “Who’s this? Is he another human?”
I stood there, dumbstruck, as I tried to wrap my mind around what was going on. There were now three realities of the same nature that I had remembered…the show’s universe (where one of the biggest differences was the fact that Nurse Redheart was an Earth Pony, as opposed to the universe I was in), Lance’s universe, and the one I had come from. Whoooooooaaaaaaah…
Mind = Blown.
“Erm…Hello?” I dimly heard Twilight say. She made an obvious effort to try and remain nonplussed, and she said, “Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and you are…?”
I blinked rapidly, and looked at her. Being me, I obviously had to reply, “In a bit of shock…Oh, sorry, my name’s Omnius.” I took her extended hoof, and shook it gently.
“And what’s your human name?”
“Omnius? Or do you mean Sean? Maybe Nathan?” I said, trying to come up with a good answer.
“Ooookay then,” Twilight said, eying me apprehensively.
“I’m not a stoner like Greg,” I finally said, once I decided that it didn’t matter. She was obviously an alternate Twilight, and I would just have to adjust to it.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, it’s just that you were looking at me like I was crazy,” I explained in an even tone, while Lance face-hoofed in the background. “I figured you must’ve already had to deal with Greg, so I just wanted you to relax. I am not under the influence of any narcotics or hallucinogens, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Twilight smiled then, and said, “Oh. Well, that’s a good thing to hear then.”
“Yeah,” Lance said, intervening before I could say anything else that would make me look like an idiot. “Well, if you excuse me, I just have to go get Omnius settled into his room, he’s going to be staying with us for now.”
“I am?” He hit my shoulder with his wings, and I quickly amended, “Um, of course I am! It’s only going to be for a little bit though. You know, places to go, things to learn, all that good stuff.”
With that, we headed upstairs, and I heard Lance let out a huge sigh of relief. What? I thought I handled that pretty well!

[Lance’s Point of View]

As we walked into a spare room, (It was the dog’s room, but he doesn't have to know that) I got everything ready for Omnius, who just stood there watching.

I have to admit, the whole idea of him being some Traveler who travels between reality sounds impossible. But look at me and the others, we're in Equestria! That alone is beyond impossible. But him turning back into a human sealed the deal.

I stood up and nodded, everything was set up for him to stay. I turned back to him and did a bow, "There ya go, one flea ridden... I mean dust mite... I MEAN... There's a bed. Take it or leave it."

He laughed loudly. "I'll take it."

We walked out of the room and laughed, "So, how was it seeing a pregnant Twilight?"

He smiled and shrugged, "You know, I've seen worst, but that was just weird. She's so out of character! In my Equestria, she's the way she was in the show. But here, she's like a more…relaxed version."

I chuckled, "Yeah, ever since I've arrived, she's been acting like that."

He glanced at me. "Strange?" he commented

I shrugged, "Sure is, but I like it." I gestured for the stairs, "Wanna meet a dragon Brony?"

His eyes widened, "Holy crap! A dragon is a Brony? How’s that possible?"

I laughed, "A guy chose to be a dragon, a bad choice in my books."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Sweet! I've been a dragon before."

I smiled, "You already told me that."

He facehoofed. "Damn, I forgot."

I looked at his saddlebag, and asked, "Got anymore coke?"

He smirked, "Maybe. Got anymore muffins?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah." I walked into my room and brought out a 'muffin.'

He squealed and pulled out a coke. I grabbed it and chugged it down before he bit into the 'muffin.'

He chewed on the 'muffin' with a strange look on his face. He began examining the 'muffin' and frowned, "Hey! This isn't a muffin! It’s a freaking cupcake!" He glared at me, "You cheated me out of a coke!"

A smile started to form on my face, but I covered it up by laughing, not a good cover up, "I see it as, relieving you of a coke."

He pointed a hoof at me, and said, "Give it back! Or I’ll be forced to resort to...overdramatic measures…"

I chuckled and rubbed my stomach. "You'll have to drain it out of me."

He pulled a tube out of his saddlebag. "That’s always an option."

My eyes widen, "Oh hell no! You keep that tube away from me." I backed my flank against the wall to keep it safe.

He laughed, "Just kidding! Besides, it’s just a test tube."

I let out a sigh, "Thank God."

He put the tube back in his bag, and added, "But if you do that again, I will love and tolerate the shit outta you…in retrospect, that sounded manlier in my head."

I shuddered, and decided I'm not going to try that again. "Gotcha. Me, plus stealing coke, equals bad things."

He nodded. "I'm glad we have an understanding."

I walked over to the stairs, "Let’s get going, before someone does something regretful."

He ran down the stairs, "Then let’s get going." He ran to the door and slammed into it, flying through it and doing a barrel roll once he hit the ground. He stood up and did a pose.

I walked out and raised an eyebrow, "Over dramatic much?"

He smirked, "Hey, it’s part of what I do."

I pointed to the sky laughing, "Just take to the sky. I want to show you around before we go see the Brony dragon."

[Omnius's Point of view!]

I had to stifle a laugh at the expense of Lance. Sure, I wouldn’t have really done anything to him, but come on! He didn’t know that! How could I pass up an opportunity to get back at him for cheating me out of a muffin? Although I guess maybe I should have just given him one for free. After all, he is letting me stay at his place for the duration of my trip. I’ll make it up to him later…maybe I’ll give him a full 20 pack of coke. That’s a nice thing to do, right?
After he gave me the tour of Canterlot (and after he told me that one of his friends was married to Princess Luna now…Wait, does that make him a God of Good? What the Heimlich?)we flew on towards Fluttershy’s cottage in silence for a while, and I didn’t make any attempt to break it for once. Surprised? Well, hey, even I like to just enjoy a nice quiet flight. There’s something about flying that really helps to clear my head. Maybe it’s the feeling of freedom, or maybe it’s just the way you have to focus on making sure that you don’t fall, or hit into anything. Maybe it’s the feeling of the wind, literally blowing away any cluttering thoughts.
I sighed, and let myself be carried in the wind, for once just letting go of all of my thoughts. For now, it was just Lance, me, and the wind, as we flew onwards to Fluttershy’s house, and the supposed Dragon Brony. Man, that’s gotta be awesome…
…Then again, in retrospect, maybe not. I mean, for one thing, if he’s a big’n, wouldn’t that mean that all of the ponies might look at him in fear? I tried to think of why he might have become a dragon, and tried to guess what I could of his personality.
“Alright…he was given a choice, and he chose Equestria. That means that he must have some sort of love for friendship and magic…He chose to be a dragon though, meaning he wanted to do something…well, different. So far, he’s only chosen to live with Fluttershy, which implies a certain kindness or shyness about him. Maybe he chose to be a dragon because he wanted to be something that couldn’t get pushed around so easily…”
I shook my head, and decided not to try and form any opinions about him until I got to meet him. It’s a slightly bad habit of mine, but I like to try and guess what I can about people from what I’ve been told about them. Kind of like Sherlock Holmes, I guess. I always tried to wait until I met the person before I did my guessing though, as it might make me think otherwise bad things about them.
Lance looked at me, and asked, “Hey, you alright over there?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” I called back, lazily rolling in the air. “I just like the feeling of flying, you know?”
He nodded, agreeing with me. I lost myself in my thoughts again, and felt a memory start to show up...and then I firmly pushed it back, denying the viewers the opportunity for a flashback sequence. Ain’t I a stinker?
Grinning, I decided that it was time for a bit of Traveler shenanigans, and I instantly shifted back into human form without warning Lance.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” He shouted, as I plummeted towards the ground.
“I don’t know!” I called back, laughing. I looked at the ground I was plummeting towards, and realized that we were still fairly close to the mountain walls. I spotted a ledge that was sticking out from the mountain, forming what would have been a really cool snowboarding path, if it was actually covered in snow.
“Hey Lance, follow me!” I called out, pulling a metal square out from my pocket. I pressed one of the corners with my thumb, and it slowly expanded into a long, blue and white hover board type deal. I gripped the side of it with my hand, and carefully placed myself on top of it, making sure that I wouldn’t fall off.
With a cocky grin that hid the nervousness I was feeling, I quickly stomped on a switch, and activated the hoverboard. There was a steady humming sound, and I shouted, “Race ya to Fluttershy’s!”
I leaned forward, and the board took off, racing along the narrow pathway.
“What!?”
“Lance, come on!” I shouted over my shoulder. “Follow me, set me free! Trust me and we will ESCAPE FROM THE CITY!”
“Huh?”
“Damn it Lance, don’t you recognize a Sonic the Hedgehog reference when you hear one?!” I shot down the path faster than a bullet, and did a couple of show-off type flips in my enthusiasm. “Anyways: Race to Fluttershy’s, you in?”
He grinned, and called out, “Oh, it’s on!”
“That’s what I like to hear!” I laughed, right before Lance blurred past me, leaving a streak of black and red in his wake.
“Note to self: Win first, THEN mock!” I smacked my forehead, and focused on the path ahead of me. If I was right, then this path should carry me down the mountains, and into the woods, where I could easily make it to Fluttershy’s without any chance of danger or injury. At least, if I was planning on doing things the “Easy” way.
I cracked my knuckles, and pulled my bandana on. With another short burst of speed, my board launched down the path, and everything around me became a blur. I couldn’t see Lance anywhere and I figured he must have already took off towards our goal.
Well, at least he doesn’t know that I know a veeeeerrrryyyy good shortcut...I call it, the “OMGWTFBBQ” path. Long story short, I just follow this here path for a ways, before jumping off of it and riding down the mountain, and then, now this is the crucial point, hit the big pointy rock, launch off of it like a ramp, spam the “X” button (and by that, I mean ‘spin like crazy’), and land right in the thick clump of woods behind Fluttershy’s place.
Mess up, and I could end up in an angry Ursa’s den. No pressure.
I gulped, and murmured a quick prayer to the Gods and Goddesses of Good, asking for a bit of luck. After a deep, steadying breath, I leaned forward, and pushed the board to its limits, my eyes watering as I went. Spotting the turn, I made the board veer off course, hitting the even narrower strip of path that was outcropping from the mountain.
“Here goes nothing!”I shouted, right before hitting the rock. “Remember kids, don’t try this at home!”
I shot off the rock, and was suddenly soaring through the air. I started spinning on the board, and had to resist the urge to vomit violently. Instead, I just settled for flying over a very surprised Lance, waving cheerfully as I did so, and spun through the air, screaming madly all the while.
The momentum brought about from the spinning carried me through the air, and I landed in the woods, at least fifty feet from Fluttershy’s cottage. I folded the board back up, and tucked into my pocket, smiling.
“I haven’t had a chance to use that in a while. I should try to use it more often.” I stretched out my arms, and heard the satisfactory sounds of bone popping. I shifted into Pegasus form, and strolled out of the woods, and waited casually on the path.
A moment later, a very irate looking Pegasus/zebra/human landed next to me, panting slightly. “You cheated!” he said, punching my shoulder.
“I didn’t cheat,” I replied. “I just used the environment to my advantage!”
“And used an alien hover board!”
“And you have a friend who’s a dragon, and who’s married to Princess Luna!” I retorted good-naturedly.
“What does that have to do with anything!?”
“I dunno. I just thought I’d point it out.”
We walked the rest of the way towards Fluttershy’s cottage, and I felt a small moment of apprehension. I needed to be insanely careful about what I said, or else I might accidentally let them know that I’m technically not from their world, and alert them to my Traveling. Thankfully, this was something I’d had a lot of practice with. I should be fine.
Lance strode up to the door of the cottage, and quietly knocked at it. The door creaked open, and a butterscotch colored Pegasus peaked out from the small crack. The door opened a little wider, and a soft voice could be heard, saying, “Oh, hello Lance! It’s good to see you again.”
“Hi Fluttershy. I was just showing my new friend around Ponyville, and I decided to drop by and say hi,” Lance replied.
“Oh?” Fluttershy opened the door all the way, and looked at me shyly.
“Howdy,” I said, pushing up my glasses. “My name’s Omnius. It’s nice to meet you.”
Fluttershy nodded, and all three of us stood there for a moment in silence. Lance then remembered why we had come here in the first place, and he asked, “Is Malbatorus anywhere?”
“Oh, are you sure you want to introduce him to Omnius? He might scare him…”
“It’ll be fine. He in the usual spot then?”
She nodded.
“Cool,” I said. “Thanks Shy.”
And with that, we headed into the forest.

[Lance’s Point of View]

As we walked up to Malbatorus, who was asleep, Omnius whistled in awe, and said in a Texan accent, "He's ah big one isn't he?"

I chuckled, "What did you expect? He's a dragon after all."

Omnius looked at me and smiled. "I was expecting something smaller, not a fully grown dragon!"

I waved a hoof over to Malbatorus, "Well, I give you the honor of being the one who wakes him up."

He raised an eyebrow and did a small wave. "Psh, easy is easy."

What?

He walked up to Malbatorus and started poking his stomach, "Yo, big red! Wakey wakey!"

I face-hoofed. What is he trying to do? Piss off Malbatorus?

Malbatorus sat up, towering over us, "What?" He said in his booming voice. He looked over to me and smiled (That smile still gives me the creeps). "Hey Lance."

I waved, and said, "Hey Malbatorus. I brought a friend to meet you."

He sighed, "Please don't tell me you brought Greg back to see me? That guy is annoying."

I chuckled, "No, this time it’s someone new." I pointed to Omnius, who was smirking for some reason, "This is Omnius."

Malbatorus looked down at him, "Nice to meet you Omnius."

Omnius nodded, "Good to meet you too Malbatorus."

They did an awkward hand... Claw... hoof... shake.

Omnius looked up at him, "So, why did you become a dragon?"

Malbatorus sighed loudly, "I was picked on back on earth and thought being a dragon would mean no one would mess with me. I was right. No one will mess with me... or be my friend. Only the other bronies and Fluttershy will even come near me."

Omnius wiped a tear out of his eye, and said, "Manly tears have been shed man."

Malbatorus Chuckled, or more like a booming chuckle, "Don't worry about me. I'm having the time of my life here. Way better than Earth."

Omnius nodded again. "I see. Well, like I always say-"

A loud scream from Fluttershy's cottage caught us all off guard. The first to react was Malbatorus, who cried out, "Fluttershy!" He flew over to her cottage, followed by me and Omnius.

Upon reaching the cottage, we saw Fluttershy jumping around and looking through things.

Omnius walked forward, "What's wrong? Why did you scream?"

She looked at us, tears in her eyes, "It’s Angel! He's gone!"

I rubbed my chin with my hoof, "Maybe he went out for a walk?"

She shook her head vigorously, "Oh no, he would have told me."

Omnius cocked his head, (Get those dirty images out of your heads!), and thoughtfully asked, "Then how did he go missing?"

She shook her head, looking around in desperation, "I don't know! I wouldn't give him a carrot because he wouldn't go outside and play. He ran off, and I don't know where he went."

I thought for a second and had an idea. In every show, there's always a set of foot prints that showed where the missing person (Bunny in this case) went. I looked around, and would you believe it, I saw the paw prints of a bunny that lead into the Everfree Forest. I pointed over to them, "Well, I think I know where he went."

Everypony, and dragon, looked over to the prints.

Fluttershy flew over to them and looked into the forest with a look of dread, "Oh, poor Angel Bunny, all alone out there in the forest."

Omnius walked up next to her, "Come on, we'll all go in after him. He couldn't have gotten far."

She shook her head, "Oh no, I can't go in there... It’s too frightening."

I walked up next to them, "Well, me and Omnius can go after him. We've both been in the forest alone before."

Behind us, Malbatorus asked in a confused voice, "Uh, what about me? You seem to forget I'm here."

I shook my head, "I didn't forget. I just thought you should stay here with Fluttershy, in case he comes back out."

"Alright, I can do that," He said.

I looked at Omnius, "You read to brave the Everfree Forest?"

He smirked and put on sunglasses, "Oh you know it!"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Where did the sunglasses come from?"

He smiled, "Transition Lenses. Gotta love ‘em, right?"

Okay? "Well, let’s get going. We have a bunny to find."

He smiled, "Let’s do it." He turned to Fluttershy, and reassuringly said, "Don't worry, we'll bring back your bunny, dead or alive."

Fluttershy's face filled with worry and concern, "Dead or alive!"

Omnius's eyes widened, "I mean, we'll bring him back alive and healthy." He laughed nervously.

She nodded, "Please hurry back with him. I'm so worried about him."

I began walking towards the forest, "Come on Omnius, stop scaring Fluttershy."

He began following me, "I'm not scaring her. Just reassuring her."

I smirked, "Yeah that worked."

He nodded, "It sure did."

I sighed and we continued on in silence. Well, silence for about a minute.

Omnius looked at me, "I just noticed something."

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "What would that be?"

"Does it feel like we're being watched?"

I looked around and shuddered, "Yeah, it kinda does."

He nodded, "Well, watch this."

Before I could answer, he jumped forward and stood up on his hind legs. He pointed his hoofs into the forest and said, "I know you’re out there! Whoever is watching us, come out!"

I face-hoofed, and thought that wasn't going to work.

A rustling off to the side of the path caught my attention. I'll be damn, it worked!

[Omnius's Point of View!]

I put myself into a battle stance, and flapped my wings a few times, stirring up some dust to make my appearance look more intimidating. That’s one of the major rules of fighting: If you know you’re about to be attacked by something, you can either make yourself look meek and useless, thus making your opponent underestimate you, or you can do your best to look like a badass and give your opponent second thoughts as to whether they should attack you or not.
I snorted a few times, and said, “Bring it!”
The bushes rustled a little more, and strange wooden creature walked out, gnashing his teeth all the while. It looked just like a wolf, only it was made entirely out of gnarled branches, and was a fair bit taller than both of us.
“Timberwolf!” I snarled, putting myself between it and Lance. Never taking my eyes off the thing, I said to Lance, “When I give the signal, I want you to fly above me, and buck it in the head.”
“Are you sure? I’m not sure a single buck will take care of it,” Lance said, unsure.
“NOW!” I charged at the Timberwolf, who seemed to be surprised that I wasn’t running, and planted my front hooves on its chest, pushing it away from me. At the same time, I heard a solid THUNK sound, which told me that Lance had done what I told him to, and the combined force of our blows sent the Timberwolf to the ground, where it tried to stand up.
I glided over, and planted both of my hooves on its throat, and bared my teeth at it in a feral snarl. I met the beast’s eyes, and glared into them unblinkingly.
After a few moments, I got up, and slowly backed away, as my eyes started to water. I fought the urge to blink, and kept staring at the Timberwolf silently.
“Omnius, what are you-”
“Shush!” I shot at him. The Timberwolf blinked its eerily glowing eyes, and shot off into the forest, leaving me and Lance alone.
“What was that?” Lance asked, looking at me strangely.
“Lone Timberwolf. We got extremely lucky,” I answered, relaxing now that the danger had passed. “It wasn’t fully grown, and it wasn’t in a pack.”
“But why didn’t you kill it? I mean, you’ve got all of those weird powers!” Lance said, while he resumed following the tracks.
“They’re actually pretty rare creatures. Besides, it was just a young’un,” I replied, trotting next to him. “It wouldn’t be right to kill it, since it was just trying to protect its territory. So I just scared it off by asserting myself as the alpha. At least, I think that’s what I did.”
“Think?” Lance said worriedly.
“Either that, or I just sent it to get help from the pack. We should find that bunny and then make like a tree- and get out of here!” I said, picking up speed.
“Don’t you mean ‘Make like a tree, and leaf?’” Lance pointed out.
I face-hoofed, and said, “Oh come on! Does no one get ‘Back to the Future’ jokes? Great Scott, but you’d think at least ONE person would get it!”
We walked in silence for a while, following the cartoonish rabbit tracks (shhhh. Be vewy vewy quiet…we’re looking for rabbits! Huhuhuhuhuh) deeper and deeper into the forest. The trees became thicker, and what little light that managed to penetrate the leaves was dimmed, and tinged with green.
I stopped suddenly, and Lance looked at me. “What’s wrong?”
Looking around, I whispered, “I don’t know…But I think we’re being watched again…only this time, whatever is staring at us is a lot more dangerous than that Timberwolf…And the tracks suddenly end here…”
We looked around, and searched for the bunny, and every little sound we heard made us jump. It was almost like that moment in a horror movie, when you KNOW there’s a monster in the closet, but you have to open the closet anyways, and HOLY SHIT!
A white blur had launched itself at my face, and it immediately went into a frenzy, scratching and biting at every inch of my exposed visage, and I frantically started running around, yelling, “GAH! LANCE GET IT OFF! SEND IT TO THE MOON OR SOMETHING!”
The white monster jumped off of my face, giving me just enough time to see a brown bag get pulled over my face, effectively giving me a burlap mask.
“Thanks Lance,” I deadpanned, removing the bag. I looked over, and spotted the vicious, bloodthirsty monster that had attacked me.
“…Angel Bunny…” Lance said, looking at the small, way too innocent looking rabbit.
“Alright, we found the bunny. Let’s get him back to Fluttershy’s pronto,” I said, slowly approaching the rabbit. He glared at me, and I bared my teeth at him. “Come on Rabbit. We’re going back to Fluttershy’s.”
He jumped onto my head, and started rapidly stomping on it, plainly telling me, “Hell no!”
Lance stifled a laugh, and I ignored him, choosing to focus only on the rabbit. “Yes, you’re going. What? Surprised I can understand you?” I said at the rabbit’s surprised look. “I can get the gist of what you’re saying. Now look, I know you’re probably miffed that Fluttershy and Malbatorus are spending a lot of time together, but seriously? Running away?”
His face fell, but then he got an angry glint in his eye as he jumped onto the ground in front of me, and crossed his arms.
“The worlds don’t revolve around you! She has other animals she needs to take care of!”
“Omnius, are you talking to that rabbit?” Lance said, looking at me like I was crazy.
“Yeah, but he’s not listening!” I replied, kneeling next to the bunny.
“Great. I’m in the middle of the Everfree with a psychotic rabbit, and an insane Traveler!” Lance muttered to himself, pacing while I talked to Angel.
Eventually, I managed to convince him to go back with us, on the condition that I didn’t mention to anyone that he was jealous of the Brony dragon.
“You actually convinced him?” Lance asked in disbelief when Angel jumped onto my back. “How?!”
“Very carefully. Now come on, we’ve got a worried Pegasus to attend to.”
XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX
We returned to the cottage, where an enthusiastic and relieved Fluttershy was waiting. She immediately grabbed the small rabbit, and covered him in affection, hugging him close to her chest.
I walked up to Malbatorus, and said, “Hey!”
He leaned his head closer to me, and I whispered, “Good luck with Fluttershy. She’s a nice pony, and deserves someone who’s as nice as her. I sincerely hope you can do that for her.”
The dragon blinked, and I chuckled. He looked at me, and said, “How did you figure it out?”
“Elementary my dear Draco, I guessed,” I replied, scratching my beard.

End of part one.

PREVIEW!

Just a small preview for all of you. Since its been a week since the last chapter. I don't know when we'll finish this.

Chapter 44

[Lance's point of view.]

Me and Omnius walked in silence back to town. It was strange that he was silent, since he's usually talking.

Before we reached Ponyville, he stopped. I looked over at him, "What?"

He began to rub his beard, "We've been to your house and Fluttershy's. Where are we going now?"
I scratched my head, "I have no idea actually. I can't think of any other places to show you."

He pushed his glasses back up, "Well, we can go to Sweet Apple Acres."

I nodded, I haven't been there in a while. "Alright." I unfolded my wings, "Race you there."

He smirked, "Your on."

I held up a hoof, "First, some rules; no human form, no weird alien technology, no powers, and no cheating."

He frowned, "That's no fun."

My turn to smirk, "Its fair."

He sighed and undid his wings, "Fine."

We lined up and he began to count down, "Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven..."

"Just say go!" I said a little annoyed.

"Six five four three two one GO!" He said at a Pinkie Pie speed.

I shoot ahead at a break neck speed. I wasn't going to lose this time.

I soon reached the streets of Ponyville, dodging ponies and stray objects.

I saw a cart being pushed by an old pony and yelled, "Get out of the way!" Well, the pony jumped out of the way, but they left the cart in the street.

I slammed into it and burst through it. I swayed in the air, dazed. That wood hurt!

The world around me spun and swayed. But I continued to fly towards Sweet Apple Acres.

When I glanced behind me, I didn't see Omnius. Poor guy couldn't keep up.

I finally reached the farm. I pushed myself and flew down a row of apple trees. When I few out of them and into the open, I just pulled my wings in and let my self slam into the ground.

The momentum I had gained sent me skidding across the ground.

When I finally came to a rest, I began to try to control my heavy breathing.

As I lay there, somepony walked up to me.

I looked up to see Omnius, smirking.

"Beat ya Lance."

I shook my head, "No, I beat you. There's no way you could have gotten here before me."

He nodded, "Yeah there is. Magic."

I looked at him confused, "What? I said no magic!"

He smirked, "You said no powers. You didn't say anything about magic."

I stood and panted, "Well, how can you use magic then?"

"Simple. I became a unicorn." He said pointing to a horn pointing out of his head.

I looked at his sides and saw he didn't have wings, "But how?"

He shrugged, "I'll tell you later." He turned and looked towards the barn. "What do you say we go see Applejack."

I nodded, "Sounds good to me. Lead the Mr. Roboto!"

He laughed loudly, "Finally! A sense of humor from you!" He started walking towards the barn, "Follow!"

I chuckled and began to follow Omnius towards the barn.

[Omnius's point of view.]

Bonus chapter: The last roundup

First off, this is only a bonus chapter. Since its taking so long on the Crossover, I'm going to do a few bonus chapters, as in, parody's of the new episodes. This does not go along with the plot of the story.

Side note: Lance isn't wearing his clothes in this one, just his goggles.

Bonus chapter: The last roundup.

I held up the right side of the banner, while Rainbow Dash lifted up the other side. Once she had it even with my side, she placed it against the building.

I looked at our handy work and chuckled, "We make a great team Dash."

She chuckled back, "Yeah well, when you have me on your team, your always..." She looked up. Her eyes widened, "Huh!" She ducked down quickly as a lighting bolt flew past her, slightly burning the tip of her tail.

She looked up, "Now careful Derpy!" She then flew up to the cross eyed Pegasus. "You don't wanna do anymore damage then you've already done."

I flew up slightly till I was above the banner. I looked up at the destroyed town hall. Damn, Derpy can destroy a building easily.

Derpy then began to jump up and down on the small storm cloud, causing lighting to shoot out the bottom, "I just don't know what went wrong." Suddenly the lighting shot upward and electrocuted Derpy, who didn't seem the least bit affected.

I chuckled as Rainbow Dash flew back over to me, "Wow, she's accident prone, huh?"

She sighed, "Yeah, she's always like this." She then turned to the banner and looked at Derpy, "Yeah, its a mystery." She then used her hoof to push a nail in.

That must hurt. I mean, using your hoof as a hammer, sounds painful.

Derpy flew down till she was above the banner, she then began to fly backwards, "Nice work Rainbow Dash."

As she neared the support beam, my eyes widened, "Derpy! Wait, don't back into the..." Her flank hit the support beam, somehow knocking it loose.

Rainbow Dash's face filled with surprise as she watched the beam fall.

I pointed my hooves downward, "Well, hurry!"

She quickly flew down and placed her self under the beam, trying to hold it up. Sadly, she didn't have the strength and slammed into the wooded floor. She and the beam went straight through it.

I winced, "Owww, that's gotta hurt."

Derpy flew down and landed next to the hole, she then stuck her head in, "You okay Rainbow Dash? Anything I can do to help?"

While she was saying this, I flew down and hoovered above the hole.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew out of the hole, waving her hoofs in front of her, "No! Nothing! In the name of Celestia, just sit there and do nothing."

Derpy sat down. Somehow, her flank broke the floor, again, and began to collapse. As she started to fall, she grabbed Rainbow Dash with her hooves, pulling her down with her. Rainbow Dash, obviously not going down alone, bit my tail.

In the second I had before being pulled down with them, I said one word, "Shit..."

All three of us fell into the hole, all hitting the ground.

Derpy got a happy smile, "Oops, my bad."

Rainbow Dash pushed me off of her, and stood. She sighed loudly, "Its fine Derpy."

I sat up on my haunches and let out a groan, "My back, I think I pulled a muscle."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Toughen up Lance, your whining like a filly."

I cross my hoofs, "I'm not whining, I'm complaining. There's a difference you know."

Up above, I could hear the Mayor talking.

Rainbow Dash flew upwards, "Come on guys, we're missing it."

I flew upwards, followed by Derpy. As we emerged from the hole, the Mayor was in the middle of a sentence, ".. In advance for generously offering up her prize money to fix Town Hall."

Derpy smiled happily, "Yeah Applejack!" She then held her hooves to her mouth, "Woo hooo!"

I looked at her as she began to fall back into the hole, "Derpy, don't cover your..." I lunged forward and grabbed her hoof, which was a bad idea. Since it also pulled me in with her.

After we hit the ground, I rolled off of her and lay on my back, "Derpy, your more trouble then your worth."

She stood and laughed happily, "I know."

I smiled and shook my head. I stood and started flying back up.

A loud crash was heard behind me and I spun around.

Derpy was stuck in a wooden wall. How? I do not know.

I sighed and flew down to her, "How did this happen?"

She shrugged, "I have don't know, I was following you."

I chuckled and pulled her through the wall, "Come on, lets get back to the celebration."

She nodded and I lead her back up to the hole.

Once we came out, I saw that Applejack was stepping off the stage. Well damn, I missed her speech.

I walked over to Twilight and smiled, "Well, now what."

She smiled back and began following Applejack, "First, we have to help Applejack pack, then its off to the train station."

I nodded, "Alrighty then, lets get a move on."

_____________________________________________________

I walked up onto the platform to see that everypony else was already there. I knew I shouldn't have taken a snack break.

As I neared them, I heard Granny Smith talking to Applejack, "I want you to show all them high fluent rodeo ponies what a real rodeo pony's like."

Applejack smile back, "You betcha Granny Smith."

The Mayor ran up and pushed Granny Smith back, "And bring back all that money,"

Applejack turned and began walking up to the train, "You betcha Mayor."

Pinkie Pie appeared in front of her, "And have fun. And don't be nervous, or if you are, use that nervous energy to do even better than you already would. And eat peanuts, and popcorn, and taffy, taffy gives you lots of nervous energy." She then slammed her face into the bag of candy that she had pulled out of nowhere.

I ran up and beamed with happiness, "And bring me back a cowboy hat, or what ever you call it."

She chuckled, "Sure thing Lance."

Twilight chimed in, "Just do your best Applejack."

Applejack smiled and swung her right hoof under her, "I'll do better than my best!"

The conductor stood outside of the train and announced, "The train to Canterlot is about to leave, all aboard who's coming aboard."

Applejack smiled, "Guess that means me."

"See ya in a week." Rainbow Dash said while flying above us.

Applebloom stepped forward, "With lots of new blue ribbons!"

The Mayor also stepped forward, "And lots of money!"

I jumped forward, that's better than stepping forward, "And my cowboy hat!"

Applejack stepped onto the train, "Darn tootin."

The train began to move forward.

Applejack leaned out the window and waved, "See ya'll in a week, with a big bag of blue ribbons."

We ran along side the train, and I yelled out, "My cowboy hat better be in that bag!"

When we reached the edge of the edge of the platform, we stopped.

Pinkie Pie waved her left hoof, "And drink lots of sarsaparilla!" She then looked at all of us, who was looking at her confused, "What? It gives you extra sash."

I smiled, "I want some then."

Pinkie Pie turned to me and smiled, "Well, you can silly. If you can find some."

I shrugged and looked at Twilight, "So what are we going to do for a week."

She looked around, "Anypony up for a slumber party?"

I held up my hoof, "No, not again. Remember the last one?"

She grinned, "Oh yeah, I forgot. How was I suppose to know that that energy drink Greg gave me had so much caffeine in it?"

I facehoofed, "Twi, it has energy in the name. I think it explains it self." I turned and began walking towards Ponyville, "I got to get to work, see you later everypony."

One week later.

I grabbed the last balloon in the bag and began blowing it up. Blowing is hard work. (Dirty minds! Be gone!) As soon as it was fully blown up, I wrapped a string to it and let it float upwards. I still don't know how those balloons are floating, I mean, we used our breath to do it. We don't have helium in our breath... Do we?

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie Pie screamed.

I turned to see her standing over Fluttershy, who was on her back. I chuckled, good old Pinkie Pie.

I watched her bounce away from Fluttershy. But when I blinked, she was gone. Then she suddenly appeared above Fluttershy, screaming out surprise again. How does she do it?

Twilight opened the barn door and said in a hushed voice, "Quiet Pinkie, I think Applejack's coming." She then quietly closed the door and ran over behind a beam.

I quickly flew up to where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were hiding.

Down below, I heard Pinkie Pie say happily, "Don't worry Twilight, got my lips all limbered up." Then a few strange noises, which was strange.

The lights went off and we waited. The door opened and the lights came on. We all jumped up and screamed out, "SURPRISE!" And a few seconds later, Pinkie Pie jumped up and yelled, "Surprise! Aww shot!"

But instead of Applejack, there stood a light brown mail pony, "Wow, this is the best surprise ever. How did you know it was my birthday?"

Everypony sagged and Twilight walked up to the door. She grabbed the letter and slammed the door, but a second later, Pinkie opened it and dropped a piece of cake for him.

We all gathered around Twilight, me, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash flying above everypony else.

Applebloom stepped closer to Twilight, "Who's it from Twilight? What's it say?"

Twilight smiled, "Its from Applejack." She then began to read, "Family and friends, not coming back to Ponyville. Don't worry, will send money soon." She turned it to everyone, "That's all there is."

Everypony gasped.

Applebloom looked up sadly, "Applejack's... not coming back?"

Rainbow Dash put her hoofs to her head, "What do you mean Applejack's not coming back? She loves Ponyville."

"And she loves Sweet Apple Acres." Granny smith said sadly.

"And she loves her family!" Applebloom said, about to cry.

Rarity gasped and held a hoof to her head dramatically, "Something just dreadful must have happened to Applejack to make her not return."

Fluttershy put her hoofs to her mouth, "Maybe she's hurt, or sad, or scared!"

Rainbow Dash held up her hooves, "So, what are we waiting for? Lets go find her!" She said while zooming towards the door.

Twilight looked at Granny Smith, "Don't worry, we'll search all of Equestria if we have too. We'll bring her back." She then walked to the door, followed by me and the others.

"Ya'll are the best." Applebloom said.

"Thank you girls." Granny Smith said while smiling.

Twilight saluted and they all ran out of the barn.

I stood there and looked at Granny Smith, "And guy! I'm here to you know!"

She waved me on, "Hurry, before they get away from ya."

I sighed and turned, I then ran out after them.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

We all began walking up to the large stadium. Peter was standing next to me, I had insisted he come. Since Rarity was going, he agreed.

Twilight nodded, and they all ran off in different directions.

Peter looked at me, "So, what are we suppose to do?"

I shrugged, "I guess ask around and see if they know where Applejack is."

Peter smiled, "Easy. Lets do this thing!"

We both ran forward and into the stadium. Once we was inside, I could see the girls running around asking everypony about Applejack. I looked up to see Fluttershy try and show a pony, who was laying down with a hat over his face, a question. He waved her off without even looking at her.

I glared and flew up to him, "Hey, have you seen a mare named Applejack?"

He waved me off.

I stomped my hoof, "Oh no, not till answer me."

He sighed and sat up, "No, ah ain't seen your friend."

I roll my eyes, "Was it that hard to say no?"

He laid back down and covered his face with his hat.

A short time later

We all sat around, all bummed that we couldn't find a lead.

As I sat next to Twilight, who had her head on the table, a tangerine colored mare walked up. She smiled when she saw the picture of Applejack that Twilight had left on the table.

She told us that Applejack was in a small town called, 'Dodge Junction'.

I jumped up in the air, "Fucktastic!" But when I looked down and saw that they all was in shock, I landed on the ground, "I mean, drat."

A few hours later

I walked down the small aisle, whipping my face. This train had everything! And the food is just plain awesome."

I walked back into the cabin where the girls were. Twilight was in the middle of a sentence, "... It to Ponyville."

Pinkie Pie had her legs crossed, "I don't know how I'm going to make it to the next stop!"

I chuckled, well, I guess this train doesn't have everything.

Twilight looked out the window and smiled, "This is Dodge Junction girls, Applejack is to supposed to have come here after the rodeo ended."

The train stopped and we all stepped off.

Twilight looked at us, "Lets fan out and try to find her."

Pinkie Pie shot past us.

I shrugged and looked at Peter, "Come with me, we'll look around a little."

He nodded, "Alright."

We left the group and began walking around the small town. Peter was looking around, a smile on his face. "I like this place."

I looked at him, "Why?"

He continued to smile, "I don't know, its just so.. appealing to me. Maybe I can get Rarity to move here with me sometime."

I chuckled and rubbed my hoof against the ground, when I held it up, it was covered in dirt, "Yeah, she'll just love all of this dirt."

He shook his head smiling and slugged my side, "Shut up, she may."

I opened my mouth to say some more, but was interuppted by somepony yelling, "Lance! We found her, get over here!"

Peter chuckled, "Twilight's got you on a leash, a tight leash."

I glared, "No she doesn't! But Rarity will have you on a leash sooner or later."

He smiled, "Sounds kinky."

I laughed loudly at him, "Dude, that is..."

"Lance!" Came the loud scream again, this time more annoyed.

I smiled weakly, "Lets get back to the others, shall we?"

Peter nodded and we walked back to the girls. All of them talking to each other.

I walked up and looked around, "Where's AJ?"

Twilight turned and smirked, "Don't worry, we have a plan."

I raised an eyebrow, "A plan for what? And that didn't answer my question."

She sighed, "Come on, we'll tell you on the way."

_____________________________________________________________

"Terr-ific. Come on in, girls!" Said Miss Jubilee.

We all walked in, wearing chief hats and cherry bags. Me and Peter brought up the rear. Once I stepped in, I stood on my hind legs and waved at me and Peter, "And guys! There are two guys here you know!"

We all walked past Applejack and she looked at us in shock, "What are you all doing here?"

As we walked up to the conveyor belt, Twilight happily said, "We're your cherry sorters. Shall we get started?"

Applejack huffed, "Fine."

Miss Jubilee pointed to the cherry bins, "Haha, red cherries go in one bin, and yellow cherries go in the other. Simple as cherry pie. Uh, just one teensy thing to remember – have fun!" She then walked out of the room.

Applejack glared back at us, "What are you five up to?"

I raised an eyebrow and counted everypony. There was seven of us, not five. "Hey, me and Peter are here to you know!"

Applejack looked at me, "Ah Know, but I'm talking to the girls."

"Well, uh, you made working on a cherry orchard sound... so delightful." Rarity answered nervously.

Applejack didn't buy it, "Uhuh. Well, just remember: No talking about Ponyville."

Rainbow Dash became frustrated, "Fine! Why don't you quit talking and get walking?"

Applejack began to walk, which caused the conveyor to begin to move. Cherry's began to come out of the small opening.

We all began sorting them, knocking them off into the correct bin. I looked down at Twilight, who winked for some reason, "...So, AJ, how was Canterlot?"

Applejack glared at her.

Twilight continued, "Not talking about Ponyville, talking about Canterlot, totally different town."

"Canterlot was fine." Applejack answered.

I pushed another cherry into the correct bin. This wasn't so hard, I could do this all day.

"Was the rodeo fun?" Twilight asked.

"Yes."

Twilight walked up to her, leaving her station at the conveyor belt, "Did you meet some nice ponies there?"

"Some." Answered Applejack.

Rainbow Dash flew up in front of her, "Really? Did you see Wild Bull Hickok? What about Calamity Mane?"

"Yes, saw 'em both."

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded her head for a few seconds, then crossed her hoofs.

Rarity then walked up to Applejack, "And how did you meet Miss Jubilee?"

"Um, well, Miss Jubilee had a cherry stand at the rodeo. Real good treats." Applejack said, starting to pick up speed.

We was starting to have trouble keeping up with the cherry's coming out. "Um, excuse me?" Fluttershy said in her quiet voice.

I stopped paying attention to the others and focused on the cherry's. Soon, they began to come out faster.

"Ooh... Can you please slow down?" Fluttershy said as the speed was increased.

Fluttershy stood there confused, "Help!"

Pinkie Pie looked at all of the cherry's going by and panicked. She started piling them up and placed them on Fluttershy's head.

I looked at the cherry's that was speeding past me and put my hoof down, but they just ran over it. I stood straight up, "They're coming in to fast!"

Peter was slamming his head down, "I'm so confused!"

The speed increased even more. Pinkie Pie grabbed as many as she could and piled them in her bags and hat, but they kept coming out.

The cherry's were now piling up on the belt, and Pinkie did the only thing reasonable. She ran to the end and let them all fly into her mouth.

I ran over and knocked her to the side, "I got it!" I opened my mouth and was over whelmed by cherry's. I fell down and held a hoof up as the cherry's began to bury me. The cherry's kept coming, quickly burying me under a pile of cherry's.

"Stop!" I heard Fluttershy gasp.

A few seconds later, I heard a loud splat and everypony gasped, "What? What happened?" I said through the pile of cherry's.

_______________________________________________________________

I moved the mob back and forth, trying to clean up the mess.

Twilight looked up from her work, "Well, girls, we seem to be striking out."

I sigh and yell out, "AND GUYS!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and looked at the others, "That's 'cause we're playing too nice."

"Yes. Desperate times do call for desperate measures." Said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie Pie, "It's time to call in the big guns."

Pinkie Pie licked up some cherry and smiled.

I cocked my head, why are they looking at her? Why not me? I think I can be helpful right now.

____________________________________________________________

I look through the tree, disappointed. The girls hadn't let me or Peter do the plan with them.

Peter sighed, "This sucks."

I nodded, "I agree."

He turned and began heading for the farm, "I'm going to get a room. I need some sleep."

I chuckled, "I'll get one also, some sleep would be nice."

________________________________________________________________

Peter and I stood outside of the farm house, just enjoying the morning air.

I smiled, "Gotta love this peace, huh?"

Peter nodded and grinned, "This place is so peaceful, so relaxing, so..."

Pinkie Pie burst through the door followed by the others.

Twilight ran past me, "Come on you two!"

I sighed, "There goes the peaceful morning."

We walked towards them, not happy. I saw Pinkie Pie screaming at Applejack, something about braking a Pinkie Promise.

I shrugged and began to jog towards them.

Applejack jumped into a wagon, pulled by stallions. That's just strange!

As her wagon began moving, I saw the others jump into a smaller wagon, pulled by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

Peter's eyes widened, "Wait! Don't leave us behind!"

We chased after them, not able to catch up. But suddenly, they slammed to a stop. Thank god. Me and Peter jumped in and slumped down, breathing hard.

Soon, we hit something. I looked the side to see the wagon that Applejack was in.

We hit it again and Rainbow Dash said, "Pull over!"

Applejack looked down at us, "Hey! Cut that out!"

We hit her wagon again, this time send me airborne. While in mid air, I think, 'I saw this coming, and I'm still surprised'.

I spread my wings and struggle to catch up with them. Applejack's wagon was going forward, then back, then forward again. Suddenly, it shot ahead. I was caught in a dust cloud and coughed. When I came out, I saw that Pinkie Pie had landed on the wagon and was now talking to, or screaming at, Applejack.

I pushed myself and landed in the cart. I sat back and let out a heavy breath.

Peter chuckled, "You shouldn't jump out of moving carts Lance."

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up."

"Rarity, catch me." Said Pinkie pie as she jumped off of Applejack's wagon backwards.

Rarity looked up in shock, "What? Pinkie.." Pinkie Pie then slammed into her, sending both of them off the cart.

Peter jumped up, "Rarity! I'm coming for ya!" And jumped off the cart.

Twilight looked up front, "Rainbow, go back!"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, "No time! They knew what they were getting into!"

I laughed, but stopped when Twilight glared at me.

Up ahead, I heard the sound of a railroad bell. I looked up to see a train coming.

Applejack pushed forward and flew past it in time. Well, we lost her.

But instead of stopping, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy picked up speed.

My eyes widened and I screamed out, "I'm not stupid!" I then jumped off the cart.

As I watched them, I saw them jump over the train. I facehoofed, I am stupid.

I stood and limped towards them, grunting in pain. Up ahead, they was all talking to each other. I sighed, time for a friendship moment.

Jump ahead to train ride home (Why? Because you all know what they said, and it will be boring to read.)

As I sat on the small bench, across from Applejack, who was writing a letter to the Princess, I smirked, "So, you got everything you was suppose to, huh?"

She looked up and smiled proudly, "I sure did! Got everypony what they wanted."

I leaned forward, "Where's my cowboy hat?"

Else where, on a long stretch of train tracks

"What do you think, Rarity? Chimmy cherry, or cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa?" Pinkie Pie repeated happily.

Peter sat on the edge of the small tram car, "I hate this, why did I jump off?" He looked back to Rarity and smiled, "That's right."

"When I get back, you're gonna get it, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said, becoming angry and frustrated.

"Chimmy cherry, or cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa? Chimmy cherry, cherry changa?" Pinkie Pie continued.

Peter started twitching, he better not have to deal with this all the way back to Ponyville. He turned to Pinkie Pie, "I say cherry changa." He hopes that will shut her up.

Sadly, all it does is start a whole new chant.

Falls onto his side and sighs, "Its going to be a long trip back."

Bonus chapter: The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

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Bonus chapter: The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

David and I walk towards Sweet Apple Acres, both chatting causal.

"So, why did you want me to come here with you?" I asked as we walked at a normal pace.

David looked at me and smiled happily, "Its cider season, the line is going to be huge. But don't worry, Rainbow Dash said she would hold us a spot."

Cider season? What's that suppose to be? "Sounds cool."

As we neared the farm, I gasped in shock. There was a huge line of ponies, going all the way to Ponyville. This cider season must be popular or something.

David galloped ahead, "Come on Lance!"

I chuckled and galloped after him. David lead me up to Rainbow Dash, who was near the front.

When I walked up, I smiled at Rainbow Dash, "Hey Dash, whats everypony doing?"

She turned to me and pointed to the stand at the front of the line, where Apple Bloom and Granny Smith were selling what must be cider. "We're all waiting to buy some cider, but I never get any. Every year its the same, I get to the front, only to find out that they're out."

I chuckled, "Sounds like my kind of luck."

He slugged my side, "You better not be rubbing off on me."

I laughed at her and looked around.

David walked up to her and smiled, "Can I cut in front of you Rainbow Dash?"

She smiled back, "Sure you can David."

He got in front of her and gave her a quick kiss, "Thanks."

I walked up, "Can I also get in front of you?"

She pointed over her shoulder, "Behind me Lance."

I sighed, "Fine." I walked behind her and began to laugh. Damn my dirty mind, making that sound wrong.

When we was at the front, Fluttershy dropped two bits in the box and was given a drink.

David then walked up and did the same. He chugged his cider instantly, "Mmmm, that is good. Another Please." He dropped two more bits in the box and took his drink.

Rainbow Dash walked up and smiled, dropping her two bits in the box.

Apple Bloom put the mug under the faucet and pumped it. Nothing came out.

Rainbow Dash's face went from happy, to sad, then to angry.

Applejack walked up and smiled the best she could, "Sorry everypony! That's it for today!"

All the ponies around us said awww in a disappointed way.

Rainbow Dash glared and flew upwards slightly, "Surprise surprise. You ran out again!"

I put on a pouting face, "But I want my cider NOW!"

Another pony, Caramel, stepped forward, "Yeah, you always run out!"

Fluttershy spoke up, surprisingly, "For the record, I don't mind..."

Rainbow Dash flew down in front of her, "Why can't you make enough cider for all of us? Or at least for me!"

"And ME!" I chimed in from the back ground. Oh look, I'm a background character now, how nice.

All the ponies said their agreement to what Rainbow Dash had said.

Applejack jumped up on the stand and looked at the crowd, "Hold on everypony, we've done our best to improve supply this year.."

Caramel steps forward again, "You always say that!"

Whats with this guy?

She held her head high with pride, "And it's always true. But Apple family cider is made with love and integrity, and only the highest quality apples in Equestria. Sorry, but that recipe takes time."

Everypony began to complain and walk away.

"If y'all just be patient, we'll have plenty more tomorrow." Applejack said as they began to leave.

David, Rainbow Dash, and I turned, only to run into Pinkie Pie.

"She's right, y'know! You can't rush perfection! And this year's batch was perfection!" She said with a big smile on her face.

Fluttershy held her hoof under her mouth, "Uh, Pinkie Pie.."

I held up a hoof, "Pinkie, I'd be careful, Dash is kinda pis..."

Pinkie Pie flew forward and put a hoof over Rainbow Dash's neck, "I'll never forget the cider I just drank! It is a moment in time that will never exist again..."

Rainbow Dash began to growl, and get angrier by the second.

I backed away, "Oh shit, the shits about to hit the fan! Run everypony!"

Suddenly, the sound of honking could be heard, which thankfully stopped Rainbow Dash's coming rage.

I looked down the road and cocked my head, "What the hell is that thing?"

David shrugged, "I don't know, I didn't even know this place had cars or the such."

A weird looking contraction was coming closer. It had what looked to be tanks and other things attracted to it. Two stallions sat up front. This is strange.

Applejack walked up to us, "What in Equestria is that?"

"Your mom!" David replied while laughing.

I chuckled and punched his side, "Shut up dude."

As it neared, all the ponies began trotting towards it happily. If this thing was here to kill them, it could easily do it, since they all willingly walk towards it.

The car like thing came to a stop, but not before hitting the white fence that ran along the road. Granny Smith gave the thing a death glare.

I walked up beside Rainbow Dash and David and looked at it while two stallions jumped off. Both was wearing white and blue striped shirts and bow ties, and yellow show hats with a blue strip at the base. One had a mustache, while the other didn't. They both had a red mane and tail with a white streak in it. To top it all off, they was both unicorns.

The one with out a mustache began to talk in a sing song type voice, "Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town. Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found. Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair."

The one with a mustache then began to sing, "And the key that they need to solve the sad cider shortage you and I will share."

All the ponies became excited.

I groaned and facehoofed, please tell me they're not about to sing!

They both began to sing at the same time, "Well you've got opportunity. In this very community."

They're singing! Kill me now, I hate sing along's! Well, unless they're catchy.

The one with out a mustache pointed to the other, "He's Flim."

Flim then pointed at him, "He's Flam."

Weird names, but I like them. Flim and Flam, very catchy. I may like this sing along yet.

They began to sing together again, "We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers. Travelling salesponies nonpareil."

Pinkie held her hoof to her mouth in confusion, "Non-pa what?"

Flam stood in front of her, "Nonpareil, that's exactly the reason why, you see. No pony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be. And that's a new world, with tons of cider. Fresh squeezed and ready for drinking."

Flim began to sing while sitting on a tube.. thing, "More cider than you can drink in all your days of thinking."

Rainbow Dash flew upwards, "I doubt that."

Again, they sung together, "So take this opportunity. In this very community."

Flam points at Flim, "He's Flim."

Flim points at Flam, "He's Flam."

"We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers. Travelling salesponies nonpareil."

Flim jumped towards the crowd, "I suppose by now you're wondering about our peculiar mode of transport."

Flam stood on his hind legs, "I say, our mode of locomotion."

Flim got up behind the podium on their vehicle , "And I suppose by now you're wondering, where is this promised cider?"

Flam shot up in front of him, "Any horse can make a claim and any pony can do the same."

Flim stood beside Flam, "But my brother and I have something most unique and superb. Unseen at any time in this great new world."

"And that's opportunity." They sung together.

Flim ran into the crowd of ponies, "Folks, the one and only, the biggest and the best."

"The unbelievable." Flam sang.

"Unimpeachable."

"Indispensable."

"I can't believe-able."

They then began to sing together again, "Flim Flam brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000."

Flam put his hoof on Rarity's shoulder, "What d'you say, sister?"

Rarity did a dramatic faint, but before she fell far, Spike caught her. I wonder what Peter would say if he had saw that?

The crowd of ponies began to sing, "Oh, we got opportunity. In this very community. Please Flim, please Flam, help us out of this jam.With the Flim Flam brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000."

We can sing along to? I didn't know that!

Flim walked up to Applejack, "Young filly, I would be ever so honored if you might see fit to let my brother and I borrow some of your delicious, and might I add spell-bindingly fragrant apples for our little demonstration here?"

Applejack looked uncertain, "Uh, sure, I guess."

When I noticed everypony about to sing the next part, I flew up and sang out, ahead of the rest of the crowd, "Opportunity, in our community."

Flam and Flim stood side by side, horns glowing a deep green, "Ready Flim?"

"Ready Flam."

The both sang together again, "Let's bing bang zam!" They then shot some rods on the vehicle with their magic. It turned on and a tube like thing came out, going to a tree. It sucked all the apples off with ease.

As this was happening, Flam was saying, "And show these thirsty ponies a world of delectable cider!"

All the while, the crowd of ponies, and me, are chanting, "Cider, cider, cider, cider, cider..." Over and over again.

"Watch closely my friends!" Flim said.

"The fun begins." Sang Flam.

"Now, here's where the magic happens, right here in this heaving roiling cider press boiling guts of the very machine. Those apples plucked fresh are right now as we speak being turned into grade-A top-notch five-star blow-your-horses-up of one of a kind cider!" Said as the tubes filled with Cider.

Flam pointed to a small window, "Feel free to take a sneak peek!"

Me and a few other ponies ran up to it and looked in. I could see apples going by, the good ones passing, while the bad ones disappeared below.

Granny smith began to talk in a sing song voice, "Now wait, you fellers, hold it! You went and over-sold it! I guarantee that what you have there won't compare. For the very most important ingredient. Can't be added or done expedient. And it's quality, friends, Apple Acre's quality and care!"

She gets to sing a full verse! Unfair, I want some of this singing action!

Flim quickly recovered from her out burst, "Well Granny, I'm glad you brought that up, my dear, I say I'm glad you brought that up. You'll see that we are very picky when it comes to cider if you'll kindly try a cup." He then floated her a mug.

She took a sip and smiled, but then quickly hide it, not wanting everypony to see that she likes it.

Flam started the next verse, "Yes, sir, yes ma'am this great machine, it's just the very best. So whaddaya say then, Apples. Care to step into the modern world. And put the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to the test?"

Flim pointed at the crowd, "What do you think, folks? Do you see what the Apples can't? I see it clear as day! I know she does! So does he! C'mon Ponyville, you know what I'm talking about!"

"We're saying you've got." They sang together.

Then, the whole crowd joined in, even me, with the song as they sang, "Opportunity. In this very community. He's Flim, he's Flam. We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers. Travelling salesponies nonpareil."

They then went to the ground in a pose, "Yeah!"

Apple Bloom stepped forward, "You got a deal!"

The crowd all said their approval, I was jumping up and down with excitement. That song really got me got me riled up.

Granny Smith stomped her hoof, "Not so fast! No way no how that machine matches up with the care we put in our cider!"

She and the other Apple's all went into a huddle up.

I turned to David, "That was awesome!"

He shrugged, "If you say so. Kinda lame if you ask me."

I rolled my eyes, "Your not fun. What did you think Rainbow Dash?"

She smiled happily, "It was awesome!"

I smiled, "I totally agree with you!"

David sighed, "Why me?"

"No deal." I heard Big Macintosh say, which surprised me because I barely hear him talk.

I turned and looked at them all talk to each other.

Flim huffed, "Very well, if you refuse our generous offer to be partners, then we'll just have to be competitors." He said as he got up close to Applejack's face.

"You wouldn't dare." Said angrily.

"Oh no?" Flim replied. He then nodded to Flam, who was on the podium.

"Don't you worry, everypony! There'll be plenty of cider for all of you!" He said while standing on his hind legs.

Flim put his head next to Applejack's and held up his hoof.

He said something that made all of the Apple family gasp.

Flim and Flam then got back on their vehicle and pointed at the crowd, "Don't worry, we'll be back tomorrow."

The crowd cheered as they drove away.

I turned to Rainbow Dash and smiled, "I can't wait for tomorrow, I'll finally get to taste some cider."

She nodded happily, "I know, I've waited so long."

David grinned, "It was the best thing I have ever drank!"

Rainbow Dash and I gave him the death glare, "You!"

He backed away, "What did I do?"

Rainbow Dash stepped towards him, "I let you cut in front of me, and you got the last mug of cider!"

I stepped forwards next, "And you bought two! You should have been behind me! I would have had my cider, but oh no, you just had to be first and have two!"

He gulped and looked around, "Don't worry, there will be more tomorrow."

Rainbow Dash glared harder at him, "You better hope that's true. Just because your cute, and my coltfriend, doesn't mean I won't kick your flank if you get cider and I don't."

He nodded, "I got it, stay behind both of you."

We both nodded, "You better."

The next day

David, Rainbow Dash, and I stood in line. Me and Rainbow dash where waiting for the line to get to the front.

"I can already taste that cider on my lips." I said rubbing my hooves together happily.

Rainbow Dash smiled and had an overjoyed expression on her face, "Oh yeah, this is the day I'm gonna get me some tasty cider."

Up at the front, Apple Bloom yelled out, "That's it! Last cup!"

My eye twitched, and Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. We both flew straight up at the same time.

Rainbow Dash yelled, "Oh for Pete's sake!"

I also yelled something out, "We've been trolled!"

Apple Bloom then yelled out, "C'mon back tomorrow, everypony!"

Rainbow Dash held a hoof over her eyes.

But then, down the road came the Flim Flam brothers. They came to a stop, but not before running into the same fence that Granny Smith had just fixed.

Flim got up next to Applejack, "What seems to be the problem here?"

Flam also got up next to her, "Oh my oh my, out of cider again?"

Flim stood next to the Cider Squeezy 6000 as a barrel came down from it, "What have we here? Who'd like a cup?"

All the ponies surged forward, even me and Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry, everypony, we've got the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to make more in an instant!" Flam said as he levitated two mugs to me and Rainbow Dash.

We both took them and eyed them happily. Finally, I have my cider!

Applejack used her lasso to grab the barrel and pull it towards her. As it passed me and Rainbow Dash, it knocked her mug out of her hoof.

Applejack propped her self up on the barrel, "You can't sell that cider! That's made from Apple family apples!"

Rainbow Dash jumped to the ground as the cider began to disappear. She began to quickly push the dirt where it use to be into her mouth. She stood and looked around, "Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

I smirked, "Aww, to bad Dash, looks like you won't be getting any cider. As for me, I'm going to enjoy this nice cup of cider. You jelly Rainbow Dash?" I said as I tilted it up to my mouth.

She glared and knocked the mug out of my hoof, sending it to the ground, where all the precious cider spilled.

I kneeled down in front of the disappearing cider, "Why?" I slammed my hooves on the ground and tilted back, my hooves up in the air, "Why does the young die so soon?"

Flim spook up, "Don't worry, everypony, there are plenty of apples in Equestria. We'll find some others and make more cider that all of Ponyville can drink!"

I jumped up happily, "I'm over my lose, make more now!"

Apple Bloom jumped forward, "We'll make more cider than you could ever imagine!"

The crowd gasped, so did I. What? I love going along with the crowd, can be fun sometimes.

Big Macintosh picked her up by the tail and carried her to the others.

"Now, it ain't about the speed, young'un, it's about quality." Granny Smith stated.

Everypony sighed in disappointment.

I jumped above the crowd, "Quality sucks! Give me cider!"

Rainbow Dash flew up next to me, "Who cares how good the cider is if I never get to drink any?"

I nodded, "I would rather have bad cider, than good cider, if it means I get some."

Flim grabbed both of us and looked at the crowd, "Oh, look at these poor, dissatisfied ponies."

"Ponyville is Sweet Apple Cider country!" Apple Bloom said as she was dropped by Big Macintosh.

"Our cider speaks for itself!" Applejack stated.

Flim lay on the couch on their vehicle, "Let's put it to the test!"

Apple Bloom moved forward, "Anywhere, anytime!"

The crowd began to mutter to each other.

"That's enough, now." Granny Smith said to Apple Bloom.

"With our machine, we can make enough cider in one hour to satisfy this entire town!" Flam said proudly.

Apple Bloom stepped forward again, "We'll do it in forty five minutes!"

The crowd murmured happily.

I jumped up, "Forty five minutes! Stop talking and get to making! I want some cider!"

"Easy, Apple Bloom, easy." Granny Smith cautioned.

Flim smirked, "What's the matter, Granny Smith? Chicken."

Granny Smith became serious, "What did you call me, sonny?"

Flim continued his taunt, "If you're so confident in your cider, then what's the problem?"

Granny Smith jumped up in his face, surprising him, and yelled, "Tomorrow mornin', right here!"

Flam levitated a apple up to himself, "But I'm afraid we haven't any..." He then spits on a apple, "...apples."

She shook her hoof at him, "You can use our south field, and it'll be worth it to teach you all a thing or two about cider making!"

Flim smiled, "Excellent; we have a bet. Whoever produces the most barrels in one hour wins the exclusive right to sell cider in Ponyville." He held out his hoof.

Everypony became nervous.

Granny Smith shook his hoof, "And after we beat ya I don't never want to see you bimbahoozalers around here again!"

The crowd began to talk amongst themselves.

Flam bowed, and so did Flim, "Until tomorrow." He said as their vehicle drove off.

Twilight walked up to Applejack, "Don't worry, Applejack, I know you'll win tomorrow!" She said encouragingly.

Applejack hung her head and began walking back to her family, "We'd better, 'cause if we don't, we're gonna lose our farm."

I walked up to Twilight, "Eh, don't worry, they'll beat them."

She looked at me, "How do you know that for sure?"

I shrugged, "Well, its Applejack, she always wins. Uhh, sometimes anyways." I turned and began walking off.

She looked at me, "Huh, where are you going Lance?"

I turned and smiled, "I'm going to write a little song for myself."

The next day, again

"I'm on a cloud, oh yes, I'm on a cloud. So fluffy and soft, I could die on a cloud." I sang out as I lay on a cloud that was above Ponyville. "This cloud here, you see, is not just any cloud. This cloud is the cloud that will bring about the storm that will flood your gardens. Oh yes, this cloud is special, as it seals your gardens life."

I continued to sing my song as David hoovered behind me, trying not to laugh. "Dude, that song is crap!" He said as he began to laugh.

I spun around and became embarrassed, "David! Why are you here? I told you today was my special alone time!"

He laughed again, "When you said special alone time, I thought you meant you was going to show your right hoof a good time. I didn't know you meant you was going to sing!"

I glared, "I'm going to..."

He held up a hoof, "Before you say anything, I must tell you that we are missing the contest."

I shrugged, "So, Applejack's going to win, why should I watch?"

He shook his head, "No, the Apple family is actually losing right now."

My eyes went wide with surprise, "What?! We have to get there right now!"

A few minutes later

David and I landed near the crowd. I looked around, "Where's the girls?"

David pointed to the front, "There they are, they're talking to the Mayor."

I nodded, "Lets do this thing."

We walked up just in time to hear the Mayor say, "Hm, I guess it's okay. Applejack? What do you think?"

Applejack bucked a tree and looked at the us, "I think I'd love to have the rest of my family helpin' out."

We all said at the same time, "All right!"

I smiled happily, "Yay, I'm part of the family."

She looked past them, "Oh, hey Lance, didn't see ya there."

And there goes my happiness.

We all lined up in a line, while Twilight walked down it, "Okay everypony, we're not gonna let those smooth talkers take our friend's farm."

"Yeah!" We all said at the same time.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, help Applejack with the trees."

Fluttershy nodded, "Got it."

She moved to Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie Pie, you're on apple catching detail."

Pinkie Pie saluted, "Yes sir, ma'am, sir!"

Next, she moved to Rarity, "Rarity, you've got a discerning eye. Help Granny Smith at the quality control station."

Rarity nodded, "Of course."

She walked up to Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow Dash, do you think you can help Big Macintosh press?"

"In my sleep!" Rainbow Dash said confidently.

Twilight then walked up to me, "Lance.. err... run around and pick up fallen apples."

I sighed, "I want a fun job."

"To bad honey, deal with it." She said smirking.

I looked at David... Who was no longer beside me. I sighed again, he ran off, really?

Twilight looked at all of us, "Alright everypony, let's save Sweet Apple Acres!"

We all yelled out, "All right!"

As everypony ran to their jobs, I ran around, picking up apples. What's the point of this job again?

I piled them up and looked around, "What do I do with those?"

Granny Smith looked up and said, "Just throw them away, their spoiled now."

My mouth hung open, "How are they spoiled?"

"They touched the ground." She simply said before going back to work.

I sighed and kept picking them up. I walked up to a tree to pick up a few dropped apples. When I neared it, it was ripped out of the ground.

I jumped back, "What the hell?!" I looked up to see that tube thing, sucking up whole trees. I looked over at the Flim Flam brothers to see they smirking. What did they do?

I shook my head, stay on task Lance! I continued to do my useless job.

Forty eight minutes later

"Time's up!" The Mayor yelled out.

We all slumped to the ground. But I made my dramatic, why? Because I could. I stumbled and held a hoof to my forehead, "Oh my, picking up apples almost killed me." I then did a fake faint, landing on Twilight.

Twilight pushed me off of her and looked at Applejack, "I'm proud of you, Applejack."

Applejack looked at her, "Thanks." She said, out of breath.

"Integrity like that? We'll always be... rewarded." Twilight said, trying to catch her breath.

I nodded, "Oh yeah, we definitely won that, no way those two could have bea..."

"Flim and Flam win!" The Mayor announced.

Everypony gasped in surprise.

I sighed, "You know, forget my last statement."

Applejack and Apple Bloom walked forward. Apple Bloom looked at Applejack, "Wh, wh..."

"We... lost?" Applejack said in shock.

Flim and Flam walked up smirking, "Daww, too bad, Apples."

"Guess you'll just have to find a new line of work that doesn't match your names quite so... perfectly." Flam remarked.

Flim gestured towards the farm, "Now should we tear down all these tacky old buildings and put up new ones, brother?"

"I don't see why not, brother. After all, this isn't Sweet Apple Acres anymore. How about 'Flim Flam Fields'?"

Rainbow Dash jumped up, "I ought to press you into jerk cider!"

I jumped up and hoovered beside her, "I'm with you on that one Dash!"

Rainbow Dash flew towards them, but Applejack grabbed her tail, "No Rainbow Dash, a deal's a deal."

Flim and Flam began to laugh in the most annoying way.

I flew forwards, "You didn't say I couldn't do anything to them!" I said as I prepared to slam into Flim.

Suddenly, before I even reached them, my body came to a complete stop.

"Oh no you don't Lance, I'm not letting you get beat up." Twilight said as she floated me towards her.

I crossed my hooves, "You never let me do anything that can hurt me."

She rolled her eyes, "Why would I? I don't like it when you get hurt."

I pointed to my flank, "Uh, hello, my special talent is getting hurt!"

She shrugged, "Not today Lance."

I sighed and let her sit me down.

"Congratulations to y'all. The cider business in Ponyville... is yours. C'mon, Apples. Let's go pack up our things." Applejack said as her and the other Apple's walked away.

Flim looked at the crowd, "Fear not, everypony, there's more than enough cider to go around." They began to laugh again.

Applejack looked at the crowd, "Go ahead, everypony. Go on, y'all. It's okay."

Pinkie Pie began to cry, her tears coming out in small water falls.

"I hate my life." I said.

Twilight turned to see me being drenched by one of the streams of tears coming from Pinkie Pie.

Flim and Flam got behind the stand and smiled, "Drink up, Ponyville! Down the hatch!"

Three ponies picked up a mug and drank them. They then spit the cider at Flim and Flam, hitting them in the faces.

One of the ponies, Cherry Berry, held the mug away from her, "I can't get the taste off my tongue!"

Bon Bon looked at the mug in her hoof, "Mines got rocks in it!"

The last one, a stallion, shook his head, "I wouldn't pay one cent for this dreck!"

Flam looked at him, "You wouldn't pay even one cent?"

The entire crowd said no at the same time.

Flim and Flam talked to each other, "How about two cups for one cent?"

"No!" The crowd said again.

They talked to each other again, "Two bits for a barrel?"

Again, the whole crowd said no.

"It looks like we've encountered a slight... problem here in Ponyville." Flam said nervously.

"Nopony wants our product. Next town?" Flim asked.

"Next town." Said Flam.

"Let's go, Flam!" Flim said while getting on their vehicle.

"Let's go, Flim." Said Flam as he jumped on next.

They then drove away from the crowd and onto the next town.

Applejack smiled happily, "They're gone."

Twilight walked up next to her, "That means Sweet Apple Acres is still in business!"

Caramel stood in front of them, "Plus we can have high quality Apple family cider!"

Apple Bloom pointed towards the pile of barrels, "Because of that silly competition, we've made enough cider for the whole town!"

Everypony cheered loudly.

Short time later

I chugged my fifth mug of cider, "Shit man, that stuff is awesome!"

Rainbow Dash nodded happily, "I know! It taste better than I had thought!"

I looked over at Applejack, who was about to throw away all the cider that Flim and Flam had made, "Applejack! Wait, don't just throw them away."

She looked at me strangely, "Uhh, Lance, those are no good, remember?"

I shook my head, "Impossible! They can't be that bad." I picked up one of the mugs and chugged it... then wish I hadn't. I dropped the mug and held my stomach, "I wish I had listened to ya."

She laughed, "Tried ta warn ya."

I fell to the ground holding my stomach, "Its going to hurt when those rocks and tree bark come out."

A few hours later, Applejack's farm

Dear Princess Celestia,

I'm writing to tell you what I've learned today. Today, I've learned that when you stick with your friends, you can do anything, unless those friends find you unimportant and stick you with the useless jobs. I also learned that when you bring a friend to help, make sure they stay around to help, otherwise, you're on your own. The most important thing I've learned is, when somepony says don't drink something, don't drink it. I'm going to be passing rocks and tree for the next three months. Also, can you tell Twilight to stop reading at night, it takes away from the fun when we're doing it. I mean, come on, she's reading while we make love! Doesn't even make sense!

Your brony,
Lance

"Lance, what are you writing?" Asked a confused Twilight.

I rolled up the scroll and turned, "A friendship report."

She raised an eyebrow, "What did you write? It better not be something bad."

I smirked, "Its nothing bad, where's Spike?"

"Let me read it." She said, holding out her hoof.

"Nah." I said while smiling.

"Let me read it!" She said a little more forcefully.

I shook my head, "Naw, I'm good."

"That's it!" She said as she charged towards me.

I jumped over her and stuck my tongue out, "Gotta do better than that Twi."

I then flew towards the others, and Spike. Once I was within a few feet of him, my body stopped and was slammed to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Twilight yelled as she charged towards me."

She grabbed the letter and read it. She then glared at me, "Lance!"

I smirked, "You mad bro?"

She looked at me confused, "What?"

I used her confusion and jumped upward, grabbing the letter.

"Hey!" She screamed as she started grabbing for the letter.

I looked at Spike, who looked at us with a confused face, "Spike, send this letter!" I said as I tossed it towards him.

"Spike! Rip it up, now!" Twilight screamed as I held her back.

"Spike, send it and I'll get you some gems." I bargained.

He smiled, "Deal!" And blew his magical green fire on the letter, sending it to the Princess.

Twilight slumped to the ground, "I'm doomed."

I laughed, "Aww, come on, what could possible happen that would result in something bad?"

Meanwhile, in Canterlot

Princess Celestia looked out over the city, admiring it, as a letter appeared in front of her.

She smiled, "Aw, a friendship report, lets see how my student is doing." She opened it and read it, instantly knowing it was from Lance, due to the crappy hoof writing. When she finished, she smirked, "Looks like my student needs some more studying." She said before laughing loudly.

She brought up a scroll and a quill and began to write a response.

Dear Lance,

Tell Twilight Sparkle to read the book that I am enclosing in this letter while you two are having intercourse. This should help you with your problem.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

She picked up a book, 'A life in bed' and put it with the letter. She then used her magic to send it.

She then rubbed her chin, "Hmmmm, I don't know if I should have sent a book. I hope it wasn't to big for Spike."

She shrugged and looked out over the city again.

A true friend

A/N the character Dali's name is pronounced, (D la) Just say D then la. Its a weird name, I know.

Chapter 47

Four months after Omnius visited.

"Do you really have to go to Manehattan?" Twilight asked while pouting.

I closed the flap on my saddlebag and put it on, "Yes, its kinda important."

She continued to pout, "How long will you be gone?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, a while I guess."

She stood on her hind legs and pointed to her stomach, "You better now be gone to long, its only three more months till the foal is born."

I chuckled and rubbed her stomach, "Don't worry Twi, I'll be back way before its born."

She came down to all fours and wrapped her hooves around my neck in a tight hug, "I'm going to miss you."

I returned her hug, "I'll miss you to Twi, be good and keep up your studies."

She stepped back and chuckled, "Of course."

I walked over to the mirror and made sure I hadn't forgot anything. I was not wearing my usual black clothes, I was stripped down to just my goggles.

I then made my way to the door, "See ya Twi, love you."

"Love you too." She said from behind me.

I smiled and walked out the door and into the streets of Canterlot. I then smirked to myself, I didn't HAVE to go to Manehattan, I just really wanted to see it. After all, it did look pretty nice in the show. I began walking down the street to my first destination.

Twilight may not be coming with me, but I'm not going alone. You see, over the past two months, I've made a new friend. I was walking through Canterlot alone one afternoon and came upon a mare being made fun of by a few high class ponies. I became instantly mad at them and defended the poor pony. They soon walked off after they saw they wasn't getting any where with me, and that their words of insult fell on deaf ears.

After that, I talked to the pony. I found out that she wasn't even from Equestria, but a land outside of it. Her name was Dali, a strange name at first, till I found out that it was part of her culture. We talked for a few hours. In those few hours, I learned a lot about her and her culture. I also found out why she was in Canterlot. Apparently, she couldn't pay the driver of a chariot enough bits for the full trip and he just dumped her here. She didn't know any of the ponies, and was made fun of the way she looked. That's when I came in.

She was a nice pony, a little strange at times, but nice all the same.

As for looks, she was a light brown earth pony. Her mane and tail was light greenish blue with light orange highlights. Her mane was long and went down the left side of her head, coming down to her knee. Her tail was slightly puffy and sorta long. Her eye was different from other ponies, it looked like Rarity's in a way. Her eye was also a deep violet. Her cutie mark was a blue microphone with two music notes on either side. She also sometimes wore two thin bracelets on her left hoof.

After I found out that she didn't have a place to live, I talked to Frederic, who was kind enough to get her a house of her own.

As time went on, me and Dali became great friends. Strangely, I was better friends with her than most of the bronies. Only two ranked above her and that was Frederic and Twilight. To say the least, we spent a lot of time together. We was close, but not in the way a couple is. Sure, we talk about... things, but we would never do anything like that. I am married after all.

Anyway, back on subject. I'm not going alone to Manehattan, I'm taking my best friend along, Dali. Why not, she's doesn't know that much about Equestria and I'm the only pony she will even talk to. Its complicated, part of her culture.

In her culture, nopony will talk to one another, unless they fully trusted that pony and felt a connection to them. For us, it was the connection of friendship. If you became friends with said pony, it means that you have formed a bond that can not be broken, a bond that you would do anything to keep whole.

Got to admit, that's a tough commitment. I wouldn't be able to do that, to hard.

I walked up to her house and knocked on the door. Seconds later, it flew open and there stood Dali, her saddlebag already on. She smiled happily at me, "Hi Lance, you ready to get going?"

Yes, I told her everything about me and the other bronies. I trust her with the secret.

I smiled back, "You know I'm ready. I've been wanting to go there ever since I arrived in Equestria."

She continued to smile as she walked out of her house and closed the door, "I can't wait to see the big city. Everypony from where I lived said it was a city to see."

I chuckled, you just got to love the way she talks. She may not make full complete sentences all the time, but you just got to love it. "Oh, it is, believe me. I've talked to plenty of ponies about it."

She waved a hoof at my back, "May I mount your back now?" (That does not mean what you think it means! Pervs...)

I chuckled, "Hope on, I'll take ya for a ride." I laughed at my words, she may not get it, but I do.

Dali gently climbed onto my back and positioned herself so that she wouldn't effect my flying.

One last thing about her culture and I'll shut up. In her culture, touching another pony, or being touched, is like a sacred thing. They will not touch another pony, or let another pony touch them, unless they trusted that pony and accepted them. You know, I'm not that good at explaining this part of her culture, I'll sum it up. Touching equals bad, but Touching plus friend equals good. Yeah, that sums it up.

I shifted around a bit till I was comfortable and could fly easily. The plan was for me to fly us there, as it would be faster than walking. Once there, we would explore the city, have a good time, meet some new ponies, then come back with in a few days, or weeks. We've been planning this trip for the past month.

I turned slightly to her, "Ready Dali?"

"Ready." She said as she held on tight.

I lifted up slightly, careful not to let her slid off. Once I was high enough, above the buildings, I began flying forward. Time to start the two hour flight to Manehattan.

Skip ahead two hours and thirty minutes. What? I'm not strong enough to go far or fast with Dali on my back, okay!

I landed in the middle of the city, sweat coated my body, my lungs on fire.

Dali slide off and looked around, "Wow, this city is big!"

I looked at her with an exhausted expression and smiled, "It sure is."

She began walking forward, but stopped when she saw the large crowd of ponies moving about. She back tracked to me, "There are a lot of ponies in this city."

I chuckled and stood up straight, ignoring the pain in my back, "Well, it is a city after all, of course there will be a lot of ponies."

She looked around, "I know, its just, their so close. What if somepony touches me, or what if I touch somepony."

I put a hoof on her shoulder, "Don't worry, I got this." I smirked and pulled off my goggles. Come on eyes, do your thing.

We began walking towards the crowd of ponies, all heading in different directions. As soon as I stepped in the crowd, the began going around me, like I was diseased. I laughed to my self silently, I love my body! (Back I say you pervs!)

I led Dali through the crowd, making sure nopony touched her. If that happened, she would be devastated. She'll take it as if somepony had rapped her. I will never understand her culture.

As we walked down the busy sidewalk, I came to a stop. I smiled and looked back at Dali, "You hungry?"

She rubbed her stomach and grinned, "I am very hungry."

I chuckled to myself, man I love the way she talks! "How does this place look then?" I held out a hoof to the club in front of us, 'The Trotting Pony'. Techno music could be heard inside, not my kind of music, but come on! Its a club, in Equestria! I have to see this.

She looked at it with uncertain eyes, "Are you sure? It seems... strange."

I smiled, "I'm pretty sure its safe, just stay next to me and nothing will happen." I held up my hoof, "I promise."

Dali smiled happily, "Okay Lance, I trust you." She then moved up close to me, "Led the way."

I held back a laugh and led her to the door. Upon entering the club, I could see that they had a DJ up in the corner, playing the music. There was a stage up front, and all the tables in the room faced it. Over to the left was a dance floor, and to the right was a bar of some sort.

I walked in faster, excited.

"Lance! Please wait up!" Said Dali as she tried to keep up.

One last thing, I promise. Dali isn't what you would call, athletic. She can't run a quarter of a mile without needing to take a break. Where she's from, all the mare's do is stay home and help the family. In her case, she did chores for her family.

I stopped and let her catch up, "I'm so sorry Dali, I didn't mean to leave you behind."

She waved me off with her hoof, "All is forgive Lance, I know you did not mean to leave me. Nothing happened, so there is nothing to be sorry about."

I let out a sigh of relief, "Shall we get a table, they may be doing a show or something."

We looked around till we found a empty spot, near the front, but off to the side.

After a few minutes of sitting there, I noticed a sign up on the stage. I squinted my eyes, trying to read it. I then zoomed in with my goggles and read the sign. When I did, my mouth dropped. It read, 'Tonight's performance stars, The Great and Powerful Trixie!'

I facehoofed, out of all the clubs, I chose the one with her! Well, at least I know where she went after the episode, 'Boast busters'.

I looked at the bar and rubbed my chin, I then looked at Dali, "Do you want me to get you something to eat?"

She nodded, "Yes please."

I chuckled and stood, "I'll be right back then."

Her eyes widened with shock, "Please don't leave me here alone!"

I patted her hoof, "Dali, I'll be right over there, see?" I pointed to the bar, "I'll keep my eye on you, I promise."

She took a deep breath and nodded.

I walked over to the bar and took a seat. The stallion behind the bar walked up, "What would you like today..." He looked at me, a look of surprise and confusion.

I sighed, "I'm a Pegasus, a zebra Pegasus if you prefer. I would like a daisy sandwich and a hayburger. Also, two large ciders."

He nodded as he looked at me, "Okay then. Wait for us to bring it out."

I opened my saddlebag, "Price?"

"Forty bits." He said as he turned from me.

My mouth hung open in surprise, forty bits! This food better taste like fucking rainbow's! I wonder what a rainbow taste like. I'll ask Dash when I get back.

After a few minutes of waiting, he brought out the food and drinks, "Here you go, also, did you hear about the large storm coming in? Its suppose to be huge."

I chuckled, "I've seen big storms in my life." I then placed the forty bits on the table and picked up the tray in my mouth. Which I don't know how, but I was able to keep it balanced all the way back to our table.

I sat it down and handed her the daisy sandwich, "There ya go, and here's your cider." I said as I placed the cider in front of her.

I then sat down and licked my lips, this was going to be good. I picked up the hayburger and took a bit. I nodded and took another bit. "I have come to a conclusion: That taste so much better than a rainbow!"

Dali looked at me in confusion, "What?"

I laughed, "Oh sorry, just something I was thinking."

She shrugged and finished up her food and drink. Wait, she's already done? Damn she eats fast when she's hungry.

I then pushed all of my hayburger into my mouth and washed it down with my cider. Oh yeah, so worth forty bits.

Suddenly, behind me, I heard a very familiar beat begin to play, "Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" A poof was heard, as a smoke screen appeared for a second before disappearing, and there stood Trixie, "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!"

A tear rolled down my face, "Why? Why does the universe hate me!"

Dali looked at me in concern, "Lance, are you alright?"

I nodded, "I'm okay, I just hate this... 'magician'."

She looked up at Trixie, who was still boasting, "I can see why."

I chuckled, "Yeah... I have the worst luck ever, huh?"

She shook her head, "Not at all, you are very lucky."

I raised an eyebrow, "How am I, the pony that lost the ability to have kid... foals, lucky?"

She gestured to my wedding bracelet, "You are married to a wonderful mare. You are very lucky."

I looked at the wedding bracelet and smiled, I guess I do have some good luck, "Thanks Dali, your a true..."

"Hey! The Great and Powerful Trixie is talking! You must listen to her!" Said Trixie with annoyance in her voice.

I turned to see that she was looking straight at me. Okay, that's it, "The Great and Powerful Trixie? Really? Your not that great or powerful, you was beaten in a foals game of magic against Twilight Sparkle, the student of Princess Celestia!"

Trixie's eye twitched and she jumped off the stage and marched right up to me, "It was a cheat! Trixie could have easily beaten that weak and nerdy Twilight Sparkle, but chose not to."

I stood and glared her, "Yeah, says the bitch with the loud mouth. Face it Trixie, your nothing more than a poser. Twilight is the real deal!" Am I rapping? That's strange, even for me.

Trixie looked me up and down, "Trixie thinks you are lying. Trixie bets that you haven't even met Twilight Sparkle."

I held up my hoof with the wedding bracelet, "Well well, Trixie is wrong, you know why? Because I'm married to Twilight, I know that she can kick you flank in a magic duel any day." What is wrong with me?

Trixie was taken back at my words, "Your married to that failure Twilight Sparkle? This is to rich for Trixie to handle."

I slammed my hoof down, "Cut that fucking third person crap! Its annoying as hell!"

She twisted, hitting me in the face with her cape, "Trixie doesn't have time for you, she has a show to perform."

"I'm going to kick her ass!" I said as I took a step forward.

Dali jumped over the table and pulled me back, "Lance, no. Don't fall for her games, she wants you to fight her in public."

I took a deep breath and sighed, "I guess your right. Can we please leave?"

She nodded, "I would think it best."

As she stood, the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance.

That bar tender was right, there is a storm coming. Sounds big too.

An hour and fourteen minutes later, the 'Sleeping Stallion' hotel

I looked out the window at the storm, the rain coming down heavily. The loud booming of the thunder and the loud cracks of the lighting made me flinch every time. This by far, was the worst storm I've ever been in.

I turned to the two beds, mine and Dali's. I could see the large lump in her bed where she was hiding under the covers.

Where she's from, they rarely have a thunder storm, and when they do, its never like this.

I began walking towards my bed when the power suddenly cut off, "Well shit."

I stumbled over to the bed, with little damage. Okay, I hit my head on the wall and fell face first on the floor before I made it to the bed. I climbed in, the thunder and lighting only getting worst.

When a loud and sharp crack of lighting was heard, I heard Dali give a yelp of surprise, "You okay Dali?"

"I-I am okay, just a l-little scared is all." She said in a strained voice. I instantly felt bad, because I could tell she was crying.

"Dali, are you sure your okay."

"No, I am not okay. This storm is... frightening."

I rubbed my hooves together, trying to think of a plan. Then I remembered something. Last time there was a thunderstorm in Canterlot, she came running to my house. Twilight and I had let her stay in our room and sleep with us. I know that may sound strange, but when you have a friend in need, you help them.

"Dali, would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?"

I heard her bed squeak and felt her jump in bed. She gave me a quick hug, "Thank you Lance, your a good friend."

I chuckled, "No problem, I know Twilight wouldn't mind."

She put her hoof over my waist, "Do you mind?"

I laughed, "Not at all, what ever takes your mind off the storm."

She hugged my body tightly, which I would hate if this was another pony. I only let Twilight do this, but seeing as Dali needs somepony to hold, I'll let it be.

I lay there in the dark, feeling her flinch every time lighting struck. Eventually, she fell asleep, snoring slightly.

I smiled and started to focus on Twilight. What am I doing you ask? Well, Twilight cast a spell on me so that I could talk to her anytime I wanted. I love this spell.

'Twilight, you awake?' I thought.

A few second delay, 'Yes, I'm awake. How's Manehattan?' Came her voice in my head.

'Pretty good, we're in a storm right now.'

'You are? How's Dali doing?'

'She's doing fine. But I hope you don't mind that I let her sleep in my bed with me. The lighting was scaring her.'

A few second pause, 'Oh, its okay Lance. I remember the last time it stormed, how she kept crying while she lay between us in bed. She wouldn't let me touch her, so I was no help. Lance, your a good friend you know that?'

'How?'

'Well, you let her hold you the whole night, just to make her feel better. That's true friendship Lance.'

I smiled, 'Thank you Twi. I miss you.'

'I miss you too Lance, its no fun here without you.'

'What about David or Greg? Or Spike?'

'David and Spike are already asleep. As for Greg, I'm not going in his room.'

I chuckled and put a hoof to my face, 'Well, play with Churchill. He could use the attention while I'm gone.'

'I may, he seems to like me.'

'He does, hes a good dog. Just don't let him trick you into over feeding him, he's a smart dog.'

'Don't worry, he can't out smart me.'

'I know, because your so adorkable.'

'I'll never know where you got that name for me.'

'I'll never tell.'

'Well, I have to go Lance, I'm in the middle of a book.'

I shook my head with a smile, 'Is it the book the Princess sent you?"

A pause, 'Shut up.'

I held back a laugh, 'Goodnight Twi, love you.'

'Goodnight Lance, I love you too.'

I relaxed into the pillow and let the sounds of the storm sooth me. Within seconds, I was out.

A Talent duel!

I forgot this, this is what Dali looks like,

Chapter 48

I turned the faucet on and splashed the cool water on my face. I picked up a wash cloth and whipped my face.

It's to early to be up! Stupid nightmare, its the same one every time.

I shook my head and walked out of the bathroom. When I stepped into the main room, I could see that Dali was awake and looking out the window.

I smiled and walked over to my saddlebag, "You hungry?"

She turned and smiled happily, "I am hungry. What do we have to eat?"

I opened one of the saddlebags and shifted through its contents, "Hmmm, we have some bread, jam, hay, some daises, and some cookies. For drinks, we have lemonade, milk, orange juice, and my favorite, coke." My mouth watered slightly at the mention of coke. Omnius had given me enough coke to last a while. Gotta love that guy.

Dali tapped her chin with her hoof, "What should we eat? Can you make me a jam and hay sandwich?"

I chuckled, "One jam and hay sandwich coming up!" I then pulled out the bread, jam, and hay.

I put them on a table and quickly threw two sandwich's together. One for her and one for me.

Dali sat down at the table and smiled.

I pushed her sandwich towards her, "And what would the lady like to drink?"

She became sheepish, "Could I try a coke?" She knows how I am about my coke. I don't let anypony drink them.

I rubbed my chin, "Well, for you, yes." I pulled out one of my beloved coke's and handed (Hoofed? Wait, I've been over this, I'm sticking with handed.) it to her.

She grabbed it with excitement in her eyes, "Thank you Lance!"

I chuckled and smiled, "Your welcome."

She started trying to take off the cap, but couldn't figure it out.

I laughed at her and held out a hoof, "Let me get that."

She looked at it and huffed, "This thing is foal proof! No fair!" She then handed it to me.

I smiled, "Watch and learn." I put the top of the bottle in my mouth and twisted the cap off.

I spit the cap out and gave her the bottle of coke, "There ya go."

She rolled her eyes and put the bottle to her mouth. She tilted back and let a little in her mouth. She licked her lips and smiled, "That is good!" She then began to chug it, not as fast as me but still pretty fast.

I laughed again, "Good huh?"

She nodded, "That is the best thing I have drank in a long time."

I nodded, "You got that right." I then picked up my food and began to eat.

Dali followed my lead and began to devour her sandwich.

As we ate, she looked up, "So, where are we going today?"

I smiled, "I have no idea, we'll just follow the crowds."

She sighed, "You never make plans, do you?"

I smirked, "No, no I do not."

Three hours later, city park

"Watch it!" I yelled as the same two colts ran past me, chasing each other.

We was at the city park, just exploring. And the same damn kids kept running past us, almost hitting Dali every time. God help me if they touch her! (NOT IN THAT WAY!!!) I don't care if they're kids, I'm going to scare the shit out of them with my eyes and evil voice!

Remember, if a pony touches Dali, with the exception of me, she will go into a state of depression and take it as if she had been raped. Like I said, her culture is strange.

Dali put a hoof on my shoulder, "Its alright Lance, calm down, please."

I let out a sigh and smiled, "Lets just enjoy to the sights, shall we?"

She smiled back, "Lets."

We walked down the path, through the park, taking in the sights.

Again, I heard the laughs of the two colts, heading our way.

As they neared, I could tell this time, they was going to run straight into Dali.

My eye twitched and I jumped in front of her, wings spread out.

The two colts ran straight into me, knocking me down, along with them.

One of them stood up, a brown one, "Oh come on mister, why would you block that? We're playing a game."

The second one, a light tan one, jumped up, "Yeah! Its call, 'knock down the mares'."

I stood and glared, "Don't run into her! I'll just warn you this time, next time, you'll be sorry."

They looked at me strangely, "Your weird." They then ran off, towards another mare.

I sighed and shook my head.

Dali walked up, "Thank you Lance, for looking out for me."

I shrugged, "Its nothing, you are my best friend after all."

She smiled happily, "And you are my best friend."

"Well well, what a nice moment." Said a voice behind me that made my eyes jerk crazily.

I turned and looked at the one pony I hated more than anything, Trixie. "What the hell do you want?"

Trixie smiled in a way that made me want to buck (That means kick! Not the other meaning!) her in the face, "Trixie is not happy with the way you talked to her last night."

I rolled my eyes, "Does the foal need a bottle?"

She glared, "Trixie laughs at your attempts to make fun of her. Your a failure at it."

Something in me snapped, something that I've tried to keep down for all those years. It was anger, rage, and pent up emotion all mixed into one. This was something that I hated about myself. Prepare yourself.

I stepped forward, my eyes twitching crazily, "That is fucking it! You stupid fucking bitch! When will you give up this fucking act! Your just a bitch that thinks shes all that! You talk in third fucking person and that is the most annoying thing I have ever heard! As for your fucking bitch talent at magic, its a fucking load of crap! Your just a fucking poser who can't deal with her fucking life! I would rather rip off my legs than talk to you! I fucking hate you! Why?! Because your a fucking bitch who thinks she's all that, but is really just a fucking whore with nothing to lose!" Turning rage mode off, now.

I held my head, which was now throbbing. Where did all that come from? I think I just unleashed all of my anger and emotions in one rant. Wow, I feel good now.

Trixie's mouth hung open, "Wha..."

Dali looked shocked, "Wow, I didn't know you had it in you."

Trixie regained her composer, "Well, Trixie is not affected by your harsh words."

Please stop! If she keeps this up, I don't know what I'll do! "I'm warning you Trix-bitch, if you keep up all of your shit, something bad will happen." Something bad? Really Lance? That's all you can say?

Trixie smirked, "How about this. I challenge you to a duel of talent!"

I rolled my eyes, "And that is?"

She smiled, "We will perform on stage, in front of a huge crowd! We will show off our best talent and let the crowd decide who's the best. The loser must leave town and never return!"

I smirked, "Your on."

She held up a hoof, "Not done yet. The loser must also give up the thing they love most. Since your going to lose, your going to have to give up your beloved Twilight Sparkle."

I glared. I know I can beat this show off. "Your fucking on. And WHEN I win, you must announce to all of Equestria that you, 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' is a fucking fraud."

She laughed confidently, "Deal. Trixie will be waiting for you at 'The Trotting Pony'. Come at midnight." She turned swiftly and began walking out of the park.

Dali walked up next to me, "Are you sure you can beat her?"

I nodded, "I know I can."

All I need is my guitar, which Twilight can easily teleport it to me. Let's hope Peter's lessons pay off.

Midnight, The Trotting Pony

I paced back and forth, nervous.

Trixie was up front on stage, doing her boring magic tricks. Every now and again, getting a clap or two.

I tuned my guitar one last time.

"Thank you! Thank you all! Trixie is pleased!" Said Trixie as she backed up and behind the curtain. She looked at me and laughed, "Prepare to fail."

I walked past her, "No, you prepare to fail."

I walked out onto stage and looked out over the large crowd of ponies. Damn, there are a lot of them! I spotted Dali, way in the back, away from the crowd. She waved happily.

I smiled as I gained back my confidence, "Okay you crazy ponies. I'm going to play two songs, ya ready?"

A few of them yelled out happily.

I smiled and began to strum the guitar, "Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life."

I finished and took a breath, that is a long song.

Suddenly, all the ponies began to cheer. I smiled, "Ready for round two?"

They all shouted back, "YEAH!"

I chuckled, "Here we go." I strummed the guitar again. This next song will be hard with out everyone else to play their instruments.

I leaned into the mic as I began to play, "When dreaming I'm guided to another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
'Cause I don't want to leave the comfort of this place
'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I'm awake
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?

Can you take me Higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me Higher?
To a place with golden streets

Although I would like our world to change
It helps me to appreciate
Those nights and those dreams
But, my friend, I'd sacrifice all those nights
If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same
The only difference is
To let love replace all our hate
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?

Can you take me Higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me Higher?
To a place with golden streets

So lets go there, lets go there,
Come on, lets go there
Lets ask can we stay?

Up high I feel like I'm alive for the very first time
Set up high I'm strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine
Set up high I'm strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine

Can you take me Higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me Higher?
To a place with golden streets

Can you take me Higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me Higher?
To a place with golden streets."

I got to admit, that sounded pretty good with just an acoustic guitar.

Again, the crowd exploded with excitement. They began to chant, "MORE! MORE! MORE!"

I gulped, I only know one more song by heart. "Okay, one more."

The crowd went crazy with delight.

[This next song is a fan made song for the popular fanfic, 'Fallout: Equestria'. Just a little heads up.

I began to play again, "In the badlands
Only darkness
Integrity is the first casualty
You took my kindness
But not my silence
No, nothing can silencing me

What you treasure most
Will be the final costa

If I have to die, then die I will
If I have to kill, then blood I'll spill
But I will weep for the world we lost
Yes, I will weep, and dream of times long past

I'm sick and tired
Of all this fighting
Not sure if this blood is mine
But whatever's waiting
I will face it
One struggle at a time

If I have to die, then die I will
If I have to kill, then blood I'll spill
But I will weep for the world we lost
Yes, I will weep, and dream of times long past

I'm sick and﻿ tired
Of all this fighting
Not sure if this blood is mine."

I stood and bowed.

The crowd was cheering and clapping.

I silently thanked Peter for teaching me to play.

Trixie ran out on stage and gawked at the crowd of ponies. "What?! You cheer for him?! He is a failure, he has not talent!"

Somepony throw a bottle at her, "Get off the stage!"

I turned to her, "Well Trixie, I think we both know who lost this."

She glared furiously at me, "Trixie did not lose!"

I turned to the crowd, "Who won?"

They all screamed out, "YOU!"

I chuckled and turned to Trixie, "Time to live up to your side of the deal."

She glared evilly at me, "Fine! I will leave town!"

I shook my hoof at her, "Oh no, there was more. You must announce to all of Equestria that you are a fraud, and I recall you saying the loser had to give up the thing they loved most."

She began to shake with anger, "I will not!"

I laughed, "Uh oh, someone one is talking in first person now."

She bared her teeth at me, "Trixie will not!"

I looked at her cape and hat, "Ummm, I like your cape and hat, give them to me."

She furiously torn them off and throw them at me, "There! You can have them!"

I laughed happily, "Hell yeah, now, run along."

She glared one last time before running off stage and through the crowd of ponies.

I bowed again and picked up the cape and hat. I'm proud of myself.

I went back stage and was meet with a smiling Dali, "Lance! You was amazing up there! I didn't know you played."

I smiled and gave her a quick hug, I was just so damn happy, "Thank you Dali, you can thank Peter for that."

She smiled, "I will."

I put a hoof over her neck, "So, wanna mess around in town? I heard they have a cool restaurant here."

She nodded, "Sounds fun, lets go there."

We walked around the stage and through the crowd, all of them parting for me and Dali. Tonight was already turning into a fun night. Oh yeah!

*Sight* I suck at photo editing. Here is that picture, feel free to make fun of it.

Heat survival

Heat survival

Chapter 49

One week later

I landed in Canterlot, completely exhausted.

I slumped down on my haunch's and allowed Dali to slide off my back.

She looked at me and became worried, "Lance, are you okay? You don't look so good."

I whipped a little sweat off my face and grinned, "Yeah, I'm fine. I really need to hit the gym."

She then smiled, knowing I was okay, "I agree, you need to workout."

I shook my head laughing, "Now I know I need to workout."

We laughed and joked around as we walked towards my house. When we was at the door, I smirked, "Best idea ever!"

Dali looked at me, confused, "What is it?"

I opened my saddlebag and pulled out Trixie's cape and hat, "Watch this!" I put the cape on and then the hat.

I knocked on the door and jumped back. I pulled the hat down to cover my face. This was going to be good!

The door opened and I heard Twilight gasp, "Trixie!"

I smirked and stood on my hind legs and spread out my hooves, imitating Trixie, "IT IS I! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL LANCE!"

Twilight relaxed and laughed, "You got me Lance. Where did you get those? They look exactly like Trixie's."

I went down to all fours and smirked, "They are Trixie's."

Twilight became confused, "But how did you..."

Dali spoke up and interrupted Twilight, "Lance beat her in a talent duel! He played a guitar and beat her easily!"

I chuckled, "Yeah, that pretty much sums up what happened."

Twilight looked me over and laughed. When she stopped laughing, she became very serious, "Lance, do you know what tomorrow is?"

I held a hoof to my chin, trying to think. Oh shit! Is tomorrow something special?! Her birthday? Some kind of anniversary thing that the guy doesn't know about because the girl made it up and expects him to know about it?! Take a shot in the dark Lance! "Uhhhh, party?" Is party your fail safe answer or something?

She shook her head, "No. Tomorrow is the day when all the mare's go into heat."

My eyes widened, "What?! Explain please."

She sighed, "Every year, all the mare's go into heat for three days. During this period of time, they will mate with the first stallion they see, no matter who it is. They lose all logical thinking and let their hormones control them. Trust me, its not pretty."

This does not sound fun... "What about you? Will you be in heat?"

She nodded, "Yes, that's why I must ask you and your friends to leave. I don't know what I'll do if I get in heat and have a house full of stallions."

I held back all my laughter, "Sure, we'll leave till this blows over. Where should we go?"

She though for a second, "Well, you can go to the library in Ponyville. It should be safe since everypony knows that I moved in with you."

I nodded, "Alright then, we'll leave as soon as I can get them all ready."

Twilight nodded and smiled, "I've missed you."

I smiled back and leaned in to kiss her, "I missed you too Twi." I kissed her on the lips and then turned to Dali, "Okay Dali, I want you to lock yourself in your house. I don't want you to get caught up in all of this."

Dali laughed and waved me off, "Don't worry about me. Where I'm from, we know how to handle our heat."

I chuckled, "That's good. Now, I think you should get home, before it gets to late."

She nodded, "I will, bye Lance, see you in three days. I had fun this week."

I smiled, "I had fun too, see you later."

After she walked away, I turned and walked past Twilight, "Let me get everyone ready."

She nodded, "I'll go and prepare."

I went up stairs and kicked David's door open, "David, come out here for a second." I then walked over to Greg's door, "Greg! Come on, we all need to talk."

Once everyone was in the hall, I began to speak, "Well bronies, we have a situation."

David looked at me, "What kind of situation?"

I looked at them both, "Tomorrow is the day that all the mare's go into heat. It won't be pretty."

David gasped and Greg puffed on his blunt, "Sweet!"

I sighed, "Come on, get your stuff together, we have to gather the others and get to Ponyville."

They nodded and went back to their rooms.

I rubbed my hooves together, this was going to be a long three days.

The next day, afternoon. Ponyville library

"You see any thing?" Seth asked Peter who was peeking out the window that we had barricaded with a bookshelf.

Peter shook his head, "Nope, no mares in sight. I think we can go unnoticed here for three days.

I smiled happily, "Good! Now to fight boredom for three days."

Everyone sighed at the realization that we had nothing to do, but read. That's okay with me.

I looked around at everyone. We had gathered the whole gang. Peter, David, Greg, Seth, Zorrow, and Frederic, who didn't want to leave the palace but we made him. Also, as we was walking into town, we noticed that every stallion had left, probably to hide till this was over. But, we did run into one stallion, who would have been an open rape target if we hadn't told him about the mare's and their heat. He was lucky we let him stay here with us.

His name was Drax, a black coated Pegasus with a gold and red mane and tail. His cutie mark was weights, which fit him in a way. He was also kinda shy, not Fluttershy brand shy, but not very social. Since he was the strongest of the group, we found that out the hard way, we let him pile up the furniture and shelf's against the windows and doors.

I looked around again, "Huh, I feel like we forgot something, something important."

Greg shrugged, "Probably nothing."

I looked around and sighed, "Damn my mind, always thinking I forgot something."

Frederic looked out the window, "Shit, we got movement!"

Everyone went silent and Peter quietly asked, "Is it a mare?"

Fredric nodded, "Yes, I think. I don't know, it ran around a building."

Seth stepped up and looked out, "Man, its quiet out there."

Greg laughed to himself, "Dawn of the mare."

I chuckled, "Night of the mare's."

Peter smiled and began to play along, "Bronies of the heat."

Seth chuckled, "That one didn't make much sense. I got one: Three days later."

Zorrow chuckled and shook his hoof at him, "Good one, let me try. House of the mare."

Fredric held a hoof to his chin, "I am brony."

I laughed silently, "I like that one, let me try again. Living a heat dream."

Everyone put their hooves over their mouths, trying not to laugh.

David clapped his hooves together, "Mare Apocalypse Now."

Greg chuckled, "Got one: The..."

A loud banging could be heard at the door and everyone jumped up, tense.

"LET ME IN! GUYS, I KNOW YOUR IN THERE! ITS ME, AARON, PLEASE OPEN UP!" Shouted a scared Aaron.

I stomped my hoof, "I knew we had forgotten something!"

Peter shook his head, "Poor guy."

I walked to the door, "Should we let him in?"

Greg shook his head, "No way! If you open that door, we're all screwed, literally!"

"OH GOD! HURRY! AHHHH!"

I looked through the small opening in the door and saw Aaron being dragged away by four mares. He was kicking and screaming, but he couldn't break away from them. Poor bastard.

"Is he okay?" Zorrow asked from behind me.

I turned slowly and shook my head, "No, the mare's got him."

Greg laughed, and we all glared at him.

He looked at us and smirked, "What? I think its pretty damn funny."

Frederic shook his head and looked at me, "Do you see any other mare's out there?"

"One second, let me check." I turned and looked out the small window. The second I did, I let out a loud scream. Because, looking in the window was Pinkie Pie.

"STALLIONS!" She screamed out as she went into hyper mood and began slamming into the door.

I backed away and looked at everyone else, "What now?"

Before anyone could answer, the screams of delight from outside could be heard. The mare's where at every window and door, trying to get in.

Frederic began to hyperventilate, "Oh my God! They found us!"

I held up a hoof, "Calm down Frederic, all we need to is telepo..."

His horn began to glow, "EVERY BRONY FOR THEMSELVES!" He suddenly disappeared with a flash of light.

Peter began to panic, "He was our only way out of here!"

I shook my head, "No, we got Greg. Greg, teleport us to a safe location."

He shrugged, "Okay." His horn began to glow and a green light engulfed us all.

We reappeared somewhere in Ponyville.

I nodded, "Okay, now all we have to do is..." I trailed off when I turned around to see that the library, and the large crowd of mare's, was right behind us.

I glared at Greg, "I said somewhere safe!"

He rolled his eyes, "Well sorry, but I don't feel like using my magic right now."

I stomped my hoof and yelled out, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR BULLSHIT! TELEPORT US TO THE EVERFREE FOREST RIGHT NOW!"

Suddenly, the crowd of mare's turned towards us. All their faces had the same look on them, lust.

I back stepped, "Shit..."

The crowd shrugged forward, all of them screaming in delight.

"RUN!" David screamed as he turned and ran.

We all followed suit and ran at full speed down the street. Drax was far ahead of us. Damn, we are out of shape!

As we ran, Greg chuckled.

I looked over at him, "Why are you laughing?"

He looked at me, "I just noticed, why am I running from this? This is a once in a life time opportunity!" He stopped and turned towards the crowd, "Gang bang, here I come!" He then began to gallop towards them.

I stopped and looked back, "NO! GREG! Don't do it!"

Peter ran back and grabbed me, "Forget him! He chose his path."

I nodded and we began to gallop after the rest of the group.

I turned and saw that Greg had jumped into the crowd and let them take him. Poor asshole.

We ran until we came to an ally. We all ran into it and sat down, all out of breath.

Peter looked around and sighed, "What now?"

I took a deep breath and looked at him, "Well, I don't know. We lost Greg, Frederic ran away, and Aaron didn't even have a chance."

Drax walked to the corner and looked around, "I don't see any mare's, we should be safe for a while."

I nodded, "Yeah, I think Greg can keep them busy for a while."

Night fall, four hours later

"Okay Lance, go now!" Whispered Peter as we all prepared to go across the empty street.

I galloped across and turned to the others. I gave the all clear nod and Peter galloped across.

Once he was next to me, David began to make his cross.

Suddenly, the entire area was light up. I could hear Pinkie Pie's laugh from above. "I SEE A STALLION!"

Oh crap!

David ran towards us, and we desperately waved him away, not wanting attention to be drawn to us.

He stopped and facehoofed, "I have wings! Fuck me, I'm so stupid!" He jumped up and began flying skyward... only to be slammed into by a colorful blur.

As he and his attacker hit the ground, my eyes widened. Rainbow Dash was holding him down, looking him over, "Awww yeah! Got myself a little prize!"

David started to try and break free.

Suddenly, mare's began to pour into the area, all running towards him.

David looked straight at the others and yelled, "HELP ME!"

A few mare's looking to where he was looking and ran that way.

Drax, Seth, and Zorrow all sprinted out of their cover and towards us. Shit.

As they ran, a rope wrapped around Seth's back hoof and pulled him to the ground.

"Ah caught mah self a big one!" Screamed Applejack as she reeled him in.

Seth desperately dug at the ground with his hooves, "NO NO NOOO! I don't wanna get raped!'

When the Drax and Zorrow reached us, Zorrow looked back, "Damn it! Lucky bastard got Applejack!"

I bit his tail and began pulling him down the ally, "Forget it man, its not worth getting raped by every mare in Ponyville."

He pulled his tail out of my mouth and sighed, "Damn, I guess your right."

"WEEEEEE!"

"What the hell..." I started as a pink object landed on Zorrow.

Zorrow began to panic as he realized what it was, Pinkie Pie.

He began to thrash about, trying to get her off, "Help me!"

I nodded and began to try and pull Pinkie Pie off of him.

Peter and Drax ran up and began to help also.

Pinkie Pie was laughing crazily, "This way girls! I found more stallions!"

Peter's eyes widened, "Fucking shit!" He let go of Pinkie Pie and galloped away. Drax also gave up on getting her off and ran after Peter.

Zorrow looked up at me, "Run man, save yourself."

I looked up at the approaching crowd of horny mare's. I let go of Pinkie Pie and began to gallop away, "Thanks dude, I so owe you!"

Zorrow began to panic again, "What the fuck! I didn't fucking mean it! Get back here and save me!"

I continued to run away, no way was I going back. To risky.

I ran out of the ally and spotted Drax and Peter jumping into a bush. I galloped over and jumped in with them.

Peter was shaking, "We're going to get raped! Just like the others!"

Drax shook his head, "No, we can get away. We can just fly and..."

I shook my head, "Hell no, flying is out of the question. Did you see what happened to David? None of us can out fly Rainbow Dash!"

Peter started slamming his head on the ground, "SCREWED! SCREWED! SCREWED!"

I put a hoof on his shoulder, "No man, we're going..."

Drax covered my mouth, "Quiet! They're coming out of the ally."

We looked out to see that a few mare's where walking out of the ally, all looking around, for us.

They walked around for a while, more and more began to join them.

Shit man, its like fucking zombies!

Suddenly, a huge flash filled the area, and what appeared scared the hell out of me.

Frederic appeared, along with Princess Celestia and Luna. Frederic began running away, screaming out, "HELP!"

Peter gasped, "Its fucking Molestia!"

The Princesses can go into heat too?! We're screwed!

"Yes you are Lance!" Yelled out Princess Celestia.

Fuck! She can still read my mind!

I jumped up, "RUN!"

We galloped away, but not before Drax was encased in a strong magic aura.

"Oh come on!" As he began floating back towards the Princesses and the crowd of mare's, he yelled after us, "Run my friends! I'll keep them distracted for as long as I can!"

We rounded a corner and Peter hung his head, "Why Drax? Why did it have to be him?"

I sighed, "I know, he doesn't deserve to be raped."

Peter looked around, "Where's Frederic?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Come on, we have to hide!"

We ran along the back of the buildings.

"Stallions!" Screamed out a lust filled voice.

FUCK!

We jumped a fence and ran across the backyard of someponies house. We jumped the next one also, but once we landed on the other side, a pink blur crashed into Peter and brought him to the ground.

I freaked out, I couldn't think straight anymore. I jumped the next fence and landed on the other side. I looked around till I saw a garden shed. I flew into it and slammed the door shut.

I crawled to the back corner and got into a ball.

I listened to Peter's screams and the mare's happy squeals.

After a while, it all died down. I could hear Peter screaming, "NO MORE! NO MORE!" I could barely hear him after a while, the mare's must have drug him off somewhere else.

I lay in that corner for a long time (Fifteen minutes) waiting for daylight so I could make a break for it.

The door to the shed swung open and there stood a crowd of mare's.

"I told you I saw one jump in here!" One exclaimed happily.

Why me? What have I done to deserve this?

They surged into the shed.

I screamed into the night.

Two days later, Lance's house

We all sat in my living room, blank expressions on our faces.

For two days, we were... you know what happened.

Peter spoke up in a broken voice, "There was so many mare's! So many!"

Zorrow was rolled up in a ball, "I always thought sex would be fun, that was horrible!"

I rocked back and forth, "When they found out I couldn't produce a lot of sperm, they found other ways to please themselves. So many other ways!" I held my front hoofs out in front of me, "I'll never look at those hooves the same way again!"

Drax's eyes were wide open, "The Princess was so rough! And all those mare's! I'll never be able to enjoy mating again!"

Seth just lay there, not talking.

David rubbed his shoulders, "They made me do so many things! I didn't even know I could do all that!"

I shook, "Oh God, Pinkie Pie was the worst of it!"

They all shuddered at the memory.

Zorrow huffed lightly, "I didn't even get raped by Applejack!"

We all sat there, not knowing what to say.

Greg walked in and laughed, he was the only one not effected by what happened, "Pussies."

Split personality

Split personality

The idea for this chapter came from Killjoy, who has written a very good story, check it out.

Also, thanks to Iron Clad for writing the song in this chapter.

First off,
A/N: Two new characters are being added in.
[Break will talk with the brackets and bold]

{And when I'm not talking out loud, I talk with those. Very confusing, I know.}
Understand this first, and everything will make sense.

Chapter 50

"She what!" Frederic screamed out.

"She set us up." I repeated. I then shook my head, "She couldn't even go into heat!"

Frederic looked dumbfounded, "What?! Why couldn't see?!"

I sighed, "Mare's that are pregnant can't go into heat."

His eyes widened, "What! Then that means Luna... OH GOD!"

I looked around at Frederic and Luna's room. I had come here as soon as Twilight told me she had set us up. She and Pinkie had planned it! That sucks!

I glanced over at Frederic, "What happened with you and Luna during those two days?"

He shuddered, "It wasn't just me and Luna. It was me, Celestia, Luna, and Drax! That foursome was horrifying!"

Poor Drax, and Frederic. Raped by the Princesses, must have been... Wait, raped by Celestia. That doesn't sound so bad, I wouldn't mind it if..."

"Dirty mine Lance!" Celestia yelled from her room.

Frederic furrowed his brow, "What is she talking about?"

Shit, I hate how she can read my mind when ever she wants. "Oh, its nothing."

He looked at me and glared slightly, "Okay then." He then smiled, "Guess what!"

"What?"

He smiled proudly, "Next year, when all the mare's go into heat, we'll be ready."

I raised an eyebrow, "How?"

"I'm going to build a bunker. So this time, we won't get raped."

I laughed, "I like that idea. When will you build it?"

He shrugged and turned to his desk, "I don't know, when ever I get the time."

As I began to speak, Twilight's voice echoed through my thoughts, 'Lance, we may have a problem with Greg.'

I sighed, 'What did he do this time?'

'He didn't do anything, yet. He's reading a spell book called, 'Spells for the mind'. I don't know what he's up to, but I'll watch him.'

He's reading a spell book, again? This can't be good, 'Okay, just contact me if he does something stupid.'

'Will do Lance.'

I walked up next to Frederic and looked at what he was doing, "What'ca doing?"

He looked down at me and chuckled, "Oh, just making a present for Luna."

"Cool, what is it?" I asked.

He smiled, "You know how she raises and lowers the moon? Well, I've made her a...."

A bright flash of green light interrupted Frederic. When I turned around, I sighed.

'Lance, Greg just teleported to you!' Twilight yelled into my mind.

'Kinda lat Twi.'

'Awwww...'

I chuckled despite myself, "What is it Greg?"

Greg smiled lazily, "Dude, I just learned the best spell ever!"

"Okay..." I said becoming nervous.

He kept smiling at me, "Wanna be the test dummy?"

"What is the spell first of all?" I asked, not liking this already.

He put a hoof to his face, "What was it called again? Oh yeah! Split personalty. I think? I think I'm missing a few words in there, but that was in the name."

I shook my head, "Hell no! I already hate that spell."

"Please." He begged.

"No."

"Please!" He said giving me the puppy dog eyes.

That is just freaky, "NO!"

"PLEASE!"

"NO!"

"Fine."

"Really? Your giving up already?"

"Nope! Watch this!" His horn began to glow.

That little bastard...

He shot out a beam of magic and it hit me right between the eyes. I felt a searing pain in my head, and what felt like something being ripped apart.

I held my head and looked at Greg, "I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" Okay, maybe not kill, but cause a lot of pain. What? This hurts like hell!

I charged towards Greg, rage in my eyes.

His eyes widened, "The shit just hit the fan!" His horn began to glow again and I was engulfed in a green aura.

Damn it! I hate teleportation spells!

I appeared in what looked to be the Ponyville library.

I began stomping my hooves, "I"m going to get you Greg!"

[Thank God! I'm finally unattached from that nerd!]

I stood straight up. Who the hell was that?!

[Oh look, he can finally hear us.]

"Who are you?! Where are you?!" I said in a panic.

[Bro, we're your badass conscience's]

I'm now officially freaked out! "Your my conscience's? What the fuck!"

Yep, I'm going to kill Greg.

[Dude! Don't kill Greg! He's pure awesomeness!]

{So, you can hear me like this?}

{Alright, first off: Who are you two?}

I felt a small tapping at the side of my neck on the right side. I looked over to see a mini-me. A MINI-ME! He looked just like me, but had on glasses instead of goggles.

Then something small banged on my neck on the other side. I looked over to see a second mini-me. This one had on sun glasses and looked badass.

[And I'm Break. I'm the cool and awesome side of you. I'm also the part that holds all of your anger and rage. I'm cool like that.

Okay, this is weird.

{Can others see you two?}
[No one else can see us, or feel us. Believe me, we've tried.]

[Awww yeah! I remember that. Bro, you was great for your first time.]
{How long have you been watching me?!}

[Yeah, I'm guessing that when Greg cast that spell, he made it where we could be seen by you. Fucking epic man.]

I sighed and shook my head, "Great, that's all I needed. Two voices in my head!"

[Dude, chill out. Don't make me make you go into rage mode.]
{You can do that?}
[Hell yeah! We are you after all. I'll show you an example. Dawn, you mind helping me with this]

{What are you two about to do?}

My front hoof began to shake and shot up, pointing straight ahead.

What the hell?!

[Pretty cool huh? Now, take us back to Twilight! I want to watch you to fuck again!]

[What? Its been about five months since the last time they did it!]

I'm going to hate this so fucking much!

[You'll enjoy having us around. You'll see.]

No, I'm sure I won't enjoy this.

A bright light flashed in front of me and there stood Frederic. He looked at me and exhaled, "Thank God I found you Lance. I though Greg sent you off to a distant land."

I chuckled and sighed, "Yeah, I wish that's all he had done."

[Frederic, the luckiest man alive.]

I rolled my eyes, which made Frederic look at me strangely.

"Are you okay Lance?" He asked while examining me.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I'm fine. Its just that Greg FUCKING MADE IT WHERE MY CONSCIENCE'S COULD TALK TO ME!"

He looked at me strangely again, "What do you mean?"

I sighed, "That spell Greg cast on my made it where I can see and talk to my conscience's, and let me tell you, its not fun."

Frederic chuckled, "That's not so bad."

I nodded, "Oh yes it is! They're annoying as hell!"

[Hey!]

Frederic chuckled again, "I'll take your word for it."

I hung my head back and let out a deep breath, "My life is the worst life ever! I hate it! I'm the unluckiest person and pony to ever be alive!'

Frederic stomped his hoof, "No your not!" He then smiled widely, "SONG COMING ON!"

"What?"

He smiled crazily, "I feel a song coming on!"

"What are you talking about?"

He jumped forward and put his hooves on my shoulders. And began to sing.

Song written by Iron Clad

"So ya think you got it bad
Just because of small misfortunes
Well my lad I got news for you
Because of all of us
You’re the luckiest one around!"

He then used his magic to toss me up in the air.

"When you took your first steps
You just had not realized
How much your own story
Was going to change all of our fates
You still just don’t realize
How much you changed this place
How much your own endeavors
Were going to reverberate
If you still don’t realize
Just take a look around you!"

He then began to make me look around. He sat me down and jumped towards me, his face inches from mine.

"So ya think you got it bad
Just because of small misfortunes
Well my lad I got news for you
Because of all of us
You’re the luckiest one around!"

He jumped over me and landed on my left side. He put a hoof over my shoulder and put his head next to mine. He put his other hoof out in front of himself and made a slow wave.

"Don’t you know you’re a force of nature
An unstoppable man of this world
Don’t you see that you are
The reason of our friendship
And that, my friend
Is something to be proud
Can’t you sense the feeling
Of all of those around you
That because of you
We are who we are."

He quickly picked me up and used his magic to toss me into the air, again.

"So ya think you got it bad
Just because of small misfortunes
Well my lad I got news for you
Because of all of us
You’re the luckiest one around!"

He caught me on his back and used his magic to set me down. He jumped beside me and cast a quick spell, making little lights of all the bronies appear in front of me.

"If it weren’t for you
Where would we be right now?
If it weren’t for you
Would we be still around?
If it weren’t for you
We would not be bound
By the ties we have made
Because of all of us
You’re the luckiest one around !"

He swung his hoof through the light figures of our friends and jumped in front of me.

"So ya think you got it bad
Just because of small misfortunes
Well my lad I got news for you
Because of all of us
You’re the luckiest one around!"

He put his hoof over me again and laughed as he continued.

"So ya think you got it bad
Just because of small misfortunes
Well my lad I got news for you
Because of all of us
You’re the luckiest one around!"

He got off of me and stood up. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

I nodded and smiled, "Whoa, that was a great song."

[Kinda sappy if you ask me]

[Dawn!]

[Nothing, I was just imitating you.>
{Will you two shut up for one minute?!}

[Yes mistress Lance.]

Frederic smiled proudly, "Thanks, that came right off the top of my head."

I nodded, impressed, "Now that's awesome."

[Lame!]

[What ever. Hey Lance, you forgetting something?]
{I don't think so. What am I forgetting?}
[Remember? Doctor? Appointment?]

"FUCK!" I screamed out.

Frederic jumped back, "What? What is it?"

I facehoofed, "I forgot that I was suppose to go to the doctor about my... problem."

Frederic furrowed his eyebrows, "When do you need to be there?"

I looked over to a clock, "Ten minutes ago!"

His horn glowed, "Don't worry, I'll get you there."

"Thanks." I was then engulfed in a bright light.

I appeared in the waiting room of the Canterlot Clinic.

I walked up to a window and asked a nurse if I could still make my appointment.

[Oh yeah, she's hot! Lance, make an appointment with her!"

{Shut the fuck up, both of you! I'm not going to fuck anyone!}
<[Please!]>

I jumped back on my hind legs, "I WILL NOT FUCK THOSE NURSES!"

Everypony in the room turned to me and gawked.

I came down to all fours and chuckled nervously, "Sorry folks, I'm not feeling to good today."

[Nice save.]

[I know! That is fucking funny bro!]
{Okay, I admit, that was pretty funny. Even if I got embarrassed.}

I sat down and read a little magazine. A boring one I might add.

[Ugh! This is boring!]
{Its a waiting room, what do you expect?}

[You would.]

The doors across the room opened and a unicorn in a white coat came out, "Girokon?"

[Your still using that name?]

I stood and walked towards the doctor. He nodded at me and led me down a few hallways till he stopped at a room, "Go inside and I'll be with you shortly."

I nodded and walked in. I sat on the small bed and sighed. Bored.

Break hit the side of my neck and made me look at him, "What?"

[Dude! They have those tongue things here!]
{So?}
[I want one! Dawn, help me with this.]

My body began to shake and I jumped to my hooves. I didn't jump to my hooves, they made me! They began to make me walk across the room and over to the small desk.

{Stop it! Both of you!}
[Awww yeah! Grab them all!]

My hooves shot out and grabbed the glass holding the sticks. (I don't know what they're called and too lazy to look it up.)

[Jackpot!]

The door opened and the doctor walked in, "What are you doing?"

I turned, holding the glass jar, "Ummm, well... I was... I'll just put this back.

[NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!]

I put the jar down and walked back to the bed.

He sighed and said under his breath, "I hate my job."

As I sat there, he looked at me, "So, as I read in your report, you are having problems with your groin. Am I correct?"

I nodded in response.

His horn glowed and... well my groin began to glow. "Hmmmm, heavy damage to each one. The right one is the worst though. You must have been hit pretty hard."

I groaned, "I was hit, very hard."

He sighed, "Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do."

[I say we sue him for molesting us.]
{Molesting us? But he hasn't even touched me.}

He walked over and wrote on a piece of paper, "Here, give this to the nurses up front. They'll give you some pain medication to help with any pain you have down there."

I jumped off the table and nodded, "Thanks, I guess."

He nodded and left the room.

[My precious!]

Oh shit...

My body jerked towards the table and picked up the jar. I then opened my saddlebag and emptied it. I sat it down and sighed, "I hate you two."

[No you don't. We can see your thoughts. You enjoy having us around.]

I chuckled and shook my head. I then walked out of the room, the slip of paper in my mouth. Time to get some pain medication.

[And get high!]

Cupcakes and evil Griffins, oh my!

Warning: This chapter will have one of the first fighting scenes in a while. Don't worry, its not going to be bloody or have any death. Its more like a Street Fighter type fight, no one dies, and no bloody scenes. You'll see. Tell me if I should never do this again.

Remember:
[Break]

{Myself}

Also, something new.
When Break talkes through Lance, its using bold. And, I will still be in first person, even as Break controls me.

Chapter 51

"Is this really a good idea?" Zorrow asked, unsure.

Peter Chuckled, "Oh yeah, best idea ever." He put the last item in the sack, "Best idea ever!"

_____________________________________________________________

"Stupid doctor! Couldn't even fix my freaking groin!" I mumbled to myself as I sat on a bench outside of Sugar Cube Corner.

[You mad bro?]
{Shut it Break!}

[Someones gay for the doc.]

{You two are just like me in every way.}
[We are you, remember?]

I chuckled to myself.

"What'ca laughing at Lance?" Said an over hyper voice behind me.

I turned and smiled, "Hey Pinkie."

[Pinkie Pie! Holy shit, that bitch be crazy!]

She was bouncing up and down, a large smile plastered on her face. "Are you doing anything today?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm planning on going home and relaxing."

[You should smoke some weed with Greg. That dude knows how to live!]

Pinkie Pie's smile widened, "Great! Can you help me with something?"

I shrugged, "Sure, what do you need help with?"

She reached behind her and pulled out a tray of cupcakes, "I made a whole bunch of cupcakes for a party. Can you eat one and tell me if it taste good?"

[CUPCAKES! FUCK YES!]

I chuckled, "Sure thing." I reached over and picked up the biggest one. I looked it over, my mouth watering. That thing looks good!

I bit into it and swallowed the chunk whole. That taste fucking awesome!

"So..." Pinkie Pie said while still bouncing.

I smiled, "Taste awesome!"

Suddenly, a feeling of dizziness washed over me. I began to feel light headed and tired.

[Oh my God!]

I felt something small fall on my shoulder.

[Dawn! Aww shit.]

Break fell over on my other shoulder.

"Pinkie... What did you..."

She smiled crazily, "Nighty night Lance."

I blacked out while I was still standing.

2 hours later

I awoke with a start. I tried to look around, but I noticed two things when I tried. First, it was extremely dark. Second, my head was being held in place by what felt like straps.

When I tried to move the rest of my body, I noticed that ever part of my body was strapped down. I was on my back, against a wooden platform like thing, my legs spread out.

I began to panic and hyperventilate at the same time.

[Dude, what the fuck is going on!]

Suddenly, a very dim light came on. It wasn't a lot of light, but enough to make out a few details.

What I saw made me scream.

On the wall was a banner, and written on it in what looked to be red was, 'Life is a party'.

[Life is a party?!]

{This can't be happening!}
[I knew that cupcake was evil!]

"Yay! Your awake! We can finally begin!" Said an excited voice.

I began to strain against the straps, trying to break free.

Pinkie Pie walked into my view a crazy smile on her face.

Holy fucking shit! She's wearing those clothes made of skin and cutie marks! She even has the wings and the unicorn horn necklace! Get me the fuck out of here!

She giggled, "Trying to escape is useless."

I began to freak out, big time! I began thrashing around in my restraints, doing everything I can to break free.

After a few minutes of non-stop struggling, I gave up. It was pointless.

Pinkie Pie smiled, "This is going to be so much fun!"

[Lance, please let me take control over your voice for a second.]
{Okay, uhhh, do your thing I guess.}

I felt a slight shift in my mind and I suddenly began to speak, with out me wanting to, "PINKIE PIE! YOU FUCKING SICK BITCH! LET ME GO! NOW!" That voice, it sounds so... creepy.

{That was interesting...}
[I hope that scared her. I messed with your voice a little.]

Pinkie Pie looked shocked, but then went back to smiling, "That was weird. Anyway, I can't let you go, your number came up."

[...Fuck...]

"Pinkie, please don't do this!" I cried out.

She rolled her eyes and picked up a knife, "I like your cutie mark. It'll make a nice addition to my dress."

She stepped forward and went to my flank, where I couldn't see her.

{Oh my God! What is she doing?!}

I felt something fall on my shoulder.

[Damn it Dawn, stop fainting. It can't be that bad.... OH MY FUCK! THAT'S A BIG KNIFE!]
{What! What is she doing now?!}
[I'm not looking back man! I may be hardcore, but I'm not that hardcore!]

A sudden, sharp and shearing pain erupted on the right side of my flank. I screamed out in agony.

When she was done with that side, she moved to the next. The same amount of pain, more screams of agony.

She jumped in front of me and held up my two cutie marks, "Aren't they cool!"

[Lance! You have to give me control of your body!]
{CONSIDER IT YOURS!}

A fluid like sensation took over my body, as I felt Break take control. My muscles tensed up beyond their normal limit, my strength was increased.

[RAGE MODE!]

My body began straining against the bonds, stretching them. The boards behind me began to bend, and the straps were starting to give.

Pinkie Pie looked scared for her life, "Your eyes.... They're black!"

Break pushed my body to the limit.

Suddenly, my body slumped and went weak. I could feel my body slowly returning to normal.

[Fuck! Well, I tried at least.]
{Thanks Break. Even if you didn't get us out, you still showed determination.}

Pinkie Pie exhaled and smiled, "I like those eyes, those are coming out next!"

{Fuck you Break...}
[Sorry...]

She pushed the knife closer to my face.

A foot away.

Eight inches away.

Half a foot away.

Four inches away.

Two inches away.

One inch away.

"SURPRISE! We got ya Lance!" Two very familiar voices yelled out.

The lights came on and revealed that the room wasn't really what it seemed. The banner was hoof painted, the guts and gore was... paper? Wow they looked real in the dark. And in the light, I could see that Pinkie Pie's dress was just fabric and paper.

"What the fuck is going on here!" I screamed out.

Peter walked into view, a smirk on his face, "And that's for leaving us behind."

Zorrow walked into view next, "Yeah, you could have helped us a little more you know. Those mare's where crazy!"

[Look who woke up, the weenie! You missed it, I went all rage mode. Pure awesomeness.]

I glared at them the best I could, my head still strapped to the wooden platform. "Assholes! You cut my fucking cutie mark off!"

Peter shook his hoof out in front of him, "Nope." He picked up my cutie marks, "Those are fabric."

I became confused, "Then how did you..."

Zorrow spoke up, "Magic. We made you feel what we wanted you to feel. You didn't even get cut, your mind just though it was." He looked at Peter and Pinkie Pie, "Best prank ever?"

They both nodded, "Best prank ever."

My eye twitched, "I'm going to beat the shit out you two!"

They laughed, "Yeah, but your strapped down."

{Break, if you would be so kind.}
[Oh hell yeah, it would be my pleasure.]

I felt Break take control of my body again.

Peter and Zorrow looked at me in shock and horror, "What the..."

I felt myself smile and my body tensed up. The weakened restraints couldn't hold me back as Break pushed me past the limit. They broke and I landed on the ground.

{Don't kill them.}
[Don't worry Lance.]

I ran forward and picked both up by the neck.

Zorrow looked at me, "Your not Lance.. Who are you?"

I smiled, "I am Break, Lance's badass conscience. You can thank Greg for this."

Peter looked at me strangely, "What? Then the prank Greg played didn't make him into two ponies? Oh shit..."

"Oh shit is right!" I said in a playful voice.

{Okay Break, give me back control. Their our friends, we don't want to hurt them.}
[Aww, come on. Just a little?]

[Ugh, fine.]

I dropped both of them, "Your lucky. Lance talked me out of it."

I felt Break releasing control and returning it to me.

I looked at them, now back to normal, and smiled, "Sorry about that. Break is kinda... Well, I can't explain it yet."

Zorrow stood up first, "What the fuck man?"

I shrugged, "I'll explain everything at my house. I want everyone to hear me. Peter, can you get Drax please."

He stood there for a second before responding, "Uhhh, sure."

I smiled, "Thanks, meet us at my house."

Zorrow looked worried, "Don't let him out again, okay?"

I smirked, "No promises."

Canterlot, night time, a mile from Lance's house

"So, those pathetic ponies were right. He is a princes now." Richard said to himself, anger and hate filled his voice.

Richard was a human, but here, he is a Griffin. He is also the father of Frederic, something he is not proud of. His son was weak and pathetic. He was a disgrace to the family name and the mob.

Back on earth, Richard was a mob boss, taking control after the downfall of the Rizzuto clan. He took control of downtown Montréal with ease. He was on top of the world, but wanted more. So, he forced his only son, Frederic, to join the family business. Frederic hated it and hated him. But he didn't care, as long he got what he wanted. Nothing could bring him down.

Things went bad though, not long after Frederic was forced into the mob. Richard had wanted to show the city who was in charge. A plan was set up, to kill the political leaders of the country. Frederic refused instantly, as this plan included killing many innocent people.

Richard became outraged when Frederic threaten to go to the police about it. Richard had his men beat Frederic to an inch of his life, he then gave him an ultimatum: Join and embrace the family, or go against it. Frederic chose to go against it, thus, forcing Richard to kill him. One bullet to the head, that's all it took.

After the rapture however, Richard was faced with a dire choice. As he prepared to chose where to go, a though popped into his mind. 'If I get to chose where I go, then that means Frederic got a choice.' He then asked God to send him to where his son was. Why he allowed him, he does not know. But he had unfinished business to attend to.

He looked at him self again, still loving his body. A Griffin, pure black with blood red highlights. His talons were sharp enough to cut through wood, easily.

He smirked, he knew what he was going to do first to get back at Frederic. Kill his most dearest friends. He knows where they live, he's been watching them for the past month. Just waiting, counting down the minutes till his plan could be put into action.

He laughed, a laugh so evil, it rivaled the most fearsome creatures, "I'ma coming for ya boy!" He yelled as he took to the air.

Lance's house.

"That is awesome!" Greg said as he smoked his joint.

I laughed, "Damn right its awesome."

We was at my house; David, Peter, Greg, Zorrow, Seth, Drax, and me. I had told everyone to come here, since I didn't want to explain this over and over again. I had told them all about Break and Dawn. At first they didn't believe me (Except Peter and Zorrow, they saw it first hand.) But, after I let Break and Dawn take control, they believed me.

I also learned something. Break told me that when he takes control of my body, he goes into what he calls 'Rage mode'. While he's in this state, he pulls all the pain and anger from my memory and uses it as fuel. Pretty fucking awesome if you ask me.

Drax furrowed an eyebrow, "So, your all not from this world?" He still couldn't believe we was from another universe.

David chuckled, "Like we said before, no. Our world ended, so we all chose to come here."

Drax still looked confused, "I still don't fully understand this."

Greg began to laugh crazily, "Damn! I must be high as fuck!"

I looked over at him, "Why?"

He pointed to the window, "Because man, I can see this big ass bird about to slam into your window."

Big ass bird? What the fuck is he... I looked at the window, my eyes widened. A Griffin, a freaking Griffin! Was flying straight at my window.

Peter saw it too, "What the fu..."

The window, along with most of the wall, was blown inward as the large black Griffin landed inside my house.

I became pissed at what just happened, "You fucking bitch!" I took a few steps closer to him, "You just blew a fucking hole in my fucking house!"

He looked down and smiled. He swiped his paw side ways, sending me flying into a wall. I slammed into it and slumped to the ground, dazed.

Everyone jumped up and glared at the Griffin, "What the hell is your problem?!"

He laughed again as he jumped forward with such speed, no one saw him move. He grabbed David by the neck and laughed, a creepy happy laugh.

[Get up lance!]

I began to stand, "Hey! Leave my friends alone!"

He turned to me and grinned. He then throw David straight at me. The force from the throw sent David and I into the wall again, this time, embedding both of us into it.

Drax charged at the Griffin as it had its back to him. Drax slammed into it, sending both of them into a wall. Drax pulled him down to face level and screamed, "YOU DO NOT HURT MY NEW FRIENDS! YOU WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME FIRST!"

The Griffin, who hasn't even said a word, smirked and punched Drax in the gut.

Drax grabbed his stomach and fell to the ground.

The Griffin looked at him, amused. He then kicked him across the room.

[Our friends are getting hurt man!]
{I can't! I can't even move anymore!}

Greg's horn glowed and he pushed the Griffin against a wall, "You son of a whore! I'm going to mess you up for doing that!"

The Griffin looked unimpressed as it raised its clawed hand and pointed it to the ceiling.

The ceiling began to turn red, a bright read. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion as the entire top floor was blown away.

Greg's eye twisted, "My weed. MY MOTHER FUCKING WEED!" He began to throw the Griffin around, up and down, side to side. Trying to hurt, or kill him.

The Griffin yawned and broke free of Greg's magic. He pointed his talon at Greg and smiled.

Greg shot backwards, into the wall. There was a sickening crack as he made contact.

[Lance, don't focus on the fight! Focus on me and Dawn. Try and give us both control of your body.]

[Its the only way Lance can fight that thing.]
{What are you two talking about?}
[If you can give us both control of your body, at the same time, we can give you an additive boost.]
{Okay, I'll try.}

I began to focus on them. Putting all my thoughts on them.

Peter's body flew past, distracting me.

Fuck! Focus Lance!

I forced my self to focus, even though I could hear the fight getting rougher.

Suddenly, I felt my mind come together in perfect balance. I slipped away from myself, I was no longer in control of my body.

My body was admitting a strange red glow, and my mane and tail was smoking, and had lighting going through them. My hooves where red hot, with smoke coming off them. This was awesome!

[Yes! We did it!]

I began to move forward, slowly pushing David out of the small hole in the wall. Once out, I turned to the Griffin, now holding Seth's unconscious body.

The anger and hatred grew inside of me. I stood up on my hind legs and screamed out, "BREAKING DAWN!"

{Cool name.}
[Thanks, we talked about it for a while. Now, time to get serious!]

I shot forward, faster than I though possible, and slammed into the Griffin. When I made contact, I began slamming my hooves into him, beating every inch of flesh I could. Leaving hoof sized burns all over him.

I jumped up and reared up. I felt electricity going into my hooves. I smiled and brought them down hard.

The Griffin began to shake and jump while the electricity shot through his body.

I stepped back and smiled smugly, "Hurt my friends will you! You see what happens when you mess with us!"

The Griffin began to laugh, low at first, but it raised to a full on laugh as he sat up.

I stepped back in horror, "That's impossible! You shouldn't be able to move!"

The Griffin stopped laughing and looked at me, "My turn." He shot forward, quickly grabbing me by the neck. "You should have stayed in your hole!" He slammed me into the ground, hard.

I coughed as the air was knocked out of me. As I struggled to breath, he slammed his head into mine.

[We're in Breaking Dawn form! He shouldn't even be able to move after all that!]

The Griffin grabbed me by my mane, the electricity from it shooting into his hand. But he didn't seem to care as he throw me into the air.

I was to dazed to spread my wings, or even to think straight.

Something grabbed me, turned my body till my head was facing downwards. Something latched onto me, and I felt my self began to fall.

I slammed into the ground, head first.

[That fucker just used a pile driver on us!]

I felt my body begin to change back to normal.

[Lance, you have to do something!]

I shakily tried to stand to my feet.

The Griffin laughed again, "Your a persistent fucker aren't ya? No matter, you'll be dead in a second." He raised his talon up to point at me.

This is it, I'm screwed!

[Move Lance!]
{I can't! I can barely hold myself up!}

Suddenly, something slammed into me, knocking me out of the way. Seconds later, the wall behind where I was standing blew outward in a spray of wood and stone.

Peter shakily stood up and stood over me, "You will not hurt him anymore!"

"We'll see." The Griffin said with no emotion.

He kicked Peter off of me, sending him into the wall, where he slumped down next to Greg.

He looked back down at me, "So much trouble, and your not my main target."

A sudden bright flash caught his attention.

"YOU!" Said an extremely angry voice, a voice I knew.

The Griffin smiled, "Frederic, son, its good to see you."

SON! This Griffin is Frederic's father?! The one that killed him!

"YOU'VE HURT MY FRIENDS! YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME! NOT THEM!" Frederic screamed in his loudest and maddest voice he could.

I could swear my ear drums where bleeding from the force of his voice.

"Frederic Frederic, Frederic. That's no way to talk to your dear old dad." Frederic's dad said smugly.

"YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FATHER! YOU ARE MY ENEMY!" Frederic said, preparing to charge.

His dad stepped over me, "Bring it son, lets see if you've grown a pair."

Through the haze of my vision, I could see the weakest part on him. I smirked.

{Break! Quickly, help me muster up some straight!}
[You got it! One rage filled punch coming up!]

As I felt the strength in my right hoof grow, I smirked, "Yo, big ugly! Feel the pain!" I then slammed my hoof into the weakest part of a man. His groin.

He yelped in pain and kicked me out from under him, "I'll deal with you later."

"NO! YOU WILL ONLY DEAL WITH ME!" Frederic screamed as he slammed into his father. I couldn't see straight, but I could see them exchanging blows, each hitting each other after the other. I couldn't keep track of them.

Suddenly, with out warning, Frederic's dad grabbed Frederic's horn and laughed, "Weak!" He then broke it off, causing Frederic to scream in agony. Frederic stumbled back as his father advanced on him, "Just like last time old pal." His dad slashed a large gash across his chest.

Frederic's eyes widened and he looked down in shock.

"I'll be seeing you in hell son." His father said as he slashed at Frederic, dealing the death blow.

Frederic slumped against the wall, lifeless.

I felt my heart break at the sight of my best friend being killed, right in front of me!

[NOOOOO!]

Break and Dawn both fell down crying on my shoulders.

Tears began to fall off my face.

His father turned to me and smiled, "Well, now that that's out of the way, its your turn."

My lip trembled and my voice was cracked, "You... bastard!"

He smiled and advanced on me.

When he was within a few feet of me, the entire house began to shake... Wait, all of Equestria began to shake!

The darkest and brightest light flashed behind Frederic's dad.

I looked past him and gasped.

Frederic was standing straight up, furious rage filled eyes glaring at his dad. But something was different.

Frederic was no longer brown, but a light black. His eyes were no longer normal, they was the eyes of a demon, and a deep red. His mane and tail was both metallic and sharp. His horn had grown back. The clothes he wore was also the same color as his coat. I could also see a strange pulsing light emitting off of him. It looked... Evil.

His dad turned to face him, "Frederic..."

[Holy shit! Frederic looks ready to kill!]

Frederic began to yell at the top of his lungs, in a voice that sounded so possessed and enraged, I flinched at every word.

"My anger fuels my motives
My hate is focused onto a single being
My resolve is absolute
My goal is clear:
To protect
To avenge
To purge
I am the son of darkness itself
I am the blade of justice
I AM DARKSTEEL EDGE
THE SHIELD AND BLADE OF EQUESTRIA!"

Darksteel Edge? Its like he's possessed by something, like Luna was. But, he seemed focused.

His dad eyed him up and down, "Darksteel Edge? Really now? You was always a..."

"SHUT UP YOU WORTHLESS FOAL!"

Frederic, or Darksteel Edge, ran towards his father, the fires of rage in his eyes.

This is Lance when Break is in control.

Note: I could not do the tense muscles.

Also, here is Frederic. In Darksteel Edge form

Father and son, fight to the death!

I will be calling Frederic Darksteel Edge while hes in that form. Don't get confussed.

Chapter 52

Darksteel Edge slammed into his father, knocking both of them to the ground. He sat up on his father's chest and smiled down at him, an corrupted smile, "Well, DAD, how does it feel to be out matched?"

His father laughed, "Out matched? By you? That's rich!"

Darksteel just smiled down at him and he slammed both of his hooves into his father's face. He then began to repeatedly punch his father, not stopping for anything.

He stopped his onslaught of hooves and chuckled. He grabbed his father's head and throw him out from under him, sending his father through one of the walls and into the kitchen.

[Fuck man! Frederic is badass!]

[I wanna be him!]

Darksteel used his magic to pull his father back to him. When his father came into view, he slammed him against the ground, leaving a small crater. He then lifted him back up and slammed him into the wall.

His father slammed into the wall, becoming embedded into it.

Darksteel then began to drag him along the wall, destroying the wall and leaving a straight line in it where he had dragged his father.

Darksteel pulled his father from the wall and pulled him to him, where he slammed into Darksteel's out reached hoof. He then dropped his hold on his father and let him fall to the ground.

[Oh man, that was pure awesomeness! Frederic just kicked his dads ass!]

Darksteel smiled victoriously, "So, you done now old man!"

A low grumbling could be heard, it slowly turned into a furious laugh, "Is that all you got? Really? This is going to be to easy."

Darksteel punched him in the face again, but it didn't do anything. His father chuckled and grabbed his hoof, "Nice try son."

His father pulled him into him, wrapped his talons around him and flew into the sky.

I looked up, but could barely see them. I could see Darksteel kicking and punching his father, but his father was doing more damage to him.

Suddenly, his father slammed into him, sending Darksteel straight towards my house, and me.

[Move Lance!]
{I can't, remember! You two used all my strength!}

My body rolled to the side, seconds before Darksteel slammed into the ground where I had been laying.

{That was close.}
[No shit!]

Darksteel stood and looked up, "Cheap shot dad!" He then looked down at me, a look that scared the crap out of me, "Lance, can you still fight?"

I let out the breath I was holding, I though he was going to turn on my next, "Uhhh, no. I can't even move anymore."

He leaned down and his horn began to glow, "I can fix that." He touched my forehead with his horn, and I instantly felt a hot sensation run through my body.

I jumped up and yelled, "That's fucking HOT!" What ever he did, it made my blood boil or something.

Darksteel looked at me, "Now, can you help me fight my father?"

{Can I?}
[You better fucking believe it!]
<You can do it Lance!.
{Can you two help?}
[I was hoping you would ask, come on Dawn.]

I felt them take control of my body again, this time thought, I felt something else surging through me. Vengeance.

{You two must be pissed.}
[We are! He hurt our friends and almost killed Frederic!]

The transformation was now complete, and I slammed my hoof down on the ground, causing the remaining house to shake, "RAGING BREAKING DAWN!"

Darksteel nodded, "Good, lets kick my fathers ass!"

I (Break and Dawn) smiled, "Lets!"

Darksteel and I flew straight up. Darksteel slammed into his father first, followed by me.

We began to repeatedly punch and kick him. But he kept shrugging them off as if our hits where light feather touches.

His talon suddenly shot out and grabbed me by the face. His other grabbed Darksteel by the neck. He pulled us in close and hissed, "I will end both of you!" He slammed us together and threw us towards the ground.

This time however, Darksteel caught himself and spread his wings. I followed suit and opened my wings.

He looked at me, "He's strong, too strong."

I nodded, out of breath almost, "I know, we need to..."

Something slammed into me, holding my face.

"Lance!" Darksteel screamed as he followed.

His father laughed and slammed me into the ground head first. He then slammed his hooves down on my chest, causing two cracking sounds to be heard.

A black aura encased him and threw him off of me.

Darksteel landed next to me and pulled me to my feet, "Can you still fight?"

I ignored the pain in my head and chest (Thanks to Break and Dawn) and nodded, "Oh yeah! Lets fuck him up!"

I shot forward, straight towards his father as he began to stand. I slammed into him.

I twisted around and bucked him in the gut.

While I was turned around, he grabbed my mane and pulled me into him. He twisted me around to face him and smirked, "Really now?"

I smiled and slammed my head into his.

[Headbutt!]

He dropped me, momentarily dazed. Darksteel took his opportunity and picked his father up with his magic. He then cast a spell on him that caused his whole body to turn bright red. Smoke was rising from his body, and the smell of burning meat could be smelt.

His father just laughed, broke free of Darksteel's magic hold and shrugged the spell off.

[What the fuck! He's acting like it didn't even hurt him.]
{This isn't good guys! Do something!}

I pulled my hoof back and slammed it into his gut, knocking the air out of him.

He leaned down and put his mouth next to my ear, "Nice one." He then performed a uppercut on me and sent me flying upwards.

When I hit the ground, I began to stand. I looked over to see that Darksteel and his father where now locked in a vicious exchange of hoof and talon.

Darksteel slammed his hind leg down on his father's foot, causing it to crack.

His father rolled his eyes, "I'm impressed... Not!" He slashed his talon across Darksteel's face, leaving three long cuts.

In his moment of pain, his father back handed him into a wall.

[Holy shit! He just bitch slapped Frederic!]

His father turned to me, "Your next you fucking horse!"

"Richard!" Screamed an enraged Darksteel.

His father, Richard, turned, "What, no more dad?"

Darksteel glared, "You are no longer my father!"

Richard chuckled, "I'll always be your father. And I'm no proud of it either."

Darksteel charged forward, only to be backhanded into a wall, and through it. He landed on the street outside.

Richard turned to me, "Lets get rid of the trash, shall we?"

He walked up to me and kicked me in the side.

I suddenly jumped up and slammed my hoof into his chin.

[Uppercut bitch!]

His head snapped back and he reared up.

I twisted and bucked him as hard as I could, sending him through the wall, through the stairs, and into the other room.

{Damn! I didn't know I had that much straight!}
[Its the power of Raging Breaking Dawn!]

The wall in front of me exploded outward, hitting me with debris.

I was blown back and through the wall. Slamming into the house on the other side... my moms house!

I smashed through the wall and into a room. I sat up, holding my head. I looked around, to see a pissed off mom, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU JUST DESTROYED OUR ROOM!"

Before I could respond, Richard blew through the same wall and grabbed my back hoof.

He pulled hard and threw me out of the house and I slammed into mine. I blew through the remaining of the wall and slammed into the destroyed stairs.

Come on! This is insane!

[I know...]

Richard blew through the wall in front of me and slammed his fist into my gut. All the air was knocked out of me and I fell over. I felt my body returning to normal.

[We're going to die!]

I curled up into a ball.

As Richard began to lower his talon, something slammed into him.

I looked over to see something I hadn't expected. Captain Barehoof!

He held down Richard and sneered, "Don't you dare hurt Lance!"

Richard yawned, "I do what I want." He then twist, knocking the Captain off of him and laughed, "Oh, this is fun!" He grabbed the Captain's leg and threw him through the front door.

Shit...

He looked back at me, "Why are you so hard to kill?!"

I did my best brave laugh, which sounded like a gasp, "I'm that fucking annoying."

"RICHARD!" Screamed Darksteel as he stepped into the doorway.

Richard smiled, "Oh, your still here? Come at me!"

Darksteel charged towards Richard, who just stood there.

When Darksteel neared, Richard quickly reached down and grabbed my leg.

FUCK!

He slammed me into Darksteel, sending both of us through the wall.

Darksteel stood and glared at Richard, "You bastard!"

He smiled, "And proud to be one!"

As he took a step forward, a bright light filled the room.

What now!

When I looked back, I saw Princess Luna standing in front of Richard. Wait.... PRINCES LUNA! What is she doing here?!

She stood up straight and yelled in her Royal Canterlot voice, "YOU DO NOT HURT MY FRIENDS! OR MY BELOVED HUSBAND!" She encased him in a powerful aura of magic, "YOU WILL PAY FOR ALL OF THIS!" She slammed him into the ground, somehow creating a small crater.

She stepped over the hole and her horn glowed. Then, the entire hole blew skyward, I mean literally! The entire hole that Richard was in blown straight up into the sky!

Luna turned to Darksteel, "Frederic?"

He smiled, "Its me." He then became serious, "Luna, you must leave! Its dangerous here!"

She shook her head stubbornly, "NO! I'm not leaving you here alone."

He pointed at me, who was crumbled up on the ground, useless, "I'm not alone! I have Lance here to help."

She looked at me and shook his head, "Frederic, he can't fight anymore. Look at him, he can't even stand up."

Darksteel looked at me and noticed how bad I was hurt, "I'm sorry Lance."

I waved him off, "Its okay, I mean, its not like my day can get any worst."

Suddenly, something heavy landed on me, crushing me into the ground.

[You just had to say it!]
{Sorry...}

"LANCE!" I heard Luna scream.

Richard looked down at me and laughed, "Such a pest!"

His body was yet again encased in a dark aura. This time, he chuckled, "Same trick won't work twice." He broke free of it and jumped forward. He back handed her across the face, sending her out onto the street.

"Bitch." Richard said as he turned to Darksteel.

Before he could do anything else, the entire house began to shake, actually, I'm pretty sure all of Equestria was shaking!

Seconds later, his body emitted a huge shock wave outward. Completely blowing the rest of the house away, plus a few around it.

When I looked at Darksteel, my mouth hung open. He was fucking glowing! His body was pulsing with pure hatred and rage.

He pointed at Richard, "YOU DO NOT TOUCH MY WIFE! I WILL END YOU!"

Before Richard could make a smug comment, Darksteel pulled him towards him and began to beat the crap out of him with his hooves.

He threw him up in the air, flew up and grabbed him, and flew straight into the sky.

They flew up till I couldn't see them anymore.

[What is he doing?]

I went to zoom in with my goggles, but when I turned the knob, I noticed that the lens had been smashed.

THAT FUCKING BASTARD! He broke my goggles!

I looked up and after a few seconds, I saw Darksteel flying downwards, Richard held close to him. What is he doing?

He began picking up speed. Going faster and faster till... He broke the sound barrier. A sonic wave of darkness, that was somehow bright, filled with hate and anger expanded across the sky.

[Holy shit! He just performed a sonic boom!]

Suddenly, he performed a second sonic boom, picking up more speed.

When he neared the ground, he threw his father forward and leaned upward, shooting into the sky.

Richard hit the ground, sending a massive shock wave outward that made me slide across the ground a little.

{Come on you two! Get me moving, I have to see what happens!}
[We'll try Lance.]

As I stood to my feet, I saw Darksteel fly down to where he had thrown his father.

I unfolded my wings and began slowly flying towards them. When I neared the crater, I saw Darksteel holding Richard up in front of him, screaming at him, "...YOU FOR ALL THIS! YOU HURT ALL MY FRIENDS! MY WIFE! AND YOU CAUSED ME TO DESTROY MOST OF CANTERLOT! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!"

His father was barely able to talk, "What you gonna do? Kill me? I welcome death right now!"

Darksteel smiled, "Nope, I'm doing the best thing. I'm banishing you to the center of the earth, and imprisoned you in a cell of indestructible darksteel!"

Richard's eyes went wide, "You wouldn't!"

Darksteel smirked, "I would." His horn began to glow darkly, the tip becoming brighter and brighter. He touched it to Richard's head and laughed, "Bye my dear old father!"

Richard screamed before completely disappearing, banished to live forever in a small cell. That sucks.

Darksteel collapsed to the ground. He changed back to his normal from in a flash of bright light.

I crawled down into the crater and collapsed next to him, "You okay?"

He looked at me and smiled weakly, "Yes. Are you?"

I chuckled, which hurt my chest, "Oh yeah, I'm great."

{They're fine Dawn, don't worry.}

Frederic smiled, "You did good today Lance."

I grinned, "I know, I was the best target dummy ever."

We both began to laugh, only to be interrupted by a pissed and concerned voice, "LANCE GREENFIELD! Look at what you've done! You've completely destroyed your house and and part of mine!"

[Pissed of mom is pissed off.]

I slowly stood and flew up and looked at my house.

Well, there was no more 'my house'. There was nothing but rubble and debris where it use to stand. Shit!

Frederic limped up beside me, "Come on you two, we need to find everyone and make sure they're okay."

Four hours later, Royal throne room

Princess Celestia looked down at me from her throne, "I've heard you can talk to your conscience's, am I correct?"

I nodded up at her, "Yes Princess."

She just looked at me, "I also heard that they can control your body if you wanted them too, am I correct again?"

I looked down, "Yes Princess.

[What is she going to do?!]
< Banishment!>

She chuckled, "I'm not going to banish Lance Dawn."

My head snapped up, "You can hear him?!"

She smiled, "They are in your head, so you think about what they say. So yes, I can hear them."

I stood up, more confident now, "So, what did you need?"

She continued to smile, "Do you remember a pony by the name, Razor Graze?"

I smiled. Of course I remember him, me and the others was sent to his dimension a month ago. (Read Killjoy's story for this. Read the crossover chapter.) It was pretty fun, and he was a cool kinda guy. "I remember him. Why do you ask?"

She pulled out a scroll, "I think he can help you and your conscience's be able to work together better. And also how to control it better. Sound good to you?"

I nodded, "So your going to bring him here, to this dimension?"

She nodded, "I sure am. After I send this letter, he should arrive shortly after."

I smiled to myself. This was going to be fun!

Raging Breaking Dawn Lance!

Crossover of consciences : KillJoy and Breaking Dawn

Crossover of consciences : KillJoy and Breaking Dawn

Crossover with 'Three of Me Vs School Society' by Killjoy.

Graze
[My conscience Kill writes in the brackets and bolded]

< My conscience Joy writes in these and Italics>

{ I respond in these}

Lance

[ My conscience Break writes in these bracket and bolded]
< My consciences Dawn writes in these and italics >
{ I respond in these }

Chapter 53: Crossover of consciences : KillJoy and Breaking Dawn

Graze's POV

It was now morning and I had packed all my bags with clothes, supplies and some school books to study while in PonyVille. I looked at Ditzy who was a bit saddened to see me go, I hugged her and kissed her on the lips," Don't worry Ditzy, I will be fine and safe.... It's only two days."

" I'm going to miss you Graze, it will be awfully quiet in here without you," Ditzy replied.

" I will think of you everyday and hour but I really have to go, the sun is about to rise and the others will be curious if they see me leave," I said.

" Can I at least walk you out?" Ditzy offered.

" I won't rather anypony else."

I opened the door and allowed Ditzy to go first but to my surprise, there were a whole lot of ponies at my front door: Shot, Breeze, Ice, Vine, Light, Dark, Charge, Cross and Legit.

[ Well fuck, so much for stealth]
< Psht, I know right, not even at five in the morning >

" Graze! Why didn't you tell us anything!" Vine exclaimed.

" Yeah buddy, at least a good bye before you go," Dark said.

" Who told you all?" I asked.

Legit walked up and said," Me, I thought your friends should have known if you were leaving forever, by the way, you shouldn't read letters outloud."

I facehoofed," WELL! If you are going to eavesdrop, do it correctly, I'm only going to be gone for two days."

" Oh.....right," Legit said sheepishly.

" Well why are you going?" Ice asked.

" Yeah, what does the princess need from you?" Breeze asked curiously.

" Wow fillies and gentlecolts, I'm sure the princess has to deal with a very important matter only Graze can do, so calm down," Light said.

" And I do! Somepony named Girokon, a pony I went against in a hoofball match with Breeze, you remember him right?"

Breeze nodded," Yeah, him and five other ponies, can't remember their names though.... HA! We knocked out a teacher with a giant paper ball."

" WAIT! THAT WAS THE TWO OF YOU?! SHIT! I REMEMBER SOME PONY TACKLING AN ALICORN!! Don't tell me that was you Graze," Shot said amazed.

I chuckled at the memory," Yeah it was ahahaha, that guy was freaking Light's size .....Also, apparently some magical mishap caused him to have two consciences just like me but he is a bit inexperienced.... She wants me to teach him."

" Ahhh yes, the student becomes a teacher, please tell me more when you come back Graze, I hate to admit it but... I am going to miss you as well," Charge said.

" Where are you going anyways?" Shot asked.

"Ponyville."

" Ha, Graze, I know you have the tendency to get injured and cause mass confusion wherever you go but take care, I won't be there to fix any broken bones, just be safe," Cross said looking out for the best of me.

Vine was extremely quiet and had an emotionless expression," Vine? Are you okay?"

"....It's fine... I'm just going to miss you that's all..." She admitted with a bit of choke in her voice," Come back safe Graze, I've seen what you can do and what Kill can do... I'm just looking out for you that is all."

I looked at Ditzy who then encouraged me to do what I did best with a motion of her hooves.

I walked up to Vine and looked at her," I promise I will be safe and in perfect health when I come back.... I know you a bit more than anypony here, you can show some emotion in front of us.... it's only natural."

I then hugged the only mare of our group telling her it was going to be okay," Feeling better?"

She nodded and smiled," Well, looks like its time for me to go," I said not wanting to waste anymore time.

I looked at Ditzy one last time for what may be the next two days.

< Awww screw it bro, she is your mare>
[ Yeah, just plant one big ol smooch on her ]

I grabbed Ditzy pulling her into one kiss in front of everypony there.

There were a few giggles and Aww's.

I then released my kiss from Ditzy, placed the scroll on the floor and opened it.

" See ya soon guys! Peace for now!"

Everypony waved their silent goodbyes.

I looked at the scroll and stomped on it, usually, it would be a green flame which would teleport the scrolls but for me, I used some black flames.

[ What? Gotta leave with a bang you know?]

Everypony stood there silent as I was now gone except for Legit," ...... OH FUCK!"

" What's wrong?" Ice asked.

" I should have asked for a souvenir."

I was teleported in the centre of PonyVille by a fountain where ponies would gather and relax.

I scanned my environment at the peaceful scenery as it was still morning no pony to be seen except for a few gathering their supplies to sell.

Some ponies looked different and others were strangely familiar, especially a certain Stetson hat wearing pony.

[ Isn't that AppleJack?]
< Nah, can't be! She is in school remember?>

I trotted over to her stand," Yo AppleJack!"

The mare responded to her name and looked at me," Why ah've never seen you here before, how do ya know muh name?"

" Don't you remember me, it's me Graze, you know, Razor Graze!"

" Who now? You don't even look like you're from here, you're wearing those fancy pantsy clothes.... Wait Ah get it! You must be one of Girokon's friends."

{ How does she not know me? And why is she here?}
[ Beats the fuck out of me]

I looked at her quizically," Uhmmmm Yeah, where can I find him?"

" Ah, he lives way in Canterlot!"

[ THEN WHY THE BUCK WAS I TELEPORTED IN PONYVILLE!?]

" Uhm, thanks AJ, see ya around I guess," I said awkwardly preparing for flight.

< Wow, the awkward tension was sooooooo tight, you could fuck it>

I flew from PonyVille to Canterlot in only few minutes, scoping the city from above when something caught my eye, two leveled houses and a strange looking Pegasus standing next to it.

Curiosity had gotten the better of me as I flew down to check what happened.

Lance's POV

I kicked a pick of rubble and sighed, "My fucking house is fucking destroyed!"

[Hey man, could be worst.]
{How could this be worst!}
[Well, you could have got your fucking head ripped off!]
{True...}

[Love ya Dawn... No homo.]

I looked over to the second house, my moms, which had a large hole in the side. When she and the Captain got back, they are going to kill me!

"YO, Girokon, that you?" Said a voice that I barely remember.

I turned around to see a very familiar pony, "Hey Graze. I see you found me."

He landed a few feet away from me and began to closely examine me.

[Oh fuck! He's looking straight at me!]

Graze then smiled, "Cool, you do have two consciences, like me. What's their names?"

I tilted my head over to Break, "This here is Break." I then tilted my head to Dawn, "And he is Dawn." I looked at his shoulders and my mouth hung open, "Wait! I can see yours!"

He laughed, "Of course you can, if you can see yours and hear them, then you can see and hear mine."

"Their names?" I asked, still looking at the two mini-Graze's.

He pointed to the one on his right shoulder, "This badass is Kill." He pointed to the other one, "He's Joy."

Said Joy.
[Sweet! Yo Break, whats up?] Said Kill.

Break looked dumbfounded for a second before smirking.

[Its been good.] Said Break.
Said Dawn.

Graze laughed, "I see our consciences are getting along."

I nodded, "Sure looks that way."

[Lance, walk over to Graze, I want to tell Kill something.] Said Break.
{Alright.}

I walked over to Graze. When I neared him, Break ran across the air, I didn't know they could do that, and ran up to Kill. He whispered something in his ear and they both snickered.

Break ran back to my shoulder and smirked.

{What did you tell him?}

Break nodded to Kill and they both laughed.

Suddenly, my right hoof came up, followed by Grazes left hoof.

Graze sighed, "Oh shit."

I cocked my head, "What?"

Both of our hooves came up and slapped each others faces.

I stumbled back holding my face, "FUCK! BREAK, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!"

Break was on his back laughing.

[That was great!] Said Break.
{You bastard!}
Said Dawn.
[No, but it was funny!] Said Break.

I stood up straight and walked back over to Graze, "Sorry about that."

He chuckled while rubbing his cheek, "Its fine, Kill's made me do worst."

I looked at Break, "You better behave!"

[...Maybe...] Said Break with a smirk.

I looked back at Graze, "So, the Princess said you could teach me how to use them, or something."

He nodded, "Yep, I can teach ya easily.'

I looked around at the night, "Can it wait till morning? Its kinda late and I'm sore."

[Pussy!] Said Break.
[I agree with you bro.] Said kill.

Graze rolled his eye at Break, "Sure, I could use a rest too I guess."

I then smiled, "What to meet my wife?"

He looked kinda shocked, "You have a wife?!"

[Oh yeah! She's smoking hot!] Said Break as he crossed his hooves.

Break then made a few pelvic thrust.

[You should have been there when they fucked!] Break said laughing.
Joy said shaking his head.
Dawn said glaring at Break.

I rubbed the back of my head, "Yeah, you'll like her."

He waved his hoof, "Lead the way. Where do you live?"

I pointed to the rubble, "I did live there."

He looked at it and smiled awkwardly, "Ouch, that sucks. Where is your wife then?"

I pointed down the street, "We're staying at my friends Dali's house."

He shrugged, "Okay, take me there."

[This should be fun!] Break said smirking.

Graze looked at him, "How will this be fun?"

Break smirked. [You'll see.]

Graze's POV

Girokon and I walked down the street reminiscing on the day of the hoofball match," Ahaha hey Giro, remember when we had a food fight in the cafeteria?"

" Yeah, sucks to be those poor bastards to clean it up," Lance inputted.

" Hey, what happened to your other friends?" I stomped my hoof on the floor as I tried to remember," Uhmm... that green one, looked kinda high..... buck, what was his name again?"

[ Come on Graze spell it out] Kill said.
[ Yeah, small baby steps] Break said laughing.

< I think he is talking about Greg> Dawn said to Joy.
< HEY! GRAZE! THE PONY'S NAME IS GREG!> Joy shouted a bit too loud in my ear.
{ Yeah, thanks Joy....}

" Yeah, so what happened to Greg and the others?"

"Well, actually Greg and David is in the hospital, Pinkie Pie is looking after them."

"SURPRISE!" Screamed a very happy voice.

Greg groaned loudly before opening his eyes. He blinked a few times and looked around. He was in some kind of hospital room, with David and Peter in two other beds. He looked to the side of his bed and saw the pink wonder, Pinkie Pie.

He rubbed his head, "What happened?"

She smiled happily at him, "Oh nothing, just Lance and the Prince fought that big meanie and sent him away for ever! You was hurt so they brought you here to rest and to feel better! When I heard that you was hurt, I knew you would want a party when you woke up, so here I am!"

Greg was barely able to keep up with her words, but he knew what she said. He smiled at her, "Thanks Pinkie, but like, where's my weed?"

She cocked her head, "Weed? Oh, there's weeds everywhere silly!"

He chuckled, she just made him laugh, "Never mind." He looked around his bed. Balloons and streamers where placed all around it, but just his bed. "Cool, a party."

David rolled over and groaned, "Do I get a party? I was hurt too."

Pinkie Pie looked at him, "Are you Greg?"

David raised an eyebrow, "No..."

Her head snapped back to Greg, "Then no."

David hung his head, "Awww..."

Greg smirked, "Sucks for you Davy."

Pinkie Pie continued to smile and look at him happily.

Greg smiled, "I get all the bitches."

" Wow sucks to be them," I said.

[ HEY! GREG IS A BADASS! HE SMOKES POT AND GETS BITCHES!] Break said protecting Greg.
[ REALLY?! GRAZE WE NEED TO VISIT GREG!!] Kill begged [ PLEASE!! I NEED TO GO!!]

< Actually, it was because of Greg that we are in this situation> Dawn pointed out.
< And aren't you happy that it did happen?> Joy asked.

" Actually.... because of Greg, I really am happy without Break and Dawn, I don't think we would have survived," Girokon said.

" Survived what?" I asked curiously.

Girokon then sighed and began his story, telling me every detail of the fight.

" Wow, that must have been epic.... I guess that's why Celestia wanted me to help you! Honestly and I am sorry to say without Break and Dawn, you won't have survived."

[......]
<......>

Both of Girokon's consciences were silent now realising how thin the line of life and death was drawn.

" But for now, let me tell you my story.... there was this alicorn named ShadowBlade -- [ Read Chapters Epic fight, Darkness Falls to Four Vs One for the entire story] "

" WOW! A TRIPLE SONIC RAINBOOM!" Girokon was amazed at my long story.

[ Didn't we just witness a double?] Break said.
< Yeah... Just how powerful is Graze? He took down an alicorn the size of Iron Clad> Dawn said shocked.

[ Yeah, alicorns are tough as fuck! And, well truth be told, we did lose control for a bit] Kill admitted.
< Four of my friends had to take Graze down, poor guy just didn't want to stop fighting that alicorn>

" NecroFlare Boom," I corrected him," And yeah but as our consciences said I did lose control, but something happened....something very special made me gain control over it."

" And what was that?" Girokon asked.

" I saw my mom..." I said," She gave me direction when I was lost... I never knew what my cutie mark meant until a few days ago."

[ That's kinda sad... ]
< Yeah it is but be grateful... We still got our mom right?>

Now it was Kill and Joy who were both silent in there time or mourn over Graze's.... no, their mother.

Girokon stopped in front of the house and opened the door," Welcome to Dali's house."

A light brown mare appeared inside the household and greeted Girokon with a friendly hug and then noticed me," Oh hello... And you are?"

I looked at her," Hey there, my name is Razor Graze."

I then let out my hoof to offer a sign of friendship," And you are?"

As I had let out my hoof she bounced back in fear away from me," STOP! Don't touch!" She shouted in a weird incomplete sentence.

I looked at her quizically," All I wanted was a bro-hoof."

My hoof was still out awkwardly as Girokon quickly put my hoof to the floor," GRAZE! STOP! YOU'RE SCARING HER!'

" WHAT DID I DO?" I said out loud.

" Just...don't touch her, it's against her culture, that only ponies who are very close to her can touch yet alone talk to her," Girokon said.

" Thanks Girokon," Dali said only paying attention to him.

[ So what, am I going to be ignored?] Kill said.
< Calm down Kill, just be a bit more understanding> Joy said to Kill.

< Yeah, we are kinda sorry we didn't mention Dali's culture before, no touchy, no talky> Dawn remarked.
[ Yeah.... I can place my life on the line and bet it too, too know that she is a virgin.] Break announced.

[ Fuck bitches acquire money?] Kill said to Break.
[ Acquire respect!] Break added.
[ FUCK YEAH!] Both of them bro-hoofed.

" So is this your wife?" I asked.

" LANCE! I'M HOME!!" A familiar voice said and entered the room.... A pregnant Twilight.

HOLY SWEET FUCKING CELESTIA! WHAT THE BUCK HAPPENED TO HER! SHE GAINED LIKE TWICE HER WEIGHT! THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!

[ Sweet Mother of Celestia]
< THE FUCK IS THIS!?> Joy shouted wanting to know very much as well as Kill and I what the fuck was going on.

My jaw dropped to the floor as I saw the mare that I knew to be, NOT PLANTED WITH A SEED.

" Graze?..... GRAZE!" Girokon shouted at me.

[ Trying hitting him ] Break said.
{ No, are you mad!}
[ Ugh stop being a pussy and let me handle this ]

*WHAP* WHAP*

I collected two slaps on each side of my face and looked directly at Girokon.

Now collecting my train of thought, I grabbed him with both hooves and carried him outside closing the door in front of the two mares.

I pushed Girokon against the wall of the house and shouted," WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON! WHY IS TWILIGHT PREGNANT?! AND WHY DID SHE CALL YOU LANCE!!"

< GRAZE CALM DOWN!> Joy begged.

Girokon struggled from my grasp.

[ C'MON USE BREAKING DAWN!]
< HE CAN'T HE OVEREXERTED HIMSELF IN THE FIGHT!>

[Breaking Dawn, won't help you against KillJoy] Kill stated turning a leaf of friend to foe.

" CELESTIA HELP ME! IF I DON'T GET ANY ANSWERS....." I raised my hoof now covered in a black flame.

" CALM DOWN! I will tell you everything, can you just please let me go? You are scaring Twilight and Dali, " He asked which I then obeyed and dropped him.

I looked at him bemused," I'm waiting."

Lance's POV

I looked up at him and stood.

Holy fuck! This guy has a temper. What's going on!

Graze glared at me, "He called you Lance! Why did he and Twilight call you Lance?! And why is Twilight pregnant?!"

[Unless Breaking Dawn Lance!]
{No! I'm going to tell him!}

I gulped, "Well, to start this off. I'm not a real pony, neither are my friends. We came from a different world, which ended. We..."

Graze held up a hoof, "Hold the fuck up! What do you mean, different world?"

I rubbed my hooves together, "Our world ended, and we was given a choice. We chose to come here. Our world was very different from this one."

He put his hoof down, "Go on."

I sighed, "I'll try to explain this the best I can. You see, your not from this dimension, you was brought here. We went to your dimension last time. Think about this, Frederic is married to Princess Luna here, but where you're from, he's not."

[That's a load of crap!] Kill stated as he glared at me.

I shook my head, "No! It isn't! Think about this then, how could I get Twilight pregnant that fast? I've been married to her for two months and she's been pregnant for about seven!"

He rubbed his chin, "Hmmmm, I don't know if your telling the truth, or lying."

I gulped again, "I don't know how to explain this."

I nodded, "Well, I'm from a different world, as stated before, and there my name was Lance Greenfield. After I came here, I met the others and we kinda stayed close together. After a while, me and Twilight got married. And well, some crazy shit has happened."

Graze seemed to consider what I was telling him, "So, your real name is Lance Greenfield, and your not of this world, correct?"

"That is correct."

He then sighed, "I believe you, why else would the Princess send me here."

I exhaled, lucky me.

[Awww yeah! Bro's] Break said extending his hoof to Kill.
Kill looked at his hoof and smiled, [Bro's.] They then slammed their hooves together.

I looked at the door, "Do you feel up to going back inside, and tell them it was a mistake?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

We walked back into the house, where Twilight ran up to me and looked me over, "Are you okay Lance?"

I chuckled, "I'm alright Twi."

She looked at Graze and glared, "What was that about?"

He smiled awkwardly, "Oh, I just needed advice, sorry about that."

She shrugged and looked back to me, "I just got back from the hospital, our friends are doing fine."

I smiled happily, "Thank God."

[Thank God? What's that suppose to mean? Its suppose to be thank Celestia!] Kill said a little annoyed.
[Wow man, chill. Its hard to explain.] Break said trying to keep the peace, for once.

Dali looked past us and at the door, "Oh yay! My package is finally here!" She looked at me, "Ummm, Lance, could you get that?"

I chuckled and turned to the door to see a certain mail pony and green pony, "Hey Derpy, hey Cody." I grabbed the package and looked at Cody, "I see you and Derpy are dating."

He chuckled and put a wing over her, "Yep! She's amazing! I'm so glad I ran into her that night."

I smiled and looked at Graze, "Uhhh, Graze? You okay?"

Graze's POV

I was enraged at the sight but my expression was blank,".....You dare call her Derpy... Do you know how much she was ridiculed in my school for that?" I looked at Cody," You dare love a mare and disrespect her with such a name?"

[ Note: In my fic, never was she called Derpy, I planned on sticking with Ditzy since it wasn't confirmed yet thus this outcome]

He looked at me quizzically," Wait what?"

The whole house was quiet, you could have heard the tension.... Yeah it was pretty much that quiet.

[ DUDE DO SOMETHING!] Break shouted.
< HE IS GOING TO MURDER CODY!> Dawn shouted.

" Answer me," I said calmly.

Cody stood up bravely with his answer," I LOVE HER AND HER NAME IS DERPY!"

I snorted a hot breath of air like a bull," Wrong fucking answer."

{ Kill, take over.... No one messes with my mare not even in this dimension }
[ Break, this is something your going to have to learn... To fully take control Lance's body]

What was a white blur to the eyes of Dila and Twilight was actually me tackling Cody.

He guarded his face with his hooves as I repeatedly assaulted him hoof after hoof," WHAT! ARE YOU NOT GOING TO FIGHT BACK?! IF SHE IS YOUR MARE STAND UP FOR HER!"

I stopped my assault on his guarded face and with an enflamed black hoof, I punched straight in his gut.

Cody's mouth open wide as the breath was beaten out of him.

" HER NAME IS DITZY! IF YOU LOVE HER, RESPECT HER!" I shouted at him.

I then picked him up and headbutted him.

[ NOPONY EVER WINS WITH A HEADBUTT!!] Shouted Break.
< Hey! That's my line!> Exclaimed Joy and Dawn.

Ditzy shouted," CODY FIGHT BACK! DON'T LET HIM BEAT YOU!"

It tore me apart from the inside that the mare I had loved was not cheering me on, I was even more enraged.

" NO I WON'T GO BACK TO MY MURDEROUS WAYS!" Cody shouted still conscious. Damn that pony knew how to take a hit.

I stopped my assault on him," Did you just say... Murderous ways?"

He gulped, the once badass Cody who had murdered countless Royal Guard ponies was now scared.

He was about to answer my question when I interrupted him choking him with one hoof. He struggled grasping for air as I flew with him gaining altitude.

I looked at him and shouted," WE ARE PONIES! WE DON'T FUCKING KILL! WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

He didn't answer.

" YOU CAN'T EVEN SPEAK WITHIN YOUR LAST SECONDS OF LIFE! FUCKING PATHETIC!" I shouted," You ever experienced a Sonic Rainboom?"

He nodded," Good... Because mine is nothing like that, I intend to fucking end you. It's time some pony paid for their sins."

His eyes opened at the sentence and began to flail.

I descended the skies with his body in my grasp as the cone began to form around us and thicken. We weren't even three quarters of the way down and the cone had already formed due to my intense speeds.

" OH SHIT! IS HE ACTUALLY GOING TO DO IT?" Lance asked himself.

"Somepony help Cody!" Ditzy shouted.

[ LANCE WE HAVE TO GO BREAKING DAWN NOW!]
{ WAIT WHAT?! YOU WANT ME TO GO AGAINST GRAZE! }
< WE HAVE NO CHOICE! ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS SAVE CODY AND KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO GRAZE!>

Ditzy began to cry as she saw cone thicken scared for her colt.

{ FINE LET'S GO!}

Lance's full transformation had taken place as he flew towards Cody and I. I wasn't even in full transformation when this happened but I was yet so frustrated.

Lance had finally caught up to us with amazing speeds, tackled me and sent both of us to the ground. He had held onto my body as we landed restricting me," GRAZE REMEMBER! THIS IS NOT YOUR DIMENSION! THINGS ARE DIFFERENT HERE! YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!"

I looked at him, how angered he was," THAT PONY MURDERED?! AND YOU WANT ME TO STOP!"

" HE HAS CHANGED GRAZE! LIKE SHADOWBLADE AND LIGHT! JUST LOOK AT HIM! HE DIDN'T EVEN FIGHT BACK!" Lance shouted.

[ Why isn't he fighting back? ] Break asked.
< He is not angry, he is sad and confused, look at him carefully>

" Okay fine! What about Ditzy!" I shouted with tears as I was now released from my restriction.

Lance looked at me a bit saddened of what I was feeling, his transformation had faded," I'm sorry Graze... This is not your dimension.... She isn't the Ditzy you know... No pony here is the pony you know!"

" THIS IS NOT FAIR! WHY DO I HAVE TO SEE MY MARE GET DISRESPECTED AND I CAN'T DO FUCK! SHE GOT RIDICULED FOR THAT NAME AND I SWORE I WOULD PROTECT HER!"

" Graze..... I'm sorry but you have to let it go.... I know it isn't fair but trust me Cody is a good pony now and he would never hurt her."

I didn't want to make any eye contact for now as I had just experienced a heartbreaking moment... I had lost my marefriend," You sure he won't hurt her?"

" Definite.... I know we've had a stressful day but why don't we get something to eat huh?''

I only looked up at him and nodded silently giving the best smile I could have.

I then followed Lance as we began our trot to a near diner.

As we walked, the grey and blonde mare known as 'Derpy' supported her colt Cody whilelooking at me and asked herself," How does he know so much about me?"

Lance's POV

As we sat around eating in a awkward silence, I rubbed my chest. I can't keep doing this shit.

Graze wasn't looking at Derpy, or Ditzy as he called her, or Cody. He kept his head down and ate silently.

[That was hardcore man!] Break said as he and kill sat on the edge of the table.
[I know. You two need more practice on how to control Lance.] Kill said with a smirk.
[You haven't seen what we can do yet. Wait till you see Raging Breaking Dawn!]

I chuckled at the sight of our consciences talking and finished off my food, "Well, its been a long ass day. I think it would be best if we all just went home."

Cody nodded and shakily stood, "I agree with Lance. Come on Der..." He looked at Graze nervously, "Come on honey." He said taking her hoof and walking out of the restaurant.

I stood next, "You coming Graze? You can stay with us if you'd like."

He sighed and stood, "Sure, why not."

Said Joy.

I chuckled and dropped a few bits on the table. "And we go!"

[Imitating Photofinish for the win!] Break said with a chuckle.

We left the restaurant and headed for Dali's.

Upon reaching it, he sighed.

I looked at him, "What is it?"

He shrugged, "Nothing, just today's events is all."

I smiled, "You'll get over them. Lets go in, we have some things to do before we can sleep."

Two hours later

"And you'll be sleeping here." I said pointed to a couch in the living room.

Graze sighed and smiled, "Thanks."

I waved him off, "No problem."

He looked at me, "Where are you sleeping?"

I smirked, "Why don't you come see for yourself."

I turned and walked down the hall to Dali's room. I walked in and jumped on the bed.

Graze walked in and chuckled, "So what? You get a bed, big whoop."

I smiled and put my hooves behind my head, "Wait a second."

After a few minutes of waiting, Twilight and Dali walked in, just now getting ready for bed.

Twilight climbed in bed and took her usual spot on my right side, her hoof over my chest. Dali got next to me and snuggled up to my side.

I looked straight at Graze and smirked, "You jelly bro?"

[YEAH! We get all the bitches!] Break said proudly.
{Don't call them bitches Break.}
[Sorry Lance...] Said Break.
[Pussy whipped!] Kill yelled out laughing.
[Fuck you!]

Graze looked at me and shook his head, "What ever floats your boat." He then turned and left the room.

{Now, will you two shut up and let me sleep?}
[Yes, we'll shut the fuck up.]

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

Graze's POV

I pulled out a book on the couch and began to read the texts slowly. My mind was not concetrating as it should be due to the events of today.

I closed my book and placed it beside me," .....Ditzy... I'm coming home soon.... I just need to help Lance..."

[ Don't worry about Ditzy, I am sure she is doing fine with our friends.]
< Yeah bro and also.... she isn't our Ditzy>
{ IT DOES NOT MATTER! A MARE IS A MARE AND SHOULD NOT BE DISRESPECTED!}
[ I think we just need to sleep Graze, we had a long and stressful day]
< Yeah Kill is right.... Try and sleep bro, maybe we can dream our our Ditzy>
{ I hope you guys are right, knowing me I won't sleep at all}

Crossover of consciences : KillJoy and Breaking Dawn: Part two

Crossover with 'Three of Me Vs School Society' by Killjoy.

Graze
[My conscience Kill writes in the brackets and bolded]

< My conscience Joy writes in these and Italics>

{ I respond in these}

Lance

[ My conscience Break writes in these bracket and bolded]
< My consciences Dawn writes in these and italics >
{ I respond in these }

Chapter 54: Crossover of consciences : KillJoy and Breaking Dawn: Part two

Lance's POV

[That's unnatural man...]

{What? What are you two talking about?}

I opened my eyes and saw the floor, wait the floor! I panicked and began to thrash about. Causing me to fall onto the floor, head first.

Break winced. [Damn dude! That must have hurt!]

{How was I twisted?}
[You don't wanna know dude. You do not want to know!]

I stood up and shook the blurriness out of my eyes. I looked at the bed and noticed it was empty.

I shrugged and walked into the living room, where I saw Graze laying on the couch, half his body laying off.

[It looks like he's drunk!] Break said laughing.

I walked over and kicked him. When he didn't respond, I kicked him harder, causing him to jump up, "WHAT THE FUCK!"

I chuckled, "Morning."

He looked at me for a second, then smiled, "Oh, morning Lance." He sniffed the air, "What smells so good?"

[Is that... FUCKTASTIC! Its pancakes! Lance, run for the kitchen!] Break said while jumping up and down.

We both chuckled and walked towards the kitchen. Upon entering, we saw Dali and Twilight finishing up their breakfast.

[The kitchen, where all the mare's are suppose to be.] Kill said with a smirk.
[Ohhhh, that is so fucking true.] Break said while giving Kill an air brohoof.
Joy remarked.
[Yeah, but its also true.] Break said while giving Kill another air brohoof.

I rolled my eyes and sat at the table, followed by Graze, "Looks great you two."

Dali smiled proudly, "Thank you Lance. I knew you would like them."

Twilight chimed in, "And so did I."

I chuckled and dug into my pancake.

"Done." Graze said with a smug look on his face.

I looked over at him, "We wasn't racing."

He shrugged, "I still won."

I glared, "Rematch!"

Twilight put two more pancakes in front of us.

Joy and Dawn shook their heads.
[GO!] Kill yelled.

We both dived in and chewed with a vengeance.

"DONE!" Graze yelled out.

I sat back, "I give up!"

[Pussy.] Said Kill.
[Biggest pussy around!] Break said with a smirk.
{I though you was on my side!}
[Meh.]

Graze stood up, "You ready to train?"

I smirked and stood, "You better fucking believe it!"

He smirked, "Race you to the field outside of Ponyville?"

I unfolded my wings, "Your on!"

We both suddenly shot out of the kitchen, down the hall, and blew through the front door.

Dali sighed, "Boys and their games."

Twilight nodded, "Tell me about it."

Graze's POV

We were now in the middle of a field where we could have trained in peace.

< Ahh yes....so peaceful> Joy and Dawn said.
[ FUCK YEAH!!! LET'S GET THIS SHIT STARTED!] Both Kill and Break remarked breaking the serenity and peace.

I looked at Lance," This is the perfect place to start."

" Then what are we waiting on! Let's do this!" Lance said," So what are we going to practice? Fighting?!"

" Hahahaha afterwards but first, you need to know how these consciences work."

" How they work?" Lance said confused.

" I think I'm going to let Kill and Joy explain."

[ First thing that you should know is, that you share a body but your mind is still control of it, therefore only you can control freely] Kill began.

" Wait, so how come you can move our parts?" Lance asked.

< Well ya see, as Kill said, we share a mind, thus we are able to somewhat control your actions.... It does take some effort though or as we say what drives a pony, Will Power>

"Ah! Okay I get it!"

[ Yeah, I think I do too] Break said.
< Nice explanation> Dawn replied.

" Okay secondly, let me explain this part to you, it's kinda necessary that you know, you can only enter your 'Breaking Dawn' when you are perfectly in sync, as I mean, all thinking the same thoughts, ideas and plans."

< We can control it a bit more easily, we just choose not too> Joy said.
[ Want to see a small sample of KillJoy? ]

" Yes! Of course!" Lance said agreeing with his consciences.

I unfolded my wings releasing a black flame to outline them," That's just a small sample you know?"

The three of Lance nodded.

[ Okay Break you try]
< Same with you Dawn >

Lance then got up and tried to follow my steps, he then growled thinking I was the enemy.

I looked at him bemused," What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Lance looked as if he was passing a kidney stone," I'm trying to get angry! You know, so I can enter Breaking Dawn."

I facehoofed," Lance... stop it, just stop it.... I said your consciences have to in sync with each other and here's a lil' conscience 101, you don't think clearly when you're vex, you just act in the heat of the moment. Now try again but this time, try and think of something together, not getting angry...Obviously Dawn isn't feeling in an angered mood."

< Yup! Takes a lot to get me pissed off>

Lance took a deep breath in and closed his eyes trying to focus," All I have to do is think.... Focus..."

I smiled and said," HA! LANCE YOU'RE DOING IT! OPEN YOUR EYES BRO!"

He looked at his flamed hooves and changed mane," HAHAHAHAHA!! YES YES YES YES!"

" Okay calm down bro, there are also some risks to this," He stopped his small celebration.

[ Fucking KillJoy.....Killing my joy]
[ THAT'S OUR NAME! DON'T WEAR IT OUT!]

" You may feel a bit rushed, adrenaline pumping no?" Lance nodded," Well, you may notice you move faster, feel stronger and endure more but when you tire out.... Everything you did, it's going to pain like a mofo.... so try and keep a clear mind," I chuckled at him.

" Okay I got all that so when can we spar?"

" Wait.... I have one last thing to teach you man...calm down," I said telling him to take it slow.

" And what is that?"

I rushed him and grabbed his neck cutting off his blood supply to his brain," It's how to get rid of your Breaking Dawn."

[ AA..G..HH....YO....BI...CH....] Break said only part of his sentence heard.
< LA..N...E....DO....SO...THI..G> Dawn said.

Lance then reverted back to his usual self as I threw him on the ground," GRAZE! WHAT THE FUCK MAN! YOU TOOK OUT MY BREAKING DAWN!!"

" I know, one thing you need to learn is that your brain needs blood to function...DUH!"

[ What are you Lance fucking stupid?] Kill said.
< I'm sure Graze had a very good reason for doing this...sorry> Dawn replied.

" And I do!" I stomped on the floor and spread out my wings, both hooves, tail, mane and wings were now outlined with black flames," Let's see you get into Breaking Dawn while in a fight."

I then rushed Lance and punched him with a hoof covered with black flames," WHAT THE BUCK GRAZE!"

"Don't worry it won't scar! It just burns" I relieved him of any worries," AND IN FIGHTS YOUR ENEMY WON'T GIVE YOU A CHANCE! SO PONY THE FUCK UP AND LET'S GET STARTED! IF I GET YOU WITH A NECROFLARE BOOM WHEN YOU AREN'T IN YOUR RAGE MODE... YOUR FRICKING DEAD!"

Lance began to panic as I rushed him.

Lance's POV

As Graze neared me, I began to panic.

I took a deep breath, beginning to focus... when Graze slammed into me.

[So fucking close!]

Grace punched me in the chest, making me stumbled back.

That fucking burns!

He then charged me again, this time I held up a hoof as he pounded away at me.

He stopped his onslaught of hooves and grabbed my hoof. He then yanked me past him, while I was flying past him, he bucked me, sending to the ground harder.

I raised my head, my vision was blurry and my head was spinning.

[FUCKING FOCUS LANCE!]

[Get mad! We can go Breaking Dawn if you do!]
{I'm not going to get mad! I'm going to do it the right way!}

A hoof grabbed my back leg and tossed me into the air. As soon as I was airborne, something grabbed me from behind.

"You have to focus Lance!" Graze screamed in my ear.

I began to focus. Slowly feeling the effects of... Graze threw me to the ground.

I hit the ground hard and shakily stood.

[MOTHERFUCKER! WE ALMOST HAD IT!]

Graze landed beside me and pulled back his hoof.

I twisted and slammed my hoof into his face, causing him to lose direction.

[Fuck yeah Lance. Bitch slap him again!]

I began to focus again.

Graze looked at me, "Oh no you don't!" He flew into me and began to fly straight up.

[TIME FOR A NECROFLARE BOOM!] Kill yelled.

Focus Lance, focus!

Graze shifted and began flying straight down.

Shit!

Suddenly, a burning sensation went through my blood.

[FUCK YEAH! You did it Lance!]

I smiled and slammed my head into Graze's, breaking his concentration. He let me go and held his head.

He shook his head and looked straight at me.

I hovered in place smirking, "Come at me bro!"

Graze's POV

" Well, well look who decided to grow a sack... Finally," I said looking at the transformed Lance he was smiling that he had gotten Breaking Dawn," C'mon Bro! Give me your best shot."

Lance rushed at me as I stood still waiting for the perfect moment.

[ C'MON LANCE FASTER!] Break shouted.

He charged me head on with his hooves singeing the grassy field leaving behind marks.

As he was about a few feet away I asked him," Hey Lance, your cutie mark is a test dummy right?"

He rushed in closer and closer," YEAH! SO FUCKING WHAT?!"

" Well that means you're just my bitch for my new move, one thing you also need is creativity," I said smiling.

Lance was about a foot away from me before he grabbed me and carried me too the highest altitude," NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE SHADOW BLAST!"

[ FUCK YEAH! LET'S SHOW HIM HOW SHIT IS DONE!] Break exclaimed.
< LET'S FUCK HIM UP!> Dawn agreed.

We both looked at the surface below when as he grabbed my body and descended to the surface below catching speed," I'M SORRY GRAZE BUT I WIN!"

I waited for the perfect moment, for the cone to form and thicken. He dove faster and faster as the cone appeared around both of us. I engulfed my hoof with black flames and tainted his cone, giving me the edge I needed. The darkness of my flames around the cone burnt his hooves as he was going to use them to pierce the sound barrier.

Foolishly he continued with the Sonic Boom, not his Shadow Blast but my NecroFlare Boom.

" AGGGHHH! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" Lance shouted as the flames burnt him.
[ I DON'T KNOW! WHY DIDN'T THE FUCKING SHADOWBLAST WORK?!"]
< GUY'S LOOK AT GRAZE'S WINGS, THEY ARE FREAKING HUGE!>
{ GUYS! THIS HEAT IS FUCKING INTENSE! WHAT IS GRAZE DOING IT'S JUST A SPAR!}

As planned, tainting the cone with black flames would only help KillJoy as they engulfed his wings which were immune to it. The sound barrier acted as a gas to the small outline of flames causing them to look twice as big when the ShadowBlast took place.

We were still descending at mac-4 speeds with little time to act, I whistled at Lance catching his attention," HEY BUDDY! EYES ON ME BITCH!"

I grabbed him with my flaming hooves and punched him straight to the ground causing him to crash at a dangerous speed.

[Tsk tsk tsk] Kill said shaking his head.
< Think we went to hard?>

" He will live," I responded to both of them landing near to Lance," Hey, dipshit! Wake up!"

I grabbed his coat intensifying the heat through my hooves burning him," AGGGHHHH!!!"

[ GRAZE YOU SICK FUCK!] Break shouted.
[ HA! THE FUN DOESN'T END HERE! WE WANT YOU AWAKE FOR THIS PART!] Kill replied.

Lance's eyes opened wide in horror as my hoof reached towards him and paused in mid air.

He looked confused at me as I smiled at him and folded my wings outing the duple sized flamed appendages back to its original state," C'mon get up... The spar is over."

Lance's POV

I exhaled, thank God! I though he was going to go full on KillJoy on my ass.

I reached up and grabbed his hoof, allowing him to lift me up.

I stumbled for a second before regaining my balance. I looked at him and raised a hoof, "Dude! What the fuck! We was fucking sparing!"

Graze laughed, "Oh don't worry, I was going easy on you. As far as I can tell, you can take on anypony, but me." He finished with a smirk.

[We'll see about that! We'll go full on Raging Breaking Dawn on your asses!]
{Calm down Break, that's enough fighting for today.}
[Fuck you bro! Yo Kill, you up to a fight?]

Kill looked over at Break and rubbed his chin.

[Come on! What are ya, pussy?] Break said, taunting him.
{BREAK! Back down!}
[Fine, I'll back down. For now.]

Graze chuckled and stretched his back, "That was fun."

I nodded, "It was, till I hit the ground."

He laughed loudly at me, "That was just to funny!"

I waved him off with my hoof, "Yeah, what ever." I looked in the direction of Ponyville, "You hungry?

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

I began walking towards Ponyville, "Well, I'm fucking starving."

Joy said with a grin.
[Fat joke for the win!] Break said laughing.

I silently walked to Ponyville, followed by Graze.

When we entered town, I had a thought, "Hey Graze."

He looked at me, "Yeah?"

"Do you feel like going to the hospital with me to see my friends?"

He shrugged, "Fine with me."

I smiled, "Okay good, but first, we eat."

I then galloped over to a street stall and dropped a few bits on the table, "Give me your best hayburger."

The cheerful old stallion smiled and handed (Hoofed?) me a hayburger.

[Lance, we've been over this! Just say handed!]

I pushed the hayburger in my mouth whole and began galloping down the street.

Graze quickly caught up to me, "You shouldn't run with a mouth full."

I looked over at him and said between chews, "Fuck.... you.... I.... do.... what... I... want."

He chuckled, "Time and place."

After a few minutes of running, we came to the hospital.

Soon, we was walking down the hall to my friends room.

I looked at Graze, "Okay bro, this may be boring."

He looked at me, "Why?"

I shrugged, "Well, their hurt, so they may not want to talk."

He smiled, "I'm okay with that."

We walked into the room and first thing I saw was David and Peter's beds.

I smiled, "Hey guys."

David looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please make it stop!"

Peter held his hooves up, begging, "Please! We've been enduring this ever since we woke last night!"

I raised my eyebrow, "What?"

They both pointed left. When I looked over to where they was pointing, my mouth hung open, "That's something I never thought I'd see."

[Oh my God! That's sick! But it also gives me a wingboner.] Said Break.
Dawn said holding his eyes closed.

What we saw is as follows. Greg was in bed, his back propped up against the wall. Pinkie Pie was sitting on him, legs on either side, kissing him.

[That's not kissing! That's full on face eating!]

[I say what I want to say.]

Graze walked in and chuckled, "And you said this would be boring."

I walked over and cleared my throat loudly.

They stopped and looked at me.

Greg smiled lazily, "Yo man, check it! Me and Pinkie here are a couple."

Pinkie Pie smiled happily and crazily, "Hey Lance!"

They then went back to making out.

[Who would have thought Pinkie was so... What word am I looking for?]
< Passionnant?>
[No. So hardcore!]

I backed away from them and walked over to David and Peter.

David reached out for me, "You have to get us another room!"

Peter nodded, "Please dude!"

I looked at him and smiled, "Consider this pay back for the cupcake prank."

His eyes widened, "Come on! Don't be like that!"

I turned and walked out the door, "See ya guys. Hope you have fun watching."

Graze walked out and chuckled, "Sucks to be you two."

We walked out of the hospital and looked around, "What do we do now?"

Graze shrugged, "I don't know."

I smiled, "Wanna meet the Prince?"

He looked at me, "Prince?"

I smirked, "Come on, we're off to the Palace!"

Graze's POV

I followed Lance as we both walked to the palace," Who is this prince you speak of? Aren't there only like.... TWO rulers?"

"Uhm, yea well ya see again, this isn't your world, my friend Iron Clad married Princess Luna and he became an alicorn!"

" WAIT! THAT PONY WHICH I TACKLED DURING OUR MATCH? HE MARRIED HER!," I shouted.

" Well, yeah!" Lance replied..

" Well, it's best I pay my respects.... RACE YA!" I shouted galloping as I got a head start and jumped off the ground flapping my wings gaining distance.

[ THAT BITCH!] Break shouted.
< C'MON WE CAN'T LET HIM WIN!>

Lance then galloped jumping into the air and caught wind catching up to me," HA! FUCK YOU GRAZE! I'M GONNA WIN THIS!"

Near the end of the race, Lance panted deeply trying to catch his breath as he flew against me," Hey Lance you okay bro? Can you make it too the palace?"

"Heh....I'm... doing...fine," Lance said," Okay... screw this... I really...REALLY.....need to fucking.... workout more."

"C'mon bro lets land, we are almost there so I guess we can walk," I said gracefully touching the surface of the ground.

*SPLAT* Lance had fallen face first.

[ Nice.....] Kill said.
< So graceful..... 10 for effort.....HA! I mean zero> Joy replied.

[ Fuck ... the...both of you] Break said tired.
< Yeah!... What's ... happening?>

I supported Lance with one hoof as I walked and explained," The fuckery of your Rage Mode, I told you that everything you've done will come and bite you back in your ass. Just take it easy, we are in no rush, we still have like what? One and a half days left?"

"Heh, yeah, kinda forgot about that.... Ha! Looks like we made it," Lance pointed out at the enormous structure infront of us.

[ Pftch.... No shit sherclop] Kill said.
{ At least act a bit kinder to the pony, he has given us a place to stay}

We both walked pass two guards who were standing still. Lance just walked passed them as I stopped for some fun.

[ Dude... Talk to one of the guards.]
< Yeah, let's see if he would say something >

I looked one of the guards straight in his eyes," Hello good sir," I said politely.

He strangely replied back," I used to be an adventurer before I took an arrow to the knee."

I looked at him quizzically and turned the other guard," So how's the pay here?"

He then replied," I used to be an adventurer before I took an arrow to the knee."

Seriously.....What the fuck.

"Okayyyyy..... HEY! LANCE WAIT UP!" I shouted galloping towards him.

We both walked through the entire fucking palace.... It was pretty big.

Lance then stopped in front of a large midnight blue door.

< I'm guessing this is Princess Luna's room> Joy said looking at the doors.
[ What makes you say that?] Kill replied looking at a sign on the door saying 'Luna'.

"Hey, Graze wanna do something a bit fun?" Lance said smiling.

" I'm up for anything bro," I replied.

" Do you know about Flim and Flam?"

[ I FUCKING HATE THEIR SINGING!] Kill shouted.
[ What makes them think for a fucking second they can walk into our town and sell cider ] Break replied.

< We waited HOURS! To get a damn sip of that cider> Dawn said.
< We just violated both of them... mentally and physically> Joy replied.

"Their cider tasted like shit!" I exclaimed.

" Made me shit bricks man... Lots of bricks," Lance said," Anyways how about we make an entrance like them and kick down this door?"

I nodded evilly with a smile.

" Three... Two....One.....GO!" Lance counted down and shouted.

We both kicked open the door.

" Well lookie what we got there buddy o' mine!" Lance started a familiar tune looking at me with my mouth wide open and wings opened out wide.

" Hey what's wrong Graze," Lance then looked at the direction I was," .....Wow.... this..... this is pretty fucking awkward."

[ I have the weirdest wing boner] Break said.
[ Me too] said Kill.

< Me three> Dawn replied.
< Four> Joy said.

All four of us stared at Luna on top of Iron Clad with a frozen face of pleasure and shock.... Simply too put it, they were having sex.

" GET OUT NOW!!!!" Luna shouted with her royal canterlot voice.

"LANCE WHAT THE FUCK MAN!" Iron Clad shouted," I'M GOING TO DEAL WITH YOU LATER!"

He then teleported both Lance and I way back into Dali's home in Canterlot.

" .....Are you fucking kidding me? We hauled our asses way into the fricking palace and now we're back here!" I ranted.

[ Yeah! I was enjoying my free porn!] Kill exclaimed
[ YOU CAN'T JUST PAY FOR THAT SHIT!] Break shouted agreeing with Kill.

Lance and I both sighed," What do we do now?" I asked bored already.

Lance's POV

I held my hoof to my face, "I don't really know. We could go and.... no that won't be fun. We could... Uhhh... I'm stuck dude."

Graze chuckled, "Today just became boring."

[Damn..] Kill said with a sigh.

I then smiled, "Oh! I know!"

He looked at me, "What?"

I ran into another room and came back with a board game, "Wanna play?"

He looked at it, "What is it?"

I shrugged, "No idea. Something like Battleship."

He smirked, "I'm gonna kick your flank!"

I sat the game down and opened it, "Your fucking on bro!"

Four long intense hours of game play latter.

[OHHHHH, HE JUST KILLED YO SEAGULL LANCE! Kill yelled out happily.
[Fuck you! You haven't taken out..] Break began.

Graze looked up and smirked, "Sky eight."

I sat back, "And there goes my last weather pony."

Graze stood up happily, "I WIN AGAIN!"

I rolled my eyes, "I'll figure out how you won all those. There's no way somepony is that luck."

Joy said. He then covered his mouth.

I glared at him, "AHA! I knew you was cheating!" I lunged towards him.

He moved to the side, easily dodging me.

I stood and glared hard at him, "I'm going to beat the hell out of you!"

He turned and ran down the hall, "If you can catch me."

[Get him Lance!]

I chuckled and chased after him down the short hallway.

He jumped through a door, the bathroom.

I followed him in and looked around. I didn't see him, but then I noticed the curtains were drawn. Idiot.

I galloped over to them and pulled them open.

Graze looked at me, standing on his hind legs, his front ones against the walls. A sexy pose. He let out a loud scream, "Oh my oh my! Perv!" He said in his best female voice.

I laughed and grabbed him, "I'll show you a perv!"

He kicked me in the gut, and I fell on my flank. He then ran out of bathroom.

[That was just wrong...]

I stood and chased after him. When I reached the living room, I saw him trying to stand up. Must have fallen over the board game.

I jumped on top of him and held him down.

[Revenge!]

Before I could do anything, somepony knocked at the door.

Graz'es POV

Lance then headed over to the door and opened it," Oh, uhhmmm hi Ditzy, did you need anything?"

My joyful mood was now saddened as I heard that certain name," Yes actually, I need to talk to him." She said pointing a hoof to me.

" Why do you need--" Lance started as I walked towards Ditzy and gave an expression to Lance that everything was going to be okay.

I silently walked outside and closed the door behind me," Don't worry Lance, I will come back soon, just give me some time with this."

He nodded.
[ You think he is going to be alright?]
< I know so>

I looked at Ditzy and gave her the best smile I could have," Shall we walk?"

She looked strangely at me and nodded.

We walked silently as the tension built between us, she began," How do you know so much about me? I've never met you in my entire life."

I chuckled at her saying that trying to keep my calm complexion," It is true YOU have never met me before but where I am from, I have."

" What do you mean?" Ditzy asked.

" I am not from this universe," I said.

She looked shocked at me," Are you serious!... B-but how.... And why did you act so...so...?"

I completed her sentence knowing what she would have said," So overprotective?"

" Yeah!"

" Because, where I come from, I love you and you are my marefriend."

She was even more in shock, she couldn't even speak. I looked a bit sad again knowing that she never knew who I was.

" Please... Mr. Graze, tell me more."

My ears picked up on what she said and perked me up," How did you know my real name is Ditzy... Everyone here calls me Derpy, it's a petty nickname and everyone uses it so I just accepted it as part of me..... because of these eyes."

I looked at her and smiled," I will and always would love you... well you know the other Ditzy..... She was ridiculed for that name Derpy and it was unfair," I stomped my hooves on the floor," No mare should ever be disrespected! Especially not the one I love."

She looked at me as my Ditzy did that day I stood up for her against the three bullies, it was an expression of hope in me.

I looked at her with now tears in my eyes," I.... I stood up for her! I protected her from everything that tried to harm.... I wrote a song for her...I would die for her..... I loved her...I would willingly spend each and every passing hour with her."

She looked at me saddened and supported me staring me with those bright eyes," You really do love her."

I nodded," Don't you ever think of those eyes as a curse, they are a blessing always bright and filled with joy.... One of the many reasons I love Ditzy, my Bright Eyes."

She smiled and cried as she relived every painful moment of her past wash away with those words," She is a very lucky mare."

I smiled wiping her tears as these next words pained me,"..... And Cody is a lucky stallion, I hope he treats you well."

Ditzy smiled at me and asked," Can you tell me more about her?" It was as if she was trying to find herself, something I did a while back," We still have a walk to go."

I smiled and nodded. I told her about everything, how I met her, the song I sang for her, the day at the beach, how she stood up for me against a griffon and Fleur, taking care of a foal, the dodgeball and hoofball match, me changing into a mare, how I stood up against an alicorn with my friends ( Light, Vine, Dark, Ice, Shot, Breeze, Cross and Charge) and how I accepted the role of a mail delivery pony with her.

".... Wow..." was all she said from my lot of stories.

" Yeah.... that's why I kind of lost it when I saw Cody and you and especially when he called you Derpy," I said.

" I forgive you," Ditzy said. Her attention was diverted to the centre of PonyVille where meetings and gatherings would occur for updates on certain events.

Iron Clad was on the stage speaking about something. I really didn't catch the gist of it but I was curious.

" HEY GRAZE!" Lance shouted," COME QUICK!"

Crossover of consciences: The Assassin's games

Crossover with 'Three of Me Vs School Society' by Killjoy.

Graze
[My conscience Kill writes in the brackets and bolded]

< My conscience Joy writes in these and Italics>

{ I respond in these}

Lance

[ My conscience Break writes in these bracket and bolded]
< My consciences Dawn writes in these and italics >
{ I respond in these }

kickass222urmom says: The idea for this chapter popped into my mind when I was in class. But some credit goes to 2k LOL for writing BLAMMO! Got me to thinking about contest.

Quick note: We are going to be switching between views with a few of the other teams. More fun that way.

Chapter 55: Crossover of consciences :The Assassin Games

Lance's POV

I looked up at Frederic, who was on stage.

He looked out at the gathered crowd of ponies, "Citizens of Ponyville, I've come here today to tell you of a competition that is to take place in this very town. It involves all of you. It is a game called 'Assassin', where you will all divide up into teams of two or three and battle it out against everypony else. No, this is not real. You will be using those."

A blue bracelet with his cutie mark appeared in front of him, "Those are 'Assassin Bracelets', once you shot your opponent with them, it sends them to the 'losers box'. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt. Its just a simple teleportation spell that comes out of this small device." The bracelet disappeared, "You will get to chose your teams, and the game will end once all teams are eliminated and only one stands. That team will receive a mystery prize. Don't worry, its well worth it and very valuable."

Everypony chatted excitedly about this.

Frederic smiled and continued, "Now for the rules: No magic." His horn glowed and every unicorn lost their horns.

Twilight looked up and began to squeal.

I looked at her and smirked, "Hahaha! Sucks for you Twi."

"No flying."

My wings suddenly disappeared, along with all the other Pegasus.

"My fucking wings!" Me and Graze screamed out at the same time. We both looked towards the stage.

Frederic smirked at us and mouth the words, 'Told you I'd get you back.'

[ASSHOLE!]

He continued, "No leaving Ponyville. There is a magical barrier up to prevent you all from leaving the game. No physical violence." He looked straight at me and Graze after saying that last part. Then he smiled, "And have fun!"

Suddenly, the same kind of bracelet he had shown everypony appeared in front of me. It was cyan blue with my cutie mark on it. I looked around and saw that everypony else had one, same color as their coat and with their cutie mark on it.

Frederic looked to be enjoying himself, "Just slip those on and your all set. Now, get in your teams and go find a place to wait for the game to begin. It will start when I blow the horns. GO!"

Everypony made a mad dash, putting their teams together.

I looked around and saw Drax, perfect. Me and Graze galloped over to him.

He looked at me and smiled, "Can I be on your team?"

I nodded, "Yep, I was just coming to ask you that."

Graze held out a hoof, "Nice to meet you..."

Drax shook his hoof, "Drax. Its nice to meet you too..."

Graze chuckled, "Razor Graze. But just call me Graze."

They dropped their hooves and looked at me.

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Graze smiled, "Bro, your the one who is going to provide us with our gear."

[Yeah, have Drax here do it!]

I chuckled, "Sure, why not. I know what we can use. Anyone up to dressing in tight black suits?"

The both smirked and Drax said, "Oh, I can fit in a black suit."

I nodded, "Good, because their full body and give you the best movement."

[That's fucking awesome!] Said Kill.
Said Joy.
[Badass!]

I chuckled, "Come on you two, we need to hurry. I don't know when this game will start." I then clamped the bracelet on. They followed my lead.

Graze then looked at me, "Where are we going to hold out till this starts?"

I smirked, "The one place you wouldn't expect."

10 PM at night, four hours into the competition.

I moved the branch out of the way and looked out onto the empty street, "Nope, I don't see anypony."

"Good." Drax whispered behind me.

I pulled the branch back into place and looked at them. We was all wearing tight black suits, all almost invisible in the darkness.

Graze smirked, "I like our name."

I looked at him, "What? Silent Nights?"

He nodded, "Oh yeah, fits us. Since we are silent and invisible at night."

"There they are!" Screamed a hyper voice.

Shit!

[Did someone find us already?!]

I looked out of the branches and saw Pinkie Pie and Greg chasing three poor filly's. They chased them for a few seconds before firing off four shots. Three hit them, one went off course.

Frederic's voice boomed through the area, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders have been removed from the game."

Greg and Pinkie Pie slammed their hooves together.

Greg smiled lazily, "We are fucking epic!"

Pinkie Pie jumped up and down, "We're going to win!"

Greg smiled and turned and yelled, "The 4th wall breakers are gonna win! You hear me pussies!"

I closed the branches, "Yeah, we have a problem."

They looked at me, "What is it?"

"Greg and Pinkie Pie."

They looked worried for a second before smiled, "We can take them."

Before I could answer, Frederic's voice boomed again, "Hiding for long periods of time is illegal... Lance."

My eyes widened, "Oh shit..."

The tree we was hiding in suddenly vanished, leaving us with not cover, and falling to the ground.

We slammed into the ground and quickly stood.

"OH MY CELESTIA! ITS PINKIE!" Graze said as he pointed to Pinkie Pie charging towards us.

[We fight!]

"Take her down!" I screamed.

We all three raised our hooves and began firing at her.

Her ear twitched and she jumped out of the way of the first few shots. She then repeated this, dodging every ball of magic.

"FUCKING RUN! SHE'S USING PINKIE SENSE!" Graze screamed out before turning and running away.

I turned and ran after him, "I chose to live!"

Drax sprinted past me, "I will not lose like this!"

[Faster Lance! That pink bitch is still behind you!]

We galloped for I don't know how long. But we finally lost her in a alleyway, for now that is.

As we stood and took deep breaths, I looked at Drax, "Thanks for leaving me behind."

He smiled, "Your welcome."

Said Joy.

Graze stood up and stretched, "You two stay here, I'm going to see if I can scout the area."

I nodded, "Okay, have fun. Don't get hit, I don't want to lose my best player."

He smirked, "I won't, just stay here." He turned and galloped off.

I rolled my eyes, "We will."

Graze's POV

I walked out of the alley and scouted the area looking for any signs of life and Pinkie.... especially Pinkie.

< Hey Graze! We need to get to higher ground>
[ You know, better view equals a greater advantage ]

I looked up and saw a climbable path leading to the roof. I jumped and used my hooves to grasp onto several ledges as I progressed to the top of the house.

Finally making it, I scoped the entire PonyVille and watched a few contestants get shot and a few being chased. I placed one hoof and knelt down striking a pose.

< Synchronization Complete>
[ I'm the Celestia Damn BAT-COLT!]

I looked through the streets of PonyVille and what really caught my attention were two mares walking with their tails intertwined with one another. They were a familiar couple back in my school, Bon Bon and Lyra. They weren't walking side by side but more strategically back to back.

[ Great, How are we going to take them down!] Kill said.
< Hmmmm.... Hold on a second, I have a plan> Joy replied.

" Ha! Team Bond is going to win this competition!" said Lyra.

" And when we do, we can finally afford a vacation, hopefully if the prize is that valuable!" Bon Bon said.

I spied on them as they made it closer and closer to my building waiting for a perfect opportunity.

[Hey Graze look a random pile of hay!]
< Remember whatever you are going to do, no violence>

It was time. I nodded hearing the calling of an eagle and dove into the pile of hay landing back first.

" Hey Lyra you heard that?"

" Yeah, I think it came from that pile of hay."

[ Fuck!]

" Maybe it's just the wind," Bon Bon replied.

[ FUCK YEAH!]
< SHHH!!>
[ THEY CAN'T HEAR US YOU RETARD!]
<.....Oh yeah...>

" I don't know, I think we should check it out," the couple then advanced towards my pile of hay.

< Get ready Graze!>

They stopped in front of it and stared intensely looking for any signs of life," I think I'm going to poke out."

Lyra pushed her hoof forward which I then suddenly grabbed pulling her and Bon Bon in.

A few shouts and screams were heard from the pile of hay, even a few cries announcing rape.

< Rape is not a funny joke people, not even in this fic>
[ It's not rape if they enjoy it]

I shot Lyra with my magical projectile sending her to the losers booth. Next, I grabbed Bon Bon's bracelet and shot her as well.

I looked at the bracelet which I 'borrowed' from Bon Bon and had one of the greatest ideas known to PonyVille.

< CrackShot would be proud> Joy said as I placed the other bracelet around my hoof.

[ FUCK YEAH! DUAL WIELD!] Kill announced.
< AKIMBO MOTHER FUCKERS!> Joy exclaimed Bro-hoofing Kill.

" Hey you heard that?!" A random pony said followed by five others. Damn that was a large group.

" I think it came from that bush!"

They all stared intensely at the bush waiting for something to happen.

I was getting tired of hiding, so I jumped out screaming my battle cry shooting two ponies sending them to the losers booth.

[ Killing spree!]

I ran a circle around the other three as they aimed their weapons and fired at me. I drifted along the surface of the ground and jumped in the middle of all three of them on my hindlegs. I then aimed both of my weapons at the heads of two ponies surrounding me and pulled my hooves back firing the shots from the bracelets.

< Kill- tacular!>

The last pony watched me as I walked closer and closer to him. He was frightened of what next I was going to do to him. He fired a few shots which some pathetically missed and a few dodged.

I picked him up and made him kneel.

[ Bend before your ruler]

I placed one foreleg behind his back and another with the bracelet aiming at his head," PLEASE MERCY! MERCY!" He cried.

I smiled wickedly at the pony and said," Kill. Do it."

Kill then walked across on air by the conscience of my victim, beat him and forced him to shoot himself.

< Overkill> Joy said.
[ Can we call in a fricking care package? ]

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed throughout the skies," GRAZE! I SAID NO VIOLENCE!"

I looked up at the skies and shouted, revealing my position," FUCK YOU IRON! THAT WAS SELF DEFENSE! I RESTRAINED HIM!"

" Hmmm... Alright! NEXT TIME DON'T DO IT!" Iron Clad had allowed that one time to pass.

I sighed a breath of relief walking back to Lance and Drax," Whew that was close."

" Ahem!" A familiar voice called out. Somepony which I didn't want to see, Pinkie Pie and Greg.

[ OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK!]
< WE ARE SO FUCKING SCREWED!>

" Hey Graze Remember me?" Greg laughed.

I looked at him bemused and fired two shots from both my hooves sending him to the losers booth," Fuck you bro. That was for the kick in my nuts."

" Wow, this room is getting filled up fast. What the actual buck is going on?" Iron Clad said to himself.

Greg was instantaneously teleported into the room," ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? GRAZE I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!"

" HOW DARE YOU! YOU JUST ELIMINATED GREG!" Pinkie shouted.

" Ha! That's the game," I said with extra emphasis on " THE GAME"

" HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LOSE THE GAME YOU'RE NO FUN!" Pinkie shouted.

I looked and smiled from ten meters away at Pinkie," So.... Shall we?" I said calmly.

Pinkie then calmed down and smiled accepting my duel of quickdraw or Standoff," We shall."

The tension built between the two of us as we waited for the other to get mentally prepared.

{ Kill, Joy, remember how Pinkie uses her Pinkie Sense?}
< Yeah! She uses her consciences Pinkamena and Surprise!>
{ Exactly, I want the both of you too distract the two of them, I want this to be a fair match }
[ You got it Graze! One distraction coming up! ]

I watched as Kill and Joy made their way to Pinkie Pie talking to Pinkamena and Surprise pretending to be friends.

I smiled and shouted," DRAW!"

Suddenly Kill and Joy both grabbed Pinkamena and Surprise, restraining them from doing anything. I shot one round at Pinkie who stood still waiting for her Pinkie sense to take place... and waited and waited. Her eyes suddenly opened in realization and jumped out of the way at the bullet," WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" She shouted.

Two guns versus one. I repeatedly shot rounds at Pinkie who was now running for her life. She was still too fast, I didn't need a fast rate of fire, I needed precision.

I allowed her to run as aimed down on my hoof, looking for a nice clean headshot.

She was heading towards the direction of the alley which Lance and Drax hid in. I couldn't allow her to go any further, she was my prey.

I took a deep breath and released one shot.

She galloped faster and faster now in the sights of Lance and Drax," NONONONONONONONO!!!"

*PING*

Pinkie was now eliminated and I headed back towards Lance and Drax.

[ Nice shot Graze! Fucking HeadShot!]

I looked down the alley and saw Lance and Drax with their mouths opened wide in shock and awe from Pinkie being eliminated.

I only said one word," Killstreak."

Lance's POV

Holy crap! He just took out all of them by himself!

[That was fucking awesome!]

I looked at Graze, "How the fuck?!"

He smirked, "I've got skills!"

[We're just that badass!] Kill said gloating.

I chuckled, "Well, since your such a good shot. Your team sniper."

Graze pumped his hoof into the air, "FUCK YEAH!"

I looked at Drax, "Drax, your with me."

He smiled, "Let's win this thing!"

[Silent Nights are pro!]

Team: Musical Killers

Aaron ducked behind the small rock fence. He looked over at his two teammates, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, "Okay you two, we need to secure that library. With it, we can easily win this!"

Vinyl nodded her agreement, "Yeah, but Team Sparkle is in there."

Aaron smiled, "That's why we have those." He held up two small balls. But those were no normal balls, (DIRTY THOUGHTS! BE GONE!) they were sound grenades. They would go off, creating a loud quick screech that would take away your hearing for a few seconds.

Vinyl Smirked, "This is going to be fun!"

Octavia nodded, "Yes, if we don't get out."

Aaron stood, "We won't get out. We're the Musical Killers!" With that, he galloped towards the library.

Vinyl and Octavia soon jumped up and followed him.

When they reached the library, they piled up on the door.

Aaron put his ear to the door and smiled, "I hear them."

Vinyl snickered, "This is to easy!"

Aaron nodded and threw the door open, he then tossed in the sound grenade. They all covered their ears.

The loud screech could still be heard, but had no effect on them. They all charged into the library.

Aaron looked around and saw Twilight staggering. Perfect. He aimed at her first and fired, sending her to the loser's box.

Vinyl shot Rarity, who was also staggering around.

Vinyl let out a whoop of victory, "Oh yeah, we're bad!"

Suddenly she disappeared.

Aaron looked around, "There's another?!"

Applejack jumped off the stairs, "Ah got one!" She then shot Octavia, sending her away.

Before she could turn to Aaron, he ducked behind a bookshelf.

"Ah know you're over there." She said moving closer.

Aaron gulped and put his back hooves against the wall and his back against the bookshelf. He then began to push outward, sending the bookshelf crashing down.

Applejack jumped out of the way, "What the hay!"

Aaron aimed at her, "Got you!" He took aim and fired... nothing. He looked at his bracelet and saw that it was missing the barrel. Shit...

He twisted around and jumped through a random window. He then began to gallop at top speed away from the library.

Now he was alone, against all the others. And he had no weapon...

Team: Joki Knights

Peter shifted and stood up in his little hole. He opened the flap of fake grass and looked across the center of Ponyville. David came up also, a few feet to his right in a hole of his own.

Peter watched as the group of stallion's made their way across the open ground. He looked over at David, "Is the 'traps' ready?"

David nodded with a smirk, "Oh yeah, they're set."

Peter smiled, "Good. Is Doctor Whooves in place?"

David nodded again, "Yup."

Peter looked back and smiled, "Its time. Signal the Doc."

David smiled and performed a bird call.

Then then closed the flaps above them and sat and waited.

Doctor Whooves jumped up, only twenty feet from the group and ran straight for Peter and David, who was hidden.

As soon as the Doctor ran over them, they waited till they could hear the group.

Suddenly, they jumped up and began firing at the group, screaming out, "JOKI KNIGHTS!"

They shot down every member of the group.

Peter smirked and looked at David, "Best trap ever!"

David nodded, "Oh yeah, we was just like the Wolverines."

Peter chuckled, "Get ready, another group may come by."

David smiled and they went back into their holes.

Team: Outcast United

Zorrow sat propped up against the building, nervous. Why does he have to always be the bait?

He was sitting there, faking like he had broken his hoof. It looked pretty believable, to a pony. To a human, you could tell he was faking it.

He had been there for hours, letting Seth and Big Macintosh take out all the ponies stupid enough to try and help.

As he sat there, he saw two mare's making their way over to him.

Here we go again.

When they neared, he saw that it was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Shit.

Rainbow Dash looked at him, "What's wrong with you?" She said, keeping her distance.

Fluttershy on the other hand looked like she wanted to help.

Zorrow played his role, "I fell off the building. I think I broke my hoof."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Yeah right. Its not broken, I can clearly see that its..."

Fluttershy shot ahead, and was next to Zorrow within a second, "Oh, you poor dear. Are you okay?"

Big Macintosh stepped out, followed by Seth.

Seth smiled, "Got ya!"

Rainbow Dash charged forward, "I knew it!"

They both turned their attention to her, as Fluttershy was no threat.

They began firing at Rainbow Dash, but she easily dodged each shot.

Seth became enraged, "Ugh! Get hit already!"

Big Macintosh nodded, and said simply as he fired, "Eeyep!"

Suddenly, Big Macintosh disappeared.

Fluttershy covered her face, "I'm sorry... I was trying to figure out how to use this... thing."

Seth finally hit Rainbow Dash, barely, but enough to send her away. He then turned to Fluttershy, "Wow, she took out Big Macintosh... By accident!"

She turned to him, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

Seth advanced, "Meh, its okay. Now just let me get you out and..."

Suddenly he disappeared.

Fluttershy looked at her out stretched hoof, "Oh drat Fluttershy, you need to learn to use those things."

Zorrow began to scoot away. She just took out his whole team, by accident!

She looked at him, "Lets see about that hoof."

Screw this! He jumped up and sprinted away.

Graze's Pov

Before Drax and Lance had left, they had assigned me to Sniper support, they gave me a scope as I can guide them throughout PonyVille and take out any passerby's.

I was on top of the Town Hall and saw everything that took place, The Joki Knights and Outcast United traps and the one surviving member of Musical Killers run out of the Library.

I aimed down sights looking at Aaron," Just one small squeeze aaaaaand--"

[ YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE FUCKING LOOKING AT LANCE AND DRAX! ]

I scanned the environments looking out for Lance and Drax as they were supposed to make their way to the library," Oh shit! Another group!"

They were stuck literally in the middle of a firefight! " Are you bucking kidding me?!"

Lance and Drax hid behind a dumpster as defense as the group of three progressed towards them rapidly firing.

I swear I heard Lance and Drax shout," WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING GRAZE!!"

I aimed down the sights of my scope, aiming for a pretty smile for my camera. I looked carefully and saw two twin sister ponies," Aloe and Lotus."

< Ha! They are getting their asses handled by mares>

* BOOM* Headshot. One was down.

[ Get back to the kitchen ]

I think I shot .... Lotus?

" ALOE!!" The other twin shouted.

" Well, fuck. I hate being wrong," I aimed down the sights again and shot the other pony in the head.

" HA! Don't mess with a Killjoy!"

Lance and Drax then took the opportunity making a straight dash to the library, clearing out any ponies that ran by them.

I remembered one pony, Aaron if I had remembered correctly, ran out of that building.

Lance and Drax were about to open the door.

[ OH FUCK WE NEED TO WARN THEM!]
< HOW!?>

As Drax reached for the door while Lance leaned against the wall. I shot a round aiming exactly at the knob before Drax touched it.

Lance looked back at me and shouted," WHAT THE FUCK GRAZE!"

So much for subtlety. I rolled my eyes and shouted back," DON'T FUCKING GO IN THERE!! AARON JUST LEFT!"

The two looked at the door and paused, trying to make a decision.

I aimed down my scopes trying to look through the windows. I only saw one shadow, kinda weird. It didn't have the shape of a pony's head nor did a pony I know even have o--...... Oh fuck it's AppleJack.

She opened the door from the balcony of Twilight's treehouse moving silently not too attract any attention.

I shouted," RUN LANCE!! RUN!!!"

He looked back at me," WHAT?! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!"

Drax looked at Lance," I think he wants us too move."

Lance asked," Why?"

"Beats me."

I facehoofed," Those fucking retards."

[ Graze, if you don't take that show now, only you would be left]
< It's a pretty far shot, so use some of that physics Mr. Charge actually beat into you>
{ Alright, Celestia if I don't make this shot, I am going to kill Cody }

I aimed the sights above AppleJack's head taking in the effect of Coriolis. I took one deep breath and held it as I focused keeping the sights perfectly on AppleJack not moving one inch.

" Gotcha," I said before taking the shot which made AppleJack disappear.

{ Cody, today you live.}

A shout boomed throughout the skies," NO CAMPING GRAZE!"

" WHAT?! I'M NOT EVEN HIDING!" My complaint was unsuccessful as he teleported me right in the center of PonyVille where the Joki Knights had taken base.

I was alone and I had no sights on Lance and Drax," Fuck, I need to get out of here. Just need to look out for some fake bushes."

As I walked, I heard a few bird sounds coming from two bushes. I sighed and facehoofed," Exactly what in Celestia's fuck are birds doing in bushes."

I heard a few whispers," Shhhh.... I think he knows.... Just wait for the Doctor."

Suddenly a brown stallion jumped out not far from another bush and ran past center of the other 'whispering bushes.'

I had the most bemused expression on my face at all time," Fellas, do you see what's in my hoof? Oh, you see nothing right? IT'S THE AMOUNT OF FUCKS I GIVE! I AM A CELESTIA DAMN SNIPER!"

I was never foolish enough to take the bait and shot Doctor Whooves from afar making him disappear," By the way, that trap only works for short range users and for idiots."

The two bushes stopped whispering to each other and a few regrets were heard of letting the Doctor be the bait. I looked at the two bushes and from far away, the only one time in my life, I spat on the bushes as a sign of disrespect.

I walked away hearing the sounds of Peter," AGHH GET IT OFF ME! IT'S IN MY HAIR!"

[That's fucking nasty bro]

I smiled at their reactions and chuckled," Time to find Lance and Drax..... HOLD ON GUYS I'M COMING!"

Lance's POV

"Damn, we was lucky that time." I said, looking out the window of the library.

Drax nodded, "Thank Celestia Graze had our backs."

I saw something running towards the library, "Movement!"

We got into position, behind the couch, and aimed at the door.

Suddenly, Zorrow burst in.

I jumped up, "Freeze!"

He dropped to the ground, "WAIT! Don't shoot."

I kept aiming at him, "Three."

He looked up, scared.

"Two."

He stood.

"One..."

He dropped to the ground again, "Wait, please. I lost my entire team! Can I join you Lance?"

[Waste his ass Lance!]

I sighed, "No, but I'll let you go. Run now."

He jumped up and ran out the door.

Drax looked at me, "Why didn't you take him out?!"

I shrugged, "The guys had a rough life, believe me."

Drax sighed, "Well, don't let everypony live."

I smiled, "Don't worry, I won't let to..."

Another pony ran in. This time, we both turned and fired.

Graze's eyes went wide and he dodged both the rounds, "WHOA! Watch your fire!"

I chuckled, "Sorry about that. Thanks for covering us."

He held up a hoof, "No problem. You guys are idiots."

I smiled, "I know."

He closed the door and walked over, "A lot of ponies have been taken out."

Drax nodded, "And there aren't many left. I say we defend this place for a while."

We all nodded in agreement. Time to set up defenses.

Crossover of the Consciences: Kill VS Break

Crossover with 'Three of me vs school society' by KillJoy

Graze
[My conscience Kill writes in the brackets and bolded]

< My conscience Joy writes in these and Italics>

{ I respond in these}

Lance

[ My conscience Break writes in these bracket and bolded]
< My consciences Dawn writes in these and italics >
{ I respond in these }

Kill and Break will be spoken in first person a.k.a myself and Graze so we will refer to them as I or me.

Graze's POV

Play this while reading this scene.

Kill and Break stood silently on the field, quiet as the wind blew through their manes. The tension was hyped up for two days as it was a battle of the two consciences.

Kill said staring at Break, "Let's try and make this as gentlecolt as possible."

" Ha, fuck no, I want to see who turns out on top."

" Good, because there was never any intention of me fighting like a pussy."

The two shared a quick laugh, which turned to one of seriousness.

They both dashed at each other at full speeds, Kill with his hoof enflamed with black corruption and Break with his engulfed with the brightest of flames.

Hoof against hoof and flame versus flame was the battle for now.

Our hooves collided with one another continuously as the black and red flames danced on contact. Break's power had increased since two days ago, this was surely going to be fun.

We were both equally matched hoof versus hoof.

" Fuck this!" I announced being controlled by Kill.

I spun on all hooves making a one hundred and eighty degree turn and whipped my tail causing a successful distraction as his eyes were no longer on me. I balanced on both my front legs and bucked him with my hind sending him flying slightly above the surface then landing with a thud.

"Ha! BUCK YOU!" I shouted.

{ Sssst Ouch, that has got to hurt }
< Why are we even doing this? >

Break then got up and wiped his hoof across his cheek, spitting out some blood," Not fucking cool."

Break flapped his wings giving him an extra dash of speed appearing before me in a blink of an eye," Wait! What the--"

He grabbed me with both hooves and began to choke me," Thanks for the lesson teach' "

{ KILL! D... SOM...TH..NG! } My voice tried to call out aiding him.

" Graze can't help you nor can Joy," Break announced.

I felt the transfer between me and Kill begin. He was fading in and out from the strangle.

He gasped for one breath and held it in so that the control he had over my body won't be lost.

I reached for Break's hooves and held onto them, trying to loosen the grip. He only choked harder.

" THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kill shouted. I then headbutted Break as he released the grip on my neck. I wrapped my tail around one of his hooves and pulled with great force sending him to the floor on his back knocking the wind out of him.

We were both out of breath from the strangle and the fall. I walked slowly towards the grounded pegasus and looked over him.

An evil smile grew upon my face as a thought appeared in my head," I'm glad Twilight is already pregnant."

Break's eyes opened wide," Oh fuck no..."

I raised one hoof straight up in the air and struck down upon his genitalia. What a fucking cheap shot but totally worth it.

" Millionth time for this fucking month," Break said holding his balls under his breath. ( Yes, perverts, I encourage these thoughts unlike Lance).

"Hahahahaha," I snickered at what I had done getting too caught up in the moment," ......."

I grew silent and fell to the floor holding my own jewels as I saw Break's hoof out where it had just made impact.

In my pain and struggle to even crawl, Break walked up to my face, his hoof viewed upon by my eyes directly in front of me.

*POW* Break had kicked me directly in my face pitching me off the ground counteracting the pain of the nut shot.

I opened my wings and caught a slight drift allowing me to get back upon my hooves with me facing the floor as I tried to catch a breather.

Break rushed towards me with one of his hooves charged for another shot.

{< KILL! WATCH OUT!>} Joy and I said in unison directing his attention to Lance.

In a split of a second Break released a powerful hoof only to be caught by Kill," Not fucking today."

Kill stood up on hindlegs twisting Break's hoof in such a position making him kneel before me," Yes, kneel bitch."

With one of my supporting hindlegs, I placed one gently on Break's face and tensed it gaining enough energy and force.

I then exerted all force in one perfect shot releasing his hooves before to prevent any dislocation," Octavia taught me how to stand up." Kill said with a smug tone as Break's body pitched across the field like a rag doll.

Before he could have even bring himself up, I was there before him as he was to me just a few minutes ago," You're going to love this new trick."

I wrapped my tail around his hoof taking flight to the skies. Once reaching the highest altitude, I looked at Break trying to escape the red and white grip known as my tail," You ever felt a piledriver before?" Kill asked calmly.

" Fuck...." Break said.

" Well, I'm not going to do that. It would be.... disrespectful to such an opponent like you," I smiled evilly at him as his eyes opened wider in fear and had put more effort into escaping his restraint.

" It's time for the Seismic Toss."

I flew around in revolutions picking up speed as I kept my momentum. Soon, I was going so fast that it looked like Break was about to throw up. The intense speeds of revolutions had taken colour of my black flames singeing Lance's coat," AGGGGHHHH!" Break shouted.

From my intense rounds of circles, I then made a deep nose dive heading towards the surface of the earth as my black flame trail mimicked my movement.

Approximately halfway there with my continuous momentum, I rolled in mid air with my victim. With a snap and flicker of my tail, I shot him sending the black flamed trailed body to his dirt like death bed, figuratively speaking.

*Thud* was all I heard as dust and dirt pitched from the ground surrounding him in the newly created crater.

< Think that did it?>
[ Yeah.... Wait.... It can't be! THE BASTARD IS STILL MOVING!] Kill exclaimed to Joy watching the body of Break slightly shudder with a weak stance and heavy breaths.

" That's fucking it!" I shouted diving towards him with break neck speeds. I didn't want to kill him but I desperately wanted to try this move since our last match.

With my distance drawing nearer to Lance's impact zone the white thick air resistance cone formed around me. Perfect.

I tainted the barrier yet again with my trademarked black flames and spun literally twisting and bending the black flamed cone to my will. " BREAK! MEET THE NEWEST ADDITION TO MY ARTILLERY!" I shouted out loud. The air resistant cone broke, not creating a sonic boom as supposed if it wasn't twisted but something newer, and more destructive with precision.

" NECRO VORTEX!" I shouted as a whirlpool or rather preferred a vortex of black flames, engulfed, concentrated and emitted from the source, Kill.

I took aim at Break and shot down towards my target with a quick of my legs, I counted down," THREE..... TWO.....ONE..... The fuck?"

Suddenly all my speed decelerated and my flames extinguished. I looked confused at Lance.... No, it was Breaking Dawn who had stopped my assault with a catch of his hooves only dragged back a few metres from my impact.

Break looked at me and said," Now the real fight begins."

Lance's POV

Now, play this for this scene.

I smiled at Kill, "Now the real fight begins." I laughed loudly and slammed Kill into the ground.

I quickly reached down and grabbed his vest, "You shouldn't wear clothes in a fight!" I then threw him straight up.

Seconds after I threw him upwards, I jumped up and slammed my hoof into his chin as he fell back towards the ground.

The force from the blow sent him straight up again, giving me the chance to perform a second uppercut, and a third, and a fourth.

He finally caught himself and slammed his hoof into my face, causing my head to turn slightly.

I chuckled, "That all you got?"

He smirked, "Nope, I have so much more!"

His wings caught fire, and his eyes darkened even more, "KILLJOY IS HERE!"

I smiled, "Oh yeah, that's what I want!"

Kill flew straight for me. I didn't even try to move.

He slammed into me and we began to quickly exchange blows. I slammed my hoof into his face, he slammed his into my face. It was hard to keep track of.

Suddenly, Kill jumped back and twisted in the air. His back hooves slammed into my face with great force, sending me sprawling through the air.

I stopped myself and rubbed my face, "Cheap shot!"

Kill only laughed as he slammed into me, flying towards the ground.

I laughed at his attempts, "Again? This is getting old!"

Seconds before impact, I twisted, putting myself in control and threw Kill forwards. He hit the ground, dirt and rock flying everywhere.

{Damn Break, kinda going overboard with this aren't ya?}
[I always go overboard!]

I flew straight down, slamming into Kill as he tried to stand. We slammed into the ground, creating a small crater. I smiled and pulled back my hoof, "Good night Kill." My hoof tensed up as the flames became intense. I slammed my hoof into Kill's face, causing his head to leave an indention in the ground.

As I pulled my hoof back, he pushed forward, throwing me off of him. "NOT TODAY!"

He flew forward.

When he made contact with me, I stood on my hind legs and put my hooves on his shoulders, holding him down.

He then began to take quick and powerful jabs at my exposed torso and stomach.

I tried to force him away, but he kept pushing forward. I grabbed his head and pushed down, slamming his face into my knee.

His body snapped up, but instead of falling back, he punched me in the face, hitting my snout.

I stumbled back and went back to all fours, holding my snout.

He sprung towards me and I ducked under him. As he soared over me, I punched upward, hitting him in the gut.

He slammed into the ground, holding his stomach, gasping for air. I chuckled and charged towards him.

As he began to stand, I slammed my head into his side, sending him back to the ground. I stood over him and reared up, "TIME TO END THIS!"

He smirked and twisted around. He then kicked outward with his back hooves, hitting me in the knees.

I fell backwards, my knees close to breaking.

Kill jumped up and landed on my chest, "Cocky much?"

I rolled my eyes, "Fuck you..."

Kill began to repeatedly slam his hooves into my face and chest. I held my hooves up to block, but he easily bypassed them. He was in control.

As he beat the crap out of my head, I smiled. I brought my back hooves up, wrapped them around his neck and threw him backwards.

I stood and dusted myself off. I then looked at Kill as he stood back up, "What? I though you said you could take me?"

Graze's POV

Play this now, it so fits this next part.

I smiled at Break," You know what? You are right. I will allow shit to get serious."

I then took off my coat and shirt showing off my two exquisite cutie marks, the tribal deviled wing and the angelic one," Whew! You do not know how good it feels to not be held back by clothes."

" Hmph, two?" Break asked.

" Not cutie marks, I was born with them," I said neatly folding my clothes," You ready for the ass kicking of your life time?"

" Only if you're ready for yours," Break said.

I flared my wings, showing off the black outlines of my weaker state," Trust me, you don't want to see these bad boys at a third NecroFlare."

Break's eyes widened," Th-THIRD?! NOT EVEN CLAD CAN DO THAT! ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?"

I smiled silently at my side mocking him.

Break then decided to rush me head on with a dirty look on his face. He immediately took aim for my face with an enflamed hoof.

I smiled smugly grabbing his hoof and punched him spinning him around his back facing me. I then grabbed him where his back facing and suplexed him in a split of a second with no time to waste.

" You won't believe how flexible I am bro," I said to him. Obviously he didn't know that I learnt that move when I was a mare for a day.

I then picked him up with one hoof onto his mane and the other on his coat intensifying the heat of my black flames on my hooves," One thing you lack is creativity," I said to Break as he endured the burning sensation with looks of discomfort," If you are going to fight like me then you're going to have to learn the hard way."

I threw his body like a ragdoll from his mane which he then countered by opening his wings catching his balance from a drift," HA! THE HARD WAY?! I'm not even close to finished."

" Have at thee brethren," I said placing out my hooves motioning him to come for some more.

He accepted the invitation flying towards me with a black and red trail of colour behind him as I did the same only for my movement to be mimicked by my tribal black flames.

We clashed at the floor trading blows then slowly ascended criss crossing path in a DNA like structure intersecting at points only to yet again to assault one another. Through each intersection a small wave of a bright orange flame contrasting with another corrupted tainted black flame would disperse and expand for only a few metres.

We both had the same idea as we reached the highest altitude and copied one another following into a nose dive.

Necro Flare Vs ShadowBlast, the outer colored perimeter from both versions of our sonic booms collided with one another, spreading throughout the lands of Equestria darkening it's skies. No longer was it a sunny day but rather a gloomy one as the shadows and dark, violent colours covered the skies.

With both of our speeds at Mac-4 and my wings doubled in size due to the effects of the NecroFlare, we both made a U-turn before impacting with the floor and headed straight for one another.

We were both moving at speeds invisible to the naked eye but only our impacts and hits were seen represented by either a black or bright orange flame.

Lance got the first hit on me, sending me flying but he was so fast that he caught up to me before I even had time to catch my balance. He followed this system of hitting me from all directions, over and over again, countless times which he soon then broke his combo with one final hit sending my spiraling to the surface below.

Just how many craters were we going to create? " Ah, BREAK YOU BITCH! I'M GOING TO FEEL THAT IN THE FUCKING MORNING!" I said from the surface.

"HA! WHO TOLD YOU TO MESS WITH--" Break began to gloat.

" Me," I whispered behind him. I then placed both of my hooves in a lock and slammed them onto his neck. Before he even touched the floor, I grabbed him by his mane and dragged him along the surface.

I stopped in my tracks and placed him firmly on all four hooves as he was delusional from my hit and drag technique.

" This is the worst combo you will ever feel in your life," I said flaring my wings with a few embers coming dropping.

I hoofed him with my right and then my left picking up the momentum to spin and hit him with a spin kick from my right hind leg making two spins hitting him twice. Before he fell from the hit, I grabbed him, kneeing him in the face. He then floated for a while unconsciously as he recoiled from the hit. I made one final spin with my forelegs supporting me as I bucked him with both my hind sending him high sky.

I flew up meeting him as his body ascended unwillingly, grabbing him from the back and sprung out my wings creating a Bucaneer Blaze.

We both fell to the ground, tired, beaten and exerted.

*Double Thud*

On the floor, Break and I both stood up, not wanting to give up but extremely tired, KillJoy was no longer there and neither was Breaking Dawn.

We both panted," Ready... for one last move?"

" Winner...takes all?" Break asked.

I nodded.

Lance's POV

For some reason, this fits. Play it.

I smiled, panting loudly, "How about we play chicken? With sonic booms?"

Kill smiled, also trying to catch his breath, "Lets! Who ever turns away loses and is admitted the weakest."

I raised an eyebrow in a taunting way, "And! If we collide, the one who is hurt the most is the loser."

Kill nodded, "Deal."

{Wait! This is suicide!}

"LANCE! Stop all this now! Please!" Somepony said running towards us.

Me and Kill looked in that direction to see three mare's running towards us; Ditzy, Dali, and Twilight.

Twilight ran up to me and wrapped her hooves around me, "Lance, please stop! Look at you, your body is covered in bruises and cuts!"

I chuckled and pushed her off me gently, "Oh Twi, I'm not Lance, I'm his conscience, Break."

Twilight then glared, "Stop this fighting now Break."

I smirked, "Nah."

Ditzy looked Kill, "You don't have to do this!"

Kill shrugged, "True, I don't have to. But I want to."

Dali looked at me and looked close to tears, "Please don't continue this, your going to hurt Lance!"

Break waved her off, "He'll be fine.... hopefully."

Kill looked at him, "Ready for this?"

Break smirked, "Lets fucking do this!"

Kill flew straight up and away from me, I did the same.

Down below, I could hear the girls trying to talk us out of it, but it was of no use. Kill and Break wouldn't listen, they had a score to settle.

Once we was far enough apart, he yelled out, "You ready to lose?"

I smiled and yelled back, "Only if your ready to admit to being a pussy!"

We shot forward, both of us picking up speed.

I looked to my side and saw the cone began to form. Perfect.

The cone quickly caught fire due to the flames coming off of me. I suddenly shot forward, breaking the sound barrier.

Kill was also past the sound barrier and coming in fast.

It was clear neither of us had any intentions of chickening out. This was going to be a head on collision.

I pushed myself harder, and harder, and harder. I felt myself go even faster, "DOUBLE SHADOW BLAST!"

Far ahead, I heard Kill Scream out, "NECRO FLARE TIMES TWO!"

I laughed as we speed closer and closer, "You stole that from Dragon Ball Z!"

Seconds later, we was to close. Moments from impact.

When we slammed into each other, the shock waves from both of our sonic booms slammed into each other, causing a massive explosion of sound and wind.

We both fell to the ground, unconscious. The impact had been to much for us to handle.

Graze's POV

"....Graze....wake up....." I heard a voice call out.

" Huh?" I said confused.

" Wake up," the voice was more stern.

" Mommy?"

*POW POW* I got two slaps from a hoof.

"GRAZE WAKE THE FUCK UP!" The voice being recognized as Kill said.

I looked around only to be surrounded by a veil of white and Kill and Joy," Oh Celestia Buck ME! AM I SERIOUSLY IN MY SUBCONSCIOUS AGAIN!!....Wait.... Who won?!"

A more tender yet stern voice said known as Joy," Neither of you retarded fucktards did. I told you this was a bucking stupid idea, BUT NO! No one ever listens to me."

" Oh quit your whining!" Kill said.

" I AM NOT WHINING! I AM COMPLAINING!"

I stopped both of them from arguing pushing them aside," Hey guys! Stop it! What the hell is happening?!"

" Wake up and see for yourself," Joy said.

My eyes opened as I laid on a soft comfortable hospital bed. I looked at the side of me, Lance was sleeping soundly as he was recovering and resting from our fight.

" Poor pony," I said.

[ We have to go Graze, this is not our universe and our two days are up.]
< C'mon, everypony back home is waiting >

I was a bit saddened at the fact that I had to leave my new friend, he had so much more to learn but two days was just enough time to get him started.

I looked at the side of my bed, my clothes neatly folded before the fight and my saddlebag with the teleportation scroll.

I had an idea, grabbed a piece of paper and wrote:

Dear Lance,

Thank you for being one of my closest friends throughout these past two days, giving me a home to stay under while here and supporting me with that Ditzy scene. I don't ever think I could have had this much fun as we did these past two days. I'm sorry to tell you that none of us won the fight but since I recovered first.... Well, nevermind, nopony won. I am actually heartbroken that I must leave, Kill says he is going to miss Break and Joy says that he is going to miss Dawn. Tell everypony good bye for me, I know this won't be our last time seeing each other and hopefully we would get a proper rematch. I really hate to go without telling you face to face, bro-hoof to bro-hoof but as I said one day you can pay me back the favor. Keep everypony under control and also I am proud that you learnt how to control Break and Dawn.... Remember, it's not about anger, it's about control! Protect your friends as I do with mine, they are worth it and forever will be. I won't leave you without a gift though, something that you won't forget me by, you're going to need some new threads.... Extra Swag you know? Don't worry, I have like six others of the same design home. But for now see you soon. Keep calm, Love and tolerate. Til next time Lance! See ya.

I neatly folded the note placing it and my neatly folded clothes and Lance's bed where he had rested.

I felt my body strain as I limped with my saddlebag and the teleportation scroll in my mouth.

I walked outside the room not wanting to wake up Lance as he needed some well deserved rest. I exited the room only to be confronted by Ditzy who was now about check up on us.

Her face brightened as she saw mine and hugged me," THANK CELESTIA YOU'RE SAFE!"

I endured the pain as she squeezed upon my bruises and cut off the hug," Don't worry, it will take a lot more to get rid of me.... But I really have to go, sorry."

She smiled and nodded," It's alright, I know you can't wait to see 'her' "

" Ha, you don't know how right you are," I smiled but then as soon as it came, it disappeared," Ditzy?"

"Yeah?"

" Listen to me, I just want to remind you, that even though you aren't part of my universe, you are still Ditzy, the same eyes and personality.... Never give up on who you are with those bright eyes and smiles of yours, they are a blessing not a curse."

She cried hearing it first from me, accepted through her hardships and hugged me," Your name isn't Derpy, it will always be Ditzy." I moved away from the embrace," C'mon where is that bright smile?"

She nodded wiping her tears and gave me a big ol' smile," That's better.... but I really need to go."

I placed the scroll on the floor, waving a hoof goodbye at Ditzy and stomped on the letter.

*ZZTTT PING!*

I was now teleported back in MY Ditzy's room, in the school at the same time of night.

The flash awoke her as she got up from bed and saw a figure, me. She flickered on the lights and gazed upon my many cuts and bruises. Her eyes filled with tears unable to say any words. She rushed towards me and hugged me which I will always willingly accept.

Throughout the embrace, I wrapped my wings around her, stroked her mane as she nuzzled my chest letting out all her feelings. I stood firm throughout the burning sensation of my bruises enduring the pain as I only wanted to be here, with her, my Ditzy, my Bright Eyes.

" Don't worry Bright Eyes..... I'm home," I said with a small sob.

Lance's POV

I opened my eyes, my whole body in pain. I rubbed my face with my hooves and sighed, "That sucked!"

I put my hooves down and my right one touched something. Paper.

I looked down and picked up the piece of paper and read it.

Once I finished, a tear was in my eye. I looked over at the clothes and smiled, "Thanks bro, how did you know I needed something new to wear?"

I sat back and relaxed, next time I see Graze, we're going to have a fair fight. Maybe I can ask Celestia to send me there sometime. But for now, I rest. Because in two days, we leave for the Ski Resort, and that is going to be fun!

Break rubbed his eyes. [Did we win?]
{Nope, it was a draw.}
[... Shit....]

Going snowboarding

Going snowboarding

Author's note: I have changed the time around a little. Go back to the chapter, ' A true friend' I have changed it to four months. This way, the baby will be due within a few chapters.

Also, this chapter is short, sorry. I became kinda emotional today.

Chapter 58

Two days after Graze left

[Damn, its cold!]

I chuckled to myself as I listened to Break and Dawn argue.

I looked out the window of the train as we passed a beautiful white landscape. I shivered slightly when a gust of wind came through the crack in the window.

I was wearing a black and red scarf, made by Rarity. A beanie type hat on the top of my head. I had on a black face cover that covered my mouth and nose. Lastly, I was wearing the clothes Graze had left me, but with the addition of goggles and black boots.

Even though I had all that, I was still freezing.

"You okay there Lance?" Twilight asked as she watched me shiver.

I smiled, but it was hidden by my face cover, so I forced out a chuckle, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just freezing to death over here."

She chuckled and scooted closer to me, "Wanna share my blanket?"

I scooted closer to her, "I would lover to share a blanket." I then nuzzled her cheek.

She giggled and used her magic to cover both of us with the blanket. She then wrapped her hooves around me and hugged me tightly.

I hissed in pain, "Careful Twi, I'm still bruised and sore from that fight."

[I still can't believe it was a draw...]

She smiled awkwardly and loosened her embrace, "Oops, sorry."

I chuckled and pulled her close, ignoring the searing pain, "Its okay, I still love you."

She smiled and laid her head on my shoulder.

[Your so in there!]
<*Sight* I'll never know how your mind works Break.>

I rolled my eyes and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

Fifty five minutes later

"This place is awesome!" Me and David said at the same time as we stood in the lobby of the Ski Resort.

The girls just chuckled at our actions and walked to the check in desk, leaving us guys behind.

Spike whistled, "When I win, I win big!"

Greg laughed and held up his hoof, "Thanks for letting us come dude."

Spike bumped his hand against Greg's hoof, "No problem, you bronies are my friends too."

I smiled and looked at everyone who had come on this little trip. It was me, all the bronies, the mane six, Cody, Ditzy, Dali, Drax, Vinyl Scratch, Luna, and of course, Spike. Yeah, all together, we're a large group, twenty one strong.

[Twenty one! This group is getting big!]
{I know right! I never noticed there was so many of us.}

Zorrow rubbed his hooves together in excitement, "I can't wait to start skiing!"

Peter smirked, "Well, while your skiing, I'll be off snowboarding."

Zorrow rolled his eyes, "Skiing is so much better."

Peter went on the offensive, "You don't know what your talking about!"

I laughed and turned away as the two went at it.

Twilight walked up to me reading a piece of paper, "Lance, you should read this. Its pretty important."

I shrugged and took it from her magical grasp. I skimmed over it and nodded, "Wow, I didn't know that."

The paper said that all Pegasus must wear heavy wing covers. The temperatures up here are to much for the fragile bone and feathers. So flying around is out of the question while we're this high up.

[Damn, I wanted to cause a avalanche with a Shadow Blast.]
{You evil, awesome dude. That would have actually been kinda cool.}

Suddenly, I felt something go over each wing. I looked back and chuckled, Twilight was placing wing covers over each of my wings. She had her tongue stuck out while she worked. So damn cute!

Once she had my wings tucked away, she smiled proudly, "Got it!"

I giggled, wait. I GIGGLED!

[HAHAHA! Your such a girl!]

{Screw both of you!}

Twilight looked at me and began to laugh, followed by the others. This is freaking embarrassing!

I held up my hooves, "Okay, we all had our laughs."

Rarity stopped laughing slowly and smiled, "I agree with Lance. It was funny, but we need to get back to the business at hoof."

Twilight held back her laughs and nodded, "Yes, we should. We have the rooms, but now we must divide up to each room. Lance and I will take one."

Rarity nodded in agreement, "Peter and I will also take one for ourselves."

Aaron shrugged, "I guess Vinyl and I can take one for ourselves too."

I looked at everyone else, "Okay, Rainbow Dash and David will go together. Cody and Derpy will also get a room to themselves. Of course, Greg and Pinkie Pie's room will be far away from the rest. And the last couple on the list is Frederic and Luna, they get the biggest room."

All the couples smiled at each other, happy to have a room to themselves.

Seth became confused, "What about us?"

I smirked, "I'm going to be evil here. Seth and Zorrow will share a room." After they groaned, I looked over to Applejack and Fluttershy, "Sorry you two, but you'll have to share a room also."

Applejack shrugged, "Its fine with us. We've done it before."

I nodded and looked over to the remaining ponies, "Spike, you can stay in my and Twilight's room. Drax, huh, I guess you can take the left over room. Dali, you may stay with me and Twilight also."

Drax slowly walked towards me and a nervous look on his face, "Uhhh, Lance, can you put me and Dali in the same room."

I looked at him strangely, "Why?"

He blushed, which was clearly visible since his coat was black, "Ummm, no real reason."

I then smirked, now knowing why he wanted a room with her, "Let me guess, you like her?"

He blushed deeply, "NO! I mean, no."

I chuckled and looked at Dali, "On second thought, could you and Drax share a room?"

She thought for a second, "I guess."

I smiled, "Perfect! Who wants to hit the slopes?"

Almost everyone said yes, a few of us went to check out the rooms.

Peter walked over and threw a snowboard at me. I jumped up and caught it in my teeth.

David smiled, "Lets do this thing!"

Thirty two minutes later

I looked down the steep slope, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

[Don't you pussy out Lance! I want to do this!]

I gulped and stood on my hind legs, the board strapped to my boots. I'll never know how I'm able to stay balance on my hind legs and on a board, but I did it somehow.

I prepared myself for the ride downward, sweat was pouring down my face. Freezing before it was even halfway down my face. Its that damn cold.

Once everyone was ready, Peter smiled, "Let get this thing started!" He then jumped forward and began to go down the hill on his board.

Everyone else followed, all but me. I was shaking from the cold and fear.

[Ugh! I got this.]
{Break.. no!}

I felt him take over and push me forward, causing me to go straight down the mountain.

"SHIT!" I screamed out as I picked up speed and it became hard to keep balanced. I leaned around till I regained full control of my movements and began to enjoy the thrill of flying down the slopes.

Up ahead, I saw Aaron lose control and begin to roll down the hill.

[Funny shit right there!]

I flew past Aaron laughing, "Better luck next time!"

As I glided across the snow, a stallion walked out into my path.

[Fucking move!]

"Move!" I yelled out to late. I slammed into him, sending both of us down the mountain. We finally came to a stop and I stood up, pulling my face cover back up and adjusting my goggles.

The other stallion stood and rubbed his head.

I looked him over. He was a grey Pegasus with a black and ice blue mane and tail, and his eyes were kinda brown. He had a gentle look to him.

He looked at me and blinked, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to knock you off your board."

I chuckled and waved him off, "Its okay." I held out a hoof, "The names Lance."

[LANCE! You just told him your real name!]
{Oh shit! I wasn't thinking!}

The stallion smiled and reached out and took my hoof, "Nice to meet you Lance. My name is Shadow Breeze."

Cool name. "So, what was you doing out here?"

He smiled, "I was just keeping track of all the animals, and shit like that." He then instantly covered his mouth.

[Brony!]

I looked at him and cocked my head, "Human?"

He looked shocked, "Uhhh, maybe."

I smiled and laughed a little, "Well I'll be damned, I found another brony."

He looked confused at what I was saying.

I just smiled, even if it was covered by my face mask, "Don't worry, I'ma brony also. You can act like one around me and my friends."

He relaxed, "I didn't know there was others here."

I shrugged, "There's way more than you think."

He looked taken back, "Really?"

I nodded and chuckled, "So, tell me, why didn't you try to get to Ponyville. I've been curious about this, I haven't seen any bronies make their way there."

He held his hoof to his chin, "Well, I just appeared here and I kinda liked it here. I work here now, I help with normal things and watch over the little filly's and colt's. I also keep track of the animals in the area. I just love it here. Besides, I couldn't find Ponyville."

I held back a laugh, "Well, that answers my question. You should come to the lobby tonight, me and my friends are going to sit around the fire."

He smiled, "I'd love that. Thanks."

I shifted onto my board and waved, "See ya then." I then began heading down the slope, ready to get back to the Resort and my warm room.

Getting the news

Chapter 59

"So you found another brony?" Peter asked as he warmed himself next to the fire.

I nodded, "Eeyep."

[Why does everyone copy Big Mac?]

I chuckled and looked around me. We was all in the cozy lobby, sitting on throw pillows around the fire. Each couple shared a pillow and was wrapped in each other's hooves.

Zorrow sat alone and chuckled, "I hope we don't find to many bronies."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

We then began to chat about general things and what we was going to do tomorrow on the slopes.

"Hey everyone, Lance told me to come. I brought my friend." Said a voice behind us all.

We all turned to see Shadow Breeze, and a olive green female Pegasus.

I smiled, "Hey Shadow, who's your friend?"

She smiled and walked up to me and extended a hoof, "I'm Vinetion, but you can call me Vine if you want."

Seth smiled smugly and stood up and made his way to her, "Well hey there pretty lady. I must say, you are looking smoking hot today."

Vinetion rolled her eyes and stomped her hoof.

A vine popped out of the ground and wrapped around Seth's back leg and lifted him up into the air.

"What the hell!" He said as he began to thrash about.

Shadow Breeze chuckled as he made his way over to us, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Vine here can control plants."

We all looked at him in disbelief, and I said, "What? How is that possible?"

She shrugged, "Ever since I arrived here in Equestria, I've had this power."

My eyes widened, "Wait, your a brony?!"

She chuckled and shook her head slightly, "Pegasister."

I nodded and gave a slight aha, "Well, its good to meet a female brony for once."

She looked at our group, "You mean you haven't even meet one single female brony?!"

Peter shrugged, "Nope, just us men."

I looked over at Seth, who's face was turning red from being held up side down, "Huh, could you drop him before he has brain damage."

Vinetion looked at him and grinned, "Of course." She stomped her hoof, causing the vine to go back into the ground, which in turn caused Seth to fall face first on the ground.

Zorrow winced, "Owww, that had to hurt."

I let out a small laugh and looked over to Shadow, "So, why are you two still here? I mean, come on, you know you want to check out Ponyville."

Vinetion answered for him, "Well, when we ran into each other a few months ago, we had both been here at this Ski Resort the whole time. He takes care of the kids and animals, and I take care of the forest."

Shadow nodded, "In truth, I like it here to much to leave. I mean, of course I would like to go to Ponyville and see..." His voice trailed off as his gaze stooped on a pony. Fluttershy.

Fluttershy began to shift uneasily under his gaze.

Shadow quickly looked away and gave a small laugh, "Sorry about that, I just remembered something." He then turned and ran out of the room.

I looked at Vinetion, "What was that about?"

She chuckled, "I'll tell you later." She then looked at the whole group, "I see everyone's paired up, and you've already gotten my favorite ponies. Well damn."

[Wait.... There's only female ponies here that she would know about. Does that mean shes...]

[Nah, I think she means the mare's.]
{Both of you, shut the hell up!}

Twilight looked at her confused and then at the group, "What do you mean? You haven't met any of the bronies before, how would you have a favorite?"

I put my hoof on her mouth and whispered, "I'll tell you later, okay Twi?"

She nodded and whispered back, "Okay."

I looked back at Vinetion, who was looking at me and Twilight with a amused face.

Peter rubbed his chin, "AHA! I know what she means now! She means..."

*BAM*

He held a hoof to his head, and picked up the book that had just hit him, "Lance, what was that for!"

I smiled, "Quiet you."

He rolled his eyes and laid his head down. Rarity put her hooves over his neck and began to whisper in his ear. He seemed to cheer up instantly.

Vinetion only chuckled at our actions to what she said.

Luna rubbed her chin confused, "I am confused, can you tell me what you mean by..."

"LANCE! IF YOU THROW THAT BOOK, I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" Frederic yelled out at me.

I smiled sheepishly and slowly put the book down that I was about to throw at Luna.

Luna looked between us and sighed, "Uhhh, okay then. As I was saying, can you tell us what you mean by that we've all got your favorite ponies? I didn't know you knew any of the bronies."

Vinetion looked to be holding back laughter, "I'll tell you all in due time. But tonight, I just want to get to know all of you."

Luna shrugged, "We will do this. Lets get to talking about our lives."

Everyone laughed at her and we all began to get to know each other a little better.

That night, Drax and Dali's room

Drax sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Dali who was looking out the window at the night sky. He looked her over and sighed, "So beautiful." He whispered under his breath.

He had liked her ever since Lance had brought him over to her house. It was love at first sight for him, and that has never happened before. He has never even thought about dating his whole life, but for some reason, he wants to be with her. To hold her and keep her safe. He knew he couldn't do that, he couldn't even talk to her or touch her because of her culture.

He rubbed his face and stood, "Dali?"

She turned and to his surprise, answered, "Yes?"

He gulped, he hadn't expected her to respond, "Uhhh... ummmm.... How are you?" He instantly wanted to facehoof.

She smiled, which caused Drax to blush deeply, "I'm doing good. Its cold here, but its bearable."

Drax hastily picked up a blanket, "Do you want a blanket?"

She continued to smile, "That would be nice, thank you."

Drax walked over and threw the blanket over her and backed away, not wanting to scare her.

Dali pulled the blanket around her and sat down on her haunches, "Thank you Drax."

He put on his best smile, "Your welcome Dali, I would do anything for you." He then instantly twisted around and slammed his hoof into his face, causing a searing pain to flare up in his right eye.

Dali looked at him confused, "What is wrong?"

Drax turned around and chuckled the best he could, "Oh nothing, I'm just kinda... tired."

Dali looked at him worriedly, "Why is your eye swollen? It was fine a while ago."

Drax hung his head, "I hit myself..."

She stood up and looked even more confused, "Why would you do that?"

"I'm just stupid is all, I say the wrong things at the wrong time." Drax said as he rubbed his hoof across his face, whipping away tears.

Suddenly, something ran into him and wrapped around his neck. He was taken back at what just happened.

Dali, who would never allow anypony touch her, was now hugging Drax.

"Don't say that, your a good stallion." She said while she broke the hug.

Drax had the larges blush and smile on his face, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Something began to slam into the wall repeatedly.

They looked at the wall and listened as it was hit again and again.

Dali cocked her head, "What is that?"

Drax chuckled, "It sounds like Peter and Rarity are bucking apples. I wish they wouldn't be so loud though."

Dali blushed, a first, "Bucking apples? Oh my..."

Drax smiled, "Don't worry about it, they'll be done soon. Hopefully." He then made his way for the door, "In the mean time, how would you like to go grab a cup of coco?"

She smiled and began to follow him, "I would love a cup of coco."

Meanwhile, in Peter and Rarity's room

"Peter! Stop it!" Rarity screamed out.

"Never! I'm enjoying myself to much to stop!" Peter screamed out as he began to breath heavily.

"But Peter, your being to rough!" Rarity whined.

"To rough? You haven't seen rough my love!" He yelled out as the bed began to shake more violently.

"Peter, please stop! Your going to break the bed!"

Peter let out a loud yell and collapsed on the bed, "There I stopped, happy?"

Rarity shook her head, "That wasn't that fun."

Peter looked at her and cocked his head, "What? I'm that bad?"

She nodded, "I'm afraid so."

Peter let out a groan, "Damn, and I thought I was the best at jumping on beds!"

Rarity stood up from the chair she had been sitting in while she watched Peter jump on the bed, "My little sister broke her bed, so she beat you."

Peter hung his head, "Well shit..."

The next day, 1:23 PM, at the slopes

I looked at the billboard with a smile on my face. I was reading a announcement about a slope run for advanced skiers. I was seriously thinking about doing it. I'm pretty sure it was because of Break.

[I have nothing to do with this!]

I rolled my eyes and looked in the distance, towards the larges and highest slope that is here. Damn, that's far away.

I sighed and began the long journey to the advanced skiers slope.

Four hours of hard walking later.

I finally pulled made it to the top and collapsed. That was the longest walk and climb of my life!

[Wimp.]

I took a deep breath and stood, pulling my face cover back over my face.

I really don't see the point in this anymore. You climb for hours to ski and it only last a few minutes. A few hours hour hard climbing does not equal five minutes of enjoyment.

As I began to make my way to the starting point, I heard somepony screaming my name.

When I turned, Peter slammed into me, making us roll down the slope a few yards. Once we stopped I stood and looked at him, "How did you get up here so fast?"

He turned and pointed to a lift, "They have those things you know."

I facehoofed, I could have used one of those and turned this four hour trip into a few minutes. Damn it!

Peter than began to look happy and nervous.

I looked at him, "What is it Peter? Why did you tackle me?"

He walked over to me and smiled nervously, "Okay dude, don't over react."

I nodded, "I won't over react."

He took a deep breath, "Twilight's having the baby, right now."

My eyes widened and my breathing began to quicken and I yelled out, "WHAT?!"

Peter held up a hoof, "Its okay, she went into labor a hour ago."

"I'M MISSING IT!" I screamed out.

I grabbed Peter by the shoulders and began to yell at the top of my lungs, "SHE'S HAVING THE BABY! AND I'M MISSING IT!"

Suddenly, a loud roaring like sound came from farther up the mountain.

We looked towards the sound and our mouths hung open in shock.

[Oh, way to go Lance! You caused a fucking avalanche!]

The snow was coming towards us like a wave.

I looked at Peter, who was glaring at me with anger in his eyes.

I smiled weakly, "Sorry..." I pulled him close and yelled out, "Hold on! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

The snow crashed into us, carrying us down the mountain.

Stallion VS Wild

Chapter 60

Whiteness.

That's all I could see when I opened my eyes. I could still feel Peter crushed against my body, that is the good news. The bad news, I don't know how far down we are.

I began to try to move, but found that next to impossible. The snow was pushing down, holding us in place.

Peter began to move, "What the... OH MY GOD!" He began to thrash around, but gave up when he noticed he couldn't move. He then said in a calm voice, "Lance, please don't tell me we're under a pile of snow."

I chuckled, "We're under a pile of snow."

"Oh...." He then began to scream.

I squeezed him hard till he shut up, "Be quiet! Damn, you can be such a bitch!"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean!"

I sighed, "Just help me dig."

Two hours of digging later

After a few hours of digging, we finally had a small den dug out. It was large enough for us to sit up, Peter at one side, and me at the other. There was about a foot or so between us.

Peter crossed his hooves, "This sucks."

I glared, "Oh, this sucks? You know what really sucks? Me missing the birth of my foal!"

[Me to.]

[...Maybe....]

I growled angrily. Suddenly, something snapped in my mind.

Peter shifted uneasily, "You okay there Lance?"

I looked at him, and a crazy smile spread across my face, "I'm just perfect my good friend Peter."

[Crazy?! Insane?!]

Peter looked at Lance, who was smiling at him crazily, "Ummm, Lance? You okay there buddy?"

Lance cocked his head, his crazy smile never leaving his face, "I already told you, I'm perfect."

Peter felt sweat forming on his face, "That's good..."

Lance began to move closer to Peter, "Hey Peter, you know what?"

Peter began to back away from Lance, but his back hit the wall of snow, "What is it?"

Lance moved closer and closer, "I love..."

Peter began to feel very nervous.

Lance stop inches from Peter's face, "... pie." He slammed a pie into Peter's face.

Peter began to whip his face, where did he get that pie?!

Lance fell back laughing like a mad man. He suddenly stopped and smiled at Peter.

Peter began to panic and began to claw at the snow above him.

Lance grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him down. When Peter was face to face with Lance, Lance slammed his hoof into Peter's groin. "Pay back my great friend Peter. Isn't the pain sweet?"

Peter gasped and began to claw at the snow again. Suddenly, light filled the hole as he burst through to the surface. Peter jumped up and began to try and pull him self out of the hole. But Lance grabbed his back hoof and pulled him back in.

"You're not going anywhere my friend. We still haven't played cupcakes!"

Peter screamed slightly, but caught himself, "What?!"

Lance cocked his head, a the craziest smile spread across his face, "I'm just going to repay the prank you played on me a week ago. Oh what fun this will be! I'll get the knife!"

Peter panicked and kicked Lance away from himself and jumped up and pulled himself out of the hole. He began to stagger away but collapsed.

Lance soon pulled himself out of the hole and began to spin around in the snow, "This is the life!"

Peter looked at Lance with worry, what's wrong with him? Peter then looked around and noticed that he couldn't see anything that counted as a landmark. To keep things short, they're lost.

Peter hung his head and sighed, "Lance, I think we're lost..." He was interrupted by Lance running past him, wearing nothing but his goggles.

"WHOA! I never knew life could be so stress free!" Lance then jumped into a pile of snow and began to create a snow angel type thing.

Peter bite his lower lip, what was he going to do with him? He walked over to Lance and did the only thing sensible. He slammed his hoof into Lance's head.

Lance spun around and shook his head, "Wow, what happened?" He looked down at himself, "Where's my clothes?"

I looked down at myself, "Where's my clothes?"

What the hell just happened?

[Umm, Lance, you kinda went crazy for a few minutes...]

I facehoofed and looked around for my clothes. When I saw them, I quickly pulled them on, "FUCK! Its cold out here!"

[Duh asshole! Its below freezing!]

I pulled my face cover back up and looked at Peter, who still looked worried, "Sorry about that Peter, kinda lost it I guess." I rubbed the back of my head and chuckled.

Peter gulped, "Lets never speak of this again. Agreed?"

I nodded, "Agreed."

My eyes widened, "COME ON PETER! MY KIDS BEING BORN! I WILL NOT MISS THIS!" I turned and galloped off in a direction that I though the Resort was in.

"Wrong way Lance!" Peter said as he began heading in the opposite direction.

I stopped and hit my face with my hoof, not a facehoof, but a full on hit. I turned and galloped after him. Once I caught up, he began to gallop also.

We ran through the forest till Peter just dropped, "I'm so thirsty!"

I stopped and walked over, "Do you have a cup?"

He nodded and pulled one out of his snow saddlebag, "Here you go."

I grabbed it and walked off. Once I filled it, I brought it back to him and gave it to him.

He took the cup, "Wow, this is kinda warm." He took a sip and smacked his lips, "Ummm, taste kinda salty. This snow must have a different taste than the kind on earth."

I smiled sheepishly and rubbed my hooves together, "Yeah, its the snow..."

Peter then gulped down the rest and stood, "Now, I gotta take a piss. How about you."

I shook my head, "I just went."

He shrugged and walked behind a tree.

[That was fucked up...]

Peter walked back and rubbed his stomach, "Now I'm hungry, and freezing."

I rolled my eyes, "Stop being a drama queen. Lets get going."

I began walking in the direction we had been heading, but Peter looked confused. "You okay Peter."

He looked at me and looked confused for a second, "Uhhhh, wha... Oh yeah, I'm coming." He the trotted towards me and we continued the long trip back.

After awhile, I noticed that Peter was having a hard time keeping up and began to slowly fall behind. He kept stumbling as he walked, and was shivering violently.

I fell back and walked along side him, "You hanging in there Peter?"

He looked at me with unfocused eyes, "Hmm, yeah man."

After another hour of walking, I noticed that some of Peter's skin was turning slightly blue and puffy. Not a good sign.

I finally stopped and sat down, "Damn... I'm freaking tired!"

Peter stumbled over and collapsed, "I know what you mean."

I looked at him and noticed he wasn't looking so good, "Peter, are you sure your okay?"

He sighed and looked at me, "I told you, I'm fine!"

< Hostile much?>

I sighed, "Come on, lets get moving." We both stood and proceeded on the trip.

Meanwhile, back at the Ski Resort

"Oh my God! Oh my God! What do we do?!" David yelled as he paced back and forth outside of Lance's and Twilight's room. She was inside, right at that moment, giving birth to their kid.

He looked around at all the guys, all as freaked out as he is. All the girls are in the room, comforting Twilight, the Doctor still hadn't arrived.

A loud scream came from inside.

"Could one of you out there please bring us another towel!" Vinetion yelled from inside.

A towel hit David in the face and they all looked at him, "NO! I'm not going in there!"

Greg levitated up a hammer, "Wanna play nut cracker?"

David began to back up, "Okay okay, I'm going." He turned and opened the door.

Upon entering it, he saw Twilight on the bed holding a pillow over her face.

Vinetion motioned him over, "Hurry! We don't have all day."

David ran over to her and gave her the towel. When he turned to leave, he accidentally looked at Twilight and saw her marehood and.... lets just say the baby was coming.

David's head began to spin, "OH MY GOD! IT'S POKING OUT!" His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Rainbow Dash looked at him and sighed, "Guys, can't handle the real stuff." She then went back to comforting Twilight.

Back to Lance and Peter, an hour later

"I can't do this!" Peter said as he turned away.

I sighed, "Peter, you have to!"

He turned back, "Okay then, you do it!"

I pulled my face cover down, "Fine, I will. But you get none of it!" I lifted up the large grub and forced it into my mouth. When I bite down, the worst possible taste filled my mouth, causing me to gag.

Peter looked sick, "That's why I didn't eat it..."

I choked it down, "Yeah, well, I'll live longer now. At least I ate a little!"

Peter rolled his eyes and stood, only to fall back down, "Whoa."

I stood and walked over to him, "Okay, now I know something is wrong."

He waved me off, "I'm fine!"

I pulled him to his feet and began walking, "Come on then."

Back at the Ski Resort

"NO! I'm not going in there! You can't make me!" Shadow screamed as he backed away from the others.

Frederic glared, "Yes you are! They need more water and none of us are going in there!"

Shadow gulped and screamed out, "NEVER!" He jumped into the air and flew through a window. As in, right through the glass.

Seth sighed, "Well, that just leaves Zorrow."

Zorrow looked like he wanted to cry, "I'll do it fast!" He grabbed the bucket and opened the door.

The second it was open, Twilight screamed in pain. Zorrow dropped the bucket and fell over.

Seth shook his head, "Who's next?"

Shadow flew through the air, mumbling to himself, "No way am I going in there!"

He flew for a few more minutes till he saw a pony below him. At first he didn't pay attention to it, but then he saw that the pony had some other pony on they're back.

Shadow looked at the the pony and sighed, might as well check this out.

Back to Lance and Peter

[Come on Lance! Push yourself! Your going to miss it!]

I felt tired and weak, but something keep me from collapsing. The desire to see my foal be born!

Peter was breathing heavily had was stripping off his clothes, "You know what... we should.... should get a.... boat and just... fly."

[And Peter has gone crazy...]

I ran over to Peter and grabbed him, "Get a hold of yourself!"

He looked at me with unfocused eyes, with a hint of fear, "Who are you! Get away from me!" He then began to struggle to break free of my grasp.

{What do I do?}
[I got this.]

My hoof came up and slammed into Peter's head, knocking him out.

{... Well, that was effective.}

I sighed and pulled Peter's unconscious body onto my back and continued to make my way to the Resort.

Thirty four minutes later

I stumbled towards the Resort, I could see it in the distance. So close.

My vision began to blur, but I kept pushing myself. I couldn't give up now!

[Come on Lance! Fight it, you can do this!]

I took one last step and stopped. The pain in my legs was intense! They felt frozen and solid, "I can't."

"Hey, are you two okay?" Somepony from above said.

I looked up and almost screamed in delight, "Shadow Breeze! Thank God!"

He landed a few feet from me and looked at me worriedly, "Lance? Holy shit man, where have you been?! Are you alright?"

I shook my head, and instantly regretted it. A wave of nausea washed over me and I collapsed.

"Lance!" I heard Shadow scream, but he sounded far away, distant.

The last thing I saw was him Shadow picking up Peter.

Two hours

I awoke to a strange feeling. Warmth.

I opened my eyes and blinked. I slowly sat up and glanced around. I was in the lobby of the Ski Resort, and a heavy blanket was draped over me. How did I get here?

{Oh yeah...}

I pulled the blanket off of me and sat up all the way. I instantly missed its warmth as I stood up slowly.

I stretched out my legs and wings. The sound of popping filled the room.

I sighed in relief and stood up straight.

After a few seconds, I heard the sounds of hoof on wood. I turned to see Applejack walking into the room.

When she saw me, she smiled, "Well looky who's awake. Com' on Lance, there's somepony who wants ta see ya."

I smiled and began to follow her. She led me down the hall to my and Twilight's room. She stopped outside of it and smiled, "Ah'll give ya'll some privacy."

I smiled, "Thank you Applejack."

She smiled back, "Your welcome."

I walked into the room and smiled at what I saw. Twilight was in the bed, her mane was a mess, and she was holding something in a blanket.

She looked up at me and smiled, "Lance, come here."

I felt a tear in my eye as I made my way to her. When I was next to her, I looked down at the bundle she held in her forelegs.

She pulled the cover off to reveal the face of our foal.

The foal was the same shade of purple as Twilight, but it had my red strips and snout. Its mane was black and dark blue.

Twilight smiled as I moved my face closer, "He has your eyes, but they're purple, not red."

I choked back tears, "Its a boy?"

Twilight nuzzled my cheek, "Yep."

I smiled, "Is it a earth pony?"

She smiled, "I think you'll like this. He's a Pegasus."

I put a hoof over her and pulled her into me, "He's beautiful."

She nuzzled my neck, "He looks just like his daddy."

I let the tears fall, tears of joy. I wrapped my hooves around Twilight and embraced her, "I love you Twilight."

"I love you too Lance."

I pulled back and nuzzled her nose with mine and put my forehead to hers, "We're parents."

She smiled brightly, "I know."

I climbed into bed and snuggled up to her and looked at our foal, a smile on my face, "What are we going to name him?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I can't think of a name."

I smiled, "I think I know one. How about Spark?"

Twilight nodded, "I think it fits him."

I nuzzled her cheek and rested my head on her head.

[He looks badass!]

There you all go, he is finally born.

Also, I'm entering the contest and I'm using the prompt "The mane six go on a vacation."
Wish me luck everyone.

A trip into the mind

Chapter 61

"Hey Lance! Come here!" My cousin yelled from downstairs.

I groggily sat up and rubbed my face, what does he want?

I pulled myself out of bed, wearing nothing but boxers. When I glance over at the clock, I let out a loud groan. 6:16 AM, that's too early!

I reluctantly made myself pull on my pants and T-shirt.

After some self complaining, I left the guest bedroom and walked down the stairs.

Upon reaching the ground floor, I was greeted by my cousin, who had a smug look on his face.

"Mornin'!" he said, a smile on his face.

I let out a sigh, "Yeah, what did you want?"

He opened the front door, "Me and James have something we want to show you." He then motioned for me to walk through the door.

I rubbed my face, "I'm going, geez!"

When we entered the pastor, I saw James standing next to a large black stallion.

James looked at me and a devilish smile appeared on his face, "So Lance," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, my phone! "We heard you like My little pony."

My eyes widened and my hand shot to my right pocket, only to find it empty. How did they get my phone?!

Before I could say or do anything, Robert, my other cousin, grabbed me from behind and held my arms behind my back.

I tried to break free, but I wasn't strong enough. It was useless to even try, he was so much stronger than me due to the daily work he does.

James began to laugh as he made his way over to us, followed by the large stallion.

I awoke with a start and sat straight up. I could feel sweat all over my body. There was so much of it, it was dripping off my face.

I hate reliving that moment, but my mind won't let me forget about it!

[Oh God! I hate reliving that every night!]

I took a few ragged breaths and looked around the room.

It was almost pitch black, but there was a little light coming through the heavy curtains. It gave the room a peaceful feeling.

I looked over to the bed to see Twilight sleeping peacefully, Spark lay next to her in a bundle of blankets.

I had let Twilight have the bed so that there would be enough room for Spark. I took the couch, the very uncomfortable couch.

It's been four days since Spark was born, and we're still at the resort. We couldn't leave, the train was on a schedule, so we have to wait for it come back.

Luckily, today is the last day we have to be here. We'll all be returning home, but with two new additions. Shadow Breeze and Vinetion.

They both decided to come back with us, I don't know why though. We've all decided that they can stay at Drax's, until they get a place of their own.

I chuckled, but then remembered the dream. I then put my face into my hooves, content on trying to forget about it, like I've been doing almost every morning since the... incident.

"Lance? What's wrong?" I heard Twilight say, a touch of concern in her voice.

I looked over to see her sitting up in bed, but I couldn't see her facial expression. Damn darkness...

"... Yeah, I'm.. great!" I said, feeling slightly embarrassed. What? That damn memory is still fresh in my mind!

I saw her shake her head, "Oh Lance, your a terrible liar."

I let out a small chuckle, "I know Twi..."

She slowly climbed out of bed and came to my side. She then sat down and took my hoof in hers, "So, whats wrong?"

I shook my head, "I can't tell you.... It's kinda something I've never told anyone."

She nuzzled my neck, "Can you tell me?"

I sighed, "I want to, but I can't. I can't make myself talk about it."

Twilight let go of my hoof and climbed into my lab, "Can you try to tell me, please?"

This was new, I mean the sitting in the lap thing. I wrapped my hooves around her, "I'll give it a try. Two years ago, I went to my grandparent's farm. I liked it, it was a nice place to relax, but it was also stressful. My two cousins, James and Robert, were always trying to mess with me. I don't mean joking, I mean full on hurt me. They never really liked me, I don't know why though. One day, they called me out to the pastor and..." I stopped talking, I couldn't go on. I had tears in my eyes from just thinking about it.

Twilight rubbed my cheek with her hoof, "Its okay Lance, you don't have to tell me."

I gulped, "I want to tell you, I just can't make myself."

She sat back slightly and tapped her chin, "I may have an idea. But you'll have to be okay with it."

I nodded, "What is your idea?"

She looked at me and I could see her smile, "Well, I know a spell that will allow me to see your memories."

I furrowed my brow, "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

She cocked her head, "Why not?"

I thought for a second, "For starters, there's things that I don't think you should know..."

[Yeah, rule 34.]
{Quiet you!}

"... and the memory is kinda... how do I say this? Mortifying. I think that describes it."

Twilight rubbed her nose against mine and rested her head on my shoulder, "Lance, I can handle anything you have to offer. Trust me, I've been around you after all."

I chuckled, she has a point. "Okay Twi, I'll let you do the spell."

She squealed in delight, but quickly covered her mouth, looking at the bed.

Spark was still asleep, good.

I shifted Twilight around a little, "What will this spell do exactly?"

She thought for a second, "The book said it will let both of us see your memories. I don't know the full details, but its safe."

I began to rub her back, "Alright, you can cast the spell when ever you're ready."

She smiled and gave me a peck on the cheek. Her horn than began to glow a soft purple. After a few seconds, she touched it to my head.

I felt a small stinging in side of my head, then I passed out.

Seconds later, I opened my eyes to see whiteness.

Twilight looked up at me, we was still in the same position, "Wow, your mind is so... empty."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh haha, have your fun Twi."

"Yo, when you two are done, I'd like to talk to ya." Said a all to familiar voice behind us.

I twisted my head to see both Break and Dawn standing next to each other, and a small computer like device behind them.

I smiled, "Well, how are you two here?"

Dawn chuckled, "Dude, you're in your head, and we're always in your head."

Break nodded, "I though you would be smart enough to know this. I guess not."

Dawn slugged him with his hoof, "Be nice!"

I let out a small laugh and stood, followed by Twilight, "Oh you two."

Twilight was looking at them with a strange look, "Those are you consciences?"

I nodded, "Yep, cool huh?"

Break smiled cockily, "Damn right its cool!"

Twilight looked past them, "What's that thing?"

Dawn turned to the object, "That? Oh its just Lance's memory."

I shook my head and chuckled, "How convenient."

Break looked at me, "I know right?"

Twilight took a step forward, "Can I look through it?"

I held up a hoof, "Nope, I'll look through it. I don't want you getting into anything bad."

Break smirked, "Hey Twi, do you wanna see something we call porn?"

Twilight cocked her head, "Porn? Whats that?"

My eyes widened, "Break, you asshole! Don't worry about it Twi." I then looked at Dawn, "So, can I?"

He nodded and stepped to the side, "Its your mind, you're the boss."

Break rolled his eyes, "Not the boss of me though."

I chuckled at him as I walked past and stepped in front of the computer like object.

Twilight stood to my right and Dawn to my left.

I looked it over, "So, how do I work this thing?"

He touched the screen and it came to life. Once it was on, there was a long list of words on the screen, "All you do is pick the one you want and it'll cause everyone here to relive that memory."

I nodded and smiled, "Now that is awesome."

I began to scroll down the list, and I must say. Wow! There is a ton of categories.

Twilight stopped me from scrolling and pointed to one, "What's that one?"

I looked at the one she was pointing at and shook my head, "We are not opening that one." The one she had pointed at was 'Alone time'. I don't have to be a genius to know what that one is.

Break leaned over me, "Oh, we're clicking that one."

Before I could stop him, he selected that category.

I suddenly began to remember with vivid detail all the moments I had... you know.

When it was over, Twilight had a shocked look on her face.

I let out a weak chuckle, "I told you we didn't want to see that one." I turned to Break and mouthed, 'Fuck you.'

He smiled, "Time and place Lance."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Twilight, "You okay?"

She slowly nodded, "That was... awkward."

I chuckled, "You have no idea."

We continued to scroll through them, clicking on a few here and there.

After a good forty minutes or so, I finally came to one called, 'Farm nightmare'. That has to be it.

Twilight looked at it and me, "That's it, isn't it?"

I slowly nodded, "Yes, are you sure you want to see this?"

She bit her bottom lip, "Yes, I think I'm ready."

I took a deep breath and clicked it.

I relived that entire ordeal, from beginning to end. It was worst the second time! Oh God! That stallion was huge! James and Robert are sick bastards!

After it ended, Twilight was in a state of shock, "They... did that to you?!"

I nodded grimly, "Yes..."

Dawn was in the fetal position, mumbling to himself.

Break was keeping his cool, but I could tell he was stressed after reliving that.

I patted Twilight's back, "You sure your okay?"

She nodded, "I'm sure, its just, that was horrible!"

I pulled her into a hug, "I know..."

Her horn glowed and everything thing began to fade.

We was soon back in the hotel room, still in each others embrace.

Twilight looked up with sad eyes, "Lance... I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

I leaned down and nuzzled her cheek, "Its okay. I actually feel a little better after reliving it, even if it was horrible."

She cocked her head, "Why? I though you would need to talk about it?"

I shrugged, "I may need to talk about it one day. But for now, I don't feel up to it."

I looked around and sighed, "Should we start packing?"

She sighed also, "I guess."

We then jumped off the couch and began gathering our clothes. Only two more hours before the train gets here, and I can't wait! I'm sick of the cold.

Train ride

Chapter 62

I let out a groan as I slowly stood up from my seat. This train ride is so freaking boring!

[Dude, I know. Why can't we just fly home?]
{I know right?! But oh no, Twilight said it wasn't safe and won't let me!}
[Pussy whipped]
{Shut up! Dawn, help me out here.}

I growled slightly, but kept my anger down. I looked over at Twilight, who was holding Spark, "Hey Twi, I'm going to go talk to the others."

She looked up suddenly, "Wait! I just remembered something!"

I stopped walking to the door and turned, "What did you remember?"

She stood and handed, (Hoofed?) me Spark.

[Lance... WE'VE FUCKING BEEN OVER THIS! NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU RIP YOUR OWN NUTS OFF!]

I gulped at what Break said, because I know he's serious.

Twilight pointed to the door, "Can you tell the bronies to come here? And can you drop Spark off with Fluttershy?"

I nodded, "Sure thing Twi."

Five minutes later

We was all sitting together, looking at Twilight. We didn't know what she wanted, but it seemed important, since she had a list.

Every bronies was here, even Drax. I though I should include him.

Twilight looked up from her list and glared, "Okay all of you, now that me and Lance have a baby to take care of. I want to make a few things clear."

Greg held up his hooves, "Oh no, rules." He said sarcastically as he pulled out a blunt.

Twilight trotted over to him and pulled the joint out of his mouth, "First off, no smoking." She threw the blunt out the open window.

Greg smirked and pulled out a second one from his saddlebag, "Bitch please, you can't control me."

Twilight glared and pulled it out of his mouth and threw it out the window. She then picked up his saddlebag and threw it out the window also.

Greg jumped up and leaned out the window, "No! My beautiful weed!"

Twilight smiled triumphantly and looked over to David, who was smiling, "Next, I don't want my son to see any of those pictures you've drawn. Yeah, I've seen them and I must say. Your sick."

David smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.

I pointed at him and laughed.

Twilight shifted her gaze and glared at me, "And you!"

I looked at her surprised, "Me?!"

She nodded, "Yes you! I want you to stop being so sexual around Spark!"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "Wha?"

She facehoofed, "You know what I mean."

I thought for a second and chuckled, "Oh, now I know what you mean."

She then looked over to Peter, "Peter, I don't want you to pull any pranks on my son, or around him. Got it?"

Peter shrugged, "Got it."

She smiled and looked over to Seth and Zorrow, "You two, I want you to stop fighting each other all the time!"

Seth sighed, "Sure."

Zorrow glared and pointed at Seth, "But he starts it!"

Twilight glared harder, "I don't care! If you two do it again, I'm going to finish it. Permanently!"

They both gulped and nodded.

She smiled, "Good." She then looked at Frederic, "Frederic, I know your the prince and all, and I respect you. But, I want you to stop bringing all those dangerous inventions of yours over to our house."

Frederic chuckled, "I can do that. I'll just show Lance when he's not around the kid."

Twilight smiled, "Thank you Prince Frederic."

Frederic chuckled again, shaking his head, "Remember what I told you, just call me Frederic."

She nodded and looked at Shadow Breeze, "I don't know you to well Shadow, just stay on my good side." Then she looked at Drax, "Same goes for you, even though your not a brony."

They both nodded in response.

Twilight sighed, "Do you all understand me? If one of you, and I mean all of you, hurt Spark, or influence him in a bad way, I will go pissed off mother on your ass!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Wow Twi, I didn't know you used strong language."

She looked at me and chuckled, "I guess I picked that up while I was watching your memories."

{Is that the reason?}

{That's just great...}

She sighed and looked at everyone again, "Got that?"

We all nodded.

She began to walk away, "Good." She then began walking down the aisle, towards Fluttershy and the others.

Greg looked at all of us and smirked, "She just made us her bitches."

Four hours later, Canterlot

Twilight, Frederic, Dali, and I were making our way down the street, towards Dali's house. Twilight was carrying Spark on her back, we really need to get a carrying... saddle?

"I can't wait to get back to the Palace." Frederic said.

I nodded, "I can't wait to get back to that cozy bed. Those hotel beds are very uncomfortable."

Frederic rubbed his back, "Tell me about it."

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the screams of ponies.

Soon, a group of them ran by screaming.

Frederic looked ahead, "What now?!"

I looked ahead also, "You ready for another fight?"

He nodded, "Oh yeah."

We then galloped ahead, towards the direction all the ponies was running from.

We came upon the towns water fountain.

I looked up and my mouth fell open. Frederic did the same when he looked up.

[Whoa, that's unexpected in all ways.]

[Damn, she's hot!]

Todays chapter is short. Why? Busy day, sorry that I ended it so soon.

This is Anarchy! Or Annabel?

Today's chapter is short. My computer shut off before I could finish it. So, I had to start over. Its very very short, but I'll make it up to you all tomorrow. I'll try and do a long chapter, try at least.

I'm mentally tired, meaning I'm actually having trouble writing right now, so please, bare with me as this chapter may not show a lot of emotion.

Chapter 63

We all stood there in shock, watching the Draconequus dance to a song it was humming. It was bending left and right, a large smile on its face.

I cracked my neck and started walking forward, "Lets do this!"

Suddenly, Frederic's hoof shoot out and stopped me.

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow<, "Dude, what the fu..."

He began walking forward, humming the same song as the Draconequus.

[What the fuck is he doing?]

Frederic and the Draconequus hummed the song together.

Once they finished, the Draconequus floated down to us and smiled, "Hi, I'm Annabel."

Frederic seemed to jump with joy, "Annabel! Its me, Frederic!"

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Fred? Its really you?!"

He nodded and pulled her into a hug, "Its so good to see you!"

I held up a hoof, "Uhh, what's going on here?"

Frederic turned to me and smiled, "Annabel and I have been friends forever! Way before I died."

Oh I see, a friend from earth. At least one person Frederic knows is here, and not trying to kill him.

They began to talk, catching up.

I looked at Twilight, "Hey Twi, I think you should get Spark home."

She nodded, "Me to. See you soon."

Her horn glowed and enveloped them in a purple glow. They then disappeared, leaving me and the other two behind.

I looked back at the two, only to see them looking at me, still talking.

{I agree, this can't be good.>

They laugh to each other and Annabel glides over to me, "So, how ya doing Lance?"

[Stay on your heels boys, I sense something.]

I shrugged, "I'm doing pretty good. You?"

She chuckled, "Oh me? I'm doing great. Say, have you ever wanted to see chocolate rain?"

I gave a slight nod, "Sure, that may be cool."

She smiled and snapped her fingers.

A pink cloud formed above my head and began to rain. Chocolate milk rain that is.

I had to admit, this was pretty cool.

[Fuck that idea, Lance, lets go Pinkie Pie on this thing and enjoy it!]

I smiled and jumped forward and landed on my haunches. I opened my mouth and tilted my head back, letting the chocolate milk pool in my mouth. It tasted awesome!

[Sounds like your drinking cu...]
{You will shut the fuck up now!}

I heard snickering behind me and the snap of fingers. Suddenly, the chocolate rain stopped tasting like chocolate.

I gulped down what was in my mouth and began gagging, "What the hell was that?!"

I turned around and saw Frederic and Annabel laughing.

Annabel looked up and smirked, "I thought you would like the taste of eighty year old milk."

[D-DId she say... eighty year old milk?!]

I began to breath heavily, "OH MY GOD!" I pushed my hoof into my mouth and made myself throw up. I then turned and galloped away, running for the nearest lake.

Frederic fell on his back laughing, "That was good! He thought he drank eighty year old milk!"

Annabel smirked, "Who said it wasn't?"

Frederic began laughing loudly, "Oh wow! That's a good one Annabel."

She did a bow, "Why thank you Fred."

Frederic stood up and whipped a tear out of his eye, "Man, I've missed ya Annabel."

She smiled back, "I've missed you too Frederic. It was lonely back on earth without you."

Before he could say anything, David and Peter began walking towards them.

Annabel smirked, "I got an idea."

She flew forward and landed in front of them, "Hey you two."

David freaked out slightly, but Peter smiled, "What the hell! How can you look like that and still be hot!?."

Annabel chuckled at his response.

David looked her over, "Who are you?"

She smiled, "I'm Anarchy."

Peter nodded, "Sounds cool. What do you do?"

She smirked, "I can show you if you'd like."

Peter smiled and nodded, "Yes, that would be so awesome!"

She reached forward and touched their heads.

They suddenly went wide eyed and their coats turned a dull grey.

They then looked at each other and smiled. They jumped into each other and began making out. Full on tongue on tongue action!

Annabel and Frederic fell back laughing as the two made out.

David leaned back and moaned, "I taste the rainbow!"

Peter moaned also, "Marshmallow!"

They then went back to making out.

Frederic held his sides, "Oh my God! This is the funniest thing every! My sides are burning!"

David pushed Peter on his back and began to position himself to penetrate Peter.

Frederic used his magic to separate the two, "I'm not that mean."

David and Peter were trying to reach each other.

Annabel laughed and touched their heads, returning them to normal.

Frederic dropped them and they looked around.

David moved his tongue around in his mouth and raised an eyebrow, "Why do I taste skittles?"

Peter did the same, "Why do I taste paint?"

Frederic began to laugh again, this was just to much fun!

I pulled my head out of the lake, taking a deep breath. That was horrible!

I flop down on the ground, I'm going to get her back for that one. All I have to do is figure something out that is worst.

[Damn, the universe does hate us...]

{Any idea's on how to get this off our mind?}
[Fuck Twilight?]
{Oh yeah!}

I stood up and put on a smug smile. I put on some sunglasses.

I cracked my neck and smiled. I'm so going to put the moves on her, oh yeah. Tonight is going to be fun!

Annabel stood off to the distance watching Lance, reading his mind.

So, he's going to try and get with his wife tonight?

She smirked, she has the best idea for a prank ever!

That make out scene was Avehand1's idea. Not mine.

We're stuck!

Warning: Partial sex scene in the first scene. You have been warned. (Okay, its not that bad, but meh. Who wants a sex scene later on? I feel like doing one.)

Chapter 64

I walked down the street, a little swag in my stride. I had sunglasses on and I felt like a badass about to get laid.

[That's because your about to get laid... Dumbass...]

I bounce my head to an unheard beat and step up to the house. I kick the door open and jump in, striking a pose, "Who's yo daddy!"

[Lame!]

Twilight squealed in surprise and turned around to face me, "Quiet! Spark is trying to sleep!"

I smirk, "Who cares?"

Sexy mode is on.

Twilight looked at me strangely, "What's gotten into you?"

I walk over to her, a seductive smile on my face, "We haven't had any fun in a while. I'm kinda... how do I say this... HORNY!"

She giggled and wrapped her hooves around my neck, "Oh, you bad boy."

[Oh fuck yeah! I hope she learned some new moves!]

I whipped the sunglasses off and threw them across the room, "Wanna destroy the bedroom?"

She licked my cheek, "Lets do more than destroy the bedroom, lets destroy the whole house!"

[Holy shit! This is going to be so fucking awesome!]

My wings shot out, stiff.

She giggled again and put a forceful kiss on my lips.

Oh yeah, I've waited for this for to damn long!

We began to walk down the hall, still making out.

Once we was in the bedroom, we jumped in, me on top, her on bottom. I held her forelegs down and smirked, "Your mine!"

She got a seductive look on her face, "I'm all yours."

That was it, that's all it took to send me over the edge.

I leaned down and began making out with her. Our tongues had a small battle, wrapping around each other.

I felt my member become fully hard, eager to begin, same as me. I lowered my stallionhood down to her marehood and placed the tip to it.

Twilight moaned into mouth at the contact.

[DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! I SAID FUCKING DO IT!]

I pulled back from our kiss and looked at her face, which was full of lust, "You ready for this Twi?"

She nodded with a smile on her face, "Oh yes, I want to feel you inside of me!"

I kissed her neck and began to push in. I felt her walls separate, its been to long since the last time.

I pushed in hard, ready to get this started. I began to pull out... but I couldn't. I couldn't pull my member out.

We both looked down to see that my member was in her, all the way, but couldn't see what was holding it in.

I began to pull back as hard as I could, but it wouldn't budge. I looked over to Twilight and smiled awkwardly, "Well... ummm.... How do I get out?"

[What the fuck is going on!]

She shrugged, a frighten look on her face, "How should I know?!"

I did a small side wave with my hoof, "Uhh, its your body, duh!"

She licked her lips, "I don't know okay!"

I waved my hoof, "Okay okay, calm down, I'll figure something out."

I looked around and saw some lotion. Perfect. "Hey Twi, can you levitate that lotion over here?"

She nodded and used her magic to pick up the bottle and gave it to me.

I bit the cap off and reached down and emptied the contents on my member and her marehood. I rubbed it in and began to pull again. Nothing.

How am I stuck?! Its like there's a grip on it and it won't let go!

I looked around again and saw a small tube. I smiled, perfect. If I can throw a note into it, it'll go all the way to the Princess! She can help us with this. She has already saw my ding dong after all.

[Who calls it a ding dong anymore?]

"Twilight, get me that note pad and quill. I have an idea!"

She looked at me strangely and picked up the requested items with her magic and gave them to me.

I laid the note pad on her chest, because I could, and began to write out the note.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Me and my dear wife Twilight have hit a problem while mating. I seem to be stuck deep in her sweet marehood. We request your assistance.

The brony who cares (Sorta)
Lance.

P.S. After this is over, could you possible give us more of those books? Thanks.

I smiled as I reread my note. I turned and looked at the small tube opening across the room, "If I can throw this note pad into that tube, we're saved. The Princess will know what to do."

She nodded, "Do it!"

I turned and took careful aim. I then threw the note pad as hard as I could.

It soared through the air... and hit the wall a few feet from the tube.

"Did it go in?" Twilight asked.

I shook my head, "Negative, it didn't go in. Just impacted on the surface."

Twilight shook her head, and looked around, "I'll just teleport us to the palace." Her horn began to glow, slowly getting brighter.

But suddenly, it went out.

I looked at her worried, "What happened?"

She began to freak out slightly, "I don't know!"

I smirked, "Well, I'll just fly us there."

I undid my wings... and a bright flash filled the room.

When it was gone, Twilight's eyes widened, "Lance?! Your wings are gone!"

I looked back and felt a tear in my eye. "What cruel person would do this?!"

Annabel held back the her laughs as she watched the two lovers in stress. She was enjoying this, she knew this would be a great prank, but not this good!

She feel back laughing when Lance tried to use lotion to get unstuck, and went crazy when he threw that note pad. She was enjoying herself.

When Twilight tried to use her horn to teleport away, she snapped her finger, taking away her magic. And when Lance tried to use his wings, she took those away also. She wanted to see where this goes.

"What cruel person would do this?!" Lance cried out.

Annabel smiled and said under her breath, "I would, but I'm not cruel."

She chuckled and continued to watch them.

We hopped down the hallway. How was we doing that?

Well its simple. She had her hooves wrapped around my neck and was hanging under me. But it was still hard to walk with her stuck between my back legs. So I was forced to hop.

Twilight sighed, "I can't believe we have to walk to the palace."

I nodded, "That's Trollestia for ya."

You see, we was able to put the note pad in the tube. But the response wasn't what we wanted.

Dear Lance,

I see what your problem is, come to the palace and I'll get you two unstuck.

Sincerely,
Trollestia

P.S. That's what you get for calling me Trollestia.

P.S.S. I sure can, I have a full library of them.

Here's my response to that little letter.

Dear Princess Trollestia,

I want to tell you what I learned today. I learned that a Princess can be a bitch at the worst of times!

Truly yours,
Lance

P.S. >:(

P.S.S. Thanks, we'll be sure to go through them.

I chuckled at the memory of that letter, I wonder what her reaction was to it.

I looked over to the couch and made my way over to it. I pulled a blanket off it and threw it over us. Now, it looks like she's attached to me by the stomach, but that's better than the other.

I hop to the door and gulped, "Lets do this thing!"

I burst through the door and instantly, everypony turned our way.

Shit...

[I still have a wingboner...]
{Why would you say that right now?}
[Meh.]

I gulp and began hopping down the street, Twilight bouncing around under me.

This is very uncomfortable. Think about this: Fill a large bottle with water and stick your manhood in it. Now, run down the street with a blanket over you. It felt like that, but so much more tugging.

As we made our way down the street, the worst possible thing happened.

Only one word. Greg.

He staggered over to us and looked us over, "Whoa, what the fuck happened here?"

I smiled awkwardly, "Oh nothing, just playing a game."

Please believe it! Please believe it!

He looked at me strangely and smirked, "Oh, I see. I like that blanket, let me see it."

Before I could stop him, he pulled the blanket off, revealing everything.

Greg broke down laughing, "Your dick is stuck in her pussy! And your in public!"

[That is so Greg...]

My face went super nova as all the ponies around us began to gasp and whisper. Twilight was the same, her face was redder than a tomato.

She looked up and literally screamed, "GET US OUT OF HERE LANCE!"

I instanly complied and sprinted, well, it was more of a hop at a high speed, down the street. Think of Big Machintosh in the episode, Hearts and hooves day. Yeah, that's pretty much what it looked like.

I finally made it to the gates and began to jump through, but the guards stopped me, "Halt! Nopony is allowed to enter with out permission, or request."

What the fuck! I've been here before! "What the hay! You should already know that I'm allowed here!"

The guard on the left smiled, odd? And looked at me. His eyes where blank, and he was dull, "Well hey Lance, I bet you can't guess who this is?"

I looked at the two for a second before facehoofing, "Annabel! What the fuck! Are you the one who's doing this?!"

The two guards slumped to the ground, as if they were put in a temporary sleep. Seconds later, Annabel appeared above them, a large smile on her face.

I looked up at her, "Oh come on, why would you do this?"

She flew through the air and slithered around us, imitating Discord, "Because I knew it would be funny."

[She's right, its pretty damn funny from here.]

I rolled my eyes, "Can you undo this?"

She shrugged, "Maybe, can you help me with something?"

Before I could answer, Twilight began to speak from below me, "What do you need Lance to do? He'll do anything to get us unstuck."

I looked down at her, "Really Twi?"

She smiled and kissed me, "Yeah, really. I don't like this you know. Kinda embarrassing."

I shrugged and looked back up to Annabel, "Alright, what do you need?"

She smiled, "I can't tell you here, Twilight will hear. But, it involves me and a certain stone figure.

Oh, she wants Discord. Is that a good idea? "Okay, deal. Just undo this thing."

She clapped her hands, "Oh yes!"

I felt a small tingling sensation on my member, and seconds later, we heard a wet smacking sound as my member popped out of Twilight's marehood.

Twilight stood and sighed, "I'm going to kill Greg."

Annabel chuckled, "You'll need magic for that." She snapped her fingers and Twilight's horn glowed, and then I felt my wings being returned. Thank God!

I stretched them a little and began walking for the Palace.

"Where are you going?" Twilight asked from behind me.

I smirked, "I want to check out this book selection Celestia has."

Annabel laughed, "She's busy right now."

I turn, "With what?"

She smirked, "Your friend Vinetion."

I facehoofed, "What did you do?!"

She held up her hands, "Nothing, they did it by themselves."

I shrugged, it makes sense. Vine is a lesbian, and I guess the Princess is a.... Oh God!

I shudder, "I still want to see this library of hers."

Annabel shrugged, "Alright, I'm going to go talk to Fred. Make plans..." With that, she suddenly disappeared.

Twilight nodded, "And I'm going to go check on Spark." She then disappeared also.

I turned and began walking towards the palace, but stopped.

I looked down at myself and facehoofed. I didn't have my normal clothes on, and my member was hanging down, showing its self of with pride.

[Like a boss!]
{.... Shut up....}

Bonus chapter: Deleted scenes

This is just deleted scenes. Don't take them as if they are part of the story. You'll see a few that you won't like, but glad I didn't put them in the story.

Those are the actual scenes I cut out/changed mind about. Most are weird, some are a WTF moment. But, this is my creative process. Enjoy a look at craziness XD

I'm going to do this:

Each chapter will have a few deleted scenes. Each delelted scene is seperated from the others with a ------------------- That way, you don't get confused.

Bonus chapter: Deleted scenes

Chapter three:

All the ponies in the room stopped cheering and looked at me. They all had a confused look on their faces.

"What is that thing?" Somepony asked.

"I have no idea. He kinda scares me." Another one said.

"I think he looks kinda cute." One said.

I sighed and became slightly annoyed, why? I have no idea, I had enough of this at my school. "Okay, I'm going to be nice here and answer your questions! One: I'm a freaking he! Not an it! Two: I scare you?! You don't know the meaning of it! Three: Thank you, that was a nice comment."

I turned began heading for the door.

I think you all know why I cut that scene XD I was thinking of making Lance a badass, but changed my mind at the last second.

Chapter 6:

I picked up the pen and notebook and turned towards the table. A couple, both light blue, was sitting there holding menu's. I walked over and placed the notebook on the table, "May I take your order?"

The blue stallion looked at me and his eyes widened, "Oh my! What are you!"

The mare screamed.

I looked at the two, "Please, calm down. I'm not going to..."

The mare struck me across the face.

I looked at her, "Ma'am, you don't have to resort to..."

She hit me again, and this time much harder.

My eye twitched, "I don't want to have to kick you out."

The stallion stood, "You can't kick us out you freak!"

I then did something I never thought I would do. I spread my wings and sprang forward, head butting him in the chest.

I stopped typing there, I was hating the though of him getting into a fight, so I changed it.

Chapter 10:

I fell back on my back and started pushing it back under my clothes. When it was back in, I looked over at the Princess's, "Sorry about that. You kinda caught me at a bad time."

I'm pissed! I was about to have sex with Twilight and then this!

Celestia looked at me, strangely, "You was about to mate with my most faithful student?!"

I scratched the back of my head, "Umm, yeah..."

She glared, "How dare you try and take her innocence!"

I held up my hooves, "Wait! She wanted to do it!"

She glared harder, "I can see that in your memories, but I don't approve!"

Luna slowly backed away from her angry sister.

I gulped, "But I..."

She stomped her hoof, "I don't want to hear it!"

I fell to the ground as the ground shook.

She stepped forward, "I here by banish you from Equestria! And all your friends!"

Her horn began to glow and I felt myself being transported, far away from the Palace.

My computer cut off at this point, and I was pissed. But while retyping, I changed my mind and decided to go with a more happy path.

"Oh, but I'm so much better." Her horn glowed and I lifted up in the air.

"Luna, don't do it. This is rape!"

She looked at me and smiled, "Not rape, just surprise sex."

"Same thing!"

She smirked, "You'll like it either way."

I was suddenly at a loss for words, I couldn't think of a response!

She pulled me forward, causing my member to penetrate her.

I'm not going to describe this anymore, because it was a full on sex scene. But, I didn't like it, so I removed it and went with the second option.

Chapter 23:

This next part was a friends idea, and I wanted to be nice and use it. But cut it at the last second, because it felt wrong to write it. I'm sorry, but what your about to read is sick and disgusting!

Greg dropped David onto his bed and sighed. He was missing the party just so he could bring David back home. That sucks.

As he turned to leave, David snored lightly.

Greg turned and looked at him.

It may be the weed talking, or the alcohol, but something seemed different. Greg felt something... strange.

He was looking at David, and only one word came to mind. Sexy.

Greg couldn't figure out why he was thinking that, or feeling the way he was.

He then made his way over to David and...

I'm stopping it right there! Oh God! I'm so glad I didn't put that in the story.

Chapter 32:

Celestia nodded, "I now pronounce you as husband and wife. If anypony has any reason why those two may not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Greg smirked. He stood and yelled, "I have a reason."

Everypony gasped and turned.

Celestia glared, "What would that reason be?"

He smirked and pulled out his member, "Because my dick is so much bigger than his!" He began humping the air, and motioning to Luna, "Come on Luna, you know you want this!"

XD I was going to put that in, but decided against it.

Chapter 34:

When I walked into the living room, David was sitting down next to Rainbow Dash, patting her back.

I walked up behind them, "What's wrong with her?"

He looked up at me, "Just a little headache, you know, hangover type headache."

I nodded, I remembered my first hangover. That was a crazy party that night.

My friend had told me of this party happening down town and wanted me to come. So of course I agreed, who wouldn't want to party?

Once we was there, we ran around, talking and having a good time. It was fun, till he got into a fight with a girl. Yeah, I said girl.

He ended up getting his ass kicked, by a freaking girl! While that was happening, I was drinking everything I saw.

I drank beer, whiskey, something I think was wine, and I'm pretty sure I drank piss by accident. After an hour of this, I passed out, right on the couch.

I awoke the next morning with a splitting head ache. The worst part was what was written on my face and chest. On my head was the words, 'Tea bag here!' And on my chest was, 'Free whore, I take checks'. Yeah, not the best night of my life.

I cut this because it didn't really go with the story.

Chapter 37:

This was going to be the beginning of the chapter, but I changed it when I saw a comment by Iron Clad.

"Hello, I'm Lance, and welcome to jackass!" I said as I stood next to Big Macintosh. I nodded and he bucked me in the side of the face.

All the bronies began to laugh at my attempts to stand.

You can see why I didn't do this one.

Chapter 38:

Celestia nodded, "I now pronounce you as husband and wife. If anypony has any reason why those two may not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

I looked out into the pews and glared at Greg. He smirked and stood, "I have a reason!"

Celestia looked annoyed as hell, "WHICH IS!"

Greg smirked, "Twilight shouldn't marry Lance, he has no balls! But me, I have big balls!"

"NOT ANYMORE!" I screamed as I flew from the alter and slammed a hoof into his groin.

It was a funny idea, but meh.

Chapter 40:

Frederic's mouth hung open in surprise and shock. Then without warning, he jumped into the air and smashed through his window. He flew over Canterlot and yelled at the top of his lungs, using his new found Royal Canterlot Voice, "YES!"

He quickly changed course and flew straight towards Lance's house. Upon reaching his house, he didn't even bother with the door. He flew through the window, which caused it to be smashed, and landed in the living room.

Lance fell off the couch, holding his face, "Glass! There's glass in my eyes!"

Twilight did the same, but with more grace.

Frederic grabbed them in his hooves and pulled them close, "Come my friends, I have wonderful news for you to hear!" With that, he teleported them back to his study.

That scene was removed for a reason.

Chapter 60:

We both looked at the poor rabbit that had ran up to us. It was nuzzling my leg, apparently happy to have some company.

"I say we eat it." Peter suggested.

I shook my head, "No, I couldn't eat this little guy. He's so damn cute...."

[Look at all that fat...]

I rub my stomach, "On second though." I reached down and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, "Who want's rabbit?"

[ME!]

"I WANT IT!" Peter yelled out.

Fifteen minutes later

"And that's how Equestria was made." I said, finishing off a stupid story.

Peter chuckled as he turned the stick over the fire, roasting the rabbit, "Man, this is going to taste good!"

Meh, I didn't feel like killing a bunny.

Chapter 61:

She slowly nodded, "That was... awkward."

I chuckled, "You have no idea."

Break smirked again, "Oh look. Pick that one."

I looked to where he was pointed and recoiled. The category was MLP: TwilightXTrixie.

I slammed my hoof into the screen, "Oh no!"

I looked at the screen and saw that I had hit the button. Fucktastic...

My head was filled with all the images I had seen for TwilightXTrixie. Even every Fan-Fiction, and fantasy. Basically, everything.

When it was over, I looked at Twilight. She had a shocked look on her face, actually, it was beyond shock.

"How... why.... when.... I never did any of that!" She said in a weak voice.

I put a hoof over her, "I know."

She wiggled out from under it, "I saw that story you wrote about me and her! That was sick!"

Oops, I forgot about that story. I'm screwed, "Sorry..."

"No more bed time fun for you!"

Me, Break, and Dawn all screamed out, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

XD I have no idea why I cut that scene.

Chapter 62:

Frederic told me to remove this scene... me sad.

A pink cloud formed above my head and began to rain. Chocolate milk rain that is.

I had to admit, this was pretty cool.

[Fuck that idea, Lance, lets go Pinkie Pie on this thing and enjoy it!]

I smiled and jumped forward and landed on my haunches. I opened my mouth and tilted my head back, letting the chocolate milk pool in my mouth. It tasted awesome!

[Sounds like your drinking cu...]
{You will shut the fuck up now!}

I heard snickering behind me and the snap of fingers. Suddenly, the chocolate rain stopped tasting like chocolate.

I gulped down what was in my mouth and began gagging, "What the hell was that?!"

I turned around and saw Frederic and Annabel laughing.

Annabel looked up and smirked, "I thought you would like the taste of sperm."

[D-DId she say... sperm?!]

I began to breath heavily, "OH MY GOD!" I pushed my hoof into my mouth and made myself throw up. I then turned and galloped away, running for the nearest lake.

That is what it use to be XD Sperm, not milk. But, I was nice and removed it at the request of Iron Clad.

Poor Peter... Or lucky Peter?

Yes, there is a sex scene in this. What? Oh, yes its a full on sex scene. Why did I write it? Simple, it was requested by fifteen people, plus the owner of the OC.

Be prepared, I've been reading to many Clop-fics since the last sex scene XD What? I'm trying to read all the HiE stories, and most have sex XD.

Also, no more sex scenes! I hate writing them!

This next comment comes after I've finished the chapter:
I am never writing another sex scene with two different characters again! That felt so damn weird to write for those two! Well, I may do a sex scene with Vinetion and Celestia, but who knows XD

Chapter 64

I walked down the large hall, looking at all the paintings and statues along the way.

I came to a stop in front of a new painting. It showed a large Griffin fighting two ponies, a Alicorn and a Pegasus. In the background was a few destroyed buildings, smoke rising from the one in the middle.

Holy shit! Is that me and Frederic?!

[That's badass!]

[Shut up and enjoy it. If they can't get their facts straight, its their fault.]

I smiled as I looked at the painting. I then struck a heroic pose, "I'm Lance, hero of Equestria! I'm the toughest of the tough! Braves of the brave!"

Suddenly, a loud agonizing scream echoed down the hall.

I let out a squeal of terror and fell to the floor, covering my face with my hooves.

[Oh yeah, your the bravest of the brave alright.]
{Shut it Break!}

Dawn's question was answered when Frederic suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Lance! I need..." He started to say, but began looking around, "Huh, you're already at the Palace."

I stood and looked at him, "Yeah, there was a... problem with me and Twilight, but its fixed." I looked around, "Do you know what that scream was about?"

He nodded and smiled brightly, "Luna's going into labor!"

I did a double take, "Wha!? But... its only been six months!"

He chuckled a bit, "I know. Alicorn's are..." Another scream echoed down the hall, "Alicorn's are different from normal ponies. They give birth three months sooner."

[Hey! That's my line!]

I rubbed my chin, "Huh, seems legit."

[Lance! That's my fucking line!]

Frederic chuckled, "You bet its legit."

[I'm going to kill all of you!]

Frederic then put his hoof on my shoulder, "Come on, I want you to be there with me."

My eyes widened, "But I don't..."

We suddenly flashed into their room.

"... want to see her pussy." I continued, not realizing we had teleported.

Frederic facehoofed, "Wow, you actually said that in front my wife."

I turned to say I'm sorry to Luna, but instantly froze.

Luna was on the bed, a blanket over her, but it was open enough to reveal her marehood. And there was a...

[I see a head!]

Frederic waked up next to me, "Ah, the miracle of life."

*Thud*

Frederic looked at me and shook his head.

I had fainted.

[Yep, he's the toughest of the tough alright.]

Annabel sat on a cloud, looking down at Ponyville, trying to come up with a prank.

She liked the one she pulled on Lance and Twilight, but she wanted to do a even better one.

So, as she set up there, she saw something that made her smirk.

She saw Rarity walking down the street, but not alone. There was a purple Pegasus next to her, his wing was over her, holding her close.

Annabel clapped her hands together. Best idea ever! Not a prank, but something along those lines.

Time to turn a elegant mare into a sex hungry beast!

Oh joy!

Peter stood in front of his desk in his and Rarity's room. He was going over the plans to get Lance back for that little incident in the mountains.

He didn't like being hit with his own prank. Kinda hurt his pride, but he had a great idea to get back at Lance.

He laughed in a evil kind of way as he looked over his plans, "Muhahahahaha!"

Suddenly, the door that lead into the room burst open.

When he turned around, he saw Rarity, "What's up Rare?"

She looked at him strangely, with lust filled eyes.

Peter gulped, something seemed off.

"Mine!" She screamed out as her horn began to glow.

Peter felt himself being lifted up. Seconds later, he was thrown onto the bed. Rarity jumped up on him and pinned his arms.

Peter was scared at first, but suddenly, let his brony side take over. This is a bronies dream right here, and he was about to be living the dream.

Warning!: Sex scene starts here!

Rarity pushed her face into his, putting a force full kiss on his lips.

Peter was to stunned to do anything. They hadn't ever kissed like this before.

He liked it.

Rarity lowered her back side down to his lower region and began to rub her marehood on his member. Causing it to harden.

Peter was loving this! He had never had this kind of contact with a girl before.

Rarity broke the kiss and leaned back, a devilish look on her face.

She backed up till her head was in front of his stallionhood, which was sticking straight up at this point.

She licked her lips and began to nuzzle it.

Peter gasped at the feeling.

She rubbed her cheek up and down it. She then nuzzled the tip with her nose, teasing him.

Peter was losing himself in the pleasure of her touch. But he was unprepared for what came next.

Rarity ran her tongue up the shaft of his member and then stuck it in her mouth.

Peter let out a loud gasp as he felt her tongue gliding around it. The heat from her mouth mixed with her saliva was almost enough to send him over the top.

She rotated her tongue around his member. She was clearing enjoying herself.

She began to go up and down on his member, sucking and running her tongue along it at the same time.

Peter's eyes rolled up into the back of his head. The pleasure was to much and to new to him.

Sure, he had touched himself before, but its never felt like this! This, this was amazing!

She suddenly stopped and pulled her head off his member, causing him to whimper.

She looked up at him and smirked, "My turn."

She then crawled up beside him and looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

Peter smiled and kissed her, but she pushed him back, "No! I want you to pleasure me like I did you!"

Demanding much?

Peter nodded and lowered himself to the end of the bed. He then positioned himself to where he was in front of her marehood, which was glistening from their previous action.

He leaned forward and began to sniff in her sweet aroma. It filled his nostrils, causing him to stick his nose closer.

He smiled and began licking around her marehood, over the lips and around them. He was getting her back for teasing him.

She gasped every time his tongue ran across the it.

Peter was enjoying the taste, but wanted more. So he began to stick his tongue into her, roaming along the walls. Savoring the taste.

He pushed his tongue as deep as he could, trying to taste every part of her.

Rarity let out a small groan and pushed his face deeper into her. Seconds later, she exploded in this face, covering his mouth and part of his face in her juices.

Peter was slightly surprised, but went back to licking, enjoying the taste and feel of her.

After a full minute of licking, she stopped him, "Oh no darling, I'm not ready for another. Not yet."

She then used her magic to lift him up and lay him on his back on the bed.

She climbed on top of him and smiled down, and said in a very cute voice "Can I ride you?"

Peter began to tremble with excitement, and his face became hot, "Y-Yes..."

She grinned and raised her rump into the air and began to position herself. She used her magic to hold his member straight up and began to lower herself downward.

When the tip touched her lips, they both let out a small gasp. As she lowered herself farther, taking his full member, it became tighter. Then, it hit a wall, her hymen.

She bit her lower lip and looked at Peter, "I can't do it... Can you do it please?"

Peter also bit his bottom lip, "I can... try."

He prepared himself and then rammed his member into her, and he felt her hymen break.

She let out a small scream of pain and sat all the way down on his member.

Peter looked at her with worry, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, a tear in her eye, "Yes... honey, its normal."

She sits there for a few seconds, letting the pain die away. Once it was gone, she began to gently raise and lower her back side.

Peter put his front hooves on her waist and watched as she went up and down on him.

She began to go faster, slowly picking up speed.

Peter began to thrust into her as well, trying to keep pace with her.

She let out a loud moan as she had a second orgasm.

Peter felt it running down his shaft, and watched as it began to pool on his stomach.

Rarity fell forward on to his chest, exhausted, "I'm sorry... I just don't have the energy."

Peter smiled and wrapped his hooves around her, "Its okay. I can finish it if you want."

She nodded, panting loudly, "Yes... please."

He kissed her on the forehead and rolled over, still in side her.

He positioned himself so that he could do this with ease.

Peter leaned forward and put his front hooves on either side of Rarity's chest. He then began to go in and out of her, trying to pick up speed.

She moaned loudly and wrapped her hooves around his neck.

They looked into each others eyes as he pumped in and out of her.

She weakly nuzzled his neck, and braced herself for the climax.

Peter felt himself getting close to his release, and he could tell Rarity was about to have one herself.

He began to go faster, determined to finish this like a champ.

He tilted his head back and let out a loud grunt as he slammed his member deep into her for the final time. He then began to release his seed into her, and at the same time, she had her third and last orgasm.

Once their climaxes passed, he collapsed onto her, breathing heavily.

He then rolled over to the side, allowing Rarity to breath.

They pulled each other into a tight embrace, looking into each others eyes.

"I love you Peter."

"I love you too Rarity, my sweet gemstone." Peter said as he nuzzled her nose.

She smiled and put her face into his chest, taking a well deserved rest.

Sex scene is now over. You may now stop clopping. (You better not have been clopping to this!)

Annabel stood outside the window, her mouth hanging open in shock.

When she arrived, she was about to do her prank, but when she looked in the window, they was already going at it! How is that even possible!? This was her idea! And they beat her too it!

She sighed, can't win them all.

She then smirked, she had to get somepony back, but not now. She'll save him for later. Right now, she needed to get back to the palace and assisted Fred in the birth of his children. That should be fun....

The next day, Dali's house

I awoke and sat up in a panic, "No! Don't stick that in my ass!"

"Whoa! What happened Lance?!" Twilight said, running into the room.

I began to breath heavily, but quickly stopped myself, "N-Nothing Twi, just a nightmare."

She bit her bottom lip, "Stallion?"

I shook my head, "Not this time."

Dawn said, curled up in the fetal position.
[That was nothing. We've seen worst in bondage videos, right Lance?]

Twilight looked worried, but then became serious, "Lance, I need you too do something for me."

I sighed, "What do you need?"

She perked up, "I need you to watch Spark all day today."

I groaned and fell back, "Why!?"

She used her magic to lift me back up and face her, she then narrowed her eyes, "Lance, you will do this and you will enjoy it! You love your son, right?"

I sigh in defeat, "Yes, I do."

She then smiled and released me from her magical grip, "Good. Me and the girls are going shopping, and Dali and Drax are coming along."

I groan again, "I want to come!"

She glared, "Not to day! You need to spend sometime with our son!"

"But..."

"No buts! You're doing this and there's nothing you can do to get out of it."

[Ouch, it pains me to say this, but.... PUSSY WHIPPED!]

I smile awkwardly, "Of course, I'll spend all day with him."

She then went back to normal Twilight, no more bitchy mom Twilight, for now that is, "Thank you honey."

She trotted over and gave me a large kiss on the lips, "You'll have fun. I just know it."

I cheer up instantly, "I bet I will. You have fun today."

She smiled and nuzzled my cheek, "I will."

Five minutes later

I trotted down the hall and into the living room to see Spark. He was playing with a few blocks and laughing his little head off.

I smiled and walked over to him and sat down across from him.

He looked at me and smile.

I smiled back, "Hey buddy, wanna spend the day with your dad?"

Spark giggled and shakily stood on all fours. He then staggered over to me and fell into my lap.

This. Is. So. Freaking. Adorable!

I chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes."

XD Went from sex to a happy scene between father and son. Next chapter I will be doing something fun and full of D'awww's. Lance is going to spend a full day with Spark! Oh yeah!

Father and son

Chapter 66

I reached back and adjusted the straps on the foal carrier... thing.

After I had it strapped down to me and secured, I looked around for Spark.

Where did that little guy go?

[I dunno.]

I rolled my eyes and walked around the house.

I finally found him in the bedroom.

I trotted over to him and smiled, "You want to go see your Uncle David?"

Spark gurgled in response.

I chuckled and picked him up. I then put him in the foal carrier and strapped him in.

Once that was done, I smiled happily and walked over to the door.

I opened it and stepped outside. I took a deep breath of fresh morning air and began to lift off.

"It had a foal?!" I heard a mare off to the side say.

"Its just as messed up as he is!" Another said.

I slowly pulled my wings back into my body and looked at them, pulling my goggles off in the process and giving them my most hateful glare.

They both winced and the one on the right whispered to her friend, "It heard us!"

I snorted and I could have sworn I saw steam come out of my nostrils. I trudged over to them and glared angrily at them, and said in a very calm, yet scary, voice, "I'm a he! A fucking he! I'm sick and tired of your and all the others here referring to me as a it! I can deal with it..." I then growled, and raised my voice, "but when you call my son a it! I will not tolerate it! You're very lucky he's on my back, or I would beat the living hell out of both of you! I don't give a fuck if you're mare's! Nopony messes with my family!"

They both stumbled back at my words and the tone of my voice. Both of them had scared looks on their faces.

I spit on one of them and turned, kicking dirt into their faces.

I then jumped into the air and flew upward.

As I flew, I began to try and get myself calmed down. I didn't want to scare Spark... Spark!

I turned back, frighten that he would be sad or crying. But, he was fine, smiling and enjoying the view.

I let a smile slip onto my face. That kid can brighten my day at the worst of times.

The rest of the trip was spend with me letting my mind wonder. Thinking of all the things we are going to do today.

Soon, I landed on the cloud that supported Rainbow Dash's house.

I popped my neck and walked up to the door and knocked.

There was a small crash inside and someone said in a hushed tone, "Shit!"

Seconds later, the door opened to reveal David, a bowl of spaghetti on his head, "Oh, whats up Lance?"

I chuckled and pointed to his head, "What happened here?"

He reached up and sighed, "You surprised me. I kinda dropped it..."

"On your head?" I said with a smirk.

He glared, "Shut up." He then looked behind me and saw Spark, "Oh my God! Its Spark!"

"Spark!" I heard somepony upstairs yell.

There was a large amount of crashes and suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew down the stairs, landing by David.

I smiled, "Yep, I though you two would want to see him."

Rainbow Dash flew over to him and looked him over, "Aww yeah! He's going to be a fast Pegasus when he grows up."

David walked up beside her and nodded, "I agree. This little bastard looks like he's going to be badass."

I chuckled, if Twilight knew we all cussed around Spark, she would kill me.

[You my good sir are a pussy.]
{You my good sir need to shut the fuck up.}

Rainbow Dash nuzzled Spark's forehead, causing him to laugh his little head off. In turn, it caused me to laugh.

Forty six minutes later

"I'm sorry guys, but I want to do some other things with him before I take him to meet the others." I said as I walked out of the cloud house and into the morning air.

David whined behind me, "But Laannccee! I want to show him how to paint!"

I chuckled, "He's only a foal dude." With that, I jumped into the air and set off for Ponyville.

When I looked back to check on Spark, my heart exploded. He was playing with my tail, laughing and giggling. How did he even get a hold of it? That's a mystery, but at least its cute.

I stop flying and reached back to him, I unstrapped him and held him in front of me with my front hooves.

This kid was freaking adorable!

I nuzzled his nose, causing him to laugh. God, I love this kid.

I spun around till I was flying on my back and placed him on my chest.

Thank you Rainbow Dash for teaching me this trick.

I began to fly towards Ponyville, upside down.

Spark was swaying and laughing. I held him with my front hooves, making sure he didn't fall.

A few minutes later, I landed in Ponyville, and placed Spark on the ground.

He stood on all fours and smiled up at me. I'm surprised he could already walk. But, he is a pony, so I guess its only natural.

I leaned down and smiled, "Come on bud, you wanna go see auntie Pinkie Pie?"

He blinked up at me with a smile.

I chuckled, "I'll take that as a hell yes."

I lifted him up and placed him on my back, not caring for the foal carrier anymore. I spread my wings to make sure he didn't fall off my back.

I then began trotting towards Sugar Cube Corner, hoping Greg wasn't there.

Once I arrived, I walked in and looked around. There was no ponies here, save for a pink puffy tail sticking up behind the counter.

I let out a small laugh and walked over, "Hey Pinkie."

She let out a yelp and jumped up, but calmed down once she saw me, "Oh, hiya Lance!" She looked at my back and smiled, "Sparky!"

She jumped over the counter, and somehow over me, and landed behind me, holding Spark in her forehooves, nuzzling him.

How did she... I didn't even feel... wha?

I chuckled at the sight.

Pinkie Pie held Spark out in front of her and smiled, "Who's a silly colt? You are, you are." She said as she made funny faces at him.

Spark was laughing and clearly enjoying himself.

After a few minutes of watching, she put him down and looked at me, "You wanna try and make him laugh?"

I smiled and nodded, "You know it."

I walked in front of him and made a funny face. He laughed and fell back on his haunches.

I looked up at a mirror and gasped slightly, I don't know how he finds that funny. With my eyes, I look... evil? Scary? No, evilly scary. I guess only he and Twilight can love a guy like me.

That though caused me to smile.

Pinkie Pie ran over to the the double doors and stood on her hind legs, supporting her forelegs on the top of the doors, "Where's Pinkie Pie... Here I am!" She said as she leaned out the door.

Spark went into a laughing fit at this.

Pinkie Pie smiled and did it over and over again, "Where's Pinkie Pie... Here I am! Where's Pinkie Pie... Here I am! Where's Pinkie Pie... Here I am! Where's Pinkie Pie... Here I am!"

I was laughing also at this point and I jumped forward, "Let me try."

Pinkie Pie giggled and jumped aside, "All yours."

I jumped behind the doors and did the same thing she had done, putting my front hooves on the top of the doors.

"Where's daddy... Here I am! Where's daddy... Here I am! Where's daddy... Here I..."

When I went forward, the doors broke off the hinges, causing me to fall forward. I hit the ground, face first, and soon, the both of the doors followed. Both landing on me.

Both Pinkie Pie and Spark went crazy with laughter.

Oh yeah, just laugh it up.

I looked up and smiled at the sight of my son smiling and laughing. Just gotta love that kid.

Two hours of playing with Pinkie Pie later

I walked out of the shop, waving to Pinkie Pie, "Thanks Pinkie!"

She waved back, a large smile on her face, "Come back soon! That was fun!"

I trotted down the street, a large happy smile on my face. I haven't had this kind of fun in a long time.

I passed a couple sitting on a bench, their backs to me.

I stopped when I saw the red mane. I then smiled, "Hey Cody, Ditzy."

They both turned and smiled. Cody spoke up first, "Lance! Its good to see you."

I shifted my body around and revealed Spark.

Ditzy smiled brightly, "Its Spark!" She flew off the bench and flew towards me. She picked Spark up and gave him a hug.

Cody stood and walked over to me, smiling, "Nice kid Lance."

I smiled back, "Thanks."

He then looked saddened, "I'm still sorry for trying to ki..."

I waved him off with my hoof, "I already told you Cody, I forgive you. One hundred percent."

He grinned, "Thank you Lance."

Ditzy landed beside Cody, holding Spark, "Cody, we have to have a foal!"

Cody's eyes went wide for a second, but then went back to normal, "We'll talk about it, I promise."

She smiled and nuzzled his cheek, "I love you."

Cody kissed her cheek, "I love ya too."

I snickered, but covered my mouth with me hoof.

They looked at me and blushed as the same time, they had obviously forgotten I was still there.

Ditzy put Spark back n my back and smiled, "Where are you going?"

I shrugged, "Just walking around, showing off my son."

Cody nodded, "Sounds fun. Have you shown him to Peter and Rarity yet?"

I shook my head, "Nope, I guess I'll go there next."

They both nodded and returned to their bench, "Have fun."

I smiled and began walking towards the boutique.

Spark was having the time of his life, getting all this attention.

[He sure is pretty awesome!]
{There you two are! You've been silent since I arrived at Rainbow Dash's house.}
[Meh, we was going through your memory again.]

I sighed and looked ahead, ready to see Peter's and Rarity's reactions to us showing up unexpected.

Surprise!

Chapter 67

I trotted down the street, waving to everypony. They all returned my wave with a wave of their own, a happy smile on their faces.

I love this town, the ponies here don't judge you based on your looks.

Why did I even move to Canterlot? Why didn't I ask for a house here instead? Yeah, I'm an idiot.

[Yes, yes you are my dear boy.]

After a few more waves, I arrived at the boutiques door.

When I reached for the doorknob, I noticed a sign attached to the door. It read: 'Sorry, but we're closed'.

I huffed, I wanted to show off Spark.

I shrugged and opened the door.

Inside, it was silent and dark. There was a strange feeling in the air, but I couldn't place my hoof on it.

I walked in and let the door close behind me, cutting off the light to the room. I heard some muffled voices on the other side of the room, so I made my way across.

Once there, I saw some light coming from under the door. I smiled, found them.

I opened the door and took a step in.

My smile disappeared, and said under my breath, "I should have seen this coming."

Peter was strapped to the wall in a awkward position, a gag of some sorts stuck in his mouth. I'm not going to explain the other... details.

Rarity was... uhhh.... having fun with him.

[Free bondage porn!]

I quickly covered Spark's eyes with my wings and began backing out of the room.

Peter looked up and began to thrash around, trying to tell Rarity I was in the room.

Rarity's horn began to glow and Peter was pushed against the wall, "Oh, is somepony trying to be naughty and disobey his mistress?"

My mouth dropped, I didn't know ponies knew about this stuff!

I backed away from the door and out of sight. I did not want to see that.

[I do! Go back, go back!]
{Nah.}
[Fuck you sideways with a fucking torn bush!]

I walk out the door and sigh, that was strange and awkward. Lucky Peter, Twilight has never done that to me!

[Maybe I can convince her.]
{No, because it will end up with me sleeping on the couch... or that dog house she made me build outside. Why did she make me build it anyway?}

{Holy shit! I forgot all about them! I wonder where they are.}

248 miles away, dense forest

Weedy stood off to the side, wearing his fedora. He watched as his brothers, Leonardo and Churchill, both trying to figure out a way to get across the river safely.

They had all left home, wanting to get find the place their mother had talked about. A place where dogs ran free and proud, with no worries or regrets.

Of course, they missed their pony masters, but, you can't hold a dog down forever. They may return, maybe.

Weedy looked back at his brothers and rubbed a paw to his face and began to bark at them, 'You numb skulls! You don't use a rock to float across a river!'

Churchill turned to him and barked angrily, 'Shut it Weedy! We're doing our best!'

Weedy rolled his eyes, 'Your best being your worst.'

Leonardo looked at Churchill and sighed, 'I hate being the younger brother.'

Churchill raised an eyebrow, 'We don't know who is older. We all came out at the same time.'

Leonardo nodded, 'I see. But why is he the boss?'

'Because he can kick our little asses.' Churchill said with a smirk.

Leonardo hung his head, 'True... lets get across this river. Shall we?'

Back to Lance and Spark, two hours later

What is with all the ponies? They're all seem to be avoiding me all of a sudden. Its strange.

I'm also seeing less and less ponies around, very very strange.

Spark was still on my back, chewing on my right wing.

So damn cute!

I smile to myself as I walk down the now empty street.

I stop and look around, a curious look on my face, "What the hell?"

[Yeah, the pony version...]

I shudder at the though. This better not be some murder scene where I have to fight for my life... and my sons life.

I heard the sound of hooves on cobber stone behind me.

I tensed up and I twisted around to see... Ditzy running towards me.

I relax and smile, "Hey Ditzy, what you doing?"

She came to a halt in front of me, but ended up doing a small front flip.

I chuckled and helped her up.

She giggled and grabbed my hoof, "Come with me! Its important!"

I laughed as she pulled me down the street, towards the library.

I wonder what she wants?

[... Hot sex?]

[I don't know, bored I guess.]

She stopped in front of the door and jumped behind me and pushed me through it. Spark laughing the whole time.

When I was pushed into the room and the door closed, I heard some whispering.

Suddenly, the lights flared to life, "SURPRISE!"

I recoiled backwards, almost dropping Spark.

All the ponies were smiling and wearing... party hats?

Above them was a banner, 'Happy birthday Lance!'

Happy birthday? Wha?

[Holy shit! How did we forget?!]

Twilight walked out of the crowd, a large smile on her face. She trotted over to me and gave me a peck on the cheek, "Happy birthday honey."

I blink a few times and smile, "So that's why you wanted me to go out."

She smiled proudly, "Exactly."

I chuckled and returned her kiss, "Thanks. How did you know today was my B-day?"

She gave a smug look, "Your mom."

[Can't tell if she's trolling, or serious...]

I chuckle, "I see. I'll have to thank her later."

Twilight levitated Spark off my back and nuzzled him, "And how was my baby boy today?"

He laughed and giggled as she nuzzled his nose.

I smiled at the sight, "He was great. Thanks Twi, for making me spend the day with him."

She looked at me and smirked, "I knew you would have fun." She then waved her hoof at the crowd, "Now, go and enjoy your party."

I smiled and walked into the crowd, most of them saying, 'Happy birthday'.

Today just kept getting better and better.

As I walked through the crowd, I ran into Greg. What'a surprise...

He turned and smiled, "Lance, buddy, amigo, what's up?"

I let out a small laugh, "Nothing much Greg."

He nodded, "So, how old are you now? Fifteen?"

I hang my head and shake it, chuckling, "No dude, I'm eighteen now."

"Eighteen? Wow."

I look up and smirk, "I'm younger than you and already got married."

He rolled his eyes and waved me off, "So what? I got Pinkie Pie, and that's ten times better." He then turned about face and walked off.

I turned and continued to talk to all the ponies around me.

Two hours of partying later

"Open mine first Lance!" Frederic said as he levitated a box in front of me.

I chuckled and grabbed it, "Alright, I'll open yours first."

I pumped his hoof into the air, "Oh yeah!"

I smile and look at the box, kinda small.

We was all in the library, alone. Just me, the bronies, and their marefriend's. All the other ponies had went home.

I tore the paper off the box and opened it, "Oh fuck yes! Thanks Frederic!"

Inside the box was a pair of goggles, same as mine, but those were the kind Frederic had given me before. The ones that can zoom in and see through smoke and fog. I've been using my old pair, since my other had been destroyed in the fight with Frederic's dad.

He smiled proudly, "No problem dude."

Greg levitated his over to me.

I chuckled and opened it. Inside was... what do you know, a I.O.U. No seriously, there was a piece of paper that said, I.O.U.

Greg smirked and laid back, wrapping his hoof around Pinkie.

Seth and Zorrow both kicked a single gift towards me.

After opening it, I raised an eyebrow, "Wow, I've always needed a.... bare of soap."

They both laughed and high hoofed, "Happy birthday man."

The next gift was from David and Rainbow Dash.

Of course the paper was the color of a rainbow, making it badass. I tore the paper off and looked inside.

A book? I would have expected this from Twilight, not those two. But, once I looked at the cover, I chuckled, "Daring Do, I've been wanting to read this."

Rainbow Dash smiled excitedly, "You're going to love it! I did!"

Next up was Vinetion. She handed me a piece of paper, "From me and Annabel."

I looked at it and stood up, "Best gift of the night people. Right here!"

The paper said the following:

Lance,

We promise not to pull any pranks on you for two months.

Annabel: I promise not to mess with your love life... again.

Vinetion: Meh, I just promise not to hurt you, or do pranks.

Signed,
Your two favorite pranksters (Trouble makers)

Everyone laughed at that, at least I don't have to worry about getting stuck in Twilight again.

Peter gave me his gift and jumped back, "Happy birthday Lance."

I eyed the gift and smiled, "Oh Rarity, can you help me with this?"

She smiled, "I'd be happy to Lance."

Peter's eyes went large, "Wait... ummm..."

Rarity trotted over and grabbed the box with her magic and brought it over to her. She then began to unwrap it. When she opened it, there was a small bang.

A semi small pie shot out and hit her in the face, followed by confetti, and then followed by feathers.

Rarity let out a scream and began to stomp, "Its in my mane!" She then glared at Peter, "You! We're going to have a talk when we get home!"

Peter hung his head, "I know."

I smirked. Prank successfully ruined.

The rest of the gift giving went off with out a problem. A nice hat from Spike, a spa coupons from Fluttershy, a cowboy hat from Applejack (Fucking finally!), a awesome scarf from Cody, a basket of muffins from Ditzy (I'm not surprised.), a nice looking sweater from Dali (Made by her hooves.), a new black saddlebag from Drax (YES! Black saddlebags!), a fedora from Shadow Breeze, and from Twilight, I got a book on parenting (I saw that one coming.)

I thanked everyone for their gifts and gave a few hugs.

Today was truly awesome! But the gift giving wasn't over yet.

"Okay everypony, stay right here. I have to go get something from the store." I said as I walked towards the door. I hope they're still selling it.

Fifteen minutes later

I trotted back into the room a bag in my mouth, "I'm back!"

Everypony looked at me, "Whats in the bag?"

I put it down and smiled, "A present for Spark."

Twilight smiled and carried Spark over to me and sat him down.

I ruffled his hair with my hoof and leaned down, "Hey bud, wanna new toy?"

He rocked back and forth on his haunches.

I laughed loudly and opened the bag, and looked at the bronies, "Okay you bronies. This is something you all would kill for back on earth."

I pulled out a plushy and held it up.

All the bronies gasped and went slightly fan crazy, "A Spitfire plushy!"

"They actually make and sell those here?"

"I'm going to the store and buying the whole stock!"

I chuckled and leaned down, "Here you go." I put the Spitfire plushy in Spark's lap. He then hugged it and held it close.

[The fucking D'awwww meter is going off the charts!]

I picked Spark up and nuzzled his nose and looked at everyone else, "Best day of my life."

Who am I?!

I'm making something for this chapter. Be sure to check the blog soon. I'll be posting it soon.

Chapter 68

12 days after party

"Click that one!" Break said with a excited voice as he stood behind Dawn.

Dawn sighed and shook his head, "No, I don't want to relive that one today." He then went back to scrolling through the list of memories.

Break huffed, "You know, fuck you man."

"Sorry Twi, it was an accident." They heard Lance say.

Break smirked and turned, "You know Lance, you can easily..."

"Shut it Break!" Lance thought.

Break chuckled and turned back to the Dawn and the memory bank, "Come on dude! Click it!"

Dawn turned and glared, "NO! I told you, I don't want to relive it!"

Break shrugged, "Fine, then I'll do it." He then walked around Dawn and began to scroll back up.

Dawn slammed into Break, knocking him away, "Dude, stop!"

Break just laughed, "Nice hit. Let me try."

He then head butted Dawn in the side, sending him to the ground.

Dawn stood and growled, "What's your problem?!"

Break began scrolling through the list again, "So many things."

Dawn grabbed the side of the computer, "That's it! I'm taking this away from you."

Break grabbed the other side, "You can take this from me! I want to relive Lance's first time!"

They pulled back and forth, trying to pull the computer towards themselves.

Break growled and pulled back furiously.

Dawn lost his grip and fell back.

Break smiled victoriously... until he heard a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking.

He looked down and cringed, "Well shit..."

Dawn walked over and bit his bottom lip, "That's not good..."

Break rubbed the back of his head, "I hope that wasn't too important."

Scene switch over to Lance

I walked into the library, Twilight by my side, "Why did you have to come here again Twi?"

She smiled and walked past me, looking through the books, "Like I said at Dali's, I need to find my old book on spells."

I raised an eyebrow, "Twi, you have hundreds of spell books at home, why do you need another?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, just want to reread it I guess."

I rolled my eyes playfully and walked up to a shelf. I then saw a book that caught my attention, 'Love through the eyes of a dragon'.

What? I'm a sucker for a good romance... at least, I think this is a romance.

I pulled went to pull it off the shelf, but my hoof bumped another book, knocking it off.

Twilight turned and glared slightly.

I chuckled awkwardly and picked it up, "Sorry Twi, it was an accident."

[You know Lance, you can easily...]
{Shut it Break!}

I put the book back and grabbed the one I was after. I read the back and smiled. Oh yeah, this book was going to be good.

I turned and looked at Twilight, making sure she wasn't looking. I then slipped the book in my saddlebags.

What? I don't want her to know I like that stuff.

I slowly begin rummaging through the books, looking for some other books that interests me.

Sadly, there is none.

Man, I can't wait to get back and spend some time with Spark. I hope Dali is taking good care of him.

My head began to pound slightly. What the...

I fell to the floor, holding my head as a searing pain shot through it. I let out a yell of agony... okay a scream of agony, happy?!

Twilight ran over and looked at me with concern, "Lance! Lance, what's wrong?!"

I bit my bottom lip and looked up, "I.. I don't know..." I began to recoil around on the floor as the pain was increased.

I let out one last scream as my head slumped to the ground.

Twilight watched as her husband thrashed around on the floor, tears in her eyes.

Once he finally stopped, she feared the worst. What's wrong with him.

She ran over to him and crouched down, and held him.

"What the... Who are you?" She heard Lance ask.

She pulled back and looked at him strangely, "Lance?"

He raised and eyebrow, "Who are you?!" He began to thrash around and jumped away from her and stood.

Twilight stood, a tear in her eye, "Its me... Twilight..."

He backed away, "Twilight? What kind of name is that? Sounds like one of those gay Twilight fans."

She cringed at his tone of voice. It sounds like he's angry, "I'm... I'm your wife."

He looked confused, "What? My wife? I'm married?"

Twilight gulped, "Yes..."

He scratched the back of his head, "Strange..." He then rubbed his chin, "Why can't I remember anything?"

Twilight thought for a second, "I don't know... it may have something to do with Break and Dawn."

He raised an eyebrow, "Break and Dawn? Is that who's talking in my head. Because to be honest, they're freaking the hell out of me."

Twilight nodded, "That would be them." She then smiled, an idea coming to her, "I know! Maybe they know whats going on!"

Lance shook his head, "I doubt it, they sound like idiots."

Twilight chuckled, because she though the same thing, and began to focus her magic. She then charged the spell, and pointed it at Lance.

His eyes widened, "Whoa, cool it you freaking horse thing!"

She shot the magic out and collapsed. It hit Lance in the forehead and she slipped inside his mind.

Lance's mind

Twilight opened her eyes to see the inside of Lance's mind. Good, she made it in.

She looked around till she saw Break and Dawn, but frowned at what she saw.

They was fighting, rolling around, hoofing each other in the face.

She growled, "BOYS!"

They instantly stopped and jumped up, "Twilight!"

Dawn pointed a hoof a Break, fear in his eyes, "He did it!"

Break shook his head furiously, fear also in his eyes, "No! He did it!"

Twilight stomped her hoof, "I don't care who did it! I want you to fix it!"

They both nodded furiously, "Yes ma'am!"

Dawn gulped, "But, its going to take... uhhh.... a few hours."

She glared at him and he fell to the floor, his hooves over his face, "Don't hurt me!"

She shifted her gaze to Break, who stood there bravely... for a few seconds before following Dawn's lead and hitting the deck, "Don't hurt the face!"

Twilight sighed, "Just fix him... please."

Dawn looked up and bit his lip, "We will, we promise."

Twilight glared again, "You better, or I'm coming back in here and..."

Dawn shrieked, "WE'LL GET TO WORK ON IT RIGHT AWAY!"

She smiled and charged her horn, "Great. I expect to have him back to normal within a few hours."

She then pulled herself from Lance's mind and back to her body.

Normal world

Twilight stood and shook her head, "Those two... they're just like Lance in every way."

She looked at Lance.... but he wasn't there.

She began to panic, where is he?!

I looked at the strange horse thing as it fainted. I though it was going to attack or something, but all it did was shot me with some kind of light. Strange.

I looked around and shook my head. I hate this place already.

I knocked my hoof against my head, who am I? Where am I?

I look around again and saw a door. I walked over to it and opened it.

Behind the door was the outside world. The position of the sun indicated that it was probably mid-afternoon or so.

I could see other horses... well, now that I look at them, they look like ponies. But why are they all different colors?

As I strolled down the street, they were all waving, being friendly. To friendly, I don't like it here.

A dull green one walked towards me, a smile on its face, "Yo, dude. Whats up?"

I looked at him strangely, "Who are you?"

He cocked his head, but then laughed,"Dude, its me, Greg."

I shrugged, "I don't know you."

He looked confused, "Wha? What do you mean?"

I looked around, "I think my memories gone or something."

Greg nodded for a few seconds, then smirked, "So, you don't remember anything?"

I shook my head, "No. Nothing but the past few minutes that is."

Greg clapped his hooves, "Great! I mean, do you want me to tell you your name."

I smiled, "Yes please!"

He smirked, "Your name is Bitch Magnet."

Bitch Magnet... I like it! "Cool, anything else I should know?"

He nodded, "Yes, you are the test dummy for the group. You let us beat the shit out of you and you take it like the bitch you are."

Damn... "That sucks... anything else?"

"Your my bitch, so that means, you give me all your money that you've earned."

Fucking damn!

I reached back to my saddlebag and opened it. I pulled out a small bag of coins and tossed them to him.

He caught them and smiled, "It actually worked!"

I cocked my head, "What worked?"

His eyes widened, "Nothing... Hey! You wanna go do what we always do?"

I scratched the back of my head, "Which is?"

He pointed behind him, "Three way with a mare."

My mouth dropped, "But that one purple pony said she was my wife. Why would I have a three way with another mare?"

He chuckled, "Purple pony? You mean the towns crazy lady. Don't listen to her, she's crazy and thinks everyone's her husband, even me."

I nodded, "Ah, I see..."

He turned, "Lets go fine us a mare, Bitch."

I shook my head, "I don't really feel like it..."

He stopped and nodded, "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't do it. Pinkie would rip my head off... and bake it."

"Pinkie?" I questioned.

He smiled, "Pinkie Pie, the craziest bitch you'll ever meet. She's make of pure awesomeness and fucking hot. And, she's great in bed."

I nodded, "Sounds like fun."

He smirked, "Oh, it is. I can assure you of that."

He turned again, "Lets go. I have to do something that I'm only going to get one chance with."

I smiled and followed, "Lead the way."

Twenty minutes later

I stood outside of a bakery while Greg sampled Pinkie's contents.

I had to admit, this was boring.

As I stood there, a olive green mare walked up to me, holding a cup of coffee, "How's it going?"

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "And you are?"

She smirked, "Lose of memory?"

I nodded, "How did you know that?"

She smiled proudly, "I'm just that smart. Wanna help me with something?"

I shrugged, "Sure."

She chugged the remains of the coffee and throw it towards a trash can, "Follow me."

I nodded and followed her down the street and out of town. Then, she lead me down to a field and stopped, "I need you to test something."

I stopped and looked at her, "What is it?"

She smirked and stomped the ground. A single blue flower arose. She then picked it up and handed it to me.

I looked at it, "What's this?"

She smiled, "It'll give you your memory back. All you got to do is rub it on your body."

I smiled, "Yes!" I began to rub it on my body, getting every spot. Once done, I looked at her, "When will I get it back?"

She smiled, "The day you get your memory back." She turned and laughed, and began to walk away.

I stood there, confused. That was mean...

"Bitch Magnet!"

I turned to see Greg running towards me, "Hey Greg."

He stopped in front of me and held out his hoof, "Okay, for walking away you owe me another bag of bits, hand them over."

I sigh and open my saddlebag, and grabbed another bag of bits. I then tossed them to him.

He caught them and smiled, "Wicked. Now, lets go mess with that crazy lady."

[Fucking finally! That took forever!]

[Hurry, turn it back on!]

What the fuc...

I felt a searing pain in my head and I screamed out in pain. I stumbled a few feet then fall to the ground, thrashing around.

I could feel and see memories coming back to me. It was like a wave of pictures hitting me in the face. I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain.

Greg walked over and leaned down, "You okay?"

My eyes shot open and glared, a low growl could be heard in my throat, "Bitch Magnet?! You fucking prick!"

Greg jumped back and stumbled.

I jumped to my feet and stomped over to him, "You fucking asshole! You almost made me cheat on my wife! You told me my name was Bitch Magnet! Even if I like the sound of it, I'm still pissed about it! And, you called me your bitch and took my money! Your in for a world of hurt my freaking stoner of a friend."

He smiled weakly, "Come at me bro."

No details of the fight. All I'll say that happened was this: Lance beat the crap out of Greg, then went Breaking Dawn on him, then Raging Breaking Dawn... yeah, it wasn't pretty.

I let my self relax and return to normal. I had beat the living hell out of Greg, but was careful not to do to much damage.

He lay on the ground unconscious, a smirk on his face.

I shook my head and leaned down and took back my bits. I put them in my saddlebag and looked in the direction Vinetion had walked, I though she said she wouldn't do any more pranks.

I looked at the plant she had given me. My eyes widened.

It was Poison Joke.

Detention, evil teachers, and drugs in the class room.... wow

Chapter 70

Three hours later

So bored....

*Slam*

Everypony in the room turned at the sound of my head hitting my desk.

I looked up and blinked.

Miss Cherilee was tapping her hoof against the floor, "Is there a problem Stripes?"

I thought for a second and shrugged, "Uhhh, yeah, I'm bored as buck. My flank is freaking numb from this hard ass chair, and..."

She held up a hoof, "You find this boring? And you feel the need to interrupt class, and use bad language?"

I sit back, "Pretty much teach."

She sighed, "We'll see how bored you are in detention."

All the ponies snickered.

I smiled, "Detention? Its been awhile since I got that. I'll see you three."

She smiled slyly, "Oh, I'm not in charge of detention. That's Mr. Bleak's job."

All the ponies gasped and began to whisper.

I take it this Mr. Bleak is a very feared and strict guy.

[Challenge accepted.]

[Your mom!]
<.... My mom is your mom.>
[... Oh...]

I yawn, "I guess I'll see him there... where is detention?"

She rubbed her eyes, "In here, after school."

Shit... I hate school!

I sighed and waved my hoof, "Okay then, continue."

She glared and went back to teaching.

[Damn, she hates us.]

[I say we smack a bitch.]

I looked to the front and sighed.

So bored!

*Slam*

One hour later, 2:58 PM

"Remember class, tomorrow is show and tell. Who want's to volunteer?" Miss Cherilee asked the class with a smile.

My hoof shot up.

She glared at me and exhaled loudly, "Fine, tomorrow, Stripes will bring an item or pony to show off."

{Break! What the hell?!}
[One word, Greg.]
I smiled, {I see... this will be hilarious!}

*RIINNGG*

Everypony stood up, picked up their bags, and began filing out the door.

I stood and stretched out my wings and limbs.

I'm so stiff!

[Hahaha, you're stiff!]
{Oh grow up...}

I walked up to Miss Cherilee's desk. She had her forelegs propped up on it and had her face in her hooves.

I felt sorry for her. This job must be stressful.

She looked up and sighed, "Mr. Bleak will be here shortly."

I smiled and sat down at a seat in the front roll, "And I'll be here, waiting."

She took a ragged breath and stood, "Good luck." She then left the building, quickly.

Good luck? Why did she say that?

Play this music. Just play it till the scene is over or after the entrence. Wait ten seconds and start reading.

*Thud*

What was that?

*Thud*

*Blam*

Something hit the door.

Holy shit! What's going on!

*BLAM*

The door creaked opened slightly.

[Oh shit!]

A large grey stallion walked in.

To lazy to describe him, so picture time.

He held a large ruler in one hoof and had it slung on his shoulder, carrying it like a sword. He looked at me and smiled evil smile, "You're an odd one. We're going to have so much fun today."

I jumped up, scared shitless, "FUCK THIS!"

I twisted and flew at my top speed towards the opened window at the back of the class. I flew through it... only to see a large ruler being swung at me.

The flat side of the ruler hit me in the face and sent me flying back into the class room, where Mr. Bleak caught me.

My head rolled from side to side, and I looked up. I nearly screamed at his smiling face, "How did you do that?!"

He chuckled, "I just did it."

He then threw me, yeah I said threw me, across the room to my previous seat.

I landed in it perfectly... how the fuck?

I looked back, "But, how did you get out side, then back in here that fucking fast?"

He shrugged, and smiled in a weird, sexual way.

[Oh God! He's going to rape us!]

I jumped up and ran towards the door. Only to be met with the same ruler to the face the second I stepped outside.

I flew back in and stood, shaking.

He stood there clapping.

I glared, "Oh, you're so funny!"

I then did a back flip through the window behind me. I landed on my feet, perfectly I might add.

I twisted to run.

*Smack*

The ruler hit my face, sending me flying along side the outside wall of the school building.

*Smack*

A second hit sent me into the air.... What the hell!

*Smack* *Smack*

Two more hits sent me to the ground and towards the school.

*SMACK*

The next hit sent me through the wall.... yes, through the freaking wall!

I landed on the other side and sat up holding my head. When I looked up, he was standing in front of me, his face inches from mine.

I let out a yell of surprise and jumped back.

He continued to smile, "Have we learned out lesson?"

[NOPE!]

*Raging Breaking Dawn mode!*

I stood, my eyes burning with rage, my hooves burning with the desire to cause pain, "You are going to pay for that one!"

He chuckled, amused, "I like this side of you."

I screamed in rage and jumped forward, hoof ready to hit his smug face.

*BLAM* *CRASH* *SNAP* *CRASH* * CRASH* *BLAM* *Thud*

Oh my... what just happened?

My vision was blurred, and my head swam. I looked around the room, now destroyed.

Damn, he's fast... and fucking strong! He caught me in mid air and after that, all I remember is the room blurring around me as I was slammed into random objects.

[He knocked us out of Raging Breaking Dawn... I need to lie down.]

I stood and saw him still smiling, "Now, are you ready to obey?"

I sighed in defeat, "Y-Yes."

He chuckled, "Good, take a seat."

I cocked my head, "But the room is..."

"Turn around." He said simply.

I turned to face the wall, "So what, its the wall." I turned back and my mouth hung open. The room was back to normal.

The desk was back in order, and the hole in the wall was repaired... I'm scared now.

He pointed to a seat that was placed in front of the teachers desk, "Sit here."

I gulped and sat where he told me.

He then sat across from me, ruler placed in front of him.

I sat there as an awkward silence filled the room. I mean come on, he was staring at me with those evil eyes!

"So, Mr. Ble..."

*Smack*

I held my face were the ruler hit me, "What the..."

*Smack*

"Stop that!"

*Smack*

"DUD..."

*Smack*

*Smack*

"I didn't say anything!"

*SMACK*

"Mr..."

*SMACK*

"Okay, I get..."

*SMACK*

"I get it, no tal..."

*Smack*

"This is just a freaking repeat!"

*Smack*

"I'm shutting up now!"

*Smack*

I shuddered, and held my cheek, which was stinging like hell! I mean, come the fuck on! He should have warned me!

He smiled, "Let's lay down some rules. No talking, no eating, no leaving your seat, and do not touch my ruler."

I nodded, "Got it..."

*Smack*

You evil bastard!

He reached under his desk, "Wanna cookie?"

I shook my head. I'm not falling for this trick.

He waved it in my face, "Come on, it's double chocolate."

I shook my head again.

[*Yawn* What did I miss... HOLY FUCKING SHIT! A COOKIE!]

My hoof shot forward and grabbed the cookie.

My eyes widened as it crammed it in my mouth.

*SMACK*

"NO EATING IN CLASS!" He yelled, a smile still on his face.

[What the fuck?]

Mr. Bleak dropped a pencil, "Can you get that please?"

I shook my head.

[Oh come on Lance, he said please. Maybe we can get on his good side.]

I jumped out of my seat and leaned down to pick up the pencil.

{Break, you fucking moron!}

*SMACK* *CRASH*

I slowly stood, the wall behind me nearly destroyed.

Mr. Bleak walked up and held out his ruler, "Here, you can hit me if you want."

I slowly backed away, I'm tired of this.

[PAY BACK!]
{NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!}

I jumped forward and grabbed the ruler, only to have it yanked from my grip seconds later.

*KA-BOOOOOM*

I flew through the wall and kept going, barely conscious. I felt my self nearing the forest, good, I finally got away.

*Smash*

I felt my self crash through something solid.

When I sat up and my vision cleared, I screamed like a little girl.

I was back in the class room... but how?! I was knocked through the opposite wall and came in on the other side... that's not even possible!

He put his hoof on my shoulder, "You are a stupid boy, aren't you?"

I sighed, "Yes, yes I am."

He chuckled, "But, your tough. I'll give ya that." He pulled me to my hooves.

I smiled a little, "Thanks... but damn, you're evil dude!"

He grinned, "Thank you."

I cocked my head, "That wasn't a complement."

He shrugged, "I know, but I take it as one."

I rubbed my cheek, "Ouch..."

He looked around, "Here, I'll cut you a deal. I'll let you leave detention now, but you have to agree to meeting up with me sometime after school."

"Why would I do that?"

He smirked, "Because you want to get out. Detention won't be over till morning."

My mouth hung open, "... Deal."

He chuckled, "Great, now get going."

I galloped to the door and put a hoof on it. I opened it and put one hoof through it.

"Oh, and one more thing." He said behind me.

I turned, "What?"

"NO TALKING IN CLASS!"

*Smack*

I went flying out the door and skidded across the ground. I came to rest at the base of a tree.

That guy is fucked up!

[I know right! We didn't even do anything!]

[I did? Cool.]

I rolled over and groaned, I'm not getting detention again, that's for sure.

[Come on Lance, we have to go get Greg so he can come to show and tell tomorrow!]

I chuckled and began to gallop/stagger down the road.

Tomorrow is going to be fucked up to the extreme!

Mr. Stoner teacher man

Mr. Stoner teacher man

Chapter two of the audio reading is up. Here's the link. Trust me, you're gonna laugh.
Living the Dream: Chapter two

Chapter 71

The next morning

I awoke with a loud groan. I hate waking up early... especially to go to school.

I duck under the covers and let the warmth wash over me. I stretched out and my back legs touched something.

I smiled. Twilight was still in the bed, good. Maybe I can get some cuddling in before I have to leave.

I then rolled over and pushed my face into her chest. I began to nuzzle her as I put a leg over her.

A smile formed on my face... but then it began to fade. I rubbed my face against her chest again and leaned back a few inches.

Something feels... off.

I reached up and pulled the covers down. I then looked up at Twilight.... only to let out a terrified scream.

I unfolded my wings and jumped back and propelled myself away from the terror.

*Crash* *Thud*

I landed on the floor, slumped up against the wall, and the bedside lamp next to me. I clenched my chest, breathing heavily, eyes glued to the bed.

Mr. Bleak sat up and stretched out his forelegs. He then looked at me, a smile on his face, "Good morning Lance, how did you sleep?"

I just stared at the bed, a terrified look on my face, "W-Wha... why are you in my bed?! How did you get in my house?! Why?!"

He rolled out of bed and stood. He then strolled around the bed and smiled down at me, "I have my ways."

I shook my head, "That didn't answer any of my questions."

He chuckled and spread his weird... creepy wings, "Sure it did."

I stood and looked up at him, "You are one creepy, weird, strange, and down right scary guy, you know that?"

He bowed, "I do my best."

This guy is... I don't even know, "Now tell me, why was you in my bed?"

He grinned, "Because I knew you would be creeped out."

"... I hate you."

He chuckled, "If you say so Lance."

I sighed. Wait... did he just say Lance?! "How do you know..."

He smiled, "That is best not answered." He chuckled, "But I will say this: I know all about you. How you're not a pony, I know that you're married and have a kid, I know you're not a young colt, and I even know all about your life on earth."

My mouth hung open, "W-Wha... how?"

He smiled and tapped his head.

[He... How did he do that?]
{What did he do?}

"You went through my memories. Didn't you?"

He raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You could say that."

"But how?" I questioned, very confused.

He ran his hoof across his lips, "My secret." he then pulled out a pocket watch attached to a chain, "Five minutes till school starts."

My eyes widened, "Shit! I'm going to be late!"

He chuckled, "No you're not. In five seconds, you'll appear there."

I cocked my head, "How do you know tha..."

A sudden flash filled the room and I soon found myself looking at the school building.

Who teleported me here?

"Yo, Lance, over here." I heard a very relaxed voice call out.

Greg, I should have known.

I turned to look at Greg, and my mouth hung open.

He was standing there looking... decent. He was dressed in a blue business suit with a black tie. His normally straight hair was combed up and held in place by what looked to be hair gel. He had on a pair of square glasses also. To say the least, he looked like a modeled citizen... that's never going to happen.

Here's what he looks like with out the business suit on. The vest on him is to give you an idea of what color the suit is.

He levitated a brown brief case on his right side. On his left, he had a large duffelbag.

This can't be good.

I walked over and chuckled, "What's with the get up?"

He smiled and adjusted his glasses, "Well, you see my dear lad, I'm going to be a good stallion today and teach you children about life and business.

Oh God! He chooses this day to sober up! Fuck me!

I sighed, "You just ruined the day for me."

He smiled, "I'm sorry my boy. Now come, lets get in there and show them what its like to work in business."

I exhaled deeply and walked into the school.

Upon entering the class room, I could see that everypony had taken a seat. All ready to begin class. Miss Cherilee stood at the front of the class, preparing her lesson plan for the day.

I walked down the rolls of seats to my seat. Halfway there, a hoof shots out and trips me.

I fall face first onto the ground. Behind me, I hear two ponies snickering. I turn to see Butch and Hardhoof giving each other a high hoof. (High five?)

I pushed myself off the ground and made my way to my seat. I climbed into it and relaxed, watching the front of the class.

Miss Cherilee walked in front of everypony and smiled, "Good morning class."

"Good morning Miss Cherilee." The whole class said at the same kind.

"Good morning Miss teacher woman!" I said, a little late. Shit... my timing is way off.

She sighed, "Another day, another headache." She then looked up and smiled, "Today class, Stripes's Uncle will be talking to you all about business."

They all groaned and glared at me.

Fuck you Greg....

She pointed to the door, "You may come in Mr. Haze."

Greg trotted in, a smile on his face. He sat the brief case and duffelbag down and walked up to Miss Cherilee.

"Nice to meet you." He said, holding out a hoof.

She smiled and shook his hoof, "Its nice to meet you too Mr. Haze."

Greg turned to the class and smiled, "Who wants to learn about the wonderful world of business?"

The class groaned in response.

Greg only smiled and turned to Miss Cherilee, "You can go now. I'm going to teach them for a while."

She shook her head, "No, I must stay in here. Don't mind me, I'll be right here if you need me."

Greg frowned, "That ruins my plans.... AHA! I can fix this."

His horn began to glow brightly. He pointed it at her and shot out a small beam.

It hit her and she collapsed.

The class gasped at this.

He smiled and looked around, "Don't worry, she's only asleep." He then cracked his neck.

He grabbed his glasses and threw them across the room, where they smashed against the wall. he then messed up his hair till it fell back to its normal place. Next, he tore the suit off his body and tossed it aside, "Now, who wants to have some fun!"

All the ponies looked unsure about this.

I smiled in the background, I should have known he was going to do this.

Greg pulled out a blunt and puffed on it, "Lets get this party started!"

He opened the brief case and pull out some papers. "First off, I'm going to teach you about the pony body."

Wait, WHAT!

He put up a picture, "This was drawn by my good friend David."

The entire class gasped at what they saw. I only facehoofed.

The picture being shown was of... how do I say this? Break, can you explain this one?

[Holy shit! Princess Celestia eating out Princess Luna! Fucking wingboner's all around!]

Yeah, it was that.

Greg pointed to Celestia, "You see class. When two bitches really like each other, they fuck. In this picture, Celestia is eating Luna's pussy."

This... oh God! Greg why!

He puffed on his joint again and pulled out another picture.

Really?!

The next one was off Rarity and Big Macintosh doing... Break?

[Fuck man! His dick is huge! I don't know how her ass is even holding it all!]

I heard a small gasp at the front of the class, "That's my sister!"

Greg smiled, "It sure is Sweetie Belle. Look at how Big Mac is pentrating her tight ass. So damn hot!"

Greg, your traumatizing those poor ponies.

Sweetie Belle looked horrified.

Greg laughed and pulled out another, "This is my favorite. Its of Twilight and her husband, Lance."

My eyes widened, "OH FUCK NO!"

I started to jump up, but his horn flared to life and held me in place.

He put it up, causing the class to gasp and a few to turn to me.

Break, explain the picture please.

[Damn... We look good when we're mounting that ass of hers.]

One of the ponies held up a hoof. When I looked to see who it was, I recognized him. Pipsqueak.

"Mr. Haze, I don't really understand this."

Greg smiled, "Do you want an example?"

The whole classed nodded, not knowing what he was up to.

He proceeded to pull out a real looking doll of himself and propped it up on the desk. "This, is what I like to call a fur real doll. And oh boy, is it awesome. Let's begin."

What followed was a lot of things you don't learn in your normal sex ed class room. Halfway through it, Greg seemed to forget what he was doing and started crying into the ear of the doll, which set an awkward feeling over the room.

When he finally composed himself and realized where he was, he stopped and jumped down. "Eh... that's enough for today on that. Any questions?"

Everypony shook their head furiously.

He smiled, "Onto the next subject then!"

"OH PLEASE CELESTIA! NO MORE!" I heard one of them say.

Greg chuckled and opened the duffel bag, "Next up is a even funner topic."

Oh God! What can he mean? Must stop him...

Can't move, stupid magic!

He pulled out a few objects and a... oh no... a bong.

He put it all on the desk and smiled to the class, "Who wants to learn about weed?"

I raised my hoof.

{BREAK!}
[I must know the ways of the weed!]

Greg smiled, "Good."

A short explanation on what it is and what it does later

"... And that's why you don't stick it in your ass." Greg said as he finished up his explanation.

I sighed, I didn't want to know that.

< Neither did I...>
[I DID!]

He picked up the bong, "Who wants to be the first one high in your class?"

I give up... do want you want Greg.

He looked at one of the ponies in the front, "Well now, you look like you'd enjoy it."

"Wait... I... meep." I heard one stutter.

He laughed and stepped forward.

The doors suddenly burst open, "YOU BROKE A PINKIE PROMISE!" I heard a demonic Pinkie Pie yell.

Greg's eyes widened, "Wait, Pie, I didn't break it! I swear!"

She glared at the doll, which was still propped up, "YES YOU DID!" She screamed out as she galloped towards him.

He back up, "No wait!"

She jumped and tackled him, and somehow keep going till they broke through a window. There was a thud and a loud scream, followed by silence.

"And that's why you don't break a Pinkie Promise."

All heads snapped to the door as Mr. Bleak walked in, a large smile on his face.

How did he... what the... I give up!

He picked the doll up and sat it in a box, "Nopony says one word what happened here today, got that?"

We all nodded.

He smiled, "Good, now, you all know my rules, right?"

A few of us nodded, but a few shook their heads.

He looked overjoyed. "No talking, no eating, no getting out of your seat, and do not touch my ruler."

He pulled out a cookie, "Now, who wants a cookie?"

Oh no, not this trick!

[Let's see who the unlucky bitch is today.]

A fat colt a few rolls away from me stood, "I do!"

Oh God! Chubby gonna get hit!

Mr. Bleak smiled a toothy smile, "Take it."

The poor colt ran forward, his skin bouncing with every step.

He then grabbed the cookie and crammed it in his mouth.

*Smack* *Sinking sound*

What the... the ruler just sank into his fat!

[Whoa! Tubby got protection!]

The ruler continued to sink deeper, then stopped.

The colt looked down and began to say something. But suddenly, his body shot backwards like a bullet. I mean, one second he's there, then hes stuck in the wall.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That was freaking funny! Do it again!]

Mr. Bleak smiled, "Anypony else?"

We all shook our heads. Hopefully they won't fall for anymore of his tricks.

Two hours later

*Smack*

I held my cheek, "All I did was sneeze!"

*Smack*

"HAHAHA! Take that!" Blitz said happily.

*Smack* *Smack*

He held both sides of his cheeks, "WHY DID YOU DO IT TWICE!"

Mr. Bleak smiled, "You laughed and talked, that's two things. Also..."

*Smack*

I pointed and stifled a laugh.

*Smack*

Damn it!

One hour later

Food... must eat food! Where is Fawn, I must have my food now!

I stumbled out the door, looking around. I luckily saw her on the same bench from yesterday.

I galloped over... only to trip and slide across the ground, eating dirt and grass all the way. I stood and spit out all the nasty dirt, grass, and... I really hope that's chocolate.

I sat down across from Fawn and smiled, "How you doing today Fawn?"

She looked up and smiled, "Good. Want some food?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah, you know it! I'm starving! Mr. Bleak just tempted me so much by dangling that cupcake in my face."

She chuckled and gave me the same kind of food from the other day. I gulped down my food in twenty seconds flat. Not the usual ten seconds flat, because... *Clears throat* that's a rip off of Rainbow Dash.

Once I was done, I looked up to see her looking at me. She eeped and looked away.

Fuck you you freaking eyes! My eyes really do scare everypony.

[...Idiot.]
{What?}
[Nothing.]

I chuckled, "You okay?"

She nodded, "Yep, never better."

I shrugged, "Okay good."

Her eyes widened as she looked past me.

I turned to see Mr. Bleak trotting towards me, a cake on his head.

He stopped next to me and smiled, "Here, I brought you a cake." He placed it in front of me.

I eyed it, "Why would you give me a cake?"

He chuckled, "No reason, no reason at all."

I shook my head, "Well, I don't really trust you so..."

*Slam*

I reached up with my hooves and whipped the cake off my face, "Very nice..."

He chuckled, "I know." He then turned and walked away.

Fawn was giggling, "You look cute..." She then covered her mouth.

I chuckled, "Thanks, I guess cake brings out my eyes."

She then laughed, and I soon followed.

I sat back and looked around. I looked towards the forest and something caught my eye.

There was something standing there. It looked like a pony. It had a orange mane and a forest green coat. I looked closer and saw what looked like...

"Stripes?" Yawn said behind me.

I turned and smiled, "One second."

I turned back and frowned. The pony was gone.

Who was that?

*RIINNGG*

Fawn jumped up, "Come on Stripes, we should get back to class before Mr. Bleak comes up with an excuse to hit us."

I nodded, "Yeah, we should really hurry."

We both galloped towards the school building. Time for more boring class. Damn it, I hate this!

Talk or fight?

Talk or fight?

Very short chapter due to some work I had to do.

Chapter 72

Five minutes after school let out

I slowly ascended towards the lone cloud that hung over the school. I know I should head home, but come on! Mr. Bleak is evil! Beating me with a ruler, my face still hurts!

I landed on the small cloud and stretched out my body.

Time to relax.

I dropped and rolled onto my back. Sleep, take me!

"Blank flank, blank flank!" I heard a very familiar chant from below.

I waved it off, poor kid. Who ever it is, I'm just to lazy to give a fuck right now.

"Leave me alone!"

My eyes shot open. Those two little bitches better not be messing with the pony I think they are!

I peered over the cloud.

THEY'RE DEAD!

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was pointing and laughing at Fawn. Making fun of her blank flank.

My eye twitched. I've had enough of those two.

[Lets beat them down!]

{Sorry Break, but I'm going with Dawn again.}

I jumped off the cloud and glided to the ground. I landed a few yards away, out of sight.

"Please, leave me alone!" Fawn yelled, standing tall and brave.

Diamond Tiara snickered, "Make us blank flank."

Silver Spoon nodded, "Yeah, make us."

Fawn wavered slightly, "I-I..."

They both laughed, "Do something blank flank... Oh wait, you can't because you're a blank flank!"

Okay, that's all I can take.

"Hey! You two stuck up snobs! Over here!" I yelled, stomping over to them.

The turned and snickered to one another, "Oh look, its the freak."

I stopped when I was a foot (Hoof?) away. Stay calm Lance, don't lose your cool, "Tell me, why are you two messing with her?"

They looked stumped for a second, liked they didn't know the answer.

Diamond Tiara then smirked, "We don't have to tell you. You're just a freak accident of nature!"

I shrugged off her insult. Due to years of being made fun of, I've grown use to it. You can't make me mad just by name calling or pitiful insults. You're gonna have to do something that really ticks me off.

I crack my neck, "You don't have to tell me. Now, I'm going to try and be nice here. So, leave Fawn alone, or you'll regret it."

Silver spoon smiled smugly, "You wouldn't hit a filly. You said you was against it."

I looked at her, no emotions playing on my face, "I am against it, but I've been known to break my own morals. I'm not afraid to hit a filly if they're being a bitch."

Diamond Tiara stuck her nose into the air, "Sure you would. Come on Silver Spoon, lets leave those losers."

You know what? Fuck keeping my cool! I've been holding this in to long!

I held up a hoof, "Wait, I've got something to say."

They looked at me, "What?"

{Dawn, keep me calm while I rage. Don't let me get to angry. Break, stay the fuck back.}

[Oh shit! Time for a famous Lance Greenfield rage speech!]

I licked my lips, "First off, why the fuck are you two even making fun of others. I mean, what makes you so special? Oh look at me, I'm Diamond Tiara and I have a fucking tiara on my ass! What's it mean? It means nothing! What kind of talent is that?! The ability to be a tiara? Your fucking lame. And you! Silver Spoon! What the fuck does that spoon even represent?! Does it mean you can spoon your self better than others?! Does it mean you can deep throat?!" *Clears throat* "I've had it up to here with your bullshit! How would you like it if I started making fun of you and picking on you?! You know what? That's what I'm gonna do from now on! I'm going to treat you like you treat others! Like shit!" I stomped the ground, almost losing my self control, "Now, I want both of you to leave Fawn and all the other kids here alone. Or next time, I'm coming for your ass! Don't take this warning lightly, because I'm dead fucking serious!"

{... Yeah.}

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was on the ground, mouths open in shock.

I think I scared some sense into them.

Diamond Tiara suddenly became enraged, "I'm getting my daddy's bodyguards on you!"

Silver Spoon recovered seconds later, "Yeah! She's going to get her daddy's bodyguards on you!"

I fucking hate it when they repeat like that!

They both jumped up and ran off towards the gates.

I smiled and walked over to Fawn, "You alright?"

She nodded, whipping her face, "Thank you Stripes."

I chuckled, "No problem, I've always hated those two anyways."

She cocked her head, "How? You've only been here a day or two."

Shit! Talk your way out of this Lance! "Well, I've known them longer..."

[*Sigh* I hate how you rage and then are useless in a conversation.]

*Clap clap clap*

What the... AHHH! Mr. Bleak!

He was trotting towards us, clapping his hooves, a smile on his face, "Bravo my boy, bravo!"

I rub my hooves together, "For what?"

He chuckled, "For showing those two whats what. Of course, I still like your rage towards Trixie. I still laugh about that."

How did he kn... Oh yeah, memories. I hate this guy.

Fawn sifted back and forth, uneasy.

I chuckled, "Don't worry Fawn, he's not that bad outside of school."

Before Fawn could answer, Zorrow ran past us.

"OH GOD! HELP ME SOMEPONY!" He yelled as he ran towards the school building. Behind him was Big Macintosh, a pissed off expression on his face.

"Get back here and fight like a stallion!" He yelled as he to ran past us.

I looked at Mr. Bleak and Fawn, "What just happened?"

Fifteen minutes early

Zorrow gulped as he made his way towards the barn. He finally worked up the courage to talk to Applejack, and he wasn't backing down.

Seth was behind him, bored out of his mind, "Hurry up dude!"

Zorrow ignored him as he finally stepped up to the barn. He knew she was inside, he had been observing her awhile ago.

Seth walked up beside him and sighed, "Lets get this over with, shall we?"

Zorrow nodded, a smile on his face.

As he went to open the door, something dropped on his back. He looked back to see a coil of rope.

Seth chuckled, "For good luck."

Zorrow smiled, "Thanks man."

Seth pushed open the door, "Go get her tiger."

Zorrow walked in, followed by Seth. Upon entering the barn, they saw Applejack and Big Macintosh moving barrels of apples around.

Zorrow inhaled and walked forward, "Hey Applejack."

She looked up and smiled warmly, "Well howdy... uhh, what's your name again?"

Zorrow chuckled, "Its Zorrow."

She tapped the floor, "Ah knew it! What brings ya around here?"

As Zorrow talked to Applejack, Seth walked up to Big Macintosh.

"Hey, Big Mac."

Big Macintosh turned, "Yeah?"

Seth smirked, "Zorrow is going to force Applejack to have sex with him."

Big Macintosh's eyes widened, "What?"

Seth pointed to Zorrow's back, "See, he's even got the rope ready to tie her up with."

Big Macintosh growled and began to stomp towards Zorrow.

Zorrow smiled as he finished up his sentence, "So, would you like to go on a picnic?"

Applejack thought for a second, "Well Ah..."

Big Macintosh grabbed Zorrow's shoulder and spun him around, "Now tell me, are ya really gonna do that to my little sis?"

Zorrow was confused for a second, but smiled, "Oh yes! Its going to be fun! We're going to eat and play games maybe." Zorrow pulled the rope off his back, thanking Seth for the idea, "And I'm going to learn how to hog tie. Applejack could help me with that. You can join us if you want, you can sit on one side of her and I get the other."

Big Macintosh snorted, steam coming out of his nostrils, "I recommend you run while ya can!"

Zorrow became very confused, "Wha..."

Seth held up a sign, 'Run dude! I told him you was going to have sex with AJ, and you just made it worst!'

Zorrow's eyes widened, "OH Hell!" He spun and galloped away from the enraged brother and the now confused sister.

Big Macintosh gave chase, ready to teach this guy a lesson.

Present time

I laughed at Fawn's joke, even it if it wasn't that funny.

Mr. Bleak was lightly chuckling. "You two are..." His head snapped to the side as five large stallions entered the school yard. All of them wore blank suits and badass sun glasses.

They stopped a few yards from us and eyed us, "Which one of you was mean to Diamond Tiara?" One said, gesturing to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who stood at the back of the group, smug smiles on their faces.

I stood and stretched out my back, "I did."

The one in the front smiled, "We have orders from her father to show you to respect his daughter."

[YES! A real fight!]

[Pfft, five is nothing. We fought a over powered griffin and Graze. WE CAN DO THIS!]

I chuckled, "Oh? Well," I stood up on my hind legs, "Come at me bros!"

They all laughed and began to advance.

Mr. Bleak stepped up beside me and unfolded his creepy ass wings, "Want some help?"

I smiled, "Yes. Oh yeah! I got the badass teacher on my side!"

[Lets do this thing!]
<*Sight* Let's get this over with.>

The five stallions kept advancing, all ready to fight.

I looked up at Mr. Bleak, "Shall we teach?"

He looked down and smiled, "We shall."

We both jumped forward, hooves raised.

The 'not so fair' fight

Chapter 73

"Shall we begin our plans?"

"No, not yet. The time is not right."

"Then when?"

"When the time is right, and he is ready."

"But, in his current state, it would be so much easier if we did it now!"

"Silence! We will wait!"

"... Shall I prepare the letter?"

"You may."

My hoof connected with the first stallion's jaw, and made him stagger back a few inches... but it had little to no effect on him. He showed no sign of pain or discomfort... shit.

He rubbed his chin, a smile on his face, "Boy, you just hit the wrong stallion." He took a step towards me, laughing to himself.

"FALCON PUNCH!" I heard Mr. Bleak yell as he slammed his hoof into the side of the stallion's face.

The stallion flew to the side a few yards before coming to the ground with a heavy thud.

(1 down)

Mr. Bleak let out a loud laugh, "Another bitch added to my list!" He then jumped towards two of the others.

The other two advanced on me.

{I'm in trouble here! Since I'm younger, my normal strength isn't enough. Break, how would you like to kick some ass?}
[Fuck yes! I thought you would never ask!]

My body shuddered slightly as Break took control.

I cracked my neck, "Lets dance."

I sprung forward and pointed my head downward. I slammed into the first ones face, breaking his snout slightly.

He stumbled back, holding his bleeding nose, "You foal!"

The second stallion threw a punch, which I easily dodged. They may be big and strong, but they are very slow.

I throw a punch of my own, hitting him in the chest. Damn, I wish I was taller.

The first stallion charged me, catching me by surprise. He slammed his head into my side, knocking me to the ground.

I gasped for air and slowly stood. I stood there, head hung, playing the weak and hurt kid.

The two stallions walked towards me, laughing at how easy this was.

Once they was within range, I smirked.

[I've been wanting to do this for a long time! And this young body is just what I needed.]
{What are you about to do?}
[You'll see.]

Mr. Bleak charged towards the two stallions, a large grin on his face.

Once he was close, he flared his wings and stopped suddenly. The sharp wind hit them, causing them to shield their eyes.

Mr. Bleak smiled and jumped towards the first one. He used his forelegs to lift him off the ground, and was now standing on his hind legs.

The stallion recovered and slammed his right hoof into Mr. Bleak's snout. He then used his hind legs to buck him in the chest.

Mr. Bleak's smile never left his face as all this happened.

The second stallion slammed his head into Mr. Bleak's stomach.

Mr. Bleak chuckled, only slightly winded. He took his right hoof off the first stallion and grabbed the second one by the neck.

He lifted them up to eye level and smiled smugly, "Which one of you are going to be the unlucky stallion?"

The one on the left slammed his back leg into Mr. Bleak's stomach.

Mr. Bleak looked at him amused and reared back his head. He then slammed it into the stallions head, sending him flying out of Mr. Bleak's grasp.

(2 down)

Mr. Bleak put the last stallion up to his face, "You know what? He was the lucky one."

*BANG* *Crunch*

Mr. Bleak turned his head to the left to see Lance in midair, his hoof outstretched, and one of the stallions flying backwards.

(3 down)

Lance spun in the air and slammed his back hoof into the other stallions face. The stallions head snapped to the side, but he quickly recovered.

He reached out and grabbed Lance's back hoof and slammed him into the ground. He then gave him a hard kick in his side, causing Lance to coil upward.

"Stop it!" Fawn screamed out as she ran towards Lance and the stallion.

Mr. Bleak shook his head, "This isn't going to be good... poor guy." He then looked back at the stallion in his grasp, "Where were we?"

I lay on the ground, holding my side. That's going to be a large bruise in the morning.

The stallion above me had a large smirk on his face as he looked down at me.

This is humiliating! I can't move... Thanks a lot Break!

[What? I did my freaking best! He just surprised me!]

"Stop it!" I heard Fawn scream out.

Oh come on! Stay the hell back Fawn!

The stallion looked up and snarled, "Stay back you filly!"

She stopped right above me and glared up at him, "Leave him alone! He's done nothing to you!"

The stallion raised his right hoof.

{[]}

He brought it down towards Fawn, but something stopped it inches from her face. A smoking hoof, already starting to burn his leg.

He looked down at the owner of the hoof and was met with the rage filled eyes, eyes filled with fire.

"DO NOT TOUCH HER!" I yelled in a voice that echoed with two others. All three voices were filled with rage.

I threw his hoof upward and bucked him in the chest. This caused him to rear upward on his hind legs.

I sprung off the ground and slammed my hoof into the bottom of his chin.

His body flew upwards. I growled and flew upward and caught him, holding his face close to mine, "WHY CAN'T EVERY FREAKING PONY LEARN TO LEAVE FILLY'S ALONE!"

I then slammed my head into his. Man, I love having a hard head! I then threw him downward with great force.

When he hit the ground, he made a fairly large crater.

I landed outside of it and looked in.

He was groaning, but clearly not capable to fight anymore.

(4 down)

I forced myself to calm down, which wasn't easy.

"Good job." I heard Mr. Bleak say behind me.

I turned to see him, a large smile on his face, "Where's the other guy?"

He smirked and pointed behind him.

When I looked behind him, I saw the last stallion tied up in the swing set, bruises all over his body.

(5 down)

I chuckled, but then became serious. I looked over to where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stood, looks of shock and horror on their faces. I growled, "Leave! Now, before I do something we'll all regret!"

They instantly took off running for the gates. Obviously scared out of their minds.

I sighed. I hope they'll leave all the others along now.

Mr. Bleak chuckled and sat back, "Go on."

I looked at him, confused, "What?"

He smirked and rolled his eyes.

Fawn ran up and threw her hooves around my neck, "Thank you so much Stripes!" She then pulled back and looked into my eyes.

[Oh fuck! Lance, get back!]

{Wha... What's going on?}

She leaned forward and pushed her lips onto mine. Giving me a passionate kiss.

My eyes shot wide open. My breathing almost stopped, and my nerves went on a rampage. This can't be happening! Oh God! This is going to make my plans very awkward!

She continued to kiss me while I just stood there shocked, trying to compute what was going on. Yeah, I'm that stupid. I'm not smart enough to just push her off me. I hate myself!

After a few seconds, she broke the kiss and backed up, a large smile on her face. But, it soon faded when she saw my face, "I-I'm... I'm so sorry Stripes... I just..."

She went to turn and run, but I stopped her, "No wait, I'm not mad. Its just... how do I explain this..."

"He's married." Mr. Bleak said, a large smug look on his face.

Oh, fuck you Mr. Bleak!

Fawn looked confused, "But... he's so young... How?"

Mr. Bleak stepped forward, "Watch this..."

He put his hoof on her head and her eyes went wide, and her pupils became larger.

I looked up at him, "What are you doing?"

He smiled, "Showing her your memory of how you became a young colt and a few others about your personal life."

I glared, "Oh, I really fucking hate you!"

He smiled proudly, "Of course you do." He then removed his hoof from her head.

She blinked and looked at me, a blush on her face, "I'm... really sorry... I didn't know."

I smiled and let out a chuckle, "Oh, its fine. I completely understand why you... well you know..."

"Kissed you." Mr. Bleak finished for me.

I sighed, "Yeah, that."

She smiled weakly, "Thanks..." She then looked saddened, but held her fake smile, "I should get back to the orphanage..." Then she said under her breath, "Since I'm no longer wanted here."

She then turned and took off running.

I started to follow, but Mr. Bleak put a hoof to my shoulder, "I think you may want to get home. There's a surprise waiting."

I looked up at him, "How do you know all this?"

He smiled and ran his hoof across his lips, "My secret."

Two hours later

I slammed into the ground outside Dali's door. Flying after a fight like that isn't a good idea... I hope that wing isn't broken or something.

I force myself to stand and enter the house.

Upon entering, I see Vinetion and Twilight talking to one anther.

Oh shit....

Twilight looked at me and smiled brightly, "Lance! Vine has something for you."

I looked at her, "Oh?"

[On your toes Lance, she may have a follow up prank planned.]

Vinetion forced a smile, "Well yes... Look Lance, I'm sorry for going back on a promise and pranking you. But come on, you wasn't you! You was Bitch Magnet!"

I chuckled, "Okay Vine, I forgive ya. Now, what do you have for me?"

She stomped the ground and a small red and black flower sprung up in front of me, "The cure for the Poison Joke... just take it as a 'I'm sorry' gift."

I smiled happily, "Thank you Vine! What do I do with it?"

She pointed to her mouth, "Eat it."

I smiled and plucked the flower, "This better taste like candy." I crammed it in my mouth and chewed, "Nope, taste like straight up shit."

They both laughed at me. I love making Twilight laugh.

I swallowed the last of it and suddenly seized up. My muscles tensed and began to pound and my head was spinning out of control.

Warning, what your about to read is a lot of random cussing. You've been warned and everything you're about to read will not make a bit of sense XD

"Oh my fucking mother fucking head! This bitching flower is fucking shit from fucking hell! Fuck you Vine! Fuck you sideways with a fucking chainsaw! You should have bitching told me this would hurt like a motherfucker! Bitch ass whore! I'm going to fuck...."

Five minutes of full on cussing later

".... Whore bag." I finished off my long stream off cussing and uncurled my self from the fetal position. Sweat was all over my body. I could feel Break and Dawn still raging on about the pain we just went through. I mean, fuck! I can't even describe it!

Twilight chuckled, "Feel better?"

I shrugged, "Yep!" I looked myself over. I'm so happy to be back to my regular age. Now, to put my plan into action.

I then turned for the door.

"Uhhh... where are you going?" Twilight asked.

I turned, "Oh, you know. To make a life a little bit better. While I'm gone, could you please bring the couch from the basement into our room?"

She sighed, "I don't know what you're up too, but I'll go alone with it." She then looked at Vinetion, "Wanna help?"

Vinetion shrugged, "Sure, why not."

I smiled and walked out the door. Once outside it, I had a though. Where was Dali? I haven't seen much since we got back from the Ski Resort. She's been spending a lot of time with Drax... you know? I don't even want to know what they're doing.

I unfold my wings, "Lets do this thing!"

[On ward Silver!]
{I'm not Silver! Well, actually, that fits. Do it again.}
[To the wind Silver!]

I jumped into the air and propelled myself towards Ponyville. I had a mission and a duty to perform, and I wasn't about to back down from it.

Adoption

Newest audio videos are up.
Part one
Part two

Fair warning everyone. This chapter gets a little dark down past the happy times, so just be prepared. I'll try and keep this as none gory as I can.

Chapter 74

"The time is now! Begin step one of the plan."

I'm a full blown idiot. I'm walking through Ponyville right now, completely lost. No, I'm not lost as in I don't know where I am. I'm lost as to where my destination is. The orphanage

I mean, I've been here almost ten months, and I've never even heard of an orphanage being close to Ponyville.

After walking around for a hour, I finally decided to ask somepony. The first pony I asked told me it was outside of Ponyville, about a mile north of the Hospital.

Even after getting directions, it still took me half an hour to find it. What? I don't know which way north is.

Upon arriving at the orphanage, I saw a weather beaten brick building. It was a one story building, but was fairly large and pretty long. A sign hung up on the outside gate, 'The Lucky Pony Orphanage'. The 'L' had fallen off the sign, making it seem like... never mind.

[Haha! The Fucky Pony Orphanage!]
{Okay, that is pretty damn funny to hear.}

I took a deep breath and went to adjust my goggles... well shit, I forgot them. To late to go back and get them now.

I began walking towards the double doors that lead inside. I felt a sense of dread at entering this place, it just gave off an eerie feeling.

I stopped at the front doors, hesitant.

[This feels like one of those horror movies. You know, the one where the guy gets ripped apart by kids!]

[... Maybe... I can't remember, its been to long.]
{Not helping!}

I pushed the doors open and walked in.

[That's a surprise.]

The inside of the building wasn't like the outside. The walls were colorful and had many paintings from kids hanging up. There was a few couches and chairs sitting around, and up ahead was a desk with a yellow mare behind it.

Wow, this place could pass as a hospital... a very nice hospital at that.

After taking everything in, I made my way to the front desk.

When I was in front of it, the mare looked up and tried to smile happily, "Good evening sir. What brings you to The Lucky Pony Orphanage?"

I smiled back and rested my forehooves on the desk, "Oh you know, to make a ponies life just a little bit better."

She nodded, and pointed to a door, "Just go through there, you can look at all the children and pick one to adopt."

I held up a hoof, "Not necessary my fare lady, I already know who I'm here for."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Who might that be?"

I grinned, "The filly named Little Fawn."

Finally, a small real smile inched its way onto her face, "Really? You really want her?"

I smiled proudly, "Yep!"

She pulled out a few papers, "I'm so happy that poor dear has finally found somepony who wants her. She's been here so long." She then tapped her chin, "And just today, she ran through those doors crying. I hope nothing bad happened."

Damn it! Its my fault, "Well, what do I have to do to adopt her?"

She smiled and pushed the papers towards me, "Fill all those out and sign at the bottom of each and she's all yours."

I cocked my head, "That's all I got to do?"

She nodded happily, "That's all you have to do."

"That's easy." I picked the quill in my teeth and began to work on the papers.

Five minutes later

I dropped the quill and smiled, "Done!"

The mare smiled and began gathering the papers, "You're all set, now, all that you have left to do is go back there and pick her up."

My smiled widened, "So, just through that door?"

She nodded, "Yes, she should be the eight bunk bed on the left."

I give her a thankful nod and make my way to the door.

I put a hoof to the nob and prepare myself. Its going to be awkward, thanks to that little kiss, but meh, I'll power through it.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Inside the room was many colt's and filly's running around and enjoying a few toys that lay around. However, once I stepped in, they all turned to me. Looks of hope in their eyes, but once they saw what I looked like, a few looked away and went back to playing.

Number eight bunk, number eight bunk. I kept repeating that to myself, looking at the left side of the room.

I began walking down the role of bunks, counting them off. A few of the kids followed me, a look of curiousness on their faces. I stopped at the number eight bunk and saw right away it was occupied, the pony in the bed had the covers pulled up over them.

I hope this is her, "Hey Fawn."

The covers flew off the bed as she sat up, "Stripes... I mean Lance! What are you doing here?!"

I chuckled and lowered myself, "Taking you home."

She sat there confused for a second, but then smiled, a single tear in her eye, "Y-You adopted... me?"

I smiled and nodded.

She jumped out of bed and ran into my embrace, wrapping her forelegs around my neck.

I held her for a few seconds before pulling back and standing up, "Come on Fawn, its time to go home."

She sniffled and went back to her bed and pulled out a small cloth bag, "Let me get my things."

"You're adopting her?" A small female voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a filly, about half my height, she had a look of authority to her, "Yes, is this a problem?"

She glared, "As a matter of fact, it is. Little Fawn is due for a punishment tonight."

I gave her a glare of my own, "And why is that?"

She stood up tall, trying to show me that she was in charge, "She yelled at a few of the other children when she came back today. I think..."

I held up a hoof, "Nope, say no more. That was my fault and I take responsibly."

She rolled her eyes, "Its her fault for yelling. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave and let us carry out her punishment, that would be great."

I shrugged, "I'm leaving, but I'm taking my daughter with me."

She scowled at that and began to speak, but I held a hoof to her face, "No, don't speak. I don't want to hear another word out of your shit filled mouth."

I twisted to see Fawn standing there, a small bag slung over her back. I chuckled and picked her up, "Lets get you of of here." I put her on my shoulders and let her sit up on my neck. She rested her forehooves on my head, causing me to laugh.

"You are not to take her out of here!" The annoying filly said.

I grinned and turned towards her, "You just never shut up, do you?" With that, I spun around and made my way out of the room.

I could hear the filly behind me complaining to the others. All this did was increase the size of my smile.

As I trotted past the front desk, the yellow mare waved, "Goodbye Little Fawn, we'll miss you."

Fawn twisted around and waved back, "Bye Ms Lemonade. I'll miss you too."

I snickered, Ms Lemonade.

[That's a funny name! Haha!]

As we stepped outside, Fawn hugged my neck, "Thank you so much Lan... ummm, can I call you... Dad?"

I chuckled and kept up my steady pace towards Ponyville, "You sure can. As long as you feel comfortable with it."

She tightened her hug, "Okay, Thank you so much Dad."

I smiled brightly, "Your welcome Fawn. Now, guess what?"

She released her tight hug and leaned over my head, looking me in the eyes, "What?"

I chuckled, "You have a baby brother."

She let out a small squeal, "I do?!"

I couldn't help but laugh, "Yep! His name is Spark, and he's the cutest colt you'll ever see."

She began bouncing on my back, "Hurry up Dad! I want to see him!"

[Yeah! Hurry it up!]

"Hold on tight Fawn." I said as I unfolded my wings.

She wrapped her legs around my neck.

Lets get home and show Twilight our new daughter!

[Fuck! What was that!]
{What are you talking about now Break?}
[Dude, I just saw that pony from before. The one from the forest.]

I looked around, but didn't see anything. Who the hell is that? I'm so going to find out. But first, to get Fawn home and explain this to Twilight.

The Royal Palace, Canterlot

"No! Nova, Star Chaser, obey me!" Luna shouted as she chased the two young foals around. Not even a month old, and they was already flying and performing magic. Of course, they are Alicorn foals.

Frederic stood on the side lines, chuckling to himself as he watched his beloved wife chase their kids around. This was one of the moments he's been waiting for. The moments he gets to spend time with his wife and kids.

Luna jumped into the air and caught Star Chaser, "Got ya!" She turned for Nova, "Okay Nova, I got your brother, now come down here."

Nova just giggled and flew up higher.

Frederic let out a laugh, "Honey, you're going to have to fly up there and get her."

Luna looked at him and smiled, "How about you do it Mr. I stand on the side lines."

Frederic spread his wings, "Oh, I will do it." He propelled himself upward towards his daughter.

He flew up in front of her and held out his forelegs, "Come here Nova."

She began hovering towards him... but shot past him suddenly.

He chuckled, "That little cheater." He spun around and flew after her.

Dali's house, Canterlot

"Of course I signed all the papers Twi, I'm not as stupid as you think I am." I said as I sat on the couch, my arms behind my head.

I had brought Fawn home and let her run off to play with Spark. I then told Twilight what I had done, and to my surprise, she wasn't that worried about it. In fact, she actually loved the idea of us adopting Fawn, she's just worried I forgot to sign something. Typical Twilight.

She chuckled, "You're not stupid... most of the time that is."

I raised an eyebrow, "I see... You think I'm stupid, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

I shrugged and sat up, "I might. Have you seen Dali lately?"

She nodded, "Yes, a hour ago. A few minutes after you left. She said she and Drax were going to Ponyville to eat out."

My suspicions are now conformed, they are dating. Good for them, "Well then, I think its time me and you had a little fun."

[Lance, as much as I want to fuck the hell out of Twilight, I really want to get to the bottom of this mysterious pony thing.]

Luckily, I didn't have to do anything, Twilight beat me to it, "Not tonight Lance, I don't think its a good idea with Fawn living here now."

I try to act disappointed, "Oh... well, I'm going to go to Ponyville and check up on a few things."

Twilight gives me a nod, "Be back soon, okay?" She then leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

I then made my way to the door, "While I'm gone, you should get to know Fawn."

"Will do." Came her response.

I then stepped out of the house and sighed, so much to do and very little time.

Thirty two minutes later

I landed a few meters from the Everfree Forest. I'm not sure I want to go in there, its becoming twilight out. I don't want to be in there during the night.

[Fucking pony up and get in there!]

I sighed, might as well get in there. Or Break will force me.

I took a deep breath and walked towards the forest. I forced my way into the tree line, which was very tight, and popped out on the other side.

Damn, this forest is thick! There was overgrowth everywhere. Yeah, this was going to be hard as hell to do.

I forced my way through the weeds and broken trees, but it was a slow process. I wish I had a machete, then this would be a cake walk.

After a good twenty minutes, I came to a small clearing, not very big. Just a few feet across, but enough to take a break in.

* Crunch*

What the hell was that?!

*Crunch*

Oh shit! Somethings getting closer!

The bushes in front of me began to shake.

Oh God! My freaking heart is beating like crazy!

I prepared for something to jump out in front of me... but was caught off guard as something slammed into my side.

SHIT!! OH GOD, PLEASE BE A BUNNY!

I looked up at my attacker, nope, not a bunny.

It was the pony I had seen in the forest. I looked her over quickly.

Yeah, that smile is scaring the shit out of me.

She was on top of me, holding my forelegs down with her forelegs. She was sitting on my stomach, holding the rest of my body down. This is creepy...

I cleared my throat, time to find out who she is, "Uhhh.. Who are yo-WHAO!"

She leaned down and began kissing my right shoulder. Not cool!

"Stop it! I'm marr-FUCK!"

She sat up, blood dripping from her lips, a small piece of meat was hanging down from her teeth.

I began to fight against her, but fuck! She's to fucking strong!

She smiled and slurped up the piece of meat in her mouth. She then licked her lips and leaned down again, but this time put her mouth next to my torn ear, "I've been watching you for sometime now. Dreaming of your taste. But you know what? You taste even better than I thought."

There goes my sanity.

I push upward, trying desperately to escape. But, she held on strong.

She giggled to herself and leaned down to my bleeding shoulder. She inhaled deeply and shuddered, "Oh the smell... I must have another taste."

She then began to run her tongue along the torn meat.

Oh God! That stings like a motherfucker!

She sat back up and examined me, "Hmmm, what shall I try next?"

"Nothing! Let me go!" I screamed.

She giggled and leaned down, "But you're to tasty to just let go." She then began to kiss my other shoulder.

I clenched my teeth and prepared for the worst.

My loud scream echoed through the forest as she tore out a large chunk of my flesh.

She chewed it and just laughed at my face. Which was scrunched up in pain.

She then took bites out of my right leg, each chunk she took out of it equaled a loud scream of agony from me.

This pain was indescribable, worst then all my stupid stuns combined.

She then moved her attation back to my left leg and did the same thing, taking chunks of meat our of a few places, but leaving enough for it to still resemble a leg.

Oh God, she's just toying with me!

She finally sat up, her face covered in my blood, "Mmmm, so good. Why do you taste so good?"

Last chance Lance. I forced myself upward, but screamed out in pain as I felt the muscles in my forelegs snap and break. I collapsed back on the ground. Knowing my fate was already decided.

She licked my neck, "Mmm, more."

I thought of my family, Twilight, the mare I fell in love with. Spark, the son I always wanted, but won't be able to see grow up. Fawn, my new daughter. Frederic, the only guy I think of as a brother... Why does my time have to end now? WHY?!

She began to slowly bite into my neck, getting closer to the main vain.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU CRAZY BITCH!!" I heard a familiar female voice scream out.

As my vision blacked from lose of blood, I saw a vine shoot out and hit the pony on top of me, causing her to fly off me. But, she also took a small chunk of the side of my neck with her.

There was a few more heavy stomps and then silence. Then came the sound of vegetation being trampled.

Suddenly, Vinetion appeared above me, tears in her eyes, "Oh Lance..."

I felt myself slip and everything around me went black.

Fuck you cliffhangers!

Hospital

Just a reminder: Everything that happens in this story happens for a reason. I didn't just throw that cannibal pony in because I wanted it to be there. I spent all week coming up with a plot for her, so it actually has something to do with this story. I know it seems like I'm all over the place, but remember, I never put something in my story just for the hell of it.

Remember the Cody chapter where he killed all the Royal Guards? Well, look were that plot lead. Cody is now a main character.

Also, short chapter today. Why? I kinda need to do some work, so yeah, I hope you all can understand.

While reading this, you will see that its not very good. Why? I'm not doing good today, as in, I'm sick. Massive headache. So, I'm sorry. I'll do better tomorrow, I promise.

Chapter 75

*Beep beep beep beep*

[... That's getting annoying...]

I opened my eyes and blinked. A white ceiling...

I listened for a few seconds, but all I heard was the beeping from the machine next to me... turn it off!

I then tilted my head to the right to see my leg... bandaged all the way up from the shoulder to the hoof. My left leg was the same. That mare was crazy! I didn't even know there was cannibals here.

"You have to let us in! He's hurt!" I heard somepony that could only be Twilight say outside the door.

I let out a sigh, I need to stop getting hurt. I hate to worry everyone.

The door burst open and Twilight walked in backwards, still talking to somepony out side the door.

"Listen, Mrs. Sparkle, he's unconscious and needs to be..."

I cleared my throat loudly.

Twilight turned towards the bed and I could see a look of relief flood her face, "Thank Celestia." She then turned back to the door, "I want to be alone with him."

"But I..." The door slamming shut cutting off his words.

Twilight sighed and turned towards me, "So, do you like getting hurt or something?"

Oh shit, I've screwed up this time, "No Twi, its just that I saw this mare in the forest. So, I kinda wanted to know who she was."

Twilight rubbed her face with her hoof, "Oh Lance, what am I going to do with you." She then looked up, a serious look on her face, "If Vinetion hadn't heard you screaming, you would be dead! Do you know that?!"

I winched at her tone of voice, "I'm sorry..."

Her face lightened, "Lance, you have to be more careful."

I hung my head, "I know Twi, its just... You know me, I'm curious."

She chuckled lightly, "I know, and I always knew it would almost get you killed."

I let a small smile creep onto my face, "I'll be more careful, I promise you that Twi."

She walked over to the bed and laid her head down on the side, "You better, you have two kids and a wife to look after."

I smiled, and tired to move to her, but felt a sharp pain in my forelegs.

Twilight saw this and carefully climbed up on the bed. She gently climbed on top of me and sat down, and rested her head on my chest, "Don't strain yourself."

I began to nuzzle the top of her head, "If its for you, then its worth it."

[Lance... I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have made you want to go to the forest.]
{Break, its okay. We're alive, not healthy, but alive.}

*Ka-Boom*

"What the..."

*Sound of glass shattering*

"SHIT!" I yelled as the window across the room blew inward.

Twilight sat up quickly, "What was that?!"

I looked past her, "I don't know..."

Five minutes earlier

This scene is crap. I'm sorry, but like I said above. I can't focus anymore. My mind is going crazy. I'm going to write this one and a brief last scene and I'm going to bed.

Peter walked down the dirt road, leading to the hospital. A sad look on his face.

"How could this happen to Lance..." He whispered as he trudged along.

He continued to walk in silence, looking at the sky.

As he looked to the sky, he saw a small Pegasus filly struggling to fly upward. The young filly was clearly struggling.

Peter stopped walking and looked upward, curious. He then jumped upward and flew up towards her.

The filly stopped and whipped her face.

Peter flew up beside her, "Huh, what you doing?"

She freaked out slightly and flew to the side, but quickly recovered, "Ummm, well... my brother said I would never be able to fly... so I'm trying to learn."

Peter chuckled, he loved kids, "Well, I can help you."

She shook her head, "No, I want to learn on my own." She then pointed to a cloud in the distance, "But, could you watch me and tell me how I do?"

Peter sighed, "I guess."

He made his way to the lone cloud.

As he landed on it, he sighed loudly. This filly better not take long, he has to get to the hospital.

He watched the filly try and fly upward, but lost her in the sky.

Well, maybe he can leave before she begins to lower back down.

Peter began to back up, preparing to leave. He spread his wings and lifted up a few feet.

He looked up one last time to see the filly diving straight down.

Now, why is she trying such an advanced move when she's still trying to learn? That's just stupid.

Peter facehoofed, but when he looked back up, he noticed that the filly wasn't trying to dive, she was falling.

Peter's eyes widened, "Shit!" He jumped off the cloud and began to fly towards her.

He pushed himself, trying to pick up speed. But, he knew at this rate, he wouldn't even come close to catching her.

He pushed himself to the breaking point. The wind was slamming into his face, almost breaking the skin.

Suddenly, he felt himself jerk forward, like he had been shot out of a slingshot.

He looked behind him quickly and saw a trail of purple fire, his mane and tail was also on fire. The rest of his body was thin golden flames. The flames licked at the air as he sped towards the falling filly.

He then returned his attention back to the falling filly. Now, fast approaching.

He flew towards her, his front hooves outstretched.

Seconds later, he slammed into her. He wrapped his forelegs around her and held tight.

He began to spread his wings, trying to slow down. After a few minutes of this, he finally came to a stand still. Hovering in place a few meters above the ground.

He let out a sigh and began his decent to the ground.

When he landed, he let the filly out of his legs gently.

She staggered for a few seconds, but quickly regained her composer. She turned to him and smiled happily, "Thank you so much! You saved me!"

Peter felt light head, "Oh, no problem."

She looked at his flank, "Nice cutie mark."

Peter looked back lazily to see his new cutie mark.

He smiled, a purple comet. How fitting.

The filly smiled happily at him, "Thanks again."

Peter looked back and smiled. But felt the toll of his deeds take hold. He fell forward, asleep before he even hit the ground.

Hospital four hours later

Come on! Fall asleep damn it!

I was lying in bed, trying to go to sleep. But it was impossible. Stupid doctors.

[Dawn... shes not coming back till the morning, remember? She has to watch over Spark and Fawn.]
{FUCK! Now what am I going to do?!}

I looked to my side and my eyes widened in happiness. A book!

I reached out with my left foreleg, but cursed myself as a searing pain shot through it. Don't strain yourself Lance!

Well, forget the book.

*Beep beep beep*

Kill it! Kill it with fire! I hate that freaking beeping!

[I would so go Breaking Dawn on it if I could]
{You and me both dude.}

So, I just lay there, eye twitching every time it beeped.

Thankfully, the door opened. I looked down and smiled, "Ditzy! Thank God, I need somepony to talk to."

She smiled cheerfully and flew towards the bed, her mail bag on her side, "Sorry Lance, I'm just delivering your mail."

Shit... "Uhh, okay. But can you stay a little while?"

She shook her head, "I can't, I have to finish my runs." She then pulled out a letter and dropped it on my stomach. "I'll see you later Lance."

She flew towards the door and I leaned forward, "No! Come back! Don't leave me in this hell hole!"

She closed the door, leaving me alone with the beeping machine.

I hate my life right now.

I sighed and picked up the letter. I opened it and tossed the envelope away. I then began to read it.

Dear Lance Greenfield (Girokon),

We are happy to inform you that we have chosen you and your family to come live in our small community of Pleasant Fields. We are a friendly community of ponies, great for raising a family. The town is full of job opportunities, giving you a steady income of bits. We would love for you, and only you, to come down here as soon as possible and look over your new house. The directions are on the separate sheet of paper.

We hope to see you soon,
Pleasant Fields Mayor's office

I put the letter down and smiled. Finally, I can get my family away from those stuck up snobs.

Once I'm healed, I'm going to go and check this place out.

[Okay, now I'm excited.]
{Me too Break, me too.}

Hospital: Part 2

Chapter 58 audio video is now out. Check it out.

Living the Dream: Chapter 58 audio video

Also, about the title for this chapter. You can tell I couldn't think of a name for it XD

Chapter 76

I recommend playing this for the first few scenes. Why? Because it fits Lance's mood XD
I'm bored!

The next day, 12:28 PM

God! I'm so bored!

Twilight came by this morning, but she couldn't stay long. She had to run a few errands with Spike. I wonder where that little guy has been, I mean, last time I saw him was at the train station after we got back from the Ski Resort.

That was four hours ago, and I've been laying here ever since, just looking at the wall on the opposite side of the room.

[Please Lance, do something fun! I can't take this anymore!]
{If I could get out of bed, I would!}

*Beep beep beep*

I looked over at the most annoying machine ever built and glared, "I will kill you."

*Beep beep beep*

I growled, "I'm serious! I will kill you!"

*Beep beep beep*

I leaned towards it and yelled, "I will end you!"

[Dude, we're so bored, we're yelling at a machine...]

I laid my head back on my pillow and sighed.

So bored... So freaking bored.... I actually feel like crying!

Two minutes go by, but it felt like an entirety... I wish I could reach that book by my bed.

I looked to my left and sighed, so close, but so far away.

Wait, maybe if I slide over to the side of the bed and reached for it with my right foreleg, I may get it.

[That plan sounds legit. Do it!]

I take a deep breath and move to the left slightly, slowly sliding to the edge of the bed. Once there, I my body to the left slightly and began to reach for the book with my right foreleg. I could touch the book, but still couldn't grab it.

Maybe if I move a little more to the edge I could.... fall straight off and hit my chin on the desk in the process.

I fell off the bed, hit my chin on the desk, and slammed face first in the hard cold white floor.

I turned over onto my back and looked up... oh come on!

The book was tittering on the edge of the desk, about to fall off.

That's just my luck...

The book tilted forward to much and fell off the desk. It then struck my in the snout, sending a shock wave of pain through my head.

The door to the room burst open and in came the doctor, a worried look on his face, "Lance, are you okay?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh yes, I'm fine doc. I just fell out of bed, hit my chin and face, took a book to the nose... I'm just peachy."

He sighed and used his magic to lift me back up and onto the bed, "You know, you could have asked one of the staff to give you the book."

I facehoofed, ignoring the pain in my leg, "I'm an dumbass."

The doctor chuckled and levitated the book onto my stomach, "Here, and next time, call out for help before doing something. Okay?"

I waved him off, "Sure thing doc."

The doctor smiled and left the room.

I sighed and then looked at the book. A large smile formed on my face, finally!

I picked it up in my bandaged forelegs and read the title, "'Daring Do and the Serpent Kingdom'."

[It says serpent... read it!]

I chuckled and opened the book and began to read it, "'Daring Do forced herself to keep up right as she walked through the hot desert sun. She so wanted to get out of this heat, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This was one of the many...'"

[Why does it feel like we missed some of the book?]
<I know, it was the same way in the 'Read it and Weep' episode. I don't get Equestria books.>
{Still, the books here are quiet interesting.}
[Keep reading!]

I smiled and looked along the lines, looking for my place, "'This was one of many of the challenges of the desert. Lack of water being the biggest concern.

Daring Do had already went through her five canteens of fresh water two days ago, and was already feeling the effects of dehydration. This wasn't going to stop her though, she never gave up when faced with simple challenges.

Up ahead, she saw what looked to be a pond, but she never fell for mirages. Instead of running towards it, she just kept her steady pace. Sure enough, she walked through the fake pond.

She kept going, hours passed, and still no sign of water. She saw a cactus and sighed a sigh of relief. She made her way over to it and carefully broke the top off. Inside was her prize, water.

She stuck her muzzle into it and began to slurp up the small puddle. It wasn't much, but it would suffice for now. She whipped her mouth with her right foreleg and glanced around.

"Where to now?" She questioned to the empty desert. The map said..."

The door burst open and Greg trotted in, a large smile on his face.

I let out a annoyed sigh. Now I know how Rainbow Dash felt in the show... "What do you want Greg?"

He walked over to my bed and shrugged, "Nothing, just wanting to check this place out." He turned and saw the other patient in the room.

It was a fat earth pony with bandages on his lower half. He was fast asleep.

Greg smirked, "What happened to this dude?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I heard the doctor talking about him trying to jump or something."

Greg smiled slyly, and pulled something out of his bag. He walked over and levitated a... really? He levitated a black marker up to the stallion's face and began to draw a mustache on it, and glasses, and freckles. He then blackened a few of his teeth and wrote, Dick muncher on his forehead.

Oh Greg... I worry about you sometimes.

Greg turned back to me and chuckled, "I wish I could see his reaction when he wakes up... is that.... YES!"

He ran over to the machine next to my bed and looked it over.

Do I even want to know? "Greg, what are you doing?"

He smiled, "Getting me some morphine."

I shook my head, "No, that's my morphine. Take the fat ones."

He shook his head in return, "Nope." He then went to touch the machine.

I held up a hoof, "Come here."

He sighed and walked up closer to me, "What?"

I smiled, "Closer." My moved my right hoof down the side of the bed to grasp the small mask and turn the tank on.

He moved closer, "What do you want dude?!"

I chuckled, "Closer dude, its a secret."

He exhaled loudly and got up in my face, "Close enough?!"

I smirked, "Eeyep!"

I threw my left foreleg around his neck and held him still as I brought the mask up. I pushed it onto his muzzle and held it tight.

He began to flail around, "What the?!" Came his muffled voice.

I smiled, "What? I though you wanted some medical supplies? Well here, have some anesthesia."

His eyes widened for a few seconds, but began to slowly roll up in the back of his head.

I chuckled and sat him down.

[One down!]

I smiled and reached under my pillow and pulled out the list of names. I then marked off Greg. Now to get the rest of them.

[Man, I love payback! This will show them that we aren't going to take being the test dummy and prank target!]

I chuckled and put the notepad back under the pillow and yelled out, "Nurse! We got a stallion down!"

A few seconds later, the door burst open and the nurse ran in, "What happened?!"

I pointed to the mask, "He though that was oxygen and put it on his face."

She frowned and shook her head, "Oh, the poor dear." She walked over and levitated him on her back. She then left the room, leaving me there alone.

I smiled happily and opened the book, "'The map said that the....'"

A bright flash filled the room.

I slammed the book closed and yelled, "WHAT NOW!"

I looked to the end of the bed.... shit.

Annabel was standing there, a large smirk on her face, "Hiya Lance."

I smiled awkwardly and waved, "Hey Annabel... what brings you here?"

She shrugged and slithered trough the air over to the fat stallion, "Oh you know, just checking on my good friend Lance." She chuckled at the designs on his face and looked at me.

I nodded, "I see... but I know you're here for a reason. So, what is it?"

She clapped, "Very good, very good. Well, there is one thing."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what might that be?"

She smirked, "I know you're going to try and get everyone back for messing with you so much."

I cross my forelegs, ignoring the pain, "So?"

She chuckled, "Well, I'm going to give you an offer." She flew over to my bed and reached under the pillow and pulled out a piece of paper, not the list, but something I've been working on.

"What kind of offer?" I questioned.

She read over the paper, "Really? You're writing a song for Twilight?"

I sighed and took the paper from her, "Yes, now, what kind of offer?"

She clapped her hands together and somehow created a cloud. She jumped on it and laid in a dramatic way, "Well, I would like to take this little revenge thing off your hands... or hooves as the situation calls for."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

She rolled around and looked at me, "I want to be the one who gets them all back. I have a mega awesome prank planned out. It will be so chaotic, Discord would be proud."

I rubbed my chin, "Hmmm, I don't know. I have a lot planned out for them..."

She gave me the puppy dog eyes, "Please?"

[Why do I have a wingboner all of a sudden....]

I sighed, "Let me think about it, Kay?"

She jumped up, "YAY! I'll be back tomorrow for your answer."

She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

What to do? I'll sleep on it.

I picked up the book and began to read from where I left off.

[I would so fuck Daring Do.] Break then began to hump the air.
<*Sigh* What am I going to do with you Break?>
[Tie me down and tell me I've been a bad boy.]
<... You're sick.>
[I know!] He then began to dance in place to imaginary music.

A small smile crept onto my face as I tried to concentrate on reading the book.

For the first time in this story, I'm going to let the readers decide on what happens.

Should Lance let Annabel perform her prank, or should he do it himself like a man?

A. Let Annabel do it.
B. Let Lance get his revenge on his own, and show them he's a real man.

Before answering, I must say this: I already have a full plot planned for each of those answers. So it doesn't really matter to me which you chose. Just one of those will be better than the other. Now, answer and I'll tally the votes tomorrow XD

Choices made are choices regretted

To everyone wondering about the Daring Do book in the last chapter, I took that from a story I'm writing. Yes, I've been trying to write a Daring Do story XD

Also yes, Annabel has fingers. Well, claws and the like, but I'm going to say fingers, makes more sense.

One last thing, I haven't forgotten about Pleasant Fields, Lance isn't in a hurry. So yeah XD

Chapter 77

The next morning, 9:42 PM

I closed the book and smiled, "Done!"

[That book was awesome!]

[That scene was badass to the max!]

I chuckled and put the book on the edge of the bed. Now, to get the next book in the series.

I reached over the bed and pressed the button to summon the nurse.

After a minutes wait, the same nurse from the other day walked in, "Yes deary?"

I held up the book and grinned, "Could you bring me the next book in the series?"

She smiled happily and trotted over, "I sure can." She then grabbed the book with her magic and left the room.

After she left, I sat back and relaxed a little.

{I guess being in a hospital isn't all that bad after all.}
[I agree with you. We get our own personal servants!]

[Meh, still servants.]

*Beep beep beep*

My eye twitched, I hate that machine! At least I can ignore it while reading.

The door opened and in walked the nurse, a book in her magical grasp, "Here you are dear."

I smiled happily, "Thank you!"

She chuckled and levitated it over to me.

I plucked it from the air and squealed.

[Very manly Lance...]

The nurse laughed to herself and took her leave, closing the door gently.

I then slide down in bed and propped the book up in front of me.

"Daring Do and the Black Gem."

[Oww, sounds interesting.]

I smiled and opened the book, "'Daring Do trudged through the sloppy mud. The heavy rain from above pounding against her safari hat...'"

[I think someones pulling pages out of books! I say we find this person, or pony, and beat the living crap out of them!]
I chuckled, {No one is pulling out pages. Its just the way the author starts the book.}

I looked for my place and continued to read.

Two hours later

[WHAT?! They can't kill off Diamond Crusher! He's pure awesomeness!]

I closed the book and sat back. One of the characters, Diamond Crusher, was just killed in a avalanche of rocks. And he was the cool character!

[I'm so going to write a angry letter to the author about this!]

I chuckled and went to open the book, but what do you know? A loud clap of thunder echos through the room, and there stood Annabel. A happy smile on her face.

"So, Lance, you make up your mind yet?" She asked innocently.

I rubbed my chin, "Well, yes, but I don't know."

She slithered up to my face, "Please!"

I pushed her back a little and winced from the pain in my forelegs, "I don't know Annabel, you can get a little... crazy when it comes to pranks."

She crossed her arms and smirked, "How about this: You let me do this, and I heal your legs."

I thought for a second, but someone, Dawn, made me answer, "Deal!"

{Fuck you Dawn...}

Annabel jumped with excitement, "YES! YES! YES! YES!! Thank you!"

She snapped her fingers quickly, undoing the bandages on my forelegs.

I looked at them and saw them quickly regaining the torn away flesh... awesome!

Once they was back to normal, Annabel flew up to my face again, "Gather all the bronies, only the ones on you're list, and bring them to the library."

I chuckled, "I'm on it ma'am."

She giggled and snapped her fingers, disappearing in a cloud of pink smoke.

I stretched out my forelegs and sighed happily, "Thank God! I can finally move them without pain!"

[Get moving Lance! I have to see this prank of hers!]

I laughed a little and stood up. I then reached under my pillow and pulled out the list and the song. I reached under the bed and grabbed my things: Clothes and saddlebags.

I looked at my clothes and shrugged. I pushed the goggles on my face and tossed the clothes in my saddle bags, then I put the saddlebags on. Easy enough.

Then I sighed, time to explain why I'm out of bed already.

Skipping ahead an hour, because I know none of you want to read a bunch of boring scenes about Lance gathering the bronies.

I stood in the library, at the top of the stairs, looking down at all the bronies.

I had gathered all the ones on the list: David, Peter, Greg, Seth, Zorrow, Shadow Breeze, Vinetion, and Aaron. They've all done something to me, and its time for a little pay back.

{Why did I have to bring Shadow Breeze again? I mean, come on, he hasn't done anything to us.}
[Yes he did! He ruined out snowboarding! Remember?! We crashed into him!]
{Yeah, but he didn't mean...}
[Shut up and let me have my revenge!]

David looked around and looked up at me confused, "So why are we all here?"

I smirked, "You'll see."

He groaned and sat on his haunches.

Vinetion stomped on the ground and caused multiple vines to shot upwards. They molded together and formed a chair of sorts. She then hopped into it and put her hooves behind her head, "Wake me when ya need me."

I began to tap my hoof, where are you Annabel?!

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard behind me. Well, that answers that question at least.

Annabel flew up next to me and smiled, "Hello bronies! And welcome!"

Greg cocked his head, "Whoa, what's going on here?"

[REVENGE! THAT'S WHATS GOING ON!]

Annabel chuckled, "We're going to have so much fun!"

Zorrow looked worried, "What kind of fun?"

She smirked and spun around in the air, "A prank!"

Everyone but Peter looked worried, "What kind of prank?!"

She flew up to me, "I'll show you!"

I looked at her, "Uhh, what are you doing?"

She smiled and snapped her fingers.

A small light emitted from me, but I felt the same.... wait a second, something feels off.

[I feel different... WHY IS MY VOICE SO FUCKING HIGH!]

I looked down at my body and jumped into the air. I was a freaking mare!

I then looked at Annabel, who was laughing her little ass off, "Hey! This wasn't the plan!" Oh God! I sound hot! WHY ME?!

She stopped and looked confused, "Plan? I don't remember us making a plan."

Oh shit!

Greg was on his back, laughing like a mad man, so was David, Peter, and Seth. The others just smiled and laughed to themselves.

Annabel looked down at them and smiled, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you all."

She snapped her fingers, causing all of them to emitted bright lights.

When that was over, they all stood there, confused. But, when they began looking around, they began to scream.

All mares! Hahaha!

Peter was the first to calm down, and said in a feminine voice, "This is your prank? That's just sad."

Annabel just laughed and slithered down to him... her? And put her face inches from his, "Oh, this isn't the full prank."

My eyes widened, "Wait, what?!"

She snapped her fingers, causing a bright light to flash. I could feel the effects of being transported at a high speed.

When everything stopped and cleared, I could see that we was on the roof of a tall building, rain falling over head.

Annabel threw back her hands and let the rain fall on her, "Welcome to Manehattan bronies!"

Peter still looked unimpressed, "So, you're just going to drop us off here. You're the worst prankster ever."

Annabel still held her smile and flew upward, producing a backwards umbrella, "Oh, this still isn't the full prank."

"COME ON!" Screamed out Zorrow in a high female voice.

Annabel twisted around a few times, enjoying herself, "Do you all want to know the real prank?"

We all screamed out yes.

Annabel flew down to the roof and landed in the middle of us, "Okay, I'll make this fast. You all may not have a lot of time."

Vinetion cocked her head, "What do you..."

Annabel held up a hand, "Please keep all questions to the end, thank you. As I was saying: I have turned you all into mares for a reason. Now, you all remember the Heat season, right?"

We all nodded. I already know where this is going.

"Well, I've done just that, but I reversed it. Oh yes I did! Its the stallions that are sex crazy now, and they are running on pent up hormones! Oh shit! That's right, and they're looking for the nearest mare. And guess what? You're the only mares in the whole city!'

Our mouths dropped. That's not what I was thinking!

Vinetion held up her hoof, "But wait, where are the other mares?"

Annabel smiled, "Oh them? I just turned them into stallions. Why? Well, since there wasn't enough stallions here, I just turned the mares into stallions. Now, you're the only thing they're after. Yay!"

I gulped, "That's screwed up!"

She just laughed, "Oh I know it is. This will be so fun! Now, for the rules, no flying and no magic."

With a snap of her fingers, all our wings and horns were taken away.

Vinetion smirked in the background.

"And no controlling plants." Annabel said with a smirk.

"Oh come on!" Vinetion yelled.

Annabel then snapped her fingers. "Now, I bet you all want to know how to win this game, right?"

I facehoofed, "A game?!"

She nodded, "Yep, a game. All you have to do is: Survive a full month without being raped, get raped by a stallion, or find the very small golden key hidden somewhere in the city."

"Oh hell no!" Vinetion said with rage.

"Fuck this shit!" Greg screamed with a new found anger.

Annabel chuckled, "If you do one of those things, you will be sent back to Ponyville. And you win!"

I bit my lip, "So, all we have to do is survive not being raped for a month, or get raped, or just find a fucking small golden key?!"

She smiled and nodded, "Its that simple!"

"That's not simple!" Peter said in the background, stomping his hooves.

Annabel pulled out a watch, "You might want to hurry, the stallions can sense a angry or bitchy mare."

I glared, "You made it were they can sense us?!"

She shrugged, "Only if you're angry, nagging, or bitching."

I rubbed my face, "How much time do we have?"

She glanced at the watch, "The game begins now!"

The door that led onto the roof began to bulge outward as a crowd of stallions began pushing against it.

Oh come the fuck on!

Annabel chuckled, "Well, I best be off now."

Zorrow jumped on Annabel's tail and began to beg, "Please! Don't leave us here!"

She sighed, "Here, I'll put you all on another building, but that's all I'm going to do."

"Thank you!" Zorrow said happily.

She snapped her fingers, causing a bright light to engulf us all. We soon appeared on the roof of a slightly smaller building.

I looked around, and noticed that Annabel wasn't with us... now we're alone.

"What do we do!" Shadow Breeze yelled out.

I held up a hoof, "We survive. Come on guys.... no, come on girls, we can survive." I then began walking for the door that lead into the building.

Everyone groaned and followed me.

I pulled the door open and saw stairs, easy. I walked down them, followed by everyone else. I stopped at the first door and held up a hoof. I moved to the door and opened it slowly.

Inside was a office building, but nothing more. There wasn't a sole in there, well, as far as I could tell.

"Clear." I whispered back to the others.

I pushed the door all the way open and walked in.

[Spooky... we need to find a light switch.]

Hmmm, maybe I can find one over by the managers office.

I began walking down the cubical's, keeping my guard up.

"Please me!" Yelled a stallion's voice.

Oh fuck me!

A large form slammed into my side, sending me and my attacker into a cubical.

I looked up and instantly hated my luck.

It was a large grey stallion, a look of lust in his eyes, "You're all mine pretty lady."

"Only in your wet dreams!" I heard someone yell.

I then saw a pair of olive green legs impact with his head, sending him to the ground, unconscious.

I stood up and shuddered, I then looked at Vinetion, "Thanks Vine, I owe you one."

She smiled, "No problem."

The lights suddenly came on. I twisted around to see Peter standing next to a light switch. Well, that's one good thing to happen today.

Zorrow walked over to the large windows that over looked the street and instantly jumped back, "Lights off!"

Peter quickly hit the lights, shutting them off.

We all walked to the window to see what he was looking at.

Oh shit!

[Oh my God! There must be over a hundred stallions down there!]

Outside the window, five stories down, was the street, full of stallions. The building opposite of us also had stallions in it, all searching for mares.... and we're the only mares here!

Vinetion picked up a desk and threw it on her back, "Hurry! We have to barricade the stairs and all entrances to this floor!"

"On it!" We all said as we picked up desk and cabinets.

"What about this guy?" Greg asked looked down at the unconscious stallion.

Vinetion pointed to the stairs, "Throw him down them to the first floor, duh."

Greg nodded and began dragging him towards the stairs.

After ten minutes, we finally had all the entrances blocked. We were safe, for now.

I collapsed and laid back, "God, being a mare is tough."

Vinetion chuckled, "You have no idea."

We sat around talking for a few minutes, till I noticed Greg off by himself.

"You okay Greg?" I asked.

He turned and smirked, "Oh hell yeah! Being a mare is awesome!"

I cocked my head, "Why?"

He smirked and began to rub his.... that's sick! "Its so much easier to masturbate!"

I held up my hooves, blocking my eyes, "I didn't need to see that!"

"Us either!" The others said.

Greg laughed and looked at Vinetion, "What about you Vine? You like girls."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but not when their you."

He shrugged and twisted, "More fun for me then I guess."

I shook my head, "Anyway, how are we going to do this?"

Shadow shrugged, "I have no idea. I think we should get some supplies, as in food and water, and hold out here."

I nodded, "I agree, and we should..."

"WHERE THE FUCK IS ALL THE TOILET PAPER?!" David screamed from the other side of the room.

"I don't know!" Peter screamed back.

David came stomping out of the backroom and looked pissed, "Where is it!"

Greg stood and tossed a large wad of... wet toilet paper into a trash bin. He looked up at all our shocked faces, "What? You didn't expect me to leave all that stuff on the ground, did you?"

[Lance, we are so hoofing our self later!]

David screamed out in anger, "Greg! You idiot! Now we don't have a way to whip our asses!"

Greg shrugged, "Not my problem!"

"GUYS! SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU'RE GOING TO ATTRACT ALL THE STALLIONS IN THE FUCKING AREA!" I screamed out in rage. I've had it with this shit!

*Bang bang bang*

Oh no....

We all turned to see the door leading to the elevator being pushed open. The cabinets holding it shut slowly moved away with each hit.

"Oh shit! They found us!" Seth screamed out as he ran towards our group.

Peter looked at me, "Dude, what do we do?!"

My eyes widened. What are we going to do?! We're trapped!

I pointed to the stairs, "To the stairs! We can go up to the next floor."

Luckily, the floor above us was a storage area, so no elevator or back entrances. Just one door... not good, but its all we have.

We all made a mad dash for the stairs. We jumped over the barricade and began the short run upward.

Once we was at the storage room, we all piled in. Luckily, it was large enough for all of us and a few crates.

Vinetion slammed the door shut and quickly pushed a large crate in the way. As soon as she did, we could hear the stallions excited cheers coming up the stairs.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." I kept saying over and over again.

[Literally...]

I'll be the stallion bait

I may have lost the contest, but I'm sure you'll all enjoy my contest entry :D
A day at the beach

Chapter 78

"Where is he?!"

"Patience, he'll come on his own time."

"But, we need his body now!"

"Calm yourself, we'll have it in due time."

"Shall I prepare the chamber?"

"Yes, I want it to be ready for him."

"We're screwed!" Aaron whispered to us all.

I put a hoof over his mouth, "Be quiet!"

Outside the door, we could hear the stallions cheering. They hadn't found us, but they know we're close.

"Greg, what are you doing?" I heard Shadow say behind me.

I turned around and facehoofed, "Greg!"

Greg had a bottle of lotion in his hoof, and was pouring it out onto his other hoof.

"Greg, what are you..." I began.

Greg then began to rub the lotion on his ass... why?!

He looked at us and chuckled, "What?"

Vinetion rubbed her chin, "Why?"

Greg shrugged, "Well, we're about to get raped, right? So, I want it to be as painless as possible."

I nodded, "For once Greg, you've done something smart." I then held up my hoof, "Now, give me the bottle."

He shook his head, "Hell no, its mine!"

I stomped my hoof, "Damn it Greg, give me the lotion!"

"Shut up Lance! Your temper is going to get us caught!" Peter hissed, clearly losing his cool.

I stepped closer to Greg, "Give it."

He smirked, "Want it? Come get it." He brought the lotion up to his mouth and chugged it... he chugged lotion? Eww...

I began to say something, but was cut off.

*Bang bang bang*

"You two just screwed us!" Vinetion yelled as she sat down, and crossed her forelegs.

Aaron stomped his hoof, "Damn it!" He then used his back legs to knock over a large stack of boxes.

I fell to my haunches, "We're doomed!"

The door kept inching open with every heavy thud.

We were trapped, no way to escape, and about to be raped.... Fuck you Annabel!

After thinking that, I could have sworn I heard her laughing.

I looked up towards the ceiling, and shook my hoof at it, "I will have my revenge... FUCKING REALLY?!"

Everyone jumped back, startled by my sudden outburst, "What is it?!"

I pointed upward, "Air dunks!"

They all turned and gasped in relief.

I jumped up and looked at Vinetion, "Hurry! Lift me up to it!"

She nodded and crouched down. I jumped onto her back, and she quickly stood up.

I stood up on her back, trying to keep my balance. I could just reach the vent.

I pushed up with my head, popping the vent cover off. I nudged it to the side and pulled myself up into the vent.

I twisted and held my hoof down for Vinetion.

Vinetion jumped up and grabbed my hoof with hers. I then pulled with all my strength. I almost dropped her, but I was able to get her into the shaft.

She quickly crawled onto the other side of the open vent.

We then began pulling everyone else into the vents. First Peter, then Seth, David, Greg, Aaron, and Shadow.

Zorrow was the last one to be pulled up.

I held my hoof down for him, "Come on dude!"

He jumped up and grabbed our hooves, but when we began to pull him up, the door burst open.

A stallion charged in and tackled him out of the air.

Vinetion and I fell back as we lost our grip on him. We looked at each other in shock and then looked at the opening, listening the sounds of struggling and grunts coming from below.

Seth hung his head, "Poor guy..."

We all began to head down the right passage..

*Clang*

I twisted around to see Zorrow, barely holding onto the inside of the vent. He looked at me and said, "Run you fools!"

"Nooo!" I screamed as I jumped for him. I grasped his hoof and began pulling back. Vinetion and the others piled around me, all trying to pull him in.

For the first time, Zorrow had a piece of luck. We pulled him free of the stallions grasp and hauled him into the vent.

He turned and put the cover back on the open vent. "Lets get moving..." He said with a shaking voice.

We all nodded and moved on, with me in the front.

It was quiet easy to move, since we were all smaller due to our female bodies. The only one having trouble was Vinetion, but that's because she's so damn tall.

We moved silently, trying to go unnoticed... even though they know where we are.

I passed over a vent and looked down. Under me was a break room.

[FOOD!]

I pointed down, "Guys, I think I found us a source of food."

Aaron looked down and smiled, "Good job Lance!" He looked at Vinetion, "Here, lower me down. I'll get some of it."

I smiled and moved the vent cover. Vinetion looked at Aaron and then the hole, "I don't think I can lower you. But, I can do this."

She put her hoof on his face and pushed him backwards. He stumbled back and fell through the hole.

*Crash*

I looked down to see him laying on a broken table, "You okay Aaron?"

He groaned and stood, "Yeah, I'll live."

He then made his way over to the cabinets and began searching through them.

"Pills here!" He said, laughing a bit at himself.

He found a bag and began filling it with assorted food items.

Before he could finish, we all head laughing, crazy laughing.

"Annabel!" Shadow gasped as we all began to recognize the laughter.

The door burst open and Aaron screamed.

I looked to the door and became confused. Is that Vinyl? As a stallion?! Annabel, you're so cruel...

Aaron threw the bag up towards us, "Run! I'll hold him off!"

Peter put his head through the shaft, "Dude! We can help you."

Aaron waved him off, "Nah man, I think Annabel is trying to fuck with me..."

The stallion, who could be Vinyl in stallion form, jumped on him.

Aaron held him back for a few seconds, "Go! I'll be fine, I promise. Besides, might be fun later to tease her with this."

I saluted him, "You're a brave brony." I looked at the others, "He's an idiot. Lets hurry and leave before more come."

They all nodded in agreement and I began to lead them away.

After a few minutes of moving through the tight spaces.

[Tight spaces! Hahaha!]

We came to a junction, with three ways.

"Which way?" Greg asked from the back.

I pointed to the far right one, "We go right."

"Why?" Vinetion asked.

I smirked, "Because its the right way."

They all exhaled and shook their heads at my lame joke.

I rolled my eyes, "Just follow me."

I then lead them down the next tunnel like path.

"Hey Vinetion, what do you think of my sexy bod now?" Greg said as he walked behind Vinetion, who was crouched down.

She glared back at him, "Sexy bod? Yeah right."

Greg just smiled, "Oh? Then you..."

I hung my head, trying to keep calm, "Greg, leave he alone."

"Why?" Came his response.

I closed my eyes, keep your cool Lance, "Because, she's a mare and you're bei-AHHHHH!"

I screamed out as my front hoof went down and touched nothing but air. I fell forward and began to fall straight down a air dunk. A straight fall!

[And I'm free! Free falling!]
{SHUT UP! THIS IS NO TIME TO SING!}

I spun around and angled myself with the wall and kicked out hard with my back legs. This caused my back to slam into the wall, and my legs on the opposite.

I came to a almost sudden stop. Thank you parkour!

I sighed a sigh of relief and looked down. Damn! I'm only a foot or so from the bottom!

I smiled, my luck must be changing.

"I'm coming for you Lance!" I heard Greg yell out.

I looked up and frowned, shit...

Greg had jumped into the shaft and was now rocketing towards me.

Why me?

*Thud* *Crash*

We both slammed into the bottom of the air dunk, both groaning.

I recovered first and pushed Greg off and began crawling down the shaft.

Behind me, I could hear the others following Greg's lead and jumping off. They can just climb down!

As soon as we were all together, I took the lead again.

After a few minutes of walking and crawling, we came to a vent cover.

I crouched down and looked out. It was the outside! We was still at least twelve feet in the air, but at least we could get out of the building.

I pushed the cover open gently and poked my head out. An alley, perfect!

I climbed out of the vent and dropped to the ground.

Once we was all outside and together, Vinetion looked around, "We do we go?"

I smiled, "I know the perfect place."

Seth looked at me, "Really? Where?"

"The Sleeping Stallion. Before you ask, its a hotel, not a club."

Shadow nodded, "I've heard of it. Do you know were it is?"

I scrunched up my eyes, "Huh, yeah, I think. Just let me find a land marker or something."

Vinetion sighed, "Yeah, that'll be easy."

I looked up at the sky, letting the rain run down my face. "Come on, lets just look around. I've been all over this city, I should be able to find it."

Sometime later, after sneaking through some alleys and back streets, we finally found a clue to where the hotel is

I pointed happily at the billboard, "See! I told you we was getting close."

The billboard was on top of a large building, and it had a picture of a stallion sleeping in a comfortable looking bed, 'The Sleeping Stallion Hotel. We provide the best services for less!'

Vinetion shrugged, "I guess it was easier than I thought."

I smirked, "Damn right it was easier than you thought!"

I then led the group towards the right street, a cheerful stride in my step.

[I can't wait to get out of this rain and into a bed!]

I rounded the corner and stopped dead. The others slammed into me, but I kept my gaze ahead.

[... Shit!]

Ahead of us, only a block away, was a large crowd of stallions. All walking around outside of the Sleeping Stallion... really? Fucking really?!

I really do have the worst of luck.

I began to motion for us to go back, but when I turned, I saw another large crowd of stallions coming towards us. Luckily, we were still unnoticed, but that wouldn't last for long.

My mind began to work as fast as possible. I have two options: We can all make a break for it, or we can hide... or, and I really hate this one, someone could distract them all away from the group.

I then made up my mind, "Guys, hide in those dumpsters, hurry!"

We made our way over to the dumpsters and I watched as they all jumped into them.

David stuck his head out and looked at me, "Come on dude!"

I shook my head, "No, I'm going to distract them. Buy you all time to get into the hotel. Now listen, please, once you get in there, barricade the first floor doors and windows. Then, go into the bar, I'll meet you there."

Vinetion popped out, "Lance! That's crazy!"

I smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, well I'm crazy."

I turned and ran out onto the street and began screaming.

The stallions looked my way and began walking towards me.

Good. I waited till they was all close to me, both crowds. I turned for the only open street and began to run, "Come and get it! It's a running buffet!" I screamed back as they began chasing me, "All you can fuck!" The crowd grew larger as more and more stallions began to come out of buildings.

Well shit, I just drew the largest fucking crowd in the whole fucking city!

[Damn! There must be at least two hundred of them behind us... RUN LIKE A FUCKING CHEETAH LANCE!]

I ran down the empty street, hearing the hoots and whistling of the stallions behind me.

"Look at that Flank!" I heard one of them yell out.

Oh God, I'm going to be sick... why didn't I make Zorrow do this?!

I rounded a corner and continued to gallop down it. I could hear the crowd getting farther and father away.

After turning a second corner, I see a third crowd of stallions charging towards me.

[I think we're attracting all the stallions in the city!]

I turned, and what do you know. A fourth crowd was charging towards me.

With three of my four routes blocked, I was forced to run down an alley.

And, guess what? Yep, you guess it! It was a fucking dead end!

I ran up to the tall, eight foot wall and turned. The stallions were just now getting to the entrance to the alley.

[Lance, prepare our parts for violation...]

I glared at the crowd, I'm not going down that easy!

I ran forward a little and turned for the wall. This better work!

I galloped towards it and jumped on the wall to the left, I then pushed off, landing on the right wall. I pushed off that wall and grasped for the edge of the middle wall.

Thank God! My hooves grasped the edge firmly. As I began to pull myself up, the crowd of stallions reached the wall. All jumping up for my dangling hind legs.

Once I was on the wall, I looked down and smirked, "How do you like me now boys! You can't fuck this!"

I laughed loudly and jumped onto the other side of the wall. I trotted out onto the street with a smile... and then my smile faded as I saw a group of stallions looking at me.

Give me a damn break!

Sleeping Stallion Hotel

David pushed the last table in front of the door and fell back on his haunches, exhausted.

"He's not coming back! Its been a full hour Vine! Face it, he's a stallions play thing now!" Seth said as he faced Vinetion.

Vinetion glared, "He's still out there Seth, and you know it!"

Seth shook his head, "Vine, you saw how many stallions were chasing him. There's no way he made it. Now, we have to barricade that last window..."

She stomped her hoof, "Listen! Lance is our friend and we're going to wait!"

Seth growled, he was getting feed up with this, "He's gone!"

Vinetion was resisting the urge to slap him, "He's coming back!"

Seth threw up his hooves, "Oh yeah, and then what?!" He walked over to the bar and picked up a bag, "What? We'll drink orange juice!" He threw the bottle of juice across the room.

He then walked up to Vinetion, "Then, we'll all have a fucking party. Eating hay and fucking bread!" He pulled out a wade of hay and threw it on the ground. He pulled out a bag of peanuts, "Fuck! Face it, we're screwed!"

He threw the bag of peanuts over his shoulder towards the bar.

*A throat being cleared*

Everyone looked at the bar to see Lance, holding the bag of peanuts that Seth had just thrown. He cleared his throat again and smiled, "Would anyone like... a peanut?"

A chance to escape

Not really a audio video, but, its sorta important I think. You know, so everyone gets the credit they deserve.
A new cast member

Chapter 79

"She did what?!" Twilight yelled after hearing Aaron's explanation on where Lance was.

Aaron smiled awkwardly, "She turned us all into mares and sent us to a city full of horny stallions."

Twilight looked pissed, anger in her eyes.

Aaron shrank under her intense gaze.

After he had been 'raped' by Vinyl in stallion form, he had been sent back to Ponyville. Once there, he noticed he was a stallion again.

The first thing he had done was go see Vinyl, for a little payback of his own, then he made his way to Canterlot to tell Twilight.

And, as expected, she freaked out.

"What city are they in?" Twilight asked, trying to stay calm.

"Uhh, Manehattan." Aaron said cautiously.

Twilight stood there calmly, "I see. Anything else?"

Aaron gave a slow nod, "Yeah... when I was sent back here, they were in a building full of stallions, with more outside it.... and I'm pretty sure Lance was planning on getting out onto the streets."

Twilight remained calm, "Okay, when will he back?"

Aaron gulped, "Well... Annabel said the only way to come back was: Survive a month, find a small golden key... or get raped."

"Twilight stood there with a blank stare, "Oh... one second please."

She closed the door slowly.

Aaron jumped back as he heard the rage filled screams of Twilight on the other side of the door.

After a few seconds, the door opened and Twilight strolled out casually, calm as ever, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a little talk with Annabel."

As she walked away, Aaron smiled. It sucks to be Annabel right about now.

Day two

"Come on Vine, you know you want this." I heard Greg say from across the room.

I groaned and sat up and looked around at everyone. We had all come up to the eighth floor and found an open room. We all decided it was best to stay together, so here we are. All in one room.

"Shut up Greg! If you wasn't in a mares body, I would have already beat the shit out of you!" Vinetion yelled, glaring at Greg.

Greg just stood there smiling, "Of course you would have Vine."

Vinetion closed her eyes and began to count down from ten, trying to keep her cool.

Greg just smirked and walked over to me, "Sup Lance, how'd ya sleep?"

I yawned and smacked my lips a little, "Pretty good. But it didn't help with all your thrashing around and rubbing up against me. You must have some pretty messed up nightmares or something."

He just laughed, "Nah, I wasn't having a nightmare. I was just hoofing myself all night, and using your back as towel."

[That sick little bitch!]

I reached out for him but slowly stopped myself. Remember Lance, we don't kill our friends.

[Unless they use you as a kleenex.]

I stood and exhaled loudly, "Dude, you're messed up."

He smiled and turned, "I know." He then trotted off for the door, "I'm going down to the bar. I'm starving."

"Yeah, and I wish you would." Vinetion remarked.

I looked to the sofa to see Seth hanging off it. Zorrow was on the floor next to the sofa, and had his forelegs wrapped around Seth's head.

I laughed, "Where's a damn camera when you need it."

Vinetion looked over to them and laughed also, "I know right!"

Our laughs woke up the two sleeping beauties. (They're still females, so it makes since to say this.)

Zorrow woke up first and yawned.

Seth woke up next and groaned, "My neck!"

Suddenly, both of their eyes went wide. Seth turned his head to look at Zorrow. They then instantly jumped off each other.

Seth kicked a pillow, "So yeah... who's played football?"

I just laughed and shook my head, "Who's hungry?"

Everyone smiled. And the remaining bronies woke up at my words.

Peter sat up and looked at me, "I heard a question about food, where is it?!"

I chuckled, "Follow me! Before Greg eats it all."

David shot up, "That bitch better not eat it all!" He then shot out the door, followed by the rest of us.

Two hours later, ground floor of the Sleeping Stallion Hotel

[I'm stuffed! Who knew this place had so much food!]

[Screw that! I say enjoy it now and prepare later.]

I wiped my mouth with my hoof and looked at everyone at the booth and smirked, "Who's up for a round of 'Truth or Dare'?"

Everyone looked at each other and nodded.

I smiled, "Good, rules: No backing out of the dare, do not dare someone to get raped by a stallion, and no dares that require someone to leave the hotel. Got it?"

They all nodded and Peter smirked, "I'm first." He then looked at David, "David, truth or dare?"

David thought for a second, "Truth."

Peter sighed, "Wimp. Okay, uhh... Is it true that you draw nude pictures of Lance and Twilight?"

David smiled awkwardly and looked at me.

I glared and held up a hoof and pounded the other into it, "Lying will get you a face full of hoof."

David gulped, "Y-Yes..."

I smirked, "I already knew that. I'll get you back later for all that."

David sighed, but then smiled, "My turn. Zorrow, truth or dare?"

Zorrow smiled, "Dare."

David smirked, "I dare you to break that table with your head."

Zorrow chuckled, "That all?"

He slide out of the booth and walked over to a table. He stood on his hind legs and laughed crazily. He then brought himself downward, slamming his head into the hard table.

*Thud*

Zorrow slumped to the ground, unconscious. The table was still standing, like nothing had happened.

I laughed, "I guess its my turn then. Shadow, truth or dare?"

He shrugged, "Truth."

Damn it, I wanted him to say dare. "Uhh.. Oh, I got one: Is it true you like Fluttershy?"

He bit his lower lip, "Ummm, yes..."

Seth jumped up, "Whoa! Back down dude! She's mine!"

Shadow sat there, trying to shrink down into the booth.

I rolled my eyes, "Seth, she doesn't even know you. Remember?"

He sat down heavily, "So, I'll get her soon."

Shadow smiled, "May the best man win." He held his hoof out over the table.

Seth looked at it and sighed, "Yeah, may the best man win the heart of the most beautiful mare." He then shook Shadow's hoof.

This was going to be interesting to watch.

Shadow then looked at Greg, "Greg, truth or dare?"

Greg smirked, "I choose dare! Lay it on me!"

Shadow smirked, "I dare you to get off weed!"

Greg's eyes widened, "No fucking way man!"

I smiled, "Gotta do it dude, or you know what happens."

He glared, "You know what? I'm going to..."

*Thunderous boom*

"OH SHIT!" I screamed out as a loud boom echoed through the room.

We all dived under the table, fearing the stallions had done something.

"Bronies! Get up here!" Yelled an angry female voice.

I poked my head out to see Annabel, a pissed off look on her face.

We all climbed out from under the table and looked at her.

"What?" I asked, a bit frightened.

She glared at me, "I have some bad news: Lance's wife, Twilight Sparkle, has forced me, and I mean forced me! To turn you all back into stallions."

All the guys cheered at this.

"But." She said holding a hand, a smile on her face, "She didn't say I had to stop the game. So, that means all the stallions still see you as mares. Sucks for you!" She then frowned, "But, she did make me have to you a means of escape. So, I've placed teleporter's all over the city, eight to be exact. Now, each teleporter's can only send one person back. Only one, so you'll all have to find one to get away from this place. The same rules from before remain, but this is just a added way to win."

I looked at her confused, "Uhh, can you explain those teleporter's?"

She sighed, "Yes, I can. Each one will send one of you back. But, it can only be used once. This will force you to find all of them to get everyone out of here. It's not going to be easy finding them, but I'll give you the first one for free. The first one is in the center of the city. Once there, you can send back one person. There will be a clue there that will hint to where the next one is."

Peter smiled, "Yay! We're gonna make it!"

Annabel chuckled, "Maybe, or you may become stallion play things." She then growled, "Darn, I almost forgot, and I wish I did. Twilight wants Lance to have this." She pulled out my saddlebags and threw them to me. "Be lucky you have a mare like her Lance. She's scary as hell when she's pissed."

I chuckled, "Believe me, I know."

Annabel smiled and looked us over, "Now, back to normal!" She snapped her fingers, causing a bright light to emit from all of us.

Once it cleared, I could see that everyone was back to normal... except, we still didn't have our wings or horns. Damn... Well, at least we're stallions again, and not mares.

Greg groaned, "Oh come on! I wanted to stay a mare for a little longer!"

Annabel just laughed and spun in the air, "To bad Greg. Twilight's orders. Now, I'm going to go and watch this all unfold. You all might want to get moving..."

With that, she suddenly disappeared, not another word.

I shrugged and picked up my saddlebags and opened one of the flaps. Inside was... a book... a book on running. Really Twi? She actually gave me a book on how to run the right way? She is such a nerd... an adorable nerd at that.

Zorrow sat up,rubbing his head, "What did she mean, 'we may want to get moving'?"

David shrugged, "Hell if I know."

*Thud* *Crack*

We all jumped and turned to the windows. Every window had a stallions shadow in it... there must be a crowd of them out there!

"Not good!" Seth said, a scared look on his face.

Vinetion, on the other hand, was walking towards Greg.

Greg turned and smirked, "So, you finally accept my offer at fucking?"

She shook her head, "Nope." She cracked her neck, "Now that you're not in a mares body, I'm not afraid to hurt you."

Greg smiled, "Oh goody! I love it rough!"

Vinetion grinned slyly, "Oh? Then how about this kind of rough?!"

She leaped forward and grabbed his back leg and lifted him into the air.

Greg laughed, "Oh yes! Treat me like a bad boy!"

Vinetion smiled, "Okay then, I will."

She leaned back and threw Greg with all her strength.

His body flew through the air like a rag doll and... crashed through one of the many windows.

Whoa....

Outside, we heard him yelling at the stallions, "Get back! AHHH! Hey, watch it jackass! AHH! That doesn't go there! Get that out of... NO NOT IN THE MOUT...."

My mouth hung open in shock. Poor Greg.

We could hear the muffled yells and screams of Greg. The stallions at the windows began to back off slightly, going for their new easy prey.

[Oh damn... poor guy.]

Vinetion turned to us and smiled, "Lets get out of here while they're distracted."

We all nodded, all scared of what she might do if we questioned her actions.

We all ran towards the back entrance and out into the back alley.

I looked around and thought about our route, "Okay, we are very close to the center of the city. At least half a mile. So, that's about five minutes of walking, or two if we run like hell."

Vinetion shook her head, "No, we have to be stealthy. If not, then we will get there with a crowd chasing us. That won't be good."

I nodded in agreement, "Then we be stealthy. Follow me."

We began to walk down the alley, towards our destination.

"Dude, whats in the saddlebags?" Zorrow asked as he trotted up beside me.

I sighed, "A book is in the left one."

"What about the right one?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea. You can check if you want."

He nodded and opened it, "Rope? What the hell are we going to do with a rope?"

I chuckled, "I don't know. That's just Twilight logic for ya. A book and a rope."

We all had a good laugh at that, but remained serious for the rest of the walk.

Nine minutes later... my math was wrong, okay?!

We stood over the metal pressure plate, all confused.

"This is the teleporter?" Shadow questioned.

I shrugged, "Guess so. Who's going back?"

Everyone raised their hooves.

I sighed, "I'll choose."

I smiled at Shadow, "You're up dude."

He smiled happily, "Thank you Lance." He stepped onto the pad, "I'll see you all soon."

*DING*

The sound of a loud dinging bell sounded as he was sent away.

All around us, we could hear the yells of the stallions.

David bit his lip, "We might want to run now."

Peter nodded, "I agree."

We all turned for the nearest alley and sprinted towards it.

As the last of us stepped into the alley, we could hear the loud cheers of the stallions behind us.

Luckily, I don't think they saw us.

This gave us a chance to to the other end. I quickly took the lead and pushed forward. As we neared the end, a stallion stepped into view.

He looked at us and smiled, "Oh yeah!" He then charged towards us.

I kept running, "I got him."

As we neared each other, I jumped to the side suddenly and hit the wall with my legs. I pushed off as hard as I could and twisted, slamming my hind leg into the stallions jaw.

I landed on all fours and turned to face him. When he tried to stand, I charged forward and delivered a hard kick to the head, knocking him out.

I stood up and smiled, "This could be fun." I turned to the others, "Come on, lets get out of here."

Food warehouse, ten minutes later

*Creak*

I cringed as the catwalk under me began to creak as we all made our way across it.

We was in a large warehouse for storing food. The only way in was through the roof entrance, which lead to this catwalk. Down below, we could see two stallions, one standing in the open, and another in a side office.

Screw this! I hate being all sneaky! Time to go on the offensive.

I turned to the others and pointed down, "I'm going to try and take out those stallions, anyone want to help?"

Vinetion nodded, "Yeah, I'm up for a little ass kicking."

I smiled, "Anyone else?"

The others shook their heads. Wimps. "Okay the, stay here."

Vinetion and I slowly made our way over to a stack of boxes that reached the edge of the catwalk. I climbed out onto them and slowly crept down them, followed by Vinetion.

Once on the ground, I pointed to the one standing in the open, "Okay Vine, I'll get his attention and you take him out. Sound good?"

She smiled, "You know it!"

I pointed to the one in the office, "While you're dealing with him, I'll get the one in the office."

She nodded, "Got it."

I took a breath and stepped out, "Yo, ugly. Over here."

The stallion turned and smiled happily. He charged forward.

I backed up a little, giving Vinetion room.

As the stallion reached the edge of the box Vinetion was behind, she slammed her hoof outward, connecting with the stallions chin.

I charged around the two and towards the office.

The stallion inside ran out the door and into the open.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

[That's... It can't be him!]
{Graze?! What the hell?! He's suppose to have went back to his own dimension.}

{One second, tell me this later.}

Graze was running towards me, a crazy smile on his face.

I was confused on what to do, so I did the next best thing. I ran towards him, head lowered.

*Blam*

I staggered back from the headbutt I had just given. Good thing I have a freaking hard head.

Graze, on the other hand, was out cold on the floor.

{Now, hurry up and explain this to me Dawn.}

I nodded, {Yeah, I know that.}

{How can you tell?}

{Oh, well that's cool. So, this is pretty much Graze, just with out his usual traits?}

[Seems legit.]

I pulled out my rope, I know what I must do. I used the rope to tie his hooves together. First his front two, then his back.

Vinetion walked up, confused, "Umm, why are you doing that?"

I looked at her, remembering that she had never met Graze, "Well, I kinda know him."

She nodded and looked up and motioned for the rest of the guys to come down, "I hope you know what you're doing Lance."

I chuckled, "I may, and I may not. All depends."

Nightfall, food warehouse.

We all sat around the small fire Vinetion had made. She had used some old boxes and paper to get it started. We're just lucky that the floor is concrete.

We was all laughing at a joke Peter just made. When he fell back laughing, I caught something on him.

"Dude, you got your cutie mark?!" I said astonished.

He smiled and stood, showing off his cutie mark proudly, "Yep! I was wondering how long it would take you guys to notice."

David chuckled, "Yeah, the only reason we didn't notice is because it blends in with your coat."

"Mares!" Graze said as he finally began to come around.

I looked at him and chuckled, "Finally awake I see."

He began inching his way towards Zorrow, who was the closest, "Come here pretty mare and let me in ya."

I chuckled as Zorrow slowly backed away from him, a scared look on his face.

I looked at Vinetion, "Vine, do you mind using that extra rope we found and tie him up better."

She smiled, "Be my pleasure."

As she walked to get the rope, I stood and walked over to Graze, "Sorry about this man." I pulled out a piece of cloth an wrapped it around his head and gagged his mouth. Making sure he couldn't warn the other stallions to our presence.

Vinetion returned and double tied his legs.

Once she finished, I picked up a second piece of cloth, "One more spot to cover." I then wrapped it around his head, putting it over his eyes, blocking his view of us.

I sat down a few feet away and yawned, "Zorrow, you're on watch duty."

He groaned, "Why me?!"

I shrugged, "I don't know. You're just the obvious choice."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

He glared at us all and groaned, "Fine, I'll go first. But, if stallions break in here, I'm only going to yell. After that, I'm out of here."

I smiled, "Sounds good to me."

I the twisted away, putting my back to the fire and laid down. I put a foreleg up under my head and got into a comfortable position.

Tomorrow, I'm going to make sure I get everyone out of here. Even Graze.

End of day two

XD Yep, that's right, after two weeks or so, I've finally added in Graze. Be happy KillJoy, I actually found a way to explain how you're able to be in my story and yours. Also, none of you will ever guess the twist me and Killjoy have planned for his OC in this story :D

A day with the family

To anyone who hasn't read the blog, the LTD Trialer is now finished.

Living the Dream - Official trailer
Oh, and chapter 59 audio is also up.

I got into a video call with Silver Charger, I'll just say this: After talking with him, I have so many new ideas for the later chapters. I also have a way for the 5 bronies who want Fluttershy to get her. But, I'm not gonna say a word... anyways, a little behind on starting this chapter, but I can do it XD And we begin... NOW!

Also, as you can tell. I'm in a good mood, for once :D

One last thing: I know I said I was going to do the Grace chapter tonight, but, if I did, it would be rushed. I'll do that one tomorrow, I promise.

Chapter 81

WARNING!: This chapter is full of D'aww moments XD Prepare thy self!

Oh my head, it feels like a freaking brick fell on it.

Wait... am I in a bed?

My eyes shot open to reveal my room at Dali's. I was in my bed, and felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.

Something moved next to my chest.

I pulled the covers up to reveal Fawn and Spark. Fawn was snuggled up to my chest, and Spark was curled up beside her.

I smiled and began to stroke her mane gently.

I've missed those two so much.

As I stroked her mane, she began to stir.

She slowly woke up and yawned. She then looked up at me and smiled, "Hey dad."

I chuckled and nuzzled her forehead, "Hey Fawn. How'd you sleep?"

She smiled and nuzzled my chest, "Great."

I smiled and looked around, "Where's Twi?"

She sat up and looked around, "I don't know. Mom was in here a while ago."

I couldn't help but smile at that. She had called Twilight mom, she already accepts us as her parents. YES! "I'll find her. I need to do something for her."

Fawn looked at me and cocked her head, "What are you going to do?"

I looked at her and grinned, "Just something I've been working on. Do you know where my guitar is?"

She shook her head, but after a small pause, she nodded, "Yeah! I was playing with it the other day... I hope that was okay?"

I chuckled and rubbed her back, "It's okay Fawn, I don't mind if you play with my things. Just as long as you don't break them."

She smiled and gave me a hug, "Thanks dad. So, what are you doing for mom?"

I reached over to the nightstand and pulled open the top shelf. I reached inside and was happy to find that my notebook was still there. I pulled it out and open to the most recent page, "I've wrote a song for her. Hopefully, I can play it."

Fawn looked excited, "You wrote a song?! Can I hear it?"

I chuckled and jumped out of bed, "Sure you can honey. You can listen to me play it for Twilight."

Fawn jumped up and down on the bed excitedly, "Thank you dad!"

Spark awoke due to all the bouncing and turned to look at me. The second he saw me, a large bright smile formed on his face.

I couldn't help but let a large smile form on my face, "That's my boy." I walked around the bed and nuzzled his tummy, causing him to laugh loudly.

Fawn huffed, "I wanna play to daddy?"

Okay, that daddy just made my heart skip a beat. So damn cute, "Come here Fawn."

She smiled happily and bounced over to me.

When she was close, I reached out with my right hoof and pulled her into a hug, "Gotcha!"

She began to laugh and kick at the same time, "NO! Let me go dad!"

I laughed loudly and began nuzzling her cheek, "But I can't! You're just so damn cute!"

[He speaks the truth. But, what do I care? This is just so fucking cute!]

Fawn continued to laugh. Spark was also laughing, just watching and having the time of his little life.

I stopped nuzzling Fawn and looked up Spark, "I haven't forgotten you my boy!"

I reached out and pulled him into me with my left hoof. I now had both of them up against my chest. I laughed loudly and began to nuzzle both of their heads, "I got you now! There's no escape from my grasp!"

Fawn began to laugh and kick, trying to break free, "NOOO!"

Spark just continued to laugh his little head off at our actions.

We continued to mess around for a few minutes, and you know what? I was actually having the time of my life. Those two make me so damn happy!

Soon, I jumped onto the bed, landing on my back. Both Fawn and Spark were still in my forelegs, both laughing and having a good time. I hugged them close and nuzzled each of them, "I love you two."

Fawn smiled and nuzzled my cheek, "I love you two daddy."

Spark just nuzzled my chest.... CUTE!

"I see you're all having fun today." Twilight said cheerfully as she strolled into the room.

I looked down at Fawn and smirked. Fawn smirked also and nodded.

I put Spark to the side, and let Fawn climb off me. I sat up and smiled slyly at Twilight.

She looked at us and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

I just smiled and unfolded my wings. I then shot off the bed and wrapped my forelegs around her. I then flew up slightly, holding her in a tight embrace.

"Lance!" She yelled out, a smile on her face.

I smiled and propelled myself towards the bed, Twilight still pulled tight to my chest.

Once I hit the bed, Fawn jumped up on Twilight and wrapped her legs around Twilight's mid-section, "Got ya mom!"

Twilight chuckled, still on top of me, "You two."

I looked at Fawn and nodded. Fawn jumped off and smiled.

Twilight looked confused, "What are you...."

I twisted around till she was on bottom.

Spark crawled over and began nuzzling Twilight's cheek. This caused Twilight to laugh and nuzzle her son back.

Fawn just sat beside me, laughing.

I leaned down and gave Twilight a small kiss on the cheek. She then returned my kiss and wrapped her forelegs around my neck, "I've missed you."

I smiled and looked at my family, "I've missed you too. All of you. You don't know how hard it is to be away from you for so long."

Fawn wrapped her forelegs around my waist and giggled, "Don't leave again daddy. I missed you to much."

I reached back and pulled her up to lay next to Twilight. I was now standing over both of them, "I'm sorry honey, but I have an important thing to do."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what is this important thing?"

I chuckled, "Don't worry Twi, it's nothing dangerous. We've been invited to come live in a small town called Pleasant Fields. But they want me to come down there alone to check it out."

Twilight looked skeptical, "Alone? Doesn't that seem strange?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, it does. But it seems like a nice place. Besides, I haven't meet a down right evil pony... and I mean a real pony, not a human or something like that."

Twilight furrowed her brow, "I know... but can you just take one of your friends with you? Just one, please. For me?"

I sighed playfully, "Oh Twi, you're always so worried about me. Okay fine, I'll bring one of my friends along."

She smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, "Thanks."

Fawn laughed a little after Twilight kissed me.

I looked at her and smiled, "What? You think it's funny to see mom and dad kissing? How do you like it?!"

I gave Fawn a playful kiss on the cheek, causing her to go into a laughing fit.

Twilight and I just just laughed at her.

Then Fawn stopped and looked at me, "Dad, the.. ummm, thing for mom, remember?"

I nodded, "I remember." I then looked down at Twilight, "One second my love."

I quickly jumped off the bed and ran around the house, looking for my guitar. Once I found it, I ran back into the bed room. Twilight was now sitting on the bed, her legs under her, a comfortable position.

I chuckled and picked up the notebook, "You ready Twi?"

She nodded, "I guess."

Fawn was jumping up and down, "YES! Sing for us dad!"

I stood up on my hind legs, and put the strap of the guitar over my shoulder. I then began to tune the guitar, getting it ready.

Once that was done, I propped it up and strummed it.

"Heaven's gift to me just the way you are,
A new aged child from a distant star.
It feels so good just to be
So close to your love. You are heaven's gift to me.

You are so sweet and pure just the way you are.
Mama's precious jewel. Daddy's rising star.
There's so much in life for you to see.
And so much to be. You are Heaven's gift to me.

La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la la la la

Heaven's gift to me just the way you are,
A new aged child always in my heart.
There's so much in life for you to be,
And so much to see. You are heaven's gift to me.

La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la, la la la la la la la.

La la la la la la, la la la la la,
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la,
There's so much in life for you to see,
And so much to be. You are heaven's gift to me."

Once I finished, I put the guitar down and went to all fours, "So, did you like it?"

Twilight was wiping a tear out of her eye, "Lance, that was beautiful, I loved it!"

I smiled happily and trotted over to the bed.

Fawn had a large smile on her face, "I loved the song dad! Can you write one for me?!"

I chuckled, "Sure, but it may take a while. I'm not very good at writing lyrics."

She frowned for a second, but instantly smiled, "Yay! I can't wait!"

I smiled and nudged Twilight, she giggled and moved over a little, allowing me to get in bed.

I then wrapped my forelegs around Twilight and pulled her close, "I love you so much Twilight."

She smiled and began to snuggle up to me, "I love you too Lance."

Fawn awww'd and laid down beside me, "I love you both."

I smiled, "I love you too Fawn."

Spark crawled over and climbed over Twilight and laid down between us.

We just laughed and held each other, as a family.

Next chapter starts out with them talking to Grace. Yeah, I was low on time today XD

Grace

Chapter 82

Two hours later, library

"Graze is a freaking girl?!" I yelled as Peter finished telling me the situation with Graze.

I looked over at Graze, who was still unconscious on the couch. Vinetion's brew's are to damn strong!

David nodded solemnly, "I think Annabel has something to do with this."

Peter's head shot up, "Annabel!" He then shot out the front door, leaving the four of us behind.

"Okay..." David said as he watched the door slowly close, "Anyways, what are we going to do with Graze?"

I shrugged, "Don't ask me. I'm only going to..."

"W-Wha? Where am I?" Said a female voice behind us.

We turned to see Graze, a confused look on his face.

I chuckled, "Awake I see."

He looked at me, "Who are you?!"

{Why?}

I bowed down to one knee, "My name is Lance Greenfield, also know as Girokon, or Giro for short."

David looked at me and raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Graze stood and looked us over, "Why am I here?"

I stood back up and put on my best smile , "Well, we kinda know you... or a version of you."

Graze cocked his head, "What?"

I rubbed my chin, thinking, "Okay, you see, we know Graze.. you. He's from another dimension, and you're him."

{Sorry, I can't think straight for some reason.}

Graze narrowed his eyes, "Do you need mental help or something? That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

I held up a hoof, "I know it sounds unbelievable, but listen to me. There are many other dimensions out there, and each one has copies of the beings from the others. Meaning, you're his copy and he's your copy. Listen Graze..."

Graze stomped his hoof, "I'm Grace! I'm not this Graze you're talking about!"

[Whoa... I thought Annabel turned him into a mare... what a twist...]

I forced a laugh, "Sorry 'bout that. Okay, Grace, listen to me. You may not be that Graze, but you're still him in a way. For one, you have Kill and Joy as your consciences."

Grace looked taken aback, "H-How do you know about them?!"

[What the... how does he know about us?!] The female Kill said in shock.

I looked at Kill and waved, "Hey Kill."

Now, all three of them was in shock, Grace, Kill, and Joy.

I chuckled, "See? I know you because..."

"THAT IS BULLSHIT! YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE ANY OF THAT CRAP!" She said as she stomped her hoof, causing a small black flame to appear for a second before burning out.

"Fuck, this girl has a temper," Vine said. She then stomped her hoof, causing a vine to curl through the ground towards Grace.

Grace growled and slammed her hoof into the ground.

*Fwoosh*

The vine, which had reached Grace, caught fire and burnt all the way back towards Vinetion.

Vinetion jumped into the air and eyed Grace, "Its on bitch!"

I jumped between the two and went into Breaking Dawn, "Stop it! Listen to me! We are going to talk this out, and be good friends! GOT THAT?!"

Vinetion sighed, "Fine..."

Grace was eyeing me with suspicion, "I'll listen, but I still don't believe any of this crap."

I closed my eyes and forced myself out of Breaking Dawn, "Thank you, shall I begin this long ass explanation?"

Grace jumped up onto the couch and sighed, "Go ahead."

I smiled, "Well...."

Sorry, but this is were I cut it off for the night. Read my blog to know why I've made it so short... Sorry again.

Violent Inferno!

Violent Inferno!

This chapter was done for Purple Blaze. And, it also serves as a plot former. (Meaning, what happens here will affect something very important later on in the story.)

Female Graze XD or Grace

Chapter 83

A long explanation of all the adventures and things me and Graze did later

"... And that pretty much sums it all up." I said, finishing off my long story of me and Graze.

Grace rubbed her chin, "That all seems reasonable... but I still can't believe it."

I furrowed my brow, "What? Why can't you?"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Look, you've taken me from my home, told me a crazy story, and plus, you're saying your from another world or something. Excuse me for being skeptical, but it sounds like a big lie to me."

I sighed, I didn't want to have to do this, "Twi, could you perform that one spell? The one that sends someone into my mind."

Twilight nodded, "Sure, do you want me to come in also?"

I shook my head, "I'd prefer if you stayed out here. Just me and Grace please."

She sighed, "Fine..." With that, her horn began to glow brightly.

Grace took a step back, "What are you doing?"

A bright light engulfed me and Grace...

Inside my mind

That whiteness will always be creepy to me for some reason...

We were now in my mind, with Break and Dawn sitting behind the memory bank, both looking at us with smiles on their faces.

Grace looked around with shock, "Where are we?!"

I chuckled, "My mind."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly, "But, it's so empty in here."

That joke again? *Sigh*

I began to trot over to the computer, "Come here, I've got to show you something."

Grace nodded and followed behind me.

Once I was next to Break and Dawn, Break smirked, "Dude, we could so do a foursome with Grace!"

I glared at him and sighed, "No... just no dude."

"No what?" Grace asked as she stepped beside me.

I looked at her and chuckled, "Oh, its nothing." I then looked at Dawn, "Dawn, could you play all the memories related to Graze please?"

He nodded, "I'm on it!"

He then typed in a few commands and the screen flashed a bright purple. Suddenly, my mind was assaulted with fully detailed memories of me and Graze's time together. Even the memories from when we went to his dimension.

A/N: Read 'Three of me VS School society' for this. Its the first Crossover chapter.

Grace looked shocked, "Y-You mean... I'm really a copy of... another pony from another dimension?!"

I nodded, "Yep, but you're not like him fully. Just in a few ways."

She sighed, "Since we're here, could you show me what you mean by you being from another world?"

I furrowed my brow, should I show her?

Dawn nodded, "I don't see any harm in it."

Break smirked, "Sure, we could show her the porn selection."

Grace smiled, "Porn?! You have porn in here?!"

I laughed at her response, "Yes, but it's not what you would like."

She glared at me, "Why not?"

I smiled awkwardly, "Because all of it feature females."

She shrugged, "So."

Break's eyes widened and a large smile formed on his face, "You're a lesbian?!"

Grace chuckled awkwardly, "Huh, yeah..."

I held a hoof to my mouth, trying not to laugh, "Okay then... lets get to showing you my world, shall we?"

Grace nodded and propped her hooves up on the desk, "Lets do this thing."

Dawn smiled and began sorting through the memory bank, clicking on all the happiest moments of my life... even if there are very few from Earth.

After we had viewed every happy memory I had from Earth, Dawn sat back and stretched out his forelegs, "Well, that's all of them."

Grace raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I still want to see this porn you spoke of."

Break smirked, "Hell yeah! Move over Dawn!" He said as he dumped Dawn out of the chair.

"Hey!" Dawn yelled as sat on the ground rubbing his head.

Break began scrolling through the categories, "Human porn or pony porn?"

Grace smirked, "Human, then pony."

Break slammed his hoof on the table, "Fuck yes! I like this girl!" He then clicked on a category.

My mind was filled with... images. Images from my adventures on the internet... oh God...

After that, Grace was smiling, "That was very arousing. Now, do the pony porn!"

Break smiled happily, "You got it!" He scrolled through and began clicking and dragging a few and putting them together, "I'm gonna show you everything Lance saw on the internet, and everything he's done and seen here."

My eyes widened, "Wait! You're showing her all the times me and Twilight..."

"EEYEP!" He yelled as he hit enter.

Well... my mind was filled with everything I've seen on the internet that involved ponies... but only the dirty side of ponies. The worst was all the video like memories of me and Twilight! I'm going to kill Break!

Once that was finished, Grace fell back laughing, "Whoa, I didn't know you was such a stud in the bed Lance!"

I held up a hoof, "Yeah yeah, laugh it up will ya!"

She slowly stood, whipping a tear out of her eye, "Sorry, but wow. That was just to good! And that pony porn, all I can say is... Sexy."

I started laughing, she is defiantly a version of Graze.

Dawn held up a hoof, "Okay okay, we've all had our fun. But, I think its time you got Grace out of here Lance, before someone does something they'll regret." He said, looking at Break.

Break smirked, "What?"

Dawn sighed, "You know what I mean."

Break began to say something, but I cut him off, "I agree with Dawn, I think its time we got out of here."

Grace awww'd, "But, I want to see more of your private life."

I shook my head, "Nope, we done what we came here to do, now it's time to leave."

I then looked at Dawn and nodded. He nodded back and turned to the computer. Seconds later, I felt myself leaving my mind.

Back to the real world

I slowly stood, my head throbbing, I hated doing that, but it's always fun.

Grace was starting to stand also, "Whoa, that was awesome!"

Vinetion looked at us strangely, "What was it like in there?"

Grace smirked, "Very empty."

Vinetion laughed, "That's what I thought."

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up you two."

David was laughing lightly to himself, "I got to check out your mind sometime Lance."

I shook my head, "Hell no, I'm not letting you in my mind."

David chuckled, "Okay, then I'm not letting you in my mind."

I shrugged, "I wasn't planning on it anyway."

Vinetion cleared her throat, "So, does Grace believe us?"

Grace nodded, "Yes, I believe you guys now."

Twilight stood on her hind legs and clapped her front hooves together, "Yay! We're all friends now!"

I chuckled at her actions, "Yep, all friends... We are friends, right Grace?"

She smiled and nodded, "We're friends."

[Is it wrong that I want to fuck Kill?] Break said while rubbing his chin.
{Yes, its very wrong.}
[But she's a mare, so its not wrong, is it?] Break questioned.
[It's not wrong, but you're not my type.] Said the female Kill.
Dawn said while laughing.
[Dawn.... I'm going to kill you.] Break said angrily.

Grace and I just laughed at this, causing everyone in the room to look at us strangely.The

"What are you laughing at?" David asked.

I smiled and shook my head, "Nothing dude."

Vinetion began to say something, but the screams of ponies outside cut her off.

"What the..." I began to say, but more screams cut me off.

Vinetion was the first to act, she galloped to the door and looked out, "Oh shit..."

The rest of us ran over to the door, "What?!"

From the door, I couldn't see anything. But once I stepped outside, I Peter... or what should have been Peter. What I saw instead was something much darker.

It was Peter, of that I was sure. His coat was slightly darker, and so was his mane and tail. He had a look in his eyes, the look of pure rage.

"What? Peter?" David said in shock.

Peter looked towards us and growled angrily.

"Crap..." I said as Peter launched himself towards us.

Ten minutes earlier

Peter galloped down the street, a desperate look on his face.

He had to get back to the boutique, before Annabel.

He galloped for three minutes before he came to the door of the boutique, and to his horror, the door was slightly open.

He growled slightly and burst through the door, "Rarity!"

As he looked around, he didn't see her, not at first. Then, saw her. She was under a blanket, on her couch.

"Rarity?" He said as he walked over to her.

"Don't look at me! I'm hideous!" She yelled in a dramatic voice.

Peter gulped and pulled the blanket off. Underneath, Rarity was pure green, and her mane was a dark green.. this is not good.

She screamed out when he pulled it off of her, "Leave me alone! I'm hideous!"

Peter picked her up and held her, "What happened?"

She sniffled, "Annabel said she played a prank on me... WHY?!"

Peter held her closer, but then his eyes, laid on something that made his stomach turn. It was his guitar... snapped in half.

His eye twitched, "My guitar... my beloved guitar... AHHHHH!"

He screamed out in rage and agony as he jumped away from Rarity. His muscles rippled slightly and he felt his mind slip away from him. He collapsed to the ground and screamed into air as his body began to change.

Rarity backed away in horror, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, Peter jumped up and slammed his hoof into the ground, causing it to crack the wooden floor, "THIS IS OVER!" He flew towards the door and slammed into it, taking it off the hinges.

He flew into the air and screamed out in anger. He was no longer Peter... he was something born of pent up anger and pain.

Present time

As Peter flew towards us, I saw he wasn't going for me, but Vinetion.

He pulled back his hoof, ready to strike her. Vinetion was still in shock at the sudden change in events.

He neared her and threw his hoof forward, aimed for her face.

*POW*

He looked up in confusion as he saw his hoof make contact with my face.

I had jumped in the way of his blow, taking it full force.

I felt dazed from the hit, but quickly recovered. I grabbed his hoof and forced him to the ground, "Don't hit mares!"

I then twisted his hoof, causing him to fall to the ground, "Peter, whats gotten into you?!"

He smiled and pulled me down to him, and once I was close, he slammed his head into my snout, causing me to yelp and jumped back.

He took this opportunity to slam into me and send me sprawling across the ground. As I struggled to stand up, I looked directly at him.

He smirked and pointed a hoof at me, "Peter does not exist anymore. My name is... Violent Inferno!"

Suddenly, a hoof connected with his head, sending him flying for a few feet. Grace landed on all fours and laughed, "You're not that strong."

Violent Inferno stood and whipped a hoof across his mouth, "So, the little bitch wants to play with the big boys?"

She growled and grit her teeth, "What did you call me?!"

Violent Inferno smiled, "I called you a bitch. What? You don't like that name bitch?"

Grace stomped her hoof, causing black flames to curl upward, "That's it!"

{Got it.}

Grace propelled herself forward and raised a burning hoof.

Violent Inferno chuckled and flew towards her.

They connected with a loud bang, but when the smoke cleared, Inferno stood on his hind legs, holding Grace's now regular hoof, "Really? Is that all you got bitch?"

I looked at Grace and saw a small amount of blood trickling down from her nose....

Inferno tossed Grace into the air slightly and caught her, holding her up by her shoulders, "What should I do to you? Fast death, or slow painful death?"

"Neither!" I yelled as I tackled him to the ground, causing Grace to fall to the ground.

We rolled for a few feet, and when we stopped, I was on top, my fire filled eyes staring daggers into him, "Do not! And I fucking repeat! Do not hit a fucking mare!"

I slammed my hoof into chest, causing him to gasp... but instead of pulling in air, he twisted, knocking me off, and bucked me with extreme strength right in the chin.

This caused me to fly upward, dazed. Once I hit the ground, I felt a sharp kick to the stomach. This sent me flying into a building, leaving a large crack in it.

I looked up to see Inferno trotting towards me.

You know, fuck this shit! I don't care if he's Peter! I've had enough of this!

[For once I agree with Dawn, don't do it!]

I stood and screamed in rage, letting anger take over my actions.

Once this little transformation was over, I slammed my hooves into the ground and looked at Inferno, "Raging Breaking Dawn!"

He stopped walking and smiled. He then began to clap, "I like this form. This will be fun!"

I glared, "I'll show you fun!"

We stood there, only a street separating us, and you know what? It actually began to rain right at that moment, a sudden down pour.

Inferno looked up and laughed, "This is getting interesting." He looked back at me and raised an eyebrow, "You're smoking my friend."

I looked at myself and saw that when the rain touched my skin, it sent up a small amount of smoke. I smiled and looked up, "Enough distractions. Shall we fight to the death?"

Inferno nodded, "I though you would never ask."

Meanwhile, Fluttershy's cottage

Fluttershy walked out of the small shed behind her house and smiled. She was having a good time today. Malbatorus had been a great help. He had helped her fix her roof after that large wind storm they had a few nights ago.

She shuddered as she remembered the howling winds, but trotted towards her house with a large smile.

That is, until she heard what sounded like a large boom from above and the sound of lightning.

She yelped in surprise and dived to the ground, covering her face.

When she looked up towards the sky, she saw what looked like a huge, scary dark cloud shaped like a tunnel. There was a long trial of black smoke leading from it and that trial of smoke lead straight into the Everfree Forest, only a minutes walk from her house.

She debated if she should go check it out, but didn't know if she should. Malbatorus was still off flying around, and there was no telling when he would be back.

But, she felt like she should check it out.

"Be brave Fluttershy." She said to herself as she walked towards the impact zone of whatever that was that came from above.

Once she neared the impact zone, she saw a small crater. She instantly wanted to turn and run, but forced herself to go on.

When she reached the crater's edge, she peered down into it. In it was a pony, a earth pony by his looks. He had a black and silver mane and tail. He was wearing a pair of silver tinted goggles, and a assortment of clothes, including: A black under suit, a black cap like piece of clothing, a light grey vest, orange leg bands on his hind legs, and bright blue leg bands on his front... but those didn't look normal, they looked metallic.

The pony in the crater slowly stood, "Wha... am I still in the Aperture Laboratories?" He rubbed his head and looked up. When he saw Fluttershy, a weak smile formed on his face, "I did it.... I really did it..."

And with that, he fell back, unconscious.

Fluttershy's protective side took over and she jumped into the crater, "Oh, you poor dear." She looked around, unsure of what to do.

She then looked back at him, she could see that he was badly hurt. But, how could he have got those kind of injuries from a fall? It looks like he's been burned severely on his right side. There was small amounts of blood pouring out of small cuts that covered his face and neck. What happened to him?

She quickly put him on her back and trotted back to her house. She intended to nurse him back to heal, and find out what had happened... hopefully she can get past her shyness for a few hours.

She made her way to her cottage, and once there, she went in side. She walked upstairs and put him on her bed.

She would just sleep on the couch till he was better, she didn't mind.

After she had him in the bed comfortably, she walked downstairs to get some soup started. Soup was always the best medicine sometimes.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the mysterious pony began to wake, a pain filled groan escaped his lips as he forced himself to sit up.

Once he was propped up against the backboard of the bed, he looked around and smiled happily.

"I did it. I actually got away from that place. I actually made it to Equestria!" He said as he began to laugh with joy, ignoring the growing pain in his sides and throat.

Well now, that's a nice turn of events, huh? A new challenger for Fluttershy's heart maybe? Who is this new pony, and where is he from? (Its kinda obvious XD )

Next chapter should be long. I'm not going to school tomorrow... I twisted my damn ankle XD Here's a lesson for you all: When you're walking through a wet field, don't try to hope over puddles. I jumped over one and got my foot stuck in a damn hole. Yeah, that felt like rainbow's and cotton candy XD

Well now...

I think I did a good job with this :D I really like the first scene though... not sure why though XD

Chapter 84

Fluttershy blew on the soup, trying to cool it down. It may have taken her a little longer to make it, but she didn't mind. The pony should still be asleep in her bed.

She picked up the tray with the soup on it and placed it on her back. She then trotted upstairs, carefully balancing it.

When she reached her room, she carefully pushed the door open and trotted in. Inside, the pony was sitting up in the bed, looking out the window. But when she walked in, he turned to her and smiled.

Fluttershy eeped, but built up her courage and walked over to the bed, "How are you feeling?" She asked in a small voice, barely a whisper.

The pony chuckled, "I feel fine, a little sore, but fine."

Fluttershy put the tray in front of him and stepped back and looked him over.

The pony looked at the soup, his mouth watering, "Real food! Finally!" He then picked it up with his front hooves and put it to his lips. He tilted the bowl upward, drinking the soup deeply. When he finished, he put the bowl down and rubbed his stomach, "Oh thank God for that, I don't know how much longer I could have gone just eating that sterilized crap."

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side, was he a... "Ummm, excuse me."

He looked at her and smile, "Yes?"

She gulped, trying to resist the urge to leave the room, "A-Are you a friend of Lance's?"

He rubbed his chin, "I know a Lance, but that was back on earth.... oh crap..."

Fluttershy cocked her head, "What?"

He smiled awkwardly, "Hehe, I just pretty much told you I wasn't from this world."

Fluttershy shrugged, "I-It's okay... there's other's here like you... have you met them yet?"

Now he looked confused, "What? There's others here like me? What does that mean?"

Fluttershy took a step back, "Uhh... there's other humans here. A-Are you a human?"

He nodded, "I am." He then tried to get out of bed, but hissed in pain and fell back on it.

Fluttershy ran over, and examined him, "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, there's bruises and cuts all over your body."

He chuckled awkwardly, "I'm okay, I promise. I've had worst done to me." Again, he tried to get out of bed, but it resulted in the same thing.

Fluttershy put her hooves on his shoulders and made him stop moving, "You have to stay in bed. You're hurt, and shouldn't be up and about."

He sighed and laid his head back, "Okay, I can do that."

Fluttershy then nodded and backed up, "So... could you tell me what happened... I mean, if that's okay with you."

The pony smiled and forced himself to sit up again, "Sure, but first, I should tell you my name. My name is Alexander, but I would prefer to be called Silver Charger, or Port if you prefer."

Fluttershy just looked at him, "I like that name, I mean, the name Alexander. It sounds interesting... Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you, please, continue."

Alexander grinned, "Oh its fine. Now, I'll start from the very beginning." He cleared his throat and relaxed a little, "Well, about 10 months ago, the Rapture happened for us humans. When I was put in front of God, I was given a choice of where I go. So I chose the world of Portal."

Fluttershy raised her hoof into the air.

Alexander stopped his story and smiled, "Yes?"

She looked sheepish, "What's Portal?"

He laughed a little, "Oh, it's just a game we have back on earth. I've always enjoyed it and wanted to go live there... bad choice for me I guess. Anyways, may I continue?"

She nodded in response.

Alexander fixed his goggles and smiled, "Well, I was sent there, and it was fun for the first few days. I mean, other people went there, and I have to say. Most of them were just down right jerks! They were always trying to prove who's better, while I and a few others were just enjoying the Portal guns we had. After a few months, the others began to get more and more aggressive towards each other, each wanting control of the Enrichment Center. The AI GLaDOS did a good job at keeping control, but only for a while. Soon, they found the central processing plant. After that, everything went to hell. There was no control over what was happening, and people were doing what they wanted." He then sighed and shook his head, "I knew I had to get out of there, but I didn't know how. Luckily, when they broke out of the Enrichment Center, they made it were we could access the main labs. I was able to do a little research and test. After another month, I had made a break through, thanks to my friend Jinx. Sadly, the others heard of this and wanted out as well.... God, it was horrible! We barricaded the lab, but they used those damn Portal guns to get in! They forced me and Jinx to continue the work, and once we finish, they used the device we made to try and escape the facility. What we didn't tell them was that we were intending to go to another world, not just leave the facility. Some of them left, but most stayed and wanted us to do more research for them. Jinx didn't like that idea and told me we had to get that device and leave. To shorten this, we had to fight for it, but have you ever tried to fight off twenty fully grown men! Not easy, I'll tell you that, and it doesn't help when they're pros at Portals... anyways, we got away, but I don't know what world Jinx went to, but I don't care. All I know is I'm happy, and he's more than likely happy."

Fluttershy stood there, shocked at all the information she had just been given. She didn't understand some of what he said, but it all registered, "A-Are... Wow... I'm so sorry you had to go through that..."

He waved her off and smiled, "Don't worry about it, I'm happy here. All I know is that the device worked and it sent me to the world I desired. I should have came here in the first place... Oh well, live and regret."

Fluttershy smiled slightly and looked him over yet again, "Do you need anything else?"

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm fine... wait a second." He lifted his front hooves and looked at his blue bracelets, "Are those.... No way!" He pointed his left leg up ward and a strange ball of energy shot out. The ball of energy hit the ceiling, producing a circle. He then pointed his right hoof at the wall opposite of the bed.

Fluttershy jumped back in surprise, "Wh-What is that?"

He smiled and looked at his fore hooves, "Those, are Portal guns, or at least a version of them. I can't believe I still have it!"

She then looked at the two holes, one blue, one orange, "What are those?"

Alexander chuckled, "I'll show you." He picked up the pillow next to him and threw it through the orange hole. The pillow then fell through the blue hole and landed on his lap.

Fluttershy's mouth hung open, "How did you do that?!"

He smiled, "Science." He then laughed to himself.

Fluttershy cocked her head, "Can you show me more?"

He nodded, "I'd be happy to."

Ponyville, center of town

Play this, It was playing while I was typing, so it fits I guess XD

Violent Inferno laughed loudly and jumped forward, soaring towards me.

I smiled and twisted around. I then kicked backwards with my hind legs, but all they met was air.

"To slow!"

I looked to the side, but a pair of hooves slammed into my face, knocking me to the side.

I slowly stood and whipped my face, "So, you're fast, so what? You haven't seen..."

I was cut off by the sound of hoof hitting flesh. I flew back, holding my throat.

[I didn't even see him move!]

I lay on the ground, coughing, trying to stay in my transformation. Damn, without oxygen, I can't sustain this form!

Grace stepped in front of me, black flames curling up from her now spread wings, "Stay back! If you want a challenge, then face me!"

[Stay back boys, let the ladies handle this] Kill said, cracking her neck.
Joy said, a smile on her face.

[Lance, get up! I'm not going to be shown up by a bunch of girls!]

Inferno smiled, "A little bitch is going to try and fight me? Pathetic." He then sprang forward, slamming into Grace.

But, Grace was ready for this kind of attack, and grabbed him. She pulled him up and stood on her hind legs, Inferno held tight in her forelegs. She smiled, "Do you know how flexible I am?"

She then slammed her body backwards, slamming Inferno's head into the hard cobblestone road. He hind legs were still on the ground, and her back was arched upward... damn, she is flexible!

Inferno looked dazed from the impact. Grace then swung her body back up and jumped forward, slamming Inferno into the ground a second time. Now, she was sitting on top of his chest, "Not so bad now, huh?"

He tried to laugh, but all that came out was a wheezing sound. Grace just laughed and began to slam her hooves into his face, "Come on! Come on! Unconsciousness, here we come!"

Suddenly, Inferno's hooves shot up and grabbed her front hooves. He smiled and jumped up, holding Grace at eye level by her forelegs, "Is this all you can.."

*POW*

His head snapped to the side as I landed a few feet away, holding my chest. There was a few drops of blood dripping from a long cut across my chest... but how?! I hit him! Not the other way around!

I turned and looked at him, he had a large smirk on his face, "How did you do this?!"

He smiled, "Oh, just something I picked up while I was in a different dimension."

Omnius.... He learned this in Omnius's dimension?!

Inferno looked back to Grace and chuckled, "Now, lets remove one threat, shall we?" He then reared back his head and slammed it into hers, knocking her out almost instantly.

My blood began to boil, a new feeling taking over, "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT HITTING MARES?!"

I sprang forward, and slammed into him. I then began to slam my hooves into his unprotected face, leaving big blotches of burnt fur.

*Crunch*

My head snapped back as his hoof slammed into it, and I'm pretty sure he just broke my snout! I stumbled back, and was assaulted by massive punches. I finally fell to the ground, reverting back to normal.

Inferno stood over me laughing, "Really? This is what I have to fight? *Sigh* Boring." He then raised his hoof into the air and brought it over my head, "Goodbye pest."

[Fuck...]

He then brought his hoof downward... but suddenly, a vine wrapped around it and yanked it away from me.

More vines shot out and wrapped around Inferno, raising him into the air.

Vinetion walked up and shook her head, "Can't handle yourself, huh Lance?"

I sighed, "Shut up Vine."

She smiled and looked at Inferno, "So, you like hurting my friends huh? Well, now its my turn to hurt you!"

The vines began to tighten, but Inferno just laughed, "Oh, a Challenge!"

The sound of vines being stretched could be heard, then, Inferno burst from the vines and charged towards Vinetion.

He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air, "Slow or fast death?"

She glared, "I'm not going to die by you!"

He pulled back a hoof, "We'll see."

*POW*

Inferno was sent flying, and Vinetion fell to the ground, coughing for air.

I looked up weakly, who just hit.... Oh God! Mr. Bleak!

Inferno stood up shakily and looked at Mr. Bleak, "Who the fuck are you?!"

Mr. Bleak chuckled, "Oh, just your worst nightmare."

Inferno chuckled lightly, "Good one."

He then shot forward... and was caught in mid air by Mr. Bleak, "To slow my dear boy." He then slammed him into the ground, actually cracking the cobblestone.

Mr. Bleak then tossed him into the air and flew up to meet him, "We having fun yet?"

Inferno spat in his face.

Mr. Bleak chuckled, "I take that as a no." He then threw Inferno towards the ground, causing him to bounce a few times.

Mr. Bleak landed a few yards away and began to advance on the now stationary Inferno.

However, when he neared, Inferno spun around, throwing a hoof full of dirt into Mr. Bleak's eyes.

Mr. Bleak stumbled back rubbing his eyes.

*POW* *POW*

Inferno slammed his front hoof into Mr. Bleak's chest, surprising him. He then did a back flip, slamming both of his hind legs into Mr. Bleak's chin, causing him to fly backwards.

[Holy shit!]

Inferno exhaled and smiled, "Who's next?" He looked around, "No one? I guess I'll start finishing off the weaklings."

Shit! Move Lance! Damn it!

Inferno looked at Grace, who was still unconscious, "I'll start with you."

As he made his way over to her, a vine shot out and trapped around his right foreleg.

"Did you forget about me!" Vinetion yelled as she stomped her hoof again.

Inferno smiled, "Nope, just saving you." He then pulled the vine towards him, causing it to snap out of the ground. He then looped it in on fluid motion and threw it towards Vinetion. She didn't have time to react as it wrapped around her neck. He then pulled her towards him and slammed his head into hers. Knocking her out cold.

[KILL HIM LANCE! I DON'T CARE IF HE'S PETER! KILL HIM, KILL HIM NOW!]

Screw this! I forced myself to stand... only to have Vinetion's unconscious body slam into me. We both flew backwards with her momentum and came to a stop with a sudden jerk.

Now, I'm to weak to even move!

"Killing two birds with one stone. Not bad. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, killing off the pest." Inferno said as he continued his advance on Grace.

"Peter! Don't do it!" I heard a female voice scream out.

I turned my head to the side. SHIT! Why must Rarity intervene... why is she green? Not important! She shouldn't be here, its dangerous!

Inferno stopped and looked at her, "There is no more Peter, only Violent Inferno!"

She ran up to him and jumped into him, wrapping her forelegs around his neck, "Peter, listen to me! I know you're in there! I don't want you to keep doing this! You're hurting our friends!"

[I know this is bad timing... but where is David and Twilight?]

Inferno growled, "Get off me you bitch! I care not for you!"

Rarity began to cry, "Peter! I love you, I don't like this side of you! You're scaring me!"

[He's scaring you? WHAT ABOUT US! WE'RE COVERED IN BATTLE WOUNDS FROM HIM!]

Inferno's composure waved for a second, but he went back to growling, "I do not love-AHHHH! I do not love-AHHHHH! FUCK!" He then pushed Rarity off of him and put his forelegs to his head, "MAKE IT STOP!" He began to slam his head against the hard stone road.

Rarity ran over to him and used her magic to sustain him, "You can do it Peter! Fight it!"

Oh wow... she's actually breaking him from that damn what ever it is that has him acting like this.

Inferno screamed out one last time before a bright light engulfed his body. Once the light cleared, I could see Peter, the real Peter, laying on the ground unconscious.

Rarity then collapsed next to him and held him in her forelegs, "Oh Peter..."

Okay, one problem solved... now, what about us! Vinetion and Grace are unconscious, and I'm to weak to even move! And Mr. Bleak... Where did he go? Mr. Bleak was no longer laying on the ground where he use to be... damn, he can take a hit.

"Lance!" I heard Twilight scream out.

She ran up and gently levitated Vinetion off me. She then jumped on me, wrapping me in her warm embrace.

I smiled and looked her in the eyes, "And where was you during that little fight?"

She chuckled, "I was still by the library door... Sorry I didn't help."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Oh, its fine. I'm happy you stayed out of that. I don't know what I would have done if you would have gotten hurt."

She smiled and nuzzled my snout... causing a large amount of searing pain to shoot through my head.

She picked up on this and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about that... let me fix it."

Her horn began to glow, and I felt my snout being repaired...

Now let me say this, it HURT LIKE A MOFO! I could actually feel the bones moving, and damn! It hurt!

Once that was over, I was able to stand, but I stayed on the ground, enjoying Twilight's loving embrace.

"My freaking head!" I heard Grace say as she sat up.

She looked around and saw Peter and Rarity. She then looked at me and smiled, "We kick his ass?"

I shook my head, "Nope. It was beauty that tamed the beast."

[Isn't it, 'It was beauty that killed the beast'?]
{Yeah, but Peter is still alive, so it doesn't really fit, now does it?}

Grace chuckled and stood up, "Well damn... We still won, right?"

I nodded, "We won."

She began to jump up and down, "Oh yeah! Take that you bastard!"

I chuckled and gave Twilight a fast kiss on the cheek, I then stood and popped my back.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. Frederic appeared, dressed in his custom Royal Guard armor, "I'm ready to fight this new threat!"

I began to laugh.

He looked at me, "What?"

I grinned, "You're kinda late to the party dude. We already fixed it."

He groaned and kicked the ground, "Darn! I knew I shouldn't have taken the time to put on this armor!" He then looked at me hopefully, "But, do I still look badass?"

I smiled and nodded, "You look very badass."

He pumped his hoof into the air, "Yes! I'm badass!"

[He...]
{Don't even say it Break.}

Frederic then looked at Rarity and Peter, "Let me guess, Annabel played a prank on Rarity, and caused Peter to go on a rage?"

I nodded, "Pretty much."

Frederic nodded, "I'll have a talk with her about those pranks. Also, while we're on subject, she wanted me to give this to Peter. I didn't know why, but I do now." He then reached over his back and pulled out a guitar.

[A Fender Stratocaster! That lucky bastard!]

He levitated it over to Rarity. She grabbed it and put it next to Peter, "Prince Frederic, could you teleport me and Peter home?"

Frederic nodded, "Sure." His horn glowed, and Peter and Rarity disappeared.

Grace walked over to Vinetion, "Where does she live?"

I pointed to the other side of town, "The house right next to the Whitetail forest, can't miss it. Its the only one with vines all over it."

Grace chuckled and struggled to lift Vinetion onto her back, "Damn, she's heavy... don't tell her I said that, she'll kill me."

We all laughed at that, because its probably true.

As she walked away, Frederic sighed, "Well, I'm off to the Palace."

I held up a hoof, "Wait, I need to ask you something."

He nodded, "Go ahead."

"Well, I got a invitation in the mail that has invited me and my family to go live in a small town called Pleasant Fields. They want me to come alone, but Twilight wants me to bring a friend along. So, do you want to come?"

Frederic tapped his chin, then smiled, "Sure, I haven't had much time to myself lately. I'll tell Tinker to watch over the kids and ask Celestia if she could take up my duties."

I smiled and held out my hoof, "Oh yeah! Time for some male bonding!"

[No homo!]

Frederic chuckled and slammed his hoof into mine, "This is gonna be fun!"

Twilight chuckled behind us, "Oh you boys."

Aaron and Vinyl Scratch's house

Aaron awoke from his nap and sat up. The pounding on the door continued.

He groaned, why did ponies have to come at such an early time?! (Its only 1:13 PM in the afternoon.)

He fell out of bed and hit the floor with a thud. Vinyl rolled over and looked down at him with sleepy eyes, "*Yawn* You okay Aaron?"

He lifted his head and rubbed his snout, "Yeah, just hit my face is all." He then forced himself to stand up and made his way to the front door.

After navigating himself through the house, he came to the door. He opened it to see Cody.

Aaron smiled awkwardly, "Hey Cody... what brings you here?"

Cody smiled and reached into his mail bag, "A whole new shipment of packages came into the mail office today. Enough for every house in the area! Ditzy and I are having a hard time delivering them all, but we're making good time."

Aaron took the package from Cody and smiled, "Well, I hope you two have a good day.... thanks."

Cody smiled happily, "Oh, we are. See you later, I've got more packages to deliver!"

Aaron closed the door and walked back into the bed room. Upon entering, Vinyl looked at the box curiously.

"Whats in the box?" She asked.

Aaron shrugged, "I don't know. Lets find out." He then sat it down and broke the tap off.

Inside was a rectangle like box.. wait, "Is that a... radio?!"

Vinyl picked it up with her magic and looked it over, "A what?"

"A radio. Its suppose to receive radio broadcast... Whats this?" He said as he reached into the box and pulled out a note.

Dear future listener,

We here at Shattered Sounds radio station are proud to bring you: The first ever Radio broadcast in Equestria! To use your radio, just turn the nob to on. This will get the magic flowing, thus making it so that you can hear us! We hope you enjoy our show!

Sincerely,
Grey Byte and White Noise

Aaron put the note down and smiled, "Oh hell yeah! Vinyl, turn the nob!"

She smiled and turned it to the on position.

This song began to play over the radio

Aaron furrowed his brow, "Oh this can't be good... we've got bronies running the first ever radio station in Equestria."

Vinyl was nodding her head, "I like this music... of course, the beat needs to be faster."

Aaron chuckled, "It's a good song none the less."

Vinyl smiled and continued to listen to the song.

When it finished, a male voice came over the radio, "Hey there ponies! This here is White Noise!"

"And this is Grey Byte!"

"And we're bring you the jams and news at all times of the day!"

"Oh yeah! Its great to be the only radio station, do you agree White?"

"I sure do Grey! Now, lets get this news out of the way and move onto the music!"

"Okay everypony, time for a little news! It's raining! And that is all, lets get that music up!"

"On it Grey!"

Suddenly, it switched over to this song.

Vinyl smiled, "Ohhh, I like them! Maybe we could get on the radio! What do you think Aaron?"

Aaron grinned and gave a nod, "I say, we do it!"

Vinyl began to jump and clap her hooves, "I'll get a track set up!"

"And I'll get some coffee!" Aaron said making his way to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, he looked through the cabinets and frowned, "Well shit! We're out of coffee!"

Onward to Pleasant Fields! Next chapter starts off the Pleasant Fields plot, so be ready :D

Oh yeah! I may do two updates in one day D: OH YEAH!

Pleasant Fields: Arrival

Two very large chapters in one day :D YES! I beat my last personal best XD

Chapter 85

The next day

"That everything Frederic?" I asked as I stood outside of the Everfree Forest.

Frederic nodded, "Yep! I got enough food to last us a month!... or a few hours, knowing you."

I waved him off, "Oh you. I won't eat it all... at once."

He chuckled and waved towards the forest, "Let's go then! Get a move on boy, I gotta see this pleasant little town!"

I began to walk down the path, "Okay, then follow the brony!"

He laughed and trotted beside me, "That's easy."

I looked up, "Is that so?"

Before he respond, I shot forward, ready to race.

Frederic smiled and adjusted the straps on his saddlebags, "Oh, you're going down Lance!" And with that, he shot forward.

I had a large lead on him, but damn, he's still pretty damn fast!

Frederic caught up to me in no time, "Still slow Lance!"

I held up a hoof, "Maybe.. but watch this."

{Break, you may take over.}
[FUCK YES!]

Break took control and pushed my mind back, taking over my body, "Well, hey there Frederic! You ready for a real challenge?"

Frederic looked over and smiled, "Hey there Break. How you doing? Also, eat my dust!"

Frederic pulled ahead, but was pulled back when Break grabbed his tail, "Oh no you don't!"

Break held onto Frederic's tail, just trailing him.

Frederic stopped suddenly and Break shot ahead a few feet before turning around, "What? Can't handle the Break?"

Frederic chuckled, "I'm not even going to try and race you Break. You cheat to much."

Break bowed, "Thank you my good man."

{Okay, you had your fun. Give me control again.}
[Awwww... but that was fun!]

[Ugh! Fine!]

I felt a cool feeling wash over my body as I was given control of my body again. I then looked at Frederic, "Okay, lets get moving."

Frederic nodded, "I can't wait to see this town!"

And skip ahead four days of walking. It was uneventful, unless you consider Lance eating the wrong kind of berries eventful XD

"LANCE YOU DUMBASS!" Fredric screamed as we sprinted down the dirt path.

"I'M SORRY! HOW WAS I SUPPOSE TO KNOW THAT BANDANNA WAS THAT FREAKING MONKEY'S?!"

Behind us was a large crowd of pissed off monkey's... yes, I said monkey's! Well, not really monkey's, chimps if you would prefer... damn, off topic!

"WELL, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO PISS THEM ALL OFF BY CRAPPING ON THEIR FOOD SUPPLIES!"

I laughed, "DUDE, YOU KNOW THOSE BERRIES DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH ME!"

Frederic looked ahead and veered off to the right into the forest, "SHIT!"

Up ahead was another group of chimps, all pissed off. Yeah, lets follow Frederic.

I followed him through the undergrowth. The sounds of hoots and screeches could be heard behind us.

"FUCK!" Frederic yelled out from up ahead.

When I arrived, I yelled out the same thing. In front of us was a steep cliff, at least a hundred feet down.

We turned to see the group of primates, all smiling at the easy catch.

I jumped up and hugged Frederic, "It was nice knowing ya man!"

"Same here man!"

As the monkey's advanced, I felt like I needed to say something, "Frederic?"

"Yeah Lance?"

"I have a confession to make."

He looked at me, "What is it?"

I took a deep breath, "I used swords to dig a ditch... and I used you're tooth brush for a sex toy one night when Twilight was feeling a little extra horny.."

His mouth hung open, "You used my swords to dig a freaking ditch?! Wait... you did what with my tooth brush?!"

I stepped back and began to act out what I was saying, "Well Twilight wanted a little extra stimulation on her marehood, so I used it there. She also tied me up and stuck it in my... you get the picture.... we had a lot of fun with that little tooth brush that night... We sure do miss it."

Frederic began to gag, "AHHHHHHH! I've been using it a lot lately! AHHHH WHY!"

I looked at the chimps to see them all standing there, a few laughing.

Frederic was still gagging, trying to make himself throw up.

Soon, the group of monkey's began to advance again.

I backed up and sighed, "Whelp, we're screwed."

I facehoofed, "We have wings Frederic..."

"I freaking forgot!"

I jumped up, followed by Frederic. The crowd of chimps began to rage at their lost chance for revenge.

I laughed and flew above their out reached arms, "Oh, look! The monkey's wanted to kill me!"

Frederic just laughed and hovered in place.

I flew over to the edge to look down in, "Wow, that is deep."

Suddenly, a very angry monkey charged out of the group and jumped for me. I shifted to the side, causing the monkey to fly past me and into the gorge.

I looked down to see it falling, its arms stretched upward. I began to laugh and point, "Stupid monkey!"

*Splat*

What just hit me in the... SICK! "Run Frederic! They're slinging their crap!"

Frederic was whipping some off his face also, "I know!"

*Splat*

Another hit his face, "Oh God! They're accurate!"

"FLY AWAY!"

We then turned in mid-air and bolted away.

The next day

"So close... must continue... oh fuck it." I said as I collapsed in pain. I need food! And Frederic won't give me any!

He looked at me and shook his head, "You shouldn't have used my tooth brush as a play thing."

I groaned, "Please give me the food!"

He sighed, "Fine, but just because you're freaking annoying when you're hungry." He pulled a sandwich out of his pack and tossed it to me.

I smiled and jumped into the air and caught it in my mouth. I then swallowed the whole thing in one bit, "Drink please!"

He sighed and pulled out my favorite drink, Coke! He tossed it to me.

I jumped into the air again and caught it in my mouth. I landed and broke the cap off with my teeth, I then chugged the entire bottle in five seconds flat.

[Take that Rainbow Dash!]

[... Nah, I'm good...]

I tossed the empty bottle to the side and burped, "Oh yeah! That hits the bucking spot!"

Frederic sighed, "Glad you're happy... that was the last Coke in all of Equestria."

My mouth hung open, but then I smiled, "So damn worth it though."

two hours later, high noon. 1/2 mile from Pleasant Fields

"Dude, I gotta piss!" I said as I stopped by a bush.

Frederic sighed and continued to walk, "Hurry up."

I chuckled and walked over to the bush. I then stood up on my hind legs and released the river!

[Old habits never die old.]

[Look at us! We're pissing while standing up!]
<Oh... OH HAHAHA!]

*Sound of bushes moving*

I looked down, "Huh?"

Suddenly, a squirrel jumped out and latched onto my nu.... yeah, you know what it was grabbing.

I fell back and began trying to get it off, "NO! You can not have those nuts to store for the winter!" I finally knocked it off. I gave it a sharp kick and jumped to my hooves, "Come on! Try that shit again!"

The squirrel stood and smiled. It let out a small screech.

I cocked my head, "What are you.... OH MY GOD!"

Frederic continued to walk towards the town, he could barely see it, so close!

"AHHHHHHH!" He heard as I shot past him, screaming my head off.

"What did you do now?" Frederic asked as he kept trotting.

"TURN AROUND!"

He turned and his mouth hung open, "SQUIRREL'S!" He turned and galloped after me.

Behind us, there was a squirrel wave... no I'm serious! Have you seen cartoons where animals or something is coming towards some one and its like its a freaking wave?! That's what was behind us! That squirrel wave must have been ten feet high!

"To the wind!" Frederic shouted as he jumped into the air and began to fly upward.

I soon followed, unfolding my wings and flying upward.

I looked back at the squirrel's and laughed. I pat my groin and smirked, "Those nuts are for me and me only!... Okay and Twi, but you get the point you stupid squirrel's!"

Three minutes later

Frederic and I landed on the outside of the town.

This town looked a lot like Ponyville, but the buildings were spread out a lot more. There were a few buildings pushed together to form little shops and the such. I could see the center of the town, a large stage.

[Nice town.]

{We might.}

Frederic whistled, "Nice! I think I'm going to enjoy our stay here."

I nodded with a smile, "I think I will too. Shall we check out the town?"

Frederic nodded and took a step forward, "Lets."

We then proceeded to walk into the town.

All the ponies there all looked at me and waved, but didn't really pay attention to Frederic. In fact, I'm sure I caught a few giving him a worried look.

A few ponies walked past and gave their waves and good afternoon's.

I smiled and waved to another pony, "Yep, I'm gonna love this place."

Frederic was also smiling and looking at the buildings, "I'm so checking some of those out later."

"Welcome to Pleasant Fields Lance Greenfield." Said a voice behind us.

We turned to see a grey unicorn wearing a brown suit with long sleeves, and his eyes. Whoa, those eyes, they were almost pure blue. I smiled and held out my hoof, "Pleasure to meet you..."

"Draco." He answered for me.

I continued to smile, "Pleasure to meet you Draco... say, doesn't Draco mean dragon?"

He smiled and nodded, "It sure does! I love this name!" He then looked at Frederic with worry, "And, umm, who's your friend?"

I chuckled and gestured to Frederic, "This here is Frederic, Prince Frederic to be exact."

Frederic smiled warmly and extended a hoof, "You can just call me Frederic if you want. It's a pleasure to meet you Draco."

Draco looked at his hoof and slowly reached out and shook it, "Yes... a pleasure."

I looked around, "So, who's the mayor here?"

He chuckled, "We have no mayor. I'm the towns leader and tour guide. I just keep things in order, but nothing really happens here in Pleasant Fields. Most peaceful town in all of Equestria!"

I smiled, then tapped my chin, "But tell me, how do you know my real name?"

He just smiled, "Well, if we're going to let someone live in Pleasant Fields, we have to do a little research on them to make sure they're not violent."

I nodded, "Seems legit. Could you show us around town?"

He smiled, "Sure can, follow me."

Draco led me and Frederic through the town, showing us were all the stores were and where the houses were. About halfway through the tour, I heard my name called out from above.

Moments later, a dull red Pegasus landed in front of me, he extend his hoof, "Nice to finally meet you Lance Greenfield! My name is Red Storm, but please, just call me Storm."

I smiled and shook his hoof, "Nice to meet you Storm."

Storm was a dull red Pegasus, as stated before, and he was wearing a tan suit with short sleeves. His mane was dark blue green with a dark red streak in it. And yet again, those eyes! His were a pure dull orange.

Storm looked at Frederic and tried to smile, "Well hey there... Prince?"

Frederic chuckled and held out a hoof, "You may call me Frederic. Its a pleasure to meet you Storm."

Storm gulped and shook his hoof, "As is it a pleasure to meet you."

Draco walked up beside him and smiled, "I see you've met Storm. He's my assistant, and I must say. He's very good at his job."

Storm smiled proudly, "I sure am!"

I let out a small chuckle and yawned, "Could you take us to my new house? I would like to check it out."

Draco gave a quick nod, "Most definitely!"

He then led us to a house all by its self. It was separated from the rest of the buildings. Just the way I like it! YES!

We were lead inside, and I must say this. I LOVED THE DECOR! This place feels like it was made for me!

Draco smiled, "I take it as you like it?"

I nodded, "Yes! I love it!"

Draco smiled to Storm and turned to me, "Well, we have a few things to do. Do you mind if we step out and let you get settled in?"

I smiled, "Sure, we'll be fine."

They both smiled and left the house, closing the door behind them.

Frederic made his way to the hall, "I'm going to find the bedroom and I'm going to claim that bed as my bitch!"

I laughed, "Have fun with that."

{Do you two know what time it is?!}
[Uhhh, adventure time?]

{Hell yeah dawn! You got it!}

I then began to go through all the shelves and all the containers in the living room. What? I'm a really curious kind of guy.

When ever we go to a hotel, I'm always going through everything, trying to find something interesting. And, the same applies for new houses.

Once I finished with the living room, I moved onto the kitchen. I went through all the cabinets, I took a five minute snack break when I reached the fridge. After the kitchen, I moved on to the bath room in the hall. Nothing in there but bath room type items.

[But... if its bath room type items. Where's the dick pleasure?!]
{Oh Break, you worry me sometimes.}

I moved on to what looked like a guest bedroom. Next was a hallway closet. In there, I found a pencil, but nothing else. Next up on the scavenger list was the main bedroom.

Inside, Frederic was on the bed, fast asleep. Time to go into stealth mode, like I use to do when I was trying to sneak into my moms room.

I went through everything, and came up empty. The last thing to search was the closet, but there wasn't anything in there.

As I backed out, Break yelled out in my mind.

[Loose board! Check it out!]

My eyes twinkled as I pulled the loose board up to reveal a... notebook? HELL YES! SCORE!

I pulled it out and looked at the front cover, "Forever a brony: Pleasant Fields?"

[Who cares! Reading material!]

I chuckled and sat on my haunches. I opened to the first page and began to read.

From the journal of Drake Alexander

April 7, 2013. I think.

Yep, it's time to start another journal. New town, new journal. I think I should explain this a little so who ever reads this, my kids maybe, will understand it fully.

If you haven't read my other journals, then ask me for them. If I'm not around anymore, then I don't know. I may put all those travel journals in a safe or something.

Anyway, like I was going to say: When ever I move to a new town, I start a new journal. That's why this journal's title says, 'Pleasant Fields'.

I'm getting off topic, sorry about that. A few days ago, while I was staying in the town of Hoofton, I received a letter inviting me to live in the town of Pleasant Fields. Of course I was happy to accept the offer.

After walking for four days straight, I arrived in the small town.

The ponies greeted me pleasantly, making me feel welcome.

It's a lovely little town, better than most of the towns back on Earth.

While I was taking in the sights, a Grey unicorn walked up to me.

He introduced himself as Draco, the towns leader slash tour guide. he was accompanied by a dull red Pegasus, who's name turned out to be Storm. I couldn't see their cutie marks because they were covered by their clothes.

Well, they were very nice, even showed me the entire town. They introduced me to a few ponies and showed me my house.

My house was great! It has all the decor I've always loved! Old and country! How did they know I liked it that way?

I guess I should end this entry. I'm plum tired from my traveling. See ya future reader, who ever you are.

April 8, 2013

Today was even better than yesterday! Draco showed me the towns bakery. And dayum! This town sure knows how to make its baked sweets!

I swear, I've never ate so much sugar and chocolate at one time! I'm so going back after all this sugar passes through my system.

Also, today, Storm showed me the towns theater. No, not a real one, but with actors. And if I was a critic, I would give their performance a 10/10 It was that good!

I must ask him if I could sing on stage sometime. I'm pretty good at it, but I do so much better if I can play a violin while singing. I don't know why though...

Anyways, I'm going to go check out the towns pool later. I heard it's a great place to socialize.

One last thing before I go: Never try and eat forty pounds of chocolate, it won't sit well with you.

See ya later future readers, I'm off to the pool!

Frederic rolled over and threw a pillow at me, "Get out man! I'm trying to sleep!"

I stood up and put the notebook on my back, "I'm leaving. Geez!"

I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me.

*Yawn*

{Awww! But I want to read the rest of this journal!}

{Ugh! Fine! I'll rest, happy?!}

I trotted across the hall and into the guest room. I put the notebook on the nightstand. I then jumped into the air and landed on the bed.

Oh yes! This bed is so damn comfortable!

[Wait... WAIT! We should be the ones in the main bedroom! Not Freddy!]

[I give no fucks about you right now Dawn!]

[... Fuck you Dawn, fuck you with a pair of scissors.]
{SLEEP! We are focusing sleep right now! Not bitching about one another!}

That shut them up, for now. I rolled over and looked out the window, seeing the sun sitting. Yeah, to tired to care that its still early.

I closed my eyes and felt sleep take hold.

Location: ???

"He brought the Alicorn Prince with him?! Really?!"

"I know, this is not according to plan. But, now we get two bodies with the energy in it."

"Yes, but Lance is our top priority right now."

"And his son?"

"We'll go for him after we've dealt with him and the Prince."

"Oh! I can't wait to start! When can we?!"

"Soon... very soon."

And there you have it! Two large chapters in one day :D hope you all enjoyed it.

Pleasant Fields: The mystery deepens

This chapter my seem jumpy, but its intentional. This is helping with the plot, so bare with me lol

Chapter 86

[Wake up Lance!]

I groaned loudly and rolled over.

"It's too early!"

[Have it your way!]

My body rolled over again, causing me to fall to the floor.

{Damn it Break!}
[I warned you.}
{No you didn't!}
[... I though I did...]

I groaned and forced myself to stand. It's too damn early!

{Why did you two wake me up?! The sun is barely up!}
[Two reasons. Reason one: It's boring here! Reason two: We want some damn chocolate!]

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, I then let out a loud yawn.

I smacked my lips and walked over to my saddlebags. I opened the left one and pulled out the fedora and cowboy hat.

What to wear, what to wear?

[I say fedora, more coolness!]

I looked between the two hats. The fedora is cool, but the cowboy hat means badass... hard choice. Meh.

I put the cowboy hat down and put the fedora on.

Now to get some food and... forget that! Bathroom! Here I come!

I galloped across the room and pulled the door open. I ran down the hall to the bathroom... only to see it was occupied.

"Frederic! Get the fuck out! I have to get the browns to the super bowel! FAST!" I screamed out as I pounded on the door.

"One minute, I have to fix my hair." He replied.

"Your hair... YOUR DAMN HAIR! Get the hell out!"

"Hell no! You think my hair just sticks up like this?! It takes time and patience!"

I twisted around and looked around. AHA!

Frederic wrapped a towel around his head and opened the door, "Okay cry baby! Here's the bath... Lance?"

He walked into the living room, "Lance, what are you.... LANCE!"

Lance was sitting on Frederic's bag of personal clothes and rune's, taking a.... Well, he was letting the dogs out.

Lance looked up and pointed a hoof at Frederic, "You brought this on yourself! I said I had to go, and I meant it! I HAD TO GO!" Lance sighed in relief and stood. He turned and reached into the bag and pulled out a once beautiful dress, "Was this Luna's wedding gown? Oh man, you're screwed!"

Frederic fell to his knees, "She's going to kill me..." He then looked at Lance, "I'M NOT GOING TO DIE ALONE!"

Lance laughed and tossed the gown at him, "I'm out of here!" He then flew for the door.

Frederic jumped forward, but the gown landed on him. This caused him to fall to the ground in a panic, trying to get the disgusting thing off him.

{Break! You fucking asshole! Why did you do that to Frederic?!}
[Hey! He was taking to long! So, I had to take control of you, or we would have been in a lot of pain!]
{.... We're dead...}

I was walking down the street's, the sun barely up. It was peaceful here, not a pony in sight. I really think I'm going to like it here.

As I neared the center of town, I saw Draco, standing in front of a brown unicorn. Behind the unicorn was seven Pegasi, all of them were pure black. They had no manes or tails... and whats with their eyes and wings? Their eyes are pure white, and their wings are... metal?

The unicorn nodded and turned to the Pegasi. He then said a few things, to which they all nodded. Draco walked up beside him, and his and the other unicorn's horns began to glow.

The seven strange Pegasi were engulfed in a bright light and instantly disappeared.

Draco and the unicorn exchanged a few words and parted ways.

Draco turned towards me and yelped in surprise, but instantly smiled, "Well hey there Mr. Greenfield. How's your morning."

I trotted over, "Good... who were those Pegasi?"

He chuckled a little, "Them? They're just the towns.. Mascots!"

[... Really?]
<Wooo! Mascots! That's awesome!]

I smiled, "You have mascots?"

He nodded, "We sure do! They... preform tricks and keep us entertained!"

Yeah, those were not mascots. I wonder who they really were... Meh, who cares. "So, can you show me around a little?"

He nodded, "Sure can! I'll take you to the bakery, then to the theater."

Oh cool! Just like they did for Drake. I wonder where that guy is now.

Two hours later

So full... oh God! So many sweets! But so damn worth it!

I was laying on the bench outside of the bakery, rubbing my full stomach.

[*Belch* Damn, that was good!]

[That's what she said!]
<... I worry about you Break, you know that right?>

Draco walked out of the bakery and smiled, "Well Mr. Greenfield, how was it?"

I smiled, "Awesome!"

He laughed, "I'm glad you liked it. Now, to the theater, then I'll show you the towns art gallery."

Art... meh, I could live with out it... but I don't want to be mean. "Sounds fun. Lets go!"

Ten hours later... that was a long play and it took him forever to explain all that damn art to me!

I walked out of the art gallery, the sky already darkening.

Draco walked out and looked sky ward, "Ahhh, they should be starting now."

I looked at him strangely, "Who should be starting now?"

His eyes widened, "Oh, the pool cleaners! They should be cleaning the pools by now."

"Okay..." I said slowly. I then looked around, "What next?"

He chuckled, "Now, I'll show you the towns meeting hall."

Location: ???

"Where is he now?"

"He's in the towns meeting hall sir."

"Good. And the status on the package?"

"... We don't know sir, they should have returned with it by now."

"Those worthless idiots! How are we suppose to move on if they can't even do a simple task!"

"Don't worry sir, I'm sure they're just taking their time."

"You better be right, or I'm using your body as a throw pillow!"

"*Gulp* Don't worry, I'll make sure they bring it to you once they return. Uhhh, what should we do with the Prince?"

"Add him to the list. We can still use him."

"Yes sir."

Ponyville, twenty minutes earlier

The pitch black Pegasus moved through the shadow's, his companions close behind him.

They were nearing the destination now, only a few houses to go.

The group of seven moved silently through the darkness, staying out of sight of the citizens of Canterlot.

A few minutes later, they came to the house. It was now across the darkened street, not a pony in sight.

The leader of the group turned and made a hissing sound to his comrades. What most would hear as just hissing, they heard it as a language. (They are not snakes, I'm just saying this now to stop the confusion.)

"There's the house! Remember the plan?" The leader hissed.

"Yes, we go in, kill the woman, grab the kid, and teleport back to Him!" One hissed, a sense of happiness coming off his hisses.

The leader gave a nod, "Yes. It's simple, I'll get the woman, you two." He hissed, pointed at two others, "Kill anypony else in the house. The rest of you, grab the kid!"

They all hissed in response, "Yes sir!"

They then began jumping out of the darkness and galloped towards the house, the darkness around them seemed to engulf them, keep them hidden.

The first one neared the door and reached out.

*Crack*

A pair of hooves came out of no where and hit the black Pegasus in the jaw. The Pegasus flew for a few yards before coming down hard. He then disappeared in a black vapor.

The others stopped and looked for the attacker.

Mr. Bleak walked out into the open, right in front of the door, "The Darkness, we meet again!"

The lead Pegasus hissed, "Darkest Bleak! What are you doing here?! Last we heard, you were banished from Equestria!"

Mr. Bleak chuckled, "Yes, but that was over a thousand years ago! They've forgotten who I am." He then cracked his neck, "So, let me guess. They hired you to come and take his son?"

The leader stepped forward, taking the lead, "We are not telling you anything! Step aside, or we'll remove you from existence!"

Mr. Bleak tapped his chin, "Tempting offer... but no." He shot forward and slammed his head into the leader's rip cage, causing a loud crack to be heard.

The leader stumbled back and hissed in pain, but disappeared in a flash of black vapor before he hit the ground.

Two more jumped for Mr. Bleak, but he moved to the side, dodging both of them. But, he stepped into the range of a third one.

The Pegasus slashed its wings towards Mr. Bleak, causing a large gash to form on his chest.

Mr. Bleak winced in pain and bucked back, hitting the two behind him. As they turned to vapor, he jumped forward bit into the third ones neck.

It hissed in pain before turning to vapor. Before Mr. Bleak could turn, one ran forward and pulled back its right hoof.

It then slammed its hoof into Mr. Bleak's side, but it didn't connect. Instead, it went inside of Mr. Bleak!

Mr. Bleak's expression changed to one of agony as he felt the dark Pegasus trying to pull his stomach out.

Before it had the change, Mr. Bleak slammed his hoof into its face, causing it to disappear.

The last two ran towards him, but before they reached him, the left one split off and ran past him. The other jumped at him, only to be headbutted by Mr. Bleak.

Mr. Bleak twisted and charged after the other.

It jumped and began to climb up the wall towards Lance's and Twilight's room.

Mr. Bleak launched himself upward with his wings and slammed into the dark Pegasus. It turned to vapor once he hit it, but Mr. Bleak continued forward. He slammed through the window and landed on his chin in front of the bed, his flank up in the air.

Twilight yelled out in fear, "Who's there?!"

Mr. Bleak stood and smiled the best he could, "I was just..." He looked beside her for Lance, but he wasn't there, "Where's Lance?"

Twilight blinked and smiled, "Oh, he and Frederic went to a small town called Pleasant Fields. Something about checking out a new house."

Mr. Bleak's expression turned to one of horror.

Twilight became worried, "What is it?"

Mr. Bleak put on a false smile and turned, "Oh nothing, just something I remembered.... stay indoors at night, okay?"

Twilight nodded in confusion, "I will..."

Mr. Bleak jumped through the broken window and began flying for his home.

'So, Spark wasn't their only target? And they actually got Lance to fall into their trap?! This is not good! I must find my grandson and get to Pleasant Fields! Oh please, don't let me be too late... again!'

Pleasant Fields

I walked into the house that would soon be mine and collapsed on the couch. I let out a sight of relief as I finally relaxed my legs.

Frederic walked in and sighed, "So, you was able to stay out all day? You do know I'm going to get you back for that right?"

I smiled and nodded, "I sure do. Now, what do you say we play a game of Twister?"

Frederic smirked, "Oh! You're on!"

I laughed as I jumped off the couch and pulled the playing mat out of my spare bag. I spread it out on the floor and looked at all the colorful dots, "Freddy, you're going down! I can be very flexible!"

Frederic popped his back, "Oh yeah? I have longer legs, so beat that!"

[This sounds so gay...]

[Yep! And proud to be one!]

*Crack*

"MY LEG!" I screamed out as I bent my leg the wrong way.

[That had to hurt.]

"Shut up you baby! I'll fix that... after this game!" Frederic said, ready to win this game of Twister.

[Oh God... Dawn, prepare for some intense pain!]

[We both know Lance will continue this. We all hate to lose, remember?]
<... Damn...>

And then, things became confusing XD I wonder if any of you know who his grandson is? Did I even tell anyone? Doesn't matter, hope you enjoy!

Pleasant Fields: Strange events

Chapter 87

From the journal of Drake Alexander

April 10, 2013

Oops, I forgot to write the other day. Sorry 'bout that. But, no worries! Because today was awesome!

Storm showed me how to fly at higher and fast, but I must say this. That guy is freaking fast! He out flew me and spun circles around me!

It's like he's under a freaking speed spell or something. But wow, Draco is becoming kinda weird. He keeps eyeing me with hungry eyes. I hope he's not gay, because if he is, I'm outta here! I don't roll that way.

Also, this strange pony came to me today. He was tall and grey, and had some weird wing things. All I can say about him is, he creeped the hell out of me. He asked me if I knew a pony by the name of Zander, that's me. I replied with a no, and he moved on, muttering something about running out of time. Why did I lie? I wasn't going to tell him I was the guy he's looking for!

Whelp, might as well go to bed. Night future reader.

April 11, 2013

Things just keep getting stranger with Draco.

Today he asked if I wanted to check out the towns underground storage. I respectively declined. Like I said before, if he's gay, I'm outta here.

And after that, I'm pretty sure he is. Because as he asked me, he seemed eager to get down there. I'm smarter than that, so no rape dummy for you! I'm leaving town tomorrow, I don't want to be around ponies like him.

Time to cut this short and pack. I'm going to tell Storm I'm leaving, I still want to be friends with that guy.

Peace!

April 12, 2013

Not good, Draco and Storm came by and tried to talk me out of leaving. I told them my mind was made up and pushed them out of the house. Now, I...

"Lance!" Frederic yelled right in my face.

I jumped, throwing the book into the air, "DUDE! Not cool! You know how I get into reading. And I was getting to a good part too!"

Frederic held up a hoof, "Not important! I just found the towns pool! Wanna go check it out?"

I nodded and stood, "Sure... just watch out for Draco, because according to that book, he's into guys."

Frederic shuddered, "Dude, that's just messed up."

I chuckled, "Tell me about it, but he seems like a nice guy."

Frederic turned, "Pool? Or what?"

I laughed, "Sure, lets go to the pool."

Club outside of Canterlot's city limited

Starch sat on the bar stool, looking at all the ponies around him. He had a sort of smile on his face as he waited for his drink.

Starch was a light brown Pegasus with strips that are very hard to see, unless in direct light. He has a small goatee under his chin. His mane and tail are a light tan, like sand. His cutie mark was a rose with black vines coming out of it. To symbolize his way of charming the mares, and to show he's a relaxed kind of stallion.

The stallion behind the counter pushed a drink towards him, "Enjoy your drink."

Starch turned and smiled, "Thank you my good sir."

He then grabbed the mug and chugged the clear liquid inside of it. He sat it down and twisted back around, "Another if you please?"

As he sat there, a mare walked by him, swagging her flank.

Starch smiled, "Well, aren't you a pretty thing."

She turned and blushed, "Oh.. Thank you."

Starch held his friendly smile, "Why is a such as yourself doing in a place like this?"

She chuckled a little, "Well, I'm just here for the drinks."

"Me too, they sure do serve the best in Equestria, huh?" He said with a smile.

She nodded and sat down next to him, "So, why are you here?"

He chuckled, "I think I just answered that question."

She blushed, "Oh, I guess you did."

Starch held out his hoof, "So, what's your name? Mines Starch."

She shook his hoof, "Nice to meet you Starch, my name is Natural Star."

Starch smiled and turned, "I'll get you a drink, on me."

He yelled for the bartender and ordered them both a drinks.

Once that was done, he turned and began having small talk with the mare named Natural Star. When their drinks came up, he gave her hers and took his in his hoof, "So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

She blushed, "N-Nothing. I was just going home."

He smirked, "Do you mind if I tag along."

She smiled brightly, "Sure!"

Starch smiled in success, but before he could say anything else. The bar doors burst open with a loud bang.

He turned to them and his eyes widened, "No... NO!"

Mr. Bleak stood there, looking around the bar. When he saw Starch, he began walking towards him, throwing all the ponies in his way to the side.

Starch stood, "NO! Not now!"

Mr. Bleak slammed his head into Starch's knocking him to the ground, "I need your help Starch."

Starch's eyes widened, "Again?!"

Mr. Bleak sighed and began to walk to the door, dragging Starch behind him, "It's been two centuries since the last time I asked for your help."

Starch grabbed the door frames with his forehooves and held on, "But... Don't make me Grandpa! Not now! I'm so close to a one night stand!"

"What?! I'm no one night stand!" Natural Star yelled as she walked towards him.

She kicked his hooves off the door frame.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He yelled as Mr. Bleak drug him away.

Once they were in a clearing of grass, Mr. Bleak tossed Starch into the air.

Starch was able to catch himself in the air and landed in front of his Grandfather, who was a little taller than he was, "Grandpa! What the hell?! I was about to score with that mare!"

Mr. Bleak held a blank face, "They've found the right pony for the ritual."

Starch's facial expression changed from raging mad, to serious, "They have! How much time do we have?"

Mr. Bleak sighed, "We have very very little time. We must leave now if we are to stop them."

Starch spread his wings, "Come on then old timer! Let's go kick some flank!"

Mr. Bleak smiled and spread his... wings? "You're just like your father in every way, always ready to fight."

Starch smiled proudly, "Yeah, but I'm still alive."

Mr. Bleak seemed sadden for a second, but then jumped into the air, "Come on then! We don't have much time to waste!"

Starch sighed and smiled, "Here we go again!" He jumped into the air and followed his Grandfather.

Pleasant Fields

"Cannon ball!" I yelled as I jumped off the diving board and slammed into the water. I then swam up and broke the surface, "Beat that Fred!"

Frederic smirked, "Oh I can. Just watch." He then shot into the air, flying up till he was at least four stories high. He cracked his neck and pulled his wings in. He began to fall towards the pool.

When he hit the water, a large wave of water flew into the air.

I looked up at the huge wave about to crash down on me, "Damn you Frederic..."

There was a loud crash as the large amount of water slammed into the ground and ponies alike. The force from the water had knocked me back a few feet, but I could so beat this.

Half of the water was missing from the pool, but it soon began to refill... I LOVE MAGIC!

Frederic pulled himself out and smirked, "So, can you beat that?"

I nodded, "Easily."

I jumped into the air and flew upward.

[Oh yeah! We're gonna blow them all way, aren't we?]
{Yep! I'm sure they can build a new pool, they do have unicorns after all.}
[Fucking awesome! Do a fucking Sonic Nuke! Like Rainbow Dash did in Lesson Zero!]
{HAHAHA! I'm on it!}

Once I was about twenty four stories high, (Dayum!) I angled myself downward and shot downward.

The familiar cone of air began to form around me.

[*Makes static noise* Come in Dawn, we're preparing to break the sound barrier.]
<*Makes static noise* Dawn here, we are prepared, prepare for nuclear detonation!>

*BOMB*

[*Static noise* Sir, we broke the sound barrier, starting the nuclear strike!]

Here it comes! Oh, this will be so awesome!

"Hey! Mr. Greenfield!"

I looked up and... slapped against the water. When I say slapped, I mean this: My freaking stomach and whole underside hit the water flat! My legs were spread out in that cartoon way when they hit the water. I also began to slowly sink to the bottom of the pool.

[ULTIMATE BELLIE FLOP OF DOOM!]

I sat on the bottom of the pool thrashing around in pain, bubbles flying up from my silent screams of pain.

I swam upward and flew out of the water. Once I was in the air, I screamed out in intense pain, "AHHHHH! Why?! WHY ME?!"

[The water just made you its bitch!]

I held my stomach and landed, "Who called for me... and caused me to do THAT!"

Draco walked up smiling sheepishly, "Sorry about that Mr. Greenfield, I didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

I sighed and forced a smile, "Oh, its okay Draco. I'll live." I'm so glad I already lost the ability to have kids, because if not, that would have hurt a lot more!

Draco then smiled brightly, "Well Mr. Greenfield, would you like me to show you another part of the town?"

I nodded happily, wanting to forget the pain, "Sure! Where is it?"

He smiled and pointed to the towns meeting hall, "The towns underground storage units. It's a very interesting place, I can assure you of that."

My smile faded, I already knew where this was going. Thank you Drake for leaving that notebook behind, I do not want to get put in a small room with a forceful gay stallion. I already went through something like this in Manehattan.

I shook my head, "Sorry Draco, but I must say no to that offer. I do not wish to see the towns underground storage area."

His happy smile faltered, "But you must! It's rather interesting! Come on, it'll only take a few minutes!"

Wow, he's being kinda forceful... "No Draco, I do not want to go down there. Okay?"

His eye twitched, "Okay... sure thing..."

I put on a false smile, "Don't worry, I'll check out the rest of the town later."

His eye continued to twitch, "Sure, I'll be happy to lead you around once you're ready..."

I nodded and turned to see Frederic, "Lets go Frederic."

He nodded and turned to leave. I followed, ready to get back to the house and relax my stomach. Which, still hurt.

Location: ???

"He refused?"

"Yes sir... he did."

"Then he must know what we're up to."

"But how?!"

"I do not know. We must do this by force."

"Yes sir, I shall take Storm and two others with me."

"Good, bring him to me once you have him."

"I will sir."

"Oh, and Draco."

"Yes sir?"

"Don't touch him inappropriately, that can wait till after we're done with him."

"Y-Yes sir, I'll contain myself."

"Good, very good. Now go fetch him for me, and bring the Prince as well."

"I'm on it sir."

From the journal of Drake Alexander

April 12, 2013

Not good, Draco and Storm came by and tried to talk me out of leaving. I told them my mind was made up and pushed them out of the house. Now, I'm just finish up packing.

I can't wait to get out of this town and back on the road. Well shit, someones knocking on the door. It better not be those two again, I'm starting to get annoyed by their constant begging!

The rest of this is kinda hard to read, it seems like he was in a hurry to write it.

It was them, but they weren't here to ask me to stay. They were here to make me stay! Draco tried to hit me with a spell, but missed when I fell backwards. Storm however hit me in the head with a rock...

Turns page to find a dried dark stain... is that blood?

I don't know how much time I have till they get in this room, but they seem ruthless. I will leave this book behind, hopefully, someone will find it and find out whats going on here.

Goodbye, for the last time future reader. My you stop them!

I slammed the book closed and jumped out of the guest bed, "FREDERIC!"

I then ran out of the room and into the main bedroom, "Frederic! Get up! We have to leave! NOW!"

He rolled over and growled, "Go to sleep! It's to damn late for your shit!"

I pulled him out of bed and drug him across the floor, "Dude, listen, we have to get out of here."

He sighed and stood, "Why?"

I ran back into the guest room and brought him the book, "Read the last entry."

He rolled his eyes and picked up. As he read, I could see his expression changing to one of horror. Once he finished, he dropped it and ran out of the room, "Hurry! Get packed, we're leaving this place!"

I picked the book up and ran out of the room. I then proceeded to pack my saddlebags and duffel bag. When I was done, I put the saddlebags on and the duffel bag across my back.

When I ran into the living room, I saw Frederic pulling on his bags, "You ready?"

He nodded, "I've been ready! Let's get out of here, fast!"

I nodded and ran to the door, "Come on then!"

I pulled it open and galloped out. But, before I could reach the end of the porch, I saw a flat piece of metal coming into my point of view.

*BLAM*

I stumbled back, my head throbbing.

Storm stepped into view, "He has a bucking hard head!" In his mouth, he held a shovel... OUCH!

He slammed it into my head again, harder. This time knocking me to the ground.

Frederic galloped out and slammed into Storm. They both rolled down the small steps and out onto the yard.

"Don't you dare touch hi..." Frederic began to say.

A volley of magical balls slammed into his side, causing him to slump forward.

Draco nodded to Storm, "Can't handle yourself Storm?"

Storm snarled, "Shut up Draco! We still have to handle the other one!"

Draco looked at me, "Oh? Well, I got him."

He aimed his horn at me, "See you soon Mr. Greenfield."

Before I could open my mouth, the ball of energy hit my side.

As my vision began to darken, I had but one thought: Why didn't I finish that damn book earlier?!

Dawn then fell over, out cold.
[Dawn! Oh damn...] Break then fell over, also out cold.

My world finally went black, the last thing I heard was Draco's laughter.

D: Well... it looks like the plot is going nicely. Also, this is almost half of the plot for the Pleasant Fields, its not over yet.

Also, Vinetion, I liked your concept of who was Mr. Bleak's Grandson, but I wanted to do something a little different. Nice logic though.

Pleasant Fields: The ritual begins

Me getting cup checked, Greg style!

Chapter 88

.... Wha? Where am I? Why does it feel like I'm on a wall?

I opened my eyes to see dark room... no scratch that, I opened my eyes to find I had a piece of cloth over them. When I tried to move my legs, I found that they were strapped to the wall... What's going on?!

I could hear muffled voices, but when I went to talk, I felt something in my mouth... I'm gagged too? What the hell?!

"Oh good, you're awake!" I heard someone say... Draco maybe?

"MMhhhmmffhh!" I yelled, but was muffled by the gag.

"I must say Mr. Greenfield, I like this form of you better." He said, and I could tell he was smiling.

Wait... form? What the fuck does that mean?!

Of to my right, I could hear chains clanking and muffled yells.

"Oh look, the Prince is awake as well."

Frederic's here as well?

[What the fu... Where are we?]

[I feel... different.]

Something touched my stomach and began to make circles, "Oh, I can't wait to get a piece of you Mr. Greenfield."

I began thrashing around, yelling into my gag. He better back the fuck off!

"Draco! What did I tell you about containing yourself?!" A new voice yelled out.

I heard Draco jump, "I'm sorry sir! I just thought..."

"Shut up!" I then heard the sounds of hooves coming towards me, "So, I see he's been through stage one."

"Yes sir, I just performed it on both of them."

"Excellent Draco, are they ready for stage two?"

"They sure are sir!"

What the fuck is stage two?! I began to scream into the gag, becoming pissed.

I clenched my fist in anger... wait... CLENCH MY FIST!

I began to move my fingers.... Don't tell me I'm a human again! What are they planning on doing to me?!

"Take those blind folds off him, but leave on the Prince's."

"I'm on it sir!"

The blind fold was ripped from my face, giving me a view of the room.

I was in a sort of creepy cobble stone basement of sorts. To be more accurate, it looked like a dungeon. I was on a wall, my legs spread out, and my arms spread out to the sides. At least I'm not in those depressing clothes anymore... how did they change? Doesn't matter, I have bigger problems.

Draco was right in front of me, eyeing me with happy eyes... fucking creepy! Behind him was a large unicorn stallion... whoa!

This guy was huge! Mr. Bleak huge! He was a dark kind of blue with dark red spots of color on him. His eyes were the same as Draco's, but light blue. His mane and tail were a dark grey, and combed neatly. His cutie mark was... I don't know what that's called, but I can tell its not good.

"Now the gag." He ordered.

Draco nodded and jumped up and put his hooves on either side of my chest. He then used his mouth to pull the gag out of my mouth.

[Prepare yourselves, Lance is about to go on the offensive!]

The second it was out, I let out all of my anger in one rant, "You fucking sick faggit! Get the fuck away from me! And don't you dare touch me again, or I'll fucking rip off your dick and make you choke on it! And you! Mr. Fucking huge pony! What the fuck are you even doing with me?! Why the hell am I a fucking human again?! Turn me back into a fucking pony right this fucking minute! I don't give one fuck about what you want, so turn me back now! I will fucking..."

*Smack*

I winced in pain as an invisible force slapped my face, forcing me to shut up.

The large stallion sighed, "If you open your mouth like that again, I will let Draco loose on you."

Draco smiled and looked at me expectantly. Yeah, I'm going to shut up now.

The stallion continued, "Now, to answer your question. We used the true self revealed spell on you and your friend."

"Why? How long does the damn affects last?!" I half yelled, half growled.

He chuckled, "Does it matter how long? If you must know, this version of the spell will last a full month, and there is no reversing it. Why? Because it's stage one of the ritual."

"Ritual?" I questioned.

He nodded and smiled, "I will not tell you the details. You'll have to learn them as you go through them."

Not good... "Can you at least tell me what it does?"

He shrugged, "I can. You see, we know all about you 'bronies' and where you came from. We also know this: You were all exposed to a very strong force, sorta like magic, but so much more powerful."

Wait... does he mean we all absorbed energy or something from being in the presence of God?

[Lance! Look over to your right!]

I quickly glanced to my side to see Frederic... as a human. Whoa!

He had short black hair with a little grey in it... I though he was twenty? He was fairly muscular, but not to much. He was wearing a black jacket, and a pair of worn blue jeans. I must say this, he looked close to what I expected him to look like.

The stallion continued his explanation, "With this power, we can finally bring Him back to life."

"Him?"

He smirked, "You'll learn of Him at a later date. Now, let me continue. We've already caught a few of you bronies and taken this powerful source energy and put it in the Gem. It's a painful ordeal, for you that is."

I gulped, "What happens to me once it's over?"

"Death." He said simply.

"Well, could..." I began.

He held up a hoof and shook his head, "No more stalling, we will now begin stage two. Draco, if you please."

Draco smiled, "Yes sir." He turned towards me and aimed his horn at me, "Prepare yourself Mr. Greenfield, this may hurt... a lot!"

A beam shot out and hit my chest. I began to feel a burning liquid type thing moving through my veins. Once it reached my heart, I screamed out in pain.

Ponyville

Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down next to Twilight, who was in town to visit her friends. So far, she's spent time with all of them, all but Pinkie Pie, and she was doing that now.

"Oh Twilight! Town is so so boring without you around, maybe you and Lance could move back here? It'll be fun! *Gasp* I could throw a party for you two! A welcome back party!"

Twilight chuckled, "We may Pinkie, if Lance comes back and says he doesn't like Pleasant Fields."

Pinkie Pie smiled happily, "That's a yes! Lance wouldn't want to leave us all behind! He loves us all to much!"

Twilight smiled and nodded, "I know he does, but it's all up to him if we-AHH!" Twilight yelled before falling to the ground, holding her head.

Pinkie Pie stopped and ran to her side, "Twilight?! Are you okay? What happened? Did something fall on you again?"

Twilight winched in pain, "I don't know... it feels like my horn is being pulled out of my head!"

Pinkie Pie started to say something, but her entire body began to shake violently, "OH NO!"

Twilight looked at her with worry, "What is it Pinkie?!"

Pinkie Pie stopped, her mane slightly deflated, "Lance is in trouble! Big humongous trouble!"

Twilight was confused at first, but then remembered the way Mr. Bleak reacted when he found out were Lance was. She quickly stood and bit her bottom lip, "What kind of trouble?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head, "I dunno Twi, but its bad!"

Twilight turned and began running for Rarity's, "I'm sorry Pinkie, but I have to do something!"

Pinkie only nodded as she began walking home.

Twilight had to get to the boutique and get Spike to send a letter to the Princess, she was the only one who could help!

Fluttershy's cottage

Alexander slowly made his way down the stairs, hissing in pain with each step. He was almost fully healed, but not quiet there yet.

He had heard a knock at the door, and since Fluttershy wasn't around, he took it upon himself to answer it.

Once he reached the last step, he made his way to the door. When he opened it, he saw a white Pegasus with a red and white mane, "Can I help you?"

The ponies mouth hung open at the sight of him, "WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

Alexander was taken back by this, "Huh, I'm Alexander, but call me Silver Charger. Fluttershy is letting me stay here to rest and heal..."

The pony glared, "Oh no! I know what you're up too! You want to steal her for yourself! Well, I won't let you, I challenge you to a duel!"

Alexander shook his head in disbelief, "And what kind of duel are we talking about here?"

The pony tapped its chin, "Well, how about this: We have a full on competition, and the one to win gets her."

Alexander sighed, "Sure, why not. When should we have this competition?"

The pony shrugged, "I don't know... How about when my friend Lance gets back, he could judge for us?"

Alexander nodded, "Sounds good to me. What will the events be?"

Again, the pony shrugged, "No idea, how about we let him come up with them?"

Alexander chuckled, "Sure, be easier."

The pony glared, "I will win, and I will be with her! I've been trying to talk to her for about ten months, and when I do, you're here instead!"

Alexander scratched the back of his head, "Sorry about that..."

The pony turned, "It's fine, just be ready for the competition."

"Come on Seth! We have to get back to the observation bush! We're gonna miss Applejack buck more trees." Said a pony, who was standing on the small little bridge outside of Fluttershy's house.

Seth sighed, "I'm coming!"

Alexander turned and sighed, "So, I have to fight for her heart? Okay then, so be it!"

He then walked back into the house, a determined look on his face.

If you're wondering what Lance looks like now, then here:

Also, as you can tell, I was running low on time today.

Pleasant Fields: Rescue plan

Chapter 89

Twilight paced back and forth as she awaited for a reply from the Princess. Its only been about ten minutes, but to Twilight, it felt like an eternity.

Rarity was watching her with a worried face, "Calm down Twilight, I'm sure he's okay."

Twilight stopped and gawked at her, "You don't understand Rarity! Me and Lance have connected minds! I can tell when he's in intense pain!"

Rarity's eyes widened, "You do?! Since when?"

Twilight began to pace again, "Since he left for Manehattan the first time. I may have taken away the ability to communicate, but we can still feel when one of us is in pain or feeling down."

Rarity slowly nodded, "So.... he could be in trouble, and the only one who can help is Celestia?"

Twilight nodded furiously, "Yes! UGH! What's taking her so long!"

As if to answer her question, there was a small boom and a flash of light.

Twilight turned, expecting to see Princess Celestia, but instead, she saw Princess Luna.

Twilight and Rarity were taken aback by this, "Princess Luna?!"

Luna looked at them with a grim face, "So, you felt that pain also Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight gave a slow nod, "Yes... how did you..."

"Frederic and I are magically bound, we are able to communicate over long distances via our minds... but, a hour ago, I was unable to contact him. It's like he's being blocked from me, then I felt that horrible pain in my head. At first, I though it was a magical back up, but after Tia read me your letter, I knew it must mean something."

Twilight blinked twice before answering, "Do you have any idea of what's wrong with them?"

Luna shook her head, "I do not, but I think we should get to them at once."

Twilight bit her bottom lip, "But, we don't know where this town is. How will we get there?"

Luna let a smile form on her face, "I may be blocked from my love via mind, but I can still sense his magical aura. I can teleport us close to them, but we're on our own after that."

Twilight sighed in relief, "That's good. When can we leave?"

Luna thought for a second, "It's up to you. We can wait a few hours for my sister to gather the Guard, or we can go now. Your choice."

Twilight thought hard on what to do. If they wait, something could happen, but if they go alone, there's no telling what would happen.

A slight pounding in her head helped her make up her mind, "We should go now. I don't want something to happen to them."

Luna nodded, "Agreed. We leave at once!"

Pleasant Fields

"AHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as he finished up the spell.

He finally stopped sending energy into my body, allowing me to hang in the restraints.

Frederic also let out a scream of agony before they stopped the flow of magic that we had both endured.

As we hung there, sweat and blood pouring down our bodies. The blood was from our noses, as the pressure in our heads was increased due to that fucked up spell.

The large stallion chuckled, "And that's the end of stage seven. Only three more to go!"

Draco was jumping with joy, "And only one more till I get to have some alone time with you two!"

The stallion sighed, "You only get an hour Draco."

Draco stopped jumping and aww'd, "Only an hour, but..."

*Smack*

The large stallion glared at Draco as he rubbed his face, "Take it, or you get no time!"

Draco winced, "Sorry sir."

[*Groans of pain* Lance... we have to get out of here...]

I gasped and tried to take in air, but I wasn't getting enough. It was like my air passage was blocked, restricting the air flow to my lungs.

The stallion looked at me and chuckled, "Having a little trouble breathing there?"

I looked up and glared, "Fuck... you..."

He just smiled, "Don't worry, it'll all be over by morning."

[Fuck this, I must do this!]

Break forced himself past me, taking control of my body, "Listen here you sick fuck! I will fucking end you and your little gay ass friend there! Don't you fucking..."

My body seized up as a beam of magic hit my chest.

I could no longer feel anything, it was as if I was paralyzed.

The looked amused, "Hmmm, you sounded different there. As if something else was controlling you."

{Way to fucking go Break!}
[... I'm fucking sorry...]

The stallion walked up to me and examined me, "I knew you were special."

"Special?" I questioned.

He nodded, "Yes, special."

I cocked my head, "How?"

He chuckled, "Well, you've died twice, correct?"

I nodded, "Yes, so what?"

"Since you've died twice, you've been in the presence of this energy more, meaning you've absorbed more of it than the others."

Oh shit.... why me? Why am I so damn unlucky?!

The stallion laughed and turned, "Ready for stage eight Draco?"

Draco smiled happily, "Sure am! I want my time alone with Mr. Greenfield!"

The stallion chuckled, "Well, get on with it then."

Draco smiled and looked at me, "With pleasure!"

He aimed his horn at me and Frederic, "Prepare yourselves, this will hurt!"

"Screw you..." Frederic said weakly.

Draco laughed, "We'll get to that soon, now prepare!"

Pleasant Fields, hill one mile outside of town

Twilight and Luna stood on the hill overlooking the small town. The night sky above gave them a little light, showing off the layout of the town.

"Hmmmm, nice town." Luna said, eyeing the town with suspicion.

Twilight furrowed her brow, "Are you sure they're down there?"

Luna nodded, "I am certain."

"Should we ask them if they know where they are?" Twilight asked.

Luna shook her head, "No, that is a terrible idea Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight looked at her confused, "What? Why?"

Luna sighed, "Twilight, our lovers came to this town. We know they're here, and we know they're in trouble. Now, if we go around asking, we could put ourselves in danger."

Twilight nodded in agreement, "I see. What should we do then?"

Luna shrugged, "I do not know, but I want to find my husband!"

Twilight looked at the town with rage filled eyes, "Me too Princess! Lets get down there and find them!"

"Agreed!" Luna yelled as she galloped down the hill.

Twilight smiled and charged after her, ready to get Lance home.

Two miles away.... (I have to say this, but damn, Twilight and Luna sure got in the mood to save their husbands pretty fast XD)

Mr. Bleak soared over the forest, Starch off to his side, flying with a determined look on his face.

Mr. Bleak and Starch had been flying a full night and a full day, and they were almost there. Just a few more minutes.

"Grandpa." Starch yelled over to Mr. Bleak.

"What is it Starch?" Mr. Bleak yelled back, his attention still focused forward.

"What if we're to late and they complete the ritual?"

Mr. Bleak sighed, "I don't know. I just hope we don't find out."

Starch bit his bottom lip, "But what if we are to late."

Mr. Bleak remained silent.

Starch sighed and focused on getting there.

After a few more minutes of flying in silence, they landed in the forest, only a few meters from the first house.

Starch looked out over the town, "Where are they?"

Mr. Bleak began to walk towards the center of town, "The same place as last time."

Starch ran up beside him, keeping pace, "Which is?"

"Underground." Mr. Bleak answered simply.

Starch frowned and looked forward.

"Hey! Who are you two?!" A dark red Pegasus yelled as he galloped towards them.

He stopped in front of Mr. Bleak and eyed him, "I said, who are you?"

*POW*

The poor ponies body went flying as Mr. Bleak's hoof made contact with its snout.

"Grandpa?! Shouldn't we be trying to remain stealthy?" Starch questioned.

Mr. Bleak shook his head, "Nope, I've had enough of this place! It's coming down tonight!"

Starch smiled, "Really? YES! Finally, I get to test my new moves!"

Mr. Bleak looked at him, "You can take care of the ponies who fight you, I'll go for Lance."

Starch nodded, "Got it!" Starch then bolted off, ready to kick some flank.

Mr. Bleak smiled and began to make his way to the towns meeting hall.

"You!" A pony yelled from the doorway to its house.

Mr. Bleak looked over to him and glared.

The pony backed away in fear, retreating into its house.

Mr. Bleak continued to walk, getting more and more pissed off with each step.

Pleasant Fields, underground chamber

I hung on the wall, breathing heavily. That spell was the worst one so far!

Frederic was breathing heavily also, but he sounded more pissed than anything else.

Draco was talking to the stallion, getting permission to... have his way with us.

"Please sir! Can I do it now?!" Draco whined desperately.

The stallion sighed, "Can you just wait..." His head shot up, "On second thought, I have something to attend to. You have till I get back."

Draco jumped with joy, "Thank you sir!"

The stallion looked determined, "I'll be back soon." He then turned and began to climb the stairs.

Draco turned to us and smiled, "Who first?" He looked between us, but then rested his eyes on me, "How about you Mr. Greenfield?"

I snarled, "Fuck you!"

He smiled, "You'll be doing a lot of that very soon."

[... Nice choice of words Lance!]

Draco began to walk over to me, a happy smile on his face.

Pleasant Fields, outside of town hall

Mr. Bleak stomped towards the building, already pissed off to the max due to his pent up rage.

He stomped up to the double doors and growled, "I'm going to make you pay."

He then slammed his head into the doors, breaking both of them off the hinges.

On the other side stood a unicorn, the same size as Mr. Bleak. He was dark blue with red splotches all over his body. His mane was light grey and combed back. His cutie mark was the chaos united symbol. (To clear up confusion, its just the stallion from before.)

The stallion smiled, "So, we meet again Darkest."

Mr. Bleak pointed his hoof at him and growled, "You will pay for all of this brother!"

Pleasant Fields: Brother against brother

Pleasant Fields: Brother against brother

Chapter 90

Mr. Bleak stood there, his hoof still pointing at his brother.

The stallion smiled, "I'm going to pay for this? Do you think you can fight me brother? Remember the last time we fought?"

Mr. Bleak snarled, "It won't end like that this time Val!"

Val chuckled, "We'll see, we'll see."

Mr. Bleak cracked his neck to the side, "Yes, we will see."

Val shot forward, slamming into Mr. Bleak. They both tumbled to the ground, both snarling and grabbing at each other.

After a few seconds, Mr. Bleak ended up on top. He glared down at Val and growled angrily. He brought back his hoof and slammed it into Val's face, causing a small amount of blood to pour out of his snout.

Val yelped in pain, and his horn flared.

Before Mr. Bleak could hit him again, a large wagon slammed into his side, sending him sprawling to the side.

Val jumped up and used his magic to launch the wagon at Mr. Bleak.

Mr. Bleak winched in pain and jumped up. He then slammed his head into the oncoming wagon, breaking it down the middle.

Val nodded with a smile, "Very good Darkest, I see you've improved."

Mr. Bleak glared, "You haven't seen anything!" He then launched himself towards Val, using his wings to give him an extra boost.

Val smirked and stepped to the side, but Mr. Bleak was waiting for this.

As he pasted Val, he spun, slamming his hind leg into Val's jaw.

Val's eyes widened in surprise and he spun around and grabbed his jaw, "Very good, but not good enough."

Mr. Bleak jumped for his brother, before he reached him, he flashed out of view.

Mr. Bleak stopped and looked around, waiting for Val to make a move.

* Whoosh*

Mr. Bleak's head shot up and he jumped into the air as a large rock flew past him.

He looked up and saw Val on the roof of a building, but he was gone a second later.

"Come out you coward! Fight me like a stallion!" Mr. Bleak yelled out.

To answer his question, a barrel flew towards him. He jumped to the side, but the barrel followed and slammed into his side, sending Mr. Bleak to the ground.

Suddenly, Val appeared in front of him, a smirk on his face. He twisted and bucked Mr. Bleak's head, causing his vision to fill with stars.

Val's horn began to glow, and Mr. Bleak's body was lifted off the ground. Val let out a laugh as he threw Mr. Bleak's body into the air.

Mr. Bleak tried to open his wings, but they wouldn't comply with him.

As his body began to fall, Val's horn flared again. He caught Mr. Bleak before he hit the ground, he then began to swing Mr. Bleak around and around. He then threw Mr. Bleak towards a house, causing it to collapse. (Yeah, he threw him that hard!)

Mr. Bleak stood and winched in slight pain. He looked up to see his brother laughing, "You're still that weak little colt who tried to stop me from releasing the Nightmare."

Mr. Bleak growled, "No! I'm stronger you foal! I will not let you release Him again!"

Val shrugged, "That's what you said last time, but I still released Him. And look at what happened, He took over the Princesses body and caused her to be sent to the moon."

Mr. Bleak stepped out of the rubble and looked at his brother, a plan forming in his mind, "So, what's your plan this time?"

Val smiled, "What it should have been from the beginning. Let Him take over my body, causing me to be the most powerful being alive!"

Mr. Bleak smiled and suddenly appeared in front of him, "Not while I'm around!"

He brought his hoof up and it slammed into Val's chin, causing him to rear up.

Mr. Bleak spun around and bucked Val in the stomach, making him gasp. He then spun around and stood on his hind legs.

He held his hooves up in a fighting position and began to slam them into Val's face. He slammed one hoof into the side of Val's face, while he slammed the other into snout.

Val finally fell back and growled. Before Mr. Bleak could act, Val slammed his back legs into Mr. Bleak's stomach.

Mr. Bleak gasped and fell forward, but not before receiving a second kick to the chest from Val.

Val shakily stood and jumped on Mr. Bleak. He sat on his back and laughed, "To easy!" He then began to repeatedly slam his hooves into Mr. Bleak's head.

Mr. Bleak tried to move, but Val was holding him in place with his magic.

*POW*

Val flew off of Mr. Bleak's back and slammed into the side of a building.

Starch landed next to his Grandfather and held out a hoof, "Need help old timer?"

Mr. Bleak growled and stood, "I though I told you take care of the others?!"

Starch smiled and pointed behind him.

Mr. Bleak looked past him to see the streets littered with unconscious ponies, "Uhhh, very good."

Starch chuckled, "Now, lets take care of him,"

Mr. Bleak smiled, "Thanks Starch."

They both turned towards Val, who was smirking.

"What are you smirking about?" Starch said with a smug look.

Val pointed upward and laughed.

They both looked up, and both of their eyes opened in shock. Above them floated a house, yes, a house!

"See you two later." Val said as he released the house.

"Oh buck..." Starch said.

*Crash* *Sounds of brick and glass breaking*

Val looked at the completely destroyed house and smirked, "I know you two are still alive."

Mr. Bleak broke through the rubble, followed by Starch.

Val smiled, "There you are."

Mr. Bleak took a deep breath, "Starch, you remember the maneuver?"

Starch looked at him, "Dark Moon?"

Mr. Bleak nodded, "Yes, that one."

Starch smiled, "Oh yeah, I remember it. You want to use it on him?"

Mr. Bleak smiled, "Yep."

Starch looked ahead, "Then lets do it."

They both shot forward, flying towards Val.

Val laughed and prepared to catch both of them in midair.

But, before they reached him, they broke off into different directions.

Before Val could react, both Mr. Bleak and Starch flew towards him. They both hit him at the exact same time, both of their hooves slamming into each side of Val's head. While he was dazed, Mr. Bleak and Starch landed and grabbed his forelegs. They then tossed him into the air.

As he flew upward, Starch flew up and slammed his head into Val's back. Mr. Bleak flew ahead of him and bucked him downward. As Val's body flew towards the ground, Starch flew into him, sending him sideways. While he flew sideways, still in a daze, Mr. Bleak caught him by the hind leg and tossed him higher into the air.

Next, Starch flew up to meet him, slamming his head into Val's stomach. He then grabbed him by the throat and began flying downward, picking up speed.

"You... will... DIE!" Val said, struggling for breath.

Starch just smiled and stopped suddenly, sending Val towards the ground.

Mr. Bleak flew to the ground, directly under Val, and stood on his hind legs, he then held his right foreleg above his head. Seconds later, Val landed on Mr. Bleak's hoof.

Mr. Bleak laughed and threw Val forward, causing him to skid across the ground.

Starch landed next to Mr. Bleak and smiled, "We get him?"

Mr. Bleak nodded, "Oh, we got him."

Starch chuckled and turned, "Shall we go get Lance?"

Mr. Bleak turned, "Yes."

Starch took a few steps, but suddenly stopped, "What the-AHHHH!" His body was slung towards a large brick building, which came down on him upon impact.

Mr. Bleak spun around to see Val, blood pouring from his mouth and left eye. He was smiling in a crazy kinda way, "So, you think you can beat me that easily?! Well, you've seen nothing!"

He flashed out of view and reappeared at a house down the street. He ran inside, slamming the door behind him.

Mr. Bleak growled and sprung forward, with Starch stumbling after him.

Mr. Bleak landed outside of the door and grunted. Instead of opening it via doorknob, he used his front hoof to break it down.

On the other side stood Val, but there was something else. Next to him was a table, and on the table was a cage. Inside the cage was a Phoenix, a female by the looks of it.

Val smiled, "Have you ever been on fire Darkest?" He then opened the cage and forcibly pulled out the Phoenix. He tossed it into the air and yelled for it to attack.

The Phoenix hovered in place, shaking its head.

Val snarled, "Either you attack, or I end you!"

The Phoenix squawked in fear and flew towards Mr. Bleak.

As it neared him, it let out a stream of fire, which hit Mr. Bleak's chest.

Mr. Bleak shrugged off the pain and struck out with his hoof. His hoof slammed into the Phoenix's wing, breaking it. Before the Phoenix could fall, he caught it and twisted around, "Stupid bird!" He then threw it out the door with great force.

When he turned back, he saw Val charging towards him, his horn aimed for his chest.

Mr. Bleak's eyes widened, but luckily, he was fast enough to dodge him. He reached out and grabbed Val's horn.

Val screamed out in pain as Mr. Bleak pulled him to the side. Mr. Bleak held Val down to his side, he then pulled his hoof up and slammed it into Val's face.

Val fell to the floor, blood pouring out of his right eye.

Mr. Bleak sighed and looked down at his unconscious brother, "I didn't want to do it Val." He then dropped Val's broken horn in front of his face.

Pleasant Fields: Meeting hall

Twilight galloped through down the small hall, looking for the stairs to the basement. Luna was on the other side of the building, also looking for the stairs.

Twilight ran past doors, opening each one, but each one lead to a office or meeting room. After the eighteenth door, she screamed out in frustration.

Thankfully, she finally found the door, which was at the end of the hallway... of course.

She ran down the stairs, which circled around a pillar.

Once she reached the bottom, she found herself in a small room with a single door. Upon opening this door, she saw Lance and... Frederic? They were both humans again... how'd that happen?

They were both strapped to the wall, but she could only see their chest and heads, as the light in the room wasn't very bright and only showed so much.

"Lance!" She yelled in happiness.

Lance looked up and smiled awkwardly, "Huh, Twi... Don't freak out but..."

Twilight used her magic to brighten the room, "Lance, I'm so happy you're...." She looked down to Lance's waist. His pants were unzipped and a stallion's head was bobbing up and down on his.... Yeah....

Lance began to panic, "It's not what it looks like Twi!"

Draco pulled his head up and turned, "Who are you talking to..." His eyes widened at seeing Twilight, "You!"

His horn flared, but before he could do anything, Twilight's own horn flared to life. Draco was flung upward, where he crashed into the ceiling, before he could fall, Twilight slammed his body into the floor. She then began to slam him into every table, chair, and bookcase in the room. To finish, she threw him face first into the stone wall.

She then ran over to Lance and Frederic, "What happened to you two?!"

Frederic looked over and sighed, "We'll tell you later."

Twilight nodded and looked back to Lance, "Let me fix that for you." She then used her magic to put Lance's member back in his pants and zipped up his pants, "Really Lance? What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Lance chuckled nervously, "Oh you know, the usual."

Twilight chuckled and used her magic to break the straps that held them to the wall.

Lance fell forward and wrapped his arms around Twilight's neck, "I'm so happy to see you Twi!"

She smiled and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, "I love you Lance."

Lance squeezed her tight, "I love you too Twi."

Frederic stumbled over and wrapped his arms around the two, "I love you guys!"

Lance and Twilight chuckled, "I didn't know this was a group hug."

Frederic laughed, "Well, it is now." He gave them a final squeeze before standing up, "Where's Luna? I can sense her."

Twilight pointed up, "Upstairs."

"Frederic!" Luna screamed as she galloped across the stone floor.

"Or she's right there." Twilight said with a chuckle. She then gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek and broke the embrace.

Frederic and Luna were in a tight embrace, giving each other a deep passionate kiss.

Lance clapped his hands together, "Come on you two! We have to get top side, before that stallion comes back!"

Twilight shook her head, "Don't worry about him, Mr. Bleak and somepony else were fighting him when we came in here."

Lance looked at her confused, "Mr. Bleak's here?"

Twilight nodded.

Lance smiled, "And he's fighting that stallion?"

Twilight chuckled and nodded.

Lance began running for the stairs, "I got to see this!"

Three minutes later, outside of meeting hall

I ran out of the towns meeting hall and looked around, where are they?

[I love her too! I love the sex too!]
{Shut up Break.}

I looked to where Dawn was instructing me to look.

I could see Mr. Bleak breaking down a door with his front hoof... that guy is just pure badass!

I began to run towards him, but then I saw a second stallion, this one just as tall as Mr. Bleak. This stallion was standing behind Mr. Bleak, looking into the house.

Who's he... doesn't matter! I got to see this!

As I neared, I saw Mr. Bleak throw a red thing out the door. The thing slammed into the wall of another house.

Once I reached the door, I saw Mr. Bleak standing over a unconscious stallion... HOLY SHIT! He beat the shit out of that big ass stallion! FUCKING AWESOME!

Mr. Bleak turned and smiled, "Aw, Lance, good to see you."

I chuckled, "Good to see you too Mr. Bleak."

The other stallion turned and held out a hoof, "Good to meet you Lance, I'm Starch, Mr. Bleak's grandson."

I shook his hoof, but looked at Mr. Bleak, "Grandson?"

He smirked, "I'll fill you in later."

I nodded, but heard a faint sound behind me. I turned to see a large red bird... no, a Phoenix, trying to stand.

"A Phoenix!" I said as I ran over to it.

Once I was next to it, I bent down and examined it, "Now how did you break your wing... MR. BLEAK! Did you hurt this Phoenix!"

"Maybe!" He yelled back.

I sighed and reached out for it, "Come here."

It looked at me fearfully and jumped back.

I slowly moved forward, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. I only want to help."

It looked at me and took a step forward.

I reached out and grabbed the Phoenix by its mid-section and gently lifted it up. "Don't worry, I have a friend back in Ponyville who can help you with that wing."

The Phoenix looked up to me and smiled... smiled? They can smile?

I chuckled and cradled the Phoenix in my arms, "Do you have a name?"

It shook its head sadly.

I furrowed my brow, I want to give it a name.

{So, I want to be attached to it! This Phoenix is awesome! I'm sure Spark and Fawn would love it.}

I smiled, "I'll come up with a name, just give me time."

It smiled and snuggled into my arms.

Yep, I'm gonna like this thing.

Returning home

Well, someone sent a story that takes place during mine. And I must say, I love it XD It's very well written, and the author keeps to the characters and story line. I suggest you take a look at it. (No, everything in his story that happens is not cannon to mine lol)
Curruption

Chapter 91

I turned around to face Mr. Bleak and Starch, "So, why would you hurt this sweet and awesome Phoenix?"

Mr. Bleak huffed, "It attacked me!" He pointed to a burn on his chest, "See!"

Starch shrugged, "To be truthful, the Phoenix didn't want to attack, Val just forced it too."

I nodded and looked at Mr. Bleak, "Did you really have to break its wing?"

He sighed, "No.... I didn't have too...."

I took a few steps forward, the Phoenix still cradled in my arms, "Mr. Bleak, say sorry."

He gawked, "But I..."

I lowered my voice and said in a forceful voice, "Say sorry!"

He sighed, "I'm sorry little Phoenix."

The Phoenix looked up and smiled.

I chuckled, "I guess you're forgiven."

"HALT!" Said a low, authority like voice.

I looked to my left to see several Royal Guard's walking towards us, swords drawn.

[Well shit...]

[Yeah, the pony version! They don't know the human version!]

The Royal Guard's stopped a few yards from us, looking at us wearily, "Where is the Prince and his friend?!"

Mr. Bleak furrowed his brow, "You're not the Royal Guard."

The lead pony sighed, "No, we are not. We're the Equestrian Army."

I cocked my head, "But, I thought they were for foreign affairs only?"

The pony nodded, "This place is out of Equestria jurisdiction."

I shrugged, "Seems legit."

The pony then frowned, "Now, where is the Prince and his friend?"

I smiled, "Well, I'm his friend, and he's right behind you."

The pony turned to see Frederic and the others walking towards us.

The pony growled, "That's not the... Princess Luna!" He and the other soldier's instantly bowed down to her.

Luna sighed, "Arise, you do not have to bow to me out here."

Frederic nodded, "Same goes for me."

The soldiers stood up, all confused by why the Prince was a human.

Frederic looked at the lead pony, "What is your name soldier?"

The pony gulped and saluted, "Sargent Dune, your highness!" (Yes, he got promoted, twice.)

Frederic nodded, "I would like to thank you and your stallion's for coming here. But, we've already got it under control."

Luna looked around, "Sargent, I would like you to gather your stallion's and secure this town. I want this place to be under Royal watch for a while."

Sargent Dune saluted her, "Yes ma'am!"

Mr. Bleak pointed into the house, "And here's the leader of them, I think he should be brought back to Canterlot."

I nodded, "And the pony in the basement, I want him to be punished!"

Frederic laughed, "I will make certain of that one Lance.... what's that in your arms?"

I looked down at the Phoenix, which was looking up at me, a smile on its face, "Oh, it's a Phoenix... and the bad news is, Mr. Bleak broke its wing!"

Mr. Bleak chuckled, "I had too."

I sighed, "No, you didn't have to, you just wanted to."

He rolled his eyes and turned, "What ever you say Lance, I'm going to take my brother back to Canterlot, I don't trust anypony else to do it."

I furrowed my brow, "Brother? Who's your brother?"

He pointed to the stallion, "He is." He then picked up his unconscious brother and threw him over his back.

Wait... WHAT?! "He's your brother?!"

Mr. Bleak nodded solemnly, "Yes... Lance, I'll explain everything to you at a later date. But right now, I need time to think." He then jumped into the air and began to fly away. His grandson soon followed, leaving us all behind.

[My mind is so full of fuck right now...]

I sighed and turned back to everypony else. The soldier's had moved on and were following Frederic's and Luna's orders. Twilight was talking to Luna, and Frederic... Frederic was air drumming.... funny shit right there.

I chuckled and looked down at the Phoenix, which was now putting its head in my jacket.

I smiled, "So, what should we name you?"

It pulled its head out and looked up at me.

[Is it a boy, or a girl?]

[Aww... I wanted a boy.]

[NO! A boy Phoenix would be badass!]

I thought for a second, "Kara?" (This is how you pronounch the name. Just click the aduo button to hear it.)

It tapped its beak with its good wing and nodded.

I smiled, "You like that name?"

It nodded again and smiled.

I chuckled, "Welcome to the family Kara."

Kara smiled and rubbed her head up against my chest.

{SO DAMN CUTE!}
[I agree!]

I chuckled and walked over to my friends, "So... what are going to do?"

Twilight looked at me, "Well, for starters: I should get back to the house. I don't think leaving Fawn and Spark with your mother was a good idea."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Bad move Twi. I'm going to go to Fluttershy's, I want to get Kara's wing fixed."

Twilight cocked her head, "Kara?"

I chuckled, "The Phoenix Twi. I named the Phoenix Kara."

Twilight chuckled, "Oh." She walked over and jumped up, putting her forelegs on my waist. She then peered down at Kara, "Hey there little guy..."

"Girl."

"Oh..."

I chuckled and used my left hand to mess up Twilight's mane, "I didn't know either till Dawn told me."

She sighed, "I wish I could hear them all the time. I just wonder what they say about me when we're together."

[Hey baby! How about we go and fuck up a bed!]

[Let us see your gorgeous pussy! Let us have a peek!]

[YEAH! Take it in the ass bitch!]
{Don't call her a bitch.}
[Lance, you just ruined the mood.]

Twilight jumped back, "Lance! Is that what is always going through your head?!"

My eyes widened, "You heard that!"

She glared and nodded, "I did... Lance, we're going to have a serious talk."

I hung my head, "No sexy time for me, huh?"

She nodded, "Exactly, no more bed time fun for you for a long, LONG time."

I aww'd, but then, "WAIT! How did you hear them?!"

Luna chuckled weakly, "I just did what she wanted... I didn't know this would happen."

I looked at her and glared, "If I wasn't holding Kara, you would so be dead!"

She rolled her eyes and turned, "Come Frederic, we must check over the situation."

Frederic turned to follow, "Coming my love."

[Damn! She's got him on a leash!]

[Good thing Twilight doesn't have us on a leash! Remember when she told us to take the Princess that dress, and Lance used it to make a tent? That was fucking funny!]

Twilight stomped her hoof, "You did what?!"

My eyes widened again, "Huh... fuck me."

Twilight glared, "Lance, when we get back, I'm going to take you to our room, tie you to the bed, and we're going to have a long, long talk!"

{Fuck you Break! You just screwed us!}
[I regret nothing!]

Twilight glared, "Lance, come here."

I shook my head, "Nah, I'm good."

She gritted her teeth, "Lance! Come here!"

I smiled awkwardly, "I think I'll stay right here."

She growled, "Damn it Lance! COME HERE!" Her mane and tail suddenly caught fire and her coat turned a faint white, and her eyes turned a pure red. Oh shit, shes pisses!

[Your Twilight just evolved!]

I gave her a small wave, "I see your rage, so, I'll use this card." I pulled a random card out of my jacket. It read, 'Get the fuck out of town!'. I chuckled and sprinted past my pissed off wife.

"LANCE! GET BACK HERE!" She screamed as she gave chase.

I ran as fast as I could, holding Kara close, so I don't drop her, "No can do Twi! I don't plan on getting lectured!"

She screamed in pure rage and continued to get closer and closer to me.

Up ahead, I could see Frederic and Luna still walking, thank you God! "Luna! Teleport me! Hurry!"

She turned to see me sprinting away from a very pissed off Twilight, "Oh my!"

Frederic laughed, "Oh dude! You're screwed!"

I ran past them, "Hurry!"

I began to run circles around them, Twilight still trying to catch me.

[What did we even do?!]

Luna laughed once more before her horn began to glow.

"You know where to send me!" I yelled out seconds before I was engulfed in a bright light.

I suddenly stopped and looked around. The forest? Oh thank you Luna!

[Remind me to thank Luna next time we see her.]

I chuckled and looked around, "Now... where is the cottage?"

[Beats the fuck out of me.]
<*Sigh* Go left.>

I looked left and saw the path leading up to her house, "Oh, awesome."

I shifted Kara's weight a little and began walking for the cottage.

Fluttershy's cottage

"Is it safe?" Fluttershy asked Alexander as he crouched down, waiting for her to get on his back.

He chuckled, "One hundred percent. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

She gulped and slowly climbed onto his back.

Alexander cracked his neck to the side, "Ready?"

She squeaked, "Yes..."

Alexander smiled and pointed his hoof to the opposite wall of the living room, he fired and a small portal appeared. He then pointed to the ground in front of himself and fired.

He smirked and jumped into it, instantly coming out on the other side. Fluttershy aww'd, causing Alexander to smile. He then began to shot random portal's, jumping through each one.

He continued this till there was a knock at the door. He stopped suddenly, hanging halfway through a portal, "Who's that?"

Fluttershy shrugged, "I don't know..."

Alexander pulled out of the portal and closed it. He then let Fluttershy off her back, and she made her way to the door.

Alexander held back, not really caring who it was, but he did listen to the conversation.

"EEP!" Fluttershy jumped back from the door.

"Fluttershy! It's me, Lance." Said a voice outside the door.

Fluttershy stood, "Lance?"

He heard the pony chuckle, "Yes, I'm only in my normal form."

Normal form? What's that suppose to mean?

Fluttershy smiled slightly, "What brings you to me house?"

"Well, I have a new pet Phoenix, Kara, and her wing is broke. Could you fix it for us?"

Fluttershy gasped and jumped forward and grabbed something, "Oh! You poor dear! I'll get that wing all fixed up for you." She then began to fly for the kitchen, the Phoenix had its wings out stretched towards the door, a sad look on its face.

"Don't worry Kara, I'm not leaving you."

Who is this pony?

Alexander walked to the door to see a... holy shit! A human... a very familiar human.

The guy, who's name appears to be Lance, looked down and smiled, "Well hey there, who are you?"

Alexander's mouth hung open, "Lance?! Lance Greenfield?!"

Lance raised an eyebrow, "Do I know you?"

Alexander nodded furiously, "YES! I'm Alexander! Remember, 11th grade!"

Lance's eyes widened, "Whoa! Alexander, I didn't know you were a brony."

Alexander chuckled nervously, "Closest brony... kinda wish I hadn't been one though."

Lance laughed and looked inside, "So, you with Fluttershy?"

Alexander shook his head, "No... but you have to talk to Seth about a contest."

Lance sighed, "Well damn, I guess I'll go talk to him tomorrow."

"Oh, you're a brave girl, yes you are." Fluttershy said as she came towards the door, Kara in her forelegs.

I chuckled, "You fix the wing?"

Fluttershy nodded and sat Kara down. Kara smiled and held out her bandaged wing.

"Just no flying, okay?" Fluttershy said to Kara.

Kara looked up and nodded.

I smiled and kneeled down, "Come here Kara."

She squawked in joy and half flew, half walked to me. She dived into my arms and snuggled up to me again. Yep, I love this Phoenix.... in the way a man loves his best friend, and his best friend being his dog.

I stood up and chuckled, "Thanks Fluttershy."

She smiled, "It was nothing really, I just bandaged her wing."

I smiled warmly, "And I thank you for that." I then looked at Alexander, "I'll see you around, good luck."

As I walked away, I heard Fluttershy ask, "What did he mean good luck?"

Alexander chuckled, "Oh, its nothing."

I smiled and continued down the road, Kara sleeping peacefully in my arms.

Four hours of walking later

I finally stepped up to Dali's house, sweat pouring down my face. I'm so glad they have a train, but why did it have to break down five miles from the city! Damn, I'm unlucky!

I opened the door to see Spark and Fawn playing with a few blocks and toys. They turned to the door, and both looked instantly scared. Fawn stood and began to back away.

I smiled, "It's me, guys. You know, dad."

They both looked at each other and smile. They then ran towards me yelling 'daddy'.

They both hugged my legs, one on each. I chuckled and bent down, "Look what I have."

Kara looked over at them and then hide herself in my jacket.

Fawn smiled, "A Phoenix!"

Spark, to my surprise, said, "It's so cute."

[How much did we miss in our week away?]

I smiled, "Her name is Kara."

Spark reached out and began to pet her side gently, "Is she our pet now?"

I chuckled, "Well, you could call her that. But I'm starting to see her more as a companion." I still get over Spark being able to talk! He can actually form full sentences... I feel like Twilight has something to do with this.

[Or Greg...]
{He better not have!}

Fawn smiled and began to pet Kara, "Is she okay dad? Her wing is bandaged."

I nodded, "She'll be fine, her wing is just broke."

Spark's mouth dropped, "Broken!"

I chuckled, "Don't worry buddy, she'll be fine. I promise."

Spark smiled and continued to pet her.

After a few minutes, I smiled, "So, what do you think of your dad now?"

Fawn looked me over and smiled, "I think you look weird."

I chuckled and looked at Spark.

He smiled, "You look awesome dad."

Damn, I'm loving those kids more and more!

I held out a arm, "Come here you two! Give your old man a hug!"

[Old man? We're only eighteen!]

Fawn and Spark jumped into me, and I pulled them close.

"Where's mom?" Spark asked.

Oh shit... "Well, mommy is gonna be kinda mad at daddy... So he'll be sleeping on the couch probably."

They laughed and Fawn said, "We'll sleep with you daddy, won't we Spark?"

Spark nodded, "Yep! We won't let you be alone."

And there goes my heart! SO MUCH D'AWWWWW!

I pulled them closer, "I love you guys."

"We love you too dad." Fawn said happily.

"Oh and dad! Grandma wants to tell you something important."

I sighed, this is not good.

"She's in the kitchen." Fawn said.

I stood, I do not like this. "Wish me luck." I then began walking towards the kitchen.

Lance's biggest fear

Here, this is now cannon to the story. But only the RP between Purple Blaze, Shadow Breeze, me, and Omnius. This will play a part in the story at some point.

Chapter 92

As I walked down the hall, I could hear my mom humming in the kitchen.

[Those hums may sound innocent! But they're the hums of a crazy woman!]

[Yeah... I hate to admit this, but I'm scared...]
<... Me too.>
{Me three....}

As I neared the doorway that lead into the kitchen, I stopped and sat Kara down on the ground, "Stay here girl, I don't know what she wants... but it can't be good."

Kara frowned up at me.

I chuckled, "I'll be back soon." I hope...

Kara did a sort of sigh and just stood there.

I turned and gulped, here goes nothing.

I walked into the kitchen to see my mom, standing on the sink and doing the dishes.

[This feels like the time we destroyed her car and ran away for a week.... damn, she was fucking angry when we came crawling back home.]

"Hey mom..." I said nervously.

She straightened up and turned with a smile... but that smile faded when she saw me, "Lance?! How did you get your normal body back?!"

I chuckled nervously, "Oh... its a very long story... My kids said you want to tell me something, what is it?"

She frowned for a second, but then smiled, "Well, I have great news!"

[Last time she said that, we ended up going to school in girl clothes....]

[GOD! MY MIND! SHUT THE FUCK UP DAWN! SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP!]
{Who sends their son to school dressed as a girl... just so they can prove they have a cuter kid!}
[We were not cute!]

I began to rub my hands together, "What is it?"

She smiled brightly, "Two things. One, Barehoof and I are getting married."

I smiled a little, "Good for you."

[That wasn't so bad.]

"And two..." She continued.

[Oh fuck me!]

"... I'm pregnant." She finished proudly.

[...]
<...>
{...}

My eyes slowly widened, and my mouth slowly opened.

My mom looked at me strangely, "Lance?"

Snap. "Oh my God! You and the Captain fucked!"

Her eye twitched when I said 'fucked' but she continued to smile, "Yes. The Captain is very good with his tongue and..."

I slammed my hands over my ears, "NO! I don't want to know the details! That's sick! You and the Captain *Gag* AHHHHH!"

<[This is all kinds of wrong!!!]>

She sighed, "Lance, stop being dramatic."

I looked at her, a shocked look on my face, "Dramatic?! I'm not being dramatic! This is being dramatic!"

I then sprinted through the kitchen and dived through a window, shattering the glass in the process. I then stood up and turned and looked in the window. I pointed my right hand at my mom, "You see?! That's being dramatic!"

My mom came to the window and sighed, "Lance, your going to have to pay for this, you know that right."

I lowered my hand and chuckled, "Yeah I know.... but wow, you and the Captain making babies... kinda wrong if you ask me."

[And fucked up!]

[... We already stated that Dawn.]

My mom only chuckled, "You'll get over it. Now, do you want to come to the wedding?"

I sighed, "When is it?"

She smiled, "Two months from now."

I shrugged, "Sure, I'll come."

She smirked, "Good, because I would have made you if you said no."

I began to say something, but then I heard somepony inside, Spark maybe, say, "What happened Grandma?"

My mom smiled happily and turned, "Oh, just your father being stupid, again."

I heard Spark laugh, "Where is he?"

"Outside the window." She said as she stepped away from it.

Seconds later, I saw Spark coming flying through the window, a smile on his face, "Dad!"

I chuckled and caught him, "Whoa buddy! You can fly?!"

He smiled proudly, "Yep! Uncle Greg came by a few days ago and wanted to try some spell. He said it would make me older! So now I can fly! YAY!... Well, I can only fly for a few seconds, but still, its fun!"

My eyes widened, that son of a bitch! Greg! He cast a fucking spell on my son! He's dead!

"Hey bud, you wanna go see Uncle Greg?" I asked, trying to contain my anger.

Spark smiled, "Sure! Can we bring Kara and Fawn?"

I shrugged, "Kara can come, but I would prefer if Fawn stayed here with Grandma."

My mom peeked her head out the window and glared slightly. She then smiled and walked out of view.

Spark sighed, "Okay... So Kara can come?!"

I smiled and messed up his mane with my right hand, "She sure can."

"Yay!"

I walked up to the window and looked in, "Hey mom, could you watch Fawn for me?"

She turned and smiled, "Sure can. Where are you going?"

"Oh, just a little father son bonding."

She chuckled and turned back around, "Have fun."

I smiled and yelled into the window, "Come here Kara!"

I heard a squawk of joy, and saw Kara run into the kitchen, trying to fly. She jumped up on a chair, then jumped onto the table. She ran across it and jumped off it and landed on the counter. She then ran to the window and jumped into my arms.

[Kara's badass! She can do Parkour!]

{Well, that wasn't full on Parkour, but it was still pretty cool!}

I looked down at them, Kara was on my left, rubbing her head against my neck, and Spark was on my right, smiling happily.

So much d'awww! "Ready?"

Spark said yes and Kara kawed. (I have no idea what you call it when a Phoenix makes that sound.)

I chuckled and began walking down the street, ignoring the stares from the high class ponies.

Two hours later, Ponyville

I walked down the street with Spark walking beside me. Kara was still in my arms... I swear, I think she just does this to get a free ride! Meh, I don't care.

"Where does Uncle Greg live dad?!" Spark said, jumping with excitement as he looked around.

I chuckled, "You see that building that looks like its made of desserts?"

He smiled, "YES!"

I couldn't help but smile, "That's his house."

Spark jumped up and fluttered his wings, "Awesome! Uncle Greg is so cool!"

Yeah, just don't follow his ways.

"Come on dad!" Spark yelled as he ran ahead.

I laughed and ran after him, holding Kara close.

As I ran, I looked down at her, "You know, when that wing heals, your flying."

She just rolled her eyes and relaxed. Yeah, enjoy this while it last.

When I reached the door, I saw Spark jumping up and down, ready to go inside.

I opened the door and stepped in. Inside, I could see ponies at the counter. There was a few sitting at some tables eating their snacks.

Where are you... where is that stupid stoner!

"Uncle Greg!" Spark yelled as he ran towards Greg, who was slouching on in a chair.

FOUND YOU!

I walked forward, happy that all the ponies here already accepted my new looks.

Greg looked down, "Whats up Spark?"

Spark smiled, "Nothing, me and dad are just here to see you!"

Greg looked up at me and smiled the best he could, "So... You mad bro?"

I kept a blank face, "Yes, yes I am bro."

I then bent down and put Kara next to Spark, "Okay you two, I'm going to talk to Uncle Greg. Spark, look after Kara... what am I saying? Kara, look after Spark, okay?"

She nodded and put her good wing over him.

I smiled, "Good girl."

I then stood and looked at Greg, "Come with me."

He shook his head, "Nah."

I sighed and grabbed his horn. I then began to drag him across the shop and to the backroom.

"Whoa dude! You're turning me on!"

"Shut up!"

Once we reached the backroom, I tossed him forward, "Okay Greg, what did you do to my son?"

He stood and held up a hoof, "Okay, listen. I'll be straight with you. I used a spell on him that caused him to age."

I gritted my teeth, "Age? How old did you make him?"

"Ummm, about two years old..."

"TWO FUCKING YEARS OLD! You bastard! You just caused me and Twilight to miss two years of our sons life!" I screamed, letting my anger take over.

Greg gulped, "Dude, its not that bad... okay, if you think about it that way, it is..."

I turned and punched the wall, causing a searing pain to shoot through my arm, but I didn't care, "Greg, I'm going to show you the true meaning of pain!"

He smiled and saluted me, "Adiós amigo!" His horn began to glow.

"Oh no you don't faggot!" I yelled as I jumped forward. But, before I could reach him, he disappeared. Damn it!

I sat there for a few minutes, trying to calm myself. Once I was calm, I walked out of the backroom... to see everypony in the room looking at me.

I smiled weakly, "Uhhh, we had a problem.. but its fixed now."

A few turned back to their food and task, but some chuckled.

"Dad! Where's Uncle Greg?!" Spark said as he ran towards me, Kara on his back.

I bent down and chuckled, "Oh, he had to go out."

Spark aww'd at that.

I put my hand on his head, "Do you want to go check out the animals?"

He looked up happily, "YES!"

I smiled and stood, "Come on then, I know where there are a few."

I began to walk towards the door, but I heard a sad squawk behind me. I turned to see Kara, her wings stretched upwards towards me.

I sighed with a smile, "Oh you." I bent down and picked her up. She then curled up in my arms, a happy smile on her face, "Don't get use to this, remember what I told you."

She didn't respond.

"Dad! You said we were going to see some animals!" Spark whined as he stood at the door that lead outside.

I chuckled, "I'm coming."

As I walked towards the door, a blue coated mare stopped me, "He yours?"

I smiled proudly, "He sure is. Cute kid, huh?"

She nodded and smiled sweetly, "Yes he is, he looks just like you... I mean, when you were a pony."

I laughed a little, "Thanks, that's very nice of you to say." I then continued to the door.

Once outside, I looked down at Spark, "Ready to see some animals?"

He smiled and fluttered his wings, "Yes dad! Hurry, your stalling!"

I laughed, "I'm not stalling, but you are by talking." I then began to walk in the direction I was intending to go.

Suddenly, something landed on my shoulders.

At first I was confused, but then I felt Spark's hooves on my head, "Hurry up dad!"

Oh man, this kid is just like me when I was younger.

I began to jog, keeping a steady pace.

Three minutes later

"Here we are." I announced as we reached the edge to the Whitetail Forest.

Spark jumped off my shoulders and glided to the ground, "Finally!"

Kara also jumped out of my arms and began to examine her surroundings.

I looked around and smiled. I had to admit, this place was beautiful.

I walked forward and took in my surroundings.

[THIS PLACE IS FUCKING AWESOME!]
<... And there goes the peacefulness.>

I bent down and looked at a few white flowers. I smiled as I plucked one of them. Maybe I could get a few of those and give them to Twilight. Maybe then she won't be so mad at me.

[I approve of this plan.]

I picked another and smelt it. Mmm, smells like candy... how's that possible?

"Look dad!" Spark said behind me.

I turned to see Spark pointing to his forehead.

My eyes widened, "Is that a..."

"Tree frog!" Spark said happily, "Isn't it cool!"

Flashback: Lance Greenfield, age 4
Setting: Grandmothers house, country side

I smiled as I sat down the bucket of water I had collected from the water hose, "Done!"

Jamie (Age 5) walked up and smiled, "Get the rocks now!"

I smiled as I turned to the gravel driveway. I picked up a few rocks and turned back around, "Got em!"

She pointed to the bucket, "Put them in, hurry, before the bad guys get us!" (Its a kids game.)

I ran over and dropped the rocks in the bucket.

Jamie laughed, "Yay! We won!"

I began to jump up and down, "Yes yes yes yes!"

Jamie walked over to one of the plastic chairs and sat down, "They won't be able to get us now!"

I smiled and began to walk over to one of the chairs, but saw something green on the chairs arm.

I stopped and pointed at it, "What's that?"

Jamie hopped out of her chair and looked at it, "A tree frog. They can climb up really tall thing!"

I took a step forward, "Really?"

"Yep, they are like Spiderman!" She said with excitement in her voice.

My mouth hung open, "Like Spiderman?!"

Bad move with opening my mouth. The tree frog jumped towards me and... landed in my open mouth.

And then... I began to scream like a little girl. I began to run around, knocking over chairs and other things. I was digging at my mouth, trying to get it out. I closed my eyes and kept running... why did I do that?

*Bang*

I fell to the ground on my back after running straight into the house. The tree frog then climbed down my throat and into my stomach.

I then began to cry.

End of flashback

I shuddered and gulped, "Y-Yeah... It's c-cool."

I turned back and crouched there, my face pale.

[... That was horrible.. I hated it!]

{Don't remind me...}

I just crouched there, trying to concentrate on picking the flowers, but I couldn't.

"Dad! Dad, look hurry!" Spark yelled excitedly.

I gulped and turned, "Yes Spar... HOLY SHIT!"

Spark was smiling and was covered head to hoof in... tree frogs! I mean, he was literally covered in them! I couldn't even see his coat! Only his eyes and mouth.

I seized up in fear, "Sp-Spa-Spark!"

He smiled happily, "They are so awesome! Right dad?!"

I began to breath heavily, "They a-are, but co-could you not bring them so cl-close?"

He cocked his head, "Why? Are you okay dad? Do you..." He then began take in breaths, as if he was about to sneeze.

My eyes widened, "Spark, don't you sneeze!"

*Aacho!*

GOD NO!

All of the tree frogs jumped off of him, and I mean all of them, and landed on me. My entire front was covered in tree frogs, my chest, stomach, and face... why the face!

I stood there frozen in fear, unable to move. Then, one of them touched my lips.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET THEM THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" I screamed as I began to run around, arms stretched into the air.

Kara kawed worriedly.

I stumped over to her and fell to my knees, "Kara, please, blow your fire on me!"

Kara made a sad sound.

"Please, Kara, do it! Please!" I begged.

Kara turned away and shook her head.

God why! "Kara, please do it. I beg of you! I'll let you sleep in my bed!"

She turned around and opened her mouth. I knew that would work.

*Whooosh*

The flames flew towards me... but the tree frogs jumped off before it even reached me. Screw me...

The flames slammed into me, washing over my body.

I sat there, on my knees, feeling extra crispy. I opened my mouth and smoke curled out, cool, "Thanks." I then collapsed on my side. At least the horrible tree frogs are gone.

*Splat*

My eyes widened and I looked at my nose to see a tree frog. I opened my mouth and let out a girly scream.

Five hours later, nighttime, Dali's house

I slouched on the couch, almost ready to fall asleep.

Twilight was still pretty PO'd when she came home, and yep, you guess it. I have to sleep on the couch.

I let out a sigh, "This sucks."

"That sucks? How about this?" I heard Twilight say from the hallway. I looked over to see her standing there... OH GOD! She's wet! I mean, her body is wet and she has... a wet mane! Wingboner... I guess it would be a normal boner now.

She walked over to me and swiped her wet tail in my face, "You want this?" She said as she showed off her body.

I nodded, a goofy look on my face.

She walked towards the hall, "Well, you should have thought of that earlier."

FUCK! WHY ARE YOU SO CRUEL?!

She swayed her flank as she disappeared into our room. Damn...

I sighed and laid down, this sucks!

Kara jumped up on me and curled up next to my chest. Why did I have to promise that?

"Dad! Can we sleep with you too!" Fawn said as she and Spark stood in the hallway.

I chuckled, "Sure, come on you two!"

They smiled happily and ran over to me. They then climbed up onto the couch. Fawn got behind me and snuggled up to my back. Spark got in front of me and snuggled up to my stomach.

I smiled happily and began to relax. Just because I can't sleep with Twilight, doesn't mean I can't enjoy the company of my kids.

"I love you guys." I said with a yawn.

They both said they loved me and Kara rubbed her head up under my chin.

Yep, my life is awesome!

Fun fact: Lance's fear is based off my fear. Yes, I'm scared of tree frogs XD And the flashback he had was actually how I became scared of them XD

The story of Mr. Bleak

Quick note: This first scene was written late at night... so it isn't the best. I was tired hahaha! But, its still kinda good.

Chapter 61 audio

Chapter 93

*Groan*

I opened my eyes and sat up. I then rubbed my face. Oh man, this couch is uncomfortable!

I turned slightly to see Kara and Spark. D'awwww! Kara had her good wing over Spark and was snuggled up to him. So adorable! I looked over to Fawn, who's mouth was opened slightly.

I smiled and used my right hand to pet her mane.

<*Yawn* Lance? What are you doing up at this hour?>
{What do you mean?}

{Oh... Well, go back to sleep Dawn.>

{I have to check on something.}

I stood up slowly and popped my back. Oh yeah! That feels good!

I stretched out my arms and yawned.

I then made my way to my and Twilight's room.

I opened the door slightly and poked my head in. I looked over to the bed and felt a tug at my heart.

Twilight was in the bed, making groaning sounds. Her right hoof was stretched out on the empty spot next to her, my spot. Her hoof was moving around, as if she was searching for something.

I smiled a little and walked into the room.

As I neared the bed, she sat up, "Lance?"

I stopped and smiled, "Having trouble sleeping?"

She rubbed her eyes, "Yes... I haven't been able to sleep since you left."

I walked over and sat down on the bed, I then held my arms out to her, "I think I can fix that."

She sighed, "No Lance, you're being punished, remember?"

I chuckled, "Come on Twi, I only want to help."

She hung her head, then she crawled over to me, "Fine, you win."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. She instantly relaxed, the tension in her body began to slowly leave, "Better?"

She moaned and curled up in my lap, "Much better."

After a few minutes of holding her, I slowly stood up and sat her down in bed. When I began to walk away, she whimpered.

I turned and smiled, "I'll be right back."

I then made my way into the living room. Once there, I picked up Spark and Fawn. Kara woke up and yawned, "Come on girl, we're moving into the bedroom."

Kara smiled and jumped into my arms, right on top of Spark.

I smiled down at them and turned for our room. Once I walked back in, I laid the kids on the right side of the bed. Kara was attached to me, rubbing her head against my bare chest.

"Come on Kara, get on the bed. I'm tired as hell." I said with a smile.

She sighed and jumped onto the bed. She then laid down between Spark and Fawn.

I yawned and scratched my back... I know this is bad timing, but damn! I love those boxers!

[GO TO SLEEP LANCE!]

I jumped at Break's sudden outburst.

{I'm going!}

I let out a sigh and climbed into bed.

The second my head hit the pillow, I let out a loud groan.

Twilight put her foreleg over my bare chest and cuddled up to me, "Good night Lance."

I smiled, "Good night Twi."

The next morning, 9:38 AM

"Good morning Equestria! This is White Noise and Grey Byte, and we're here to bring you the music! What should we play first Grey?"

"I don't know White, how about this?"

This song began to play.

What the... What's that?

I opened my eyes to see the ceiling, but I could hear music... very familiar music.. from earth.

I sat up and looked around. I was alone, everyone must have.. oh, never mind, Spark's still here. I looked over to the side of the bed to see a.. radio? What the hell?!

I slide out of bed and began to look it over. It was just like the kind we had back on earth, but this one had Bronies! written on the side.

"*Yawn* Hey dad!" Spark said as he began to sit up.

I looked over and pointed at the radio, "Where did this come from?"

He smiled and crawled over, "It came in the mail a few days ago. Isn't it cool!"

Hmmm, bronies on the radio... yep, Equestria is screwed. "Interesting."

Spark smiled and jumped off the bed, "I smell pancakes!"

I chuckled and stood, "Oh yeah!"

Spark turned, "Race ya."

I smirked and jumped over him, "Your on buddy!"

"HEY! NOT FAIR!" I heard him yell from behind me.

"To bad, I'm bigger and-OOF!" I said before falling to the ground.

Spark jumped on my back and ran over me, "HAHAHA!"

I looked up and smiled, "Cheater!"

I jumped to my feet and chased after him, but he had already made it to the dinning room. Oh, he's good!

I chuckled and walked in to see the rest of the family, even Dali. "Morning."

Twilight turned and sighed, "Lance, could you at least put your clothes back on?"

I looked down at myself, "What? I can't walk around in my boxers?"

Twilight chuckled, "No, no you can not. No matter how much I enjoy it."

I could help but laugh, "Fine, I'll put my clothes back on, but first..." I lunged forward and grabbed a handful of pancakes.

"LANCE!" Twilight yelled.

I ran out of the room laughing like a mad man.

"*Sigh* Remember kids, don't do the things your father does." I heard Twilight say as I walked away.

I smiled and crammed a whole pancake in my mouth. Damn, that's tasty!

*Knock knock knock*

I stopped and looked at the door, "I got it!" I then walked over to the door and opened it, "Yes.... Mr. Bleak?!" I yelled as I jumped back in surprise. The dude was still a little taller than me!

Mr. Bleak chuckled, "Good morning Lance... nice underwear."

I grabbed a pillow and put it over my waist, "It's boxers, not underwear."

Mr. Bleak laughed and walked into the house.

I looked at him, "Yeah, just come on in."

"I did." He said as he turned.

I sighed, "Why are you here?"

He looked around, "Where is everyone?"

"Kitchen." I answered.

He looked directly at me and sighed, "Good, I'm going to tell you a story."

I groaned, "Why?! What's it even about?"

"My life."

I smiled, "Wait! You're going to tell me all about you?!"

He nodded, "Yes, I've decided I can trust you.... just put on some clothes and meet me in your room."

I began to run down the hallway, but stopped, "Uhhh, wait out here."

He stopped and nodded.

I then rushed into my room and quickly looked for my clothes... where are they?!

[Behind you... dumbass.]

I turned to see my clothes in a neat pile. Hmmm, I wonder who washed them. I quickly pulled on my clothes, but had a few problems.

I turned and walked to the door, "Okay, now you can come in."

Mr. Bleak walked into the room and closed the door, "Okay Lance, what I'm about to tell you never leaves this room, got that?"

I nodded and sat down on the bed, "I won't tell anyone, promise."

He smiled, "I know you won't."

Mr. Bleak's POV

"Okay Lance, do not interrupt me, got that?" I said, giving Lance a very stern look.

Lance nodded and scratched his shoulder, "Sure, go ahead and tell me."

I closed my eyes to gather my thoughts, "A long time ago, around the beginning of the world..."

"WHAT?! You've been around since the beginning of time?!" Lance yelled out.

*Smack*

"I said don't interrupt." I said as Lance rubbed his face where my ruler had hit him.

He sighed and waved his hand, "Continue."

I smiled and cleared my throat, "Like I was saying, I've been around since the beginning of this world, so has my brother. We don't know how, or why we are able to live this long. But, we think it's because we are both Alicorns."

Lance raised his hand.

I sighed, "Okay, what is it? I'll allow this one time."

Lance rubbed his hands together, "So... you are a Alicorn? But, where's your horn?"

I nodded, "I am, and I'll get to that later. May I continue?"

Lance sat back, "You may."

"I will not bore you with all the details of what we did over the centuries, but I will say this: time has a way of making anypony, even brothers, hate each other. My brother and I hate each other, but, to tell you the truth, I don't fully know why. We fought over everything. This went on for a few hundred years, till finally, he snapped. He attacked me one night while I slept, and I would have died if it hadn't been for his knife. I used his own knife to cut his wings off... I still regret that, even if it was in self defense. Sadly, that's not all that happened that night, in his rage, he managed to break off my horn. That alone is one of the most painful things a male pony can go through.

"After that night, we went our own separate ways. I traveled alone for so long, I forgot what it was like to have a companion. I grew to care for myself and only myself... moving away from that now. I was there when Equestria was founded, I watched it all take place from a hill. It was a great celebration, I'll tell you that. But, it wasn't for me to enjoy. I wasn't a citizen, I was a outcast, somepony who was nothing but a freak of nature. The wilderness is a unkind mistress, Lance. Don't forget that. It can turn even the most loving of ponies into a heartless killer... I saw this many times.

"A few decades pasted before there was a full on government in the land of Equestria. The first ruler was a unicorn by the name of 'Golden Hoof'. He was a kind pony, but he was incredibly greedy. Always demanding more from the subjects. Talk of a revolution began to spread through out the land. But, before this could happen, two beings came down from the heavens and took over control of the land. You will know those two as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I did not know where they came from, or why, but what I did know was that I wasn't the only one of my kind anymore. I felt I could finally be accepted into the normal life of a peasant pony. Sadly, this was not to happen, because the same day I revealed myself was the same day I became the personal guard for the Princesses. Apparently, they felt safer being protected by another Alicorn... now that I think back, I should have been the king.... forget that thought.

"Life was okay, I could get the best kind of food when ever I wanted. I could take a actual bath with hot water, and best of all, I could spend the day in the Princesses presence. Now, I have to tell you this. They were much much younger back then, and I also mean they looked younger. Not much, but I was still taller than they were. I may have had feelings for them, but I couldn't act on them. It just felt to wrong, with them being so young looking. Well, a few hundred years went by and my feelings grew. I had trouble keeping them down sometimes... you know Lance, it sucks to have wings sometimes, they give off your feelings."

Lance chuckled and nodded.

"You should know this better than most ponies Lance. Peace never last. Sure, you can go for a long time in peace, but it'll never truly last. You know about the events of Nightmare Moon, am I correct? You may speak for now."

Lance nodded, "Yes, I know all about it. Luna got jealous of her sisters sun because the ponies were always out and about during the day time, but were all inside when night came around. Yeah, I don't know how she turned into Nightmare Moon though, but I do know that it only lasted one day."

I couldn't help but laugh at his explanation, "Lance, some of that is correct... but that's what the Princesses want you to know. You see, it didn't last one day, that was made up by Princess Celestia so she could hide the horrible details from future ponies. It actually lasted seven full months. Seven months with no sun light, and that my friend, was horrible. So much death... Anyways, I too do not know how she became Nightmare Moon. I walked into the chambers to see Princess Luna, but it wasn't really her. It was Nightmare Moon, and knowing me, I attacked her... why did I do that!

"I'm ashamed of this next part Lance, I really am. During this very brief fight, something happened... she kissed me... she bucking kissed me! And my stupid feelings got in the way of my duties and I bucking joined her side! I still wish I had never done that... but I did and I will have to live with that forever. I will leave out the details, but we became lovers... horrible lovers. I actually enjoyed being that way, can you believe it! We... did things... unspeakable things."

Lance stood up and began to walk over to me.

I pointed my hoof at him, "Sit down boy! I do not want your sympathy!"

Lance frowned, but he obeyed and sat down.

"Good. Her castle was out in the middle of the Everfree Forest, away from everypony else. There was a few followers... but they were not the kind of ponies you want to be around. I will now skip ahead to an important event, the birth of my son. Yes, my son was born of Nightmare Moon... but he was a good colt, I promise you that. His name was Blade, a name I've always thought about. Why? I'm old, get over it. He was a thoughtful pony, I loved him. I couldn't say the same thing about his mother though. Skipping ahead to the day Nightmare Moon was cast away. You see, after she was banished to the moon, that only left me, her lover, and her son, Blade. Princess Celestia took mercy on us and banished us from Equestria. I left with my son and set up a home a few hundred miles from the Equestrian boarder. We lived there for a long, happy century. But our peaceful life was interrupted by the progress of society. You see, a town was built a few miles away from our cabin. And the ponies there all seemed interested in us, not because of who we were, but because of my cutie mark... a cutie mark given to me by Nightmare Moon."

I then turned and raised my wings to show Lance my cutie mark. I always keep it hidden from everypony, I don't want them to know who I am... or who I was. My cutie mark is a grey shield with Nightmare Moon's head on it and a crescent moon below it.

I turned back and continued, "Due to this, my son found a mare... a mare I did not approve of. She was mortal, and I knew if my son fell in love with her, he would only be hurting himself. Why? Because, he would out live her. That is why I've never fallen or even tried to fall for another pony. I just can't bring myself to do it... even if it will bring me some happiness. Now, my son didn't listen to me and married this mare. I was furious, but I didn't get involved... I should have though... I wish I would have stopped what had happened. My son and his wife had a foal, Starch. They loved him, and I grew to love him over the years. Now, a few decades went by, and my sons wife grew older and older. The day came that she died of old age, and my son, he was still his normal self. He was like me, he couldn't age or grow old, only go on living. I left the house, I wanted to give him time to mourn over his lose, I took Starch with me... but when we returned... my son was dead." I stopped to wipe a tear out of my eye, "He had hung himself... but he left me a note. I still remember that note, word for word. It had read, 'Dad, I should have listened to you when you told me not to marry her. But you was wrong about one thing, I do not regret it. I love her with all my heart, and that still doesn't cover how much I love her. I'm sorry to say this, but I can't go on living forever without her. Father, I am sorry. I love you.'"

I turned away and began to wipe the tears out of my eyes. This was to emotional for me.

"Mr. Bleak?" Lance said behind me.

I straightened up and turned, "Sorry about that Lance, I will now continue: I was left to take care of Starch, even if he didn't need my help. He was pretty strong on his own, but he had a flaw. He had mortal blood in him.. he was born a Pegasus, a normal pony almost. Luckily, he kept the trait of immortality. He was a great stallion to have around, but he was like his father. Always trying to find a lover, he even got a cutie mark for it! Can you believe it?! A cutie mark for dating mares! *Sigh* I still love him though, he is my grandson after all. Well, to get back on track, we lived out there in my old house for a while, but finally, I decided it was time to come back to Equestria. It was easy enough, the Princess forgot about us, at least, I hope she has. I found a nice town, I already forgot its name. We settled down in it and stayed for a while, at least half a century, but then the residents became suspicious of us. So, we left. This went on for a few hundred years, town to town, city to city. It was fun though, but not full feeling.

"Over a hundred years ago, Starch and I broke apart. No, we didn't fight, we just decided to take our own paths in life. We meet up from time to time, but that was it. I just recently moved to Ponyville, and when I say recently, I mean thirty seven years ago. And, as you can tell, I took up the job of being the detention teacher at the local school, and that is fun. Now, I enjoyed my peace for a while, but then you bronies showed up. I'm not mad or anything, I actually enjoy having you all around. But here's the thing, when you came into town on the first day, I didn't pay you much attention, but I knew you were not a pony. I knew you were a human, I just didn't sense anything of worth in you. But, a few days later, I saw you again, but this time, I sensed a great power coming from you. I soon found out that you died and came back, how, I do not know. Now, when you died, you seemed to have gained more 'Holy Energy' than the other bronies. After this, I began to watch you, and soon, I started watching over you. Lance, you get yourself into a lot of trouble, you know that? Now think back, I actually helped you a few times through out your stay here in Equestria.

"I've done my best to keep you out of harms way, and I had fun doing it."

Lance jumped up, "WAIT! If you were watching over me, then why didn't you help me when Frederic's father attacked us?!"

I sighed, "Lance, I knew you could handle yourself. So I didn't intervene. I've noticed a change in you. You went from being the weak pony who couldn't defend himself to a stallion who can fight off a crowd of stallions. You've proven yourself on that one already. But, I'm sad to say you are still weak, compared to a lot of beings out there. Now, I'll move on. When you became a small colt, and went to school, I couldn't believe it. Especially when you got detention... I had so much fun messing with you that day." I let out a small laugh before continuing, "I loved fighting along side you against the those stallions, but it wasn't really that fun. *Sigh* Anyway, back tracking to when your son was born. When I first saw him, I couldn't believe it. I sensed something in him, something only a Alicorn should have. Lance, I'm very sure Spark has the ability to use magic."

Lance fell back on the bed, "What?! How is that even possible?!"

"Because, your a human, but your also part Pegasus, Reptile, and part Zebra. Lance, you are very special in the way your body is made up. Now, Spark's mother is Twilight Sparkle, the most powerful mortal unicorn alive. I can not really explain this, but somehow, Spark has taken some, if not all, of yours and Twilight's traits. He is very unique, a one of a kind. He will grow up to be something special, I can promise you that Lance.

"Anyway, I've been wanting to tell you this Lance. I've taken it upon myself to be Spark's protector. I will keep him out of harms way, even after you and Twilight are no longer around to be there for him. I only ask you this, do you approve?"

Lance rubbed his hands together, "Wow, that's a lot to take in Mr. Bleak."

"You can call me Darkest if you want, my full name is Darkest Bleak."

Lance nodded, "Okay... Darkest, I give you my approval. I want Spark to be safe, even when I'm not around. I trust you, so please keep our son safe from any harm that comes his way."

I give him a bow, "I promise I will protect him with my life if I must." I then straightened up and sighed, "Lance, I've done my best to keep from getting attached to another pony all my life. I have never had a real friend, just ponies trying to be my friends.. but Lance, I'm proud to call you my friend."

Lance sniffled and rubbed his eye, "Mr. Bleak, I'm glad your my friend too..."

Awkward silence.

I chuckled, "Whoa, we just killed the mood."

Lance laughed out loud, "I guess we did. First its all serious, then we're getting emotional. Funny shit man."

I laughed and turned with a sigh, "Lance, I will check up on Spark from time to time, does that sound good?"

"Yep, I want him to get to know his guardian."

I smiled at that thought, "Thank you Lance." I then opened the door and left the room.

Lance's POV

I sat down on the bed and sighed, "Wow, that's a lot to take in."

[I know, who would have thought he went through all that?]

I stood up and looked around, "I guess I should go talk to Spark."

[Do it man!]

I can't write anymore, I read Purple Blazes blog: This link. I'm no longer in the mood...

Spark in the palace

I must say this now. Spark may be able to us magic, but he can only do one thing: Telekinesis. He may be able to do more later, but that's all I'm giving him. Why did I just tell you all this? Well, I kinda didn't want to read comments saying I'm making Spark a mary-sue, because I'm not. Anyways, carry on.

You will also notice something. When Spark is with Lance and Twilight, he acts confident and happy, but when he's with others, he acts more mature and less confident. Just like me XD.... I need to stop putting my flaws in those characters, do you agree?

Chapter 94

"And that pretty much sums it all up." I said, finishing up my explanation of what Mr. Bleak told me about Spark. I left out everything else, because I made a promise, but I did tell them everything about me and Spark.

Twilight had a shocked look on her face, but it soon formed into a happy smile, "So, Spark can use magic?!"

I shrugged, "I guess."

Spark was jumping up and down happily, "Does this mean I'll be like mom?!"

Twilight smiled and picked him up, she then began to nuzzle his cheek, "I hope so, I want to teach you so many things!"

I chuckled and stood up, "Hang on there Twi, I don't want our son to be into this magical stuff so soon."

Twilight looked at me and frowned, "But Lance! I've always wanted to have a foal I could teach magic too, and now I can! You have to let me, please!"

I walked over and put my hand on her shoulder, "Twi, you can teach him to use it, just please keep it to low level spells. Okay?"

She smiled happily, "Don't worry honey, I wouldn't teach him something to advanced."

Spark looked at us and smiled, "So, when can we start mom?!"

I looked at Spark and rubbed his head, "Hold up buddy, I want to take you somewhere first."

Spark and Twilight looked at me curiously and Twilight asked, "Oh? And where are you planning on taking him?"

"The Palace." I answered simply.

Twilight looked confused, "The palace?!"

I nodded, "Yep, I think I should talk to Frederic about this."

"Why not Princess Celestia? Wouldn't see be a better source of information?" Twilight asked while cocking her head.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I may go to her if Frederic can't help me."

Twilight sighed, "Go to her first."

"But I..."

Twilight gave me a stern look, "Go to her first!"

I sighed in defeat, "Fine. Come on Spark, lets go see Uncle Frederic."

Spark jumped to the floor and smiled happily, "YAY! I have two Uncles?!"

I laughed and bent down, "Oh, you have a lot more than two my boy."

His smile widened, "I do?! Awesome!"

I chuckled and began walking to the door, I could hear Spark running up behind me.

Before I could open it, I heard Kara squawk unhappily. I turned to see her holding her wings up to me, a sad look on her face.

I bent down and rubbed her head, "Sorry Kara, but you need to stay here."

She made a sad sound and jumped upward, trying to get in my arms.

I sighed, "Fine, but you're staying with Spark while I talk to Frederic."

She smiled happily and jumped into my arms and relaxed.

I stood and looked down at her, "Oh you... Remember, that wing heals, your flying."

I turned and opened the door. I walked out and let Spark come out, but before I could close the door, Twilight yelled out to me.

"Remember, Princess first!"

I sighed, "Sure thing Twi." I closed the door and smiled down at Spark, "We're talking to Frederic first."

He snickered, "Good one dad."

I chuckled, "Just don't tell your mother, she'll kill me... I'm serious about that Spark."

He laughed and began to walk, "Sure thing dad, I won't say a word."

I smiled and began to follow my son, "On ward!"

Twenty two minutes later, outside of Princess Luna's and Prince Frederic's room
Spark's POV

I stood outside of the large door with my mouth wide open. This place was huge! This door alone is bigger than dad! And he's big!

Dad put Kara down and smiled, "Okay Kara, I want you to stay out here with Spark, Okay?"

Kara gave a sigh and walked over to me.

Dad smiled and stood up, "Thank you." He then walked into the room, leaving us alone.

I looked around and sighed, "What are we suppose to do?"

I suddenly received my answer when the door opened and a large human stepped out, just like dad. But this one was slightly larger and wore different clothes.

He smiled down at me, "Hey Spark, you can play with Nova and Star Chaser if you want."

I cocked my head, "Who are they?"

The man, who I now know is Frederic, smiled, "My kids. They're down the hall and to the right if you want to see them."

I looked down the massive hallway and shrugged, "Sure, thanks Uncle Frederic."

Frederic smiled and rumbled my mane, "No problem kiddo." He then turned and walked back into the room.

I looked at Kara and smiled, "Do you want to come with me?"

Kara looked at me and then at the door. She looked like she was confused on what to do.

I chuckled when I figured out why she was looking at the door in confusion, "Don't worry, dad will come get us before he leaves."

Kara shrugged and jumped onto a bench and sat there.

I sighed and began to walk down the hall, "Suit yourself."

Okay, down the hall and to the right... sounds easy. I walked down the hall, looking at all the paintings, but one caught my eye.

It was a painting of two ponies, one a Alicorn and the other a Pegasus, fighting a strange winged creature. In the background, I could see a few destroyed houses. I looked at the Pegasus and cocked my head, he looks familiar... DAD?!

The Pegasus in the picture is my dad! My dad! He fought that thing with Uncle Frederic?! I have to ask him about that later!

I turned and continued down the hallway, till I finally came to another room, this one had 'Nova and Star Chaser's room' written on it.

I built up my courage and opened the door. On the other side, I saw two Alicorn's fighting, not real fighting, but the kind little kids do when they're playing.

"Uhhh, hey?" I said nervously.

They both stopped and looked at me. The colt raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?" (Why can they talk? They're Alicorn's, I don't have to explain much after that.)

I gulped, "Spark."

The filly smiled, "OH! I remember mom telling us about you! Remember Star?"

Star Chaser sighed, "Yes, I remember. But sis, don't call me Star! Call me Chaser!"

Nova hit his shoulder, "Okay, don't get your wings in a bunch."

Star Chaser rolled his eyes and looked at me, "So?"

I looked around, "So what?"

He sighed, "Are you going to leave or what?"

Nova pushed her brother out of the way and smiled at me, "Don't listen to him, come on in."

My heart skipped a beat when she smiled at me... why did it do that?

I walked into the room nervously and looked around. It was fairly large, bigger than most of my house.... yeah, this room is huge!

Nova laughed, "I take it you like our room."

I looked over at her and chuckled a little, "Yeah, I do. It's better than my room."

Star Chaser smirked, "I could have guessed that."

Nova shot him a dirty look, "Be nice!"

Star Chaser smiled, "I am being nice Nova, if I wasn't being nice, I would have done this." His horn began to glow brightly.

I suddenly felt myself being lifted into the air... oh come on! Star Chaser than tossed me into the air.

Luckily I had wings and was able to catch myself.

Nova stomped her hoof and glared at her brother, "STAR! Don't do that to him! He's trying to be our friend!"

Star Chaser shrugged, "Yeah, what if I don't want him to be my friend?"

What the... why is he being so hostile towards me? I just got here...

Nova sighed and shook her head, "Star, you should try and be friends with him. Please, for me?"

He shook his head, "Nope, you can count me out. Tell dad I'm going for another flight around the castle."

Nova facehoofed, "Star... you are so stubborn."

He smiled proudly, "I try sis." He then jumped into the air and flew up to me, "Listen here Sparky, I don't like you much, and if you so much as hurt my sister while I'm gone, your going to feel my wrath. Got that?"

I gulped and nodded.

He smiled, "Good." He twisted around and flew towards the open window.

What's his problem.... I didn't even do anything to him.

I slowly descended to the floor and let out a sigh.

Nova also sighed, "Don't worry about him. He's only being protective of me... again."

I looked at her, "What did I do to offend him?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, he's just being Star Chaser is all."

Well, I guess I could try and find out next time I see him. "So, what do you want to do? I don't know how long our dads will talk."

Nova furrowed her brow and moved her lips to the side, deep in thought.

Wow.... she looks kinda... cute? Why am I having these thoughts? Why are my wings stretched out?

Nova looked at me and giggled, "Spark, why are your wings stiff?"

I felt myself blush, "I don't know..."

She giggled again, "I can't think of anything to do but talk. So, why does your dad have to talk to mine?"

I shrugged, "I guess its because I can use magic... but I didn't even know I could."

I know they said I could use magic, but come on. That's kinda impossible, I don't have a horn.

Nova's eyes widened and a large smile formed on her face, "You can use magic?!"

I gulped, "I-I guess."

She turned around and walked over to a table, "Here, lets give it a try." She picked up a cup in her mouth and walked over to me. She then placed the cup a few feet from me, "Try to levitate that. This should be easy, mom said all unicorn's come with the ability to levitate objects, its sorta the first thing you learn."

I doubt that. I don't think I can... I looked up at her to see her giving me a encouraging smile.

On second thought...

I looked at the cup and began to focus on it. I kept focusing till I had a slight headache. I knew this was impossible.

"Come on, you can do it!" Nova cheered.

And my confidences is back up! I closed my eyes and focused on the cup. I pictured it floating upward. I focused harder on the mental image of it floating till...

"You did it! You did it!" I heard Nova yell at the top of her lungs.

I opened my eyes to see the cup floating a few inches off the ground... YES! I really did do it!

Sadly, once I looked at it, I lost focus and it fell to the floor.

Nova was prancing around and chanting, "You did it! You did it!"

I smiled, this was so awesome!

"Spark!" Nova said suddenly as she stopped and looked at me with a large smile.

I looked at her nervously, "What?"

She began to flutter her wings in excitement, "Do you like pranks?"

Pranks? I guess... "Yeah, why do you ask?"

She smiled happily, "Aunt Annabel and Aunt Vinetion told me all about the pranks they've pulled. I've always wanted to pull one on somepony!"

I cocked my head, "Aunt Annabel and Aunt Vinetion? Where are they? I kinda want to meet them now..."

Nova giggled, "Oh, Aunt Annabel isn't here. I think she said something about spending time in chaos... I don't know what that means though. Aunt Vinetion is with Aunt Celestia, but we can't bother them."

"Why can't we?" I asked curiously.

Nova blushed, "Uhh, last time me and Star went in there, we caught them doing something..."

My face turned red, I think I know what she means... "Oh... I guess we stay away from them then."

Nova nodded, "Yeah, we should. But anyway, back to the pranks. Do you want to pull one?"

I smiled, "Yeah! It could be fun."

Nova smiled and began to jump, "Yay!"

Darn wings, why do they keep stretching out like that?!

Nova ran over to the door and opened it, "Come on! I know this one guard who we can prank."

I ran after her, "Coming!"

She lead me down a few passages and corridors. And I was right, this place is huge!

Nova skidded to a halt. I also skidded to a halt, "What is it?"

She turned and smiled, "He's right over there!"

I looked past her to see a grey unicorn wearing golden armor. Whoa, he looks cool!

Nova began to fly upward and motioned for me to follow.

I gulped, come on wings! Don't fail me now! I began to flap my wings, and I felt myself slowly, but surely, rise upward.

Once I was next to Nova, she pointed to the object next to the guard, "Okay, I want you to try and turn that radio on."

I nodded and focused on the nob. I heard a click as it turned on... wow, I'm getting the hang of this!

The radio blared to life, "Alright, now, we have a special guest with us today!" White said exceitedly.

"That's right, White! With us today, to do a live performanece, we have the amazing: Yaplap!!~" Grey exclaimed, the sound of something hitting the mic following his voice.

White mumbled something below his breath at this. Sounded like 'Watch the Mic when you backflip, moron!'

"Anyways, take it away Yaplap!" said White, and this song began to play.

Whoa! That song is... just wow!

Nova raised an eyebrow, "This song is... strange."

Down below, the guard was looking at the radio with curiosity, trying to find out how it turned on by its self.

Nova giggled and levitated a water balloon up to me... where did she get that?

"Here, drop this on his head." She said holding back her laughter.

I looked at her, "What? Why me?"

She shrugged, "Because..."

I sighed, "Fine." I grabbed the water balloon and flew over the guard... am I really about to do this?

I looked back to see Nova, smiling with excitement. Yep, I'm about to do this.

I looked down and took a deep breath, I'm going to regret this, I just know it. I released the balloon.

*Splat*

The guard jumped back in surprise and looked around, "What the buck!"

Time to leave...

I spun around and flew after Nova, who was already flying away.

Once they were safely back in Nova's and Star Chaser's room, Nova fell to the floor laughing like crazy.

"That was funny!" She said still laughing.

I stood there, forcing out my laughs. I didn't find that very funny, I mean, sure it was funny in a sense, but meh. I just don't find it this funny.

Nova stood and wiped a tear out of her eye, "Wow, we need to do more pranks like that one."

I forced out a chuckled, "Yeah, we sure do."

She nodded happily, "But not right now. I want to do something else."

*Spring*

Stupid wings! Why do you keep popping out?!

Nova giggled, "Why do you keep opening your wings?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, they keep doing it by themselves."

She walked over and looked them over, "Strange, my wings have never done this." She reached out and began to try and push them back down to my side.

My face burned red when she touched my wings. What's wrong with me?

"Go down!" She growled as she tried to push them down to their normal position.

Why do I feel so nauseous? Wow, her hooves feel good... WHY DO I KEEP THINKING LIKE THIS?!

"AHA! Gotcha!" Nova yelled out as she finally pushed my wings down.

I turned to face her and forced a chuckled, "Thanks Nova..."

She smiled proudly, "No problem Spark!"

We stood there for a few seconds in silence till...

"Haha! That's my boy!" Came a voice from the doorway.

I turned to see my dad, Kara in his arms. How long has he been there?

He chuckled, "Come on Spark, we're going to see Uncle Seth and Zorrow."

I smiled, "More Uncles?!"

He nodded, "Yep." He looked past me at Nova, "Hey Nova, how you doing?

She giggled, "Hey Uncle Lance! I'm doing great! Me and Spark had so much fun!"

Dad smiled, "I'm glad. Come on Spark, lets get a moving." He turned and began to walk away.

I turned to Nova and smiled, "See you later Nova."

She giggled and waved, "Bye Sparky."

My heart fluttered when she said that. I suddenly felt light headed... oh here we go...

I began to stumble after my dad, head swaying side to side.

.... What's wrong with me?

Lance's POV

I looked back at Spark, who was swaying side to side as he walked.

I smiled, that's my boy alright.

[Ugh! Love is over rated!]
<... That's not what you said during our little talk about our love for Twilight.>
[Fuck you Dawn!]

I chuckled, its a good thing I'm not a concerned father.... wait.... should I be a concerned father?

Nah, those are the boring kind of dads, I'll try and be the fun, supportive father.

*Thud*

Really?

I turned to see Spark, unconscious on the floor. Damn, that boy must be love sick... love sick hehehe.

I walked back to Spark and picked him up. What am I going to do with this kid?

After I had him in my arms in a comfortable position for me and Kara, I began to walk for the front door of the Palace. Time to find out what this little competition is that Seth is setting up. This better not be something that has something to do with Fluttershy....

Bullies

Chapter 62 audio

Sorry about that.... I accidently hit unpublish lol

Chapter 95

"I should have known." I said shaking my head.

Seth began to beg, "Dude, come on! You have to be the judge for the competition!"

I shook my head again and crossed my arms, "No, I don't know if you know this, but a mare's heart isn't a prize that just be won in a competition."

Seth sighed, "But dude! I've been waiting ten months! You have to be the judge!"

I exhaled, "No, I don't feel comfortable being the judge for a..."

"I'll pay you a hundred bits."

I smirked, "I suddenly feel a change in my views. When is the competition?"

He smiled happily, "Yes! It's tomorrow... Oh damn it!"

"What is it?"

He looked up and sighed, "I don't know what we're even going to do for events."

I smirked again, "I can come up something."

He pumped his hoof into the air, "Alright! I'll go tell the others! Thank you so much dude!"

He then spun around and galloped off towards Ponyville.

"Bye?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry about him Lance, he's just excited." Zorrow said, crouched down in some bushes that overlooked Sweet Apple Acres.

"Uhhh, are you spying on Applejack?" I asked curiously.

He sighed and turned, "I'm not spying! I'm observing!"

Isn't that the same thing?

[No Lance, its not the same thing. Spying means your gathering information for someone else. He's clearly gathering information for himself.]

[Exactly.]

Zorrow furrowed his brow, "Uhhh... where's Spark?"

I pointed behind me, "Right behind me next to Kara."

He shook his head, "No he's not. It's only Kara."

"What?" I turned around confused. "Spark?! Kara, where's Spark?!"

Kara looked beside her where Spark had been and shrugged.

[You lost your kid.... Your a great parent Lance.]
{SHUT IT!}

I looked around frantically, "I'll see you later Zorrow!"

I ran over and picked up Kara. I then began to sprint off towards Ponyville. Where did he go?!

Spark's POV

I was walking down some street in Ponyville, taking in the beautiful town. Why can't we live here? I mean, mom and dad talked about moving here, but they keep saying something about the school's being better in Canterlot.

I don't care about that, I would rather live here. All the ponies here are so nice, none of them even care about my looks.

A mare walked by and smiled at me, "Good morning."

I smiled back and waved, "Good morning!"

She chuckled and continued on her way.

Yep, I'm so talking to dad about moving here.

"Look! It's another one!" Said a colt who had just walked out of a story, he was followed by two other colts.

What?

They walked up to me and glared, "Who are you?"

One leaned forward and whispered to the lead pony, "I think he's Stripes brother, look at him, he looks just like him!"

The lead one glared, "Are you Stripes brother?!"

I shook my head, "No, I don't know a Stripes."

"He's lying Blitz! He has to be!" The one on his left said.

Blitz held up his hoof, "Quiet! I know he's lying."

I shook my head and took a step back, "No, I'm telling the truth!"

"Grab him!"

The two ponies beside Blitz jumped forward and grabbed forelegs.

"Hurry! Get him over to that alley before somepony sees us!" Blitz said.

They then began to force me to walk to an alley between two buildings.

Once there, they threw me against the wall and stood above me, "What should we do with him?"

Blitz chuckled, "We'll get to all that in a second. But first," He reached down and pulled me to my hind legs, "Where is Stripes? We haven't seen him in a while."

I gulped, "I don't know a Stripes!"

Blitz's snarled, "Bad answer."

He then hoofed me in the gut, causing me to gasp painfully.

"Now, tell us and we'll go easy on you." He said.

"Yeah, tell us and we'll go easy on ya!" The one behind him said.

What do I do? I don't know what they want!

"Tell us!"

I began to breath heavily, "I don't know who you're talking about!"

Blitz growled and hoofed me in the face, hard!

He let me fall to the ground, but he gave me a sharp kick before I came to a stop.

All three of them towered over me, smiling.

"Last chance wimp!"

I coughed, "I don't know!"

Blitz chuckled, "Okay guys, lets show him we mean business!"

I closed my eyes and prepared for the hits.

*POW POW POW*

I winced, but felt nothing. I slowly opened my eyes to see a very large pony, bigger than my dad, standing over me.

What the... who is he?!

"What are you three doing?!" He growled angrily.

I looked over to see Blitz and his two friends on the ground all holding their faces. Blitz had a small amount of blood pouring out of his mouth.

Blitz pulled his hooves from his face and yelped, "Mr. Bleak?!"

Mr. Bleak stomped his hoof, "I said! What are you three doing?!"

One of the others answered weakly, "We're only playing!"

Mr. Bleak smirked, "Don't lie to me boy." He pulled a ruler from his back.... a ruler?

He held it out and smirked, "So, who's first?"

They all three yelped and ran down the alley and took a sharp turn.

Mr. Bleak looked down at me and smiled, "One second." He then shot off after them.

A second later, I heard the sounds of a ruler hitting flesh and the yelps of pain.

Suddenly, Mr. Bleak was back in front of me, "So, what happened here?"

I gulped, "I don't know..."

He chuckled and put the ruler back on his back, "Don't worry about them, they're not going to bother you again."

I smiled and stood, "Thank you."

Mr. Bleak smiled back down, "It was no problem Spark."

My eyes widened, "How do you know my name?"

He chuckled again, "Simple, I know your father."

Wait, dad did mention something about this guy! Darn it! Why wasn't I listening?!

"Spark!" I heard somepony very familiar yell out.

I looked to the end of the alley to see my dad running towards us, Kara in his arms, as always, "Dad!"

When he reached us, he looked down at me, "Spark! Why did you run off?"

I gulped, "I'm sorry dad, I just wanted to see the town..."

Dad glared, but suddenly looked worried, "Spark?! What happened to you?!"

I cocked my head, "What do you mean?"

He leaned down and put Kara down, he then put his hand on my face. I winched when he touched my snout, "Your bleeding out of your nose!"

I didn't even know I was....

Mr. Bleak tapped dad's shoulder, "Don't worry Lance, it was only those three bullies that messed with you. I took care of them before they could actually hurt Spark."

Dad's eye twitched, "Those fucking.... never mind. Thank you Mr. Bleak."

Mr. Bleak smiled proudly, "It was no problem Lance. I told you I would protect Spark."

I raised my eyebrow, "What does he mean dad?"

Dad chuckled, "Well Spark, Mr. Bleak here is your Godfather."

"Godfather?"

He nodded, "Yep, he's agreed to watch over you and keep you safe... when I'm not around."

I looked at Mr. Bleak, "Thank you Mr. Bleak!"

He smiled and rumbled up my mane, "You're welcome Spark. I'm happy to watch over you."

I smiled, I like this guy, even if he looks scary.

Dad picked up Kara and chuckled, "Come on Spark, lets get you home... let me deal with your mother about that cut."

I nodded and waved goodbye to Mr. Bleak.

As we walked out of the alley, I looked at dad and Kara.

Why does Kara always want to have my dad carry her? Is she that lazy?

I shook my head and continued to follow dad.

Lance's POV, five hours later

[Dayum! Twilight made us her bitch!]
{I know.... how was I suppose to lie about Spark's injury... damn, she was pissed!}

[Yeah, I guess.]

I chuckled and sat down beside Spark's and Fawn's beds, "Okay you two, you ready to have a book read to you?"

They both nodded happily and snuggled up in their blankets.

I rubbed my hands together, "Okay, which book do you want me to read to you tonight?"

Spark smiled and reached under his bed, "Here dad! I found this book in your room, can you read it to us?"

He then hoofed (Handed?) me the book.

[Lance! Remember what I said! We've been over this! Time to rip off your own genitals!]
I gulped, {No Break! Don't do it!}

My right hand began to reach down to my groin area.

"What are you doing daddy?" Fawn asked curiously.

[Oh, your lucky the kids are here!]

I pulled my hand up, "Nothing... nothing at all... You ready for me to start reading?"

They both said yes excitedly.

I chuckled and looked down at the book in my hands.

Image made by: GSHgunner

I smiled, I loved this book!

I opened to the first page, "Daring Do forced herself to keep up right as she walked through the hot desert sun. She so wanted to get out of this heat, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This was one of many of the challenges of the desert. Lack of water being the biggest concern.

Daring Do had already went through her five canteens of fresh water two days ago, and was already feeling the effects of dehydration. This wasn't going to stop her though, she never gave up when faced with simple challenges.

Up ahead, she saw what looked to be a pond, but she never fell for mirages. Instead of running towards it, she just kept her steady pace. Sure enough, she walked through the fake pond.

She kept going, hours passed, and still no sign of water. She saw a cactus and sighed a sigh of relief. She made her way over to it and carefully broke the top off. Inside was her prize, water.

She stuck her muzzle into it and began to slurp up the small puddle. It wasn't much, but it would suffice for now. She whipped her mouth with her right foreleg and..."

One hour later of reading

I closed the book silently and looked at my two sleeping children.

Damn, I'm a lucky guy to have them in my life!

I smiled and slowly stood. I placed the book on the nightstand and bent over Spark's bed. I have him a small good night kiss on the forehead and pulled the covers up around him.

I then moved to Fawn's bed and did the same.

[This moment is so full of d'awwww!]

I walked out of the room with a smile on my face. I then made my way into my and Twilight's room.

Twilight was on the bed on her stomach, a book in front of her.

I smiled and walked over. I climbed into the bed and put my hand on her side, "Hey Twi." I then gave her a kiss on her cheek.

She smiled and closed the book. She then rolled over onto her back, "The kids asleep?"

I nodded, "And Dali's not here."

She smiled slyly and put her hoof on the back of my head, "So we're alone?"

I nodded with a smile, "Yep, all night."

She giggled, "All night to ourselves?"

I put my leg over her and smiled down at her, "Yep."

She locked her back legs around my waist, "You know what we're gonna do?"

I smirked, "Oh yeah!"

She giggled and wrapped her forelegs around my neck, "We're going to study friendship."

A goofy smile formed on my face, I've always wanted to hear her say that in a moment like this, "We are huh?"

She nuzzled my cheek, "Yep, a very special kind of friendship."

I brought my hand up and rubbed the back of her neck, "I like were this is going."

She put her mouth next to my ear, "I'm going to make tonight the best night of your life."

I smiled in excitement, "Really?!"

She nodded and licked her lips, "You ready?"

I leaned down and gave her a long, loving kiss on the lips, "Yes..."

She smiled slyly, "Get ready Lance."

She suddenly pulled to the side till she was on top. She leaned down and licked my cheek, "Your mine for the night."

"I'm all yours Twi." I said happily.

She looked down between us, "But first, lets get your clothes off. I want to see what you look like under them."

Oh yes! Tonight will be awesome!

Oh man, sexy sexy XD Now, I'm asking a serious question. I'm not much for sex scenes, even though I do do them, but would you all like me to write a sex scene for the next chapter? It's all up to you. If the answer is no, I'll be skipping ahead to the next morning. Just leave your answer below lol.

Releasing chaos

Chapter 97

Canterlot castle

"No! I will not allow this!" Celestia yelled, actually becoming angry for once.

Annabel chuckled, "Celestia, I can handle him. Just let me..."

"I said no!" She said, putting her hoof down.

Annabel smiled and crossed her arms, "You know Celestia, maybe it never crossed your mind that the poor guy was lonely. Perhaps all he needs is to get laid to be a little less... Overbearing if you will. I could fix that, and the pleasure will be all mine. Literally. Nothing a mare's touch can't fix, right? You know this first hand with Vinetion. Don't act so surprised, the whole palace knows about it. No shame in that. Most actually saw it coming"

Celestia bit her lip, "But..."

"Listen, Celestia, I'm the same creature as he is. That means, he'll be all over me."

Celestia rubbed her face, "Okay... I'll let you do this. But if he gets out of control, he's going to the moon!"

Annabel laughed and bowed, "Don't worry Cel, I'll keep him under control."

"You better." Frederic said from the doorway, his arms crossed.

Annabel smirked, "You know me Fred, I can keep a man in check."

He chuckled, "True."

Celestia sighed, "Go get two bronies to fight in front of the statue. That should get him out in a few seconds."

Annabel smirked, "Easy."

Ponyville, town square

"Next up, Shadow Breeze!" Spike announced.

"Yay!" Fluttershy whisper yelled.

I chuckled, lets see what he's got planned.

Shadow walked out from behind the curtains, a nervous look on his face. He walked to the center of the stage and grabbed the mic. He gulped and looked around.

I sighed, "We're waiting."

He gulped began to breath heavily.

"You can do it!" Fluttershy yelled, yet again scaring the crap out of me.

Shadow smiled and stomped his hoof.

Behind him, the curtains opened to reveal a large stereo system... where did that come from?

He gulped and hit his hoof again. The stereo began to let out a peaceful instrumental.

I've heard this song before.

Shadow closed his eyes and began to sing, "I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure."

When he was pointing at Fluttershy almost the whole time, but once he finished that part, he opened his eyes and looked directly at her.

"Don't want to close my eyes
I dont want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing."

He was now smiling awkwardly, looking like he was about to pass out.

"Lying close to you feeling your heart beating." He then put his left hoof over his heart.

"And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if its me youre seeing
Then I kiss your eyes
And thank God were together
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever
Forever and ever."

He then looked back at Fluttershy, trying his best to stay up right.

"Don't want to close my eyes
I dont want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing."

He wiped his hoof across his face, removing sweat before continuing.

"I dont want to miss one smile
I dont want to miss one kiss
I just want to be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just want to hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time."

He began to force a confident smile on his face as he retained his eye contact with Fluttershy.

"Don't want to close my eyes
I dont want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing.

Don't want to close my eyes
I dont want to fall asleep
I dont want to miss a thing."

The music kept going but he was standing there, wobbling side to side.

When it ended, he gave a small bow.

*Thud*

Correct that, he fell face first onto the hard wood of the stage.

"Three! I am unimpressed!"

"Sex... Oops, I mean six!"

"TEN! NOW SOMEPONY HELP HIM!" Fluttershy yelled with great volume.

My ears... I think they're bleeding.

[Only a bit.]

Seth walked out onto stage and picked him up on his back.

"Yeah! Use those muscles!" A mare screamed from the stands.

I turned to look for the mare... Really? Just really? Berry Punch?

I chuckled and turned back, "So, who won?"

"Alexander!"

"Seth."

"SHADOW!"

We all three looked at each other.

"..."

"..."

"..."

[Let me handle this!]
{Oh Break no!}

"Listen you two! Seth won!"

Trixie jumped into my/Break's face, "NO! Alexander won!"

Fluttershy grabbed the table and threw it upward... where it soon came down on the stage, "SHADOW WON!"

Whoa... who knew she had it in her?

"You crazy bitches! Seth won, no more discussion!"

"Alexander won! He was the best one up there!"

"SHADOW! IF YOU TWO DON'T AGREE WITH ME RIGHT THIS MINUTE! I WILL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE AND TOLERATE!" Fluttershy yelled, her eyes very close to the stare.

"But..."

She flew up and grabbed my collar, "SAY HE WON!"

I smirked... fuck you Break, "Seth won."

*Sounds of boards breaking*

"SAY HE WON!"

I began to try and pull my head out of the judges platform... yeah, she just slammed me head first into the freaking platform.... MY HEAD!!!

I pulled it out and gripped my head, "Oh God! Why Shy, why?! I thought you were the nice one!"

"PICK SHADOW!"

"Seth." NOOOOOOOO! BREAK WHY?!

*POW*

Wow... she can be Flutterbitch when she wants to be... is my nose broken?

I was now on my back, seeing stars.

Trixie lifted her nose, "Trixie is staying with her choice."

Fluttershy growled.

"Wait! Fluttershy!" Oh yay, I can control my actions again.

She looked down at me angrily, "WHAT?!"

I gulped, "Uhhh, its pretty much your choice now... I mean, this contest is for who dates you... just choose the one you want... DON'T HURT ME?!" I yelled as she began to lean down to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry for hurting you Lance. So sorry." She said in a motherly tone.

Bi-polar? "Uhhh, its okay?"

She jumped up and flew towards the stage.

"Yeah, just leave me here, I'm fine!" I said sarcastically

Trixie leaned down and smirked, "Oh? Is the ape hurt?"

I growled and stood up, painfully I might add, "Let me guess. The Great and Powerful whore likes my friend Alexander."

She glared, "Shut up! Trixie cares not for your taunts!"

"What? Me taunting you? Psst, bitch please. I don't taunt, I rage!"

"STOP FIGHTING YOU TWO!" Fluttershy yelled as she flew towards us.

What's with her today?

[Must be on her period.]

[... I don't know...]

I looked at her, "Okay, I'll stop. Just make her."

Trixie tilted her head upward, "Trixie will stop... for now."

I'll kill her, I swear, I'll do it!

[No you won't Lance, we both know you don't have it in you to even kill a dog!]
{I know... but I can entertain the thought at least.}

Trixie jumped off the platform and walked towards the back of the stage.

I looked at Fluttershy and cocked my head, "Uhh.. Fluttershy? Why are you carrying Shadow on your back?"

She looked back and blushed, "I... ummm... chose him..."

I smiled, "Well, I wish you two good luck.... just don't freak out if he passes out again when you tell him you chose him."

She smiled back, "Don't worry, I think he can handle the news."

I chuckled, "Good luck."

As she flew off, I jumped off the stage and made my way backstage.

{So, who won? By score I mean.}

Meh, doesn't matter... what was the purpose of this contest anyways?

[Hey look, Alexander is talking to Trixie. This should be good!]

I looked around till I saw them. They were off to the side, talking to each other. I knew she liked him!

Alexander said something and chuckled. Trixie smiled slyly and jumped on him.

[OH GOD! THIS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT WAS GOING TO HAPPY!]

{WHAT SHIP?! THIS IS SO... meh. I saw it coming.}

Trixie was on top of Alexander, smirking. She then leaned down and began to kiss him... scratch that, she began to full on make out with him!

Okay, just back away before anypony notices you.

"Lance!"

FUCK! I turned to see Peter, "Oh, what's up Peter?"

He smiled and tossed me a envelope, "You are invited to my birthday party!"

I chuckled, "Birthday party? Aren't we all a little to old for..."

"Rarity's idea."

"Ah, I see. Well, when is it?"

He smiled, "Tomorrow! The info is in envelope."

I nodded and put it in my pocket, "So hows life?"

He smiled happily, "Its awesome! My depression has finally went away, thanks to Rarity and Nathan."

My eyes widened, "Nathan?! You mean Omnius?"

He nodded happily, "Yep! He came back a while ago, he's been staying with me and Rarity."

Well I'll be damned. He came back! Hell yeah... and he forgot to come see me... meh.

"So, how long is he staying this time?"

Peter shrugged, "I have no idea."

"Well, its great that he's here. I can't wait to see him again."

Peter turned, "Come to the party, he'll be there."

"Will do Peter!" I yelled before turning.

Time to rage at Trixie, why? Because I can! That's why! "Hey bitch!"

She jumped off Alexander and went on the offensive, "What do you want?!"

I crossed my arms and smirked, "So, I was right. You like my friend."

She pointed a hoof at me, "Trixie does not care for you! You can go buck your tramp of a wife!"

Mental snap, "You stupid bitch! I'm going to...."

Scene change

"... fucking rip off your horn and shove it up your fucking ass and make you eat your own..." My eyes widened, I was in the Royal Garden... in front of Annabel, Frederic, and Nova... who teleported me?!

Frederic's mouth hung open.

Nova looked between us, "What does he mean by ripping off a horn and shoving it up a fuck ass?"

Frederic quickly covered her mouth and picked her up, "Uhhh, nothing..." He then glared at me, "Pay back later!" He then began to back track to the Palace.

I smiled awkwardly, "Sorry about that. But you caught me when I was yelling at somepony."

Annabel flew over to me and gave me a large hug, "Lance! It's been too long!"

I raised an eyebrow, "It's only been... what a week?"

She dropped me to my feet and shrugged, "Doesn't matter, still too long."

I looked around, "So... why am I here?"

She snapped her fingers, causing a bright light to flash behind us.

"What the fuck?! I was just about to fuck my Pie!" Somepony who could only be Greg said from behind me.

I turned and sighed, "Yo."

He looked at me and chuckled, "Yo."

Annabel clapped her hands together to get our attention, "Okay, the reason I brought you two here is: It's time to release chaos!"

Greg laughed, "I like this plan already!"

She pointed at us, "Now, I want you two to fight in front of the statue of Discord!"

I sighed, "Really? What will we fight about?"

Greg ran past me and to the statue, "Hey Lance! Twilight is a bitch!"

Annabel clapped her hands, "Excellent!"

I sighed, "Greg, come on, don't go that low."

He smirked, "Man, when I was fucking Twilight, she was screaming like the bitch she is."

"THAT'S IT!" I screamed as I jumped on him.

Annabel laughed, "Keep it up!"

"I over used her though." He said with a grin.

"Asshole!" I yelled as I began to hit him.

*POW*

I fell off him as he levitated a board in front of him, "Lets do this!"

"LETS!" I yelled as I jumped on him again. This time, he hit me in the side with the board.

I grabbed him in a headlock, "Give up!"

"Nah." He gasped out.

"YES! He's almost out!" Annabel cheered.

"Come on Lance! You can do better than this!" Greg laughed.

*Crack*

"What was that?" I said, letting my grip on Greg lighten.

"Oh shit... here he comes!" Greg said, jumping off me.

I sat up and looked up at the cracking statue... might want to back up.

I jumped to my feet and backtracked a few yards.

[This is gonna be bad ass!]

After a few minutes of waiting, nothing happened.

"Must need more violence." Greg stupidly said.

Suddenly, Annabel flew towards us and slammed her fist into Greg's snout. As he went flying back, she looked at me.

"Whoa! Annabel, what the fuck?" I said holding my hands up.

She smiled, "Sorry Lance, but I really want him!"

*POW*

I was knocked to the ground by a solid punch to the face.... OUCH!

*CRACK* *Thud*

I lazily lifted my head to see the stone falling off of Discord... I hope Annabel knows what she's doing.

"Ahh, free at last!" Discord said in a cheerful tone.

He looked around and saw Annabel, "Ah, another Draconequus, how interesting." He then shifted his gaze over to me, "And what do we have here? Are you one of the bronies I've been hearing so much about?"

I give a small nod, "Yeah..."

He smiled, "You sure are a strange creature."

Annabel waved at him, "Uhh, hello! Another Draconequus over here!"

Discord looked at her, "And what would your name be?"

Annabel smiled, "Anarchy."

Oh, so she's going to use that name.... meh.

Discord tapped his chin, "Anarchy? Say, can you live up to that name?"

She smirked, "Already did."

He raised and eyebrow and flew around her, "Oh? Show me."

She smiled and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, a small TV appeared in her out stretched hand.

How does she do it?

She turned it on and smiled, "This is my massive prank on the bronies. I sent them to Manehattan as mare's to get raped."

After a few seconds of watching, Discord began to laugh, "That was a hilarious prank, I'll give you that!"

Annabel smiled proudly, "Thank you Discord."

He bowed and stood straight up, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think some chaos is long over due."

Annabel held up her hand, "Hold on there big boy, I had to make a deal with Celestia to let you out of that stone."

He looked at her unhappily, "What kind of deal?"

Annabel crossed her arms, "That I would keep you out of trouble and in line when it comes to chaos."

He smirked, "Oh? What's the punishment, being turned to stone?" He then began to laugh.

"Banishment to the moon." Annabel said smugly.

He instantly stopped laughing, "The moon? She has never threatened me with that before... well drat! What can I do?!"

Annabel smirked, "You can hang with me and pull some pranks. Hows that sound?"

He smirked, "Sounds marvelous!"

Annabel flew forward and began to curl around him till her head was in front of his, and the rest of her body was wrapped around his, "We can also have other kinds of fun. Hows that sound?"

He raised a brow while still smiling, "I have never been with another Draconequus before, mostly because I'm one of the only ones. I'm interested in seeing how this plays out."

Annabel giggled.

I'm scared....

"Well, my friend Frederic gave me a room in the palace with a extra extra large bed. Wanna go check it out?" She said lustfully.

Did I mention I'm scared shitless right now? Because I am!

Discord grinned, "Lead the way madam."

That's it, I'm out of here!

I jumped up and twisted around... only to trip over Greg.

"Greg!" I said standing up.

He jumped up, "I'm going to follow them."

I looked at him strangely, "Why?"

"Free porn. Besides, I got to see how those things fuck!"

[Typical Greg.]

"Uhh, good luck with that." I said backing away.

{First, I'm going to that nice little store I went to a while back, the one owned by the nice old stallion.}
[Why?]
{Simple, I have to get Peter a present. I do have an extra hundred bits after all. Next stop will by my house, I should really tell Twilight and the kids where I've been.}

[No, Dali was awake, remember? She was looking at a picture of Drax.]

I walked out of the palace's gates and looked around.

Let's get this shopping over with, I want to show Spark something.

And I'm ending it right here for the night. Tomorrow, I will write one of the most fucked up chapters I'll ever write. As requested by all of you XD

Bonus chapter: Imagination unleashed!

XD Here's the audio for this chapter XD

Yep, here it is. The bonus chapter were I unleash my full imagination. I can not promise you what you're about to read is sane. It will not make sense, but that's the fun of it XD

Remember, what happens here is fake. Nothing is canon to the story.

Notes: Grammar will still be kept up, but I can't make any promises. Also, if your character has something happen to them, just remember it all came from the top of my head, so just laugh it off XD

Last thing: I will be doing something for each and every OC, so be ready XD

(This is written after I finished the chapter: I suck at doing those kind of chapters XD )

Bonus chapter

It was a day in Canterlot like any other, the somethings were doing the things and the ponies were something.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A very pissed off Twilight screamed out. "Lance! You can not satisfy me anymore!"

I gave her the finger, "Bitch please! You don't know pleasure!"

"A DILDO IS BETTER THAN YOU!" She screamed out.

"Oh yeah!" Greg yelled as he broke through the wall holding a long dildo in his hoof.

Twilight clapped her hooves together, "Yes! Finally some pleasure!"

"I'm out bitch!" I yelled as I suddenly jumped on Greg's back.

I grabbed his horn and pointed to the sky, "To the damn sky bitch!"

"FUCK YEAH!" He yelled as he somehow shot into the air, breaking through the roof in the process.

"To the town of fucking pony!" I yelled pointing ahead.

Seconds later, we were in above the town.

"For pony!" I yelled jumping off Greg and falling to the ground.

Greg flew into the ground, causing a huge crater to form.

I landed beside David, "FUCK YEAH!"

He looked at me and yelled, "FUCK YEAH!"

*Epic brohoof!*

David punched the ground, "What now?!"

"You get raped!" Vinetion yelled as she stepped out from behind a lamp post.

"Oh hellz yeah!" David yelled, going into sexual drive mode.

Suddenly, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around his legs and lifted him into the air.

"Time for the cactus!" Vinetion yelled as a cactus came out of the ground and began to fly towards David's lower region.

"FUCK YEAH!" He yelled out in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Fluttershy's cottage

"No! Don't do-HMMGG!" Shadow started to yell before the gag was pushed into his mouth.

Fluttershy laughed like a maniac and dropped Shadow's hog tied body in the middle of the room, "You're all mine!"

He began to thrash around.

"Come get a piece of stallion my pretties!" She yelled as hundreds of horny small animals began to crawl towards him.

The door burst open and a large ox walked in, "I, Iron Will, will show you how to be more confident... IN BED!"

Ponyville

This town is going to hell!

[Fuck it all! I'm going free!] Break yelled as he jumped out of my mind and became a real breathing human.
Dawn yelled as he too jumped out of my mind.

They slammed their fist together and ran off in different directions.

"I can't take clothes anymore!" Frederic yelled as he ran out of no where, ripping his clothes off.

He jumped up on a cart and began to dance, "I'm naked!"

DO NOT WANT!

I twisted and began to skip down the streets of the hell hole known as Ponyville.

"NO MORE! PLEASE!" Alexander screamed as he was drug away by a very horny Trixie.

She twisted around and held up a long pole.

"Be quiet! Your master demands it!" She yelled with a messed up smile on her face.

Alexander kept trying to crawl away, "No more! Please, its too big!"

"And it only gets bigger!" She said while laughing.

"NOOOOOO!" He screamed as he was drug down an alley.

Sucks to be him! HAHAHA!

I suddenly feel the need to scream... "AHHHHHHH! FUCK YEAH!"

*Radio static*

Hell yeah! A radio!

"This is White, and I have to say this: I'm clopping!"

"And I'm Grey! I've got forty three, yes count them! Forty three horny as fuck mares in the studio! FUCK YEAH! Let's have a massive orgasm!"

*Sounds of moans, groans, and screams can be heard in the back ground*

"Keep going! We're so close!"

*Sudden sound of release, followed by explosion*

"Oh yeah! Forty three orgasms result in ATOMIC EXPLOSION!"

"Radio's are for nerds!" Peter yelled as he fell out of no where and landed on it, breaking it into many peaces.

"PETER! YOU KILLED MY FRIEND!" I screamed out as I grabbed him and threw him towards a dozen horny Rarity's.

They all squealed in delight as he flew towards them. They quickly surrounded him and began to fuck up the place!

I must fuck something! A tree! That will work!

Minutes later, after making a tree my bitch, I was walking towards a random rock.

"Dumb rock!" I yelled as I kicked it.

"MINE!" Screamed a Rarity clone. It jumped on the rock and quickly devoured it.

Backing away...

"I can dance! I can dance like a bitch!" Zorrow yelled as he danced down the road, a top hat on his head.

"Stop touching my sister!" Big Mac yelled as he bucked Zorrow in the nuts.

"MY BABIES! THEY'RE SCREAMING IN PAIN!" Zorrow screamed as he held his now melon sized balls.

I threw my hands into the air, "YAY! I'm not the one getting hit in the nuts today!"

"That's what you think!" Aaron yelled as he bucked me in the tender spot.

"Bitch please! I feel nothing down there anymore!" I laughed happily.

"Fuck you! I got my own bitch!" He yelled as he began to clop madly. "MY HOOF IS MY BITCH!"

"I want it!" I yelled jumping for his hoof.

"Never!" He screamed as he dug a hole in the ground and began to run down a tunnel, "Minecraft for the win!"

"I'll get you bitch!" I yelled after him.

Before I could follow him, I heard screams behind me.

I turned to see Mr. Bleak.

"Yeah! Give me your mares!" He yelled as he held a sack full of ponies.

"Back down you troll!" Starch yelled as he stood on his hind legs, two mares at his legs.

"You back down you son of a whore!" Mr. Bleak yelled as he threw the bag into the air.

"YOU'RE MY GRANDFATHER! YOU BASTARD!" Starch screamed as he jumped for Mr. Bleak.

Ten seconds later....

"And that's how Equestria was made!" Pinkie Pie yelled out randomly as she hopped past the carnage.

What's going on here!

"HELP! I got's a snapping turtle on my penis!" Frederic screamed as he ran down the street, a large turtle attached to his member.

"HAHAHA! SUCKS TO BE YOU!" I yelled out, pointing and laughing at the screaming Frederic.

"Hey everypony!" I heard somepony above me scream.

I looked up and saw Drax.

He jumped off the building and began to fall towards the ground, "I believe I can fly!"

*Splat*

Drax slowly stood up and looked down, "Uhhh, who's dog is this?"

I fell to my knees, "NOOOOO!" I then saluted, "See you in doggy heaven Louie!"

"Food!" A certain cannibal pony yelled out.

"Not on my watch!" Seth yelled out as he dropped down in front of her, holding a sword in his mouth.

Epic battle scene!

... And its over... there was no winner. They just gave up and went their separate ways... ISN'T LIFE GRAND?!

Cody ran out of a building with Ditzy behind him.

"I have to do something dangerous!" He looks at Ditzy, "Derpy! Your name is DERPY!"

Grace walked out from behind a pebble, "I don't know why... but I have the sudden urge TO HURT YOU!"

She jumped on Cody and began to beat the living fuck out of his face. Once done, she stood up and spit on his face, "Graze said hi." She grabbed Ditzy and jumped into the air, "COME! We will have amazing lesbian sex!"

"YAY!" Ditzy yelled out as they flew away.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, Annabel and Discord blew through a wall and landed in front of me.

"LETS FUCK UP A STORM!" Discord yelled.

"FUCK YEAH!" Annabel screamed as they began to have dragon pony on dragon pony sex.

I fell to my knees, "IT'S SO GROSS! IT'S LIKE TWO LARGE WORMS FUCKING!"

I jumped to my feet and ran off.

But wait...

I stopped and looked around...

Pinkie Pie jumped over to me, "Lance! It's almost the end of the chapter! You have to do something unexpected!"

Oh shit! I must do something unexpected!

Got it!

I grabbed Pinkie Pie and crumbled her up into a ball. I then threw her to the ground, creating a portal.

"AHA! I knew she could break the forth wall!" I yelled as I jumped through the portal.

I came out in a bedroom.

"What the fuck!" Some one yelled from the bed.

I looked over to see a sixteen year old boy on a computer, "There you are!"

The boy put the computer down and jumped out of bed, "Who the hell are you... oh shit..."

I glared, "Oh shit is right! You made me lose my balls, made me get raped, made a stallion suck me off, and you've done so much shit to me! WHY?!"

The boy shrugged, "Why do you think? People were calling you a mary-sue, so I fucked up your life to the max!"

I took a step forward, "Time to die Mr. Author!"

"I prefer Austin asshole!" The boy yelled.

I smirked, "Time for my vendetta!"

"Stop quoting my..." He began.

*POW*

"Hows it feel to get hit in the nuts?! Not good huh!" I yelled as he fell to the ground, holding his tender area.

"Hey! Is that the guy who's been fucking with our life?!" I heard someone ask from behind.

I turned to see all the bronies and a few others standing in the portal, "YEP! That's him!" I yelled, pointing at the author.

"LET'S GET HIM!" David yelled as he ran into the room.

"I'm going to cause you so much pain! I'M NOT YOUR PUNCHING BAG!" Zorrow screamed as he galloped into the room.

"HOW DARE YOU CLOP TO ME!" Twilight screamed as she also ran in.

"I actually don't mind that... BUT I FOLLOW THE GROUND BITCH!" Grace yelled as she jumped over everypony else.

The author looked up and sighed, "I saw this coming..."

A lot of pain, blood, crying, beating, and something else later

We all sat around the burning remains of the computer that the author used to type on.

Greg looked around, "So.... what now?"

I shrugged, "No fucking idea. The author would usually come up with what happens next."

Grace chuckled, "Yeah... to bad we broke his hands."

"And arms."

"And legs."

"And back."

"AND HIS NUTS!" Twilight screamed out.

We all looked at her.

She looked at us and shrugged, "What? I got my revenge."

I shrugged and looked up, "What the... whats that?"

Everyone looked up and cocked their heads.

In the sky, written in big letters was, 'Living the Dream, canceled'.

I face palmed, "Oh fuck..."

The world suddenly stopped, nothing moving.

Really world

The author looked down at his phone, the phone he had just used to cancel his story on.

They may have broke almost every bone in his body, but they forgot his tongue!

He had used his tongue to type out the message and had used it to cancel the story.

"Fuck you guys... who had the last laugh now!" He choked out.

He then began to use his tongue to navigate through the internet on his phone. He typed in 'Rule 34' and smirked, "I clop to what I want!"

Oh God! I'm never doing one of those again XD The ending was funny though XD

When Break takes control...

Here, I'm busy today, but I'll give you a small chapter that leads up to Peter's party.

Hey, short chapter is better than no chapter, right?

Chapter 98

I walked into Dali's house, putting the box down that held Peter's present. I smiled, he's going to love his present.

Spark walked into the living room with his Spitfire plushie, "Hey dad."

I chuckled, "I see you still like your plushie."

His eyes widened and he put it behind him, "Uhhhh... no?"

I laughed and walked over, "There's no shame in it Spark."

He smiled and picked it back up, "Just don't tell Nova or Star Chaser.... especially Nova!"

I rumbled up his mane, "Don't worry buddy, I won't tell anypony."

He smiled happily, "Thanks dad!"

[Its time.]
{For what?}
[Time for Spark to see your memories.]
{Oh yell no!}
[Oh hell yes!]
{Dawn, talk him out of this!}

{.... Why does he sound gagged?}
[Because he is! I've been waiting to show Spark this for a long time! CONTROL NOW!]
{Oh shit...}

I was suddenly forced to the back of my mind... really Break?

Break chuckled and looked down at Spark, "Hey Spark!"

Spark raised an eyebrow, "Dad?"

Break chuckled, "I am... to an extent. I'm Break, your dads badass conscience."

Spark cocked his head, "Your what?"

Break sighed and sat down in front of Spark, "Look, I don't really feel up to explaining, so I'll shorten it. Your dad has two consciences. Myself and a nerd named Dawn. We keep him sane and going. We're pretty much what keeps his emotions from running wild. But meh, we're not very good at our job."

Spark grinned, "Cool!"

Break chuckled and twisted around, "Twi! Come here please!"

A few moments later, Twilight walked into the room, "Yes Lan... Break?"

Break smiled, "Oh good, you know my voice. Anyways, could you send Spark into Lance's mind please?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Break shrugged, "I don't know, Lance wanted to show him something."

{MMMGGGHHHHH!!}

Twilight glared slightly, "Okay..." Her horn began to glow and a bright light engulfed Break and Spark.

Seconds later, they were in my mind.

Spark looked around, "This is dads mind? Wow, its so empty."

Break laughed, "Tell me about it."

"MMGGHH!" I yelled through my gag.

Spark turned around to see me and Dawn tied together, back to back, "Why are they tied up?"

Break chuckled, "So they don't interfere. Do you want to see your dads memories?"

Spark jumped with happiness, "YES!"

Break smirked, "This way." He lead Spark over to the computer and sat down, "First, I'll show you your dads life back on Earth."

Spark smiled with excitement, "Really?!"

Break nodded as he put together a montage of memories, "Yep, be ready to see all of your dads happiest moments on Earth."

A few moments later, I was reliving all of the happiest moments of my life. (Very few)

After that, Break showed him memories of school, girlfriends, random movies I've watched, video games, all my pets, and everything else that has to do with normal life.

"Now, we move on to the more intense stuff." Break said with a smirk.

Oh fuck you Break!

Moments later, I began to relive all of the violent things I've seen... and done.

There was the time when four bullies beat me down with baseball bats, and the time when I was pushed off a hill and broke my legs, and many more. Then the memories of the fights began to come in. The time when Cody attacked me at the party, when Frederic's dad attacked us, the fights between me and Graze, and all the other violent fights I've been in... thank God Break left out the massacre at the school.

Spark gulped, "Dad did all that?"

Break nodded.

Spark hung his head, but then brought it back up with a big smile, "Dad is so awesome!"

Awww, I think I feel tears in my eyes. He thinks I'm awesome!

Break laughed loudly, "Now, before we leave... how about some of his personal time with your mom?"

Spark cocked his head, "What's that mean?"

I began to thrash around.

Break looked at me, "Oh fine, I won't show him that... I'LL JUST SHOW HIM THE RULE 34 TWILIGHT!"

Damn it!

Break typed in a few commands on the computer and started the memories of all the porn I'd seen of Twilight on the internet... whoa....

When it finished, Spark sat there with a blank face. But suddenly, he jumped back and began jumping around, "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That's gross! Ewww! WHY?! How am I suppose to sleep in my mom and dads bed now?!"

Break was on his back laughing, "Deal with it!"

*Snap*

"BREAK!" I yelled as I broke through the ropes and pulled the gag out of my mouth.

He looked at me, "Oh damn!"

Before I could run at him, I felt myself leaving my mind.

Seconds later, I found myself back in the normal world.

Twilight looked at me confused, "So?"

I shrugged, "Meh, its all good. Right Spark?"

I looked at Spark to see him staring at Twilight with big eyes.

Twilight chuckled, "What is it honey?"

Spark began to back away, "Oh ummmm, nothing.... GOTTA GO!" He yelled as he grabbed his Spitfire plushie and ran out of the room.

Twilight looked at me, "What was that about?"

I smiled and shrugged, "Beats me."

{You're dead Break!}
[Okay dude!]

I sighed, "I'm going to eat real fast and take a shower. Meet me in bed?"

She giggled, "Sure, I'll be waiting."

I smiled happily as I made my way to the kitchen. Another night to look forward to!

[Meh.]

[Meh.]
<...>
[Dot dot dot is right!]

[...I don't know dude...]

I chuckled and opened the fridge, "FOOD!"

Time to feast, get a shower, and then make friendship happen with Twilight! Oh yeah, I got a plan!

Headache, I gotta lay down now. I hope you enjoyed the short chapter.

Peter's birthday party

Time to vote again!
Now, since tomorrow is the real chapter 100, I've been thinking about doing a large chapter. Meaning, it'll take two days to write. Should I do it? You'll have to go a full day without a update if I do. Your choice.

Chapter 99

"Faster Spark!" I yelled back as I continued to walk towards the library, Peter's gift in my hands.

"Coming dad!" Spark yelled back as he dropped the random rock he had stopped to look at.

I chuckled and walked up to the door. I could hear music coming from inside, and the voices of the others.

I opened the door and walked in, a smile on my face. The party was in full swing... thanks to Pinkie Pie of course.

She was hopping around, talking to everypony at the same time.

Spark ran past me and began jumping around crazily, "Yeah! PARTY!"

Pinkie Pie jumped in front of him, "Ow! You like to party?! ME TOO!"

Spark laughed, "You talk fast."

Pinkie Pie giggled, "I'm not talking fast. But I can show you! Watch this!" She began to take in a deep breath.

I quickly made my way past them, trying to avoid her explosion of talking.

[Run dude! I don't want to hear this!]

I chuckled and continued to walk away and towards Peter, who had his wing over Rarity as they stood side by side, watching all the bronies dance.

I walked over and held up the semi small box, "Hey Peter, got ya a present."

He smiled happily and reached out for it, "Thanks man!"

I pulled back, "You have to wait till you open your others first."

Rarity laughed, "Oh, its to late for that darling. He already opened the others. He couldn't wait."

Peter smiled sheepishly, "Yeah.... can I have it now?"

I chuckled and handed it to him.

He smiled and began to pull the paper off the box. When it was off, he opened it to reveal a small glass orb.

It's hard to find the right picture sometimes XD

He pulled it out and furrowed his brow, "Huh... what is it?"

I chuckled, "A memory orb." (Reference)

He raised an eyebrow, "A what?"

"A memory orb. You can put all your memories in it, and the reason I bought it for you is because it can also unlock forgotten memories. So, you know what that means?"

He shook his head, "No."

"You will be able to remember every song you've ever heard!"

He smiled excitedly, "Really?! That's awesome! Thanks man!" He said, raising his hoof.

I laughed and slammed my hand into his hoof... OUCH! Damn, I forgot hooves were so damn hard on the bottom!

I held my hand and looked around, "So, where's Omnius?"

Peter looked around and pointed to the center top of the stairs, "There he is."

I looked up and chuckled, "Is he about to..."

"Yep." Peter said with a chuckle.

Omnius stood on his hind legs and held his forelegs into the air, "YEAH! Crowd surfing!"

All the bronies stopped and began to cheer him on.

He yelled out with excitement and jumped off the stairs and towards the crowd of bronies.

The bronies quickly moved out of the way of him.

"I REGRET NOTHING!" He yelled as he slammed into the ground.

*THUD*

He rolled over and groaned, "I though you all were going to catch me!"

Vinetion laughed, "And what gave you that idea?"

He groaned again, "But you all cheered!"

David nodded, "Yeah, we cheered because we wanted to see you hurt yourself."

He chuckled, "Figures."

As he rolled over and began to stand up, I walked over, "Yo."

He looked up and chuckled, "Yo dude! How goes life?"

I shrugged, "You know, the usual. Getting my ass kicked and stuff like that."

Omnius laughed, "Same here... well, I'm the one doing the ass kicking, but you get my point."

[Hell yeah! Omnius is in the house!]

I chuckled and looked around, "So, why did you come back?"

He shrugged, "No idea, I just get sent where I'm needed."

Seems legit. "Cool story bro."

He glared playfully, "Quiet you!"

Omnius chuckled and looked past me, "Hey, turn around. Peter's about to do it."

"Do what?"

"Just turn around."

I turned to see Peter talking to Rarity, a small box held on his out stretched wing.

Is he.... WAY TO GO PETER!

I stepped closer to hear them.

"... And that's why I'm about to ask this important question." Peter said as he went to one knee and brought his wing forward. He then used his other wing to open the box, "Rarity, will you marry me?"

Rarity's mouth hung open, "Peter..."

[PREPARE!]

Rarity then let out a loud squeal... I think my ears are bleeding. Rarity jumped into Peter and hugged him tightly, "YES!"

He smiled and wrapped his wings around her.

All the bronies aww'd... Okay, I just lied, the girls aww'd, the guys either laughed or gagged... I aww'd... I need help.

Twilight walked up to my side and leaned against my legs, "So sweet."

I chuckled and went to my knees so I could put my arm over her, "Sure is... where's Spark?"

She shrugged, "I saw him and Nova leave a few minutes ago... should we be worried?"

I shook my head, "Nah, it's only Spark and a young Princess, what could go wrong?"

<... So much could go wrong.>

"Hey everyone! Look this way! Especially you Trixie!" Alexander yelled as he messed with a radio.

"What are you up to?" Grace asked in curiously.

"Watch!" He yelled with a smile. He looked at Trixie and smiled, "This is for you babe!" He twisted and hit a button on the radio.

He spun back around and began to sing, "Some people call me the space cowboy yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
Cause' I speak of the pompetous of love

People talk about me baby
Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong
But don't you worry baby don't worry
Cause' I'm right here at home

Cause' I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
playin' my music in the sun
I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a mid-night toker
I get my lovin' on the run
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

You're the cutest thing that I ever did see
I really love your peaches
Want to shake your tree
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
Ooh wee baby, I sure show you a good time

Cause' I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
playin'my music in the sun
I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a mid-night toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

People keep talkin' about me baby
Say I'm doin' you wrong
Well don't you worry, don't worry, no don't worry mama
Cause' I'm right here at home
You're the cutest thing I ever did see
Really love your peaches want to shake your tree
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
Come on baby now, I'll show you a good time."

When he finished, he bowed.

[Wow... his voice is not made for singing. HAHAHA!]

Trixie ran forward and wrapped her hooves around him, "Trixie loved the song!"

Wow... she's out of character, and yet, she retains her annoying way of speaking.

[Kill her with fire!]

Peter walked past me, Rarity at his side, "Alexander! Hit the tunes! I want to dance with my wife to be!"

Alexander laughed happily, "Slow song coming up!"

I looked at Twilight and held out my hand, "Wanna dance madam?"

She giggled, "Yes... how will we do this?"

I shrugged, "We'll figure it out."

Ponyville, Spark's POV

Nova and I was walking down the darkened streets, talking about the Wonderbolt's.

"I heard they're going to perform at the next Galloping Gala!" Nova said with a squeal of delight.

I jumped at the news, "They are?! Awesome! I like Spitfire, who's your favorite?"

She tapped her chin, "Well, dad is always taking about Soarin', so I guess he is."

I nodded, "Yeah, Soarin' is awesome. But Spitfire is cooler! Oh! Did you hear that she is..."

"Look guys! It's the freak, and he has a filly with him!" Said a very familiar voice behind me.

Oh come on! Them again! I turned around to see Blitz and his two cronies. "What do you want?" I said in a shaky voice.

Blitz chuckled, "A little pay back."

I gulped and looked at Nova, then back at them, "Alright, do what you want. Just leave her alone."

Blitz laughed, "Oh? I think I know how to get our payback. Butch, Hardhoof, grab the filly."

Butch and Hardhoof began to walk forward.

Nova took a step back, forgetting her magic.

"Whoa! Blitz, she's a Alicorn!" Butch yelled back.

Blitz shrugged, "So? Just beat her, then we'll deal with the wimp."

Butch and Hardhoof smirked and continued forward, "Come here you foal!"

Something snapped in me, I suddenly felt enraged at their comments towards her, and their intentions!

When Butch neared her, he reached out with his hoof.

*POW*

Butch was sent flying when I suddenly slammed my hoof into his face.

Hardhoof jumped back in surprise, "Whoa!"

I glared at him and jumped for him. I slammed into him and brought him to the ground. Once I had him pinned, I began to repeatedly slam my hooves into his face.

*POW*

I slumped to the side after taking a hit to the face.

Blitz glared down at me, "I'm going to enjoy this!"

He jumped on me and began to hit me in the face over and over again. But, he wasn't ready for my next move.

I brought my hind legs up and wrapped them around his neck. I then pulled him backwards, causing his head to slam into the pavement.

I slowly stood and looked at the three badly hurt colts, "Don't you ever touch her!"

Blitz glared angrily, but nodded.

I walked over to Nova, who was standing there with a shocked face.

"Are you okay Nova?" I asked.

She nodded and gave me a large hug, "Thanks to you."

There goes my heart again... stupid wings!

She leaned back and gave me a thank you kiss on the cheek, "Thank you Spark. Now, lets get back to the party... I don't want to be out here any longer now."

I nodded, my cheek on fire and my heart going crazy.

We walked back to the party, me in a daze. I feel so light headed... but why?

XD That's the way to do it Spark! Beat the crap out of them, then just leave them in the middle of the streets at night XD

Bronies VS the undead

You all decided on a long chapter, and on the universe that will be used in this chapter.

It may seem rushed in the beginning, but it was because I was up late during this part.

Also, sorry for the longer delay.

Let's get the 100th chapter rolling!

One last thing: I was playing the game and acting all this out to get a better feel of it XD Now you know why it took so long lol

Chapter 100

[And that's how I shake it!]

{Yeah! I just got to sleep... what, an hour ago? And you just have to start singing!}
[Gotta love me.]

I sighed and rolled over in bed to look at the clock. Oh good, I had five hours of sleep... still not good enough! I need a minimum of twelve to function correctly!

I forced myself to jump out of bed, and picked up my pile of clothes... really? Who keeps cleaning them? Is it Twilight or Dali? I'm so confused right now.

I chuckled to myself and walked out of the room and towards the shower. Did I forget to mention that the showers here are only made for a pony? I have to take showers while sitting on my ass! Think about that for a minute will ya!

[... Who are you raging at?]
{... I don't even know...}

I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I pulled my shirt off and looked in the mirror.

"What's up hot stuff?" I said with a smirk, looking at my reflection.

[Whoa! We're sexy and we know it!]
{Look at that body!}
[Lance, you just ruined the song!]

I chuckled and pulled down my boxers. I tossed them to the side and leaned into the shower to turn it on.

I twisted the nob and crawled into the shower... this is so degrading.

I leaned back and just relaxed, letting the warm water run down my body.

*Knock Knock*

"Occupied." I said with my eyes still closed and head tilted back.

After a few seconds, I heard the door open.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! DAD?! I didn't know you were in here! OH WHY?! Now I've seen both my parents naked!" Spark yelled as he tripped over himself trying to get out of the bathroom.

"I said occupied." I yelled back, a smirk on my face.

[Yeah... But we're doing it like a boss!]

I laughed to myself as I finished up the shower and pulled on my fresh clothes... note to self, need fresh boxers.

After I had my clothes on, I went down stairs and ate a quick breakfast with Fawn and Dali.

Now, where has Twilight run off to?

Before I could ask Dali where Twilight was, I heard a knock at the door.

Fawn smiled and jumped off her chair, "I got it!"

I chuckled and pushed a biscuit into my mouth.

"Grandma!" I heard Fawn yell from the door.

Oh shit.

[Oh fuck.]

[That's a new one.]

I sighed and quickly began to stuff my food into my mouth.

"Lance Greenfield! Chew for Christ sake!" My mom said when she walked into the kitchen, being led by a happy Fawn.

I picked up my orange juice and washed the food down, "Sorry about that."

She sighed and smiled, "Lance, I need you to do a big favor for me."

No... NOOOOO! Last time I did a 'favor' for her, I ended up playing a baby at a parenting class... why did she have to do the diaper change and everything?!

I shuddered at the memory, "Wh-what do you want me to do?"

She put on her best begging face, "Since Barehoof and I are about to get married, I want you and your brother to be there for it."

I raised an eyebrow, "But mom, we already found out he isn't even in this world. Remember? Right after Omnius left the first time, you asked the Princess and she told you he was in a world based off a video game."

She began to tap her hoof... not a good sign, "I don't care Lance. I know your friend Omnius can travel between dimensions. I want you to go and get your brother."

"But mom!" I whined.

She glared, "No buts! You're going to go and get your brother, or I'm going to move in with you."

That threat... Is she serious?

[Play it safe Lance, I don't want to live in the same house as her anymore!]

"Alright... I'll do it mom." I said reluctantly.

She smiled and clapped her hooves, "Thank you Lance! You don't know how much this means to me."

I forced a smile, "Yep..." I turned back and looked at my remaining food.

"Now." She said with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Now?" I questioned.

She glared, "Yes now!"

[Get a move on it Lance! She's going to go into rage mode!]

I jumped up and gave Fawn a quick pat on the head, "Stay fruity!"

[HAHAHA! I made him say that!]

I ran towards the front door and saw Spark rocking back and forth on the chair, "Spark, you're the stallion of the house till I get back!"

He nodded in response.

I burst through the front door and began running for the palace.

Thirty two minutes later. Frederic's and Luna's room.

Omnius looked around, "Nice place.. but why am I here again?"

I looked up from the map, "You're the only person who can actually get us to my brother's world."

Omnius raised an eyebrow, "Brother?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, brother."

He walked over and looked the map over, "Never knew you had a bro."

I shrugged, "Yeah, I've just barely mentioned him."

Frederic walked back into the room with a second map, "Here's a smaller one, we'll use it once we're there."

I nodded and went back to studying the map.

"So, what world is he in?" Omnius asked, rubbing his goatee.

I bit my bottom lip, "Well... He's in the world of Dead Rising 2."

Omnius facehoofed, "Of course! It just has to be that place!"

Frederic frowned, "This is a bad idea Lance. You sure we have to go?"

I nodded sadly, "We have no choice... my mom gets what ever she wants... and if she doesn't... you better run like a little bitch."

Omnius chuckled, "I won't run, I'll take it like a man!"

"Yeah... till she takes your manhood away. Dude, I'm serious about that. She will rip it off!" Okay, maybe not, but you never know.

Omnius winched, "Ouch..."

I smirked and looked back at the map of the area Mark's in.

Omnius raised an eyebrow at the map, "Okay, where did you guys get that map?"

Frederic chuckled, "Uhh, magic dude. I just had Luna summon it from Lance's memory."

I smiled proudly.

Omnius nodded, "Legit." He then suddenly turned into his human self, "When do we move out?"

I shrugged, "The moment we're all ready."

"Ready!" Omnius yelled out.

"Been ready for the past half hour." Frederic said with a smile.

I popped my back, "I'm ready to kick some ass!"

.....

"So... what do we do now?" I asked as we all just stood around the small table.

Omnius smiled sheepishly, "I have no idea."

Frederic shrugged, "No clue."

I sighed, "Of fuck it, lets just go!"

Omnius smiled and struck a pose, "And the Traveler will get you there."

"What?" Frederic said with a smirk.

Omnius sighed, "Never mind." He popped his fingers, "And we go!"

We all suddenly surged forward and into a void like tunnel.

As we flew through it, I raised an eyebrow, "Cool?"

Omnius nodded and smiled, "Very cool."

A few moments later, we burst through what seemed like a blanket and landed on a concrete floor.

"Oh fuck! My elbow!" I yelled out, holding my hurt elbow.

Omnius rushed over to me and clamped a hand over my mouth, "Shut up! We're in enemy territory now!"

Oh... I forgot.

[You would forget.]

Frederic crawled over to us and peered over the small wall we were behind, "I don't see anything."

"Nothing at all?" Omnius asked.

Frederic frowned, "Well, if you don't count piles and piles of dead bodies, then no."

Piles of bodies?

I looked over the wall and gasped. There were very large piles of bodies all over the room. You couldn't even see the floor!

This is to much for me... and we've only been here a minute!

Omnius sighed, "They're humans, not zombies."

"What?!" Me and Frederic said in surprise.

He nodded with a sad expression, "I guess this is where they keep the dead."

I gulped and looked out over all the bodies, "Oh my..."

[Toughen up Lance!]

Omnius stood up and pulled out a small device.

I stood up and looked at it, "Uhh, what's that?"

He chuckled, "This? Oh, it's just my handy dandy PDA. I'm checking where we are right now."

Frederic walked over and looked at it, "So where are we?"

Omnius tapped in a few commands and raised an eyebrow, "Strange. It say's we're in the safe house..."

Frederic looked around, "Really? I would have never guessed it."

Omnius began walking forward, "Come on guys, I want to see if anyone's here."

Frederic and I nodded and followed behind him.

We walked through the whole area, but there was no one here. It was empty, only bodies occupied the area.

We all stopped at the stairs that lead downward and sighed, "This place is abandoned."

"Wouldn't they stay here?" Frederic asked.

I shrugged, "I don't know... I hope they just moved to a new area."

Omnius smiled, "Moved to a new area huh? That means it's time to kill some zeds!"

I smiled weakly. I don't think I can do it...

Omnius and Frederic walked down the stairs towards the vents that lead into the main part of Fortune City. I hesitated, actually scared of facing the undead.

Frederic looked up and smiled, "Come on Lance, I'll watch over you."

I forced a weak smile and walked down the stairs and watched as Omnius climbed into the vents, followed by Frederic.

[Get in there Lance!]

I gulped and climbed into the vents.

Two minutes later

"Clear." Omnius called back to us as he pulled himself out of the vents and into the Machine Room.

Once we were all out of the vents and in the large room filled with machines, I had a sudden feeling of deja vu, weird... wait, that's right, I've played the game.

Omnius chuckled, "Nice, follow me you two, me and my blade will keep you safe."

"Blade?" Frederic questioned.

Omnius nodded and pulled a strange sword out of nowhere, "My Travelers Blade, goes with me where ever I go."

I nodded in approval, I'll just let him take care of the zombies.

Omnius began to walk forward, "Lets find your brother and get the hell out of here."

We followed after him.

As we climbed the stairs, I had a thought. "Hey guys, if its been about eleven months since the rapture, shouldn't all the zombies be dead?"

Frederic looked at me as we passed the double doors, "What do you mean?"

I shrugged and looked at the open maintenance room, which was empty of all supplies, "Well, think about it. The people who came here should have killed off all the zombies. They've had enough time, right?"

Omnius shrugged, "I don't know. There was a lot of dead bodies back there. But, they may have..."

We all went silent as we turned the corner and saw that the double doors at the end were open. But that's not what made us stop, it was the semi-large crowd of zombies that stopped us.

"... Forget my theory." I said quietly.

I began to breath heavily. I always thought I could do something like this... I thought wrong.

[Lance, be strong! For your friends!]
{I can't! I just can't!}

Omnius stepped forward, "I got this. You two, find something to defend yourselves with."

Frederic nodded and ran back the way we came. I just stood there, having an internal fight with myself.

What do I do?! I can't fight them, but I have to! If I don't, my friends could die! Think Lance!

Frederic doubled back and began to pull me after him, "Come on Lance!"

I nodded and allowed him to pull me towards the small supplies closet.

Inside was nothing of use, unless you counted a mop as a weapon.

None the less, Frederic picked it up and broken the bottom part off, leaving only the broom stick.

Frederic tossed it to me and sighed, "Well, at least we have one weapon..."

I looked at the wooden pole in my hand and shook my head, "Here, you can have it."

He smiled, "No Lance, you need it more."

I gulped, "No, I insist... just take it."

He furrowed his brow and took the broom handle, "Are you okay Lance?"

I gave a small nod, "Yeah, just fine. Why do you ask?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Let's get back to Omnius."

I let him walk past me before running my sleeve across my forehead, am I this scared? Wow...

I followed Frederic out of the supplies closet and back to the double doors. Once there, we saw Omnius slashing through the body of a female zombie with his Travelers Blade.

He twisted around and slashed his sword across another's neck, taking the head off.

"Wow... he's good." Frederic said in awe as we watched him take out the entire crowd. Frederic looked at the broom stick and frowned, "And I was proud of this..."

After a few seconds, the last one fell, leaving a smirking Omnius, "To easy."

I clapped my hands quietly, "Good job... now, what about the rest?"

Omnius looked around to see many more small crowds of zombies walking around. "Well... that sucks."

<... Lance, you played the game. Do what you do when you can't fight.>
[Run like a bitch!]

Frederic beat me to giving the obvious answer, "Couldn't we just run past them, they are walkers after all."

Omnius snapped his fingers, "Of course!"

I smiled, "I'm down with that." At least this way I don't have to kill anything.

I was the first to take off running. Frederic and Omnius followed my lead.

I sprinted past the first crowd easily, but the next one was larger and more compact. I began to weave my way through the crowd, knocking the ones that got in my way to the side.

Behind me, I could hear Omnius breathing heavily as he swung his sword at the ones that blocked his path. I could hear the thuds of Frederic's broom stick as he slammed it into the undead.

Finally, after many close calls, I burst through the crowd and onto the other side, which had less zombies.

As I sprinted towards the stationary escalators, I caught a glimpse of a mirror or something reflecting the light on the second floor. Oh shit...

I stopped and raised my hands, "Wait!"

*Bang*

The zombie in front of me fell to the floor, missing the side of its head.

I looked up to the second floor and saw a young man standing up, a rifle held in front of him, "Run you idiot!"

I snapped out of my trance and sprinted forward, the others close behind me.

As we ran, I could hear the man firing, taking out a few zombies before they could get in our path.

We reached the escalators and began to run up them. At the top stood another man, a pump action shotgun held in his hands.

He stepped to the side and allowed us to run past him. He then stepped back in place and began to fire downward at the zeds that tried to follow us up.

I stopped running when I reached the wall and I leaned against it, trying to catch my breath.

A third young man, this one holding an assault rifle, walked up to us, "What are you retards doing?! You know it's not safe to be walking around on the first floor!"

Frederic took in a breath of air, "Yeah, we know... now."

The man looked us over, "Wait... I've never seen you three. You all look... clean."

Oh come on! Give us a break!

Omnius stood and put his blade on his back, "Yeah, we've been stuck in a locker room this whole time."

The man shifted the rifle and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? Well, I don't believe you."

"We're actually looking for someone." I said, trying to lure the conversation away from us.

The mane shifted his gaze to me, "That so? Who are you looking for then?"

"Mark Greenfield." I said, standing up straight.

The man chuckled, "I see."

"Do you know where he is?" I asked hopefully.

The man smirked, "Now, why would I tell you that?"

I sighed, "I'm his brother."

The man did a double take, "Brother?! You mean you're the little brother he's been talking about?!"

I smiled brightly, they do know where he is! "Yes! That's me!"

The man smiled, "Lance Greenfield?"

I nodded and held out my hand, trying to be friendly, "And you?"

"Jason Whit." He said while shaking my hand.

He then pointed behind himself, at the guy with the scoped rifle, "That's my little brother, Jed Whit."

Omnius pointed to the other man, "And what about him?"

Jason chuckled, "Him? He's never given us a name, he just told us to call him Doc."

"Why?" Frederic asked.

Jason shrugged, "Beats me. He's pretty silent."

I held up a hand, "Wait, so do you know where Mark is?"

Jason nodded with a slight frown, "Yeah... but it's on the other side of the City. At the Yucatan Casino."

I sighed, "Well shit, nothings ever easy for us."

Jason chuckled, "Hey, it's a good thing he's over there doing what he's doing."

I raised an eyebrow, "And what is he doing?"

Jason smiled, "Well, you see, we think we've figured out why the zombies keep coming. Because, every time we clear an area, they always move back into it after we leave. But, thanks to our tech guy, we think we've got it pinned. All we have to do is get into the underground tunnels and locate that lab. Once we're there, we can look into all the data."

Omnius stroked his goatee, "Hmmm, then why aren't you helping him?"

Jason held up a hand, "Whoa, there's a reason. We're split up into three teams. My team, Trey's team, and Mark's team. My team is guarding the safe house, and Trey's team is keeping watch over the strip, keeping as many zombies away from Mark's team as they can."

I looked around, "Well, could you take us two Mark?"

He sighed, "No can do buddy. That would require my team abandoning the post."

Frederic rubbed his chin, "Couldn't you just send someone with us to guide us?"

Jason looked around nervously, "Well... *Sigh* I guess." He turned and yelled to his brother, "Jed, go tell the others to post more guards out here, we're going to lead those three to Mark's team."

Jed stood and saluted before running into a barricaded store.

Jason looked back at us, "Now, tell me the truth. We're have you three been this whole time?"

Frederic spoke up, "Fine, we've been hiding in a back room."

Jason chuckled, "Couldn't handle the zombies, huh?"

"Guess not." I said sheepishly.

Jason smirked and turned, "Well, I guess we'll have to keep a watch over you three. Wouldn't want you all to die, now would we?"

I raised an eyebrow, but followed.

He lead us to the door that lead into the barricaded store. He held up his hand and walked in.

A few minutes later, he came out with his brother and a bag, "Here, you'll need better weapons. Sadly, all we have is crappy pistols for you to use."

Frederic stepped forward and pulled out a cheap looking pistol and shrugged, "A weapons a weapon."

Omnius shook his head, "Nah, I'll stick to my blade."

I gulped and reached in and pulled out one. It felt heavy in my sweaty hands.

[Hell yeah! We got a gun!]

[Shut up! I'm going to enjoy killing those undead freaks!]
{I'm not killing any of them... It's like killing people.}
[Lance, you're a pussy.]

I shrugged off Break's comment and looked around, "So, who's going to take us there?"

Jason dropped the bag and smiled, "Me and Jed will be taking you. And maybe Doc, if he chooses too."

Doc looked over at us from his position, "Can I kill some bastards?"

Jason chuckled, "You know you can."

Doc smiled and fired off another shot downward.

Jason adjusted the strap on his assault rifle and smiled, "You noobs ready?"

Noobs? Yep... he's a gamer. "Yeah, I guess we're ready."

He made his way to the escalators and talked silently to Doc. Jed was slowly making his way that way.

Omnius turned to us and furrowed his brow, "Does this seem... to easy to you guys?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah... It does seem to easy... Should we be worried?"

Frederic rubbed his chin, "I don't know. I think we should keep an eye on them, just in case."

"You guys coming? Or are you just going to stand around?" Jed yelled as they all began to descend the escalators.

Omnius nodded to us and began walking after them, Frederic and I followed after him.

Jason's group lead us down to the first floor and through the large crowd. Luckily, the crowd wasn't to close together, so it was easy to get past them all without getting to close.

When we reached the doors that lead outside, Jason turned and looked at us, "Okay, when we get out there, stay close. Trey's team is positioned on top of the Yucatan Casino, and will shot anything that moves. We'll.." He raised his rifle and fired off a short burst at a single zombie stumbling over to us, "We'll, wave the red cloth, which is the signal not to shoot. Got that?"

We all nodded in response.

"Okay, let's do this." Jason said, pushing open the door.

Frederic ducked behind the over turned trash bin, already halfway to the Yucatan Casino.

Lance and Omnius was next to him, both waiting for Jason to give the signal.

There were a few zombies stumbling around, all the others lay in heaps on the ground. Trey's team must be great shots to take all of them out.

Jason pulled a red shirt out of his pocket and stood up from his cover. He then began to wave it back and forth.

Seconds later, he smiled, "Okay, I think they saw it."

Lance exhaled, "Good, can we move forward now? I kinda want to get to my brother before something happens... again."

Jason stashed the shirt back into his pocket and stepped out of cover, "Yeah, feel free to move forward."

Lance stood, "Finally, come on guys."

Wow, Lance is getting jumpy...

Frederic stood and faced Lance as he walked around the trash bin, "Wait up Lance, I don't want you to get bitten."

Lance stopped and turned to face Frederic, "Don't worry dude, I'm going to be fine. I'm more worried about you and..."

*Bang*

Lance's head snapped to the side as blood splattered across the trash bin and Frederic.

Frederic stood there shocked as Lance fell to the ground, blood seeping from a bullet hole in his head.

Jason began yelling, trying to get the sniper teams attention.

Omnius yelped in shock at seeing Lance's body.

Frederic fell to his knees, kneeling beside Lance. Tears streaking down his face. His closest friend... was dead.

Doc walked over and kneeled down next to Lance's body.

Frederic lashed out, "Stay back! Just... stay back."

Doc kept a blank expression as he put two fingers to Lance's neck.

Frederic tried to push him away, "Stop! Don't you touc..."

"He's alive." Doc said simply.

"He's alive... but how?" Frederic asked, very confused.

Doc reached down and slowly tilted Lance's head to the side, "The bullet only hit right eye."

"What?" Omnius asked as he kneeled down next to them.

"The bullet went in at a angle, a centimeter to the left. It then came out of his eye..."

"How do you know that?" Frederic asked.

Doc smiled, for the first time, "I'm a military doctor. This is my field of expertise."

"Can you help him?" Frederic asked hopefully.

Doc's smiled changed to a frown, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. We don't have that kind of medical supplies left."

Frederic put his face in his hands, hopeless.

"I can though." Omnius said.

Frederic looked up, "How?"

Omnius took a deep breath, "Watch."

He took a deep breath and raised his hands. He began to rub them together, causing a small glow to form on them.

"Whoa." Jed said behind them.

Omnius slowly lowered his hands onto Lance's face, letting the glow spread over his head. Omnius began to breath heavily as he forced more and more of his energy into the very special spell he had learned long ago.

Seconds later, he fell back, breathing heavily.

Lance, however, began to stir. He opened his left eye and blinked, "What the..." His hand suddenly shot up to his face, feeling the empty spot where his eye use to be.

His eye widened, but before he could scream, Frederic put a hand over his mouth, "Omnius! What did you do?!"

Omnius sat up slowly and rubbed his head, "I cleaned the wound and stopped the bleeding... I couldn't close it though..."

Frederic gulped and looked down at Lance, looking like he was in shock, "Lance, I'm going to remove my hand. Please don't scream."

Lance looked at him and slowed his breathing.

Frederic removed his hand and exhaled when Lance remained silent, "Okay, good. Come on Omnius, help me carry him."

Omnius nodded and bent down to pick up Lance.

[OH MY GOD! WE LOST OUR EYE!]

Frederic and Omnius was carrying me towards the Casino while the others provide cover.

How did this happen? Why my eye?! And my right eye! FUCK!

I actually felt like crying. I might when I get back home.

There was a bandage wrapped around my head, covering my right eye.

As we passed a store, I looked at the glass to see my reflection. I let out a small chuckle at how I looked with the bandage wrapped around my head.

[That's it, just laugh it off Lance!]

I let my head roll back lazily. I closed my eye and tried to relax.

Very soon, I heard the sounds of doors opening.

Huh, guess we're here.

"Stop right there!" Said a very familiar voice.

"Whoa! Lower your weapon!" Jason said as he walked in.

"What?! Jason, why are you here?"

"We were escorting someone here to meet you." Jason said.

"Who? There's no one left to.... Lance.... Oh my God! What happened to him?! How did he get here?!"

I opened my eyes to see Mark standing next to me. Frederic and Omnius must have laid me down... how did I miss that?

"Hey Mark." I said, trying to stay calm against the pain.

Mark was frantically looking me over, "Was he bit?"

"No, shoot." Jed said sadly.

"Shoot... oh no, it was Trey's team, wasn't it?" Mark said, looking sadden and worried.

"Yes." Jason said lowering his head. "I don't think they saw the signal..."

"Damn it..." Mark said, tightening his grip on his assault rifle.

Omnius cleared his throat, "There is no need to worry. I was able to stop the bleeding and clean the wound."

Mark looked at him and forced a small smile, "Thanks for that... Who are you?"

Omnius smiled, "Nathan, but you can call me Omnius, the Traveler of Good."

Mark chuckled, "Alright then, good to meet you Omnius."

Omnius did a small bow, "And it's a pleasure to meet you, brother of Lance."

I chuckled lightly.

Frederic held out his hand, "It's nice to meet you Mark, I'm Frederic."

Mark smiled and shook his hand, "Good to meet ya too."

Jason cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "So Mark, how goes the mission?"

Mark became serious, "We're still cutting through the entrance to the underground passages. Someone's wielded them all shut."

Jason cursed, "How long?"

"Ten more minutes, and we'll be through." Mark said, adjusting the strap on his weapon.

Jason nodded, "Good." He then turned to Doc and Jed, "Alright, we're going to join up with them, I don't think it's safe to be out there anymore..."

I lifted my head and looked out the door to see a large crowd forming... but how?

"What the hell! I thought Trey's team was keeping them thinned out!" Mark said as he lifted a walkie talkie to his mouth, "Trey, why have you stopped firing?!"

There was a sound of static before a answer came through, "We just shot a friendly human... We're pulling back."

"No!" Mark yelled into the mic, "Stay up there, he's alive, don't worry about him!"

"Fine..." Then static.

Mark looked down at me and held out his hand, "Can you stand Lance?"

I reached up and allowed him help me stand, "Yeah, I think I can." Oh man, I feel so off balanced with out my right eye.

[It's your own damn fault!]
{I know...}

Mark put his hand on my shoulder, "Come here Lance, I want you to meet someone."

"Who?" I questioned as he lead me through the Casino to the back room where the cashiers use to hand out the chips.

When we walked in, I could see a nice computer set up with a few people at the computers.

Mark walked over to one computers where a girl his age sat, "Lance, this is Jordan, my fiancee."

Wait... what? She's his... Way to go Mark!

She looked up at me and smiled, "Hey. I haven't seen you around here."

I chuckled, "Oh, we've kinda been in hiding."

Mark gestured to me, "Jordan, this is Lance, my little brother."

She smiled and stood up, "It's nice to finally meet you Lance. Your brother here has been talking about you a lot."

Mark chuckled and put a arm over her.

"So, you two are engaged?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yep, for about a month now. We've been planning on getting married, but it's kinda hard when with all the killing and stuff."

Mark shrugged, "Yeah, plus, we've been working on setting up this mission for a while, and right now, that's more important."

Behind me, I could hear the others coming into the large room.

"Those zombies are starting to pile up against that door Mark, I don't know how much longer they'll hold." Jed said.

Mark waved his hand, "Aw, don't worry about that. They've held for a long time, they're not going to break now."

"Yeah, but there's a lot more of them out there this time..." Jason stated.

Mark sighed, "Well, it doesn't really matter, we should be..."

"Mark! We got it!" A teenager yelled as he ran into the room.

Mark twisted around, "You did?"

The teenager smiled, "Sure did. We're ready to move out when you are."

Mark smiled, "Good." He then turned to Jordan, "You know what to do, right?"

She nodded and sat down, "Monitor the tunnels and keep up constant communications with your team."

Mark chuckled, "Exactly." He turned to me and the others, "You six want to tag along?"

Jason laughed slightly, "What, go down into the most dangerous place here? Meh, sure. I've been itching to mow down a few hundred zombies for a while."

Omnius also nodded, "Yeah, we're in also, right Lance?"

I looked around, I still didn't want to have to kill anything... but I'll have to get over that, "Yes, we're gonna help them."

Mark gave me a brotherly hug and looked me over, "Do you have a weapon?"

I reached down to my waist band and... felt nothing. Damn it! It must have fallen out! "Uhhh, I did, but I think I lost it."

He sighed and reached behind him and pulled a pistol from his belt, "Here, you can have mine. Just don't lose it, okay?"

I chuckled, "I won't, promise."

He gave a nod and began walking for the door, "If you're coming, you may want to hurry, or we'll leave you."

Jason and his two teammates began to follow him, I also began, but Frederic stopped me, "Lance, I thought we were only here to bring him back! Not help them with a suicidal mission!"

I sighed, "I know Frederic, but I can already tell he's not going to leave until this mission is over... and we're also going to have to take Jordan with us. Because I know he won't leave her behind."

Frederic rubbed his face, "This day just keeps getting better, huh?"

I gave a shrug and followed after everyone else.

Mark lead all of us down out of the room with the vault and computers and to the right. We walked past a few columns and into a area with two elevators. But, Mark kept walking and down towards the restrooms.

"Huh, elevators?" Frederic said as we pasted them.

"Don't work, already tried." Mark said as he rounded the corner, heading for the men's bathroom. But instead of walking into it, he kept going, heading for a grey door. Beside the door was another man, also armed with an assault rifle.

He and Mark exchanged a few words before they both walked through the door. I was the first one of my group and Jason's group to walk in.

When I passed the first door, I saw 'AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY' written on the wall with 'NO SMOKING' under it.

I turned to the left to see another room, this one had what looked to a hole with a ladder in the floor. There were four people in the room, Mark and the guy from the door, plus to others.

Mark nodded to one of them and turned to face me, "It's a good thing you guys came when you did, I don't know if my small team would have made it down there."

I smiled weakly, scared to death of going down that hole, "Yeah, I guess we're all lucky."

[Let's kick some ass!]

Everyone else behind me walked into the room and began to talk tactics. Only Frederic and Omnius stayed beside me.

"Is this really a good idea Lance?" Frederic asked.

I looked at him, "No, but I think we'll be fine."

Omnius put a hand on my shoulder, "We're more worried about you than ourselves. You lost your right eye, and that's the worst one to lose sometimes."

I gulped, I just realized that I used my right eye to aim... oh shit. Well, it's to late to correct that mistake, gotta move on.

Mark turned to us and waved us over, "Hurry up you three, we're going down."

The men in the room began to climb down the ladder, each slinging their weapon onto their back.

Once everyone in the room was through the hole, Omnius jumped in after them, followed by Frederic. I was left to stand there alone.

I gulped and walked over and climbed down the ladder.

Once at the bottom, I could see we were in a tunnel of sorts, a train tunnel. On the tracks was a large cart with a blue tarp over it. To my right was another maintenance room, but everyone else was going left, towards a golf cart of sorts.

They were looking it over and talking about who rides in it. As I neared, Mark pointed at me, "Lance should rid in the back with his two friends. Jason and Jed can drive, the rest of us will be on foot."

Oh great, am I getting spacial treatment since he's my brother?

Omnius climbed in the back and held up his sword, "Come on every one!"

Frederic jumped in and held his pistol in front of him. I sighed and followed their lead and jumped in.

Jason and his brother climbed up front while everyone else circled around the vehicle.

Mark gave the signal to move forward and the vehicle surged forward and down the ramp.

I looked around at all the zombies and.... HOLY SHIT! It's like a fucking pool! I can't even see the ground in some parts!

Jed leaned out of the cart's passenger side and began firing his assault rifle on single shot, scoring head shots, only missing a few times.

The others soon followed his lead and began firing at the crowd of flesh. The vehicle was moving slowly, trying to keep pace with the others.

Frederic was looking down the sights of his pistol, taking a shot from time to time. Omnius was standing up holding his sword at the ready. Me, I was sitting there in shock.

"SHIT!" Jason yelled from the front when we hit a fat zombie.

The cart stopped suddenly, the fat zombie jammed under it, keeping it from moving.

"Everyone out, now!" Mark yelled as he pulled me from the cart, still firing his rifle.

I stood up and looked around me. Everyone was in a semi circle around the immobile cart, firing at the large crowd of zombies that was forming around us.

[This is just our luck!]
{I know... we're all going to die.}
[FIGHT BACK!]
{No!}
[Fine! I'll do it for you!]
{Break! No!}

Suddenly, my arm shot up, pointed the pistol at the crowd that was slowly closing in around us.

*BLAM* *BLAM*
(My sound effects need some work XD )

Two zombies fell to the ground with a bullet hole in each of their heads.

[See?! Nothing to it!]

I sighed, fine, I'll do this... but only because they're already dead and I want to help my friends!

I brought the pistol back up and began to fire.

*BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM*

Four more fell, the other two just staggered after getting hit in the chest or shoulder. Shit, need to work on my aim.

Suddenly, the sounds of a machine gun on automatic filled the air, it was soon followed by more.

I turned to see everyone else firing into a certain part of the crowd, clearing a path for us.

As soon as there was a gap in the crowd, Mark yelled out, "Run!"

We all ran down the very small gap of the crowd as it began to converge on us again.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Some one screamed from behind, but I didn't turn to see who. I was to scared!

"WAIT WAIT WAIT NOO-AHHHHhh!" Another screamed

When I came out on the other side of the crowd, I kept running. Up ahead, I could see a platform. Thank God!

"Lark! Noooo!" Someone screamed. A second later, I could hear him screaming out in pain.

Once I reached the platform, I slammed into it at top speed and pulled myself up, ignoring the pain in my chest from the impact.

I looked back the way I cam to see everyone running, the crowd very close behind. Beyond the main crowd was three smaller ones, each bent down and surrounding something... oh no.

Please, please don't be my friends!

For once, luck was on my side, because Frederic and Omnius were the first ones to climb onto the platform, followed by Mark and the two brothers. Doc was the last one to pull himself up.

But the other three, the ones names I do not know, were not among them.

[This is like a fucking video game! I mean come on! Those three guys meant nothing to us, and we didn't even know their names! It's like in a game when they kill off the unimportant people, so the main characters can move along!]
{....}

Jason hung his head, "We already lost three... three of my friends."

Mark sighed and rubbed his face. He pulled out his walkie talkie and pressed the bottom, "Jordan, how many are between us and the lab?"

A burst of static, "Not many. A few large groups, but you can easily pass them with out getting close."

"Thanks babe." Mark said as he put the walkie talkie back on his belt.

Jason straightened up, looking determined, "You guys ready?"

Jed whipped his sleeve across his face, "Yeah, I'm ready."

Mark pulled the clip out of his gun and sighed, "Anyone have a spare? I'm almost out."

Doc opened his satchel and tossed one to him, he then tossed one to Jason and Jed.

Once they were all done reloading, Mark pointed down the tunnel, "You guys ready for this?"

We all responded yes and followed him off the platform and onto the tracks.

The undead quickly turned towards us and began to stumble our way.

Mark began to sprint ahead, followed by everyone else.

I was starting to have trouble keeping up, but Frederic and Omnius were beside me, keeping pace with me.

We were able to easily pass all the zombies, but they were now following us. Not good if we get cornered.

Up ahead, I could see a red light flashing.

"Finally!" Omnius said as he slashed his sword across a zombie who had stumbled a bit to close.

"Hurry up!" Mark yelled as he reached the large metal doors. He pulled out his walkie talkie and began to talk into it.

When I was closer, I could hear him saying, "... Password?"

He removed his finger from the button and seconds later came a response, "Forty two, thirty nine, fourteen, seventy five, sixty nine."

"Got it." He yelled into it as he put it in his pocket.

I ran up beside him and watched him put it in wrong, "Damn it!"

Doc and Jason were firing their weapons into the oncoming crowd, trying to buy us more time. Jed was at the door, his back to it.

Mark tried again, and failed. He cursed and punched the code in again. This time, it beeped in approval.

He smirked and looked at me as the doors began to open, "See Lance, gotta have steady..."

"AHHHHHH!" Jed screamed out.

We all looked his way to see two zombies latched onto him, ripping at his flesh.

"NOOO!" Jason yelled as he spun around and fired off a short burst into one of them.

He charged forward and slammed the butt of the rifle into the others head, knocking it to the side.

He then bent down to his bloodied brother and reached out.

"You should do him a favor and kill him now, instead of letting the infection take over." Doc said as he walked towards him.

Jason choked back tears and pulled out his pistol, "Remember when we use to play on the farm? You and me, riding horses and running through the fields. Those were the days, huh?" He put the pistol under Jed's chin, "Remember how mom would always bake the same thing every morning? And how we would always complain? Life was good... and your life is about to get even better... I promise."

I turned away.

Seconds later, a single gunshot was heard.

*BLAM*

I fired off another shot towards the entrance to the lab.

We were on top of a catwalk like platform and were firing down at the on coming zombies. Luckily, we were holding out. But it was taking Jason and Doc a long time to get that information.

Mark stood up after reloading and fired off a few shots, "They better hurry up!"

Frederic stood and fired Jed's assault rifle, "I know! It shouldn't take this long!"

While they were firing, I could hear the static of Mark's walkie talkie, and someone screaming Mark.

"Mark! I think someone's trying to contact you!" I yelled as I fired off another shot, hitting a zombie in the shoulder.

Mark pulled it off his belt and held it to his mouth, "What?"

Static for a few seconds, "Mark?! We have a problem!"

Mark's facial expression changed to one of worry, "A problem? What kind of problem?"

"The walkers! They've broken through the front doors... I don't know how much longer our door will hold out."

"Stay where you are! I'm coming back to you." Mark said taking a step towards the stairs.

"NO! Mark, it's already to late. There's to many of them..."

Mark's fist clenched shut tightly, "Jordan, don't say that. Tell the others to get the vault door open and..."

"We can't remember? We've tried... Mark, I love you."

Mark choked back his sobs, "I love you too. You can make it out of this, just tell Loraine to work on the vault!"

"We both know that's..." *Bang*

We all looked at the walkie talkie as screams could be heard... then nothing.

Mark fell to his knees, helpless, "Jordan..."

I put my hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

He spun around and stood to his feet, "Sorry? You're sorry! You don't have a fucking clue what kind of pain I'm going through right now!"

I held back tears, "No..."

"I got it!" Jason yelled as he ran back to us, followed by Doc.

Mark forced himself to calm down and looked at him, "Good."

Jason came to a stop, "What's his problem?"

I looked at him, "Jordan and the rest of his team is dead."

Jason looked shocked, "What? But... how?" He then hung his head, "I knew we should have done something about those doors!"

Omnius walked up to him, "There was no way you could have known."

Jason sighed, "I don't care, I still should have done something."

"GUYS!" Frederic yelled as he shot off his last bullet.

Down below us, the a small group of zombies were already at the stairs, moving up towards us.

"Well fuck." I said as I fired off another bullet, this time hitting one in the gut.

Mark stood there, staring at the zombies. He lifted his rifle and began to unload the entire magazine into the small oncoming crowd. I grabbed him and pulled him back, "Mark! Stop!"

He knocked me off of him and charged the last two remaining zombies that had survived his onslaught of bullets.

He slammed into one, knocking it to the ground, he then tossed his rifle into the air and caught it by the barrel. He then slammed it into the second zombies head, causing it to fall to the floor.

He stood over it and began to slam the butt of the rifle into its head, over and over again. Behind him, the first zombie was pulling it's self back up.

My eyes widened in surprise, "Mark!" I raised my pistol.

*BLAM BLAM BLAM CLICK CLICK*

The two bullets missed completely, but the third slammed into it's knee, forcing it to the ground.

SHIT! How can I be out of ammo?!

Mark twisted around and slammed the rifle into its head, caving it in.

Frederic walked past me, his head hung, "Today just keeps getting better and better."

I trudged up the escalators, carrying Jason. Damn it! Why did he have to jump off that damn platform?!

<*Sigh* At least he wasn't bitten, right?>
[Yeah, at least...]

We were all almost back to their base, or safe house. We had meet up with Trey's team leaving the Casino, luckily, no one else was hurt while coming back. Mark had remained silent the whole time.

Mark and the others were already ahead of me, most already entering the building.

When I neared, Frederic told Mark to wait. Doc walked over to me and took Jason off my back and walked off for the building.

Mark looked at us, "What?"

I walked up and sighed, "Mark, the real reason you've never seen us is because we've been in another world."

He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Another dimension." Omnius answered.

Mark looked at us like we were crazy, "There's no way."

I rubbed my hands together, "Mom wants you to come with us so you can be at her wedding."

He looked at me dumbfounded, "Mom's getting married... No, wait, there's no way she's here also... and getting married!"

I sighed again, "Look, Mark, we're from another world! We only came here to get you!"

He crossed his arms, "Alright then, show me."

I nodded, "Alright, but I think you should tell them you're leaving."

He rolled his eyes, "Fine, but this will only make me a laughing stock."

As he walked into the building, Omnius snickered slightly, "Boy, is he in for a surprise."

I nodded with a chuckle.

A few moments later, he walked out and yawned, "Let's get this little thing over with. I'm ready to try and sleep."

I looked at Omnius and nodded.

He smirked and clapped his hands together for effect.

We were all suddenly swept up into that same void like tunnel.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Mark yelled as he looked around himself.

I laughed, Mark almost never cussed, and when he did, it means he's either pissed, or confused.

"Told ya!" I yelled back.

*Whoosh*

We all flew out of it and slammed into the ground. Hard.

I sat up and held a hoof to my head.... HOOF! Fucking awesome! I'm a fucking pony again!

[FUCK YEAH! We're back bitches!]

[Who cares? We're a fucking pony again!]

I looked around and saw Frederic, he was also a pony again... well, Alicorn. Omnius was also a pony again, even though he can change his form.

But then I saw Mark. He was a grey Earth pony with a neon blue mane and tail. His mane was long and straight, and his tail had a rusty red streak going through it. His eyes were light blue, and he had a rusty read coloring around his mouth.

Mark sat up and rubbed his head, "Could have warned me about the hard impact!"

I chuckled, waiting for him to open his eyes and see his body.

"Lance, where did you get the eye patch?" Frederic asked as he stood up.

"Eye patch? What do you..." I lifted a hoof to my face, "I'll be damned, where did that come from?"

"OH MY GOD!" Mark yelled out as he looked at his forelegs, "I'm a fucking horse!"

I laughed, "Well duh, this is Equestria after all."

He looked at me, "Lance?"

I struck a pose, "The one and only!"

He sighed, "I should have known you would have chosen this place to live... wow, just wow. And now I'm here? Damn."

Omnius was relaxing on his back, a smile on his face, "This gonna be good."

Mark looked at him, "What is?"

"When you see Lance's wife and kids." Omnius said before chuckling.

Mark looked at me and raised an eyebrow, "Wife and kids? You had sex with a pony?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Yeah... But I'm a pony too, so no harm done."

He facehoofed, "I'm going to regret coming here, aren't I?"

I shook my head, "Oh no, you'll love it here, after a while."

He sighed, "Where is your house... I just have to see your kids. I beat they turned out just like you."

I smiled, "Thanks."

"That wasn't a complement bro." He said with a smirk.

I chuckled happily, looks like he still has his sense of humor.

[Let's get a move on! I want to see Twi!]

[... Fuck you Dawn.]

And done! Hell yeah, that was a lot of work!

Also, here's what Lance looks like now:

Now, for all you 'I want to be shipped with Mark' people (Mostly females XD ) Just remember this, he lost his lover, so he's not going to be looking for a relationship, especially with a pony XD

Mark meets Twilight

Chapter 101

"This place is too colorful." Mark remarked as we neared Dali's house.

I shrugged, "You'll get use to it."

He sighed, "I hope... You do know I'm getting you back for bringing me here."

I gave a nod and smirked, "I know."

After we had gotten back and told Mark all about this world, we had all went our separate ways. Frederic back to the castle and Omnius went back to Ponyville.

Mark and I were going to Dali's house, to meet Twilight and the kids. After that, we're going to head over to our moms house.

"So, what's your wife like?" Mark asked as we stopped in front of the door.

I smiled, "Oh, you know. The kind I like."

He chuckled, "You mean nerdy?"

I shrugged, "Something along those lines."

He laughed, "Oh wow! I should have known."

I let out a small laugh and opened the door, "You may want to stay back for a second..."

He looked at me strangely, "Why?"

"The eye." I said like he should have known.

"Ah, gotcha." He said while nodding.

I gulped and walked into the house, "I'm home..."

After a few seconds of silence, I heard the clopping of hooves on the hardwood floor, "Finally, its been four hours! What were you.... YOUR EYE! What happened?!" Twilight screamed as she walked into the living room.

I scratched the back of my eye, "I was... shot."

"Shot? What's that mean?" She said as she made her way over to me.

"Uhhh, a piece of metal went through my right eye and removed it..." I said as she reached me.

She grabbed my face and began to examine my face, "You're always getting hurt!"

I chuckled despite myself, "I know."

[Yeah, but we get hurt like a fucking pro!]

She pulled the eye patch up and recoiled slightly, "Oh Lance, what have you done to yourself?!"

I pulled it back down, "Don't worry Twi, Frederic promised he would work with Omnius to make me something for that."

She seemed to lighten up, "He better. I don't want you to be like this for long."

I gave her a kiss on the snout, "Now that that's over, I want you to meet my brother, Mark."

"Brother?" She said as Mark walked in behind me.

Mark looked her over and smirked, "I knew it!"

She looked at him strangely, "Knew what?"

He kept smirking, "I knew he was talking about you."

Twilight smiled, "Well, it's nice to meet you Mark. Lance has said a few things about you."

[I don't remember talking about him.]

Mark chuckled and looked around, "Nice place."

"Oh, it's not ours. It's Lance's friend's, Dali." Twilight said before I could answer.

"What happened to yours?" Mark questioned.

"Our friend Frederic's father attacked them and destroyed our house in the process." Twilight said while glancing at me.

Mark looked at me, "Really?"

"Yeah, really." I responded.

He shook his head laughing, "I bet you were hiding during all this."

"Nope, I was fighting along side Frederic." I said proudly.

Mark raised an eyebrow, "Oh? You were always scared of fighting back on Earth."

I sighed, "I think you should know this Mark, I've changed a lot since then."

He looked me over, "Yeah, I guess." He then smiled, "Now, let me see your kids."

I nodded and looked at Twilight, "Where are they?"

She smiled a little, "Uhhh, I dropped them off at... school a few minutes after you left."

My eyes widened, "School?! But Spark's only a few months old!"

Twilight held up a hoof, "Oh no, he's two, remember. I think he's mature enough for it... besides, he wanted to go."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why would he want to go?"

"Well, after I told him Nova was going, he kinda begged me." She said while smiling.

Again, my eyes widened, "Nova's going to school too?! But, she's still young!"

Twilight chuckled, "Lance, Alicorn's mature way faster than normal ponies. She's already as mature as he is. In a few years, she'll be as mature as we are."

"Dayum." That was all I could say. I'm in shock, things are moving kinda to fast.

Twilight turned around, "You can pick him up at three thirty. I think you know which school hes at."

"Which one?" I asked as she walked away.

"The one next to the palace." She said before turning to me.

Mark chuckled, "I'm so confused right now."

"Lance." Twilight said.

I looked at her, "What?"

"Guess who was there signing up for a teaching position when I was dropping them off."

"Who?"

"Mr. Bleak." She said as she turned to walk away.

[I now feel sorry for the poor boy!]

Canterlot Private School
Spark's POV

"Now, what's this letter?" Mrs. Bloom asked one of the young students up front.

"Uhhh... C?" He said nervously.

"Yes! Very good!" She said, giving him praise.

I tilted my head back, so boring! Why am I in this kindergarten class? I know all of this thanks to mom!

I looked around the class room, wishing me and Nova were in the same class. Sadly, she was next door.

"Okay class, I want you all to get out your...." Mrs. Bloom began before she was interrupted.

The door to the class room and a brown pony walked in, "Mrs. Bloom?"

She looked at him and smiled, "Yes?"

The stallion gulped, "Ummm, we're moving you to a different class room. Another teacher is taking over this class."

She cocked her head, "Really? Who?"

"Me." Said a familiar voice as a large stallion entered the room.

Him?! Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?

"Who are you?" Mrs. Bloom asked.

"Mr. Bleak." Mr. Bleak said while examining the class. His eyes stopped on me.

Yep, it's a bad thing, mixed with a little good.... I hope.

Mrs. Bloom eyed the two, "Do you really think I want to stop teaching this class?"

"We're doubling your pay." The stallion said.

Mrs. Boom smiled and reached behind her desk and picked up a suit case, "I'm out of here! YES!"

She began to chant yes over and over again as she hopped out of the classroom.

The stallion backed out slowly and closed the door.

Mr. Bleak smiled to the class, "Hello victims, I'm your new teacher, Mr. Bleak."

Victims... it's a full on bad thing!

Two hours later, lunch room

I sat down at the table, my food in front of me.

I was wrong about Mr. Bleak, he wasn't that bad... HE WAS SO MUCH WORST! My face still hurts from when I sneezed after he said no talking.

The strangest thing is, once class dismissed, he instantly became friendly with me. Weird?

I sighed and looked at my food... this food is just to plain! It's only hay, bread, some jam, juice, and soup! I need real food!

"Huh, you're going here too?" Star Chaser said as he walked by with his tray on his back.

I looked at him, "Huh, yeah. My mom wanted me to come here."

Chaser shook his head, "Just my luck. *Sigh* Have you seen Nova yet?"

I shook my head, "No. Why?"

He sighed again and sat down across from me, "She's been getting real friendly with this one colt." He shook his head, "I don't approve of it."

Nova's talking to a colt... I suddenly feel.... strange. Like I'm mad, but also sad. "Who is it?"

Star Chaser looked around, "I don't know his name."

I looked around and finally saw Nova talking to a colt in the line.

Well, finding her was easy.

The colt was a dark blue with a brown mane and tail. He already had his cutie mark, a curled up rope. A rope? Really?

I have a feeling I'm not going to like this guy.

"Look at them, talking to each other. I'm watching that colt!" Star Chaser said, staring daggers at the colt talking to Nova.

I nodded, "Me too."

Star Chaser looked at me, "You know what Spark? I think me and you are going to get along just fine."

I smiled, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yep, we have a common enemy."

I chuckled, "I guess we do."

Star Chaser isn't as bad as I thought he was. At least I made one friend on my first day of school.

Ending this chapter here, mostly because I can't take reading the comments anymore and just want the prank to be over.

Also, here's what I promised:

What do you guys think? Should Lance have the Bionic eye? Or just an eye patch? It's all up to you guys.

Bionic eye

The death of a character is coming up soon... Oh yeah, almost forgot: Warning! Spoiler!

Oops, to late XD

But yes, someone will die soon. And yes, the first scene is setting up for another fight scene. Bigger and much worst than all the others.

This chapter will start it off. Well, set up the fighting scene. The sorrow is later.

This chapter is kinda speedy, but that's for a good reason. If I did what I planned, this chapter would have been the fighting scene. And that wouldn't have worked for me. So, a rushed chapter is better than a rushed into plot line, huh? Also, Lance gets his bionic eye in this chapter. Why? Because he can XD

Chapter 102

"But master! You can't actually believe you can take them all on!"

"*Sigh* Do you think I'm weak? Do you think I don't have a plan? Do you?!"

"*Gulp* No master, sorry master. But think about it, you're going up against more than twenty... bronies?"

"Yes, I know. I also know that a lot of them can not fight. Besides, that's why I'm bringing the Darkness along. They've agreed to help, as long as I leave Darkest Bleak alive for them."

"Even so, you're just a normal pony! The body you've possessed is weak!"

"I've already planned for that. Thanks to those bronies and their corrupted minds, I was able to build a new form purely based off their fears."

"You have?"

"Yes. And I must say, it's quiet frightening, even for me. But, it'll get the job done."

"Can I see it, master?"

"Yes, I'll show you Red Storm, but only because I must get use to it. I'm getting my revenge very soon."

Red Storm nodded and backed away as his master, the Nightmare, changed from a normal pony to a terrifying wolf like creature that stood on its hind legs.

"*Gulp* Master?"

"My revenge will be complete with this new body! Storm! Send him the warning."

"Why are we sending him a warning?"

"Because, I want him to be ready for me. It won't be any fun if I just slaughter all of them one by one."

"Ah, I see master. I will get right on it!"

"Good. I will begin step one of my plan."

Canterlot, Barehoof's and Dana's house

I stopped outside of the house and looked over to were my house use to stand. Right now, they were rebuilding it, and they already had most of the first floor rebuilt.

Mark looked over at it also, "Huh, wonder who's house that will be."

"Mine." I said while chuckling, "My house use to stand there... but was destroyed."

Mark sighed, "How much trouble have you gotten in since I've been gone?"

"Not a lot." I lied.

[That's a big fat lie.]

I chuckled and pushed open the door. "Hey mom, I got Mark!"

Suddenly, the sounds of running could be heard. Mom then ran around the corner and yelled out in happiness. But then, when she looked at me, she became pissed, "Lance Greenfield! What have I told you about covering one eye?! It makes your eyesight bad!"

I sighed, "Well mom, I kinda need this eye patch."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah? Why?"

I smirked slightly and pulled it up.

Mom's eyes widened, and she began to wobble, but she was able to keep standing, "Lance... your eye. What happened?!"

"I got shot while I was looking for Mark." I said, pointing at Mark.

Mom looked at him, "Why didn't you protect your little brother?!"

Mark shrugged, "I couldn't, I didn't even know he was there."

Mom sighed and shook her head, "It's still good to see you Mark. Even if your brother is missing an eye."

I waved a hoof and laughed, "Yeah, don't worry about that. I saw Omnius on a few hours ago. He had some gadgets or something and was heading to the Palace to get to work with Frederic."

Meanwhile, Canterlot Castle, the work shop

"HOLY SHIT! THAT BURNS!" Omnius screamed out as he ran around, holding his scotched hoof.

"I told you not to touch the metal, didn't I?" Frederic said as he added the last touch of magic to the bionic eye.

Omnius stopped and shrugged, already forgetting about his hoof, "Doesn't matter, because I did it!"

Frederic chuckled and lifted the eye, "Very nice!"

Omnius strolled over and put his hooves on the metal table, "Ow! We make a great team when it comes to building things! OH YES! I just had the best line for when we give it to Lance!"

Frederic checked over the eye and looked at him, "What will that be?"

"You'll see." Omnius said, already starting to dance on the metal table.

Back to Lance, ten minutes later

"... No! I didn't do it!" I yelled as my mom backed me into a corner.

"Yes you did! I heard your son talking about it the other day!" She said as she got closer to me, a glare on her face.

"Look! I may have, but it wasn't me! It was Break!" I yelled, already curling up into a ball.

[Hey asshole! Don't rat me out!]

"It's still you! You showed your son dirty pictures of his own mother!" She screamed as she began to poke her hoof at me.

"Come on mom, give him a break." Mark said from behind her.

Mom turned around and glared, "Keep out of this Mark!"

*Kaw* ( I need to work on my Phoenix sounds.)

Mom turned around to see Kara standing on me protectively... her wings healed? Nice. Also, how did she get here?

Kara spread her wings, blocking me from view.

Gotta love her.

Mom sighed, "Lance, please tell your bird to leave."

"No can do mom. She's kinda attached to me... and very protective. So please, I'll talk to Spark about this. Just please don't kill me!" I said as calmly as I could.

"Lance, you're lucky I'm in a good mood today." Mom said as she turned.

Kara dropped her wings and squawked proudly as she hopped off me and turned to look at me.

I chuckled and stood up, "Good girl." I said as I rubbed her head.

I then began to follow mom and Mark into the next room. Kara jumped up on my back and wrapped her wings around my neck.

D'awwww!

I walked into the living room and was about to sit down when the door burst open, revealing a excited Omnius and a happy Frederic.

"We've done it! In three hours flat!" Omnius yelled out as he strolled into the house, a box on his back.

Frederic walked in and chuckled, "It was easy, thanks to Omnius and his technology."

Omnius smiled proudly, "Yep, all thanks to my travels!"

I chuckled, "You already built the eye? Damn, you work fast."

"Magic bro!" Omnius said, putting the box in front of me.

He smirked and opened it. He pulled out a oval shaped disk that looked like a actual eye... with the exception of a few red lines and the red dot in the middle with a black slight through it.

He held it up and looked at me, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology!"

I laughed openly, "Good one. Eye please!"

Frederic held up a hoof, "Wait, I must explain what it does first."

I sighed, "Fine, go ahead."

This next part, the description of the eye, was thought up by Iron Clad. So, it didn't come off the top of my head lol

"Well, I put in a HUD, thermal and night vision, flight trajectory display, a Memory Visualizer, in case you need to remember something, and a On-Target software in case you need to follow someone or chase Greg around the place. No laser. We are ponies, not killers."

"One last thing! This is important! What ever you do, do not take it out and pull out the green wire and pressed the grey button the back." Omnius yelled out.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because, then you would go boom!" He said with a chuckle

I gawked, "You put a self destruct feature in my new eye?! WHY?!"

He shrugged, "Never know when you'd want to blow something up."

I facehoofed, "Great, not I got to be careful with it." ( XD This feature will be the main thing for a plot I have planned in the future, that's the main reason I added it lol )

Frederic shook his head, "No you don't. Once I infuse it into your eye socket, it's not suppose to come out. It'll act as a normal eye... well, except for a few things."

My mom shook her head, "Oh no. I will not allow you to put that in my sons head!"

"Well, if we don't, Lance could go insane without the other eye." Omnius reasoned.

Her eye twitched, "Fine. But I'm leaving the room." She said as she glared at us and left the room.

"Take off the eye patch." Frederic commanded.

[No! Leave on the badass patch!]

I ignored Break and pulled it off.

The bionic eye floated up and was pushed onto my empty eye socket.

"FUCK!" I yelled out as the hard, pointy metal began to snake into my eye, searching out my nerves.

"Language!" My mom yelled form the other room.

[Damn! That hurts!]

Frederic's horn began to glow, causing the bionic eye to heat up, permanently implanting it's self in my right eye socket.

I flinched from the pain and stumbled back, "Are you done?!"

"Ahh, yes! Done." Frederic exclaimed as his horn stopped glowing.

I opened my eyes and looked around, "Huh, dude. The eye doesn't do anything but let me see. I thought you added all those features?"

He smiled proudly, "I know. I've done something amazing. I've made it where your consciences, Break and Dawn, can control them. Meaning, they can turn them on, but only when you want them too."

FUCKING SWEET!

{Dawn! Turn on the Heads Up Display!}

After a few seconds, new images filled my vision.

Down in the left hand corner was a mini pony me, on the right hand corner was a map. A map? COOL! There were green dots, must mean friendly's, (Game reference!) on it and a diagram of the house. I'm loving this! Also, on the top was a compass like thing, with green dots on it... did they copy this off of Fallout? Probably. On the top left hand side was a small clock, displaying the time, 1:34 PM. And finally, there was a small red dot in the middle of my vision.

"Do you like it?" Frederic asked.

I nodded with a smile, "I love it! Please, explain the HUD's display."

He gave a quick nod, "Sure. First off, you'll notice the little map. That thing is designed to map out your current area and tell you where your friends are, and where you enemies are. You won't be needing that feature. Next up is the little pony you down in the left corner. That is like your health, but it only tells you what kind of damage you have to each part of your body. It doesn't give you health, like it does in video games. This is real life, it only analyzes your body and tells you if something is wrong. The compass is like the map, but shows you which way is North, East, South, and West. It also shows you where your friends are and the distance between you and them. You can also mark points on the map and it'll show you which way to go. You can thank Omnius for that one. There's the clock, but I don't have to explain that one. Last up is the little dot in the middle. That's like your cross-hairs, that is actually very helpful. What ever you aim that at will give you a detailed description of that object or thing. For example, if you pointed it at a rock, it would tell you what its made of. It will also give you details on other ponies. The cross-hairs also helps you select targets for the On-Target software, you can select a object or pony and your HUD will point you in the direction it is heading." He smiled happily, "If I say so myself, that's the best thing I've ever crafted."

WOW! This thing is awesome! I guess losing my eye wasn't so bad after all.

{Turn off the HUD, please.}
[But it's badass!]

My vision returned to normal, just slightly blurry, but that soon passed.

I smiled and held out my hoof to them, "Thank you. Both of you, this means a lot!"

Frederic shook my hoof and smiled, "No problem Lance."

Omnius was next, he shook it and chuckled, "Hope you like it. I'm thinking about ripping my eye out for one." He then laughed heartily as he stepped back.

I turned to Mark and smirked, "How do I look?"

He chuckled, "Like a mismatched clown. That eye doesn't even match your real one."

I shrugged, "Doesn't matter, it's awesome!"

He sighed, "You think everything is awesome."

I shook my head, "No I don't!"

He turned, "Come on bro, let's hurry up and talk to mom some more. I kinda want to take a nap when we get back."

"Sounds like a plan," I said with a smile.

One hour and ten minutes later, Dali's house

'Dear Lance,

Hello, I think you should know me. I'm something you thought you stopped. Something you've seemed to have forgotten about. Something that is seeking its revenge.

I am the Nightmare.

Yes, the very thing Val was trying to unleash, the very thing you thought was still trapped in that stone! Well, turns out that small amount of energy I got from you was just enough to unleash me. Happy days! For me at least.

I'm sending this letter to warn you, yes warn you, of my arrival in your area. I will come in and kill you, and all your pathetic friends. I'll save you for last, make you watch me kill all of them in front of you, even your family.

Let's see, you have at least an hour to prepare after receiving this letter, and I advise you do that. For when I arrive, I will begin to have my fun. Bring your friends, for if you don't, their deaths will much worst. Don't worry, most of them will be busy fighting the Darkness while I deal with the rest of you.

Now, I've put a small map in this letter, leading to a clearing in the Everfree forest. We will do battle there, me VS's all of you. Do not be late, or the punishment will be increased! You'll know me when you see me.

You have one hour.

Signed,
The Nightmare'

I dropped the letter that had just materialized right in front of me and ran through the house. I ran into the living room, panting.

Twilight looked at me, "What is it Lance?"

I looked up, a shocked look on my face, "Please, send a notice to all the bronies and our friends. Tell them to meet me here, and to hurry! We don't have much time! And you must tell Dali to watch over the kids after school. Can you please do this?"

She slowly nodded, "I can... but why?"

I gulped, "The Nightmare has returned."

The next chapter starts off with them at the clearing. Epic/bloody battle insures!

Nightmare

Okay, as you'll notice, when a few of the bronies get hit or hurt, they may not be able to continue fighting. Why is this? Well, they are only normal human/ponies, unlike a few of the others

Now, I will do my best to not have this drag out. I'll make it short, but detailed, since that's what you all like XD Yes, all the bronies will be in the fight, so everyone with an OC in this story, prepare for it lol Don't get mad if your character doesn't last long, or gets hurt to bad. This is suppose to be a, almost, bloody fight scene.

Remember:
Lance = Breaking Dawn
Grace = KillJoy
Frederic = Darksteel Edge
Peter = Violent Inferno

Enjoy!

Chapter 103

"Is this really a good Idea, Lance?" Twilight asked as we, along with most of the bronies, stood in the clearing of the Everfree forest.

I sighed and looked at all my friends, "Probably not, but we have no other choice."

"We can contact the Princesses, they can..."

I shook my head, "No Twi, that's a bad idea. From what I've learned from the show and the internet, the Nightmare can take over any body... even the Princesses."

Twilight gulped, already knowing this, "But.... what are you going to do?"

I put on a weak smile, "What else? We're going to do the only thing we can... fight."

"But you don't have to do this!" She said, tears in her eyes.

I put my hoof to her cheek, "I have to. I'm the one who freed it, it was my energy... and my fault. I must Twi."

She wiped her hoof across her eyes, "Just please, don't get hurt."

I chuckled, "Twi, we both know I'm going to get my ass kicked. But don't worry, I have my friends to back me up."

A small smile formed on her face.

"No Twi, I'm not going to allow you to help. I don't want you to get hurt!" I said, trying to stay as calm as possible.

She frowned, "But Lance, I can help!"

"I know, but you'll be more help if you're out of the fighting and safe. I would not be able to live with my self if you were to get hurt."

She sighed and leaned forward, giving me a kiss on the cheek, "Just stay safe, for me."

"I will Twi, I promise." I said, returning her kiss, but this time on the lips.

[We're gonna kick some fucking ass!]

As she walked back to the tree line, the place I had told her to stay during all this, I looked around at all my friends. All of them ready to fight along side me... gotta love them.

Everyone was here: David, Greg, Peter, Zorrow, Seth, Drax, Frederic, Vinetion, Alexander, Shadow Breeze (Who was in the background.), Aaron, Cody, Grace, and of course, me. Octavia and Trixie were also here, to give support to their lovers. A few didn't come, either because I didn't want them to, or for other reasons.

Annabel was told to stay at the Palace with Discord, encase something goes wrong. I had sent Omnius to look for Mr. Bleak, but they haven't returned yet. I didn't even tell Mark, I wasn't about to put him at danger. As for Malbatorus, who was suppose to be our edge, freaked out when we told him we were about to fight the Nightmare. He said he wasn't about to try that, and before we could protest or reason, he fled, leaving us behind. I don't blame him though, I want to run away too, but I have to stay for my friends.

David walked up to me with a weary look on his face, "This isn't going to end well, will it?"

I forced a smile, "Don't worry bro, we'll do just fine. Nothing can take on fourteen bronies... wait, sixteen bronies."

He chuckled, "Got that right."

I turned back around to face the forest around us, but felt a hoof tap my shoulder. I turned to see Frederic... "Frederic?"

He chuckled, "What? Didn't think I knew how to control Darksteel Edge?"

I smiled and looked him over. He was in the same form he was in when we fought his father, "Nice, now we'll win for sure."

He tapped my head, "Yeah, but only if we work together. I want you to go into your alter ego."

"Alter ego?" I said, tilting my head.

He snickered, "Breaking Dawn, Lance."

"Oh." I said with a sheepish smile, "I knew that."

"What ever you say Lance." He said while rolling his eyes playfully.

I shook my head and focused. After a few seconds, I felt my self slip into Breaking Dawn mode. "Nice."

Frederic chuckled and turned, "Now to tell the others to do the same."

I turned back to the treeline.

{Break, turn on the HUD.}
[On it.]

When my HUD came up, I could see the forest more clearly. I could see almost every little detail, I could even see those two bugs mating on that leaf.... damn.

I looked at the map and saw only my friends, plus a few random blue dots moving beyond the treeline, animals.

After a few minutes, I began to get bored, "Where is this thing?!"

I looked at the clock on my HUD and saw that it was 3:14 PM... and it was worried about us missing the fight.

"Ah, I see you're all here. Splendid!" Echoed a very creepy voice.

Frederic, along side Grace and Peter, who were both in their alternate forms, stepped forward, "Where are you?!"

Quick side note: Yes, Peter is in Violent Inferno. You must read the Role Play that I posted a link to. They talked me into making that Canon, and it is now. Back to the story.

"All around you!" Came the response.

All around us? What's that mean? "Show your self then!"

"My pleasure."

Suddenly, the light fuzzy fog that had been hanging over the clearing lifted. It began to stream towards a single spot, forming a small cloud of black smoke.... is that smoke?

Wait a minute... you mean that thing has been here this whole time?!

[And we've been breathing it in!]

"A cloud? We'r going to fight a cloud?" Peter... or Violent Inferno said in a confused voice.

"Oh no my dear colt, this is my pure form. Let me show you the form I've made just for this occasion."

The black smoke began to pull together, forming a tall creature. The creature's body began to form, creating more details with each second. When it finished, we were all silent.

That.... We're... fighting that?!

"Oh fucking shit! A Werewolf!" Greg yelled out from behind everyone else.

No Greg, that is no Werewolf... I mean it is, but... it's much much worst!

The thing bowed with a wicked smile, "Oh no, I'm no Werewolf. I'm a much darker form. Call me, Nightmare."

I gulped, this was worst than I thought. We can't fight that thing! It's bigger than Frederic! By at least a foot! DAMN!

Nightmare stood up straight and crossed his arms... which had huge claws on the hands! Fuck!

"Two choices, you fight me first, or the Darkness." He said, a amused look on his face.

"THE DARKNESS!" Greg yelled out, getting glares from everyone else.

Nightmare chuckled, "If that's your choice, so be it."

Suddenly, over a dozen black Pegasi jumped from the tree cover. They all took up positions next to Nightmare.

Wait, are those the ponies I saw in Pleasant Fields? Not good.

{Turn off my HUD! It's getting in my way!}

Once my HUD was off, I glanced around. All my friends looked determined, but also scared.

I looked back at Nightmare and the black Pegasi.

Nightmare chuckled and waved his claw, "Go, have your fun. But don't kill any of them, that's my honor."

I heard the Pegasi hiss happily as they moved forward.

Here comes the first fight!

*Thud*

Suddenly, large thorny vines shot upward under each of the black Pegasi, instantly killing them. How do I know they died? Because they turned to smoke, that's why... kinda creepy.

"AHA! You call that a challenge!" Vinetion remarked proudly as she lifted her hoof, causing the vines to go back into the ground.

Nightmare chuckled, "No, that was just the warm up. Now, we can really begin. I'll give you all a small chance. Send forth your best fighters. After I deal with them, I'll deal with the rest of you."

Really? You're going to let us get together? He's an idiot.

Everyone began to back up, just leaving me, Darksteel Edge, Violent Inferno, KillJoy, and Vinetion.

Nightmare looked amused, "Really? That's your best? This is going to be easier than I thought."

I began to walk forward, followed by the others, "Don't underestimate us! You'll be very sorry if you do."

He shrugged, "I'm not worried in the least." He then smirked, "Hey Lance, you know what I'm going to do when I've won?"

I glared, but kept walking closer, we were about fifteen yards away now, "I don't care, because you're not going to win."

He continued to smirk, "I'm going to kill your family, and I'll take extra time on your wife."

"YOU BASTARD!" I screamed as I sprung forward.

"No Lance! He's trying to get you close to him!" Darksteel yelled out.

I don't care! No one threatens my family!

When I was close enough, I brought back my inflamed hoof and slammed it into his face. I then followed up with a few quick jabs to the head.

I backed up, hovering in place.

He smiled and twisted his neck, popping it a few times, "My turn."

*POW*

His closed fist slammed into my face, forcing me backwards. Before I could fall, he grabbed my hind leg and slammed me into the ground, hard.

Why am I always the first one to get hurt?!

He picked me up by my neck and smiled, "I'm going to make you watch." He then brought one of his claws up to my cheek and drug it downward, drawing blood. He then tossed me into the air and gave me a sharp kick to the gut, sending me pass the others, who were still running towards Nightmare.

When I hit the ground, I instantly forced myself to stand. I then began to slowly limp back towards them.

Up ahead, Darksteel was the first to reach him. He jumped at him, slamming his hoof into Nightmare's gut. KillJoy also ran up and slammed her hoof into him, causing black flames to erupted from the impact point.

Before the two could pull back and attack again, Nightmare quickly grabbed each by the neck and slammed them together. This instantly knocked Grace out, forcing her out of KillJoy mode. Darksteel however stumbled back and fell to the ground, dazed.

Vinetion stomped the ground, causing a large vine to shoot upward and wrap around Nightmare's neck.

"Not so tough now, are you!" She yelled triumphantly.

Nightmare laughed loudly, "Nice try." One of his claws sliced downward, cutting through the vine with ease.

Before he even hit the ground, he sprung forward, wrapping his claws around Vinetion's neck and lifted her into the air, "Ah, now I remember you."

"What do you mean?!" Vinetion gasped out as she tried to breath.

Nightmare only smiled as he slammed his head into hers and threw her in the direction of the forest.

Nightmare looked ahead, at the only one of us that was left. Violent Inferno.

He was walking towards him, a glare on his face, "No one hurts my friends."

"I just did." Nightmare said smugly.

Before Nightmare could make a move, Inferno shot forward, slamming both of his hooves into Nightmare's gut.

Nightmare's eyes widened as he was knocked back, gasping for air, "You're a tough one, aren't you?!"

"YEP!" Inferno yelled as he jumped into the air, slamming his head into Nightmare's snout. Blood flew upward as his head snapped back.

Inferno then sun around and bucked Nightmare in the chest, causing him to fly backwards.

[Wow, who would have thought that Peter would have been the most powerful out of all of us?]

I finally arrived next to Inferno, who had just landed and was looking at the body of Nightmare, "You get him?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No."

Nightmare stood up and rubbed his chest, "Hmmmm, you are tougher than the others. No matter." He looked at me and smiled.

Why is he smiling at me?

My question was answered when he sprung forward, his claw raised.

SHIT! Move Lance!

Suddenly, Inferno knocked me out of the way.

*Slicing sound*

I hit the ground and turned around to see Inferno stumbling to the side, a large gash on his side. He looked at me with a sad look and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

Nightmare smiled, "I knew that would work."

"You asshole! You used me as bait!" I'm going to kill him!

I jumped forward, and slammed my head into his gut, trying to wind him. Sadly, it only gave him a advantage.

He smiled and began to punch me repeatedly in the face, chest, and gut. Each hit delivering more and more pain. He laughed and threw me to the ground.

After hitting the ground, I felt it open up under me, dropping me into a hole.... wait, not a hole, a portal. I fell through and flew out on the other side and hit the ground.

Alexander looked down at me, a worried look on his face, "Oh man, he doesn't look that good!"

Cody leaned over me and frowned, "Why do you always let your self get hurt?"

I tried to answer, but found it hard. I was no longer in Breaking Dawn, I was normal... useless yet again.

Twilight ran up and kneeled down next to me, "Lance! Speak to me!"

"H-Hi T-Tw-Twi..." I forced out.

A tear fell from her face and landed on my cheek, where it rolled down and to the ground.

{HUD.}

When my HUD came on, I could see the damage that had been done to me. I had three broken rips, a broken snout, my bionic eye was slightly damaged, and I had bruises all over my chest and stomach. Damn, he did do some damage.

Luckily, I was able to clear my throat and get past the hard to breath part, "Guys... he's to strong."

Alexander sighed, "I know, but we can't leave... we'll die if we do."

Cody nodded, "Besides, all we have to do is hold out till Mr. Bleak and Omnius get here. Then we can sit back and watch the fireworks."

"Stop your talking and fight! Or, I could just attack you all right now!" Nightmare said as he strolled towards us.

I looked around, "Guys, just do your best to distract him."

Alexander smiled, "That, I can do. Come on Cody."

Cody smiled and stood, "I may not want to kill, but I can fight at least!"

As they ran off, I looked at Twilight, "I love you."

She smiled a little, "I love you too. Don't worry, give me ten minutes and I'll have you up and ready to fight again."

I smiled back, "Thanks Twi."

I then looked away and at Alexander and Cody, who were about to reach Nightmare.

As Alexander neared, he shot a portal behind Nightmare and then one in front of himself. He jumped through it and came out the other side, slamming his back hooves into his back.

Nightmare stumbled forward as Cody slammed into his side, knocking him over.

Both of them quickly jumped on him and began to slam their hooves into his face and chest, causing as much damage as possible.

Nightmare twisted over, knocking them both off, and lunged forward, tackling Cody to the ground.

"Any last words!" Nightmare yelled out.

"Fuck you." Cody said as Nightmare smirked.

Nightmare opened his mouth and slammed his head forward. He then bit down on Cody's shoulder, tearing muscles and tendons.

"Get off of him!" Alexander yelled as he bucked Nightmare in the side,

Nightmare didn't even move, instead, he let go of Cody and turned to Alexander, "You're a pest!"

Alexander laughed loudly and shot a portal behind Nightmare, "I know." He then did a back flip, and shot a second portal down below him. He fell through it and came out the other side, ready to slam his hooves into Nightmare's side again.

Nightmare twisted around and grabbed his hind legs and lifted him up, "That trick doesn't work twice."

Alexander's eyes widened as Nightmare tossed him upward and caught him by his face... oh no.

He then slammed Alexander into the ground, his clawed hand still holding onto his head. He then stood up and pulled his hand away, revealing Alexander, his head implanted into the ground.

"ALEXANDER!" Trixie yelled out as Drax and Octavia fought to hold her back.

"This isn't good." I said weakly.

Nightmare turned to the rest of us and bellowed out, "Who's next?!"

"I AM!" Darksteel yelled as he slammed his horn through Nightmare's back. His horn then penetrated and came out of his chest, "Rule number one, don't forget where your enemy is!"

"I didn't forget. I was merely waiting." Nightmare said with a smirk and he grabbed Darksteel's horn and began to drag it along his chest... wait... is his body moving around Darksteel's horn!

Once Nightmare had Darksteel's horn out and in his grasp, he pulled him forward and put him in a sort of headlock.

"Rule number two of fighting, never stab a creature made of dark magic." Nightmare said as he raised his clawed hand and slammed it down on Darksteel's horn, breaking it off close to the base.

Darksteel screamed out in pain and fell back as Nightmare released him.

He fell onto his flank and put his front hooves to his head. He then instantly turned back to normal, no longer in Darksteel Edge.

Nightmare laughed cruelly and grabbed Frederic by the throat, "Nighty night Prince Frederic."

Frederic began thrash around, trying to get air. But it was hopeless, he was weak now, and Nightmare was still strong.

Seconds later, Frederic passed out from lack of oxygen.

Nightmare tossed his unconscious body to the side and turned to us, "Next?"

I gulped and looked around at the bodies of my unconscious or hurt friends. This was hopeless, we can't fight him! The only one who could was Peter... and I don't know now.

Twilight leaned down to my ear and whispered, "Five more minutes Lance."

Then what? I get up and fight him, get my ass kicked, and end up in the same place? Shit, today is not my day.

Nightmare chuckled, "Okay then, I guess I'll just pick." He then began to stroll towards us.

Not good! Please, somepony, anypony! Help us!

[Hurry up Omnius! We need you and Mr. Bleak!]

Ultimate sacrifice

Chapter 104

As Nightmare neared, I had a sense of dread.

This wasn't going so well...

Nightmare bellowed with laughter as he neared our small group, "I said, who's next."

After a few seconds of no response, he smiled and began to move forward.

Come on Lance! Stand, defend your friends!

I groaned as I rolled over and forced myself to stand.

"No Lance, please, stay down. You're not healed properly yet!" Twilight said, put a hoof on my back to hold me down.

I sighed and heard more laughter coming form Nightmare.

"Really? You're still going to try and fight me?" He yelled out as he laughed.

"No, I'm going to fight you!" A large white Alicorn yelled out as it slammed into Nightmare, sending him flying into the treeline.

What the... who is that?

The Alicorn turned and smiled, "Yo Lance."

... Omnius, I should have known. He must be using a super aura.

Mr. Bleak landed next to him and surveyed the area, looking at all the unconscious bodies of our friends, "I take it we're late to the party?"

"Damn right you're late!" David yelled out.

Mr. Bleak chuckled and looked at me, "How ya holding up there Lance?"

I couldn't help but smile, "Oh you know, surviving."

Mr. Bleak and Omnius chuckled.

"Why are you all laughing? This fight is far from over!" Nightmare yelled as he walked out of the forest, a pissed off look on his face.

Omnius looked at Mr. Bleak and smiled, "Shall we show this guy who's the boss?"

Mr. Bleak smirked, "We shall."

They both suddenly shot forward at a speed I couldn't keep track of, and slammed into Nightmare, throwing punches and other types of attacks.

Nightmare was taking a few massive blows, but he was blocking most of them with his fast moving claws.

Both Mr. Bleak's and Omnius's hooves were turning red from the blood coming from the small cuts received from Nightmare's blocks.

Mr. Bleak brought his hoof back and brought it upward, slamming it into Nightmare's jaw. Perfect uppercut!

Nightmare howled in pain and jumped back, putting distance between himself and the two over powered Alicorn's.

Nightmare snarled, "I didn't want to have to resort to this but you've...."

"NO TALKING!" Mr. Bleak yelled as he suddenly appeared in front of Nightmare, giving him a hard buck to the face.

Nightmare stumbled back and yelled out, "ENOUGH! I didn't want to do this, but you've forced it on yourselves!"

He then began to shake, causing black smoke to lift from his body. He growled angrily and slammed his claws into the ground. Seconds later, he looked at the two Alicorn's and screamed.

Or, it looked like he was screaming, but I couldn't hear anything.

On the other hand, Mr. Bleak and Omnius were holding their head, both of them collapsing on to the ground.

Nightmare stood up and laughed happily, "There, much better."

"What did you do to them?!" Seth yelled out, becoming enraged.

Nightmare shrugged with a smirk, "Oh, nothing much. All I did was make them live through their worst nightmare... with very real detail and effects. By time they even can move, I'll have all of your bodies piled up around them, what a sight to wake up to."

"You monster!" Drax screamed out, also becoming pissed.

"Oh, thank you." Nightmare said as he bowed. He then strolled over to the two unconscious Alicorn's and smirked, "You know it's sad. Those two were the only ones who could have stopped me."

Oh shit, now what?

Twilight looked at the others and gulped, "Lance is almost healed, please, you have to keep him distracted."

Zorrow saluted her, "We're on it! Come on bronies, let's go get our asses kicked!"

I watched as all my friends ran forward. All but Shadow Breeze and Greg. Shadow Breeze was on the ground with his hooves covering his face. Greg... Greg was smoking a joint.

"Let the fun begin." Nightmare said as he sprung forward at the charging bronies.

David was at the front, so he was the first to encounter Nightmare.

David jumped upward and tried to slam his head into Nightmare's gut, but was caught in mid-air by his throat.

"Nice try." Nightmare said as he grabbed David's hind leg and used his body as a weapon. He slammed David into Aaron and Drax, knocking them to the side. He then slammed David into the ground, instantly knocking him out.

Seth and Zorrow jumped over David and delivered a devastating double blow to Nightmare's chest.

Nightmare stumbled back slightly and snarled. He grabbed both of them and slammed their heads together... then again, and again... and again. Finally, they both fell unconscious, which would be bad, but in this case, it was probably for the best.

Before their bodies hit the ground, Drax jumped up and slammed his hoof into Nightmare's face.

He flew past him as Aaron ran up from behind and slammed his head into Nightmare's back, causing him to flinch... only flinch.

Nightmare kicked backwards with his leg, striking Aaron in the snout.

Aaron yelped in pain and fell to the ground, holding his now broken snout, which was bleeding pretty bad.

"Two minutes Lance." Twilight announced as her horn continued to glow.

Drax jumped up again and slammed his hoof into Nightmare's neck. But, as he turned to flee and prepare for his next run by, Nightmare grabbed his tail and lifted him into the air.

"Ah, a punching bag." He said with a evil smirk.

Drax struck outward with his hoof, landing a solid punch to Nightmare's nose.

Nightmare put one of his clawed hands up to his face and growled, "How dare you!"

*POW* *Crack*

Drax's body went limp as most of his ribs were broken under the impact force of Nightmare's fist.

Nightmare dropped Drax and stepped over his body, "Just a few more to go, then I can begin the real fun!"

Greg puffed on his blunt and just looked at Nightmare, no emotion on his face.

Nightmare looked between him and Shadow, "Hmmm, who's first?"

Greg raised his hoof and smiled, "Come on bro, show me the worst you got."

"Very well." Nightmare said with a smile as he sprinted towards Greg.

Once he was in front of Greg, he reached down and lifted Greg up to eye level, "Huh, a brave one."

Greg floated his burning blunt up to his mouth and took a long drag, "You better believe it bitch. If I was you, I'd put me down right now and back off."

Nightmare chuckled, "Big words for a small pony."

"Small huh?" Greg said with a smirk as his blunt floated up and suddenly shot forward, slamming into Nightmare's left eye. He then grounded the still burning blunt into his eye, causing Nightmare to yell in pain.

Nightmare pulled back his fist and slammed it into Greg's stomach. He then dropped him and stumbled back, holding his face.

Greg coughed and stood, "Told you to drop me."

Nightmare removed his hands from his face to reveal a pissed off face, "You will suffer!"

"No, you will suffer." Greg said as his horn began to glow.

Nightmare's eyes widened and he grabbed his head, "What is that horrible noise?!"

Greg smirked, "Only the worst song every made. Friday!"

Nightmare screamed in agony, "Get it out! Get it out of my head!"

Greg pulled out a second blunt, "Nope."

Nightmare growled against the torment, "TURN IT OFF!"

He then rushed forward and slammed into Greg. He instantly began to bite and claw at him, trying to get the music out of his head.

Nightmare sighed in relief and stood up, "Finally, that horrible sound is out of my head." He looked down at Greg, who had claw and bite marks all over his body, "Oops, I got kinda out of control... oh well, I'll finish you off after I'm done with the others."

Greg coughed, "Fuck... you.... bro."

Nightmare shrugged and put his foot on Greg's chest, "Or I could do it now."

As he began to push down, a scream of rage filled the air.

I looked up just in time to see Shadow flying towards Nightmare, a determined glare on his face.

He slammed into Nightmare at a tremendous force, causing a loud crack to be heard.

Nightmare howled in pain as he was knocked to the ground.

Shadow landed next to him, rage filled his face, "You do not hurt my friends!" He screamed out.

Nightmare stood and grinned, "Don't hurt your..."

Shadow flew into him and lifted him up ward, screaming into his face, "I will make you pay! NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE! HURTS MY FRIENDS!"

Nightmare yawned, "Do what you want."

Shadow flew upward till he was over a hundred feet in the air, and yelled out in rage.

He then punched Nightmare downward, and while he was flying towards the ground, Shadow flew after him. He slammed into him and sped up their fall towards the ground.

They hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Before the dust cleared, Shadow stumbled out, "Did I win?" He then collapsed, exhausted.

[Oh my God, he actually did it.]

[{Agreed.}]

"Okay Lance, I'm done. But I think it's over." Twilight said as she stood up.

I smiled and stood, "Thanks Twi."

Well, today was a tough day. We fought a fucking entity of evil and won, and...

"That actually kinda hurt." Nightmare said as he walked out of the dust, rotating his neck.

"Oh come on!" I yelled out.

Nightmare looked down at Shadow and frowned, "Pest." He then gave him a sharp kick to the side, sending him skidding across the ground.

He looked at me and smiled, "Ah, I see you're still able to fight. Let's get this over with, I'm itching to slowly kill your family."

I trembled with anger.

{Break... Dawn... let my anger go.}

[You know we can't control that!]
{I don't care! I will not let him hurt them!}

[... Alright.]

I growled in anger as my Break unleashed all my pent up anger. I felt the familiar flare of emotions as the transformation completed.

My good eye twitched in anger, "You. Will. Not. TOUCH THEM!"

I charged forward, my left eye burning with rage.

Before I slammed into him, he jumped to the side and grabbed me by the side, "Going over." He then fell backwards, slamming my face into the ground.

I yelled out in rage and twisted, breaking his grasp. I then reared up and slammed my front hooves down on his surprised face.

He yelped in pain and kicked off with his legs, this caused him to slide under me.

I heard him laugh happily as he slammed his open fist upward, breaking something. I heard two audible cracks.

I gasped as a searing pain swept through my body.

Nightmare stood up, holding me above him, his claws dug deep into my chest.

He tossed me to the ground, causing me to scream out in pain.

[Come on Lance! You have to stop him!]

I screamed in pain again as I forced myself to stand up.

Nightmare laughed and bent down to my level, "Why? Why are you so persistent? Just give up, accept faith. I'm going to kill you and your friends, and there's nothing you can do."

I hung my head and smiled, "I have a purpose, a reason to fight. I will not let you hurt my friends, or family, anymore. We're going to end this, here and now."

He smiled, "That's what I like to hear."

I chuckled, "I bet." I then twisted around, ready to strike at his face, but he was ready.

He swiped his claws across my face, causing a horrible pain to flare. I stumbled back, holding back my screams of pain.

I raised my hoof and lifted up the bionic eye. It was dangling from my eye socket, useless.

I looked up in time to see his foot come flying up and slam into my jaw.

I collapsed to the ground, defeated. I couldn't go on... I was... useless.

Nightmare laughed as I returned to normal. He turned and began to walk towards Twilight, "Now, you watch."

Twilight's eyes widened and her horn began to glow.

Nightmare was lifted into the air, but all he did was laugh, "Really? You should know that most magic is useless against me. That pest over there only got lucky."

He broke out of her magic grasp and charged her.

She took a step back, and closed her eyes.

He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air, "Now, what should I cut off first?"

He... will.. die!

I pushed my self to my hooves, forcing my self to ignore the agonizing pain. I lifted up the bionic eye and saw the wire and the button. I know what I must do...

I spread my wings painfully and shot forward towards Nightmare.

Life.

Life is a gift. The most precious gift anyone could receive. It's a gift that you hold dear, a gift you treasure above all else.

If given the choice, would you be willing to give up this wonderful gift? Would you give it away to save the one you love?

Would you sacrifice yourself just so someone else could go on living?

Life is a gift. It can be given, but it can't be given back.

I slammed into Nightmare's back, causing him to drop Twilight.

She hit the ground with a yelp and jumped back.

I wrapped my forelegs around Nightmare's neck and wrapped my hind legs around his waist, holding on to him.

Twilight and the other mares looked at me, "What are you doing?!"

Nightmare began to try and pull me off his back, but was unable to reach me.

I looked over at Twilight and smiled weakly, "I love you Twilight, with all my heart. Always remember that."

Her lip began to tremble, "What do you mean?"

I choked back tears and winced in pain as one of Nightmare's claws dug into my back.

"Twilight, you've made my life worth living. I'll always remember..." I let the tears fall.

She shook her head in defiance, "NO!"

Nightmare stood up tall, "You know what? I'll just kill her while your back there."

My eye widened, "Twilight! Please, you have to teleport me and him to that mountain top!"

She fell to the ground, "I CAN'T DO THAT TO YOU!"

I cried slightly and looked over at Trixie, "Trixie, please, teleport me to that mountain top!"

"NO!" Twilight cried out.

Nightmare sighed, "Emotions, I'll never figure them out. Lance, what ever you're planning won't work."

I ignored him, "Hurry!"

Trixie was holding back tears and nodded. Her horn began to glow.

I took one last look at Twilight and closed my eye, unable to hold back my tears.

[... Why is Nightmare just standing here?]
<... I don't know... Break, it was a pleasure knowing you.>
[*Sob* I'm glad I knew you too buddy.]

Trixie's glow spread to us, about to send us away... to the our final moments.

Twilight jumped up and yelled, "I love you too Lance!" Tears were flowing down her face.

Nightmare growled, "Oh no! She's coming with us!" He sprung forward.

I used the last of my strength to pull back, buying Twilight the second she needed to back up.

A bright light flashed as we were teleported away.

Twilight watched as Lance and Nightmare were teleported away.

She looked up to the mountain that Lance had nodded at and watched, waiting for a signal that he was okay.

Sadly, instead, she saw a large explosion engulf the top half of the large mountain.

Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, unable to believe what had just happened.

She buried her face into her hooves and began to weep, "Lance..."

White void

I stood up and looked around. Whiteness.

"Really?" Said a loud booming voice.

I sighed sadly, "Yes, really."

"Almost a full year."

I gulped back tears, "I know... I didn't even get to enjoy it all."

"I know."

I closed my eyes.

"Ready?"

I reopened them, "Y-Yes."

"Well..."

Sad, but true. And no one expected a thing.

Light on a dark day

A short chapter, but to the point. The events of this chapter were suppose to happen later, but I decided to do them now, for all of you.

No, I'm not trying to speed through the plot line, this is actually how I think it would happen. So please, enjoy.

Chapter 105

"Well, your family and friends are not ready for you to go."

I looked up and sighed, "I know... can you do one thing for me?"

"What is it that you want?"

I stood up confidently, "Can you please keep my family safe."

"And how do you want me to do this?"

I furrowed my brow in confusion, "Ummm... aha! You could send one of your Angeles to watch over them."

"This I can do, but I also have a better idea."

"What is it?"

"Lance, I'll make you a deal."

Twilight continued to cry into her hooves as the other's checked on the injured stallion's.

Her heart was heavy with sorrow and pain. She had just lost her beloved husband, and she had done nothing to help him.

She had been useless during the whole fight, just standing in the back ground.

"You going to be okay Twilight?" Omnius said as he walked towards her in his normal form, holding his head.

She looked up and screamed, "NO! HE'S DEAD! AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Omnius stood tall, "No Twilight, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybodies fault, it was his choice."

Twilight choked on her sobs, "But, I could have done something."

Omnius shook his head, "Listen Twilight, if you would have got in the middle of that fight and got hurt, to Lance, that would have been worst than dieing. He loved you, and was willing to give his life for you."

Twilight wiped her face, "I know, but..." She trailed off as she fell back to the ground and began to cry again. She curled up into a ball and wept silently.

Omnius felt tears in his eyes also, he would have a talk with the gods of good. See if there was anything that could be done.

But, that would have to wait. Right now, he needed to attend to the others. Starting with Frederic, if he was going to get his horn back, Omnius needed to get to work on him right now.

Sadly, he would have to be the one to break the news to the others. He sighed and looked up at the darkened skies, "A Travelers work is never done..."

With that, he trotted over Frederic and began to perform his magic.

Three hours later
Spark's POV

I sat in the living room, waiting for mom and dad to get back.

Dali had picked us up at school and had told us something important was happening. She wouldn't tell us what, but she said it involved mom and dad.

Now, I'm just sitting here, waiting for them to get back.

After a few more minutes of sitting on the couch, I heard the door open.

I jumped off the couch and looked towards the door.

Mom walked in, her face streaked with dried and new tears. Her mane was a wreck and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Mom?" I said as she silently walked past me, a blank look on her face.

I looked towards the door again to see Omnius standing there, a sad look on his face.

"Where's dad?" I said, becoming scared.

Omnius gulped and walked in, "Hey kiddo... we need to talk."

I fell back on the couch and looked up at him, "What is it? What happened?"

Omnius took a deep breath and put his hoof on my shoulder, "Spark... your dad... is no longer with us."

My world shattered around me at his words, "Wh-What do you mean?"

Omnius's lips trembled, "He gave his life to save us all..."

I began to breath heavily, there was no way dad could be dead! He was dad... he couldn't die... he was stronger than that...

Omnius put his other hoof on my shoulder, "I'm here for you Spark."

I knocked his hooves off of me and jumped up, "You're lying!"

Omnius shook his head sadly, "I wish I was Spark."

Tears began to stream down my face. I let out a loud cry and ran past Omnius and out the front door.

"SPARK! WAIT!" He yelled as he ran after me.

"No! Leave me alone!" I yelled back as I took to the air and flew towards Ponyville.

"Spark! Please, wait!"

I didn't listen, I only wanted to be alone. I just want to find a place where I can be alone...

Everfree forest, thirteen minutes later

I landed in the forest and stumbled over to a tall tree. I then collapsed at the base and began to cry.

I let out all of my pain and sorrow. Thoughts of my dad and the short time we had spent together flooded my mind.

This only increased the pain in my heart, causing me to cry louder.

I recommend playing this song, it's Lance's theme song: Ain't No Grave by Johnny Cash

I heard the sound of bushes moving, but I didn't care. I also didn't care when the Cockatrice walked out of the overgrowth and strolled towards me.

I looked at it, but not at it's eyes, "What? You want to turn me to stone? Do it, I don't care anymore."

The Cockatrice seemed to smile as it's eyes widened, about to perform their special trick.

"YOU WILL LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Yelled a booming voice.

A bright light filled the area, a light that nearly blinded me. I shielded my face from it, but still kept my gaze focused on the source of the light.

A pony began to walk forward, but I couldn't see it clearly due to the light. All I saw was a black form moving forward.

The Cockatrice squawked in horror and turned to flee.

"RUN! LEAVE AT ONCE!" The booming voice demanded.

As the Cockatrice fled, I turned back to the pony. The light around it slowly dimmed.

When it cleared, I still couldn't clearly see the pony. The darkness around it kept it from sight.

"Spark." The pony said, but in it's normal voice.

My eyes widened, could it be? "Dad?"

Dad stepped forward, a soft smile in his face, "Yes Spark, it's me."

I rushed forward, tears streaming down my face, "DAD!"

Dad leaned down and caught me in a one legged hug, "Hey buddy."

I leaned back and looked at him, seeing that his right eye was mismatched from his other one, "But, they said you were dead."

He nodded, "I was, I'll explain on the way. I must get to Twilight, fast!" He then picked me up and flew into the air, flying faster than I thought possible.

He then began to explain everything.

Dali's house,
Lance's POV

I put Spark down outside the door and burst through the door, I then galloped to our room.

I burst through the door to see Twilight looking out the window.

"TWILIGHT!" I yelled as I jumped across the room and tackled her to the ground.

She looked up at me in disbelief and happiness, "LANCE?! You're alive!"

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, giving her the most loving and passionate kiss I could. We kissed for a good two minutes before I pulled back slowly.

She wrapped her forelegs around my neck, "I thought you were gone forever! How are you here?!"

I smiled, time to explain this, again.

I stood up and held her to her hooves, "Okay Twi, I'll make this simple. I did die, and I was in front of God, again. I asked God to send an angel to watch over you all, but he gave me a better option. He did send an angel to watch over you all... me. He sent me back to watch over all of you, to keep you all out of harms way. To put this simply, I'm an angel, but I'm able to have a physical body. I am only allowed to live here and be with you all as long as I remain true to you and the others."

Twilight looked confused, "A what?"

Oh, I forgot the ponies don't know what an angel is... time to explain this.

"Well, a angel is..."

Five minutes later

"... And that's pretty much it." I said, finishing up my explanation of angel's and God.

Twilight nodded, "That's... interesting. So, what kind of angel are you? You said there were different kinds."

I shrugged, "I don't really know Twi, I was never told."

She looked me over, "You don't look different."

I gave a small shrug, "Well, this is my pony form. My angel form is a little different. I'll show it to you one day, but first, I want to show everyone else that I'm alright. And heal them all, I now have that ability, among many others."

Twilight shook her head, "Don't worry about that, Omnius actually did that."

I smiled, "Good man. I'll give him my thanks."

Twilight looked at my flank and gasped, "Lance! What happened to your cutie mark?! It's changed!"

"Huh?" I said as I looked back at my cutie mark. It had indeed changed. It was still the test dummy symbol, but it had two white angel wings on either side now. "Huh, interesting. Apparently it's changed with me becoming a angel."

Twilight furrowed her brow, "But how? Cutie mark's don't change."

I chuckled, "Just forget about it Twi, it's the work of outside forces." I then smiled happily, "Also, I think you'll love to know this. But since I'm a angel, my bodies been repaired. Meaning, we can have more kids if you want."

Twilight jumped into me, wrapping her hooves around my neck, "Thank Celestia!"

I smiled and returned her hug.

[Should we tell her that we're only allowed to be here as long as she's alive?]

[I know...]

Twilight leaned back and looked at my bionic eye, "I thought you said your body was repaired fully?"

I laughed slightly, "I wanted to keep it. I actually like it."

She sighed, "You would." She then smiled and kissed my cheek, "Even if you were only gone a few hours, it was horrible. I missed you so much."

I gave her a small kiss on the neck, "Don't worry, I won't ever leave you again. I promise."

She returned my kiss, but on the lips, "I believe you. I love you so much Lance."

I smiled happily, "I love you with all my heart Twilight, forever and always."

We then shared another deep kiss.

[Now, to tell the other's we're okay.]

[I know right? Eat your heart out Omnius, we're on your level now!]

I pulled back from the kiss and smiled, "Let's go Twi."

When I turned around, Twilight saw the book that was attached to a sling that was hung on my side, "What's that?"

I chuckled, "Oh nothing, just a book given to me by one of the angel's, Michael I think."

Twilight nodded, "Interesting, can I read it?"

I shook my head, "I'll have to read it first Twi, sorry."

She sighed, "I understand, but please hurry and read it."

I chuckled and put a foreleg over her, "Don't worry, I'll read it as fast as I can. May take a few days. The words are extremely small."

I began to pull Twilight to the door, "Come on, we got to inform the others."

"That will be easy, their all at the library, trying to learn a way to bring you back."

I chuckled, "Man, I love those guys!"

"I can teleport us you know." She said with a smirk.

I shrugged, "So can I, but, I can only teleport myself and another. You can do it this time though."

She smiled, "I've got to study you sometime."

Oh come on, this isn't good... or is it? We'll find out.

Her horn began to glow and we were surround in a bright light.

And he's alive XD This was the plan all along, I never intended to actually kill him. Remember, I said they all die of natural causes.

Also, here's Lance now:

Friends

Writers block, gotta hate it.

*Looks at title* Yeah, I spent a full hour trying to name this chapter... it was difficult XD

Oh yeah, I also messed up my right arm. Mostly the elbow and shoulder... word of advice. Don't jump of a bridge and expect the water to be deep, because, more than likely, it's not. Mud and rocks hurt.

Meaning, it's hurting me to type this out. I was in serious pain during all of this, so it's really sort and... rushed? I'm really sorry.

Also, the new OC in the story is owned by AndryFeare, on Fanfiction.net

Chapter 106

We reappeared outside of the library, a few feet from the door.

Twilight looked at me, "I should go first."

I nodded and allowed her to walk forward.

She walked up to the door and opened it without knocking.

On the other side, I heard someone say hi and ask how she was doing.

I took a deep breath and walked into the room.

Upon entering, Greg turned and looked at me, "Whoa! I must be high, I'm seeing Lance."

All the others looked up from their books and other things to see me, standing in the doorway.

No one said a word, but I could tell they were relieved to see me.

Frederic was the first to react. He stood up and walked silently towards me.

I looked at his head to see that his horn was back, I wonder who helped him with that. Probably Omnius or Luna.

Frederic stopped in front of me and used his magic to lift my upper body up. He then slammed his hoof into my gut, then released me.

"Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!" He yelled in my face. He then pulled me into a friendly hug, "It's good to have you back."

I chuckled and quickly returned his hug before jumping back, breaking it, "Yeah, but I've got some explaining to do."

David looked at me from across the room, "Yeah, you can start with your cutie mark. Why does it have wings?"

I held up a hoof and smiled, "This will be very hard to explain, so, would you like me to start off by showing you all?"

"Showing us what?" Grace asked as she sat on a couch with her head hanging over the side.

"Well, I guess you could call it my second form. Let's just say I died and was sent back as something. I'll explain more after I show you."

Frederic furrowed his brow, "So, you did die. Very well, show us this new 'form'."

I gave a bow, "With pleasure."

I then stood up straight and rotated my neck a little till it popped. Ah, much better. "Ready?"

They all nodded in response.

[Let's do this!]

{Focus.]
<[Sorry.]>

I closed my eyes and slowly shifted over, mentally that is. A sudden flash shot out from my body and filled the room momentarily.

When it cleared, I heard everyone gasp.

"Dude!" Peter yelled out as he looked me over.

"Nice." Greg said while looking out a random window at a random bird.

Frederic whistled, "Dayum!"

I looked at everyone and asked, "What do I look like exactly." This is the time when you need a mirror.

Frederic looked me over again, "Well, your wings are slightly bigger, but no longer have the red metal like substance on them. Your mane and tail are still black, but the red's been replaced by white. Your stripes are also white. You're also taller, almost as tall as me. And... are those crosses on your hooves?"

I looked down at my hooves to see a black cross on the sides, "Huh, I like that."

"Lance, tell us what happened." Vinetion asked as she slowly stood up.

Well, time to explain this all again... *Sigh*

I cleared my throat, "Well, you see, I'm an angel and..."

Everfree forest, Mr. Bleak's house

Mr. Bleak stepped out of his house and looked at the surrounding forest.

Peaceful.

He smiled to himself and looked at his small garden, full of flowers.

No pony knows this, but Mr. Bleak, the most feared teacher in the area, has a soft spot for flowers. He just loves to grow them and set them around the house.

This is the main reason his house was out in the Everfree forest. No sane pony would ever brave the forest and go this far out.

He checked the tree line one more time before picking up his watering bucket and moving towards his garden. He tilted his head to the side, causing some water to sprinkle out and onto the flowers.

A smile formed on his face while he held the handle in his teeth.

"Hiya!" Said a happy female voice.

Bleak jumped at the voice and spun around, causing the water in the bucket to fly out and splash into a lime green unicorn with a black mane.

She laughed hysterically at the sudden impact of water and shook her self off.

Bleak raised and eyebrow and put the bucket down, "Who are you and why are you here?" The basic question he asked anypony that got close to his house.

She tapped her chin, "Hmm, lets see: I was bored and someone told me a strange pony lived out in the forest. I was curious and here I am!"

Bleak looked her over, "And?"

"And what?" She asked curiously.

Bleak sighed and said it as simply as he could, "Why did you come all this way to see me?"

She opened her mouth slightly and said oh as she nodded her head, "I just thought you sounded interesting. And you are!"

Bleak shifted uncomfortably.

She held out her hoof, "My names Adry."

Bleak looked at her hoof and slowly reached out and shook it, "Darkest Bleak."

She smiled, "Darkest Bleak? I like that name!"

Bleak looked around, "Umm, could you please leave?"

She cocked her head, "Leave? Why?"

He sighed, "I may be a school teacher, but I do prefer to be alone afterwords." Well, when he's not watching over Spark.

She smiled happily, "Alone? No pony should be alone."

Bleak turned from her, "Yeah, well I've been alone for a thousand year's." He then facehoofed, he had just said the one thing he tried to keep hidden.

"A thousand years? Whoa, you're that old?" She asked in amazement.

Bleak turned back to her, "Uhhh, yeah." Might as well tell her a little, "I'm actually older than that, way older."

She bounced with a happiness, "Wow! You're even more interesting! Can I stay here for a while? PLEASE!"

Bleak looked at his flowers and sighed, "Fine, but only for a while."

She smiled, "Yay! Thank you!"

"Yeah yeah." He said as he picked up the bucket and made his way to the water pump.

He put it down and began to refill it. Once it was filled, he picked it up and walked past Adry and back to his flowers.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Watering my garden." Bleak answered simply.

After a few seconds, he heard her said something.

Then...

*Splash*

He sighed and turned to see Adry standing next to the water pump, which was now spraying water upward.

"I didn't do it." She said as she side stepped away from it, already soaked.

Bleak walked over and gave it a kick, fixing the problem. It usually did this, all ya had to do was give a small hard kick.

He turned to Adry to see her standing there, soaking wet and shivering. It was almost winter after all. (Yes, I'm keeping track of the season. It's October right now, almost Nightmare night.)

He pointed towards the house, "Go get a towel, they're in the kitchen."

She nodded, then smiled, "Ow! I get to see the inside of your house, yay!" She then galloped off towards the front door.

Bleak sighed and followed. Better make sure she doesn't destroy the house in her search.

And, not to his surprise, he walked in to see that she had already made a wreck of the kitchen.

He walked in and tapped his hoof against the floor.

She looked up from a pile of plates and bowels that she had knocked down and frowned in frustration, "I can't find them!"

He reached over to the back of a chair and picked one up.

She smiled sheepishly, "Oh... oops, must have missed it."

She stood up and walked over and grabbed it with her magic. She then proceeded to dry her self off.

As Bleak watched, he had a thought. 'Wow, she actually looks beaut...' He then slammed his hoof across his head, 'She's mortal, just forget that thought.'

She finished up and smiled at him, "Done!" She then tossed the towel over the same chair and looked around, "Sorry about the mess."

He shrugged, "I've done worst trying to cook."

She giggled, "You can cook?"

He shook his head, "Far from it. I just eat hay or what ever I buy that can be heated up in the oven."

She furrowed her brow, then clapped her hooves together, "Idea! I can go to town and get some ingredients, then I can make you a real meal! I love this idea! How about you?!"

He rubbed his chin, "Well I..."

"Great! I'll be back soon!" She said as she bolted out the door.

"... just ate." He finished. He then sighed, "Mare's."

He then looked at the mess, "Guess I got to clean this up... sometimes I wish I was back in the beginning of my life. At least then all I had to do was eat and sleep."

After a few deep memories, he began to work on the kitchen, and as usual, talked to himself, "That mare is crazy. But I like crazy... Darkest! She's mortal! It wouldn't work, she'll only die on you and you'll go on living!"

He hung his head and sighed, "Being immortal sucks sometimes."

Shattered Sounds radio station

Two things: I typed this whole chapter on my phone XD and number two: Hurt like hell, damn arm.

Short, but meh. I'm doing my best.

Chapter 107

I stepped out of the library with Kara on my back, how does she keep finding me? I chuckled slightly to myself, at least my friends took the news well. The only one who freaked out was Aaron, but meh.

I looked around at all the ponies and smiled, gotta love this town.

[Damn right! This town is awesome!]

A dull blue pony walked by with a box full of decorations.

Huh, is Pinkie having a party? Again?

I trotted after the pony and tapped his shoulder, "What's with the decorations?"

He turned and smiled, "Hey Lance! Don't you know? Nightmare Night is only three days away! We're just getting ready."

Nightmare Night? Sweet! "Really? Only three days? Awesome."

He nodded, "You betcha! This year will be the best yet!"

I laughed, "Probably. It'll be interesting, I'll tell you that."

He chuckled and turned, "Can't wait!"

[Who was that?]

I turned and began to walk towards the market area of the town. Yeah, I'm bored.

Kara spread her wings and fell down on my back, just relaxing.

[What are we? A bed?]
< Apparently so.>

I shrugged and walked through the small crowd of ponies, all doing their afternoon shopping.

I stopped in front of a random cart and looked at it's products.

[What should we go as for Nightmare Night?]

[... Really?]

[No, we are not doing that. I have a more badass costume. And, I know for a face Twilight can change the color of our mane to match it.]

Break leans over and whispers in Dawn's ear.

[I knew you would.]

I chuckled, I liked this idea for a costume. Anyway, back to looking at things I can't buy because I don't have a bit on me.

"No, that won't work. We need four bowls, not two!" Said a voice that I kinda recognized.

"Well soorrryyy! If you don't like how I buy our things, do it yourself!" Said a second voice that I also kinda recognized.

I turned around to see two ponies with mustaches and black sunglasses. One was a white Pegasus with a white and caramel mane, his cutie mark was a 3/4 time signiture. The second was a grey unicorn with a blue and blood red mane, his cutie mark was a... NES Controller?

[Are those fake mustaches?]

[Seems suspicious.]

[Let's.]

I silently slipped up behind them and pretended to be interested in a rock... a rock? Really Lance?

The two suspicious ponies continued to argue for a few more seconds before moving on to another stall. I stayed close behind them.

They walked from stall to stall, picking up a few items here and there.

[Never mind, this is boring.]

I began to turn around, but stopped when the white one leaned down to the grey one.

"Now, we can go back."

The grey one laughed, "Finally!"

The pair began to walk out of the market area and out of the town.

Yep, I'm curious. Gotta follow them.

I followed them out of the town and into the Everfree forest... what the... why are they going in here?

I stayed behind them, staying silent.

They pulled off the sunglasses and the fake mustaches.

[Called it.]

I chuckled lightly and continued to follow the two strange ponies. They walked down a old beaten path for a few minutes before turning off on a wooden cabin.

They walked up to the door and walked in.

Okay, I got to know more about this.

[I say we do it.]
{Going with Break on this.}

I stepped out of cover and advanced on the door.

Upon reaching it, I could hear music coming from the inside.

I reached up and knocked on it.

Suddenly, everything on the other side stopped, I mean, the music cut off and I could hear hushed voices.

[Hey Lance, I just found out the coolest thing!]
{Not now, tell me later.}
[Fine...]

The door opened to reveal a blue mare. It took me a second, but I recognized her as Colgate.

"Uhhh, yes?" She asked nervously.

Okay, now I'm confused. "I was just wondering through and saw this place.... why are you in the middle of the Everfree forest?"

"I got this." The white pony said as he walked took the place in the doorway, "Before I say anything, I must ask a question. Brohoof?"

I smiled and held up my hoof, "Oh yeah brony!"

He chuckled and slammed his hoof into mine, "Haha, I knew you were a human. I just knew it."

I chuckled and looked into the house, "So, why are you in the middle of the Everfree forest?"

"Best place to put a radio station." He said with a smug look.

I raised an eyebrow, "You're the ones who run the brony radio?"

"Yep! Only us." He said proudly.

I smirked, "You know, you don't have to wear sunglasses and fake mustaches when you go to town. You're on the radio, not tv, they don't know what you look like."

He facehoofed, "I told Byte we didn't need... never mind. You wanna come in?"

I shrugged, "Sure, I've been wanting to see what your studio looks like."

He smiled, "Oh, you'll love it. Byte also has a gaming system."

"Nice." I held out my hoof, "Names Lance."

He shook my hoof, "White Noise, and my two partners are Grey Byte and Navy Shadow."

I rubbed my chin, "I never heard you mention Navy Shadow on the radio."

Noise shrugged, "He's the one who runs the equipment."

I nodded and walked in, "Nice place."

He closed the door and smiled, "Thank you, we built it ourselves."

"Good job." Yeah, I don't really know what to say right now, so... "Where's Grey Byte and Navy Shadow?"

He pointed down a hall, "Byte's down there, as for Navy Shadow... I think he went on a adventure. He should be back in a few days or so."

I look down the hall, "Is it alright if I go talk to Grey Byte? I've kinda been wanting to talk to him." He is the funniest one on the radio after all.

"Go for it. I'll be in the studio... don't be surprised when you see his wives." White Noise said as he left the room.

I began to walk down the hall, but stopped, "Wait, wives?!"

[I'm worried now...]

I passed by a few doors, opening a few. It took a few tries, but I finally found the one with Grey Byte in it.

He was laying in front of a tv... wheres the power coming from? He was also playing a Nintendo... this is strange. At least his cutie mark makes since now.

I walked in to see that there was a mare laying down beside him while he played. Berry Punch.

[My mind! I'm so confused!]

I thought he had two...

"Got the chips!" Colgate said behind me as she trotted in and over to the others.

SO CONFUSED!

"Also, you have company." She said as she sat down next to him.

He turned and smiled, "Well hey there."

I did a small wave, "Hi. Names Lance."

He gave a nod and smiled, "I think you know mine." He then turned back to his game, "So, what brings you here?"

"No reason at all, just curious." I then looked at the two mares, "Two wives?"

"Yep, it's a mutual agreement." He said simply.

Berry Punch turned around to face me, "Yeah, at first it was creepy, but now it's fun."

Colgate also turned, "Are you married?"

I nodded, "Sure am."

"To who?" Grey Byte asked.

I chuckled, "Twilight Sparkle."

He turned, "Damn man, how'd you score that?"

I shrugged with a smirk, "I don't know, guess I'm just that good."

[You got lucky.]
{I know.}

He rolled his eyes, "Uhuh, sure." He then went back to his game. "Wanna watch?"

I looked around and smiled, "Sure. Haven't seen a tv in a while anyways."

"You'll love this then." He said with a chuckle.

I walked over to a couch and stretched out on it. Comfy.

As I watched him play the game, I remembered something.

{Okay Break, what did you have to tell me.}
[What do you mean?]
{You said you had to tell me something at the door.}
[Oh yeah! I just found out something cool we can do!]
{Which is?}
[We can send letters to other dimensions!]
{Really?}
[Yep! I got to do something! Get me some paper and a pencil!]

I looked around and saw a notebook and a pencil, "Hey, can I use those?"

"Sure, go ahead." Grey Byte said.

I stood up and walked over and picked it up.

[Watch this!]

My hoof then grabbed the pencil and began to write a note on the paper.

'Hey Graze! WAAASSSSAAAAAPPP?! This is Lance, or should I say, Break! You've got to respond to this!'

{I'm curious about this.}

My hoof raised the paper in the air and a green flame engulfed it.

[And sent! Can't wait for a response!]

I chuckled, it's not like he'll be able to respond.

Back to the couch!

The letter thing is KillJoy's idea XD

Also, you can tell I was in a rush. Sorry about that.

Wait.... there's two now?!

Making a few changes to the last chapter. I'm going to change the pictures and I changed the descriptions.

Also, again, wrote this on my phone.

Chapter 108

"Like I said earlier: Love the house." I shouted back as I walked away from White Noise's and Grey Byte's home slash studio.

"Come back anytime bro!" Byte yelled after me as he closed the door.

[Those guys are awesome! I mean come on, Byte has two wives! I want two wives!]
{Not gonna happen Break, I'm loyal to only Twilight.}
[You're no fun.]

I shrugged as I continued to walk, looking at the surrounding forest. Very creepy.

I shuddered slightly, feels like I'm being watched.

[... Wings?]
{Right...}

I spread my wings, which woke Kara up, and jumped into the air, and quickly flew above the trees. There, much better.

I began to fly lazily towards Ponyville.

Kara jumped off my back and soared beside me.

I looked over at her and chuckled, "I see you're finally awake."

She hooted with happiness and flew up closer to me.

I laughed and rolled lazily in the air, "The past few weeks have been crazy. You agree girl?"

Kara gave a nod and flew over me.

I twisted around till I was flying upside down and looked up at Kara, "You know what? I'm just gonna be lazy today." I put my hooves behind my head and crossed my hind legs, still flying upside down.

Kara hooted and dropped down on me, landing on my chest.

I chuckled, "Oh no, you're flying Kara. I'm trying to relax here."

She shrugged and curled up on my chest.

Oh come on! "Kara, you do know I can just turn over and you'll fall off, right?"

She waved me off with her wing.

[Flip over! Do it!]

I sighed and lifted her up, "If you're going to lay on me, let me turn over. You can get on my back."

She nodded and flew off of me and waited for me to turn over.

I smirked, "Now, you gotta catch me!" Her eyes widened as I twisted around and flew towards Ponyville at a high speed.

I laughed loudly as I sped away.

[We're only playing. Look, Kara is.... Whoa! She's flying fast!]

I looked back and my mouth fell open, Kara was almost matching my speed. Wow.

No matter, I can just...

*Pow*

... Slam into a tree... Why did I go so low to the ground? I slide down the tree trunk and hit the ground with a small thud.

I slowly sat up from the ground and rubbed my head.

Kara landed in front of me and cocked her head in concern.

I looked at her and chuckled, "Oh, I'm fine. Just hit my head." Again.

I forced myself to stand and sighed, "Every time."

After a few more seconds, I began to walk the short distance to Ponyville. Kara, for once, flew above me.

I walked into town, still rubbing my head.

[Hey Lance, we need your help settling a argument.]
{What is it about?}
[Dawn says our angel form should be called Holy Dawn, but I think we should be called Holy Break. Which one do you like?]
{Tough choice, but, since Dawn is the pure side of me, we're going with Holy Dawn. Of course, I may change it later.}

[NOOOOO!]

I chuckled and continued to walk through the town.

.... Bored now!

[You know what we should do?]
{What?}
[Be idiots!]
{I'm done for this.}

I began to skip, and I mean girly skip, down the street.

All the ponies I past just laughed and continued on with what they were doing. It's a good thing they all know me.

I was having a tiny amount of fun as I skipped through the town, but I quickly became bored again.

[Wow... we have a short attention span.]

[So.... what do we do?]

[*Sigh* Shit man...]

I stopped my idiotic skipping and just trotted down the street.

I passed the café I use to work at. It sucks that I was fired after Omnius left the first time. But come on, I forgot all about it.

[I'm surprised we haven't lost Spark yet. I mean, we left our aunts kid at Disney land that one time.]
{Hey! That wasn't my fault! That stupid mouse kept bugging me! How was I suppose to know that the security guards would forget to take him with us when they pulled me off that guy?!}
[Hey, all I'm saying is that I'm surprised we haven't lost one of the kids yet.]

I shrugged and passed it, getting a glance from the cashier.

Just keep on moving Lance. There has to be at least one thing to do.

[Well, there is one thing.]
{And what would that be?}
[Greg is always up to something! And it's been at least two or three hours since the last time we saw him, so he should be back at Sugar Cube Corner.]
{Sure, why not.}

I turned to the left and galloped down the street. Heading for Sugar Cube Corner.

After a good five minute run, I got lost by accident, I came upon the bakery.

I trotted up to the door and pushed it open. On the other side was the usual. Ponies buying deserts and baked goods.

It only took a second to see Greg, who was laying on a table. That's so Greg.

I walked over and cleared my throat, getting his attention.

"Yo man." He said with a smile.

I gave a small wave, "Yo. Listen, I'm bored. You got anything to do?"

He smirked, "Oh yeah. I got a new spell."

I shook my head, "No, no spells." I still remember the last time.

He sighed, "Dude, it's just a mustache spell."

[I want one!]

I shrugged, "Alright, fine, do it."

He smiled, "Nice. Follow me."

He jumped off the table and lead me up the stairs and to his and Pinkie Pie's room.

I have a bad feeling about this.

He turned and smirked, "Ready?"

I shook my head, "You know, I change my..."

"TO LATE!" He yelled as he aimed his horn at me, and caused a beam of magic to hit me.

Hot... hot... HOT! It feels like someone is sticking a red hot rod in my brain! I'm never listening to Greg again!

I grabbed my head in pain.

[OUCH! It feels like I'm being ripped apart!]

I suddenly shot to the side, slamming into a closet, which broke the door and caused me to land inside it.

"Huh, that's what it does." Greg said.

I rolled over in the pile of dirty clothes and groaned, "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Said a voice that sounded like... me?

I stood up and looked at Greg, who was looking at a third pony. I looked at the pony and... WHAT THE! Is that... me?

A pony that looked exactly like me stood up and looked at me, "Whoa!"

This pony was like me in every way! He even had a miniature Break and Dawn on his shoulders.

I and the pony look alike looked at Greg and said at the same time, "Greg! What did you do?!"

We looked back at each other and said, "Whoa..."

Greg smirked, "Nice! I made two Lance's!"

I looked at the other me, "A clone?"

He shook his head, "No, you're the clone."

I held up a hoof, "Okay wait. Let's not argue about this. We both know I'm the real Lance."

The other me furrowed his brow, then smiled, "Yeah, you are the real Lance."

That was easier than they make it out to be in all those movies, "Well, now that that's settled." I looked at Greg, "Fix this."

He shrugged, "I don't know how dude. But come on! You have a clone, think of all the cool things you can do!"

The second me looked at me and smirked, "Oh dude, we can so do this! Come on, we can prank all our friends."

[Do it Lance! It'll be fun!] My Break said happily.
[Aww fuck yeah!] The other Break yelled out.

I shrugged, "Could be fun."

The clone laughed, "Aww sweet."

I chuckled, "One thing, we can't call you Lance. That's my name.'

He waved a hoof, "Say no more, I'll go by Jun. I've always like that name."

I nodded, "I know, one of my favorite names. Okay, Jun, follow me. Time to have some fun!"

Jun laughed and opened a window, "To the wind!"

He jumped out the window and I soon followed.

Once in the air, he looked at me, "I need to know something. We're an angel, right?"

I nodded as I flew beside him, "Yes, we are."

He smiled, "Nice, I want to go into the angel form. How do I again?"

I shrugged, "Do it like you go into Breaking Dawn, just think about it. Shouldn't you know this? You are me after all."

He smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry. Let me try." He closed his eyes and tried to focus. But, as I could see, he failed. "Well, I guess we do have one difference."

"What?" I asked curiously.

He sighed, "I'm not a angel. Damn, that would have been cool to have that form!"

I chuckled, "Don't worry about it."

He looked at me angrily, "Don't worry about it?! If I'm not an angel, that means I can die!"

I stopped flying and held up my hooves, I'm staring to scare myself, "Whoa there, you don't have to worry about that. You won't die anytime soon, it's not as if you're going to throw yourself into danger... wait, you are me... well, let me do all the dangerous stuff then."

He glared and snorted, "This means I can't become the dom.... forget it."

Break leaned over to my ear and whispered, [Something seems off about him]
{I agree.} I whispered back.

He quickly calmed down and smiled, "Sorry about that, you know how we get."

I slowly nodded, "Yeah... It's fine."

He pointed ahead, "Ready?"

I shrugged, "Not really. I kinda need to talk to Twilight. Wanna come?"

He smiled, "Sure, I'll come... mostly because I have to."

Yeah, true. I don't want him running around alone till everyone knows about him. I don't l like this, but meh. He's me, what could be so bad about me?

So much, that's what. Well, as long as I watch him, everything should be fine.

I pointed a hoof forward, "Follow me." I shot forward and began to fly towards Canterlot.

{Yeah.}

I facehoofed, I knew I forgot something! Well, she knows were we live. And she always finds me, so I'm not worried.

Ten minutes later

We landed in front of Dali's door and walked in.

I told Jun to follow me and we headed for my... our room. Once there, I opened it to see Spark, but no Twilight. Darn, where is she?

Spark looked at me and smiled, but then looked confused when he saw Jun, "Dad?"

I chuckled, "Don't worry Spark, it's me, and this is my clone... I guess. You can thank Uncle Greg for this." Gonna get him back for this.

Spark looked between us, "Whoa, you look just like each other."

Jun smiled, "Good."

I looked at him, then back at Spark, "Just remember, I'm the real Lance, the one who has the cut on his cheek."

Spark looked at me strangely, "But you don't have a cut on your cheek."

I held up a hoof, "Yet." I picked up a piece of paper and pulled it across my cheek, causing a paper cut to form. I winced in pain, but it was worth it. Now I look slightly different from Jun.

Spark sighed, "Oh dad, really?"

I shrugged, "Yes, really. Now, I need you to do something."

He smiled, "What is it dad?"

I pointed to the open window, "Can you go hang out with Nova or something. I need to speak to your mom in private."

He sighed, "Can't, see's with her new coltfriend."

Poor kid, "Oh... well go play with Star Chaser."

He hung his head, "Yeah, that could be fun." He then hovered off the bed and flew out the window.

When he get's back, I'll help him with this problem. But for now...

"Okay Jun, go in the living room. I've got to do something."

Jun nodded and left the room.

I walked over to my desk and pulled out a piece of paper. I then wrote, "Twilight, there are two of me, Lance. The real me has a cut on his face. So please don't get confused."

I placed that on the desk and moved to my dresser.

"Hey Lance, I just saw Twilight." Jun said as he ran into the room.

I turned, "You did? Where?"

He chuckled, "She said she was teleporting to the library."

I cocked my head, "Why?"

He shrugged, "Don't know. But she thought I was you and told me to get to the library as fast as I could."

Oh no, what's wrong now?! "Okay, you stay here. I'll go meet her at the library. I'll tell her about you when I get there."

He nodded, "Sounds like a plan. I'll stay here till you get back."

I flew to the window but stopped, "One last thing, remember: You're not the real me, so if you see anyone we know, tell them."

He saluted, "Can do!"

I smiled and flew out the window.

I have to hurry! By the way he said it, it sounds urgent!

I flapped my wings harder and pushed myself to fly faster.

Back at Dali's house

Jun smirked, "Idiot." He then chuckled and jumped on the bed, "Can't believe he actually believed me."

He stretched out and laid back.

Twilight walked in and looked at him, "What did you want me to do again Lance?"

He looked at her and smiled, "Oh nothing Twi, just wanted you to stay away from the room while I prepared."

She cocked her head, "For what?"

He smirked, "I think you know."

She giggled, "But the kids?"

"They already left. It's only us." He said, licking his lips.

She trotted to the bed, "I see."

Jun sat up and smirked slyly, "You're all mine."

Oh shit! This can't be good XD

Holy Dawn VS Breaking Dawn

Chapter 109

Jun licked his lips as Twilight walked across the room and towards the bed.

She swayed her flank side to side, lustfully.

But, before she reached the bed, she saw a piece of paper with her name on it on the desk.

She, being her curious self, forgot about Lance for a few seconds and trotted over to the desk.

"Huh, Twi? Sex?" Lance said from the bed.

She held up a hoof, "One second." She levitated the paper up to her face and unfolded it.

'Twilight, there are two of me, Lance. The real me has a cut on his face. So please don't get confused.'

Twilight furrowed her brow and looked at Lance. She looked at his face to see no cuts.

Her gaze slowly narrowed, making Lance shift uneasily.

"Where's Lance?" She said calmly as her horn sparked slightly.

The fake Lance gulped, "What? I am the real Lance. Don't you know your own husband girl?"

Twilight lowered her head, "For starters, Lance wouldn't call me 'girl'."

The impostor gulped, "Oh shit."

Faster... GO FASTER!

I pushed myself as hard as I could, flapping my wings furiously.

[Lance.... teleportation.]

I stopped with a jolt and facehoofed, "Of course!"

*BZZZT*

I appeared in the library to find it empty.

{HUD.}

My HUD came up to show that I was indeed alone in the library.

"What the fudge?" I said aloud.

[I have a feeling we've been duped.]

[Let's get back to the house.]

I sighed and focused again.

*BZZZT*

I appeared in my bedroom and.... what the hell?

Twilight had Jun tied to the wall and was repeatedly screaming out a single question, and when she didn't get a answer, she would throw a random object at him. The thing was, Jun was gagged.

I sighed and walked up behind her, "You know Twi, he can't answer you if he's gagged."

She turned and smiled, "Lance!" She then blushed, "Oops, I guess I wasn't thinking clearly."

I shrugged, and walked over to Jun, "What did he do?" I pulled the ropes, causing him to fall to the ground.

"He was trying to have sex with me." Twilight said while she glared at Jun.

He was... Oh hell no! "You were what?!"

He stood up and glared, "Fucking fine! I want to be the only fucking Lance! I want your life!"

I chuckled, "Not gonna happen, so lets just..."

"FUCK YOU! I want to be the dominate Lance! And I'll do anything to make that happen." He screamed out. He then smirked, "Your cut is gone."

It is? Damn, stupid body and its stupid way of fixing me!

Before I could say anything, he jumped on me and began to roll around.

We rolled across the room and hit the wall before we jumped apart.

He shook his head, "What the hell was that for?!"

I looked at him in shock, "Me? Why did you jump on me?!"

He also looked shocked, "What? You jumped on me!"

I shook my head, "NO! You jumped on me!"

"Which one of you is the fake Lance?!" Twilight screamed out as she held a wooden chair in front of her using her magic.

We both pointed at each other and said, "He's the fake Lance!"

Twilight looked between us and slowly advance, "Tell me!"

Idea! "Okay Twi, the real Lance can not die. So hit the one you think is the fake Lance."

*POW* *CRASH* Thud*

I fell to the ground with all remains of the chair around me. My head was throbbing like crazy.

I forced my self to stand and looked at her, "What the hell Twi?! I was the one talking! Why would I tell you that if I was the fake Lance?!"

She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, I though it was a trick."

Jun suddenly jumped into me and began to spun us around, he then jumped back, both of us in different spots.

I quickly pointed at Jun, "He's the fake Lance! Hit him Twi!"

*POW* *Thud*

I fell to the floor again, this time taking a blow from a heavy book.

I stood and screamed, "TWILIGHT! I told you to hit him! Not me!"

She smiled awkwardly, "I thought it was another trick..."

Jun jumped forward again, but I sidestepped. And, knowing me, I tripped.

He twisted around and jumped on me and began to twist us around. Again, we parted.

This is getting old!

Jun pointed at me, "Let's try this again Twi! He's the impostor!"

Oh, he just made a mistake, Twilight was going to hit....

*KAABOOOOM*

i flew across the room after taking a nightstand to the side, and I swear, it was going at mach two when it hit me... stupid magic!

I winced in pain from the broken bones in my body, but they began to reform to each other, very painful.

I began to stomp like a kid who didn't get what they wanted, "Twilight! You hit the wrong Lance! AGAIN!"

She sighed, "I give up. I can't get this right."

I nodded, "Yeah, I think I can handle this."

Jun smirked, "And I know how we can settle this." He instantly went into Breaking Dawn mode, "We fight it out."

I shook my head, "No, there's other ways you know."

He spat on the ground, "Nope, just fight."

I sighed, "You forced me." I instantly changed into my angel form, Holy Dawn.

He smiled and jumped forward, but I caught him in mid-air with one hoof, "Oh no, not here."

*BZZZZT*

"Here." I said as I dropped him on the ground. We were now in a open field miles away from Ponyville.

He stood and laughed, "Yeah, don't want to destroy our house."

"My house. Now tell me, why are you like this? You're suppose to be me." I said as I hovered in mid-air, forelegs crossed.

He shrugged, "No idea, I just feel the need to."

He then smirked and shoot upward, catching me by surprise. He slammed his head into my gut, knocking the air out of me.

I gasped and reached down and grabbed him by the waist. I then threw him downward, were he hit the ground with a sickening thud.

I flew down and landed in front of him, "Please, we don't have to fight."

"WE DO!" He yelled out as he slammed his hind leg into my jaw. I followed the momentum of the kick and spun around. I then slammed my hoof into the side of his head.

He flew to the ground, but instantly shot up again, "Stop it!" He shot forward and slammed his fist into my snout, breaking it.

I stumbled back as the smoke from the burnt fur on my snout rose upward. I could feel the bones in my snout mending themselves, and it's even worst then getting hit! Wow, that pain!

I shook it off and ran forward. I then jumped into the air and performed a somersault. As I came down, I slammed my hind legs into his head, knocking him to the ground. I then used his head as a platform and jumped back into the air. This time, I came down on his back, knocking the air out of him and knocking him unconscious.

I stood up and dusted myself off.

[Oh yeah! We're bad!]

[Fuck you, I'm enjoying our little victory over here!]

I chuckled and put my hoof to his head, "To the dungeon with you." He then disappeared.

Now to send a letter to Frederic.

*BZZZT*

I reappeared in my room and chuckled. It feels like everything is happening really fast. I mean, that fight was like what, twenty seconds?

I shrugged and picked up a piece of paper and a pencil. I used my mouth to write out a message telling Frederic what to do with the fake Lance. I then quickly sent it.

That's one problem solved, now to get to...

*Slap*

A piece of paper appeared out of nowhere and slammed into my face.

I groaned and picked it up, and my groan turned to a cheer. It was from Graze! I quickly opened it.

'Hey Lance! I'm doing fine, studies suck as usual. How you doing? And how is Twilight being pregnant? ALSO! I'M GOING TO BE A GOD FATHER!!

P.S- Kill says, 'WWASSSSAAAAAPPPPPP!' and Joy wants to know how Dawn is going.'

[Respond!]

[GAAAAYYYY!]

I chuckled and yet again wrote out a letter.

'Howdy Graze! Yep, going cowboy over here. Anyway, doing fine, but there's so much I want to tell you. But, I don't think this paper is big enough to hold all that, so I'll wait till the next time we meet in person, or pony.

Twilight is no longer pregnant, she gave birth soon after you left. It's a colt! Buck yeah! We named him Spark, and thanks to Greg, he's already two years old. Also, I have an adopted daughter, but that's a long story. Let's just say this, if you ever come here, and meet a mare named Vinetion, don't let her use her plant magic to show you a trick. Fair warning.

A God Father? Sweet, to who?

Tell Kill that Break said, 'Bro, we got to hang sometime! We gots a new form to try on you!'. As for Dawn, he's doing great.

The brony who sorta cares,
Lance'

Long letter, but meh. I rolled it up and put it on my hoof. It then disappeared in a flash of green fire... where does that even come from?

I twisted around and trotted out of the bedroom and down the hall and into the living room. Where is Twilight? *Sigh* Where did she run off to in that short time period?

Oops, forgot I was still in that form. A flash filled the room as I turned back to normal.

I looked around and sighed. Well, time to go for a little flight!

I galloped to the door and opened it. I then ran out and... slammed into a poor pony who was just walking by Dali's house.

We tumbled to the ground, causing all his things to scatter across the ground.

I sat up and looked at the large mess I had made, then I looked at the pony I had ran into, "I am so sorry!"

The pony sat up and tried to look me in the face, but instead stared past me, "I-It's fine."

I stood up and looked the pony over. He was a maroon coated earth pony with a shaggy light brown mane and short tail. His cutie mark was a pen on a blank sheet of paper. He was wearing a white wind breaker and what looked to be metal shoes.

When he stood, I was in slight shock. He was bigger than most ponies I knew, but was also smaller than a Alicorn. He had a slender build, but didn't look all that fit. He looked like he barely ate, which is strange. The only real muscle I could see was on his legs, meaning he must travel a lot.

The OC of Arby Works.

I looked at the mess again, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't watching were I was going. Do you want my help?"

He hung his head and surveyed the mess, "No, I got it."

Suddenly, all of his things lifted up, wrapped in a soft glow, and were placed back in his saddlebag.

He's a unicorn? His horn must be hidden by his mane.

I held out my hoof, "Names Lance, Lance Greenfield."

He looked at my hoof, a blank expression on his face. He slowly raised his hoof and shook mine, "Mines Chibi Masato."

Strange name, "Brony?"

He looked at me, well, past me, "No, I'm not one of those 'bronies'."

I slowly nod, "Oh, I see. Can I do anything to make up for running into you?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

I raised a hoof, "Well, I feel guilty, so I'm going to do something nice for you."

"You don't have to..." He began.

I quickly interrupted him, "Listen, I'm a nice guy, and I just want to do something nice."

He sighed, "Okay, fine. What are you going to do?"

I smiled, "Let you meet my friends."

He shagged, "But.... I...."

Wow, how shy is this guy? "Don't worry, they're all nice..." Lie...

He looked around, "If I do this, can you do something for me?"

I nodded happily, "Sure, anything you want."

He looked at me, and I mean right at me this time, "Will you let me do a drawing of you?"

Strange... but then again, "Sure."

He somewhat smiled, "Thanks."

I waved a hoof, "No problem."

[Take him to Greg first!]
{No. We're going to go see Peter first.}
[Awww... no fun.]

I pointed in the general direction of Ponyville and smiled, "You ever been to Ponyville?"

He gave a small nod, "Yes, it's a nice little town. Why do you ask?"

I chuckled, "A few of my friends live there. We'll be going there to meet them."

He gulped slightly and nodded, "S-Sounds good to me."

I twisted, "Shall we walk or teleport?"

"Teleport, but I don't know that spell." He said shyly.

I chuckled, "I got this."

*BZZZT*

Break and Dawn answer a few questions

If you want to know more about Chibi Masato, go here. This has become one of my favorite stories to read. So, check it out. It'll give you insight on Chibi.

I've been putting this off for too long. So, here we go. This isn't really a chapter, but meh.

This will hopefully answer a few of your questions. And we begin!

(I messed my back up pretty bad.... yeah.... just my luck lol, look at my blog post. So, I sped through this slightly, sorry.)

Chapter 110... sorta

[Hello everybody! Dawn and I have been wondering about a few things recently and we're finally going to find out! Isn't that right Dawn?]

[Oh Dawn, you kinder. Don't worry, he's not tied to a chair.]

[Let's just move on...]

[Hehe, you're not tied up.]

<... I give up. Just continue.>

[Good, as I was saying: We've been wondering about a few things. First off, what does Twilight do while we're off on some strange and wacky adventure?]

He then points to a huge HD flat screen TV.

[Well, we're gonna find out!]

[Probably not, but who cares? The readers? Yeah right.]

[Break the forth wall? Yes, yes I did. Now, let's get this on!]

Twilight Sparkle
(Her daily routine. This is set on a normal morning after Lance has already left the house.)

Twilight walked out of the kitchen, rubbing her neck.

"Whew, I don't know how Spike did it. Make food for five is hard." She said as she walked down the hall and into her and Lance's room.

She trotted over to the desk and levitated a parchment onto the table. She then levitated Lance's pen up, but put it back down and picked up her usual quill. She dipped it in the inkwell and began to write down her To Do list.

After she was done, she rolled it up and smiled to her self. She levitated her saddlebags up and strapped them on.

After doing a quick check of her self, she teleported to the center of Ponyville.

Once there, she smiled as she looked at the town she loved. After a few seconds of taking in the familiar sights, she set out to do the first thing on the list: Visit Rarity.

She trotted off to the boutique, saying hi to a few of the ponies she passed.

She did this every other day. She would leave her home in Canterlot and come back to Ponyville. She would then visit every one of her friends, catching up on a few things she's missed.

After a few minutes of walking, she arrived at the door. She smiled and knocked a few times.

On the other side, she could hear the sounds of things being moved around. Then came the sounds of hooves approaching the door.

Rarity pushed it open and smiled happily at Twilight, "Twilight darling, it's good to see you again. Please, come in."

Twilight smiled and walked past, "It's good to see you too Rarity." She looked around, only seeing the large mess and Spike. "Where's Peter?"

Rarity shrugged, "I don't really know. He and his friend Omnius ran off to do something."

Spike walked up and gave Twilight a hug.

Twilight returned his hug, "Hey Spike, I've missed you."

He leaned back and chuckled, "I missed you too."

Twilight smiled happily, "Are you sure you don't want to come live with me and my family?"

Spike shrugged, "I do, but I like it here. Peter is a pretty cool guy, plus, I like helping Rarity."

Twilight rubbed his head, "Well, just remember, you can come live with us at anytime. I know Lance would love to have you around."

Spike smiled back, "I may, but for now, I'll just stay here."

Rarity laughed slightly and walked over, "You ready for our mid day tea Twilight?"

Twilight looked at her and smiled, "Yep, I'll help you get it started."

Back to Break and Dawn

[Okay, the rest of that is boring.]

[Yep, the rest is boring. Now, I've been wondering: What happened to Zane? I mean, he was here in the beginning, but what now?]

Zane
New Mane City

Zane trotted out of the his apartment, which he had rented, and sighed. Ten months, and he still hasn't found her.

How hard should it be to find her?! She should look way different from all the other ponies! But no, he hasn't even seen her yet!

He adjusted his saddlebags and began his usual search pattern.

Which involved him walking down the street and keeping an eye out for the one pony that would stick out.

That's harder than you would think.

Back to Break and Dawn

[Who is he looking for?]

[Meh, doesn't really matter. What I want to know is what happened to Louie.]

Louie
Sweet Apple Acres

Louie jumped into the air and grabbed the apple in his teeth. He then jerked his head, causing it to break off the tree and fall.

He sat on the ground and began to eat the delicious apple.

He's been having the time of his life ever since he got here. He had no worries at all.

Apple Bloom was always playing with him and keeping him entertained.

He does wonder what the others have been up to. But, he's to relaxed to search them out and find out.

Besides, he knows they've been getting into trouble. It's kinda hard to miss all the sounds of heavy fighting they cause. But hey, no worries here.

Back to Break and Dawn

[You mean he's been living it up while we've been getting our asses kicked?!]

[... Fuck you Dawn... Anyways, I have another thing I've been wondering about: What's happened to Malbatorus. I mean, he's a dragon, how could we miss him?]

Malbatorus
Close to Fluttershy's cottage

Malbatorus sat on a hill, twirling a uprooted tree in his claws.

He's been in a sort of depression ever since that pony named Shadow Breeze moved in.

He doesn't like the way he helps Fluttershy tend to the animals, and how they cuddle at night.

Yes, he was jealous of Shadow, but so what?

He sighed loudly, "Life sucks... big time."

"If life truly sucks, I believe I can help you." Said a female voice behind him.

He turned and looked down to see a female unicorn, "Yeah? How could you help?"

She smiled, "Watch." Her horn began to glow brightly.

Back to Break and Dawn

[Who was that mare?]

[Okay... anyways. Last thing: What has David and Rainbow Dash been up too?]

David and Rainbow Dash
Their cloud home

David sat on the couch, reading one of the books he had bought at that book store in Cloudsdale.

He was enjoying it. It was about two star crossed lovers who...

"David!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she blew through the front door and landed in front of him.

The sudden appearnce of his lover caused him to jump, "Dashie?! What's wrong?!"

She grabbed his face in her front hooves and shook him, "I just went to the doctor, you know, to find out why I've been throwing up in the mornings."

He nodded, "And? What did he say?"

She gulped and fell back on her haunches, "I don't know if you want hear this."

David walked over to her and sat down next to her. He then put his forelegs around her and held her close, her head under his chin, "Come on Dashie, you can tell me. I'm sure I can handle it."

She snuggled up to him and wrapped her forelegs around his waist. "Okay... I'm pregnant."

David's eyes widened, but only for a second. He then smiled and held her close, "That's great news!"

She tightened her embrace, "That's not all... I'm pregnant with twins."

His eyes re-widened, and this time, he passed out.

Back to Break and Dawn

[Dayum! Poor guy, got to take care of two foals!]

<... We have two kids.>

[Yeah, but they're both old enough to take care of themselves... I think.]

[Guess you're right. I don't want to miss Chibi meeting the other bronies.]

[Goodbye readers!]

<... Please leave the fourth wall alone.>

[NEVA! It shall be tampered with beyond repair!]

<....>

[Fine. And we're gone!]

Interesting... XD

Letter from... the in laws

Just so you know, all of this has been happening in the same day XD It is now almost night time.

Chapter 111

*BZZZT*

Chibi and I appeared in front of Sugar Cube Corner, which was closed. But, I could hear a few voices inside.

[How did you know they were here?]
{... Lucky guess.}

Chibi looked at the door and then me, "It's closed."

I chuckled, "Yeah, but I have connections."

[... Greg's a connection?]

I pushed the door open and stepped in. Inside was a few of my friends: Greg, Pinkie Pie, Grace, Octavia, Alexander, Trixie, and Peter.

I cleared my throat and smiled to them, "Sup guys?"

"Yo!" Greg responded, a joint stuck in his mouth.

"Hiya Lance!" Grace called as she and Octavia lay together on one of the benches.

"How's it going Lance?" Alexander called from his position next to Trixie.

Trixie rolled her eyes and looked at me, "Hello snob."

I waved to the others and looked at her. I then bowed, "Hello to you too bitch."

"Laaannnccceee!" Alexander whined.

I laughed and pointed beside me, "I just dropped by to introduce Chibi here."

Grace cocked her head, "Who? There's no one there."

"Yes there is..." I said as I looked to my side to see nothing. I turned and saw him standing outside of the door, a worried look on his face.

I back tracked to him, "What's wrong?"

He gulped, "N-Nothing. Just... tired?"

I chuckled and began to pull him into the bakery, "Don't worry, I'll let you go home after this."

Pinkie instantly appeared in front of Chibi, "OWWW! Who's he? Is he another brony? Or a regular pony? Is he new in town? *Gasp* We have to have a party! I'll..."

"Whoa babe!" Greg said with a laugh as he levitated her away from Chibi. He levitated her over to himself and wrapped his forelegs around her, "You're talking to fast again."

She giggled, "Oops, I guess I got excited."

<... I can't believe I'm about to say this, but: Greg and Pinkie Pie make a cute couple.>
[.... Eww...]

Grace kissed Octavia on the snout and jumped up. She trotted over to Chibi and held out a hoof, "Nice to meet you, Chibi."

Chibi looked at her hoof for a long time before shaking it.

Grace looked him over, then looked him in the eyes. He tried to hold her gaze, but slowly looked to the side.

Grace smiled, "Awww, he's shy."

[.... Creepy?]

[Grace.]

Octavia jumped up and trotted over, "Awww, is somepony shy?"

The two mare's began to aww over him, like he was a little kid or something.

Chibi looked at me helplessly.

I chuckled, "Ladies, leave the dude alone. He's shy, don't have to be all gaga over him because of it."

Grace looked at me, "Oh, shut up, or I'll kick your flank."

Shutting up... because we all know she can easily beat the crap out of me.

[No! We have a new form! We could beat her down easily!]
{I don't hit girls, remember? That's like one of the only values I hold.}
[You're no fun...]

Octavia grabbed Grace's hoof, "Come on, let's leave the poor guy alone."

Grace chuckled and allowed Octavia to drag her back to their seat.

Chibi looked back at me, "Thanks."

I waved him off, "Don't mention it bro."

"So Lance, is he a brony?" Peter asked as he lay on a table, his head hanging off. He was holding a piece of paper in his hooves.

I shook my head, "He said he wasn't..." I looked over at Chibi, "Are you a human? Or a pony?"

He looked around nervously, "I... Uhhh..."

"Don't worry, Peter and I are bronies." I said with a chuckle.

He seemed to relax slightly, "I'm a human..."

[KNEW IT!]

"Sweet." Greg said in a relaxed voice.

I held up a hoof, "Brohoof?"

A small smile formed on his face as he slammed his hoof into mine.

"Hey Lance, I found this letter. It's for you, but I don't understand it." Peter said as he tossed it to me.

Why did he wait till now to tell me?

I jumped up and caught it in my teeth. I then sat it down and read over it.

'to lance

coWs arE everywhere, Allways tRying to stEal your Chickens frOM your housE, nothING can stop them FrOm taking them from youR houSe, you could simPly hide them in A cave, but they'Re never safe, Keep them indoors.

"What the buck?" I said as I finished it. That didn't make one bit of sense. I crumbled it up and tossed it behind me, "Someone needs to work on their capitalization and handwriting."

"What was it?" Alexander asked.

I shrugged, "Something about cows stealing chickens. Weird."

Chibi furrowed his brow, "Chickens?"

I laughed, "Yeah, chickens. Anyways, who wants some food? I've been wanting to try and make this new recipe I made up."

Pinkie Pie broke from Greg's grasped and jumped in front of me, "New recipe?! Show me!"

"Can do Pi...." I began before she pulled me through the bakery and towards the kitchen.

Later that night, Dali's house

I stumbled up to the front door, holding my stomach.

Note to self, never mix eighty different kinds of food together.... doesn't end well.

[Yeah, you can say that again.]

I pushed open the door and burped, "Oops... I'm home."

Spark walked out of the kitchen holding his Spitfire plushy and a bowel of food, "Hey dad."

I chuckled, "Hey buddy. How ya doing?"

He shrugged, "Fine."

"What you doing with that big bowel of food on your back?"

He smiled, "Me and Fawn are going to play a game! And we're going to need a lot of food for it!"

I chuckled and jumped onto a chair, "Okay bud, just don't make a mess."

He laughed and walked past, "No promises dad."

I shook my head laughing, "That's my boy."

[Damn Lance, he's just like you.]
{I know.... Let's just hope he doesn't get my charm for the ladies. That has never really worked out for me in the past.}

[Oh man! Janet the friend zoner! She shot us down in ten seconds flat!]
{... Don't remind me.}

"Lance!" Twilight practicably screamed as she ran in the front door.

I shot out of the chair and slammed into the ceiling. I then fell to the floor and jumped up, "What is it?!"

She thrusted a letter in my face, "Spike just gave me this letter! It's from my parents!"

Is this good? Probably not, due to her reactions.

I leaned forward a little and read the letter.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Your father and I have just heard that you're married. But, why haven't you sent us a letter? Or contacted us about this? We both want to meet this dashing young stallion. We've heard he is quite the sight.

We've decided that we're going to travel to Ponyville and meet your new husband. We should be there soon, seeing as it's not a long train ride from here to there.

We can't wait to see you again, it's been so long since the last time we've all been together.

With love,
your parents'

I chuckled, "They sound nice. Why are you so worried?"

She twitched, not a good sign, "Why am I worried?! They excepted me to get married to a normal stallion!"

I cracked a smile, "So?"

She facehoofed, "Lance, you're not even a real pony! You're a human! Plus, you have crocodile eyes and zebra strips! You don't even look normal!"

I put a hoof to my chest, and said in my most dramatic voice, "Oh, that hurts Twi."

She let out a ragged breath, "I'm sorry Lance, I'm just nervous."

I chuckled and trotted over and wrapped my forelegs around her, "Don't worry about it, they'll love me. When do you think they'll be here?"

She sat back and scrunched her face up, thinking, "Well, it's not a long trip from Hoofington, so... EEP! Tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow? Nice, I got to meet them." I said with a grin.

She sighed, "I just hope they approve of you. I don't want my parents to disapprove of my husband."

I shrugged, "I'm a lovable guy."

[LIE!]
{Shhh! I know, I'm trying to keep her calm! I'm so freaking out on the in side right now!}

I put a foreleg over her shoulder, "Come on, let's get some food, get the kids to bed, then go to bed. Sound good?"

She smiled and nuzzled my cheek, "Yes. But, I cook. I heard what happened at Sugar Cube Corner."

I laughed loudly, "News travels fast, huh?"

She walked past me and swished her tail in my face, "It sure does."

I smirked and followed her, "Are we going to have a 'adventure' tonight in the bedroom?"

She looked back, "Maybe."

[Fuck yeah!]

[... No... just no bro.]

Well shit! There's no name for Twilight's parents! I'm gonna need help with this part. I suck at coming up with names, as you all know. So, does anyone remember any names that's been used on them in fan fictions?

Preparing for the in laws

Chapter 112

*Groan*

I rolled over and started to throw my foreleg over Twilight, but soon saw she wasn't in the bed anymore.

[Damn, last night... just damn!]

[I wanna do it again!]

I chuckled at the two and rolled over, if Twilight's not in bed, then I'm going back to sleep.

But, before I could even close my eyes, the door to the room burst open.

"Oh good you're awake!" Twilight said as I was levitated out of the bed and forced to stand on my hooves.

I groaned loudly and looked at her.... then raised an eyebrow.

Her mane and tail was slightly messed up, with a few strands of hair sticking out. Her eye was slightly twitching. Just like in the episode Lesson Zero.

"You alright there Twi?" I asked worriedly.

Her eye twitched again, "Oh yes, just fine. I'm just getting everything ready for when my parents get here."

I chuckled, "Alrighty then, what's for breakfast?"

She shook her head, "Oh no! Bath first!"

I pouted, "Bath? Why?!"

She sniffed me and backed, "Because, you smell like sex."

I couldn't help but laugh at this.

"BATH!" She yelled.

I jumped and ran past her, "ON IT!"

[Pussy whipped!]
{SHUT UP!}

I ran into the bathroom and closed the door. I then let out a sigh and walked over to the shower. I turned it on and twisted around to face the mirror.

I smirked and stood on my hind legs and flexed my muscles.... note to self, work out more.

I turned around and looked at my back side in the mirror.

Got to do this! I smacked my flank and smiled sexily at my reflection, "Oh you know you want this."

"LANCE! SHOWER! NOW!" Twilight yelled from outside the door.

I yelped in surprise and jumped into the shower, but, knowing my luck, I slipped and fell face first into the wall in the shower.

I rolled over and sighed, "Life, why do you hate me so?"

After a few seconds, I stood up and proceeded to wash my body with a rag.

I suddenly began to sing the only song I could think of to describe the way I was feeling, with the help of Break and Dawn, "Sometimes [Ohhhh]
Something beautiful happens in this world
You don’t know how to express yourself so..
You just gotta sing..

I just had sex! And it felt so good! [felt it so good]
A woman let me put my penis inside her!
I just had sex, and i’ll never go back..
to the not-havin’-sex ways of the past

Have you ever had sex? I have - it felt great!
It felt so good when i did it with my penis
A girl let me do it, it literally just happened..
Havin’ sex can make a nice man out the meanest!

Never guess where I just came from - I had sex!
If I had to describe the feeling: it was the best!
When I had the sex man my penis felt great!
And I called my parents right after I was done

Oh hey, didn’t see you there. Guess what I just did?
Had sex, undressed- saw her boobies and the rest

Was sure nice of her to let you do that thing
Nice of any girl ever- now sing!

I just had sex! And it felt so good! [felt so good]
A woman let me put my penis ins-"

"Lance! Please hurry up and finish your shower!" Twilight yelled, scaring the crap out of me.

[Damn it! We were on a roll there!]

I sighed and finished up the shower. I jumped out and grabbed a towel with my hooves. I did a quick rub down of my body and tossed it over my shoulders, "Done!"

I trotted over to the door and pulled it open, only to see Twilight.

She looked me over and leaned forward and sniffed me, "Did you use soap?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Uhh... I don't use soap. Water is all I need Twi."

She glared and lifted me up with her magic, "That's it! It's painfully clear you can't bath yourself, so I'll have to do it for you!"

My eyes widened and I grabbed the door frame, "NO! Oh God no Twi! Please no!"

She pulled hard and forced me off the door frame.

She held me in the air, restricting my movements.

She then turned the shower on and thrusted me into it.

"COLD!" I screamed out as the ice cold water hit my body.

"Oops." Is all she said as she adjusted the knobs.

The water began to warm... wait... "HOT! MY SKIN IS MELTING!"

"Damn it!" She yelled, actually cussing, it's going to take me a while to get use to that.

The water cooled off till it was lukewarm.

I looked at Twilight as she held me in place with her magic, "Really? Is this really necessary?"

She nodded, "Yes, yes it is." She levitated up a rag and bar of soap, "Now, where to start."

[I got to do this! Sorry Lance.]

My head nodded down to my member, "You can start down there."

She rolled eyes and began to scrub my face, "Shut up Break."

After a few minutes of painful scrubbing and washing, she finally allowed me to crawl out of the shower. I stood and picked up a towel and began to dry myself off.

Twilight trotted past me, "When you're dry, come to the bedroom."

Sex? But... I just had a bath... WHO CARES?! Woohoo!

[Get a move on Lance!]

I quickly dried myself off and ran out of the bathroom, down the hall, and into our room.

But, when I entered, I saw Twilight holding a comb and a very tight looking suit, "Alrighty Lance, let's get those on you and get your mane and tail straight."

My eyes widened.

[Run.]

I twisted around and ran down the hall.

"Lance!" Twilight yelled as she galloped after me.

I ran through the house, trying to find an exit. But she must have prepared and put a spell on all the locks, making them stay locked. Not good!

"Stop running and get over here!" Twilight yelled as I jumped over the couch and used my hind legs to kick it over as I passed over it.

"Neva!" I yelled as I slide under the coffee table.

"Stop or I will get aggressive!"

I laughed and jumped over the counter leading into the kitchen, "We pasted that place a long time ago honey."

She teleported in front of me, but causing me to come to a halt, "GOT YOU!"

I smirked and poked her on the noise with my hoof, "Boop." I then teleported behind her and ran down the hall.

"That's it!" She screamed as she charged after me.

[Lance, you just fucked up big time.]

I laughed and ran into the kids room... where are they anyway? No matter, must escape.

Twilight ran into the room and blocked my exit, "There's no where left to run Lance!"

I looked behind me and saw a window, "Oh yeah?" I smirked as I did a back flip and crashed through the window... or that was what was suppose to happen. Instead, I hit the window and rebounded off it. I then landed on the ground with a loud grunt.

[Epic fail!]

I slowly stood and sighed, "We replaced the kids window with plexiglass, didn't we?"

She nodded, "Mmhmm, safety first! Now, get over here!"

I pretended to be defeated and walked towards her, but before she could do anything, I suddenly jumped over her and into the hall.

"Lance! Stop acting like a foal!" She yelled as she twisted to face me.

When she turned, I planted a very unexpected kiss on her lips, "Love ya Twi, but gotta jet!"

I jumped back and ran down the hall and into the living room, Twilight hot on my heels.... hooves?

[Lance! Don't you make me hurt you! We've been over this so many fucking times!]

I shuddered and ran in circles, looking for an escape.

Twilight was still following me, not letting up.

Idea! I'm about to do the one thing I do best! Be a stupid moron!

I ran towards a window and yelled out, "For pony!" I then jumped and slammed into the wall next to the window.

[... FAIL!]
{Shut up! I missed the window! So what!}

I quickly jumped to my hooves and reared up, and prepared to slam my hooves through the window. But instead, I just leaned forward and pushed it open.

I heard Twilight close behind me, so I jumped through the window just as she tried to grab my tail.

I hit the ground and rolled to a stop. That was awesome!

[No it wasn't.]

Twilight jumped through the window and landed a few feet from me, "Lance Greenfield!"

I laughed, "You sound like my mom! HAHAHA!"

She stomped her hoof, "Get back in that house!"

I shook my head and crossed my forelegs and pouted like a little kid, "No!"

She scratched at the ground with her hoof and glared, "Do it!"

I looked at her, but something caught my attention. A puddle of mud!

Twilight looked at what I was looking at and narrowed her eyes, "Don't you even think about it."

I side stepped towards it.

"Lance." She said calmly.

I took another step towards it.

"LANCE!" She yelled, attracting the attention of a few ponies.

I smirked and took one last step towards it.

She stomped her hoof, "If you so much as touch that, I will.."

*Splat*

Mud went everywhere from the impact of my body against the large puddle. I laughed like a mad man and began to thrash around in it, slinging it everywhere.

Man, I've forgotten how much fun this was!

"You are so dead!" She said as she stomped towards me.

I stopped and leaned back and put my hooves behind my head, "You mad bro?"

"VERY!" She growled.

She began to near me, but before she did, a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Twilight, darling! Over here!" Said a kind sounding female voice.

I turned to see two ponies stepping off a carriage. And thanks to the show, I instantly recognized them as Twilight's parents.

"Mom?! Dad?! You're early!" Twilight said in surprise and horror.

Her mom laughed, "Of course dear. We wanted to surprise you." She looked at me and smiled, "Oh, and is this little guy you're foal? Or a neighbor colt?"

[BWAHAHAHA! She thinks we're a kid!]

Twilight's face became very red and hot as she heard this.

Her dad chuckled, "Look at the little guy, playing in the mud. Now that's cute."

Oh man, this is going to be funny!

Twilight eeped and took a step back.

Her mom smiled, "What's your name little guy?"

I smirked and stood, "Hiya, I'm Lance, Lance Greenfield. I'm the one married to your daughter."

Both of their mouths hung open and their eyes widened in shock, surprise, and possible horror.

<[BWAHAHAHA!]>

The in laws

Quick note: I just read that Twilight's brother is the Captain of the Royal Guard. At first, I facepalmed because I screwed up and made Barehoof the captain, then I remember that he quit to live his life with Dana XD So, I got lucky with this one.

Yeah, just though I'd share that.

Chapter 113

I stood there with a smile as Twilight's parents stared at me in disbelief.

"You're... You're the one married to our daughter?" Her father asked in a shocked voice.

I chuckled and began to shake, sending mud everywhere, "Sure am!"

"Lance..." Twilight said silently as she slowly back tracked to the house.

I looked at her and laughed, "One minute Twi, I'm talking to your parents."

"Married... to our daughter? You?" Her mother said, also in shock.

I twisted back to them and smiled, "Yep! And I must tell you. Your daughter is amazing!"

[I don't think that came out right...]

They looked at each other and then me, "Uhh, could we please speak to our daughter alone?"

I stepped to the side and bowed slightly, "Sure, I'll be out here if ya need me."

They frowned to each other and quickly trotted past me and into the house, Twilight slowly followed behind them.

I stood there for a full five seconds before groaning. What am I suppose to do while I wait?

[Clop?]
{... Really? We're in public, plus, I don't do that!... Anymore.}
[HAHAHA! Yeah, anymore!]
{Shut up Break...}

I looked around and began to tap my hooves against the cobblestone ground. A few ponies walked past and snickered at my appearance. Yeah, I was still sorta muddy.

I sighed and shook myself again, but the remaining mud refused to come off.

I looked up and watched the passing ponies. Then, I saw a pony I sorta knew, "Hey Legit! How ya doing?" I yelled, waving to said pony.

Legit stopped and tipped his fedora to me, "Oh you know, write this and write that. Same as always."

I chuckled, "Where ya heading?"

He laughed and continued to walk down the road, "Oh, just heading home. I have to finish writing one of my books before the dead line. See you around."

I waved him off, "See ya."

[Heh, that guy... Seems legit.]

I looked around, but saw nothing else to distrack me from my boredom.

[I know, let's eavesdrop.]
{No.}
[May be interesting.]
{*Sigh* Fine.}

I trotted over to the door and pressed my ear to it, but couldn't hear anything.

[Window.]

Oh, right.

I trotted over to the window I had used to escape, which was still open, and looked in slightly.

Inside, Twilight's father was shaking his head, and her mother was rubbing her eyes in a annoyed fashion.

Twilight was on the couch, her eyes on the floor between her parents.

Twilight's father sighed and looked at Twilight, "I thought we taught you better than this Twilight. We always thought you would chose a suitable stallion as a husband. Not a strange and immature one."

Twilight closed her eyes tightly, "I'm..."

"How could you get pregnant by him?!" Her mother said, disappointment in her voice. "I fear for the child that was born thanks to him!"

.... What the...

Her father sighed, "Twilight, we love you, we only want whats best for you."

Twilight looked up, tears in her eyes, "But, he's..."

Her mother cut her off with a wave of her hoof, "Twilight, listen. He acts like a immature foal. And I've only known him a minute. I do not approve of this."

A tear rolled down Twilight's face, causing my inner rage to build.

Her father rubbed his chin, "Listen, I do not think he's the one for you. I think you rushed into this marriage thing with him." He then glared slightly, "When he got you pregnant, did that make you feel like you should have married him? If so, I'm going to go have a talk with that stallion."

Twilight shook her head furiously, her eyes still closed, "NO! I love him! I didn't feel like I needed to marry him! I WANTED to marry him!"

Her parents where taken back by her words slightly.

Her mother sighed, "Twilight, dear, we want you to live a good life. Not a life taking care of a stallion and a child. I suggest you divorce him as soon as possible, before he's able to force you into doing something you'll regret."

My left eye twitched slightly.

Twilight looked up angrily, "Don't say that! I would never leave Lance! I love him more than you'll ever know!"

[Beats the fuck out of me.]

Her mother stomped her hoof, "Twilight Sparkle! Please, don't raise your voice to us! We're tying to help you!"

Her father nodded, "Don't worry Twilight, your mother and I will do our best to get you away from this stallion and..."

*BOOM*

They all turned to look at the door, which was now hanging off its hings, and me, who was standing dead center, a pissed off look on my face.

I stepped forward, "How could you?"

Her father looked stunned, "We..."

I held up a my hoof and growled, "No, don't talk!" I then slammed my hoof down, "Listen to me! Both of you! I love Twilight, I truly do! I would never do a single thing to hurt her! I do my best everyday to keep her happy and safe! She has made my life complete and worth living! I may look like a uncaring guy, but let me tell you this, I care more about her than I do myself!"

Her mother recovered from my rant and glared, "Oh? What have you done for our daughter?!"

I growled, "I've done everything I can to keep her safe! I've broken bones, limbs, and other parts, just to make sure she's unharmed! I've stood by her side, keeping everything that could hurt her at bay. I've put my life at risk many times for her! I've died for her!"

They both recoils at the last part, "Died?!"

I jerked my head up and down angrily, "Yes! I sacrificed myself to save her! Do you have any idea how painful that was! You'd think it would have been a fast death, but no! I suffered for a full agonizing minute before I actually died! My love for her is so strong, I was given a third chance at life! If this doesn't prove my loyalty and love for Twilight, then I don't know what will!"

I hung my head and tried to calm myself.

There was silence in the house for twenty full seconds before her mother spoke up, "Twilight... is that... true?"

"Yes! He's done so much more for me!" I heard her jump off the couch and trotted towards me. She then wrapped her forelegs around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder, letting her tears fall freely.

I looked up at her parents. They were both shocked and pained.

"Twilight..." Her father said softly.

Twilight pushed her face harder into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry... if what he said is true, then I have no place to judge you two. I am truly sorry for acting like that." He said, sadness in his voice. He hung his head and rubbed his eyes.

I looked at her mother.

Her face was scrunched up, "All that really happened?"

I slowly nodded.

"And.... you truly love her?" She asked softly.

I nodded again, "Yes, with everything I have left. She and the kids are all I truly love and care about."

[They're all on a different level.]

She gulped, "Lance... I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "I'm not the one you should be saying sorry to."

She looked at Twilight, who was still hiding her face in my shoulder, "Twilight, honey. I'm sorry. I just.... I just thought you married him because you thought you had to. But now, I see you truly do love him. Can you ever forgive me?"

I leaned my head down and whispered in Twilight's ear, "Come on Twi, they're your parents. They just made a mistake."

She leaned back and whipped her face with her hoof. She then turned and looked at her parents, "I forgive you, both of you. I understand why you would be mad, but you didn't have to do all that."

Her father looked up, tears in his eyes, "We know, we're sorry honey."

Man, this is painful to watch.

Twilight trotted over to her parents and pulled them both into a hug, "It's okay. I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier."

Her mother chuckled and returned her hug, "It's fine dear, we should have came earlier also."

Her father smiled, "We'll make this up to you honey, we promise."

I held up a hoof, "Actually, I would like to make this up to you first."

They all broke the hug and turned to me, "What? How?"

I smiled, "I'll think of something. But, I do have something in mind for your father."

Her father cocked his head, "You do? What would that be?"

I smirked, "A guys night out. Just you and me, chilling."

*Facehoof* I screwed up! This chapter was cut in half! There was at least another two hundred words! Sorry about that everyone.

Going to the bar... in the morning

*Facehoof* I screwed up last chapter. It some how didn't save correctly and I posted a half done chapter. So, you all just missed a lot of info.

Okay, I'll just start this off where it cut off on the last chapter. So... yeah, sorry about that.

Chapter 114

"Chilling?" He said, confused.

Twilight giggled, "Just say yes dad, because, knowing Lance, you're going to have fun."

He smiled, "Okay, I'll do it."

I pumped my hoof into the air, "Great!" I then looked at her mother, "And, if you want, we can go to the spa."

She giggled, "Spa? You mean a spa day?"

I nodded, "Yep! I've been wanting to go there. I can bring one of my friends along. I know you'll like her."

Twilight smirked, "Don't tell me you want to bring her along."

I nodded with a smile, "Sure do! She'll make everything more interesting." I then looked at her mother, "So, what do you say?"

She rubbed her chin, "Hmmm, I don't know. Can this wait till tomorrow?"

I gave a quick nod, "Sure can." I then looked at her father, "You know what that means Mr. Sparkle? That means we can have our guys day out today."

He chuckled, "We forgot to tell you our names, didn't we?"

"Oh, that's right. Well, let me be first to introduce myself. I am Twilight Velvet."

I snickered slightly, "Okay, but I'm going to call you Velvet, since it'll feel weird calling you Twilight."

She giggled, "Fair enough."

Her father smiled, "My name is Night Light."

[Night Light... BWAHAHAHA!]

I chuckled, "Nice name." Don't laugh Lance, don't laugh!

[So, whats the plan?]
{Give me a minute.}

I looked at the clock to see that it was still kinda early, "So, Night Light, you feel up to dealing with me for the rest of the day?"

He looked at Twilight, who was smiling happily, then back to me, "I guess. How bad could you be?"

I chuckled, "Oh, you don't have to worry about me. Just a few other ponies." Mainly Greg.

He nodded and looked at the other two, "Should I be worried?"

"Not at all honey." Velvet said with a chuckle.

"Maybe a little, dad." Twilight said with a smile.

I smirked, "Come on Night Light, we're going to Ponyville!"

Ponyville, forty minutes later

"You know, when I envisioned us having a guys day out, I though it would be a little more exciting." I said as I hung off a bench backwards, staring at a random puddle a few feet away.

Night Light was sitting next to me, also very bored, "I think you should have planned this all out a little better."

I gave a small shrug, which almost caused me to fall off the bench, "I know..."

[Bored... so bored.]

[Like what?]

[... Oh sure, let's play Hid and Seek in a fucking empty void!]
<... Sorry.>
[... *Sigh* It's fine.]

[Like what?]

[Really? Fine. Lance, we'll get back to ya soon.]
{Ummm, okay?}

I rolled over till I was sitting on my stomach and sighed, "We can play something, like a sport or something."

Night Light chuckled, "I'm young Lance, but not that young."

I laughed a little, "Yeah, sorry about that. We could..."

"Yo! Lance, amigo!" Greg said as he trotted towards us.

Greg? Really? How does he keep sneaking up on me?

I think Pinkie's rubbing off on him... that is not good... for all of us that is!

"Hey..." I said, still bored.

Greg stopped in front of us and looked at Night Light, "Who's he?"

I sat up and stretched, "Him? He's Twilight's dad."

Greg smirked, "He is?" He held out his hoof, "Nice to meet you..."

"Night Light." He answered as he shook Greg's hoof.

Greg looked at me, "Hey Lance, wanna do something fun?"

"Nope." I responded, "Anything with you is not going to end well."

He smirked, "How about you Night Light?"

Night Light shrugged, "Well, I guess..."

"Great!" Greg yelled out as his horn glowed, "We're going to get a drink!"

My eyes widened, "Wait! Don't you..."

*BZZZT*

"... Dare teleport... us."

Greg laughed, "To late."

I looked around and saw a single building. It had 'The Watering Hole' written on a sign out front. It was right next to the Everfree forest.

"They have bars here?" I asked in confusion.

Greg nodded and began to happily trot towards the door, "Yep! This is the best place to get drunk off your ass!"

Really, they have bars here? Who would have thought that a place like this actually has a bar?

I looked at Night Light, "So?"

He shrugged, "You did want to show me a good time, and we haven't done anything. So, I guess this place will be interesting."

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, do you drink?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm not a drinker. What about you?"

I chuckled, "Nah, I don't drink. Well, I will, but I don't enjoy it."

"You pussies coming or not?!" Greg yelled from the entrance.

"Yeah, just keep your panties on!" I yelled back as I began to trot forward, followed by Night Light.

Upon entering the bar, I was assaulted with a acid like smell that burned my nostrils.

After pathetically coughing at the scent, I followed Greg to the bar, which was almost full of ponies trying to get a drink, or just talking.

I slide into one of the stools and looked around. Night Light sat down on the one next to me, looking uncertain at being here.

Greg... Greg was screaming at the bartender to hurry up and get over here.

I looked over at Night Light and sighed, "Not as fun as you thought, huh?"

He shrugged, "I guess not. When I was in high school, me and my pals would always come to places like this. Well, they were cleaner back then, but it's still the same. We would always play pool or something along those lines. You know, I was a pretty good pool player back then."

I smiled and turned his way, "Really? How good were you?"

He smirked, "Let's just say I could get all the balls in the holes on the first shot."

I whistled, "Whoa, I've got to see this one day."

He laughed and rested his back against the bar, "If you two ever come visit, I'll show you. I have a pool table in the basement."

I grinned and rested my back against the bar, "You know Night? I think we'll just do that. Maybe when we have some free time and all."

"Finally! I want your strongest drink!" Greg yelled at the bartender.

I looked at Greg and raised an eyebrow, "Greg... should you really do that?"

He looked at me and smiled, "Oh yeah! I've got to do this!"

I sighed and looked back at Night Light, "As I was saying, we'll stop by one day. We'll also bring the kids."

He chuckled, "I haven't even seen my grandchildren yet."

I slide out of my stool and chuckled, "Well, I guess they're at school right now. I think. Anyways, I'm going to use the bathroom."

"Alrighty then." He said with a chuckle.

I began to trot towards the restrooms, passing several nasty looking ponies on the way.

I have a feeling I'm going to be raped.

.... Oh come on, no comment from either of you two?

.... Oh, that's right, remodeling. On my own... fun.

After a few minutes of walking, I arrived at the restrooms.

I pushed open the door, and then gagged. It smelt like old puke... and urine.

I braced myself and walked in. Yeah, this place needs to be inspected... fast!

A few of the stalls had hooves under them, but the last one was empty. So, I walked in and positioned myself so I could use it.

Once that job was done, I hit the handle, which flushed the toilet. I then opened the stalls door and walked out.

But before I could walk over to the sink, the stall door next to me swung outward and slammed into my face.

I stumbled into the wall and held my snout, which had that very uncomfortable cold feeling forming in it.

The pony who had flung the door open stepped out and looked at me, "Oh crud! Are you okay?!"

I looked up to see a ash grey pony with a brown and white mane, "Yeah, I'll live."

He held out his hoof, "I'm so sorry."

I grabbed his hoof and allowed him to help me stand, "It's fine, really."

Once I was standing, I looked at his cutie mark to see a crescent moon, "Huh, nice cutie mark. What does it mean?"

He smiled, "Glad you asked. It shows my interest in the moon. I've been studying it for years, trying to figure out all information it hides."

I chuckled, "Well, it's better than mine..." I looked down at my hoof, which he was still holding onto, "Uhh, you can let go of my hoof now."

He smiled sheepishly and let go of my hoof, "Oops, sorry about that."

I shrugged, "It's cool. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to my friends."

"Can I come?" He asked, becoming nervous.

I smiled, "Sure, just follow me."

He smiled and allowed me to lead him out of the bathroom and back to my seat.

Once back, I jumped up on my stool and spun around to face Night Light, "I'm back."

The pony walked up and stood between our seats.

"Who's this?" Night Light asked, pointing down at the pony.

"He's... I don't know. What is your name?" I asked while looking at the pony.

"My name is Tovy. And yours is?" He said with a large smile.

I pointed a hoof at myself, "I'm Lance, Lance Greenfield." I then pointed at Night Light, "And he's Night Light, my father in law." I then pointed behind me at Greg, "And that dude is Greg."

Tovy nodded, "Okay, got it. Nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too." Night Light said with a happy smile.

"Yo." Greg said, tapping his hoof impatiently on the bar. "Come on! Bring me my drink!"

I sighed, "Greg, give them..."

"Here you go. One Skittles." The bartender said as he pushed a large beverage towards Greg.

Greg smiled, "Fuck yeah!" He then picked it up with his magic and tilted it into his mouth.

His eyes widened as he chugged the drink. He slammed it down and let out a yell, "FUCKING EPIC!"

I laughed, "Yeah, we're going to have to drag him out of her later."

"Probably." Night Light said, rubbing his back.

*Sound of glass breaking*

"Hay! Did ya just spill my drank?" Said a voice with a thick country accent.

I turned to see Greg standing next to a stallion, broken glass between them.

Greg smirked, "I didn't bro. If I did, I would do this!" He then picked up a glass full of liquid and splashed it in his face.

The stallion jumped up and glared at Greg, "Boy, ya askin fora flank whoppin!"

Greg pulled his hoof back and slapped the stallion, "Bitch slap bitch!"

"That's it!" The stallion yelled out as he stood up on his hind legs and held his hooves up in a fighting position.

Wait... is he using a boxing style of fighting? Oh, poor Greg.

The stallion leaned down and slammed his hoof into Greg's jaw, knocking him backwards.

"FIGHT!" One stallion yelled out as he jumped up and threw his glass at another pony.

"Not good." Tovy muttered beside me.

The entire bar went crazy. Everypony was either jumping up to fight, or flee.

A bar fight? Greg just caused a bar fight?

The first stallions friend stood up and stood beside him, while the other stayed in the booth, "Good job Jack Root. That'll show..." The one talking pushed a pony down who had ran at him, "That'll show him ta mess with you."

The pony, who must be Jack Root, smiled, "Yeah, Ah don't think he'll be messin with me anymore."

*Sound of three wooden chairs breaking*

"Hahaha! That's what you think you pussies!" Greg yelled out as he began to throw chairs at the two ponies.

The one who remained in the booth was slowly wrapping something around his front hooves. Hand wraps? No, hoof wraps?

Greg ran over to us, knocking ponies out of the way, "Come on bros! You gotta help me!"

"I'm good." I said, still watching the fight.

"Same here." Tovy said.

"Yeah, I'm not much of a fighter. Plus, I don't feel up to it." Night Light said with a grin.

"Fuck you too." Greg said before turning around.

The two ponies from before ran up to him and rammed into him. They then fell to the floor and began to roll around, trading blows.

I stood and sighed, "Well, this couldn't get any worst."

*POW*

My head went to the side as a pony slammed his hoof into me, "I was wrong."

I grabbed the pony by his hoof and pulled him towards me. I then slammed my head into his, causing him to collapse to the ground.

I looked up at all the ponies fighting each other. This was complete chaos.

Hey, look, training, yay...

I sighed and changed my form to my Angel form. What? I love this form, and I see the opportunity to use it. I'm going to use it.

I walked forward and slammed my hoof into a stallions face, sending him into another.

Oh yeah, this is so much fun.... yeah, I'm being sarcastic. Truly, I'm just bored now.

Tovy ran up beside me and smiled, "Can I help?"

I shrugged and opened my wings, "Sure, go crazy." I then swung my wings to the side, knocking three stallions down.

I twisted around and began to walk in a different direction. But, before I could do anything else, I saw a stallion holding a broken bottle to Night Light.

I glared and flew forward and slammed into the stallion, knocking him away. "This is getting old."

"Couldn't you just end this?" Night Light asked.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I guess... Should I?"

"Uhh, yes!"

I chuckled, "Consider it done?"

When I turned back to the room full of ponies, a smirk broke across my face. This could be a little fun.

I flew forward, slamming into a few stallions in the process. I jumped over another and slammed my over sized wings into him, knocking him unconscious. I then landed on a table and kicked a bottle at another pony, hitting him in the head.

I stepped down from the table and slammed my back legs into it, sending it into a few other ponies.

A stallion stepped in front of me and tried to hit me. I grabbed his hoof and pulled him forward. I then slammed my head into his and let him drop. I then grabbed his hind leg and flung him at another stallion.

This went on for another minute before the only ones left in the room was me, my friends, and the three stallions from before. The third one was still sitting in the booth, now rubbing his mustache, his hooves fully wrapped in the hoof wraps.

Greg was laughing like a maniac as he rubbed his bloody face on a table. How drunk is he? Well, knowing him, he's not even drunk and is doing that for the hell of it.

"Why are ya'll wantin to fight us?" Jack Root said with a grunt.

I shook my head, "No, I don't want to fight. I don't know why you think we want to fight you. I was simply playing peace keeper a minute ago."

"Well, I say you're lying, trying to get us to drop our guard." The other said.

"I agree with Rocco, ya fakin it!" Jack Root said angrily.

"I got him!" Rocco said as he stepped forward, now standing on his hind legs, his front hooves held out in front of himself.

I sighed, "Why me?" I then flew towards him and threw a punch.

He shifted to the side and grabbed my foreleg. He then put his other hoof on my head and slammed it into a table. He let me go and grabbed my hind leg. He pulled upward and slammed me onto the table. He brought his hoof up and slammed it into my gut, forcing me through the table and onto the floor.

Okay, I just screwed up that attack. He easily countered it... wow.

I stood and coughed, "Okay, you're good."

He backed up, still on guard, "Thank you."

"Now, who are you?" I asked curiously.

"We're the Boxing Trio. The best bare hoof boxing team in Equestria." He said proudly.

I nodded, impressed, "Awesome. I don't want to fight you, believe me."

He lowered his guard, "Yeah, I can tell. I easily beat ya."

"Rematch." The pony in booth said.

"What?" I asked.

He stood and smiled, "I want to face you in a real match. I got to see you in actual action."

I cockes my head, "Really?"

He laughed, "Yes, really."

"Really Sullivan? You want to have an actual match with him?" Rocco ask, confused.

Sullivan looked at his friend and smiles, "But of course. I like a challenge. "

I laughed, "I'm sorry, but I have no idea how to box."

"Learn then." He said simply.

"I could... why do you really want have a match with me?"

He waved a hoof, "Two reasons. One, you look like you'll be a fun challange. Two, it's been a while since I've had a actual bout." He leaned forward, "What do you say?"

I rubbed my chin, "Uhhh, sure. When and where?"

He smiled, "Great! Today at noon, the gym in Canterlot. We'll be there all day."

"Okay, I'll be there... this is just a friendly fight, right?"

Jack Root nodded, "Yep, just for fun."

Sullivan waved his friends towards the doors, "We'll see you soon?"

"You will." I said with a smile.

After they left, I trotted back to my friends. Greg was passed on the floor...

Night Light chuckled, "Well, we did want a more interesting day, right?"

I chuckled, "We did, and now you all get to watch me get my flank kicked."

Night Light and Tovy laughed, causing me to smile.

This little event should be interesting. I just hope I don't end up knocked out on the mat.

Punch out

Chapter 115

"Punch it!" Greg yelled as he held the punching bag in front of me.

"I am!" I yelled back as I slammed my hoof into it.

We were at the Canterlot Gym, waiting for the match to begin. Greg was currently trying to show me how to box, but, he wasn't a good teacher.

His face was covered in bandages, covering the cuts on his face. Those ponies really did a number on him.

"Punch the damn bag! I want to see it break!" He yelled as he puffed on his joint.

I slammed my hoof into it and grunted, "What the hell do you think I'm doing!"

He let go of the bag and sighed, "If this is your best, you suck."

I put my hoof to my face and sighed, "This is only a friendly match, not a serious one."

He facehoofed, "Bro, let me tell you something. He said friendly match, but I heard a fight to the death! I want you to fuck him up."

Now it was my turn to facehoof, "You're the worst coach ever."

He laughed, "Oh? Then fuck you too bro." He then turned and walked over to a bench.

I sighed and turned to my other two friends.

Night Light studying a book on boxing, and Tovy was sitting on a bench, watching me.

Now what?

[Damn Dawn! You were right. We should have remodeled a long time ago!]

{Where have you been! I've been needing you two for like, oh I don't know, since you left!}
[HAHAHA! What do you need Lance?]
{Remember all those boxing movies and games I've seen?}
[Yeah, why do you ask?]
{Can you guys review them? You know, so you can try and teach me.}

{Watch my recent memories.}
[Okay, we'll get back to ya in a minute.]

Well, that was easier than expected.

I turned around and looked over at Sullivan and his two friends. They were currently talking and joking around.

Yeah, there's no need for him to practice, he's already a professional.

Why did I agree to this? I'm only going to get hurt...

[Yo Lance, we got this!]
{Great! Hurry up and start teaching me how to do this! Should I go to the punching bag?}
[Nah man, we're just going to download all this knowledge into your memory. That way, you'll remember every move you've seen on those movies.]
{Really? That easy?}

[Also, you kicked ass in that bar! But, you failed at the last part.]
{... Shut up Break, I tried! But come on, he had skills on his side!}
[Don't get mad at me bro! Do you want this knowledge or not?]
{*Sigh* Give it to me.}

A second later, my mind was filled with memories of all the boxing movies and games I've ever seen or played.

Well, that didn't actual teach me how to box, but at least this gives me a very good chance at standing a chance.

[There you go. Now.... BEAT HIS ASS!]
{I'll try and win, but come on, do you really think I can beat him in a fair fight?}
[... Yeah, you're right. Just don't look like a wussy up there.]
{Okay, can you turn on the bionic eye?}

Once my HUD was up, I looked over at Sullivan, "Hey, Sullivan, you ready?"

He turned from his friends and smiled, "Yes, but the real question is: Are you ready?"

I shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be."

He laughed and pointed to the ring, "If you're ready, get up there."

I looked at he ring and trotted over to it. I jumped up and slide under the ropes and onto the mat.

Well, time to get my ass kicked... again.

Greg jumped up on one of the corners and levitated a chair over, "Yo, Lance! Get your ass over here!"

I sighed and trotted to the corner, "What?"

"I want you to punch, jab, and bite!" He said as he levitated a water bottle to me.

I sighed, "Greg.... this is boxing, there is no biting."

"Still, do it. Now drink up." He said as he thrusted it into my face.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the bottle. I then tilted it up and began to drink... then I began to gag, "Greg! What is this?!"

"Whiskey! Makes you a man!" He said with a laugh.

I spit out the rest in my mouth and coughed, "You could have warned me! That burned!"

He shrugged and pointed across the mat, to where Sullivan was. He was currently wrapping hoof wraps around his front hooves.

"Look, I want you to beat him!" Greg said as he levitated a pair of hoof wraps up to me.

I picked up one of the rolls and began to roll it around my hoof, "Why? Why do you want me to beat him?"

"Because! His friend over there hit me!" Greg said as he pointed at his bandaged face.

I laughed, what? Seeing Greg like this is funny! You'd agree if you knew the guy.

"Really Greg? You started it." I said as I began to wrap my other hoof.

He rolled his eyes and pulled out another blunt, "Doesn't matter."

I sighed tapped my hooves together, "Well, I'm just going to have fun."

Greg facehoofed, "Well then, fuck you!"

I twisted around, "You ready Sullivan?"

"Been ready." He said with a chuckle.

"Can I at least provide the music?" Greg said as he levitated a radio up to him.

I sighed, "Yeah, go ahead."

He smirked, "Great! It took me forever to get this song!" He pressed a few buttons on the radio and smiled, "Music starts when you start."

"Well then, I guess we start." Sullivan said as he nodded to his friend.

Jack Root jumped up on the ring and looked at us, "Now, there ain't many rules for this here match. Since it's unofficial and all. There is no kicking or unfair hits. If ya are knocked on your flank three times, ya out. Got that?"

I nodded, "Yeah, so, object to to knock the other out?"

"Or survive two rounds." Sullivan said as he rotated his neck.

"Sounds easy enough." I said as I prepared.

"On da bell, ya'll begin." Jack Root said as he jumped off the ring and landed next to Rocco.

Okay, let's try and not get hurt to bad.

[Time to kick some ass!]

*DING*

As soon as the bell went off, Greg started the music. And I instantly reconized it, 'Living on a prayer'.

Well, at least it's not heavy metal.

[True, but... FIGHT!]

I stood up on my hind legs, which was hard, and began to hobble my way over to Sullivan, who was also on his hind legs.

I brought my hooves up in a defensive manor, waiting for him to throw the first punch.

Sullivan began to hop from hoof to hoof, slowly moving his forehooves around.

He made a move with his left hoof, causing my gaze to land on it. But, he instantly brought his right hoof in from the side, a perfect hook.

My head snapped to the side from the impact. He then followed up with a quick jab from his left hoof, and a heavy hit to the gut with his right.

I stumbled back, trying to stay up right.

Sullivan advance and began to throw hoof after hoof at my head, which was barely protected.

I was able to block a few of his punches, but wow, he's fast.

He threw a straight jab, which connected with my snout.

I instinctively brought my hooves to my face and held my nose.

Sullivan used this to his advantage and pulled back his right hoof.

"Uh oh, Sully's signature move!" Rocco yelled out.

What?

*POW*

My entire upper body snapped back from the massive blow I had just received.

I fell to the mat, dazed.

"One, two, three..." Rocco yelled, counting down.

My face! The pain! AHHHH!

"...Four, five, six..."

[Get up Lance!]

"... Seven, eight, ni..."

I forced myself to my hooves and stood back up and held my hooves up.

"YEAH! GO LANCE!" Tovy yelled out, pumping his hoof in the air.

"Way to go Lance! Hang in there!" Night Light encouraged.

"DO BETTER THAN THAT!" Yelled Greg, stomping his hoof.

I moved forward, hooves held up in front of me.

Sullivan smiled and threw a jab. I parried it and countered with a punch to the gut.

He grunted from the impact and slammed his hoof into my unprotected face.

Again, I stumbled back, but was able to keep my guard up.

Sullivan advanced and began to throw punch after punch, slowly backing me up.

I held my hooves up, blocking a few of the hits. But, most still connected with my head.

He backed me up into a corner and continued the onslaught.

I winced as a punch hit me between my eyes, my bionic eye showed a bit of static for a second.

I moved my head to the side, causing his next punch to fly past my head, surprising him. I then brought my hoof up and slammed it into his jaw.

His head snapped back, causing him to stumble back.

[Great work, now... GET HIM!]

I jumped forward and slammed my hoof into his slightly protected face. He winced and threw another jab, this one hit me above the eye, sending a searing pain through my face.

I shook my head and hooked him in the side of the head.

He stumbled slightly, but recovered enough to dodge my next jab.

He knocked my hoof out of the way and brought his hoof up, slamming into my jaw. I lifted off the ground a few inches and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

*DING DING DING*

"Round one is now over!" Rocco yelled out as Sullivan walked back to his corner.

I stayed on the mat, trying to collect myself. Boxing is not as fun as they make it out to be...

"Get your lazy ass over here!" Greg called out as he began to drag me over with his magic.

He sat me in a chair and began to go on and on about how he could have done better.

"Buck man, your face is all bloody!" Tovy said as he picked up a wet rag.

"Oh, that's nothing new." I joked, allowing him to try and wash off the blood.

"Whoa, that's a lot of blood." Night Light said as he looked me over.

Tovy put the rag down and began to dab at the cuts with a clean pad.

"Ten seconds!" Rocco called out.

"Water." I said, holding my hoof out.

Night Light levitated up a bottle and put it to my lips.

I quickly drank a little and pushed it away.

"Times up! Get ready for round two!" He announced.

Everyone and everypony jumped off the stage, leaving me and Sullivan.

*DING*

We both stood up and advanced on each other, hooves raised.

Okay Lance, you can do this!

Once I was close enough, I threw a jab for his gut. He shifted to the side and brought his hoof downward, right into the back of my head.

I fell face first on the mat, breathing heavily.

"One, two, three, four..."

Okay, that one hurt!

"Five, six..."

My HUD said I had a mild concussion, but it was quickly clearing up.

"Seven, eight..."

I again forced myself to my hooves, starting to get worried over why I wouldn't just stay down.

"Dang, you're a tough one." Sullivan said with a smirk.

I forced a smile and brought my hooves up, "I try."

He laughed and advanced.

He threw a left hoof, which I was able to block with my left foreleg. But, while I had my foreleg up, blocking his hoof, he brought back his right hoof and slammed it into my face.

The blow caused me to jump back, my snout pounding with a searing pain.

Sullivan stepped forward and smiled, "Sorry about this, but..." He began to throw punch after punch into my unprotected face.

I was no longer able to block, I was still stunned from the first hit.

He stopped and pulled his right hoof to the side. He then threw it forward, slamming into the side of my head with enough force to cause me to spin around.

I went a full three sixty before stopping, still facing him.

He was rotating his right foreleg, preparing for his next move.

[Oh...]
<... Shit.>

Sullivan threw his right hoof forward. It connected with my head, hitting me between the eyes and sent me backwards. He hit me so hard, he actually caused me to flip over the ropes around the ring.

*DING DING DING*

"TKO!" Rocco yelled out as they cheered for Sullivan's victory.

Night Light and Tovy ran to my side.

"You okay there Lance?" Night Light asked worriedly.

"Are you okay Lance?!" Tovy yelled out.

I rolled over and gasped, "Yeah... Just dandy..." I then pushed up, making myself stand.

I looked over at Greg, who was raging about how I could have won.

"You at least stood your ground, right?" Night Light said with a small chuckle.

I smiled, "Yeah, at least.... what does my face look like?"

"... A mess."

I chuckled, "Well, am I still beautiful?"

Night Light laughed, "And you're my son in law?"

"YES!" Tovy yelled out, scaring the crap out of me.

"Hey Lance." Sullivan said as he trotted over to me.

I looked up and smiled, "Good match."

He laughed, "Yes, yes it was. You wasn't so bad up there, but you could work on your blocking... and everything else."

I chuckled and rubbed my chest, "Yeah, I know. I'll probably try and learn this, you know, so we can have a rematch."

He raised an eyebrow, "You want a rematch? After that?"

I nodded and smiled, "Yep. I know I can beat you after some training."

{BREAK! Stop making me say this! I don't want a rematch!}
HAHAHA! Too bad!]

"Well, in that case, I'll see you again?" He asked.

"You sure will." I said with confidence, or, Break made me say with confidence.

Sullivan did an about face, "See you later then Lance."

"Yeah, see ya later." I said in response. I then looked at Greg and glared, "Why?!"

He stopped his rant and shrugged.

I sighed and looked at the others, "I need a break from this..."

Night Light nodded, "I bet you do. Do you want me to talk my wife into going to the spa today?"

I rubbed my chin and smiled, "Yes, go for it. I could use that spa trip today."

"A spa trip? Can I come?!" Tovy asked excitedly.

I looked at him, "Uhh, sure."

"Yes!" He said pulling his hoof in as a sign of victory.

"Should I go get her now, or later?" Night Light asked.

"Now would be good. I'll go get my other friend, so tell her to meet me at the Ponyville spa." I said, picking up a cloth and rubbing my face free of the blood.

"That, I can do... what about Greg?" He said, looking at Greg, who was standing on his head and smoking a blunt.

"Him? Just leave him here, he'll find his way home... maybe." I said with a chuckle.

"Uhh, alrighty then. I'm off, I guess." Night Light said as he began to trot towards the doors.

I looked over to Tovy, "Well, you ready?"

"I've been ready!" He said with a large grin.

I looked around and shrugged, "Then let's get going."

Fifteen minutes later, Grace's house

I stepped up to the door and knocked four times.

"Huh, this is familiar." Tovy said as he looked the house over.

The door opened to reveal Grace. She was wearing a lounging rope and had a cup of coffee in her hoof, "What do you want?"

I chuckled, "Did you just wake up?"

She sighed and took a sip from her coffee, "Yeah. I decided to wake up a little early today."

I looked at the sky and back to her, "But, it's noon."

She laughed and ran a hoof through her hair, "I know, but hey, at least I don't sleep all day." She then looked at Tovy and smiled, "Oh hey Tovy!"

He waved back, "Hey Grace."

I looked between the two and chuckled, "You know each other?"

Grace nodded, "We do, but we only meet the other day."

Tovy nodded, confirming what she was saying.

"Did you have to friendzone him?" I said in a joking voice.

Grace began to laugh, almost dropping her cup, "Oh! I didn't even have to friendzone him! He's a colt cuddlier!"

My eyes widened, a colt cuddlier?! Tovy's gay?!

[Yeah, are you that stupid?]

Tovy blushed when I cast a look at him.

This explains so much. Well, at least I know to watch him now.

I looked back at Grace, "Well, with that aside, I have to ask you something."

"Shoot." She said as she took another sip from her coffee.

"Twilight's parents are in town and I'm spending some time with each. And I'm going to take her mother to the spa."

Grace chuckled, "And this involves me how?"

"I wanted to know if you want to come with us to the spa."

She raised an eyebrow, "Is it free?"

I shook my head, "No, but I'm paying."

She smirked, "Then I'm coming."

I laughed at this, "Moocher."

She also laughed, "Yep, that's me." She then turned around, "Let me get ready, then we'll head out."

"Alright, just hurry." I said as I leaned against the door frame.

[I hope no one sees us at the spa. That would ruin our reputation.]

[I still want to keep that reputation intact!]
{Yeah, that reputation isn't going anywhere. There's no one to take it.}
[True...]

Spa day

Chapter 116

"So, you are paying, right?" Grace asked as we all trotted towards the spa.

"Yes, I got this covered." I said with a grin.

Now, you may ve wondering where I get my money, right? Well, since I lost my job, my good friend Fred has been sending me a large amount of bits from time to time. Gotta love that guy.

When we reached the door, I pushed it open and strolled in, followed by Grace and Tovy.

"Pfft, nice place." Grace said as she glanced around.

I looked over to the waiting area to see Twilight and her mother.

Oh good, they're already here. Now we don't have to wait for them.

Twilight looled up from her magazine and smiled happily, "Hey Lance! Glad to see you've finally decided to join us..." She then saw the cuts and small bruises on my face, "What happened to you?!"

I smiled sheepishly, "I was in a boxing match... and lost."

She facehoofed, "Really Lance?" She then chuckled, "A boxing match? You'll do anything, won't you?"

I smirked, "Anything and everything. I'll always try something at least once."

Grace cleared her throat, "I would like to get this started."

I looked at her and rolled my eyes, "One minute." I then turned to Aloe... or is it Lotus? Honestly, I can't tell them apart... because I don't know who is who, "Hey, could we get the same thing Rarity usually gets?"

Aloe or Lotus looked up and smiled, "Yes you can! Follow me!"

We all followed her into the back where she pointed to some ropes, "Just slip those on and get in the steam room."

After everyone had on a robe, mine was too short, we walked into the steam room.

I jumped up on a bench and relaxed, Twilight sat down on my right, and.... Tovy sat down on my left. Now, I'm uncomfortable.

Everyone else just sat where ever they wanted.

Aloe/Lotus walked in and jumped behind the hot stones. She picked up a bucket and poured a little on the rocks. The room instantly filled with hot steam.

After a few minutes, I began to completely relax.

[Ahh yeah, this is great!]

We stayed in there for five minutes before Aloe/Lotus jumped off the bench and motioned for us to get up.

Next up was facials, and let me tell you. Guys getting facials is just strange. But, I did it.

When Aloe/Lotus rubbed it onto my face, I almost laughed. But, when she put the cucumbers on my eyes, I felt tired. Yeah, I need more sleep at night, plus, I just got out of boxing match, so you can't hold anything against me!

"Oh, this is relaxing." I heard Velvet say from the spot next to me.

"I agree with ya on that!" Grace said.

"Meh, could be better." I said as I stuck my tongue out and pulled one of the cucumber slices into my mouth.

As I chewed, I began to taste the mask they had put on... and let me tell you this, that stuff taste like crap! I spit it out and whipped my tongue clean of the horrible taste.

"Don't eat the cream." Aloe/Lotus chimed as she trotted past me.

I chuckled and sat back and put my hooves behind my head.

Then, being as stupid as I am, I stuck my tongue out and pulled in the other cucumber slice, only to spit it out a second later.

As I sat there, I saw the two spa ponies working on Twilight's and her mothers horns.

I don't get it, why do thy file them?

After a few minutes, Lotus, Aloe, and another pony came in and guided everyone onto their stomachs. They then began to massage their backs. Either by rubbing or hitting.

Tovy was next to me getting his back beat by a tough looking mare, and I have to say this. I felt sorry for the little guy. The mare was beating the crap out of his back like he was a large stallion.

Next, she trotted over to me and told me to get on my stomach.

Once I was down, she began to beat the living hell out of my back.

[What the fuck?! This isn't relaxing at all!]

When she finally finished with me, she moved left the room and allowed Aloe and Lotus to get the others.

Oh man! My back feels like crap!

Thankfully, next up was a mud bath.

Before I got in, I looked at Twilight and smirked, "Remember this morning?"

She rolled her eyes, "Don't remind me."

While everyone else climbed down into the mud gently, I just stood on my hind legs and held my forelegs in the air. I then fell back, hitting the mud with a loud splat.

"Cute." Somepony said.

I looked over at the other mud pit to see Tovy, smiling.

[GAY!]

[Still... he called us cute, and we are not cute! We're a fucking sexy beast!]

I ignored Tovy's comment and just relaxed in the mud on my back.

A little side note for you. Don't lay on your back in a pit of mud, because you're more than likely going to sink.

I became so relaxed, I didn't notice when I began to sink downward. By time I noticed, I was already resting on the bottom.

I instanly freaked out and pushed myself upward, breaking through the top and slinking mud everywhere.

[We can't die idiot, no need to freak out like that.]
{You try being trapped in a suffocating mud pit!}

Grace laughed at me and shook her head, "What? Can't take a little mud?"

I chuckled and laid back, "Shut up Grace."

After the mud pits, we moved on to something that I think was a hoof washing? I have no idea. All it involved was all of us standing in a bath of soapy water.

I looked down at it and raised an eyebrow, "What's the purpose of this?"

Aloe/Lotus smiled, "To prepare your hooves for a pedicure."

"Oh... yay, pedicure." I have no pride left to lose.

After the hoof baths, we moved to a few chairs, where they proceeded to file down our hooves.

I sat there watching them work on the others, not very enthusiastic about my turn.

When Aloe/Lotus came to me and sat down, I backed up slightly. Now I know how Rainbow Dash felt.

She moved forward again, and I again backed up.

She sighed and glared at me.

I smiled sheepishly.

She tried again, and this time I at least let her touch my hoof before I jumped out of the chair and into the air.

Yeah, I'm not getting a pedicure.

Later, they began to work on our manes, setting them to the ways we wanted, or the ways they saw fit.

I laughed at Tovy's hair style, but when it came time for me, I again panicked.

"Oh no, it's fine! You don't have to work on my hair." I said while waving my hooves.

Aloe/Lotus glared.

I shook my head and ran over to my saddle bags, "Here! Take the money! But I'm outta here!" I tossed the bag of bits on the counter and threw on my saddlebags.

I then looked at the others, "Sorry guys, gotta run!"

"Be home before dinner." Twilight said as she allowed herself to relax.

"See ya." Grace said, half asleep.

"I'm coming!" Tovy yelled as he messed his mane back up and jumped off the table.

Oh come on!

Be nice Lance, he may be gay, but he's still a nice guy.

I sighed and walked out of the spa, followed my Tovy.

But, as I walked out, I ran into somepony I had not expected.

I rebounded off the solidly build stallion and stumbled back a few feet before Tovy caught me... yeah...

I regained my composer and smiled, "Hey Barehoof, what brings you to Ponyville?"

He looked at me with desperate eyes, "I got to get a few things! Fast!"

"What's the hurry?" I said with a chuckle.

He tried to push past me, "Something very important back at the house! Dream come true! I have to get in there! PLEASE MOVE!"

I chuckled, and continued to block his path, "What's a dream come true?"

He knocked me to the side, "LOVE!"

I laughed and allowed him to run past me, but as he enter, his saddlebags hit the door frame and knocked out a tube of lotion.

"Oh, he dropped his lotion." Tovy said, stating the obvious.

I trotted over and picked it, and then smirked, "Hey Tovy, wanna meet my mom?"

"Sure!" He said excitedly.

{I'm going to go to my moms house, and get in on what ever they're doing.}

{I want to mess with them.}
[BWAHAHAHA! That a boy Lance!]

I smiled and put the lotion in my mouth, "Come Tovy! We ride at dawn!"

"What?" He said as he cocked his head.

I chuckled and put my hoof on his shoulder, preparing to teleport.

He blushed at the contact, which almost made me jump back.

*BZZZT*

We both suddenly appeared at the door to my mom's house.

I looked at Tovy and smirked, "Stay behind me."

He smiled happily, "I WILL!"

[Yeah, he's going to check out our nice bod!]
{Will you two shut up!}

I opened the door and saw a lot of rose petals leading down the hall. I know I've seen this somewhere before.

I walked down the hall, following the petals. The petals lead us up a stair case and down another hall. They turned off to the side and went into a door that was slightly open.

I raised an eyebrow and walked forward. Before I reached the door, my hoof ran into a wire, which snapped upon contact. Seconds later, music began to pour from the room.

I stepped up to the door and pushed it open. I the walked in and glanced around. There were candles all around the room, giving it a peaceful look.

But then, my eyes rested on the bed, and my eyes went wide with shock.

My mom was on the bed, legs spread out, exposing herself to the world. There was a blindfold over here eyes, and she was sitting in a sexual position, rubbing her body.

"Mmmmm, I've been waiting for you to get back." She said in a sexy voice.

The tube of lotion fell out of my mouth and I looked down. Again, I reeled in shock. The tube wasn't lotion... it was lube!

"Come here big boy and stick it in me!" She yelled across the room at me.

"MOM?!" I yelled in complete horror.

She ripped the blind fold off and screamed. She then pulled the covers over herself, "LANCE GREENFIELD!"

My right eye twitched, "I've seen things no man should see..." I turned to Tovy, "Get me out of here."

He cocked his head, "Why? Can't you walk out?"

"Nope." I said before my eyes rolled up in the back of my head. I then collapsed on the floor. Yes, I fainted.

[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET THE MIND BLEACH!]
<KILL ME! KILL ME PLEASE!]
[WE SAW HER PUSSY! WE SAW OUR MOMS PUSSY! KILL US!]
{.....}
[LANCE! WHY?!]
{.... I didn't know... can I please dig my eyes out with a spoon?}
<[PLEASE DO!]>

The true story of Alexander

The true story of Alexander

Chapter 118

That... That was awesome!

[YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT WAS AWESOME!]

I was laying in my bed, Twilight's head on my chest. I was currently looking at the ceiling, a large goofy smile on my face.

What? You would to after something like THAT.

But, only one thing ruined the moment at one point. A letter appeared in front of me as I leaned down to lick.... never mind, you get the idea.

Anyways, a letter from Graze appeared before me, and ruined the mood for a good four minutes. Thanks a lot Graze!

I read it quickly, wrote out a response, and then instantly jumped back into bed to finish what I had started.

This is what the letter had read:

'Yo Lance! I'm real happy for you with Spark and your daughter, but Vine as well?! Jeez, I know that mare, and guess what? She loves to be booped on her nose, she just giggles like a filly when you do that. Totally tickles her fancy and colors her pretty. Trust me man, she would become your best friend forever. I did it and we got coffee and everything! Life was fucking grand except for the fact that I got dumped recently..... Reasons withheld, I just hope things with Ditzy and I fix quickly. Can't stop thinking about her, but anyways, I have to go now, preparing for something big and also, somepony be knocking on my door.

Also, I am a Godfather to Anarchy, my philosophical teacher, she is one crazy draconequis but life couldn't be more epic without her and other teachers!

Ciao for now!

Brother from another mother,
Razor Fucking Graze.

P.S - I have a new conscience meaning a better form as well. Sadly with a lot of thinking, you got yours by magic right? That's kinda short cutting it but anyways, when I come get ready to meet her, she can honestly pussywhip Kill, so I would be afraid. Very afraid.'

I had to admit, I laughed despite myself. Also, I know what I'm doing after I get out of bed. I'm gonna boop her on the nose later.

This should make her forgive me for that... incident with the prank gone wrong. Also, coffee does sound nice, and it could be fun to have her a best friend.

And, maybe she won't play anymore pranks on me. Yep, this is going to be awesome!

Now, after reading that, I wrote out a quick letter and sent it back to him:

'What's up Graze? I'm kinda in the middle of something, so, this will be short.

Really? Just boop her on the nose and she'll do all that? SWEET! I can finally stop worrying if she'll prank me again. With this information, I can make her my best friend and no longer fear her! Thank's bro!

I'm sorry about that bro, she'll come back.... Break says to buy a hooker, but, Dawn suggest trying to talk the problem out. I on the other hand suggest you give her some time. She'll come around.

That's disturbing bro, because I know her. And let me tell you this, if she says she'll fix your problem, don't listen. Trust me on this one.

New conscience? Cool. Also no, I didn't get my new form by magic. Here, I'll describe this as short and fast as I can.

I'm no longer a pony or human, I'm an angel. If you don't know what that is, then ask somepony who knows about this kind of stuff. How did I become one? Simple, I died. How did I die? I was protecting Twilight from something called The Nightmare. No, he did not kill me. I sacrificed myself to save her. I'll tell you more later, if you ever come back.

From the brony who's currently getting some!
Lance'

{Soon, after I enjoy a few more minutes of holding Twilight.}
[Well, hurry up! I want to stop worrying about what Vinetion will do next!]

Meanwhile, at Alexander's and Trixie's house in Ponyville

Alexander sat in front of his mirror, looking at his eyes.

He sighed, pushing the memories back down. But every time he did, they would come back up, stronger.

It was becoming to much for him to handle. All those months... he shuddered at the thought.

The door to the room opened.

He quickly pulled on his goggles and looked towards the door.

Trixie trotted in with a large smile and jumped into the bed and laid down behind him, "Trixie is tired after today's events. She wishes for her stallion to hold her."

Alexander smiled weakly and shifted his position and laid next to her. He then wrapped his forelegs around her and pulled her close.

Trixie rubbed her cheek against his and relaxed.

After a few moments of silence, Alexander accidently let out a whimper, a whimper caused by his painful memories.

Trixie pulled back and looked at him, "Alex? What's wrong?"

He couldn't take it anymore. Tears began to pour out from under his goggles, staining the pillow.

Trixie put her hoof on his cheek, "Trixie can tell something is wrong. Please tell her."

Alexander sat up and hung his head, "I've lied to you Trixie."

She sat up, a look of shock on her face, "Lied? About what?"

He took a ragged breath and looked at her, "About the true me... and what's happened to me."

She looked him over, "What do you mean?"

He gulped and reached up and pulled his goggles down, for the first time in front of someone else.

She gasped at the sight of his eyes.

They were the shape of a dragon's eyes, but different from Lance's. But, the thing that stuck out the most was the red crack in the eyeball itself. It looked like the eye was cracked, like it was glass or weak metal.

Alexander looked away from her, afraid of what she might say or do.

Instead, he felt her wrap her forelegs around him and felt her lay her head on his shoulder.

"What? Aren't you afraid or something?" He asked confused.

"Why should Trixie be afraid of the one she loves? She loves you to much for something like this to push her away." She said as she pulled back and made him look at her, "Now, tell Trixie what you lied about."

Alexander hung his head, "Remember what I told you about how I got here?"

"Yes."

He looked up, "That wasn't really the truth. I made it up... It was to hard to tell you what really happened."

She kissed him on the forehead and put her hooves on his, "You can tell Trixie."

Alexander smiled slightly and took a breath, "Alright. I'll tell you."

This next part is from Silver Charges story, his history on Alexander. I've made it cannon, so, here. This is copied and pasted from his story

Tests. It was all about tests. Test after… test after test after test after TEST AFTER TEST!!!! My pain,… my suffering was all just one big TEST! I was created from a test, people died because of tests, I'm not sane because of TESTS!…. Let me start from the beginning,.. the last day that I was human,…'human'… I don't think that apply's to me anymore… I fear that I am not human anymore,.. not even pony.

When the world, my world; Earth, ended on December 21 at 12:00am, I was transported to a white room. There, God spoke to me and gave me three choices,… if I could redo that whole event, I would have gone straight to Equestira. But,.. no, I chose the world of Portal; for the people reading this that don't know the world of Portal I will explain. Portal, it is a puzzle game using a portal gun that is powered by a black hole that is in the gun it's self, its power source is the blackhole, and all of it is very unstable. But more importantly that world was another earth, but it was an earth in the future,… so in the future humans created Aperture Laboratories, a facility to test out new things that would change the world… more then they knew, they would succeed. They created an A.I. called Glados, Glados would run the Laboratory, build the robots,the turrets, and the portal guns. But soon, the humans who created her saw that she didn't care… SHE DIDN'T CARE about anything or anyone!! All she cared about was the things that would only benefit her, the scientists soon made another A.I. to regulate Glados, they called this one Wheatley.

They made him for one purpose, but the one purpose soon was corrupted. The A.I. wanted to be the head of the Laboratory instead of Glados,… the humans thought that by creating more A.I. to regulate the others would work… they thought it WOULD WORK!!! No.. it didn't. They started to make more A.I.'s: Rick the adventure core, the Space core, and more and more and more!! But soon, as any A.I., Glados grew smarter and found out that she didn't need any humans at ALL!! So in one night… she fill the whole planet with nerotoxin… and killed every single human being on the planet!!… except for one, and that one human out smarted Glados…twice. We tried to find her,... on the surface but… we were forever trapped in the hands of Glados, in the underground Aperture Laboratory.

When I got there,.. to the world of Portal I wasn't the only one, others from my earth came… last I counted, there was 200 hundred of us. Glados was pleased at our presences…. pleased of only what she could DO WITH US!! She was slowly, and painfully… killing us off… one by one, day after day, TEST AFTER TEST!! Not even the cores would stop her,… the cores were soon broken, corrupted, never to work properly… ever again. No one was going to fix them,… our last hope was gone… BUT IT WASN'T LIKE IT WAS EVEN THERE!!! There was no hope,… no light of day… NO WAY OUT!!… When I was transported there I found my friend Jinix…. why did he have to come here… WHY! I was happy, I was only happy to see him at that moment, after that… it was just pain a suffering.

The first test… I still have it fresh in my mind…ITS STILL IN MY MIND… I CAN'T GET IT OUT!!! I was put into a room with five other people, including Jinix; there were no exit, no windows and no cameras. Then… ohh then,… THAT WAS IT!!! The room filled with nerotoxin,.. everyone fell down,… dead, blood coming from their mouths, and foam… coming out OF THERE EYES!!… Nerotoxin: a deadly gas that attacks the nervous system to a point of a complete body shut down; you breathe it in… and within 5 seconds your on the ground dead. But I… and Jinix, we didn't die, we only suffered…. the pain inside us was monumental, I coughed up blood to no end… soon, the test was soon over and when Glados came in…. and saw that I and Jinix were still alive… well… WE GAVE HER PURPOSE!! SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO!! It was an experiment that she wanted to do… since the day that she was made… to make a living… portal. She soon took us both,… and then the surgery's started… she laid me on a table and strapped me down with metal bars. "Don't worry.." she would say.."These bars are for my safety… your safety in the matter is highly disregarded in the matter"

Then… ohh then… there would be ten ejections, 10 going in my stomach, 10 going in my heart…, and 10 going in my spinal cord. She… SHE DIDN'T PUT US EVEN TO SLEEP!! She threw me,… back into the room.. and refilled it with the gas.. again, and again, and again,… AND AGAIN!! This,.. this was to create an immunity to the gas… but the pain,.. the pain was still there,… burning inside me.. the pain still stayed, no matter how many shots, no matter if the room refills a hundred times… I will always feel it burning inside me. Then,.. the real tests started,.. she threw us into a test chamber, after test chamber AFTER TEST CHAMBER! But,.. Jinix was smart,.. he failed a test to escape the future pain… that I would soon experience; Glados was just about to… to kill him, but… Jinix proposed a deal, since he was like me… more ways then one… he wanted to be a researcher, to think of new tests and new surgeries to do on to me. I felt betrayed.. my friend turned to the side of Glados… I felt like,… there was no hope..NO HOPE AT ALL!!

One day,… I think it was a day, I had been in the test chambers for so long I forgot there even was a night… I was supposed to fling myself to the other side to the test chamber… but I missed the portal… and my legs… were broken. Glados came,… I was happy,… I thought I was going to die and I was happy about it,.. I was happy that I would be far await from this hell hole of a Laboratory…. but… I spoke to soon. She put me back to the table… and then the real surgery began,… IT BEGAN AND NEVER STOPPED!! She,.. she cut off my legs,.. and.. and stripped the flesh off of my legs… all that was left was just bone. Then, she took the cleansed bones and combined them with machine parts… and she soon reattached my leg… she reattached them my jamming them up the stub of what was once my leg… and she then weld my new leg to my body… with hot liquid metal. It burned my skin in an instant,… the pain was unreal,.. the bleeding that once was a quiet stream,… turned into a raging river. She soon threw me into a test chamber,.. no healing, no recovery time,… JUST TESTS!!

I tried to stand,… but the pain was to much, and I fell down… she soon shocked me to get up and to complete the test… I was crying at that point… crying from the pain I had to endure. But sure enough… I had grown accustom to my new, once human legs… in the test chambers before,.. my legs bleed to on end,… blood covered my foot steps were ever I walked. Glados soon made a robotic cover for my legs,.. they were metal plates or panels to simulate human skin,… but soon enough… my new legs were not the final improvement. My bones and muscle were weak, and they would tire out easily,… Glados saw this, like everything else… and I was soon on the table…for. Another. SURGERY!! She used ten needles, 10 in my muscle, 10 in my bone,… and 10.. in my spine!! She did this three times… I felt my muscles burn as they grew bigger,… I felt my nerves on fire,… and my bones felt like there were being broken… AND PUT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!! My bone mass and strength were increased by 10, my muscle mass and strength… by 10.

After… after it was all done… I felt stronger, faster even…. I was then subjected to strength tests,… lifting 5 then 20 tons on my back… and carrying them across test chambers. But soon…It was back to the regular tests…but… WHAT IS REGULAR ABOUT ANY OF THESE TESTS!!!! Then,.. something happened… one of the test chambers had fire in it…FIRE… SHE HAD FIRE!! The test chamber was not a chamber at all,… it was a room… there was a window in front of me… I saw…I SAW JINIX WITH GLADOS!!! They were behind a terminal… soon, anger welled up inside me, I ran to the window and I started to slam my fist into the glass. But soon, the floor started to move,… revealing hundreds upon hundreds of pipes,… then the smell of gasoline floated to my nose… next,… all I heard was a click. I was quickly engulfed in flames… this torture lasted 30 seconds… burning my body to a black crisp.

I was soon…BACK ON THAT TABLE!!! I soon black out from the pain of my melted flesh and blood lost. I woke up,… not knowing what had happened,… I was back into the room,… I didn't have my portal gun with me… there was no way out now. Then…click…after the flash of fire I felt my skin and flesh melt.. but then I felt a different sort of pain.. the pain of being put back together again. When I blacked out, Glados put nanobots in my blood,… in the past I was loosing a lot of blood, this prevented Glados from doing surgery's one after another… after another after another AFTER ANOTHER!!! And soon, the nanobots were in my cells… I could now heal external and internal injures three times as fast.

But something happened in that room,…. it was soon time for the blue flames, but when it engulfed me…. nothing happened,… the fire seemed to dance along my skin, licking every pore of my skin. This actually made me…a little happy,.. but then it shut off, Glados and Jinix soon put me back into a test chamber…and now all of them..HAD A FIRE ELEMENT!! But,… these tests were not enough..they were NEVER. ENOUGH!! Soon the test got harder, longer,… and each one more unbearable then the last,… and one day…I LOST MY MIND!!

One day,… my…my parents appeared,… they wanted to be with me… I should of been happy to see them but,… but I wasn't. I wanted to know why they were here… and why they would follow me… there intentions were good and pure,… but they wrote there own death sentence. Glados saw me,… she came to me and asked how I could have been made….I stayed listen,… I knew that, to Glados, knowledge was always power, and she wanted more power. My parents soon explained how : 'a man and a women who love each very much…', Glados was soon not interested… and SHE PROVED THAT GREATLY!! She put my parents in an advanced test chamber… they never played video games, they didn't even know what portal was.
And this test chamber had everything from turrets to fire, from water to weight lifting….after 30 seconds… my mom was gunned down by 5 turrets…and my dad fell in to the water, and he was soon electrocuted….IN THE WATER!! And the worst of all was that….I saw it happen…one by one I saw my parents die….a front row seat Glados would say. And… and after that day,….I LOST MY MIND!!! She made me loose my mind…IT WAS ALL PLANED…ALL A TEST!!! The other people in the center…they… they called it Fear…Glados created FEAR!!! For 20 days,… Fear ruled,… he took the tests,… and those tests…those tests were the combat tests.

Fear… Fear killed every single person that was brought in front of him,…. I STILL REMEMBER HOW HE DID IT!! It was always slow.. there screams still haunt my dreams…Fear always went to the neck first. He would cut the persons neck..gently gliding the knife down… leaving a slow trail of blood that would flow down the neck of the victim. Then… he would quickly stab the person… over and over and over again. Jinix told me about my sleepless nights… I would laugh…and laugh and laugh… I would slam my head against a wall… screaming…"Are you there…Fear will find you".

Jinix soon found out what Glados did…what she did TO ME!! He quickly took me in… he soon helped me recover… it was slow but the recovery was successful.. to some extant. Fear would come out in my dreams,… and he would come out when I couldn't take what was going on. I…I was finally sane..after 20 days I was sane,.. but I soon gone back to…back to the TEST CHAMBERS!! You know…. back on earth I would love to do the jumps tests… it was when I would put a portal on a tall platform and jump into a portal on the ground and this would make me fly across the chamber,… but it soon went wrong. I was in a special test chamber made for me…MADE FOR ME SHE SAID!! There was a spring on the opposite wall that was suppose to bounce me to another part of the chamber….it would seem at the time that the machine that worked the spring was not working. As I was in the air the spring shot out too early…and the wall it had exploded off of the spring.

It was heading for me….when I landed, I look at my body,… I had seemed to be all in one piece… then I fell into darkness. I saw a white light… I thought that I was free… I was free at last,.. I felt the cold hand of death upon me,… but… I soon felt pain…I soon screamed in agony. I finally woke up…I was back on the bloody table.. it was covered with my blood,… there was flesh stains and dried stains, from the past surgeries. There was a mirror on the table beside me,… and when I looked at it… I had lost the left side of my head and face!! I was now…PART MACHINE!! I had lost my face forever,… I wasn't even recognizable to Jinix,….in his eyes I saw disgust.

Then,… I was injected with many shots,… it was needle after needle after needle AFTER NEEDLE!! Each needle went into a different part of my body… and the needles ware filled with hot liquid metal. It burned my insides to no end…I looked at my limbs,…. that I was born with… the hot metal seem to seep out of my pores of my skin,…along with my blood. My skin started to metal off,… but my skin was soon enough back in place. I was soon facing a computer screen…It told me that the metal had formed around my bones and the metal quickly formed an indoskeletion … inside me. But, that wasn't the only thing that happened on that day…on that SAME TABLE!! Soon,… Glados did the one thing that made me what I am today. She somehow fused a blackhole to my DNA,… I saw on a computer screen how my DNA was being taken apart and replaced by the blackhole,… the nucleotides were soon destroyed,…and replaced with what looked like blue, orange, red, and green strands of…something. I soon realized that she had done it..SHE MADE ME INTO A LIVING PORTAL!!

But…that wasn't the only thing she had done to me on that same day…ON THAT FUCKIN TABLE!! I was still strapped down by the metal bars… I tied to struggle free but even with all my strength they did not budge. I saw a button.. it said press me..PRESS ME IT SAID!! I was so stupid… I pressed it… soon enough something happened…SOMETHING HAPPENED!! I started to hear the sound of moving parts and then…a sharp metal object came down and stabbed my…. my heart. But that wasn't the worst of it,… electricity started coming from it….and it flowed through my body stinging every nerve. "I see that you fell for it…you stupid human" she said.

I felt my heart starting to pump faster,… and soon enough it had stopped,…. but I did not die. When I awoke,… she gave me a new heart that was 3 times too big for my body,… so she installed a machine inside me…. it was like a container for my heart. Glados then made clear disc that she said that was suppose to regulate my heart,…. I WAS NOW MORE MACHINE THEN HUMAN!!! But that wasn't all she had done,… she went into my genes and changed me,… she gave me dominant traits of everything. When I enter portal I was 5 foot 4,… and now I was 6 foot 7. She had changed my eyes,… I could see more than 20/20 vision,… and I could see farther and could see things coming faster… she soon made me dodge bullets. But, she took away more,… she somehow found the gene for aging, and…. a normal person would live to 90 to 100, but I was going to live to 450 to 550 years old. That only told me that I was going to be stuck like this for a… a long time.
She then threw me into my room,…. it was more lie a holding chamber. I looked at myself in a mirror…I WAS EVEN UNRECOGNIZABLE TO ME!! I slammed my fist into the wall… and somehow electricity came from my fist,… I looked at my hand. I clapped my hands together and electricity came again,… I snapped my fingers and a blue flame stayed on my finger. I was a monster…A MONSTER!! I had to get out… I couldn't take it anymore,… I needed out of this place.

Three times…three times I tried to escape and all of them were failures,…except for the last one. One day, the first time I tried to escape… I had lost my left hand…Glados closed a portal on my hand…separating it forever… I soon had a robotic one to replace it. Second time,… I broken down in tears… that was the last straw for Glados… she saw that emotion was ruling my decisions, so she sought to take it out…. she was going to remove the last thing that made me still fell human. Jinix came to me, before that surgery… I could see that he was displeased,… but I didn't care, I was going to die inside anyway. He put his hand in is left pants pocket and pulled out a floppy disc…I laughed at the site of the disc, so even in the future there was still low tech.

He handed it to me and tapped the left side of his head,… and he silently exited the room,… I soon put the disc in the side of my head…and guess what, there was a entrance for the floppy disc. I was a robot now, there was no denying it. I put the disc in… and I saw his plan, he was working on something. He called it a blackhole portal… somehow he made a programable wormhole that would transport us to…… another world it would seem. He also had been studying how Glados works,… he was going to try to wipe Glados memory…completely. I knew that it would take three EMP's to even put her in sleep mode for 30 seconds.

I was soon put on the table,… and now… it was going to be the end of me… the end of me. But then, Jinix jumped on the back of Glados and put something on the back of her main processor. After a few moments of struggling… he… he had shut her down, but it was only temporarily. He only had 5 minutes to erase her short time memory,… the memory of the surgery that she was about to do. He soon handed me something,… it was a modified portal gun,… he told me to escape…and I did.
But I had to get to the top floor of the laboratory,…. it didn't take long but she… she woke up. I was in an empty room,… Glados was in her mobile unit,… it was a humanoid unit. She had Jinix on her shoulder… he was badly hurt and bleeding everywhere,… she soon threw his limb body towards me. I started up the portal gun and I portaled Jinix to another world,… I had to hold off Glados for two minutes before the portal gun could transport me to the world I wanted. But in those two minutes….she had almost killed me,… I was on the ground,… blood coming from every part of my body,…I felt that all my bones were broken. She put her face close to mind… I spit my blood on her face.
She was about to strike the finally blow when I put my hand on the side of her head… electricity came out along with the blue flames that I possess. There was a slight scream of agony ,… she was stunned but only for a short time. I then used to gun…. and i finally was free… free!!!! Once I was at the other end of the portal… I saw Fluttershy… I had made it… I was in the world that I wanted to be. But,… I have to live with the pain I feel… the memories at night. Also,… the constant fight inside with Fear…my bands… my bands used to have the names of my family and my friends… but now they are portal guns.

Even being with the mare of my dreams…Trixie… I loved her in the TV show… and I love her now, now that I am with her. But,… I am a MONSTER,… not human not even pony….I AM A FREAK!! She would never love… a monster like me….no one or pony would…

And now…now I live in the world of Equestira, forever suffering… forever in pain…forever….forever INSANE!! And now…forever alone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Once he finished his full back story, he was already crying. Letting the tears roll down his face, the pain to much to bare.

Trixie had a look of horror on her face through out the whole thing.

After he finished, she just sat there, mouth open. Soon, she blinked and looked at him and whispered, "That.... all happened to you?"

Alexander nodded, tears still flowing down his face.

Trixie reached out and pulled him into a loving embrace, "Trixie... I'm sorry you had to go through that Alex. You are not a monster! Nor a freak! You are a loving and caring stallion. I love you for that, and so much more! Don't ever say I don't love you! Because that will never be true!"

Alexander openly cried into her shoulder, letting out all his pent up emotions.

He was happy, happy that he had finally told someone about the things he had endured.

He and Trixie sat there, holding each other.

"Everything....

Everything happens for a reason....

Nothing happens by accident.....

And this, this was no accident.....

This, was all planned....

Everything is going according to plan....

Just like I knew it would...

Prepare, because I don't plan on you messing with those plans....

And I always get what I want in the end."

Author's Note

Update 12/14/16: This chapter was taken down on 8/27/12 and never put back up for some reason, and since I have never looked back at this story, I never noticed. So I'll just be throwing this back up.

Warning!: Booping Vinetion's nose = DEATH!

Just advertising for a friend. So, check this out XD

I'm very sorry about this! I was on an important trip and only had a few minutes to write this. But hey, at least I get to the point XD

Again, sorry this is so short.

Also, thanks to Alexander, I bought Portal 2 at the PX today. And I must say, great game. Also, I have a main reason for purchasing this game. Mainly, to study it for when it gets into this story. (Consider that a small spoiler.)

Chapter 119

[Yep, that's all we gotta do.]
{That will be easy.}

I smiled as I walked down the hallway that lead to Celestia's and Vinetion's room.

Along the way, I said hi to a few guards (None of them said hi back though) and looked at the paintings on the walls.

After walking a few more minutes, I arrived at the double doors that lead into their room.

[Let's do this!]

I pushed open the doors and walked in, "Ohhhh Vinetion!"

Across the room Vinetion looked up from her desk and smiled, "Hey Lance, what do you need?"

I began to trot over to her, a large smile on my face, "I just want to do something."

She raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

Once I reached her desk, which was pretty darn big, I leaned over and reached out with my hoof.

She began to say something, but I pushed my hoof forward and tapped it against her snout, "Boop."

I leaned back and... began to walk backwards.

Vinetion's eyes were narrowing and she was visibly shaking.... with anger.

[You know, I'm starting to think Graze trolled us.]
{... He did.}
[Well fuck. What do you think she's going to do to us?]

Vinetion let out a low growl and stood, "Did you just boop me on the nose?!"

I gulped, "Ummm, yes... we friends?"

She glared, "Oh, we're friends..."

I forced a smile, "Okay... good. I guess I'll be...."

She yelled in rage and put her hooves under her desk, "YOU'RE GOING NO WHERE!" She then threw, yes threw, the large desk at me.

I jumped to the side, letting the large oak desk fly past me and out into the hallway.

Vinetion leaned forward, preparing to charge.

<... RUN!>

Following Dawn's advice, I turned ran away like a little filly, with sound effects!

I ran out of the room, screaming like a girl. Why? Because... VINETION WAS GOING MURDER ME!

[HAHAHA! We can't die! Let her do her worst!]

[Oh... RUN LIKE A FUCKING PUSSY LANCE!]

"GET BACK HERE LANCE!" Vinetion screamed as she began to catch up to me.

I pushed myself harder, picking up more and more speed as I sprinted down the long as hell hallway.

Up ahead, two guards were walking my way, either chatting or on duty.

Before I ran past them, I spread my wings, "Sorry about this boys!"

My wings slammed into both of them, knocking them to the ground.

After a few more seconds of running, I heard a thud.

{YES! It worked!}
[No, no it didn't. That thud was her stomping her hoof... fuck.]

Before I could reach the bend in the hallway, a vine shot up and wrapped around my neck. I was then lifted into the air and turned around.

Vinetion came to a stop a few feet from me and glared, "You're going to pay for that."

I smiled sheepishly, "Oh come on Vine. It's only a nose boop."

She snarled, "Only a nose boop? If you only knew how much that bothered me... I will end you!"

I smirked, "Can't die, remember? Looks like you're gonna have to let me go."

She smirked back, "Oh? Can't die huh?"

She stomped her hoof, causing more than a dozen vines to shoot up behind her. Half of them regular vines, and the others... with thorns.

She smiled slyly, "Tell me Lance, have you ever watched hentai?"

I gulped, "Yes."

She chuckled, "Good, then you know about tentacle hentai, correct?"

My eyes widened, "... Oh God! NO!"

She laughed cruelly, "Hey, you shouldn't have booped my nose. But, since you did, you have to pay the ultimate price."

[.... Oh fucking monkey balls from space!]

[I don't know.... We're screwed.]

Vinetion stomped her hoof again and the vines shot forward.

Spark's POV

"You beat him down?" Star Chaser asked with a smile.

I nodded, "Yep. I also threw him in the trash, where he belongs."

Star Chaser laughed, "Good job Spark. We'll have to watch over Nova from now on. We don't want another colt like that around her."

I nodded again, "I'll make sure no other colts tou...."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

We both jumped at the sudden scream of pain that echoed through the entire palace.

"What was that?" I asked, looking around.

Star Chaser looked around also, "I have no idea."

I cocked my head, "That sounded like... my dad?"

"GET IT OUT! NO NOT THERE! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I shuddered, "I don't want to know whats going on."

"Me either." Star Chaser said as he walked towards the door to close it and block out the sound of the screams.

"THAT'S TOO MANY IN ONE PLACE! WAIT! IS THAT A CACTUS?! OH GOD NO! DON'T PUSH IT UP MY...."

The door closed, cutting off the rest of the sentence.

"What do you think happened?" I asked with a uneasy feeling.

Star Chaser shrugged, "He probably tapped her on the nose. I remember the last guard who accidently did that. Poor stallion didn't even see it coming."

I gulped, "What happened to him?"

"That... I do not really know."

I looked at the door, where I could barely hear the muffled screams, "Where is he now?"

Star Chaser rubbed his chin, "Last I heard, he was in the trauma treatment ward at the hospital."

"Well... That's not good."

Star Chaser chuckled, "You got that right. If that is your dad, then I feel sorry for him." He then walked over to the window, "Wanna go fly around Canterlot?"

I looked at the door then him, "Sure, it's better than staying here."

We then flew out the window, leaving the screams of some unlucky stallion behind.

Sucks to be Lance right now...

Preparing for Nightmare Night

This is just a small chapter. The reason those are all so short and to the point is because I've been working my ass off to make time for this week end so I can do the royal wedding chapters. I think it's worth it. So, I'll make this short.

Also, I know I said this chapter would be about Lance's guilt, but, I'll save that for later.

Warning: Boring chapter ahead. It's all about Lance getting his costume ready.

Chapter 120

I stepped into my house, my eyes still wide from my... experience.

Note to self.... DON'T EVER TOUCH VINETION'S NOSE!

That was horrible! So many vines! She went in every hole, and I mean every hole! I couldn't die, only regain that body part or heal that wound! SHE DID IT FOR HOURS! WHY?!

[Do you want us to... delete that memory?]
{YES!}
[Well, we can't.]
{WHAT?!}
[You mad bro?]
{You're dead to me.}

I sighed and trotted, with a funny step, towards my room. I might as well get ready for tomorrow...

... Or, I could do the smart thing and sleep.

{You're right. I think we should really get to work on that.}
[To the boutique!]

*BZZZZTT*

I appeared at the door to the boutique, which was currently open.

I pushed open the door and walked in. Upon entering, I saw Peter lounging on his back next to a pile of discarded clothes. Rarity was on the other side of the room, going through a chest of jewels.

"Hey, Rarity, I need something." I said as I trotted in.

Peter and Rarity turned their attention to me. Peter chuckled and twisted around to his hooves, "Hey Lance."

I waved at him, then looked at Rarity.

She smiled and trotted over, "What do you need dear?"

"A costume for Nightmare Night."

She chuckled, "You and the rest of Ponyville."

"I guess you're making a lot of costumes then, huh?"

She shrugged, "It's nothing big, just requires a little work is all. Now, what kind of costume do you want."

I smiled and took a deep breath, "Well...."

Thirty minutes later

I stepped out of the boutique, a smile on my face. It's hard to believe she was able to actually piece together all the info I was giving her. I though I would have to draw it out for her, but dang, she's good.

As I began to walk away, I heard a familiar squawk.

I looked up just in time to see Kara, flying straight down towards me. She landed in front of me and smiled up at me.

I chuckled and patted her head, "There you are girl. Yeah, I'm sorry I forgot about you."

She shrugged and jumped up onto my back.

"I see you're already back in the swing of things." I said with a smile.

She fell back on my back and laid back, relaxing.

"Yeah, you just enjoy yourself." I said as I began to trot forward.

I think it's about time I got some rest... and try to forget about that little scene earlier today...

Oh this is to short, I can't end it here... IDEA!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Bleak sat on his porch, watching the mare named Adry run around his yard, catching firefly's.

He sighed, 'Why won't she just leave?'

She's been coming over to his house all day everyday since their first meeting, and he was beginning to get annoyed. This mare was completely crazy! As in, she doesn't take a hint.

He's tried to tell her to leave, but she doesn't seem to listen. She just laughs and hugs him every time he tries.

So, he's given up on asking her. She'll go away... eventually... hopefully.

He sighed again and stood up, ready to go inside.

But, before he could, the mare ran up and jumped in front of him, "Where are you going?"

Mr. Bleak hung his head, "I want to eat something and go to..."

"I GOT IT!" She yelled as she ran off the porch and in the direction of town.

Mr. Bleak watched her run off and exhaled, "Finally." He then ran inside and closed the door behind himself. Making sure to lock it.

Hopefully this time she won't come back.... Or maybe... no, hopefully not.

Okay, I can't do it! I have a headache from the lack of sleep.... I'm just going to end this chapter and go to bed.

Bonus chapter: Royal Wedding part 1

As you know, this is the bonus chapter. Meaning, what happens here does happen in the story, but doesn't have a set time.

Also, to make this easier on me (My head is still killing me) I'm only going to send Lance on this adventure. But, I will make this up to all the OC's in the Nightmare Night chapter.

Lastly, Vinyl's eye's are more than likely magenta. Thought I'd point that out.

Bonus chapter: Royal Wedding part 1

Yet another beautiful day. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and...

[Stop fucking touching me Dawn!]

There goes the peace and quiet...

I chuckled and sat back on the blanket that was laid out for the picnic. Everypony was here, well, only the mane six. Everyone else was at Vinetion's 'So you think you can dance' party. I wanted to go, but no, Twilight made me come with her to this picnic.... BORING! It is, seriously. I've already ate like what, half the food?

"It is gorgeous out, just gorgeous." Rarity announced as she looked around at the beautiful scenery.

"Ya said it." I said, putting an apple in my mouth.

[Psst, Lance. I say we ditch this picnic and hit up Vinetion's party. What do you say?]
{I say we do it.}

I stood up and stretched, "Man, my back sure is killing me. I'm gonna go..."

Suddenly, I heard the sounds of foot falls. I looked around and saw Spike running towards us.

"Twi-light... I... have.." He stopped in front of Twilight and began to try and catch his breath, "Let me just..."

After a few seconds, he grabbed his stomach and burped out a scroll.

"Nice one Spike." I said with a small chuckle.

Twilight levitated up the scroll and unfolded it:

'Dear Twilight,

I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot.'

She looked at all of us, and smiled slightly, "Wedding?"

'I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion.

Fluttershy, I would like you and your song birds choir to provide the music.'

Fluttershy looked at all of us and smiled, "Oh my goodness, what an honor."

'Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception.'

Pinkie Pie began to cartwheel past us, "Hip, hip, hooray!"

'Applejack, you'll be in charge of the catering for the reception.'

Applejack smiled happily, "Well, color me pleased as punch."

'Rainbow Dash, I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a Sonic Rainboom as the bride and groom complete their I do's.'

Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, "Yes!"

'Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids.'

Rarity's face changed to one of shock, "Princess Celestia wants me to hel.... wedding dress... for a Canterlot wedding... I-" She fell back on to her back, smiling happily.

'Lance, I would like for you to help set up the decorations for the wedding.'

I smiled and stood on my hind legs, "Awww yeah! I get to set up decorations..." I feel to my hooves, "Wait... that's not that fun..."

'And as for you Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: Making sure that every thing goes as planned.

See you all very soon.

Yours,
Princess Celestia'

Twilight then looked confused as she began to reread the letter and look it over, "I don't understand. Who's getting married?"

Spike snapped to attention, "Oh, wait!" He turned to Twilight, "Uhhh, I was probably suppose to give you this one first." He held up another letter.

Twilight levitated it to her and opened it.

'Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and...' She gasped and looked up, "My brother?!"

"You have a brother?" I asked, looking at her.

Twilight looked shocked, but nodded, "Yes. I thought I told you?"

I shook my head, "Nope, but I feel like I already knew this... huh, strange. I have a feeling of déjà vu."

[Same here.]

"Your brother's getting married? Congratulations, Twilight, that's great news!" Applejack said.

Twilight began to walk forward, "Yeah, great news. That I just got from a wedding invitation! Not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I mean, really, he couldn't tell me personally?" She then deepened her voice, "Hey, Twilight, just thought you should know I'm making a really big decision that changes everything, oh, nevermind, you'll hear about it when you get the invitation." She began to move her hoof in the air, "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? Who in the hoof is that?!"

Fluttershy trotted over to her, "Um, Twilight? Are you okay?"

I don't think she's okay.... Note to self, tell Twilight everything... or face her wrath.

Twilight began to walk away, " Sorry, it's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. He's my BBBFF!"

We all looked at her strangely.

She looked at us, "Big Brother Best Friend Forever?"

"Ohhh!" We all said.

Twilight looked off into the distance, " Before I came here and learned the importance of friendship, Shining Armor is the only pony I really accepted as a friend."

She held her hoof up and a bird landed on it. She nuzzled it and turned to us.

"Are you about to sing?" I asked, feeling a musical number coming up.

She began to trot forward, "When I was just a filly..."

"We're singing! YES!" I yelled out happily.

"I found it rather silly
To see how many other ponies I could meet
I had my books to read, didn't know that I would ever need
Other ponies to make my life complete
But there was one colt that I cared for
I knew he would be there for me
My big brother, best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod, we did everything together
He taught me how to fly a kite
(Best friend forever)
We never had a single fight
(We did everything together)
We shared our hopes, we shared our dreams
I miss him more than I realized, it seems."

Me and the others looked at each other and smiled, "Your big brother, best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod, you did everything together."

"And though he's oh so far away
I hoped that he would stay
My big brother best friend
Forever
Forever."

She stopped singing and stood there, looking off into the distance.

Applejack trotted up to her and put a hoof to her shoulder, "As one of your PFFs..."

We all gave her a confused look.

"Pony Friends Forever..." She said to us.

"Ohhh!" We all said.

She then began to talk as Twilight began to move forward, " I wanna tell you that I think your brother sounds like a real good guy."

I ran up beside her, "Yeah, and as your HAFBF..."

Again, everyone cocked their heads at me.

"Uhhh, husband and... buddy forever."

Again, they all ohhh'd, except for Pinkie Pie.

"What about the F?" She asked, tapping her hoof.

[HAHAHAHA! Husband and fuck buddy forever! Good one Lance.]

Pinkie Pie smiled, "Oh, thank you Break!"

[....]
<....>
{...}
[... I'm not even going to ask how she did that.]

"Like I was saying, he sounds like a nice guy, and I can't wait to meet him." I finished.

Twilight trotted over to the blanket and sat on her haunches. "He is pretty special. I mean, they don't let just anypony be Captain of the Royal Guard."

Rarity's face dropped in shock, "So let me get this straight. We're helping out with the wedding of not only a princess, but a Captain of the Royal Guard?"

Twilight gave a shrug, "Guess we are."

Rarity stood up on her hind legs and began to do her dramatic faint.

Twilight levitated a pillow over and put it behind her, lightening her fall.

Everyone began to chat excitedly about the wedding and what they were going to be doing.

I rubbed my chin, "I guess we know who took over after Barehoof left the guard."

Twilight nodded and stood up, "I've known this for a while. Now come on Lance, we've got a few things to do."

I jumped up and smiled, "Coming dear!"

----------------------------------------------------

"A sonic rainboom? At a wedding?! Can you say “best wedding ever”!" Rainbow Dash said as she leaned out the window of the moving train.

Pinkie Pie leaned out the window and held her hooves up as we entered a tunnel, "Best wedding ever!"

A minute later, Spike jumped up beside Rarity, who was looking out the window, " So you all get to help with the big fancy wedding, but I'm the one who gets to host the bachelor party! I have just one question. What's a bachelor party?"

This caused us all to laugh.

I turned to see Twilight, sitting by herself on the other side of the train.

I began to walk forward, but Applejack trotted past me.

"Why the long face, sugarcube?" She asked, looking at Twilight.

Twilight sighed, "I'm just thinking about Shining Armor. Ever since I moved to Ponyville we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this “Princess Mi Amore Cal-whatshername”, we'll probably never see each other."

"Come on, now. You're his sister. He'll always make time for you." Applejack stated.

Twilight looked back at her, "Couldn't seem to make time to tell me he was getting married."

"He's probably busy." I said as I trotted up to them.

Applejack nodded, "Yeah, he could be. He is the Captain of the Royal Guard after all."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Doesn't mean he couldn't at least send a letter or something."

Five minutes later

I looked out the window to see the city of Canterlot coming into view. But, there was a shield up around it.

What the... when did that go up... It wasn't up last night... what if I had to go home to get something?

"We're here, we're here!" Pinkie Pie announced to the rest of us.

I chuckled, "Pinkie I think we all can see that."

Suddenly, I saw the pink shield passing over the train.

"This better not hurt..." I muttered as the shield passed over us all, "Oh good, no pain."

As we rolled through the city, I looked out the window to see Royal guards set up everywhere.

When we came to a stop, Rainbow Dash and the others stuck their heads out the door.

"Whoa, what's with all the guards?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm sure they're just making the necessary precautions. Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies." Rarity stated.

Pinkie Pie took a breath and sneezed out confetti.

"Is that possible?" I asked as I stepped out.

"It's Pinkie Pie, it doesn't have to be possible." Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle.

"Now let's get going, we've got work to do!" Rarity said as they began to trot forward.

Applejack looked at Twilight, "And you've got a big brother to go congratulate."

Twilight leaned down in a determined pose and began to walk forward, "Yeah. Congratulate. And then give him a piece of my mind."

I chuckled, "Dang girl. Don't bite his head off."

She kept walking, "No promises!" She then stomped past the two guards, who looked shocked at what she was saying.

I watched her stomp off and looked at the others as they walked away.

"What do I do? Follow my wife and make sure she doesn't kill her brother, or, go do my job?" I said, rubbing my chin.

"If you want my opinion, I say do your job. But hey, that's just me." Said a guard to my left.

I chuckled, "Yeah, but your a Royal Guard, it's your job to do your job."

He chuckled and returned to attention, "True. I say follow her, don't want her getting into trouble, right?"

I nodded, "Right." I then began to trot forward.

After a good ten minutes, I wasn't having any luck in finding her.

How hard is it to find one... okay, forget that, because it's hard.

[That's what she said.]
{... What am I going to do with you?}
[Tie me up and tell me I've been bad?]
{.... Or, I could tell Twilight you made a sexual comment about our daughter.}
[NOOO! I'll be good! I swear! Just don't say that to Twilight! She'll murder me!]

I laughed openly as I trotted down the street.

Up ahead, I saw a beam of magic shot into the air, hitting the shield.

I've seen this somewhere... but where?

I then shot forward, going on a haunch.

Up ahead, I could see two ponies just stepping out onto a bridge that was between two buildings.

I stopped suddenly, allowing a column of Royal Guards to march past me. After a few seconds, I just jumped over them and continued forward.

Once I was under the bridge, I flew upward and positioned myself under the bridge, just catching Twilight talk.

"... Big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you any more?" She said, sounding on the verge of tears.

Oh, if she cries, there will be blood.

Then another voice spoke up, a stallion's, "Hey. You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me. But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now."

"You want me to be your best mare?" She said, sounding slightly surprised.

"Well... yeah." The stallion, who must be her brother, responded.

Best mare? I want to be best stallion!

I shot upward, wanting to ask the question... but, I forgot I was under a bridge and slammed into the stone above me.

My wings stopped flapping, causing me to fall downward.

[Nice going Lance.]

Before I hit the ground, a aura of light surrounded me, "Whoa there!"

I was then put on my hooves. I turned to the one who helped me and chuckled, "Thanks Frederic. That fall would have hurt like a mofo."

Frederic laughed and waved me off, "No problem. You're just lucky Luna wanted me to go get her a few things."

"Like what?" I asked.

He shrugged, "No idea. All I know is I have to go to the Royal Guards barracks and talk to one of the lieutenant's."

I flapped my wings and lifted up, "Good luck with that. OH! Are you excited about the wedding?"

Frederic laughed, "Yep, I may be kinda late, but meh. I can't wait for the reception though, I heard it's going to be fun."

I began to ascend, "Well duh, Pinkie Pie is in charge of that."

He nodded and began to trot off, "Very true."

I then flew upward and reached the bridge. When I reached it, I flew up to the side and pulled myself over.

On the bridge was Twilight and her brother, and another mare... an Alicorn? Wow, she looks familiar... very familiar.

"Absolutely." The mare said to Twilight.

"Well, we'll let you get right to it." Her brother said.

"Wait! I got to ask something!" I yelled out, startling everypony on the bridge.

Suddenly, a beam of magic hit me in the face, sending an electric charge through my body, and I fell slightly. And, let me say this, if I wasn't an angel, I would have probably died! Yeah, I think I just received an entire power station's worth of electricity.

"Oops, I think I just fried him." The mare said.

I threw a hoof over the side of the bridge, "Ow! What was that for?!"

The mare forced a smile, "Sorry. You... surprised me."

The stallion chuckled, "And who are you?"

Yay! I get to use my introduction again!

I jumped onto the side of the bridge and struck a pose, "My names Lance, Lance Greenfield."

The stallion smiled back at me, "I'm Shinning Armor, and this is my wife to be, Cadance."

Cadance just stared at me.

I turned to Twilight and laughed, "This your brother?"

She was still staring at Cadance, but she nodded.

I jumped off the side of the bridge and landed in the middle. I then looked at Shining Armor, "So, you're my brother in law?"

"Brother in law?" He said in confusion, then he smiled, "Oh, you're the one Twilight's talked about. Her husband."

I laughed and did a bow, "Yep, that's me!"

Cadance tapped his shoulder.

He looked at her and chuckled, "Oh right. Sorry Lance, but we must..."

"Wait! I still haven't asked what I wanted!" I yelled out.

He looked at me and smiled, "What is it then?"

I scraped at the ground with my hoof, "Umm, can I be your best stallion?"

He chuckled, "Well, since Twilight's your wife, then yes."

I pumped my hoof into the air, "YES!"

--------------------------------------------------
Two hours later, the room where the wedding was to take place

"And... no, that's not it." I said to myself as I hovered by one of the pillars, trying to decide on the color of the drapes.

[This is a job for Rarity.]

I was currently stuck between blue or pink. Pink would fit the bride, but the blue would go with the grooms mane. Meh, I'll go with blue.

As I landed to go pick up the blue drapes, the doors blew open.

I looked over at them and saw Cadance trot in.

I smiled and trotted over, "Hey Cadance! How do like the decorations?"

She glared slightly, "Call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about that... Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. As I was saying, what do you think of the decorations?"

She looked around and frowned, "Really? This is what you're going with?"

I looked around at all the blue and pink. Pink flowers, blue ribbons, pink seats, blue carpet, and... lets just say those were the main colors of the entire room.

I shrugged, "I couldn't decide on which color, so I went with the two that fit you and Shining Armor."

She glared hard at me, "Why not just use normal things and white drapes?! That seems more fitting! Don't you think?!'

I took a step back, "Whoa, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

She rolled her eyes and twisted, "Just fix it... all of it!"

*SLAM*

I winced as the doors slammed shut.

[Damn... we sure pissed her off.]

I sighed and looked around, "Awww, but I think this looks awesome... *Sigh* Fine, time to 'fix' this."

Later on, nighttime

I sat at the table with the girls, enjoying a nice cold beverage... I have no idea what it is though. But hey, it taste good and that's all I got to know.

As I sipped my drink, Twilight trotted up to us.

"Bet I can guess what you're all thinking! Cadance is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever." She said as she clanked her glass against the table.

"Who, me?" Spike said in a high pitched voice as he held the small model of Cadance in his hands.

"Spike! That goes on the cake." Applejack said as she looked at Spike.

Spike smiled sheepishly and tossed it onto the table.

"Twilight, whatever are you talking about? Cadance is an absolute gem!" Rarity stated.

Twilight stopped sipping her drink and looked at Rarity, "Rarity, she was so demanding!"

Rarity smiled, "Of course she is! Why shouldn't she expect the best on her wedding day?"

Twilight looked at me, "Lance, did you see the way she was acting towards you?"

I put my drink down and shrugged, "So?"

She raised an eyebrow, "So? She screamed at you for using pink and blue on all the decorations."

I looked at her strangely, "True, but it's her wedding and she's probably feeling a lot of stress right now. And... how did you know about that?"

Her eyes widened and she looked at Applejack and said quickly, "Applejack, did you know that after she told you she 'love-love-loved' your orderves she just threw them in the trash?"

"Aw, she was probably just trying to spare my feelin's." See said as she took a sip of her drink.

Twilight looked like she was becoming annoyed, "No, she was just being fake, and totally insincere!"

"Again, I'll just throw this out there: It's her wedding day, she's under stress." I said, which caused Twilight to glare daggers at me.

Fluttershy spoke up, "She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal."

"See? Rude!" Twilight stated as she crossed her forelegs.

Fluttershy then held up a bird, "But... he was singing really off-key."

It then made a horrible noise.

I grabbed my ears, "Oh dang! No wonder she yelled at it!"

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadance treated your-"

Pinkie Pie and Spike was busy playing with the models of the bride and groom, laughing and making kissing noises.

"Can I play?" I asked, but received a no from Spike, "Darn."

Twilight sighed and stood up on her hind legs, using the table for support, "Nevermind. Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?"

Rainbow Dash began to flex her wings, "Sorry Twi, been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude."

Twilight growled in annoyance.

Rarity moved over to her and put a hoof on her, "The princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves."

"Exactly." I said with a victories smile on my face. I knew I had it right.

Twilight slammed her hoof on the table, "And I'm sure it's the result of being an awful pony who doesn't deserve to know Shining Armor let alone marry him!"

"Think maybe you're being just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?" Applejack stated, causing the rest of us to uh-huh in agreement.

"I am not being possessive, and I am not taking it out on Cadance! You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn't even.." She then slammed her hooves on the table, causing all the drinks to spill, "... Be a wedding!"

She then spun around and trotted off, leaving us stunned.

I looked down at my spilled drink and sniffed, "I didn't even get to finish it..."

A hour later

"Ow...ow... OW!" I groaned as I walked up the stairs to the girls room.

{Darn it Break! Why did you make me punch myself in the groan?!}
[I gave you many warnings! I kept telling you to just say hand instead of hoof, but no! You're all like, "She then hoofed... handed... hoofed... handed.." I told you if you ever did that again, I would make you feel pain! Consider this a fair, almost fair, warning.]

I hate Break so much right now!

Before I reached the top, Twilight galloped past me, running up the stairs.

"Hey Twilight, what are..." I began, but she quickly ran out of sight.

Huh, what's got her so worked up now?

After a minute, I reached the top. And before I could move onto the door, Twilight trotted out, head hung low.

"Looks like I really am on my own." She said sadly.

I frowned and walked up to her, "You're not on your own Twi."

She glanced at me and shook her head, "Yes I am, everyone's against me... even you."

I recoiled in shock, "What?! I'm not against you!"

She sighed, "Yes you are. You don't believe me about Cadance."

It was my turn to sigh as I trotted up next to her and put a wing over her, "Twi, listen. I know Cadance may seem bad, but she could be very nice. Right now, she's under a lot of stress because tomorrow is the big day. She..."

"No Lance! I just saw her do something else... to my brother."

I raised an eyebrow, "As in?"

She looked up at me, "She cast a spell on him! I know somethings going on here and I want to stop it... but you're all against me."

I looked around, then back at her, "Okay, listen Twi. I'm not against you, and if you saw her cast a spell on Shining Armor, then.... then I guess something is up. I'll help you with what ever you have planned."

She smiled slightly, "Really? You'll help me?"

I nodded, "Yes. I do love and trust you after all."

She smiled brightly and threw her forelegs around my neck, "Thank you Lance!"

I smiled and put a foreleg around her neck, "Anything for you Twilight."

She broke the hug and grabbed my hoof, "Come on, we have to get some more information on Cadance!"

I chuckled and allowed her to pull me towards the stairs, "Right behind ya."

The next day, wedding rehearsal

Twilight and I trotted down the hallway toward the room being used for the wedding.

"Are you sure about this Twi? I mean, right in front of everyone?" I asked, unsure of this plan.

She nodded, a determined look in her eyes, "I'm positive! I want everypony to hear this!"

When we reached the door, I heard Shining Armor ask, "Hey... has anypony seen Twilight?"

I looked at Twilight and smiled, "Perfect timing." I then spun around and kicked the doors open for Twilight.

She trotted in and looked up at the alter, "I'm here! I'm not gonna stand next to her. And neither should you!"

Shining Armor's face scrunched up in worry. He then looked at Cadance, "I'm sorry, I don't, I don't know why she's acting like this."

Cadance then glared at us, "Maybe we should just ignore her."

"You have to listen to me!" Twilight yelled out.

Fluttershy trotted up to her and asked, "Oh goodness! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Twilight responded.

"Ya sure about that?" Applejack said as she trotted up beside her.

Twilight used her magic to pull Applejack's hat down over her face. She then began to trot forward, "I've got something to say!" She then pointed a hoof at Cadance, "She's evil!'

Shining Armor moved in front of her as everypony else began to mumble to each other.

"Yep, evil." I said in the background.... I really need to get more involved in this conversation....

"She's been horrible to my friends," Twilight then teleported behind her, "she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all." She said as she backed Cadance into a corner.

Cadance looked around and began to cry, "Why are you doing this to me?!"

She then ran past Twilight and the rest of us.

"Because you're evil!" Twilight said as she pointed at her. She then teleported to the doors, which Cadance just ran through, "Evil! And if I don't stop you you're gonna ruin my brother's life!"

She then turned around and trotted back in, a triumphant smile on her face. But, she ran into her brother and bounced off and landed on the ground.

Shining Armor glared down at her, causing her to smile sheepishly.

"You want to know why my eyes went all..." He said as he rolled his eyes around, "Nuh! Because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell, I've been getting terrible migraines. Cadance hasn't been casting spells on me, she's been using her magic to heal me!"

"We were way off..." I muttered to myself.

Twilight began to say something, but he cut her off.

"And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was so that they could meet Canterlot royalty! And if she hasn't been on her best behavior with your friends, it's because with me being so busy, she's had to make all the decisions about the wedding!"

"Told ya." I whispered to Twilight.

This may not be the best time to gloat though..."

"I was just trying to-" She began to say.

"She's been completely stressed out because it's really important to her that her big day be perfect! Something that obviously wasn't important to you. [gasps] Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and comfort my bride. And you can forget about being my best mare. In fact, if I were you? I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all. The same goes for you Lance! Consider yourselves uninvited!" He then left the room.

I fell to my haunches next to Twilight, a look of shock on my face.

The others looked at each other before Applejack spoke up.

"C'mon, y'all. Let's go check on the princess."

They then walked past us, leaving us behind.

Princess Celestia then walked past us.

Twilight began to talk, but was cut off.

"You two have a lot to think about."

The doors then slammed shut, leaving us there, alone.

She then looked at me, sadness on her face, "Maybe I was being overprotective."

I shook my head, "You was only looking out for your brother... even if what we thought was wrong."

She walked to the stairs and laid down on them, "I could've gained a sister. But instead... I just lost a brother."

I stayed on my haunches and looked at her.

She laid her head down and... began to sing... why?

"He was my Big Brother, Best Friend
Forever,
And now, we'll never do anything
Together..."

I looked above her and saw Cadance trotting towards her. Where did she come from?

She rubbed Twilight's head, causing her to look up at her, "I'm sorry!"

Cadance continued to smile sweetly down at her... but then her eyes flashed green and she instantly became angry, "You will be."

Suddenly, green flames surrounded Twilight.

I jumped to my hooves, "Twilight!" I shot forward, but was hit with beam of magic, which caused me to slam into the ground painfully.

"I'll never know how you're able to survive a spell like that." Cadance stated as green flames began to surround me also.

I looked over at Twilight just in time to see her sinking into the ground along with the flames around her.

The flames around me turned into a dome and began to push me downward.

[Whoa! What's happening?!]

{[What?!]}

{What happened?}

A few seconds later, I felt myself falling. Then, I felt the hard stone of the floor slamming into me. I sat up and looked around at the darkness.

"Oh, this is not good..."

To be continued....

Bonus chapter: Royal Wedding part 2

Bonus chapter: Royal Wedding part 2

I trotted down the down the hallway of rock... or what ever this stuff is. Up ahead, I could hear the laughing of a crazy mare.

[... And you're walking to it?]
{Why not?}

I rounded a corner... and jumped back and screamed like a little girl as a rock next to me exploded. I looked up and saw Twilight blasting away at the rocks around her.

"Twilight!" I yelled out.

Suddenly, she blew a large portion of the wall out, revealing... Cadance!

I sprinted forward, but Twilight beat me to her.

Oh no Twilight! I get first hits on her!

Cadance looked up at us as we charged towards her. She held up her hooves and tried to back up on her haunches. "No! Wait! Ugh! Please! Don't hurt me!" She looked up and recognized Twilight, "Twilight, it's me! Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadance who brought you down here was an imposter."

Twilight glared down at her, "Likely story!" But then, her face dropped when Cadance began to sing.

Cadance began to do a little dance as she sang, "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves..."

Then they both said, "....and do a little shake."

Twilight looked at her and smiled happily, "You remember me!" She then jumped into her, giving her a large hug.

"Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I love to sit for the most?" Cadance said, returning the hug.

Somewhere, I could hear the fake Cadance laughing.

Twilight ran past me and jumped on a rock, "We have to get out of here. We have to stop her!"

"Agreed!" I yelled, charging ahead. I was then followed by Cadance and Twilight.

Skipping ahead. Since I don't know how I would even do that music number.

"Oh, we're never going to save him." Cadance said as we came to a large rock wall.

"We will. We just have to find..." Twilight looked up and saw something, "There!"

I looked up and saw a crack in the wall, with sun light leaking through.

"Perfect." I said as Twilight teleported us up to it.

I looked forward, "Let's go..."

Three mares trotted towards us, their eyes aglow, "You're not going anywhere."

I looked at the girls, then back at the three mares, "I know I've seen this before... but, where?"

"How do we get past them?" Twilight asked.

Cadance picked up some flowers and smiled, "Easy."

I jumped in front them and knocked the flowers out of the air, "That won't do anything! Let the man handle this!"

I stepped towards the mares, "Go, stop the wedding."

"But, what about you?" Cadance asked.

I looked back, "Oh, I'll just be stupid."

The three mares jumped forward and grabbed me. I jumped upward, causing them all to be lifted off the ground. I spun around, sending them in three different directions.

"Go!" I yelled, but, then I looked around and saw it was just me, "Oh... they already left.... wow."

The three mares advanced on me again.

I landed and smirked, "Well, come and get me girls."

They all sprung forward.

----------------------------------------

I limped down the hall, my teeth clenched, "Those mares... who knew they knew karate?!"

[That caught me off guard too.]

[Now, get a move on! We got a wedding to stop!]

I sprinted ahead, ignoring the slight pain in my leg.

I saw the doors up ahead. I smiled and burst threw them, "STOP THE WEDDING!..." I looked around to see everypony looking at the alter in shock.

I looked towards the alter and... Holy cow! What is that thing?! It looked like a screwed up pony, full of holes... What's going on here.

I saw the girls crowding around Princess Celestia, who was laying on the ground.

"What the buck happened here?!" I yelled out, very confused.

The black creature looked at me and smiled... I think, "Oh good, you're here."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I'm here. Now, what the buck is going on!"

Suddenly, a brown blur shot past me.

Frederic landed a few feet from the creature and stomped his hoof, "What have you done Celestia?!"

The creature laughed, "Aww, the prince. I was wondering when you'd show up."

Frederic shot up and put his face in front of her face, "No one, and I mean no one hurts my family!"

His horn began to glow and he flew backwards, "I will show you what happens when you hurt the ponies I love!"

"No Frederic!" Celestia yelled out.

A beam of magic shot out of his horn and flew towards the creature.

The creatures screwed up horn glowed brighter and shot up to meet his. It's beam quickly over took Frederic's and hit him with a blinding light.

I turned my head from the light, but when I looked back, I saw Frederic crunched over on the ground, his horn blackened.

"Frederic!" I yelled out. How did that thing... beat Frederic and Celestia? Is that... even possible?

Twilight and the others stood up and threw their clothes into the air. They then ran past me and out the door.

Except for Rarity, who caught all the clothes.

"Rarity." The others called out.

As she ran past me, I spun around and followed them.

Behind us, the creature called out, "You can run, but you can't hide!"

"We're not trying to hide!" I called back. At least, I don't think we're trying to hide.

I galloped up to Twilight, "What's going on?"

"That was a Changeling. I'll give you a book on them when we get back." She said as she continued to run.

"Plan?" I asked.

"We're going to get the Elements of Harmony." She said.

"Nice."

I continued to run next to them. I looked up and... that's not good. The shield... was cracking.

A few seconds later, the shield completely shattered.

We... are... screwed.

The Changelings flew downward. Their heads then began to glow green as they sped towards the ground.

They began to slam into the ground all around us, making small craters.

[Oh man, this is so cool!]

One landed in front of Twilight. It looked up... and received a hard stomp from Twilight.

We all ran up the stairs, almost to the elements chamber. But, when we reached the top, there was a large crowd of Changelings waiting for us.

We all stopped dead in our tracks, looking at the large crowd.

"Huh, interesting. It's like they know what we're doing... oh wait." I muttered.

Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves together, "Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way." She shot forward and came to face to face... with herself?

Huh, I guess that explains their names.

The Changeling smiled and knocked Rainbow Dash back towards us. "How did you..."

All around us, the Changelings began to change their forms to match us.

"They're changelings, remember?" Twilight said to her.

A crowd of Twilight's moved forward, "They're Changelings, remember?"

Twilight went into a fighting stance, "Don't let them distract you. We have to get to the Elements of Harmony. They're our only hope."

We all jumped forward. The Changelings did the same.

When the two groups slammed into each other, a Applejack slammed it's head into mine, sending me back.

I shook my head and jumped to the side, barely dodging a Rainbow Dash. Something slammed into my side, sending me to the side slightly.

I spun to face my attacker to see... a Lance.

I smirked, "Looking good bro." I then jumped forward and slammed my head into it's snout. As it fell, I bucked backwards and bucked a Pinkie Pie in the face.

Four Fluttershy's ran up to me and slammed into me. I grabbed two of them and tossed them to the side.

Before I could get the other two, three Lance's jumped on me and began to pelt me with punches.

"This is so ironic. I'm getting my ass kicked by myself." I said as I threw a punch upward, hitting one of the Lance's in the face.

Then a few more of the things began to pile on me.

Oh, this is just great!

Suddenly, all of them was lifted off of me and thrown to the side.

I stood up and looked at Twilight. She smiled at me and gave a nod.

I nodded back and ran off into the dust. I began to pick up ponies and threw them in different directions.

*POW*

My head snapped back as Applejack bucked me in the face.

She spun around and punched me in the face, "Take that ya creeper!"

"Wait! It's me Applejack!" I yelled as she again slammed her hoof into my face.

"Oops, sorry Lance." She said as she spun around and ran after the others.

I shook my head, trying to clear the stars from my vision.

A Lance threw a punch for my face, but I held up my hoof and caught it's hoof.

I looked up at it and shook my head, "Bad choice."

I then pulled it's hoof downward and forced it's head into the ground.

When I looked up, a Twilight bucked me in the face.

This will be hard... I grabbed the Twilight by the horn and threw it into the crowd.

This... is getting old.

A light flashed from my body and I exhaled, "Anyone want to tangle with an angel?"

Now, I won't be attacked by my friends.

A Pinkie Pie jumped up and slammed it's head into mine. Ouch...

I grabbed it and began to swing it from side to side, slamming it into the others. A Rainbow Dash flew straight for me, but I threw the Pinkie Pie towards it, knocking it out of the air.

After a few more seconds, all of the Changelings where removed. Thanks to the girls.

Behind us, in the sky, was a whole new group of them. Flying straight for us.

"Oh come on!" I yelled as we began to gallop for the Elements building.

When we reached the door, Twilight jumped up and pushed the doors open.

We all looked in... and our ears dropped in disappointment. The entire room was filled with Changelings, climbing on the walls. This is not good.

Behind us was even more.

"Yep, we're screwed." I said.

"Yes, yes we are." Rainbow Dash replied, looking around at the crowd that surrounded us.

I smiled, "Idea!"

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"I'm gonna do what I do best... BE AN IDIOT!" I then shot into the air, attracting the attention of a large group of them.

There, that should buy the girls the time they need to fight through the rest and get the elements.

I looked behind me and saw them catching up. Well, this is gonna hurt.

I spun around and flew towards them.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Worst plan... I've ever had.

I was being dragged down the hallway by four Changelings. Yes, I failed at fighting them... don't judge me... there was a lot of them okay!

They laughed to each other and threw me forward. I slammed through some doors and landed on the other side, which was where the others were.

I looked up at the girls to see that they didn't have the elements... Oh come on! You mean I did that for nothing?!

Wait... what's going on? I looked up at Cadance and Shining Armor, who were looking at each other.

Shining Armor's horn began to glow, but he looked to be struggling. Cadance moved her head forward and touched his horn with hers.

Light began to glow swirl around them as they began to get lifted upward.

The main Changeling looked on in horror as the light intensified.

Suddenly, a large ball of energy shot outward from the two.

Oh... cool.

The ball of energy slammed into the female Changeling and carried it out the window.

"HA! Take that you crazy bitch!" I yelled out, or, what Break made me yell out.

The ball of energy continued to extend, taking the Changelings with it.

I looked up at the couple and smiled as they descended.

Twilight ran over to Celestia and helped her up. I looked around and cocked my head, "Really? It was that easy?"

"Huh, I guess it was that easy." Applejack said as she trotted past me.

I chuckled, "Now what?"

"Now..." Twilight said as she trotted towards me with a large smile, "We plan the real wedding."

I smiled, "Really? Can I do my own thing this time?"

She laughed, "Maybe."

I thrusted my hoof upward, "Yes!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stood up on the alter, on the step under Twilight and her brother.

I looked around at all the decorations, all blue and pink. Take that fake Cadance! I knew they were a good idea!

The music began to play and Cadance began to walk down the aisle.

"Seriously, though. I get why the queen of the Changelings wanted to be with you, but how did you get someone as amazing as Cadance to marry you?" Twilight said behind me.

I smiled as I waited for Shining Armor to respond.

"I told her she wouldn't just be gaining a husband, she'd be getting a pretty great sister, too."

I chuckled and looked at him, "And, you're gaining a pretty awesome brother too."

He looked at me and grinned, "Judging by what Twilight tells me, that is correct."

I looked back at Cadance as she stepped up in front of Shining Armor.

My self esteem has been boosted!

[Awww yeah!]

Princess Celestia looked at them and smiled, "Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza..."

"Princess Cadance is fine." Cadance said with a smile.

Princess Celestia smiled as she continued, "Hm. The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. May we have the rings please?" Spike moved forward and held up the rings. She then placed them on their horns, "I now pronounce you mare and colt."

Cadance and Shining Armor then walked out onto the balcony and looked out at the crowd of ponies.

Princess Celestia looked at Twilight, "This is your victory as much as theirs. You persisted in the face of doubt, and your actions led to your being able to bring the real Princess Cadance back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

As Cadance and Shining Armor leaned in to kiss, Celestia leaned down to Rainbow Dash.

"That's your cue."

Rainbow Dash smiled and shot off, leaving her clothes behind. Seconds later, the ring of colors shot out from her as she broke the sound barrier.

Wow, she's getting better at that...

Pinkie Pie began to bounce around, "Time for the reception party!"

I chuckled, "This should be good."

------------------------------------------------------------------

We all stood off to the side and watched the new couple dance.

I smiled, "They sure do make a cute couple."

Princess Luna landed beside us, followed by Frederic, "Hello, everypony. Did we miss anything?"

I chuckled, "Not much."

Twilight nodded at Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie smiled happily and ran over to the DJ's booth.

She jumped behind it and pulled up... Vinyl Scratch... strange.

"Let's get this party started!" She said as she threw a microphone at Twilight.

She caught it with her magic and instantly began to sing.

"Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
Two hearts becoming one
A bond that cannot be undone because
Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said, love is in bloom
Starting a life and making room
For us."

During the song, I was dancing on a table with Frederic. A camera flashed, causing me to fall off the table. I landed on the ground, still laughing.

I saw Twilight opening the door to a carriage, allowing Cadance to step up into it.

They hugged as I trotted towards them.

When I arrived, Shining Armor was already climbing onto the carriage.

I looked at Twilight and smiled. But, before I could say anything, Cadance leaned out the window and threw the flowers into the air.

"I got it!" I yelled as I shot upward, determined to catch them.

But, before I could reach them, I was thrown back by an unseen force.

I caught myself and looked back to see Rarity knocking some mares out of the way to catch the bundle of flowers.

"Oh, very lady like." I muttered, smiling as I flew back down to Twilight and the others as the carriage rolled away.

"Now thiswas a great wedding." Twilight said as I put a wing over her.

"Oh yeah, just wait until you see what I have planned for the bachelor party!" Spike said happily.

We all began to laugh at him.

"Bro, that happens before the wedding." I said with a chuckle.

"Oh... now I know why Shining Armor kept asking me about it." Spike said as he smiled sheepishly.

I shook my head while laughing.

"Lance?" Twilight said beside me.

I looked at her and smiled, "Yes?"

She smiled and nuzzled my cheek, "Thank you."

I cocked my head while still smiling, "For what?"

"For believing me when I told you about Cadance. You were the only one who believed me." She said, laying her head on my shoulder.

I smiled and nuzzled the top of her head, "Well, of course I believed you Twi. You are my wife after all. You know I love and trust you."

She nodded and made a movement to move forward. I began to walk forward, Twilight still under my wing.

"I know. But still, thank you for believing me."

I chuckled, "No problem Twi. I'll always believe and follow you, where ever you go."

She stopped and looked up at me, "I love you."

I looked into her eyes and smiled, "I love you too Twilight."

She leaned up and pressed her lips against mine, giving me one of the most passionate kisses she's given me in a long time.

Life... life is awesome!

How do you like that? Two large chapters in one day. Nice, now I can write the Nightmare Night chapter tomorrow.

Also, those are now my new favorite episodes.

Falling for distractions

Chapter 122

"Will this even work?"

"Oh, it'll work."

"But... this plan is flawed. The Princesses are there, and so is that one pony called the Traveler."

"Yes, I know. That's why you use a distraction."

"A distraction?"

"Yes, a distraction. This will get rid of the troublesome ones and leave us our main target."

"So, we just attack?"

"That's the plan. We'll catch them off guard completely. Plus, the shield I'm going to put up should keep them all inside."

*A few mummers*

"Lance Greenfield will be ours by the end of this! I promise you all that!"

*Excited cheers and yells*

-------------------------------------------

"AHHHHH!"

I looked up at the stage and began to laugh.

Vinetion was holding Frederic upside down by using her vines to tie his legs together. He was suspend in front of her as she yelled at him about something.

[Hogtied! HAHAHA!]

Vinetion slapped Frederic across the face with one of her vines and yelled something else.

Celestia smirked and whispered something in Vinetion's ear, causing her to smile slyly.

She put a hoof on Frederic's face and gave him a hard push, causing him to spin around and around uncontrollably, still held in place by her vines.

"Dang, poor guy." I muttered to myself.

[.... Lance, I just noticed that you don't cuss anymore. In your mind or out loud. What gives?!]
{Huh, I'm an angel, duh.}
[So what? I still fucking cuss. Come on, just use mild ones, it gets annoying with you saying dang and darn all the time. It's like you've been turned into a pussy!]
{*Sigh* Fine, but only mild ones.}

I turned around from the scene on stage and trotted off. Oh sure, I would love to stay and watch Frederic's public humiliation, but... I see a food table!

<[FOOD TABLE!]>

I trotted over to it, licking my lips.

When I was in front of it, I began to look over all the tasty food.... Oh there's so much!

"No Trixie, I didn't eat the freaking pie!" Alexander yelled out as he and Trixie stood next to a empty pie tin.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at their costumes.

What are they suppose to be?

"Hey, Alexander!" I yelled out.

He turned and smiled, "Hey Lance!"

"Come here for a sec."

He nodded and said something to Trixie before trotting over to me.

"What's up?"

I looked him over, "What are you suppose to be?"

He smiled and held out a foreleg, "I'm Simon from Gurren Lagann."

Never heard of it. "And what about the bitch?"

He sighed and shook his head, "That's my mare dude."

I shrugged, "Does it matter?"

"Yes! I love her man!" He snapped.

I held up a hoof, "Okay, sorry."

He sighed and looked back at her, "She's suppose to be Yoko, from the same show."

I chuckled, "I guess it fits her."

He looked back at me and smiled, "It sure does! We're going to..."

"Alexander, please come over here." Trixie yelled out, levitating the pie tin up again.

He smiled sheepishly, "I... I got to solve a problem."

I smirked and nodded, "Go for it."

As he trotted back to her, I snickered to myself.

[He's so screwed! HAHAHA!]

Two minutes later

"What the hell are you suppose to be?" I asked Grey Byte as he trotted past.

He stopped and shrugged, "I have no idea, I just liked it."

That's just creepy. It looks like a bony... thing... something.. type suit. Very, very creepy.

"And I'm an Shadow Bolt!" White Noise yelled out, striking a pose.

"Really? I couldn't tell." I said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes and laughed.

"So, how's Colgate and Berry Punch doing?" I asked, looking back at Grey Byte.

He smiled, "They're doing great! Berry Punch just needs to hold back on her drinking, but meh, I still love her."

"Yeah, you should hear them at night... oh its so horrible!" White Noise said with a large smirk.

"You. Are. Dead!" Grey said, going down into a fighting pose.

"And... I'm out!" White Noise yelled as he shot down the street, followed by a laughing Grey Byte.

I shook my head with a smile and trotted down the street, talking to a few ponies.

Alone the way, I saw Aaron trying to climb a tree... dressed as a ninja.

[Bwahahaha!]

I laughed a little and continued down the street, stopping at a few ponies to chat.

[Huh, that's shocking]
{What?}
[Look at the stage.]

I looked up at the stage and let out a small laugh.

Annabel and Discord were dancing together on the stage, both laughing and holding each other.

Yes... that is shocking.

And surprisingly, the crowd of ponies were laughing along with them, not running away as expected.

Discord tossed Annabel up into the air and caught her a second later, both of them striking a pose.

This caused the crowd of ponies to cheer and chant for more.

Annabel and Discord bowed and began another dance.

Before I could properly enjoy it though, somepony walked up behind me and blew into a sax, causing me to jump straight into the air... and let out a girlish scream.

When I landed, I turned to face the pony, prepared to give them a piece of my mind. But, I only laughed.

"Really Omnius?" I said with a large grin.

He nodded and floated his sax up in front of himself, "Yep, really."

"And what are you suppose to be?"

He smiled and waved the sax around, "A sax pony."

I rubbed my neck, "I could have guessed that."

He shrugged and smiled, "Have you seen David's costume? He's a pyro."

"And that's?"

He shrugged again, "I can't describe it, sorry. OH! Have you seen Shadow Breeze?"

I shook my head, "No, not yet."

"You should see him! He's dressed up as Superman, and Drax. This is priceless, he's dressed up as Trunks from Dragon Ball Z! You should see him!"

I began to laugh, as in real laughing. This was hilarious! I got to see them!

"One last thing, have you seen your brother?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No, I haven't seen him since I brought him back."

"I know... Do you want me to go fetch him?"

I shrugged, "Nah, it's fine. I'll look for him later."

"I'll help after the party. I want to talk to the guy." Omnius said while polishing his sax.

"Thanks, I'm thinking about asking him if he'll..."

"Lance!" Came a voice behind me.

I turned around to face the cloaked pony.

"Come with me."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

I heard him sigh, "I have to tell you something very important."

I stared him down, already suspicious of his actions.

"Please, follow." He said, starting to back up.

I sighed and looked at Omnius, "I'll catch you after the party?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'll be at the library after this."

I gave a nod and ran off to catch up to the cloaked pony.

The pony lead me down an alley and then to the backside of a building.

He turned to face me and hung his head.

I trotted up slowly, prepared for him to jump at me.

But, instead, he looked up at me, "Lance, there's an incredible force coming this way."

I cocked my head, "What?"

He sighed, "Listen, do you remember everyone you've fought?"

I thought for a second and nodded.

He gave a slight nod, "Good... because the one called Nightmare has grouped them all together... every one of them."

I rolled my eyes, "Uh-huh, of course he did. Listen buddy, that would be impossible. I killed Nightmare, Richard is stuck in the middle of the earth, and the others are either in prison or trapped somewhere."

"It is possible! And you didn't kill Nightmare! You can't kill him! Believe me, I've tried on many occasions!" He yelled out, becoming annoyed.

I sighed and looked him in the face... or cloaked face, "How would you even know this? I've never seen you before."

He gulped and pulled down the hood, "What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this area. I've only told one other, and that's m... your wife, Twilight."

"Wait, you talked to Twilight?!" I yelled out.

He nodded, "I did, but I only told her who I was, nothing else."

I crossed my Forelegs and stared him down, "Oh? And who are you?"

He gulped slightly, "Before that, I will have to tell you about me." He then cleared his throat, "I... I am from an alternate universe. In this universe, this land, Equestria, is completely obliterated."

"By?" I said, rolling my hooves in front of me.

He sighed, "It was destroyed by all of m... your enemies."

I raised an eyebrow, "How? I think me and my friends can take on those guys."

He shook his head, "No, you couldn't, not all at once. That is what happened the last time. They easily overpowered everyone using the Holy Magic in your body. Remember, that magic is more powerful than the magic here, and if you can control it just right, then you can control almost everything else."

I held up a hoof, "You're saying that me and my friends can't hold them off? I call that bull shit, have you seen us fight those guys yet?"

He rubbed his face with his hoof, "I know you can't win, not if you don't listen to me."

I tapped my forehead, "And why should I listen to you?"

He looked me in the eye and said in a serious tone, "Because Lance... I'm you."

My eyes shot open and my back legs gave out, causing me to fall on my haunches, "Wha... how? You don't even look like me! You don't have strips! Only cuts! And your mane and tail are a different color and style from mine! And your eyes, they don't even look like mine!"

He smiled slightly, "I did say alternate universe, didn't I? I came here before, but I couldn't find you. It took me a while to figure out you would look different from me."

I shook my head, "Oh no! There's no way you're me!"

"I can prove it."

"Okay then..." I tapped my chin, "Aha! When I was six, what happened that made me scared of cars?"

He laughed, "You climbed into our aunts car and pulled the emergency break and went down the hill backwards in the car. That prove it?"

I laughed at the memory, but snapped back to seriousness, "No! What happened to my first pet!"

"You ran our dog Chummy over with a lawn mower by accident."

I shuddered at the memory, "Okay, last one: What did I do at my school dance that pissed off the girl of my dreams?"

He smirked, "You tried to do a back flip off of the stage and landed on her instead. And, to top it off, you threw up on her before she could stand up.... we probably shouldn't have drunk all those Monsters before attempting that."

I chuckled and looked him over, "So, you're me, or an alternate me? What should I call you?"

He nodded, "You can call me Giro... most do anyway."

"Okay, Giro, tell me what's about to happen." I said, looking him in the eyes.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his chest, "Okay, listen closely, everyone you've ever fought will be at Canterlot tonight. The Princesses will be notified and they'll take a few of you're friends with them, but, do not go with them."

"Why? I have to be there for my friends!"

He held up a hoof, "Listen, if you go, you'll only make things worst. When I went, all I did was get them all killed.... Listen Lance, they're planned out more this time. They'll throw a shield up around Canterlot and trap you inside, after that... They'll just slaughter everyone till you give yourself up and surrender to them. If you don't go, they'll have to postpone their plans."

I hung my head slightly, "I'll listen to you... Will you help me fight them? I could use you're help."

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I can not interfere, I only came back to tell you this and to watch it play out. I'll be going to Canterlot with the others, I'll just teleport there. I'll make sure they're safe, but that's all I can do."

I patted him on the shoulder, "Thank you... When will this happen."

He winced, "Five minutes... I think... Oh no..."

He then ran past me, pulling his hood back up, "Quickly!"

"What is it?" I yelled as I ran after him.

He looked back and yelled, "Listen, you have to make sure Twilight goes with them, and that she takes the kids. If she doesn't... just make sure she takes them with her!"

I nodded, "Got it!"

We rounded the corner to see the town's square. Everything was normal... except for that trio of Royal Guards quickly trotting toward Princess Celestia.

I just entered the crowd when the guards began to whisper into her ear.

When I reached the stage, her head snapped up and she began to whisper to Luna and Frederic.

I jumped up on the stage and half ran over to them.

When I reached them, Frederic looked at me, "Not good..."

I looked at Celestia, "What is it?"

She looked at me, a look of worry on her face, "Nightmare is in Canterlot..."

I tried to acted shocked, "He is?!"

She nodded.

"And are we going to fight him?" Frederic asked.

She shook her head, "No! That's to dangerous! We're going to do this the right way and use the elements of harmony."

I nodded once, "Yes! The elements!"

Luna looked around, "Shall I announce this to the crowd?"

"I'll do it." Celestia said, turning to face the crowd.

I looked out into the crowd and saw Twilight and Spark on the side. I really hope Giro knows what he's doing...

"Citizens of Ponyville." Celestia yelled, addressing the crowd, "There is an emergency in Canterlot, and we must depart to deal with it. I would like Twilight Sparkle and her friends to come with us."

I tapped her shoulder, "And take my friends, trust me on this."

She raised an eyebrow, but looked back at the crowd, "And, I also want Lance's friends to come with us. We must leave at once, so please, hurry." As the crowd began to panic, she added, "Don't fret everypony, this is nothing, just a minor thing. We'll have this solved within the hour, I promise."

This calmed the crowd slightly, but only slightly.

Celestia turned and began to quickly trot to her chariot, "Come, we must leave at once!"

I smiled sheepishly, "I'll stay here... just encase."

"Very well." She called back.

"Oh, and please tell Twilight to bring Spark. He’ll be safer with you."

She climbed off the stage, "If that's what you wish Lance."

Frederic watched Celestia and Luna leave before he looked at me, "I'm staying here with you. They won't need me."

I look at him and smile, "That's alright with me."

"Dude, what's going on?" Seth asked as he and Zorrow pulled themselves up onto the stage.

I looked at them quickly, "No time to explain! You have to follow the Princesses, hurry!"

Zorrow looked at me, "Huh... Okay?"

I sighed, I hate this.... I really hope Giro knows what he's doing...

Ten minutes later, Canterlot

Giro stood on top of one of the large buildings in Canterlot, looking out over the city. Waiting for it to begin.

"Come on, where are they?" He said to himself, looking up at the clear night sky.

This didn't make sense, they should have already attacked.

He looked around the city, scanning every detail with his Bionic eye. Everything looked normal, nothing out of place.

He sighed and looked towards Ponyville, "Could I have been wrong? Did I... Oh no, that's not good."

In the distance, where Ponyville was located, was huge black shield. In side he could see many explosions and flashes of light.

Five minutes earlier

I sat on the stage, rubbing my face, hoping my family and friends were okay. My costume was already off and laying next to me.

"I wonder what the emergency was." Grace said, taking off her costume.

"Beats me." Peter said as he also pulled his costume off.

"Probably a domestic problem... or my weed monster got out..." Greg said with a smirk, already stripped down.

I looked at the my remaining friends who had stayed behind and smiled. Gotta love those guys.

We were all just sitting around, watching the other ponies walk around and pick up the decorations. Apparently, no one wanted to party after the Princesses left, but meh, doesn't matter to me. I just want my friends to come back okay.

Frederic sat down next to me and smiled, "Don't worry Lance, they'll be okay, they're with the Princesses after all."

I smiled and looked at him, "Yeah, I know. Just a little worried that..." My eyes widened.

"What?" Frederic asked with a worried expression.

I pointed upward.

He looked up and gasped at what he saw.

A black shield was beginning to form over the town, just like the one that Shinning Armor used to protect Canterlot.

"What the hell..."

*KABOOM*

The building across the street suddenly blew apart, sending wood and stone everywhere.

Everypony began to panic, running in different directions.

Frederic and I jumped up as two more building's exploded.

"What's going on?!" Grace yelled out, covering her ears as more explosions rocked the town.

"No...." Frederic whispered as he looked straight up.

I looked up and felt a surge of fear. It was Richard... Richard! He was using what ever magic he had to actually destroy the town!

But... he's suppose to be... No.. no!

[What the fuck! What did we miss?!]

{...}

"Oh shit..." Peter said as he began to back up towards us.

"Ah, Peter, so good to actually see you on the outside." Violent Inferno said with a smirk as he walked out of an alleyway and slowly stomped towards us.

"Oh Lance!" Called a all to familiar voice.

I looked to the right and saw Jun, already in Breaking Dawn mode... with the addition of black smoke...

<... This can't be happening...>

"Well, it's good to see my two favorite ponies again." Val said smugly as he appeared out of nowhere to our left.

I looked at him and felt another surge of worry. His horn was back...

"Ah, good to see you again Lance." Came a voice as a black cloud landed a few yards from us and began to change its form till it resembled Nightmare... in his Werewolf form...

I gulped, "But... you was suppose to attack Canterlot..."

He smiled smugly, "Oh? You actually fell for it? Well, you're more of a fool then I thought you were."

*Hissing*

I turned to see a large... serpent like pony, completely black, stepping onto the stage.

"Ah, meet the leader of the Darkness." Nightmare said as we all stared in awe.

I turned back and gulped, I then looked at Frederic, "What now?"

He took a deep breath, "What else? We go down fighting."

I gave a weak nod.

I looked at the group of our enemies, all of them surrounding us.

Giro... was wrong... WE fell for the distraction...

[Dawn... I want you to do your best while you're controlling Lance.]
<*Gulp* I'll try Break... I'll try...>

"So..." Nightmare said evilly, causing all of us to tense up.

"Who's first?"

Unfair odds

Chapter 123

Grace gulped and looked back at me and Frederic, "Plan?"

I looked around at all our enemies and gulped, "I don't have one..."

[WHAT?! No plan?!]

Frederic looked around also, "I think I have one. Lance, you take Nightmare and Val. Grace, you can take on Jun. Peter, you get Violent Inferno. I'll get my father. And Greg... hold off the serpent pony."

... I have to fight two? I don't even know if I can fight one!

But... it's better than them ganging up on the others.

"That, I can do." Peter said, eyeing his opponent.

"I get to kick a Lance lookalikes ass? Sweet." Grace muttered as she changed into her alter ego, Killjoy.

Greg chuckled, "I'm fighting a snake? Strange, it's like I'm high all over again."

"Just don't die on us Greg." I warned as I changed my form over to my angel form.

Frederic changed his form over to Darksteel Edge and glared skyward, "Ready?"

"Ready!" We all yelled back as we all faced our opponent and leaned down into a fighting stance.

"Give em hell!" Frederic yelled out as he shot upward.

Play this!

I jumped forward, using my wings to propel me towards Nightmare and Val, who were now standing side by side, waiting.

They tensed up, ready for me to slam into them head on.

But, instead, I smiled and teleported from my current spot and appeared behind them.

I threw my right hoof forward, slamming it into Nightmare's back, causing a loud crack to be heard. I then spun around and gave him a hard buck, sending him upwards.

Val had just enough time to twist around to face me before I slammed my head into his chest.

He stumbled back a few yards before catching himself. He snarled and aimed his horn at me, "Pest!"

A beam of magic shot out, aimed for my forehead.

I swished to the side at the last moment, barely dodging the beam. He fired two more, and I easily dodged those.

[Above you!] Break yelled into my ear a little to late.

Something heavy landed on my back, forcing me to the ground.

Nightmare stood up and picked me up by the mane. He turned me to face him and smirked, "This was easier than expected."

He brought his claws up and brought them down fast, cutting a large gap in my throat.

He dropped me and gave me a hard kick in the side, which sent me flying for a few yards.

When I slammed into the ground, I let out a pained gasp. My HUD was flashing with warnings, but, they slowly began to go away as my body quickly closed the wounds.

After a second, I forced myself to my hooves, chest heaving from the effort.

"What? How are you still alive?!" Nightmare yelled out.

I smirked, and stood up tall, "I think you should know this..."

I disappeared and reappeared in front of his face, "I'm a angel." I then grabbed his head and slammed mine into his.

As he stumbled back, Val took the opportunity to fire another beam of magic at me.

I jerked my head back, watching as it flew past my head.

Nightmare suddenly shot up and slammed his claws into my gut, "You may not be able to die, but..." He pushed his arm forward and then forced me to the ground, "You've just given us more than we could ask for."

I spit a glob of blood in his face as he continued to twist his claws in my guy, "And what would that be?"

He smiled, "You've just given us all the Holy Energy we could ask for!"

I pulled my hind legs up and kicked him off of me. As he stumbled back, I lazily climbed to my hooves, "Oh? And how's that?"

He stopped stumbling and looked at Val with a smirk, "You're made of Holy Energy now!"

My eyes widened.

Before I could react, Val slammed into my side, his horn piercing my shoulder blade. He brought his head up, lifting me off the ground, and threw me towards Nightmare.

Nightmare caught me in mid air and laughed, "We no longer need to kill you for the energy. We'll get so much more if we leave you alive."

"Only in your wet dreams!" I yelled as I teleported out of his grasp and appeared behind Val, completely catching him off guard.

I wrapped my forelegs around his neck and used my wings to lift both of us off the ground. I forced myself to fly as high as I could before I stopped.

"Hey, Val, you got to check this out." I said smugly as I spun him around to face me.

He glared and tilted his head down, pointing his horn between my eyes.

"Oh no you don't!" I yelled as I pulled back my right hoof, holding him up with my left one. I smirked and yelled at the top of my lungs, "FALCON PUNCH!"

My right hoof shot forward and slammed into his face. Everything seemed to slow down as my hoof made contact with his face. I could see my hoof slowly slam into his face, causing the flesh to ripple, and I could see the shock wave coming off of the impact.

[DAYUM!]

Time sped back up and Val shot straight down like a bullet, hitting the ground with a loud boom.

I shook my right hoof, "Damn, that stung!"

I then teleported a few from Nightmare and smiled smugly, "So, you still want to fight?"

He smiled back and closed his eyes.

What is he...

...

...

...

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I screamed as I felt him forcing his way into my mind and going through my memories.

[How is he doing this?!]

"Aha! This looks promising." He said as he pulled out of my mind.

"What the hell are you talking abo..." I began.

His body completely dissolved into the black smoke again. A second later, it began to take on another form. The black smoke was curling up and around its self, taking the form of something... oh no.

When he was fully transformed, I shuddered.

He was completely changed, no longer a werewolf. He looked more like a black demon with large black dragon wings. He had large claws on his hands, even larger than before. Six large horns stuck out of his head, and his mouth was lined with rolls of sharp teeth.

[Of course, he chooses the creature that our uncle used to scare us with when we were younger.]

"... How..." I stuttered.

He laughed happily, "Simple. I just picked one of the things you feared and took it as my own form."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, but I'm not scared of that thing anymore."

He shrugged, "Does it matter? I can still cause damage with it!"

He jumped forward and thrusted his claws forward.

I reared up just as his claws slammed down in front of me. I then began to throw my front hooves forward, hitting him in the face time after time.

He roared in pain and swished his left hand to the side, causing a large three lined gash to form on my underbelly.

I jumped back and gasped slightly.

Nightmare suddenly flew forward and punched me square in the face, sending me flying backwards.

I flew through the air for a few seconds before slamming into a building, breaking through the wall.

When I landed on the inside, a mare screamed.

I stood up shakily and looked to the side to see a mare and her two kids standing off to the side.

I blinked the stars from my vision and held up a hoof, "You all have to get out of here, it's not..."

Nightmare flew through the hole and slammed into me, causing me to slam into the wall. He pulled back his hand and slammed it into my gut, causing my body to be pushed into the wall.

I looked to the side and saw that the mare and the kids were gone. Good, she listened.

I took a quick breath before I jumped up and threw myself into Nightmare, causing him to stumbled back and fall through the hole in the wall.

I stumbled after him and jumped out of the house and landed on the street with a heavy thud. I looked around quickly, seeing that the entire town was being destroyed by the others and their own fights. I felt a new anger fill me. They were destroying the whole town! How dare they!

Nightmare coughed and stood up, "You have more fight in you then I thought."

I looked straight at him and grunted, "You'd be surprised."

He smiled, "I bet." He then sprung forward.

Peter, four minutes earlier

Peter sprung forward, propelling himself straight for Violent Inferno.

Inferno laughed loudly, "Yes! Come at me you fool!"

Peter slammed into him, throwing punches left and right, all of them connecting with Inferno's face.

He then twisted around and threw his back legs out as hard as he could, hitting Inferno right in the chest.

Instead of flying back, Inferno laughed and grabbed Peter by the back leg and pulled him downward, causing him to fall.

He then stepped over him and glared down at him, "Come on Pete, you should know you can't face me. I'm four times more powerful than you."

Peter glared and reached up and grabbed Inferno by the shoulders, "I can still try!" He brought his back legs up and kicked upward, sending Inferno over him and onto the ground. Peter held onto his shoulders and followed him in the turn. Peter then glared down at him before he began to repeatedly slam his right hoof into Inferno's unprotected face.

During this, Inferno only laughed. Taking all the blows willingly, laughing at every hit, "This, this is what you call fighting?"

Peter snarled and kept up his onslaught of punches. After a few seconds he jumped up and grabbed Inferno by the neck and threw him skyward.

He flew upward and caught him and yelled into his face, "I'll show you what I can do!"

"Do it." Inferno said with a yawn.

Peter growled at him and flew up higher, and higher, and higher.

He then punched Inferno in the face as hard as he could and spun his body around so his head face the ground.

He wrapped his forelegs around Inferno's back legs and wrapped his hind legs around Inferno's neck.

"Let's see you survive this!" Peter yelled out as he pulled his wings in and began to plummet towards the ground, Inferno's head held at the right angle so that it would take the full impact.

"AHHHH!" Peter yelled out in rage seconds before impact.

*BOOM*

Dirt and stone went everywhere as the two slammed into the ground, causing a small crater to form.

Seconds later, Peter stumbled out of the dust, barely able to stand up.

"Uh, who's the strongest now?" He mumbled, trying to pull himself towards Grace, who was currently fighting Jun.

Suddenly, something slammed into Peter's back and lifted him up.

"Still me." Inferno said with a smirk, not a scratch on him.

Peter looked at him in disbelief, "What?! But, how?!"

He smirked and brought Peter to eye level, "I'm just better than you."

Peter spit in his eye.

Inferno wiped a hoof across his face and smiled, "No more games Pete, I'm itching to get into an actual fight." He then slammed Peter into the ground, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Nighty night Pete." Inferno said as he slammed his hoof into Peter's face, instantly knocking him out.

Inferno stood up and looked over at Grace and Jun, a large smiling playing across his face.

Frederic, two minutes earlier

Frederic flew straight up, prepared to face his father, again.

As Frederic neared, his father laughed, "Ah, it's good to see you again son."

Frederic stopped near him and gritted his teeth, "How did you get out?!"

Richard smirked as he shrugged, "You know, I don't know, and I don't care." He then rubbed his talons together, "You think you can take on your old man now?"

Frederic continued to glare at him, "I beat you before and I can do it again."

Richard held up a paw, "Oh no, not this time. You see, I have an ace in the hole this time."

Frederic raised an eyebrow slightly, "Like what?"

Richard laughed loudly, "For one, this!" He threw his front arms downward, sending two balls of magic downward, where they then slammed into two houses, blowing each one to pieces.

"I know you want to protect them, and wouldn't want to harm them." He said smugly.

Frederic gritted his teeth harder, "So what?"

Richard shifted his body, "You won't fight if you're putting them in danger!" He shot forward, surprising Frederic.

He slammed into him and grabbed him by the throat, "See you down there SON!" He yelled as he threw Frederic downward, soon following after him.

Frederic flew straight down, trying to open his wings and lighten the impact, but it was useless.

Seconds later, he slammed into a large building, blowing straight through the top floor and into the ground floor. The force of the impact caused the rest of the building to blow outward slightly.

Richard flew straight down and slammed his fist into Frederic's chest, the force from the high impact hit blew outward, knocking out one of the weak walls.

Frederic gasped and tried to force himself upward, but was punched back down by his father.

"You're weak!" He yelled as he picked Frederic up and threw him out of the house and onto the street.

Frederic hit the hard cobblestone road and rolled a few feet before coming to a stop. All around him, he could hear the frighten screams of the citizens of Ponyville.

He growled and forced himself to his hooves, ready to fight. He looked back at the house, but his father was no longer there.

"Up here Freddy!" His father called out.

Frederic looked up and snarled, "Come and fight me like a man!"

Richard shook his head, "Remember how I told you that you would want to protect the citizens of this town? Well, protect them from this!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he pulled back his arms and began to throw balls of magic at the town.

Play this! It fits so perfectly!

Frederic's eyes widened in fear. He shot forward and grabbed a filly and her mother. As he rolled away, the spot they had been standing exploded as one of the balls of black magic slammed into it.

He put them down and yelled, "Run! Everypony get as far away as you can!"

The building across from him exploded, sending wood and stone in all directions. The ponies unlucky enough to be near it was sent flying.

Frederic yelled out in anger at the sight and looked up. He saw another ball of magic flying straight for another building. He looked at the building and saw a old stallion trying to move out of the way.

Frederic shot forward, flying for the ball of magic. He held out his hoof and covered it in his magic. When he was close to the ball of magic, he slammed his hoof into it, sending it flying in the opposite direction.

The old stallion quickly scurried away.

Frederic turned around to see another building be completely blown away, taking a young couple with it.

"STOP IT! THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!" Frederic screamed out, facing his father.

His father laughed and held a ball of magic in his talons, "Do you think I care? This is how I win."

Frederic screamed in rage and shot forward, aiming for his father.

"Uh oh." Richard said as he threw the ball of magic towards a crowd of ponies that was trying to get a few ponies out of a burning building.

Frederic changed his course and shot for the ball of magic. But, as he knocked it out of the way, another slammed into his side, sending him sprawling to the ground.

He slammed into it with a sickening thud. His father laughed crazily as he began to throw more magic at the devastated town.

Frederic was gasping for air as he tried to force himself up. But, when he pulled himself into a sitting position, he let out a cry of fear.

Buildings where being blown away, ponies where being hit with shrapnel and falling objects. A few getting caught in the blast of the building next to them.

Frederic felt tears flowing down his face as he stood and watched as a house was torn apart by an explosion. He looked up at his deranged father and growled through broken teeth, "You bastard! How could you?!"

His father didn't respond, only threw more balls of magic into the town.

Frederic screamed out in rage and shot upward. He was lucky enough to catch his father off guard as he slammed into him, wrapping his forelegs around his waist.

They fell from the sky and crashed through the roof of a half destroyed building. They slammed into a bookcase, sending books everywhere.

Frederic rebounded off and slide across the hard wood floor as his father slumped against the bookcase.

Frederic groaned in pain as he stood up again, looking around quickly. A small ping of quilt shot through him as he recognized the building as the towns library.

Richard coughed and stood up, "Why you little bitch!"

Frederic growled, "I will make you pay for hurting those ponies! They did nothing to deserve this!"

Richard got into a fighting stance, "Okay then, come at me."

Frederic yelled in rage as he flew forward.

Grace six minutes earlier

Grace flew forward, hoof raised.

Jun laughed loudly, "Bring it on girl!"

She threw her hoof forward, but gasped when he caught it,

"Oh, come on bitch, I though you were tough?" He said with a smirk.

He pulled her hoof to the side and punched her square in the face, leaving a burn mark on her face.

She recoiled slightly, but recovered enough to flare her wings and throw black flames into Jun's face.

Jun jumped back, not expecting the flames, "Ah, girly gots some tricks up her sleeve."

Grace struck a fighting pose and glared, "You better fucking believe it!"

Jun laughed and jumped forward, throwing a punch.

Grace easily caught it and smirked, "You fight just like Lance."

Jun smiled, "Oh? You mean I did fight like Lance. I'm so much more powerful now, thanks to Nightmare!"

His hoof flared red hot, causing Grace to pull her hoof back.

Jun smirked and punched her in the chest, hard. She stumbled back a foot before he reached out and grabbed her by the mane.

She winced slightly and threw her body forward, crashing into his.

He lost his grip on her and stumbled a bit.

Grace grabbed him back the neck and flew upward, "I'll show you what kind of tricks this girl has up her sleeve!"

She flew up till she was as high as the shield would allow and looked down. Her eyes widened as she saw the whole town being blown apart.

"No..."

Jun smiled and took her moment of shock as an opportunity to strike. He broke her grasp and flew forward, slamming her into the black shield.

She out out a pain gasp as he pressed her harder and harder into the shield.

Jun pulled back slightly and began to hammer away at her mid section with his burning hooves.

Grace's vision wavered slightly, on the verge of passing out.

But, a sudden burst of energy from Kill and Joy caused her to grab Jun by the throat and slam her head into his.

Jun coughed as his air flow was cut off by Grace's tight grip.

"You... you bastard!" She screamed in his face as she flew towards the ground.

She began to pick up speed, but there wasn't enough time to perform a Necro Flare, so she just threw him into the ground and pulled up before she too hit the ground. She quickly looped around and flew back to him, wincing as a building off to the side exploded.

When she neared, she saw Jun trying to stand up. But she didn't give him the chance.

She slammed into him and began to show him a woman's touch. As in, she began to beat the living hell out of him. She slammed her hooves into every exposed part of his body, even the valuables. She didn't hold back, she was letting her anger take over.

A full thirty seconds later, she stopped and lifted him up to eye level, "Have you had enough you fucking piece of shit?"

Jun looked at her, then past her. A smile began to play on his face.

"What?!" She screamed into his face, "What is so..."

*KABOOM*

Grace's body was suddenly sent flying to the side from a sudden impact from Violent Inferno, who had just taken care of his opponent.

Grace slammed into a building and rebounded off, slamming into the ground with a loud crack, out cold.

Jun coughed up a large amount of blood and looked up at Inferno, "What took you so long?"

Inferno only looked at him, "I was having what you call fun. I see you had your share of fun."

Jun rolled his eyes and stood up, "Oh, haha, fuck you."

Greg

Greg began to run forward, but shrugged and trotted over to the black serpent pony.

When he reached it, he just stopped and looked at it.

It looked back at him, not moving.

Greg pulled out a blunt and lit it and put it in his mouth.

The black serpent pony hissed and moved forward, holding it's hoof out, ready to grab Greg by the neck.

As it's hoof neared him, Greg calmly pulled out his blunt and jammed the burning end into it's hoof, causing it to pull it back with a loud hiss of pain.

"No, bad snake!" Greg yelled, picking up a stick with his magic and hitting the pony on the head, "You do not touch me!"

The black serpent pony hissed in anger and stepped forward.

*Smack*

"What did I just say?!" Greg yelled, pull his hoof back, "Do you want another bitch slap? I didn't think so!"

The serpent pony stomped it's hoof and jumped forward, wrapping it's dark tail around Greg's throat.

Greg coughed as the air was cut off to his brain. Before he passed out, he smirked, "Huh, you're choking me with your dick? That's just nice."

Seconds later, the serpent pony dropped Greg's unconscious body. It then hissed and shook it's head.

Lance, present time

Now, play this

Nightmare grabbed me by the throat and pulled me up to face him, "Just give up! It's useless!"

I shook my head, "Oh, it's not useless, not yet!"

I brought my back legs up and gave him a sharp kick to the chest, causing him to drop me.

When I hit the ground, I swept my back legs under him, causing him to fall to the ground. I then sprang forward and began to stomp on his chest, making him grunt in pain each time.

Before I could begin to stomp on his head, he rolled to the side and grabbed my right foreleg as I came down.

He smiled at me and jumped to his feet, "Going up!" He then threw me straight up.

I began to open my wings, but a sudden forced brought me straight down... straight down on his horns.

I screamed out in pain as each horn penetrated my chest and came out the other side.

"How do you like that you son of a whore?!" Val yelled as he stumbled towards us, his horn still glowing.

Nightmare laughed evilly as he began to toss his head back and forth, causing me intense pain.

My vision began to swim as the pain became to much for me to handle.

[Hang on Lance, I got this.]

My eyes shot open in determination and I spread my wings, breaking Val's hold on me. I flapped them hard, sending me straight up.

I coughed and wheezed as the wounds began to slowly heal. It was a painful process, but worth it.

After a few seconds, I forced myself to land and face them, "Come on you two... give me your best."

Nightmare smiled and rubbed his chin, "Oh, this is interesting."

Before I could ask what he meant, Frederic's beaten body was tossed in front of me. It landed with a heavy thud, sending a chill down my back.

I looked up and saw a badly beaten Richard hovering in the air, "That boy had some fight in him. To bad I'm not allowed to kill him... yet."

I watched as he landed next the other two.

"You will pay for that!" I yelled as I took a step forward, but was stopped when Jun and Inferno flew up behind the others, each one holding an unconscious body on their back.

Inferno laughed as he dropped Peter in front of himself and looked at me with an amused face.

Jun dropped Grace and gave her a hard kick in the side. He then looked at me and smiled happily.

No.... how could they have beaten them... They will pay!

As I took a few steps forward, the serpent pony walked up, holding Greg above him with his tail.

He tossed him onto the ground and sighed.

I looked at all my friends beaten bodies, anger boiling up inside of me.

The group of six in front of me laughed at my angered expression.

"Okay Lance, time for a deal." Nightmare said with a smirk.

I glared at him, "I will not make a deal with you!"

He smiled and picked up Grace and held a claw to her throat, "Oh, I think you will."

I began to tremble, feeling fear for my friends, "Fine, what is this 'deal'?"

They all smiled as Nightmare began to speak.

"You come with us and we don't hurt your friends. But, if you refuse..." He drug his claw across Grace's throat slightly, drawing a small amount of blood, "We'll kill all of them."

Hot tears formed in my eyes as I weighed my options. I don't want to go with them... but, I don't want my friends to die...

I looked around at the burning remains of Ponyville and all the ponies laying around injured or trying to get to safety.

There really is only one thing I can do...

I hung my head and forced myself out of Holy Dawn, "Fine... I'll go with you... just leave them alone."

They all laughed victoriously.

"Excellent!" Val yelled out.

"Val, give him your most powerful knock out spell." Nightmare said as he dropped Grace.

"With pleasure!" He said, pointing his horn at me.

A beam of magic shot out and slammed into me. I was knocked backwards, falling to the ground.

Seconds later, my vision faltered and I passed out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, this was too easy!" Jun yelled out happily.

Nightmare smiled and looked at Inferno, "Go get his body, I want to start working on him as soon as possible."

Inferno gave a nod and trotted off to retrieve Lance.

Nightmare looked over at Val, "Drop the shield when we're back at the castle. I don't want any of his friends getting in here till it's to late."

"Yes sir!" Val said as he did a small dance of victory.

Nightmare looked at the devastated town and smirked, "Lance, he's such a fool."

Devastation

Chapter 124

[*Groan* Ow, my head...]

[... Where are we?]

I groan loudly as I open my eyes. At first, everything is blurry and out of focus. But, after a few seconds, I could make out a few details.

I was in a large stone room with windows on either side, and what looked to be a display off to the right. Artificial light shown down all around me, leaving barely any shadows.

After a few seconds, I begin to push my self up. But, once I was on all fours, I threw my head up to look around and... slammed into a shield.

The shield shimmered black upon impact and stayed a light black.

"Well shit." I muttered, looking around from a slightly crouched position.

[This is not good.]

I facehoofed and chuckled, of course.

I formed an image of my room at my house and... nothing.

What?!

I tried again, and was met with the same results.

Oh this can't be happening!

"Ah, you're awake." Val said smugly as he walked into the room.

I looked at him and glared, "Where am I?"

He smirked and trotted up to the shield and towered over me, "Why does it matter? You should be more worried about what Nightmare has planned for you instead."

"Like what?" I questioned, eyeing him with clear hatred.

He just smiled and turned, "You'll see." And with that, he trotted off, leaving me alone.

I sighed and looked around, looking for a way to escape. But sadly, that was impossible.

I hung my head and felt a tear in my eye. It rolled down my face and fell to the ground, where it sizzled against the shield.

"Why? Why can't I have one break? All I want to do is spend one decent day with my family and not have to worry about all this danger..." I sniffled before continuing, "At least everyone else is okay... no, not everyone..." More tears began to run down my face as I remembered seeing the town being blown to pieces.

"All those innocent ponies... that wasn't their fight... they didn't deserve to die." I choked back more tears as I remembered all the ponies who I knew and loved.

"Oh, this is priceless! The great Lance, crying." Nightmare said with a large smirk as he stood over me.

I looked up with hate filled eyes and snarled, "Why?! Why did you have to attack us on this day?! Why couldn't you have told us to meet you out in the forest like last time?!"

He smiled and patted the shield, "Why not? We wanted a high body count, and that was the best way to get it."

I yelled in anger and slammed into the shield, "YOU BASTARD!"

He laughed and turned to face Val and Violent Inferno, who had just walked into the room.

"Val, are you ready for the transfer?"

Val nodded his head and looked at me with a evil smirk.

"Transfer?" I muttered.

Nightmare swirled around to face me and grinned, "Oh yes, the transfer."

I raised an eyebrow and frowned, "Transfer as in?"

"You know that little trick you have, the one where you regenerate and heal yourself?" He questioned, face twitching into a smile.

I resist the urge to gulp and nodded.

He smirked and watched as Val positioned himself next to my shielded prison.

"Well, Val here knows a little trick to transfer that over to me. Sadly, for you anyway, you'll no longer have this ability." He smiled smugly as I growled in anger. "And, after this transfer is done, we'll move on to a few of your other ability's."

I stomped the ground, "That's not possible!"

{I KNOW!! I just don't want to believe it...}

Nightmare tilted his head back laughing, "We'll see."

Ten minutes earlier

"NO! NOOOO!" Twilight screamed as she pounded against the large black shield that encased Ponyville.

Giro looked into the shield and felt a pang of quilt as he looked at the burning remains of the once peaceful town. This was his fault. He had given Lance the wrong information, and so many innocents had paid for it.

"Now!" Omnius yelled out as he and a few other unicorns shot beams of magic at the shield, trying to bring it down.

Giro looked around at all the ponies who had been outside of the shield at the time it went up, and at all of Lance's friends who were desperately trying to break it down.

Twilight continued to scream out, slamming her hooves against the shield in anger.

Giro slowly walked up behind her and put a hoof on her shoulder, "Twilight, please, calm down."

She twisted around and yelled out in anger, tears streaming down her face, "Calm down?! How can I be calm when I just saw my husband get taken by Nightmare?!"

Giro felt another pang of guilt, "I'm sorry..."

She began to scream, but stopped herself, "Giro... it wasn't your fault. I just want my husband to be okay."

Giro gave a slight nod, "I'll find Lance, I promise."

Twilight's gaze suddenly hardened, "You know where he is, don't you?"

Giro looked away, "Yes..."

Twilight turned his head back to face her, "You're taking me with you."

Giro looked into her eyes and said in a serious voice, "No, I will not allow..."

Twilight stomped her hoof and pointed it at him, "You're taking me with you and that's final!"

Giro gulped and clenched his teeth, "... Alright, if you come, you stay behind me."

Twilight smiled slightly and turned to face her friends, who had trotted over to them as they had their slight fight.

"Are ya okay Twi?" Applejack asked with a look of concern.

Twilight nodded and pointed towards the shield. "Listen girls, we know where Lance is. Giro and I are going to go find him. I want you girls to stay here and help the ponies in need."

"Now look." Applejack said sternly as she eyed her friend, "We're not gonna allow you ta run off and face all those guys by yer selves. If ya go, we go."

The other's nodded their heads in agreement.

Twilight held a hoof to her face, "If you all come, we'll only be..."

"Twilight." Giro said as he looked at the group.

She turned to face him, frowning.

"I think we'll need their help with this."

She raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

He waved his hoof over them all, "You're all the elements of harmony. That's the most powerful weapon we have against them. We're taking them with us."

She began to say something, but Giro shook his head, silencing her.

Twilight sighed and turned to her friends, "Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash looked up at her and stood up straight.

"Go to Canterlot and get the elements of harmony. Once you have them, bring them back here."

Rainbow Dash saluted, "On it!" She then spun around and shot into the air, heading at top speed towards Canterlot.

She then looked at the others, "While she's gone, we're going to help as many ponies as we can when that shield goes down."

Giro smiled a little as they all gave a small cheer.

Not all ponies are bad... like they are in his future.

Two minutes later, a minute after the shield came down

Giro trotted down the street, looking at the burning remains of the buildings. A few ponies stumbled around, blood covering a few.

The sight was painful for him, he'd know many of those ponies.

After he cleared the streets and came to the center of the town, where most of the fighting must have taken place, he saw a few ponies laying close together.

When he was closer, he recognized them as his friends, or, the ponies who were his friends in the future.

Only one of them was standing, Frederic. He was looking around, tears coated his face.

Giro looked down at the others and winced when he saw Grace. Her right foreleg was twisted in an awkward angle, clearly broken, and bruises and cuts covered her body.

Peter's face was slightly swollen, blood seeping out of his broken snout.

Greg.... didn't have a scratch on him, only a large bruise around his neck.

Frederic tilted his head up to the sky, "This is my fault..."

Giro shook his head and put a hoof on his side, "No it's not. If it's anyone's, it's mine."

Frederic looked down at him sadly, "I could have beaten my father.... I just refused to actually use the skills he taught me back on earth."

Giro cocked his head slightly and raised an eyebrow, "He taught you skills? Why would he do that?"

Frederic sighed and hung his head, "My father always wanted me to be part of the family business. He kept forcing me to take all those fighting classes. He made sure I learned how to fight hand to hand... but... I told myself I would never use what he made me learn... I'm so stupid."

Giro put on a reassuring smile, "You're not stupid, you just did what you thought was best. If you..."

Frederic sliced a hoof through the air and flared his horn, causing a saddlebag to lift off of the stage and float over to himself, "I will no longer go about this peacefully! If he want's to hurt and kill others, then I'll just have to stoop to his level!"

Before Giro could ask, Frederic pulled out a rune and focused his magic on it. A bright light flash, causing Giro to look away.

When Giro looked back, his eyes widened in awe. Frederic was dressed in a full on suit of steel colored armor, the same one he had used on that night so long ago when Cody was trying to kill him. He still had the two swords by his side, each one with the name 'Sanger' and 'Yolosh' carved into the side of the sheath.

"You still have that?" Giro said in slight awe.

Frederic looked at him, half his face hidden behind the metal mask, "Of course, I knew I would need it." He then leaned forward, becoming deadly serious, "Now, were are they."

"Can you wait till..."

He stomped his hoof and growled slightly, "Tell me!"

Giro recoiled and pointed towards the Everfree Forest, "They're at the Nightmare Castle, the one from the show."

Frederic closed his eyes, "Thank you." He then turned and lowered his head, "I'm going to make him pay for all the pain he's caused."

His head snapped up and he shot forward suddenly flying at a high speed towards the Everfree forest.

Giro took a step after him, but the groans from Peter stopped him. Instead, he moved to the side and kneeled down next to Peter, "Peter, can you hear me?"

Peter groaned again and gave a weak nod.

Giro put a hoof on his shoulder, "Hang in there. Help will be here soon."

Over to the side, Grace let out a weak whimper as she sat up and looked at her broken foreleg.

Giro stood and rushed over to her, "No, stay down Grace."

She began to protest, but allowed him to lay her back down.

Giro stood and looked around, watching as the uninjured ponies ran around helping the hurt ones. A few were carrying either unconscious or.. dead ponies on their backs.

He sighed and carefully picked up Grace and then Peter.

-------------------------------------------------

Twilight strained herself as she lifted a pile of rubble off of a pony. When it was lifted high enough, she threw her head to the side, sending it into the street. She then galloped forward and kneeled down next to the pony.

The pony coughed and looked up at her, forcing a pained smile, "Thank you..."

Twilight smiled back and stood up. She then levitated the pony up and began to walk towards the medical tent, holding the pony in front of her.

The medical tent had been thrown up in a hast, already full of ponies. It wasn't enough for everypony, but it was better than nothing.

As she reached it, she laid the pony down on a open cot and turned to leave.

But, Giro stepped in front of her, "Twilight, we have to leave as soon as possible."

She looked to the side and saw Grace and Peter on two separate cots, both resting.

"Why? Don't we have to wait for Rainbow Dash to get back?" She asked as she turned her attention back to Giro.

Giro frowned, "Frederic, he ran off to face his father... alone."

Twilight's eyes widened in shock, "He did what?! He can't do this alone!"

Giro nodded, "I know, that's why we must leave now!"

Twilight looked around and yelled out to one of her friends, "Rarity!"

Rarity looked up and saw Peter. As she made her way to him, she answered, "Yes dear?"

"Tell the girls that me and Giro are going to go now."

Rarity stopped and eyed her friend, "Now? Why now?"

"Frederic's already ran off." She said simply as she began to push Giro out of the tent.

When they were outside of the tent, Twilight started to gallop towards the forest, "Come on! We'll be there in fifteen minutes if we hurry!"

"Or five if we fly." Giro said as he galloped to catch up.

"Fly?" Twilight said as she came to a stop and looked at him strangely, "But, you don't have wings. That's one of the differences between my Lance and you."

Giro chuckled and grabbed the edge of his cloak, "Oh? That's not one of the differences between us." He then yanked the cloak off and tossed it to the side, revealing a pair of strong wings.

Twilight sighed and shook her head, "I should have known."

Giro turned to the side and lowered himself, "Well, come on then, we don't have much time."

Twilight looked up and gave a single nod. She then climbed onto his back and shifted into a comfortable position.

Giro stood up and spread his wings, "Let's get this party started!"

He then took off into the air, flying as hard as he could towards the castle.

------------------------------------------------

Oh man, they didn't say this would be that painful!

I was currently curled up on the ground inside the shield, panting heavily. Apparently, that spell he uses causes physical exhaustion.

So far, they've taken my ability to regenerate and my ability to teleport. I don't know what's next though.

Nightmare and Val was currently laughing together, making a joke or something.

I look towards the window and see a flash. Lighting. Looks like a storm is rolling in.

"Do you think you can take his immortality?" Nightmare asked Val.

I shrugged, "I don't know, that's the hardest thing to take from someone. I tried to take my brothers, but failed. I may be able to, but it'll take a while."

Nightmare looked at me and smirked, "Don't worry, we have all the time in the world."

I gulped audibly, if they take that, then... I don't want to think about it.

----------------------------------------------

Frederic flew down the path, a pissed off look on his face.

He was nearing the castle, only a few more minutes to go.

Above him, he heard the sound of thunder and felt a drop of water hit his face as he sped down the narrowing path.

He didn't pay attention to it, but, he did pay attention to the sudden flash of movement off to his side.

Before he could turn his head, something slammed into him and sent him flying off the path and into a patch of bushes and trees.

He slammed into a fairly large tree and completely tore it out of the ground as his body soared through the air.

Frederic growled and twisted in mid air and landed on all fours, facing his attacker.

Richard landed a few yards away and smiled, "You can still stand after the beating I gave ya? Impressive." He then smirked as he looked Frederic over, "Armor and swords? Really boy? You always was a fucking geek about that stuff."

Frederic drew his two swords with his magic and held them in front of himself, "No more games! We're going to end this, right here, right now!"

Richard flexed out his talons and grinned, "So, you've finally grown a actual pair? You're ready to take on your old man in a fight to the death?"

Frederic leaned down into a fighting stance, "I should have done this the first time we fought!"

Richard laughed and also leaned down into a fighting stance, "Oh? As I remember, the first time we fought was back on earth, and we both know how that ended for you."

Frederic let out a low growl, "This time, it won't be me who taste the cold steel of a blade!"

Richard chuckled and tensed, "Of course it won't be Freddy."

Richard then shot forward, talons raised.

Frederic also shot forward, both of his swords raised and ready to strike.

They reached each other and...

Ending the Nighmare

Sorry Iron Clad, I kinda couldn't figure out how to do that plot idea, so I improvised.

Chapter 125

Frederic brought the swords down towards Richard. Richard held up his talons and caught the blades in his paws, causing a small amount of blood to drizzle down his arms.

He smirked and pulled the swords out of Frederic's grasp and tossed them to the side.

Frederic changed his tactics quickly and slammed his head forward, barely missing Richard's neck.

Richard laughed crazily as he dodged to the side and grabbed Frederic's neck. He pulled him backwards and dug his talons deep into Frederic's shoulder blade.

Frederic hissed in pain as he twisted around and slammed his metal covered hoof into his father's face. The force of the impact caught Richard off guard and caused his head to snap back.

Frederic used his magic to pull Richard's talons out of his shoulder and held him up in front of him, "I told you I would make you pay!"

He forced more magic onto Richard's arm, causing it to bent backwards. Seconds later, it snapped with a sickening crack.

Richard yelled out in pain and struck out with his one good arm.

His talons dug into the left side of Frederic's face, penetrating the metal and smashing through his flesh.

Frederic let out a small yelp of pain and forced magic into his horn, he then used that magic to blast Richard backwards, sending him crashing through a few trees.

Frederic brought a hoof up to his face and winced when he touched exposed muscle and bone. He felt something fall onto his hoof and when he pulls it back, he almost screams in horror.

Because, in his hoof was his left eye, completely destroyed.

Richard laughed hoarsely as he tried to stand back up, blood dripping out of his mouth.

Frederic glared at him with clear hatred and stumbled forward, blood pouring down his face at a steady pace.

Richard took a step forward, but a sudden flash of metal caught his eye as Frederic used his magic to launch one of the discarded swords towards him.

The blade embedded it's self in Richard's side, going through his right kidney.

Frederic then used his magic to pick up Richard and slammed him into the ground. He then brought the second sword up and held it against his father's throat.

Richard forced a smile through bloody teeth, "Yes, kill me! If you think you can."

Frederic snarled and lifted the sword, "Oh no, death is to good for you." Frederic's horn flared a bright red.

A second later, a large pool of molten steel appeared off to the side.

Richard looked at it with a horror stricken face, "You wouldn't?"

Frederic lifted him up and swung him over the boiling pool of molten steel, "Oh, I wouldn't dream of doing this to a person..." He then glared, "But, I don't consider you a person. YOU MONSTER!"

He then began to lower his father into the pit.

As his body began to enter the liquid metal, Richard smirked at his son, "Like father, like son."

Frederic only clenched his teeth and dropped his father, allowing him to sink in to the metal.

He waited a few seconds before pulling him out, now encased in a magical type of metal.

He dropped it onto the ground and turned. But, only took two steps before falling to the ground, exhausted.

"Who's the weak one now..." He muttered as his horn flared, trying to stop the bleeding on his face.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Giro flew in low as they neared the castle.

He could see Jun trotting around the court yard, talking to himself.

He landed a few meters from the base of the castle and dropped Twilight. When she hit the ground and stood up, he pointed at a window, "Listen Twilight, I want you to get inside through that window and find Lance. But, when you do, don't do anything! I mean it! I only want you to make a sort of distraction to make them leave the room he's in. I'll take care of them once I'm done with Jun."

Twilight frowned, but nodded her head before galloping off to the window.

Giro twisted in mid air and flew towards the courtyard, ready to take out the weakest of the group. His plan was simple: Take them out one at a time.

He landed behind a fallen stone pillar and watched as Jun continued to trot around, chatting to no one.

Giro raised an eye and jumped over the pillar and shot towards Jun.

Jun's ear's twitched as he heard the flap of wings, but before he could turn, Giro slammed into him.

Giro twisted around as they flew through the air and grabbed Jun by the neck. He then threw his hoof downward, causing Jun's face to drag against the cobblestone ground.

Up ahead, he saw a low stone wall.

He smiled and flapped his wings harder. Before he reached it, he threw Jun forward and caused him to slam face first into the stone wall, literally breaking through half of the large stone.

Giro forced himself to stop in mid flight and twisted around and flew back to Jun.

He landed next to him and winced at the sight.

Jun's snout was pressed back a little, bone sticking out the top of his snout. Many of his teeth were broken or split.

Jun was saying something, but Giro couldn't hear him.

He reached down and picked him up by the mane, "Damn, yo face messed up brotha!" Giro said in his best street voice.

He then drug Jun over to the cliff and just tossed him over it, removing him from the battle.

Giro let out a sigh and turned back to the castle and galloped towards it.

But, someone yelled out, stopping him dead in his tracks.

He turned and smiled, "Finally! Come on everyone! We have a castle to purge!"

Twilight pulled herself through the stone window and landed on the other side with a soft thud.

She stood up and rubbed her shoulder, which took the full blunt of the small fall. She shook it off and silently moved down the hallway, looking for any sign of Lance.

She looked in a few rooms, but all were empty.

She was getting annoyed till she heard voices up ahead.

After a few seconds of silent trotting, she came to the large open door and peered in.

Inside, she saw Nightmare and Val talking next to a shield. Inside the shield was... Lance! She resisted the urge to gallop into the room.

She surveyed the room and saw Violent Inferno standing off to the side, talking to a black serpent pony, or, it looked like he was trying to talk to it.

She looked back at Nightmare and Val, who were both laughing as Lance glared up at them angrily.

"Do it now Val! Give me his immortality!" Nightmare said in a booming voice.

Val smiled and pointed his horn at Lance's shield. "Yes sir!"

When Val's horn flared and shot a beam at the shield, Lance began to scream out in pain. His body tensed up and shook violently.

This was to much for Twilight to take, she couldn't stand back and watch as Lance suffered.

She gritted her teeth and stepped into the room, catching the eye of Violent Inferno, who instantly shot towards her.

She shot him a rage filled stare and her horn flared a bright white.

Inferno stopped in mid air and shot upward. His body slammed into the stone ceiling with a sickening thud. Before he could fall, she threw his body at the serpent pony, sending both of them tumbling.

She shifted her gaze back at Nightmare and Val, who had stopped the spell and was staring at her.

"I knew you'd be here sooner or later." Nightmare said in a smug tone.

Twilight growled and slammed her hoof against the ground, her face a light with rage.

Her horn flared again and she shot a beam out, which hit Nightmare and blew straight through his chest.

He winced slightly, but the wound quickly closed.

"Ah, thank you Lance for being so foolish and giving yourself up." Nightmare remarked as he smirked.

Before Twilight could react, Nightmare disappeared and reappeared in front of her.

She gasped and tried to cast a spell, but he reached down and grabbed her horn, cutting her magic off.

He laughed loudly as he lifted her up and brought her face a inch from his, "You stupid girl! Did you think you alone could face me?"

Twilight winced in pain as he jerked her to the side.

He smiled and shook his head, "What? Did you think the power of friendshipwould save you? Let me tell you this, you were lucky the first time! You may have forced me out of Luna's body, but nothing can stop me in my pure form!"

Twilight growled and put her hoof in his face, "If you so much as hurt Lance..."

"You'll what?" He said smugly.

Twilight glared at him, trying to come up with a plan.

Nightmare laughed, "Exactly!"

He then threw her to the ground and put his foot on her chest, forcing the air out of her lungs.

He began to laugh with a crazy tone.

Twilight's face turned red as her chest was forced down lower and lower.

*KABOOM*

A bright light filled the room, followed by the sound of a large explosion.

Nightmare turned his head to see Lance, standing straight up, his hooves and mane aflame. His eyes burned with intense hate and fire.

Val was laying next to him, holding his throat, coughing like crazy.

Nightmare stopped applying pressure to Twilight's chest and stared at Lance.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Twilight?

What's she doing here? She shouldn't be here!

[Damn, she took out Inferno and that black pony like it was nothing.]
{Yeah! But now Nightmare has her in his grip! We have to do something.}
[Oh, I've got something, but it's dangerous. I don't know how our body will react to it.]

[Yes, Holy Breaking Dawn.]
{Do it! I don't care about myself, I will not allow him to hurt her.}
[One second!]

I watched as Nightmare said a few things to Twilight.

If he hurts her... He will die!

I was staying as calm as I could...

Till he threw her on the ground and slammed his foot onto her chest.

I instantly jumped to my hooves, ignoring that I had just slammed my head into the shield.

He. Will. DIE!

I began to breath heavily, eyes twitching crazily. I forgot about everything else, just focusing on my intense rage towards Nightmare.

[NOW!]

I yelled out as I forced myself to change into my Holy Dawn, but this time, I felt Break slide into control also.

As soon as I was fully changed, a sudden shock wave shoot out from my body, completely destroying the shield around me.

Time seemed to slow down as Val's head turned towards me, eyes wide.

My hoof shot forward and slammed into his throat, breaking his wind pipe upon contact.

As he fell, I turned my attention back to Nightmare and stomped my hoof, causing a loud boom to be heard.

He turned, a look of shock on his face.

I began to breath in heavily and pointed at him, "Get off of her!"

He looked down at Twilight, who was struggling to breath and smirked, "How about this: You turn off that little power and..."

*BOOOM*

He suddenly flew off of her and slammed into the wall with a loud crack.

I looked down at Twilight and pointed to the door, "Get out of here!"

She wheezed and nodded.

I looked at Nightmare and waited for him to stand.

He looked at me and just smiled.

[TRYING TO SNEAK UP ON US?]

I spun around and slammed my hoof into the serpent's ponies face, instantly smashing through it's face. It stumbled back, head missing. It stopped and suddenly dissolved into a pile of sludge.

Violent Inferno flew towards me and slammed his right hoof into my face. I only growled and grabbed his hoof and twisted it backwards, breaking it in two places.

He yelped in pain as I twisted him around and wrapped his broken leg around his neck.

I looked over at Nightmare as I held Inferno, "I would never kill another person or pony. And as far as I'm concerned, I still haven't killed anyone." I pulled Inferno's leg to the side, breaking his neck.

I dropped him and turned to face Nightmare, "I don't see you guys as people. I see you as a plague. I feel no remorse in my actions here."

I took a step forward, "As an angel, it's my job to protect others from the plague that is evil. And, if killing all of you is the only way to do that. Then that's how it's going to be."

Nightmare laughed, a bit nervous, "You can't kill me, I have you're regeneration." He then smirked, "Besides..." He suddenly disappeared and reappeared holding Twilight, "I know you're weakness."

I growled in complete anger and shot forward with intense speed.

Nightmare tossed Twilight at me, laughing evilly.

I stopped in mid flight and caught her.

Bad move... very bad move.

Nightmare appeared behind me and slammed both of his hands into my head, causing me to drop Twilight.

"You would do anything to protect her, huh?" He said with a happy tone.

He then grabbed my right wing and picked me up, "Such a fool!"

He then put his other hand on the base of my wing and pushed down.

I screamed out in pain, trying to regain control of my actions.

"Lance!" Someone yelled out.

Before I could look up, a loud tearing sound echoed through the room as my wing was separated from my body.

I let out a loud scream of pain as I fell to the floor, a searing pain shooting through my body.

"You bastard!" Someone yelled out.

I looked up lazily to see Shadow Breeze shot over me and slam into Nightmare.

I turned my head and saw him slamming his hooves into Nightmare, breaking bone with each hit. But, thanks to my failure, Nightmare's body just healed the wounds as soon as they happened.

He laughed and grabbed Shadow by the torso and slammed his head into his. Shadow's body went limp as Nightmare tossed him to the side.

"SHADOW!" Fluttershy screamed out.

I quickly looked back to see Applejack holding back Fluttershy, who was trying to get to Shadow. I saw Twilight standing amount them.

Thank God! She was smart enough to get away from me and Nightmare.

[I'm trying Dawn! It's hard! I'm trying to keep the pain from spreading!]

"Who's next?" Nightmare asked as he looked at my friends.

"Me!" I yelled out as a sudden surge of energy shot through my body.

I shot upwards and slammed my hoof into his jaw, sending him flying backwards.

I quickly turned to face the others, "Twilight! You have to use the elements on him!"

She gave a quick nod and turned to Rainbow Dash, "Where are the elements?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she looked around, "Oh buck! Where are they?"

"Over here." Nightmare said, holding up a box.

My eyes widened, he has the elements!

"Lance, follow me!" Giro yelled as he shot ahead and flew towards Nightmare.

I winced as I tried to flap my wings and felt the broken bone poke at my flesh. Instead, I just galloped towards Nightmare.

I could hear someone else running up behind me, but I focused on Nightmare.

Giro reached Nightmare first and made a grab for the box.

Nightmare pulled the box back swiftly and grabbed Giro with his free hand. He then used his claws to dig into his sides, drawing blood on each side.

Giro winced in pain and made another grab for the box.

Nightmare twisted Giro around and tossed him towards one of the windows.

Before he could turn back around, I slammed my hoof into his gut and grabbed the box out of his grasp. But, before I could turn and run, he grabbed my burning mane and slammed my head into his knee. I tossed the box to the side and pushed forward with my back legs, slamming into him again.

He grunted and reached down and grabbed my waist. He lifted me up and slammed me head first into the stone floor.

Stars filled my vision as he slammed my head into the floor again.

"Yo! Nightmare!" I heard someone who could only be Omnius yell out.

Nightmare and I looked towards the voice. Nightmare gasped in shock, while I wheezed in victory.

Omnius had grabbed the box after I had thrown it and taken it back to the girls, who were all wearing the elements.

I looked up at Nightmare and forced a smirk, "You're so fucked."

I then twisted, breaking out of his grasp and jumped towards him. But, instead of slamming into him, I swung around to his back and latched onto him.

"Do it Twi!" I yelled out, using all my energy to hold Nightmare in place.

I couldn't see them, but I could hear the elements coming to life. Seconds later, I heard them fire.

I looked up and saw the beam of rainbow magic hit the ceiling and arc straight for me and Nightmare.

Seconds before it hit, I jumped backwards and watched as the beam slammed into Nightmare and began to swirl around him.

He yelled out and tried to get out of it, but it closed in on him and forced him to stay put. A second later, they swirled upward into a mini tornado.

I watched as it slowly died down, and as it disappeared, I saw the stone form of Nightmare, a look of horror on his frozen face.

I smiled as I stood up and stumbled slightly towards Twilight and the others.

The girls were currently trying to stand up, exhausted from using the elements.

Omnius smiled at me as he quickly ran past me to help Shadow and Giro.

I stumbled over to Twilight and collapsed, finally allowed to rest.

I forced myself out of my angel slash Breaking Dawn form and began to pant loudly.

[We did it Dawn.]

[Oh no, don't you get all hug happy on me.]

[Fine, but a quick one!]
Break and Dawn quickly hugged each other and broke apart, acting natural.

Twilight sat up and looked me over, "Lance... your wing."

I closed my eyes and whimpered despite myself, "I know..."

She placed her horn to it and sent a small surge of energy through my body. I felt the pain recede as she stopped the bleeding and closed the wound.

"Thanks..." I muttered, tears still rolling down my face.

She put a hoof on my back and gently rubbed it, "Don't worry Lance, we'll get you a new wing."

I opened my eyes and smiled weakly, "Really?"

She nodded and leaned down and nuzzled my cheek, "Yep. I promise."

I forced myself to sit up and looked at the girls, who were all looking at the carnage of the previous battle.

"Hey Lance, where's Val?" Omnius yelled out.

I pointed to where he had fallen, but raised an eyebrow. He was no longer there.

What happened to him? I know for sure that I broke his windpipe, I'm sure you can't live after that.

"Strange." Omnius remarked as he lifted Shadow up and helped him walk over to Fluttershy.

I sighed and looked at Twilight, "Twi, can you do something for me?"

She smiled and gave a nod, "What is it?"

I smiled and forced myself to stand, only grunting a few times, "You have to allow me to take you on a real date tomorrow."

She giggled and put her nose to mine, "I can do that."

I smiled and rubbed my nose against hers, "Excellent."

"Hey, love birds. If ya'll are done, we have some work ta do." Applejack called out, causing me and Twilight to chuckle.

"We'll resume this later." I said as I turned to see what I can do to help.

"I'll hold that to you." Twilight remarked as she trotted past me.

I smiled, but frowned when I saw my dismembered wing a few feet away. I can't believe he ripped it off...

[It could have been worst, so much worst.]

I smiled sadly, {I know... I know...}

~Section added circa 25 A.B. After popular demand~
Epilogue

Hours after the battle, smoke still rose from what little remained of Ponyville. Every single living resident had been evacuated, thanks to the efforts of Lance and Frederic. Leaving only an empty town to smolder as the night wore on.

The heroes of the night, Lance and his friends, had left for Canterlot to rest after the night's events. Opting to spend time with their families.

Yet, long after the last pony left the town, some rubble began to shift. With a grunt, a hoof breaks through debris, followed by a small filly pulling herself free. She was dirty and covered in bruises, but she was alive.

Exhausted, she looked around, expecting to see her family looking for her. However, all she saw was the rising smoke and the bodies of those who perished during the fighting.

“Hello…?” She called out. “Mom…? Dad…? Spark…?”

No answer came her way as she lowered her head. After some time, she began the long and grueling walk to Canterlot, limping as she went. Refusing to believe she’d been forgotten about.

Clearly they were still looking, they just took a break… right?

End of Part 1 of LTD

First off, sorry, I forgot this picture, so I had to unpublish it for a minute.

(This is the official art for Part 2. Everything in it will be involved at one point in the story.)

Yes, that was part one of 'Living the Dream'. And what a way to end it, a final battle against Nightmare.

My best work if you ask me.

Now, to get things straight:

No, this is not the end of 'Living the Dream', it is merely the end of part one and the beginning of part two. The story will continue on from this point, but set a few months later.

I know what I said, part two was going to be all about Spark and set after the death of Lance and Twilight. Well, that's now been changed over to either part 3 or 4. Each part is over 120 chapters, so, don't worry about this ending very soon.

Now, the point of this chapter, or post, is to summarize what happened after Nightmare Night. Pretty much just telling you all what happened, not much detail. This leaves much room for later plots.

I think that covers everything. So now, for the summary:

Summary of events since Nightmare Night

It's been seven months since Nightmare Night. The date is some time in may.

All the couples got married (It's five months, and they've been through a lot, only makes sense.)

Lance loses his other wing in an accident and gets two prosthetic wings to replace his old ones. Also, Lance's bionic eye was fixed to look just like his other eye.

Lance goes through a few troubling events, which causes a slight mental problem. Guilt.

Mr. Bleak is still shying away from Adry.

Mark ran off to the big city.

Zane is still gone.

Ditzy is pregnant.

Frederic now wears a large eye patch over the left side of his face.

Spark still can't figure his feelings for Nova out.

Two new bronies showed up.

Tovy is still in love with Lance (Creepy)

Lance was forced to fight a weed monster that got out of Greg's 'lab'.

Greg is starting a business (That can't be good)

The town of Ponyville is currently trying to rebuilt its self.

Lance's and Twilight's house was rebuilt to look exactly like it did before. But this time, it's only Lance and his family.

Rainbow Dash had the twins. (The names are unknown till David tells me what he wants them to be named.)

Chibi has opened an art gallery, full of art he has drawn.

More has happened, but will be revealed later.

There you have it, the summary of the last seven months in LTD.

I will start part two tomorrow.

Also, part two will take place on this story, I'm not creating a whole new story for it.

I hope you enjoyed part one, and I hope you all enjoy part two.

Past mistakes

Beginning of Part 2

I was going to start a new story, but, decided against it. Doing this is so much easier. I'll split this story up after part 6

Chapter 1 (Chapter 126)

September 20th, 2014
Unknown Location
Lance's POV

Always me, huh?

I'm always the one who has to suffer hardship, just so the others can go on...

My heart is full of pain... and suffering...

I try to do the right thing... but... it always turns out to be the wrong thing.

Now.... he's dead... because of my mistake...

[I didn't know... I should have known...]

... Please, be quiet...

Shut up, it's my fault! My friend is dead, BECAUSE OF ME! And now this!

Why.... I've done everything to prevent this...

I fought him... I defeated him... but...

Why? Just why?

He was my friend! I told him to believe in me! And look what happened to him! He's gone!

... Because he trusted me...

I...

Why?

Why did this happen?

Twilight... why have you done this? I... I though you loved me with all your heart?

I'm sorry... I had to do it... I just had to do it!

But... did you have to do this?

I love you, and you... do this...

[Lance... please, this wasn't your...]

FUCKING SHUT UP! It's all my fault! None of this would have happened if I hadn't agreed to that!

[Fuck it Lance! Think back to the beginning of all of this! If you do, you'll see it wasn't your fault!]

It was! I don't have to think back!

[Fucking do it Lance!]

NO!

[You've forced my hoof, I'm going to force us all to relive the past couple of months!]

Break, if you do that...

[To fucking late!]

Memories began to pour into my head, forcing me to relive everything!

-----Flashback-----
Lance's house, Canterlot
May 2, 2014
Lance's POV

"Wakey wakey Lance!" Twilight yelled in my face as she forced me to sit up.

"Wha? Why are you waking me up on a weekend?" I questioned as I rubbed my face sleepily.

Twilight giggled and tapped my forehead, "Remember? You promised to take Spark to the Wonderbolt's air show today."

I chuckled and rolled out of bed, "Yeah, I remember. Where is the awesome little guy?"

"Where do you think? He's been in the living room for the past thirty minutes waiting for you to wake up."

I smiled, "Aww, that's adorable." I chuckled, "And, I'm off!"

"Not before taking a shower first." Twilight said with a laugh as she watched me walk towards the door.

"Do I have too?" I questioned, a pathetic smile on my face.

She smirked, "Yes, you do."

I struck a pose, "Then I'm off to the shower!"

And with that, I ran down the hall and burst into the bathroom.

"Dad!" Fawn yelled as she fell onto her flank at the sudden intrusion.

I smiled sheepishly, "Oops, sorry Fawn... I didn't know you were in here..." I then smirked, "Learn to lock the door."

She groaned and stood up, "Learn to knock!"

"I will when you learn to flush."

She rolled her eyes and trotted past me, "Oh, put a sock in it dad."

Once she closed the door, I, smartly, locked the door.

I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself.

A sigh escaped my lips as I stretched out my prosthetic wings.

[Hey, at least they look a little cooler... right?]

I shrugged it off and pulled them back to my side.

I'm already use to them, well... kinda.

After I turned the water on, I just sat down on my haunches outside of it, watching the water splash against the shower's floor.

{... Yeah, I'm fine... just... remembering that night...}
[Lance, that was seven months ago, just let it go.]
{How can I? I saw so many innocent ponies die! Remember all the pain and suffering we saw when we returned to the destroyed remains of Ponyville?}

{... I know, I'll move on... one day.}

I sighed heavily and stood up.

I guess I should get this shower over with and hurry up and get Spark to that show.

A/N: You have to understand this: all of Part 2 will be the flashback. Yes, a hundred chapters of a flashback, all leading back up to the point in which this chapter started on.

All events will lead to what you just read, the first part that is. So, the story will continue as usual, but, you all know it leads up to something.

Any questions? If so, just PM me or post below (I mean questions about this whole plot)

Spark's lucky day

Something important came up, so I'm making this short. Sorry.

Also, I may have severe heart problems, yay me... That's why I cut this short... I'm off to the hospital.

Chapter 2 (Chapter 127)

"That was awesome!" Spark yelled as we walked out of the stadium.

I couldn't help but chuckle at him, "It sure was. Who knew Spitfire could do all those moves?"

"Pfft, those were her amateur moves. She has way more awesome moves than those!" He yelled in excitement, still jumping around me.

"Oh, and how do you know so much about her?" I asked, stopping in my tracks, an idea forming in my mind.

Spark twisted around and smiled, "Where do you think?"

"Rainbow Dash?" I asked.

He nodded happily, "Yep! She's told me everything about the Wonderbolt's!" He then chuckled, "Mom also bought me a few books."

I smirked, "So tell me Spark, what would you do if you saw your idol?"

He cocked his head, "What's an idol?"

I snickered slightly, "I mean, what would you do if you saw Spitfire in person?"

He shrugged, "I don't know... why?"

I turned around and began to trot towards the stadium again, "Oh, no reason."

"Dad? Where are you going?" Spark asked as he ran after me.

I smiled down at him as I walked, "You'll see, buddy."

I walked into the stadium and turned onto a side hallway. I followed this till I came to a set of stairs with a sign saying, "Private". I moved the sign out of the way and began to trot up the stairs.

"Um, dad. I don't think we're allowed up here." Spark said as he looked around nervously.

I chuckled and rumbled up his mane, "Don't worry, you're going to love this."

After reaching the top, I looked down two different hallways. I looked down the left one and saw a few doors with names on them. That has to be it.

But, before I could turn, Spark pointed to a sign, "Why is that whore on that pole?"

I put my hoof over his eye and drug him down the hall, "First off, who told you what a whore was? Second, that was just a pony climbing a pole.... in a alluring way..."

Spark broke from my grasp and smiled, "Dorchester told me about them. He also told me about something called a condom... what's a condom?"

I facehoofed, hard, "I'm so going to kill that guy when I see him again!" I then looked at Spark, "I'll tell you when you're older."

"But I am older! It's been a few seconds, so I'm a few seconds older!" He huffed, but with a small grin.

"Smart ass.. I mean, smart mouth." I said, giving him a small glare.

"Hey! What are you two doing up here?!" A rough voice called as a security stallion ran towards us.

"I knew it." Spark muttered.

I smirked, "And this is where plan B kicks in."

"Plan B?" Spark asked.

I nodded and grabbed his hoof, "Plan B." I then tossed him onto my back and trotted forward.

"Yo, officer."

He came to stop in front of me and held out his hoof, "I.D.'s?"

I shrugged, "Left them in my other pants."

"You're not wearing pants." He deadpanned.

I waved a hoof, "Exactly."

He facehoofed and pointed to the stairs, "Just go back down."

"Sure thing officer." I said as I trotted past him and continued on my way.

"Hey! I said go down the stairs!" He yelled, grabbed me by the shoulder.

I smirked, "And I said, sure thing." I then twisted my shoulder and bolted off down the hall, Spark bouncing around on my back.

"Dad?!" He yelled.

I laughed, "Hang on Spark!"

I then shifted to the side and dove into an open door. Once inside, I ran over to the window and pushed it open.

By the time the security stallion ran in, I was already in another room.

I chuckled as Spark jumped off my back, "Good move dad."

I smiled and trotted to the door, "Thanks."

"So, what are we even doing?" He asked curiously.

"You'll see soon." I answered.

"Ugh!"

I laughed and continued to walk, reading the names off of the doors.

No... no... no... ah, no...

[See Dawn, I knew I could prove it.]

{The stadium.}

I stopped at a door and smiled, "Here we go."

"We're here?" Spark asked.

I nodded and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Came a female voice on the inside.

"I got your pizza?" I yelled, a large smile on my face.

"Pizza?" The voice said as the door opened slightly.

I gave a wave, "Hey."

The mare opened the door all the way and stepped into view, "Do I know you?"

I heard a small gasp behind me, but continued to smile, "No, you don't. Just asking for a request."

The mare eyed me, "Who are you? Name?"

Yay! Pose time!

I struck a small pose and grinned, "I'm Lance, Lance Greenfield."

"Lance... Greenfield?" She said slowly, deep in thought.

"Um yeah..."

She smiled, "Your one of the ponies who fought off those guys during the Nightmare Night Massacre. Right?"

I frowned, "Yeah, that's me."

She held out her hoof, "I would like to thank you. You saved a lot of ponies that night."

I slowly shook her hoof, painful memories boiling up in my mind.

"Spitfire!" Spark burst out before covering his mouth.

Spitfire looked past me and smiled at Spark, "And who's this?"

I smiled proudly and pulled Spark up to my side, "This here is Spark, my son."

Spitfire held out a hoof to him and smiled, "Hey Spark, how you doing?"

Spark shakily shook her hoof, and stammered, "I... You.... Where.... How... Good?"

Spitfire laughed heartily and rumbled up his mane and looked at me, "Nice kid."

I nodded with a smile, "He sure is, he's also a huge fan of yours."

"He is?" She said with a large smile.

Spark merely nodded in response.

Spitfire chuckled and walked back into her changing room. When she emerged, she held a pair of flight goggles.

She smiled and handed them to Spark, "Here you go, those are my favorite pair of flight goggles. I trust you'll take good care of them?"

Spark smiled from ear to ear as he held Spitfire's personal goggles, "YES! Thank you! I'll take great care of them!"

She giggled and nodded, "I know you will. You look like a trust worthy kid." She then looked at me, "You said something abut a request?"

I nodded again, "Yes, I want to ask you something."

She smiled, "Go ahead."

I smiled nervously, "Could you spend a day with Spark? I'll pay you if you want, but, it'll mean a lot to him."

*Thud*

[Father like son.]

I chuckled as Spark fell to the ground, unconscious. I guess hearing that was to much for the little guy.

"Hmmm," Spitfire tapped her chin and smiled, "Tell you what, I'll spend a day with Spark, IF, you show the Wonderbolt's your different forms. We've been talking about it for a while, and would love to actually see them."

I smiled sheepishly, "You do? If I do that, you'll spend a day with Spark?"

"Exactly." She said with a small grin.

I rubbed my chin and smiled back, "Okay, deal. Spend a day with Spark, then I'll show all of you my forms."

She clapped her hooves together happily, "Great! I can't wait to tell the others." She then composed herself and smiled, "How does tomorrow sound? For me to spend a day with Spark I mean."

I thought for a second, "Hmmmm, I'm not doing anything, and it's a weekend... Sure, I think Spark will enjoy it."

She looked at him and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll make it an enjoyable day for him."

I lifted Spark up and laid him across my back.

Spitfire looked at my wings and cocked her head, "Are those wings... fake?"

I winced slightly, "Yes... I lost one in the fight, and the other because of a stupid stunt..."

She smiled weakly, "Well, keep your chin up. Life gets better."

I smiled a little and turned to walk away, "Yeah, I know..."

Got to end it here.... sorry.

Spark's stand against himself

A short recap chapter that I forgot to add.... Yes, this part was actually suppose to be in the beginning of part 2. I've been wondering why no one was making a comment about it, and the reason why was because I forgot to save it.

So, here it is, just take this has chapter 3... Even if it doesn't fit in this spot. But, I see this as important, so I'm going to rewrite it.

Chapter 3 (Chapter 128)

September 20th, 2014
Unknown Location
Spark's POV

*Cough cough*

Wha...

*Cough*

"Dad?"

I sat up and groaned as I felt my broken rips grind against each other.

"Dad?!"

I forced myself to stand, but fell back to the ground, going into a coughing fit.

"DAD!"

Why isn't he responding?! He was right beside me before...

Where is he?

Why is it so dark? Why is the floor so cold? Why is...

NOVA!

I began to look around, trying to stand.

"Nova!"

I finally got to my hooves, but when I took a step, my right foreleg bent backwards. I fell to the ground, slamming into the hard stone floor face first.

Tears filled my eyes as the pain in my beaten body sky rocketed.

Nova.... please... please be okay...

"Dad! Please! Where are you?!"

*Groans*

Nova...

I looked around again and saw her immobile body laying a few feet away.

I gritted my teeth and began to pull myself forward, letting out yelps of intense pain every second.

Once I was next to Nova, I turned her over to face me.

Tears fell from my face and onto hers.

I put my head on her chest and listened.

*Ba-dump*

I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was at least alive.

"Awww, now isn't that precious." I heard behind me.

I winced at the voice and turned to face the one who was talking.

At first, I couldn't see anything, then a small lamp came on. The pony holding the Lamp smiled, "Well Sparky, you think you can protect that little mare there in that state?"

I growled and stood, keeping weight off of my broken foreleg, "You... You will not lay a hoof on her!"

"We'll just see about that." He said with a smirk. He put the lamp down and flared his wings, "So Spark, ready for rematch with me?"

I staggered slightly as I moved into a weak fighting stance, "I don't care if your a clone of me, I'm still going to fight you till my last breath!"

The Spark clone laughed, "I see... Such brave words for one so young."

"I get it from my dad." I said, glaring at him with bruised eyes.

The Spark clone smiled evilly and began to walk forward, "Well, let's see if you fight like you dad."

I gulped and looked back at Nova, "I will not let him hurt you anymore..."

I turned back to my look alike and gritted my teeth, "Do your worst..."

"Oh, I will." He remarked as he closed the distance between us.

I know, that's to big of a cliffhanger, but you'll have to wait a while for it to take place.

Also, you now see why Part 2 is called "Clone wars, Lance's pain".

Greg's... business

Chapter 4 (Chapter 129)

I walked into my house with Spark on my back, who was still passed out.

I trotted over to the couch and laid him down on it. I then placed Spitfire's flight goggles on his chest and turned to go to the bathroom.

Before I could even take three steps, I heard Twilight ask from the kitchen, "What's wrong with Spark?"

I looked over at her and chuckled, "Oh, he just passed out after seeing his idol."

"Spitfire?" She asked with a smile.

I nodded, "Mhmmm, I took him to see her after the show."

Twilight smiled happily and trotted over, "I bet he enjoyed that..." She then began to look over my prosthetic wings, "Did you do any flying?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Maybe..."

She narrowed her eyes and gave me a stern glare, "Lance! The doctors said you shouldn't be flying till they are fully set! You could break them off if you don't be careful!"

I gulped slightly, "I know... I'm being careful, promise."

She sighed and smiled, "You better be." She then trotted over to my side, "Now, lets see the damage."

I rolled my eyes and fell to my haunches.

Twilight slowly stretched out my left wing, carefully looking over each feather and checking to make sure the fake bone is still in place.

I turned my head and smiled.

She had her tongue sticking out, focusing on looking at my wings.

She gently placed my wing back on my side and moved onto the other wing.

Once she finished, she put it back on my side and wrapped her forelegs around my waist and put her head next to mine.

"So, what's the damage?" I asked, rubbing my cheek against hers.

She giggled and squeezed my waist, "You're lucky, your wings are still healthy. Just please be careful."

I smiled and leaned my head against hers, "You know me Twi, I'm only careful when I want to be."

"Lance."

I chuckled, "Oh, you know I'm joking."

"Mhmm." She gave me a peck on the cheek and let go of me. As she turned, she stomped her hoof and turned, "Almost forgot, Greg came by a while ago and told me to tell you to meet him at his place."

I sighed, "Did he say why?"

She shook her head, "No, he only said to meet him."

I rubbed my face and glanced around, "Where's Kara? And Fawn?"

Twilight furrowed her brow for a second, "Hmmm, I think I saw Kara taking a nap on our bed. And Fawn's off playing with one of her friends."

I smiled and nod once, "Good, I may want to do a family thing when I get back."

Twilight smiled slyly, "What are you planning?"

I turned from her and began to trot to the door, "You'll see." I then did a little evil laugh, just for effect.

"Oh Lance, I'll never figure out your mind." She said with a laugh.

[Damn right you'll never figure out our mind!]

I let out a laugh and opened the door.

Skipping ahead ten minutes to save time

I trotted down the street, eyes on the large warehouse down the street... Greg's new home slash place of business. I'll never know how he got Pinkie Pie to move to Canterlot and live in a warehouse with him... Well, her home was completely destroyed...

After another minute of walking, I finally arrived at the large overhead door.

I furrowed my brow for a second before slamming my hoof against the metal door.

Inside, I heard the sound of my knock echo off the high walls.

Seconds later, the doors began to open, slowly moving upwards.

The sight that greeted me... didn't surprise me in the least.

Inside, sitting at hundreds of tables, were small colts and fillies, all of them working on different projects.

[I always knew Greg would be the one to bring child labor to Equestria.]

I walked in, getting a few glances from the kids at the tables.

I stopped at a table and looked at what they were doing.

Are they making... tooth brushes?

"Yo! Lance, over here!" I heard Greg yell, causing all the children to cower slightly.

I looked over to see Greg trotting towards me, a whip curled up on his side.

"Uhh, a whip?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He looked at it and chuckled, "Oh this? It's just a thing me and the children use to play a game."

"Uh-huh... Twilight said you wanted to see me?"

He grinned, "Oh yeah! I finally figured out what I'm going to sell."

"And that is?" I questioned.

"Walk and talk with me." Greg said, starting to walk down a role of tables.

I followed and looked around.

"You see, I figured it all out. What am I good at? Making weed of course! So, I though, how do I sell this to ponies. I then..."

A small colt limped up to us and stepped in front of Greg.

"Mr. Greg, I think I sprung my hoof." He said, holding up his hoof.

Greg looked at the colt and smiled, "Oh, how did it happen?"

"I fell." He said simply.

Greg nudged me, "The kid fell." He then looked at the colt, "So, you fell while not working."

He shrugged.

Greg grabbed his hoof, "Does it hurt."

The colt nodded.

Greg's horn flared and the kid jumped back.

"You fixed my leg! Thank you!"

Greg smirked, "Get back to work... or we get to meet Mr. Whiplash."

The kids eyes widened and he quickly ran off.

"Good kid..." Greg muttered, "As I was saying. Since I'm good at making weed, why not make weed products."

He leaned down and picked up a tooth brush, "Take this for example. It's a tooth brush with weed in it. Gives you a high without smoking it."

He handed it to me and began to walk.

I tossed the weed brush to the side and followed, "And what's with the kids?"

Greg chuckled, "Simple, they don't have to be paid. All I have to do is give them candy and boom, free labor."

[I can already see disaster in Greg's future with this idea...]

"Hmmm, yes... great idea Greg." I said, a bit worried and unsure.

Greg laughed and pulled off the whip, "Yep, best idea ever."

He then began to walk along the roles, whipping the whip a few times, "Work! I want each pony to have at least forty boxed backed by the end of the day!"

Hmmm, what should I do?

[Chose A! Leave and let Greg do what he wants! I want to see how this turns out.]

{I chose....}
[A! Chose B and I'll fucking make you rip off your dick!]
{.... I chose A!}
[Good boy.]

I sighed and began to back up, "I'm going to get out of here Greg, got places to be."

He stopped and looked at me, "Wait, I still haven't told you why your here."

I sighed, "What is it then?"

He laughed and levitated up a few boxes, "I need your help in selling some of my products."

"Products?"

He nodded, "I've come up with over forty different uses for weed, and I need someone like you to show them off."

I shook my head, "Not interested..."

"Do this, and I'll tell you all about my secret project of making clones of all the bronies." He said with a smug look.

"Clones? Really? They better not be like Jun." I said, giving him a stern look.

Greg shook his head, "I fixed that problem..." He held up a hoof, "Nice try, I'll tell you all about them after you help me sell all those."

Damn me and my curiosity...

"Okay, I'll help you. Just tell me what I need to do."

Greg smirked, "I knew that would work." He then began to trot past all the children, "Let me get my co adviser, The Pieinator, and we'll be on our way."

All the children let out shocked and scared gasp at the name.

"It's Pinkie, isn't it?" I said worriedly.

He nodded in response.

"I didn't know Pinkie could be violent..."

Greg laughed at me, "Oh no, she's not violent. She just annoys the hell out of the workers. To them, that's worst then me."

I couldn't help but laugh, because I had to agree with that.

Pinkie Pie in crazy mod is much worst then getting physically hurt.

[So fucking true bro.]

Helping Greg... or am I?

I know, it looks like I'm getting lazy because I'm not updating a lot. Well, to be truthful, my days are getting more and more busy. Don't worry, I'll do my best to update everyday, just need to make time.

Chapter 5 (Chapter 130)

The next day, almost lunch

"Okay, let's see how you do with this first customer." Greg says, levitating a brush over to me.... with weed bristles.

I pulled it from the air and raised an eyebrow, "Is this a good idea, Greg? I mean, really, a brush made of weed?"

"Weedy Brush." He stated.

"Uhhh, yeah, is a Weedy Brush a good idea?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head.

He nodded and pointed to a mare, who was sitting at a bench reading a newspaper, "The mares will love it."

I sighed and shook my head, "Worst idea in history..."

"Just do it."

I rolled my eyes and trotted over to the mare.

Once I was close, I held the brush in one hoof and smiled, "Well, hello young lady."

She looked up from her newspaper and smiled, "Hello... sir?"

I sighed, "Yes, I'm a male..."

She blushed and held up her hoof, "Oh I'm so sorry! I just though... since you have your mane down and... holding a brush."

I facehoofed, I knew letting Greg push my mane down till it hung down was a bad idea.

"Yeah... I'm actually selling this brush." I stated, holding out the brush.

She smiled and stood up, "You are? Hmmm, explain this brush to me then."

I gave a nod and a forced smile, "Well, there's not much to explain. You comb your hair with it and it gives it a... 'pleasant' smell."

She rubbed her face, "I see..."

I held up my hoof, "Um, one last part. If you hold it over a fire and put your mouth on the handle, you can... ummm, smoke it."

She raised an eyebrow, "Smoke it?"

I nodded, "Yes... Smoke it. You just put the long part in your mouth and suck the smoke up into your mouth and exhale it..."

[.... Lance, you know nothing about smoking...]

She smiled and took a step closer, "Interesting." Her eye lids lowered and a sly smile formed on her face, "You know, I wouldn't mind putting your long part in my mouth and sucking out the 'smoke'."

I gulped and took a step back, "I'm married..."

Her shoulders dropped, "Oh... I see..."

[NOOOO! Lance you moron! This is free sex! Free. Sex!]
{.... Shut up Break.}

{Try harder.}

"So, you buying this or not?" I said.

She sighed and fished out a bit in her saddlebag, "Sure... why not."

I handed it to her and took the bit, "Uh, nice doing business with ya..."

"Like wise.." She said as she began to trot off. Disappointed.

I turned and trotted back to Greg, who looked pleased.

"Nice, made your first sale." He said, levitating the bit from my mouth.

I chuckled and shrugged, "It's easy once you..."

"YO! What did I tell you!" I heard a.... VERY familiar voice yell out.

I looked to the side... and did a double take.

Greg stomped up, a blunt hanging loose in his lips and pointed his hoof at... Greg.

"What did I tell you?!" He yelled out.

Greg, the one I've been with, hung his head, "Sorry boss... I just though I could make more money for the business."

Greg, the one who just showed up, snarled, "No, I told you not to leave the warehouse. Your only job is to stay there with the Pinkie clone and run the factory."

"WHOA WHOA! Whoa." I said, stepping between them. "Two Greg's? What the hell is going on here?!"

The Greg who just showed up chuckled and puffed on his joint, "That there is my clone."

I facehoofed, "I should have known..." I then stared at Greg seriously, "Greg, why are you using small colts and filly's as workers?!"

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm not... I'm using stallions and mares."

Okay, I'm confused, "No... back at the warehouse, there's children working, not adults."

Greg dropped his blunt and stomped up to his clone, "I think it's time we have a serious talk. I told you to watch over production and help run it. Not take over and fire all my workers!"

"But, we don't have to pay kids..." The clone said, cowering.

"We don't use kids! Even I know that's wrong!" Greg yelled as he began to walk off, using his magic to drag his clone.

"Please! I was only trying to help!" The clone yelled as he was drug off.

I shook my head and sighed, "Why am I not surprised?"

"I can give you a surprise." A mare said behind me.

I sighed again and turned to see the mare from before, "Get out of here, I already said no."

She hung her head, "Well, at least I tried."

As she walked off, again, I rubbed my face.

[FUCK! Lance, come on! Free fucking sex!]

I bit my bottom lip and began to trot back to my house. Maybe Twilight's made lunch... I'M STARVING!

Spark's POV
Hallway out side of lunch room

I pulled my head up from the water fountain and gulped down the water.

I wiped my hoof across my mouth and began to trot to the cafeteria.

As I stepped through the doors, I got a whiff of burned cabbage. Well, looks like I'm not eating today... again.

Instead of going to the line, I trotted over to my usual table and planted myself in the seat.

Seconds later, Lurka, one of my friends, slid into the seat next to me and exhaled.

"I hate this school's lunch. You'd think that since it's all big and fancy, it would have a decent food selection." He grumbled, shaking his hoof at the lunch line.

I chuckled and shrugged, "Hey, it's school, what do you expect."

He sighed and looked at me, "Yeah, just wish they would at least allow us to bring our own food."

"Well, remember when the...."

"Wow, you guys should see this." Star Chaser said as he dropped his tray on the table.

"See what?" I asked, looking at him.

He pointed to the lunch room doors that lead into the hall, "You know that new mare? The one who just moved here?"

I shook my head.

"Well, she made the mistake of walking into the older kids. And dang, they're not holding back this time around."

My right foreleg shook slightly, "What..."

Star Chaser sighed, "The older colts, the ones in fourth grade, cornered the new filly. They're doing what they always do, insult and then beat. I was going to stop, but seriously, I only look out for me and my friends."

I stood up, knocking my chair back, "Where?"

Star Chaser looked at me and laughed, "What, you going to fight them or something?"

"Where?" I repeated.

He pointed to the back doors to the cafeteria, "They uh, cornered her out there."

I twisted and began to walk pass all the other students, a determined look on my face.

"You're going to get your flank kicked!" Lurka yelled out, causing everyone to stare at me.

I kept walking forward, pushing past a few colts.

Once I reached the doors, I threw them open and looked around. I instantly saw four colts huddled up in a corner, laughing.

I let out a hot breath and stomped towards them.

They're breaking my top value: Don't hit filly's!

I stopped a few feet from them and growled, "What are you guys doing?!"

The group turned to me and laughed.

One of them stepped forward and gave me a hard shove, "Why don't you go back to your foal friends and leave us big kids alone."

I growled and gave him a harder push, "Why don't you leave that filly alone!"

The rest of the group wooo'd at this and began to snicker to each other.

The colt in front of me glared and stepped towards me, "You're going to wish you never did that."

He slammed his head forward, slamming it into mine.

I stumbled for only a second before flaring my wings and launching myself into him. When I slammed into him, we both went to the ground, with me on top.

But, the second I began to slam my hooves into his face, his friends instantly surrounded me and began their own onslaught of hooves.

As I tried to block, I winced. One, this was a bad idea. Two, four on one isn't good odds. Three, all I've done is give them a punching bag to warm up on before they get back to the filly.... Damn.

"Get off of him!" A loud commanding voice yelled out, "Or you'll have to deal with me."

They all stopped and gasped in horror.

"No! We're just.... Run!" One yelled as they all ran off, while the one under me struggled to get me off.

The second he was able to knock me to the side, he was instantly running down the hall as if his life depended on it.

I exhaled painfully and forced myself to stand.

"You okay, Spark?" Mr. Bleak asked as he walked over, his school bags on his side.

I winced and smiled, "Yeah, I'm... fine."

He nodded and began walking to the lunch room, "You got to be careful, Spark. I can't always be there for you."

I smiled weakly, "I know..."

I rubbed my face and turned to see the filly, a smile on her face.

"Thank you so much! Those bullies were saying so many mean things!" She said, her face still wet with tears.

I shrugged and smiled back, "It was nothing. My friend told me a filly was getting picked on, so I just did what my dad always tells me to do. Protect."

Her smile widened, "Really? You came to help me on purpose?"

I nodded, a smile still on my face.

She wiped her eyes, "Thank you."

I chuckled and held out my hoof, "Names Spark."

She took my hoof in both of hers and smiled, "Mines Starlight."

I looked down at her holding my hoof with hers and blushed, "Uhhh, nice name..."

She giggled and began to pull me towards the cafeteria, "Come on! Let's get something to eat, then we can talk some more."

I gulped and smiled nervously, "Yeah... let's..."

What's wrong with me? I only act this way when Nova touches my hooves...

What's going on?

Congratulations goes to Honey Pie for finally getting in the story and getting what she wanted XD

We shall prepare!

I wasn't going to write, but, I decided to do a tiny chapter for all of you.

Chapter 6 (Chapter 131)

Four hours later
Spark's POV

I ran towards my house, a large smile on my face.

I can't believe it! I'm going to get to hang out with Spitfire! All day!

I've been waiting all day to see her! And now I'm only seconds away from my house!

After a second, my house came into view. This sent my excitement over the edge, causing me to shoot towards the house.

I burst through the door and tumbled into the living room.

"Ow..." I moaned, standing up slowly. That landing could have gone better...

"You okay?" Someone asked, instantly making me stand straight up.

I heard dad chuckle behind me, "He is my son for sure after a stunt like that!"

I turned around and forced myself not to faint when I saw Spitfire sitting on my couch.... MY COUCH!

"Uhhh, I'm fine..." I said with a sheepish smile. Seriously, I still can't believe Spitfire's here... without her suit!

Dad stood up and rumbled up my mane, "You better behave yourself today, Spark."

I smiled up at him, "Don't worry dad, I won't cause any trouble!"

A smile formed on dad's face as he bent down to give me a hug, "Yeah, I know you won't Spark. Just have fun."

I stepped back and nodded, "I will!"

"So, when do you want to go?" Spitfire asked as she stood up.

"NOW!" I yelled before I caught myself, "I mean.. we can go now."

Spitfire laughed and trotted to the door, "Hey Spark, how fast can you fly?"

I gulped, "I... don't know."

She smiled back at me and spread her wings, "Well, lets find out. I've got a few tricks to teach you."

A large smile formed on my face as I galloped towards her.

Best. Day. Ever!

Seven minutes later
Lance's POV

"Okay... just one last card.." I muttered as I tried to put the last card on top of the card castle I was building. What? I'm bored!

Spark's with Spitfire, Fawn's... I think at a sleepover, Twilight's still not back from New Ponyville, and, for once, Kara is leaving me alone and sleeping on the couch.

I refocused and slide the last card into place, "Oh fuck yes..."

[Oh man! We did it! Years of practice on earth really paid off!]

Now, all I have to do is take a picture with....

*Bang*

"Lance!" Twilight yelled as she swung open the door, sending in a blast of air.

The blast of wind slammed into my newly build card castle and sent it in every direction.

"Oh..." I muttered hanging my head, "You know... I actually saw this coming..."

Twilight swiftly maneuvered her way past the furniture and stopped in front of me, "Uhh, hey honey..."

[She better not be pregnant again!]

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

She smiled sheepishly and gave me a quick hug, "You know that I love you right?"

My eyebrow arched higher, "What's going on, Twi?"

She chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her neck, "You see... I kinda forgot to tell you something...."

"Which is?"

She gulped and made a motion with her hoof, "Let's just say I forgot what happens next week..."

Okay, now I'm worried...

"And what happens next week?"

"Uhhh, it's that time of the year when us mares go into heat..."

I did a double take and facehoofed, "Oh come on! I should have been watching the date more closely! We haven't even prepared!"

Twilight smiled nervously, "What are you going to do this time?"

I sighed and looked out the window, "I don't know Twilight... But, I do know I'm not getting rapped this time around.... Oh fuck." I said, shaking my head, "What am I going to do about Spark? There is no way I'm letting him get rapped. What do you usually do for the colts during this time of the year?"

Twilight gulped, "Well, umm, the father usually has to watch over the son while the mother goes through her heat."

"Oh that's just fucking great. Any suggestions?"

She shrugged, "Only one: Don't get rapped."

I facehoofed, "Even though that is helpful... I need more helpful info, Twi."

She sighed and shrugged again, "I just don't know Lance..." Then, a large smile formed on her face, "I got it!"

"What?!" I yelled back, hoping she had a good idea.

"You know how the other bronies always play pranks on you?" She said, waving her hoof.

I nodded, "Yeah, so?"

She smirked, "Well, how about you gather all of them again, but this time use them as a means to escape. Like, you see a group of mares running towards you, and there's no way to out run them. All you do is trip one of your friends and boom, you and Spark are safe."

I returned her smirk, "Ohh, Twilight, you devious mare you."

She chuckled happily, "Hey, this way you can get them all back, and, keep you and Spark safe."

[Best plan ever!]

I then struck a pose and picked up a hammer, "We shall prepare!"

Afterburn

Hey, it’s Yamston here with a follow up to the Heat 3 chapter. Some funny moments, some not. Let’s just say, given the type of material I had to work with, I tried to tackle some serious subjects. If it comes out a bit cocked, I tried man, I TRIED. So I am faultless.

~Section added circa 25 A.B. as a result of the court case 'Frederic v. Ponykind, 6 EQ. 189, 154 (25 A.B.)'~

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lance’s house, May 12th, 2014, 6:47 AM

I stood at the side of my bed stretching out the lingering wisps of sleep from my body. Man! I can’t remember the last time I slept that well. Not a hint of that damn barn in sight.

Popping my neck, I could see Twilight still passed out from yesterday. The past three days have to have been rough for her. Not for me though, I believed in the saying ‘new day, new me’. Better to not think about the nasty things.

The groaning from my stomach reminded me that the only thing I had before bed was liquor. Not much of a meal, but you can hardly blame me. Turns out some ‘little filly’ ate all the snacks while everyone was away, the trouble maker. Man, I was having a killer craving for one of those fat juicy apples we got from the farm. Grounding her for a few days was the right call.

Eh, I don’t mind a quick flight over to New Ponyville for one. Might as well check up on everyone there while I’m at it.

After getting one last stretch in, I opened the window and flew off to get some breakfast.

ooo000<^>000ooo

New Ponyville, 6:59 AM

I hovered over the town, wheezing and aching from my speedy flight here. I’ve been wanting to cut down the travel time from Canterlot to Ponyville to at least under ten minutes, but it’s just out of reach. Ugh, my wings are killing me.

[Hey dumbass, just use one of our super forms! Like Breaking Dawn. Or Raging Breaking Dawn…. Or Holy Dawn…. Or Raging Holy… Dawn. God damn it, why does Dawn get all the names?!]

{Nah that’s cheating. I want to do it myself.}
[When the hell have you ever cared about- Yo, hold up! I see some dipshit crying on the street! Let’s check it out!]

Craning my head over to where Break was buzzing about, I could see a young colt crying on a public bench. This’ll be interesting.

Quietly landing behind him, I saw it was that little asshole, Blitz, that tried to bully me when I was at the schoolhouse. I would’ve let that slide, but from what Mr. Bleak told me, he also tried to jump my son! Payback time!

[YEAH! Let’s fuck with him!]

“What’s up you little turd!” I shouted right behind the colt. He yelped and flopped over onto the dirt.

When he righted himself I got a clean look at his face. The bastard’s eyes were raw and puffy. The dirt clinging to his face was already turning to mud from soaking up all the tears. Must’ve scared the soul out of him from how much he was shaking.

Not so high and mighty now that I'm an adult, are you?

Regaining his composure, Blitz stood up and glared the best he could, “Wh-What the hell do you want?!”

Look at him thinking he’s tough, “Pfft, Did you get in trouble with your mommy? Grow up.” I smugly replied. This brat doesn’t know how good he has it. Try living with MY mom. One time she caught me, ya know, doing some miniature pole dancing, so she lied about the next day being a snow day so I would miss the book fair. Now THAT’S a reason to cry.

Whatever spirit Blitz had seemed to die at my words. The tears came back in full force. A weak “N-no…” was all he could muster.

[Ha! Pussy!]

A smirk slid onto my face. One more zinger and I’ll go. “Oh really? Well guess what? I was fucking your mom last night, and she told me she had a shithead little son that likes to hit other kids, like mine! So knock it the fuck off if you want your mom to love you!” I jeered into his teary eyed, snot nosed face. Mic drop.

[Gottem!]

Instead of running off like I thought he would, he started screeching and hit my chest. Then he hit it again, and again, while I just stood there confused. This kid might need some help.

I’m getting tired of this kid hitting me. It didn’t hurt(it didn’t!), but I have things to get to. So I swept a leg under him and let him tumble onto the dirt again. He didn’t get back up and wept into his hooves.

Not my problem anymore. Don’t want to be around when the crowd forms.

Right when I was about to leave, I heard a voice snap at me, “Leave him alone!”

Come on, I just want my apple!

In front of Blitz stood an older looking filly with purple hair and way too much eyeliner. She held a hoof protectively over him, as if I was the problem. The look in her eyes was nothing but venomous.

Blitz peaked out from under his hoofs, confused, “Strawell…?”

I rolled my eyes, “I was about to. It’s no big deal. See? I’m going!” I said while waving my hoof towards where I think the stand is.

The filly narrowed her eyes, “No big deal?!” she snarled, “Do you know what this colt is going through?! Do you?! His mother was killed last night by YOUR friend, and you think it a just cause to laugh?!”

[Oh fuck.]

I didn’t know! I thought he was crying because he had his Xbox taken away or some dumb shit like that! Damn you, Cody!

[I mean… it couldn't have happened to a better shithead, amiright? No…? Er…]

Should I try to fix this? It’s kinda my fault, but I’m not sure he wants my help. Can’t hurt to try, right?

I awkwardly waved at Blitz and forced a smile, “My bad! I know that Cody killing your mom sucks, uh… but it’s best to move on. Yeah, just crying about it won’t help her.” I said in my cheeriest voice. I think I did a pretty good job.

Apparently not, because a fire lit up in his eyes, “SHUT UP!” He wailed, “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you stupid, ugly bucking bronies! I hope you all DIE! AHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh *cough* *cough…!” He petered out, going back to crying as he choked on his words.

Uuuuuh… okay! That was the wrong thing to say! Shit, what do I do here?!

Strawell growled at me, “You need to leave. Your kind isn’t welcome here.”

I could only blink awkwardly as I took a few steps back. I could see tons of ponies around me, just staring, “Yeah… I was just on my way… see ya…”

As fast as I could I bolted off towards the apple stand. I just want to get this over with.

[Let's go team Cody for making us all look bad]

{I know. I thought Ponyville was chill with Zebras, guess not. She looked like she was going to hit me there.}
[We could've destroyed her easily.]

Luckily not much else happened as I walked towards the stand. Not many ponies bothered to look over to me, probably cause a lot of them looked sick. Flu season already?

Ah, there’s the stand. However, when I got there, Applejack was nowhere to be seen. Not a single apple was in stock, and there was a closed sign on the front. What the hell!? Isn’t being an early riser your one thing, apple horse?!

Ah fuck she's still in the hospital. Yeah, I forgot! What, am I supposed to remember someone I almost never talk to?

Lame, I had to go through all that for nothing. Fine with me, I’m not in the mood for apples anymore. Ooo! Dali should be making breakfast around this time. I’m gonna bum a meal off of her.

I blasted off into the sky and made way towards an old friend.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Dali’s house, 7:27 AM

“MmmHmmm!” I hummed, munching away at the food Dali made me. Luckily she was already making breakfast, so didn’t mind making more. I had no idea what it was, but I liked it! Better than the time Twilight tried to be fancy by making fried eggs with my… go go juice.

“Thanks for having me over, Dali.” I said while chewing, crumbs dripping down my chin. “How’ve you been doing? Didn’t hurt too many people during the Heat, did ya?”

Dali let out an uneasy laugh, unable to look right at me. That’s a raper if i’ve ever seen one.

“Well, you know how things are…once the mind clouds… I didn’t mean to hurt anypony!” She freaked, almost making me fall out of my chair, before resuming her meek demeanor. “Ah, it’s not too important.”

She forced a smile, “I’m happy to hear that almost everyone made it through okay at your bunker. Besides the…” She narrowed her eyes as her pupils bounced across the room, “‘Incidents’ with your green and purple friends, that no one got too hurt. At least until my dear Drax had fallen under the weather.”

Looking over to the living room, I could see a very unkempt Drax half awake on the couch. He was messily bundled in a pile of blankets with a large ice pack on his head. Even from this distance the crust in his eyes was clear. He half heartedly waved when he noticed us staring.

“What happened to him? He looked alright before.” I asked.

Dali frowned, “We don’t know who, but one of the mares that raped Drax was contagious. There’s something of an outbreak from what I heard.”

Ew, good thing I didn’t get raped. Guess that explains all those sick ponies I saw in town. Just gonna avoid the place for a while.

[Doesn’t matter! Our homie in the sky would’ve fixed that shit after we exploded.]

“It’ll blow over.” I said, not too concerned with it. A little fever never hurt anybody.

Clasping my hooves together, I motioned towards Dali, “There was something I wanted to know about. It’s been itching at me all day.”

“What would that be?” She asked, tilting her head a bit.

I motioned towards the front door, or at least where one used to be. Made knocking a real issue, if I ever bothered to knock, that is.

“Ooooooh, that…..” She muttered, shrinking in her seat. Pausing for a bit to tap her hooves, she continued, “I got a bit carried away the last three days. We thought the restraints would hold, but they were found to be lacking…”

My eyes widened at that. “But I thought you were in a safe?”

“I was.” She said.

“Like one of those bitch made safes you buy at the market?” I continued, rubbing my temples.

She shook her head, “No. It was custom made by the Prince, supposedly. I believe it was made with something he called Darksteel.”

My Jaw dropped.

[Darksteel?!]

[Dude! I don’t even think WE can!]

[Pfft. A mare that can fight? In this Equestria? Yeah fucking right.]

[Let's be real, they can't fight for shit. When have they EVER won a fight?]

[A fight that actually mattered, Dawn.]

[The world isn't ready for that yet. Not at least for another 10 or so years.]

Shaking my head, I stood up and slammed my hooves on the tabletop, “How?! Darksteel is unbreakable!” I shouted with a bit of a voice crack.

However, Dali just shifted her eyes around in confusion, “No? It’s really not.” Out of nowhere she pulled out a chunk of warped metal, “The metal was remarkably brittle. While I can’t tell the composition, if you look closely you can see streaks of several different colors, qualities of a poorly mixed alloy. Not to mention the absurd amount of air bubbles and chunks of slag. This had to have been outsourced to an apprentice, because I struggle to believe something this amateur would ever grace the royal forge.”

I don’t really get what she’s saying. I mean, it looks fine to me. It’s shiny and hard, what else could you ask for?

“I’ll pass that on to Fred. He doesn’t need to deal with some dumbass fucking up his reputation.” I said as I sat back down. “How’d you know all that anyway?”

Dali rubbed the back of her neck, “It was nothing much. Just simple chores back home, not too interesting.”

“If you say so.” I said. I don’t know what kind of chores she had to do back home, but I don’t really want to think about it. I let Twilight do all that.

I sat up straighter, giving her an easy smile, “By the way. I’ve noticed you settled in really well. Come a long way from the mare scared of touching anyone.”

A nostalgic look spread across her face, “Thank you. I’ve really come to feel at home here. To think I started without a bit to my name.”

I laughed, “Yeah! I didn’t think you were going to last with the whole rape touch thing your culture has.”

However, instead of laughing along, she looked at me like I was an idiot, “My what?”

“Your culture. You…you said that touching someone you didn’t know was like raping them.” I stumbled out. That’s exactly what she told me, I think.

Her eyes bulged, “What?! No! That was never part of my…” A look of realization struck her,” Lance, I said I didn’t like being touched.” She said while waving at herself.

Huh? Was I just wrong this entire time?

{How did I miss that?}
[Get fact checked, asshole!]

I held my head in my hooves. What else did I get wrong? I shot up, “What about the time we slept together?! We were thunder buddies!”

“YOU WHAT?!” Shouted a very shocked Drax, startling the rest of us.

Dali blanched and ran over to tuck him back in, “It was nothing like that, dear. Lance just has a way with phrasing things, is all. Now please, get some rest.”

Drax looked like he wanted to argue, but soon nodded off after she kissed him on the forehead.

She quietly walked back to her seat, an annoyed and embarrassed expression on her face. “Please, try not to bring that back up.” She coughed. “Back home sleeping together in one large bunk was the standard. I didn’t know the implications it had here.” She laid her head down on the table, nested by her arms, “I’m so sorry if I caused you or your family any stress or discomfort. I truly did not know.”

Oh, here I thought I was just a lucky guy. Wait, I mean-

[Lance, don’t even try to hide it. We all enjoyed the fantasy while it lasted.]

[She’s just a fucking freak, bro.]

[Hell yeah! I love that woman!]

Right…

I got up and went over to put a hoof on Dali’s back, “It’s alright. You didn’t know and nothing bad happened. We’re all friends at the end of the day.”

She let out a deep breath and held a hoof over her heart, “Oh that’s wonderful to hear. I was so embarrassed when I tried the same with Drax and he had to lecture me.”

I laughed as I went back to my seat. I would’ve loved to hear that go down.

For the next few minutes we talked about random things, as well as caught up on how our lives were going. As the conversation came to its end, I took one of the broken chunks from the safe so I could show Fred later. I’m sure he would want to know about it.

After a hug and goodbye, I flew off towards the castle.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Canterlot royal bathhouse, 8:34 AM

‘So soothing.’ thought Annabel, delicately scrubbing through her mane and coat so it could be its silkiest self. Sure, she could be grime free at the snap of a finger, but it was worth it to do so by hand. She didn’t truly feel clean otherwise.

Her calming ritual was disrupted by a violent gagging noise from her partner in crime. A few feet away Vinetion was thoroughly brushing away at her teeth, practically grinding the gums away. When she was done with the assault, she gargled and spat right into the bath water. Nasty.

“Grrrhhh. I swear if I see even one stallion during this next month, I’ll tear their head off! Ugh!” Vinetion seethed.

Annabel giggled and propped her elbows on the water, “Why so glum, Viney? It got you out of the house, didn’t it?” She said whimsically. Seems her little mare loving buddy was having a rough time the past 3 days. Oh she felt bad of course, how couldn’t she, but it was just too funny! It would’ve hurt her not to laugh.

“Shut it.” Vinetion snapped back, “Unlike you, little miss overpowered lizard cunt, I have to worry about my body fighting against me once a year. Go with a pegasus, I said. It’ll be fun, I said. Bleh! I should’ve gone with a timberwolf, but noooooooo, I just had to fit in.” She finished while crossing her forelegs, leaning back as several of her vines got to work cleaning her.

Oh look at how mad she is. To think she almost had sex with Zorrow. Zorrow! It’s too good.

Annabel rested her head on a paw and snapped the talons on the other hand, “Fufufu, it pays to be smart.” She said playfully. Whatever Vinetion was going to say was interrupted by her suddenly disappearing under the water.

While waiting, Annabel started filing her nails, “Why, the world is practically at my fingertips,” She said, the file going a little too fast and grinding her whole hand away, “...Most of the time.”

Vinetion finally burst out of the bath, but she was no longer a pony. Now she was just the most adorable wooden puppy imaginable. Annabel would’ve pet her if Vine wasn’t the type to bite.

The now canine Vinetion paddled out of the bath, dripping with soapy water, “Real funny.” She growled. Taking a moment to look over her new body, she walked a few shaky steps before giving up and just using her vines to plop her onto a nearby bench. “Nevermind, this would’ve been a terrible idea. Change me back.” She demanded.

“And ruin the fun? Heehee, now to set up a playdate with that brony dog.” Annabel paused and scratched her chin. “What was his name? Lewis? Ah, doesn’t matter.” She said while sliding deeper into the comically oversized bath, only her head visible.

“A dog is a brony?” Vinetion retched “I’m going to kick any dogs that try jumping on me from now on, thanks to you.” She rubbed her head in agitation. “I need a topic change. Where were you the last three days? You gorge on rape like a fat kid in a candy store.”

Annabel fake gagged, “Now now, I don’t love doing what I do. I have no choice, it's part of my nature, after all.” She would’ve stopped if she could, but it was just too damn addicting! Oh the way she hates herself for doing it is like a rotting miasma in her gut, but hey, at least they know what she felt like.

A paper fan poofed into her claw to blow away the unwanted rising heat, “To answer your question, my weekend has been terribly dull. While everyone was having fun I was forced to watch little Nova and Star Chaser. *Sigh*, Freddy was so insistent that they would be in danger, but I know better than to let that happen.” She said wearily.

“Oh boohoo. ~Look at me, I’m Annabel. I can’t fingerblast myself because the kids are watching~. Truly, I’m devastated for you.” Vinetion mocked.

Annabel let out a giggle, “As you should be.” A smile slid onto her face. “I suppose it wasn’t all bad. Nova was a cute little munchkin. Her naivete is admirable in some ways.” She groaned and slid deeper into the water. “Her brother not so much.”

Vinetion was forced to, and don’t you dare say otherwise, scratch at her ear with her hindleg. Nobody told her wood would be so itchy, “Oh yeah, the brat. He’s reason enough why Celly and I don’t want kids.”

“Tell me about it. He’s shaping himself up to be a real jerky prince, like Blueblood before he mysteriously disappeared. The apple doesn’t fall far I say.” Annebel muttered.

Vinetion hummed, “Like that griffin that destroyed Ponyville? I doubt it. From what I’ve seen that kid is practically glued to Fred. He’ll raise his boy to be just like him, if I know him right. Too much of a goody goody.”

Annabel shrugged, “I suppose you’re right. Can’t see it being any other way.”

The two sat in silence for several minutes. Annabel was finishing cleaning her coat, while Vinetion continued to lay on the bench, stewing in her own thoughts. Whatever it was, Annabel didn’t know. Well, she could if she did a light bit of cognitive reading, but that’s just rude.

Out of nowhere Vinetion let out a frustrated groan. Turning her head, Annebel could see the unwilling timberwolf with her face buried in her paws. A clear aura of discomfort and shame radiating off of her.

“Is something the matter?” Annabel asked, somewhat concerned by the sudden change in mood.

“...Can I tell you something? Something private?” Vinetion muttered into her woodgrain paws.

Annabel laughed, her devious smirk clashing with the mood of the room, “If you want to talk privates, I’m your best worst choice.”

Vinetion groaned. She raised her face from her paws and gave off a sincere pleading look, “I’m serious. I can’t talk about it with Celly because she’s a native and doesn’t know better. And I would kill any of the bronies if they ever saw me like this… You’re the closest person to a friend I have here, and I just need to tell someone, ANYONE, about this. You're the only other person from Earth that's not a guy. You’re the only one that could understand.” Vinetion said, looking far from her usual bitchy self.

Shocked stiff was what Annabel was. None of that was anything she expected to hear. And… friend? Admittedly she hadn’t put much stock in being friends with anyone here, besides Fred, of course. If it weren’t for the unearned trust and vulnerability Vinetion was showing at this moment, she would think it a joke.

“Well, I have to hear about it now. Hit me with it.” Annabel said somewhat uneasily, not used to a sincere one on one like this. “But first…”

With a snap of her fingers, Vinetion was returned to her usual pegasus form. She just shivered.

“Thanks…” Was all Vinetion could say.

She swallowed.

“... I know the Heat is natural here. It doesn’t make sense, I don’t get it, but it just is. I… I’ve tried talking about it with other mares, ya know, but nothing came of it. It’s just a part of life to them, but those three days were easily the worst i’ve ever had to go through…” She stopped, her breath slightly shaking.

“It was like I was in a nightmare. For all my life I’ve known I was attracted to women, without a single doubt, but that Heat did things to me. Things I feel sick even thinking about… I just… Do you know what it’s like to be trapped in a body that’s fighting against you? My mind was screaming for it to stop, that I DO NOT like men, stallions, and what else… But my body, I couldn’t stop feeling aroused by it! I was helpless. Even if nothing happened, I feel disgusted with myself. Like I was betraying myself. But it’s not my fault! I didn’t get a choice!” Vinetion spat out, holding back tears.

“If Celly didn’t show up when she did… I would’ve… I would’ve…” Whatever she was going to say was drowned out. She desperately was holding back from breaking down.

Annabel was frozen. That wasn’t funny. Rape was supposed to be funny, but that was just… sad. She laid her head in her hands. That wasn’t funny. That was her friend. That was too familiar, that was too close to home. Why did this have to happen? It’s not funny anymore.

It was never funny.

But this sick part of her wants to laugh at her. It’s so funny! She doesn’t have to laugh at it alone! She didn’t do anything wrong! She’s not weak! She’s not-

She’s not anything.

Annabel sunk deeper into the water, only her face breaching the surface. It brought her back to then, but has she ever really left?

…

“Hey Viney,” She whispered.

A twitch of the ear was all that Vinetion gave.

This would hurt to say, “What you're going through is awful. I can’t imagine a worse thing for you to go through. But… you have to let it happen. Just ignore it and wait til it goes away. You can’t control it, you can’t fight it… Don’t hurt yourself…” Annabel shamefully said. She didn’t want to give her friend false hope. That’s just how things were here.

“No.”

Annabel’s head shot out of the water, “No? What do you mean no?” She asked, confused.

“I don’t know where you got that idea from, but fuck that.” Vinetion said, standing up. “I live the way I want to. I’m not bowing down because this pony body said I had to.” She glanced to the side, a slight smile on her face, “Except when Celly does that little trick. I like when she does that.”

That was a nice way to think of things, if ignorant.

Shooting out of the bath, Annabel wrung herself like a towel. The water and suds falling back down to their domicile. Funny how she feels less clean than before the bath.

“Bah! I adored the talk, but we need to clear out this downer mood!” She announced. Time to go back to not thinking about things.

Vinetion huffed, “Agreed. Don't tell anyone a word of what I just said.” She forced a neutral expression. “So, what do you have in mind?”

Annabel sat there thinking for a minute, only to snap her fingers as a sparkle appeared in her eyes, “Ooo, I just thought of the funniest prank ever-”

Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the sound of her greatest and bestest friend's voice in her head.

“Hey Annabel, I've got a bit of a problem that could use your personal touch. Try to get here soon, eh?” Frederic’s voice asked, before disappearing.

Seems like the fun died before it started.

“Nevermind, Freddy needs me for something. We’ll get into some trouble later, Viney.” She said as she zipped out of the room, leaving Vinetion to herself.

“What a drag.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

New Mane city food bank, 3:17 PM

Peter collapsed on the floor, utterly exhausted. He could feel the grime and food bits sticking to his fur, but he lacked the energy to care.

As per the ruling of the 2 minute trial he was dragged into last night, he had to spend a whole week doing community service. The last 4 hours he had to serve out instant mix gruel to a bunch of jobless low lives. At first he was confused at the sheer number of homeless ponies in the city, but it all clicked when he found out they were mostly bronies. They sure know how to stink up the place.

“What a load of bull. Why’d they have to drag me to this shithole? Not my fault I had to beat off a bunch of mares,” He groaned, before a smile popped onto his face, “Hehehe, beat off. Eh? Eh? Come on, that was a classic, Cody.”

Cody didn’t respond. He didn’t do much else today either. Just kinda went through everything on autopilot. He didn’t even crack a grin when Peter put a firecracker in one of the bum’s soups. Almost got arrested again for that one.

“You could at least try talkin’ about it.” Peter said as he got up to throw all the dirty pots into the sink. He would’ve hated to do dishes himself, but luckily he tricked some ugly loner brony into doing them if they gave him a ride to New Ponyville. Apparently he was friends with Lance, but Peter sure as hell never heard of a Zane until now.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Cody grunted.

Peter leaned up on the counter next to Cody, “Sure there is. Like how fightin’ for our lives got us a week of soup duty.” He said while picking his teeth. “Hell, I gotta pay for Roseluck’s dental plan for some reason. How ‘bout you don’t walk into my fist? POW! Right in the kisser.” He emphasized with a punch.

Cody grimaced, “That’s the problem. We hurt… I killed… so many. We ruined their lives.”

Shrugging, Peter went back to lying down, “And they were tryin’ to rape us… and hurt Ditzy. You sayin’ you regret it?” He asked.

“Yes…No. I don’t know.” Cody said, letting out a deep breath. “I can’t find it within myself to forgive what happened. I HAD to kill them, but at the same time, I wish that wasn’t a choice I had to make.”

A pensive look found itself on Peter’s face, “I can’t blame you for what you did. If one of those goonhounds did what they did to Rarity… She’s supposed to be delivering in a few months. If I didn’t tell her to stay home, if she was there and THAT happened… I can’t say I would do anything differently.”

Cody signed, “But the guilt remains all the same.”

The two stood there in silence for a few minutes, the topic having reached its conclusion. Not like there was much else to say, neither knew each other too well, but it’s not like either hated the other. Peter signed, this was going to be a long week.

An acrid smell made itself known, alerting the two of their hitchhiker’s presence. Clearly, he didn’t know what a proper shower was.

“I did what you said. Please take me back to Ponyville.” Said the mangy looking Zane, desperation bleeding out of his eyes. The soaked state of his front hooves confirmed that he did his end of the deal, at least for today.

Instead of answering, Peter slammed a pie into Zane’s face, knocking him to the floor. He looked like he needed the calories anyway.

“We’ll talk about it next Monday,” Peter said as he bolted out of the building.

Cody sighed and followed, leaving the now unconscious Zane on the floor.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Canterlot, 4:19 PM

I flew out of the castle front gates, done hanging out with Frederic for today. It was a hell of a time, but I can’t help but feel like I forgot something. Probably nothing.

[You know what that means?]
{Hell yeah! Holding it in for four days was killing me!]
[Time to get our dick wet!]

I burst off towards my house, looking forward to making up for lost time with my wife. Today was going to be awesome!

The letter

2022 Edit: This chapter was on Fanfiction but not this website, so I'm adding it in now. But due to the way Fimfiction works, I'm just combining two chapters.

Okay, I have a lot of test to do, so... I'm putting this story on a small hiatus. This is for two reasons: So I can study, and, because as you'll notice, I'm losing my touch. Yes, for once, I'm having trouble writing for LTD, so, I'll be writing a few chapters for 'Living the Dream: Love conquars all... right?'.

Chapter 7 (Chapter 132)

Dear Lance,

Lance old buddy oh pal, how you doing? Me? Oh, I've been just great... just fucking great.

Let's recap the last year or so, shall we?

You've stolen everything from me, everything! You've caused me so much grief and pain. Even though we were friends! Why would you do something like this to a friend?

But, I care not for that. I'm more angry about recent events. Do you know what it's like being in a griffin hospital? Not fun! They don't know how to properly treat ponies!

No matter, I don't need my teeth.

Now, back on topic: Ever since that day, I've been laying in a hospital bed, recovering, becoming stronger. Now... Now I'm back, and I must say, this unholy magic is overpowering!

Lance, I love and respect you, but that only goes so far. You took my life you idiot! You've completely ruined any and all chances of me having a happy life!

Don't worry, I'm going to fix that. All in due time.

As for you, I hope you've made peace with your family, because...

Do you know a certain guy by the name of 'Satan'?

If you do, then, let's just say I made a little deal with him. In this deal, I've given him a little something, and in return, he's given me a way to actually kill you! Yes, he gave me the power to kill an angel!

I never wanted to resort to killing you, but I see no other choice.

You may think you're invincible, but believe me, when I make my move, you'll see just how naive you've been.

Oh don't worry, I'll treat your family nicely, better than you have anyway.

Now, concerning your... 'friends'. If any of them find out about this letter, well... let's just say they'll have a fun time in hell.

How about this: If you so much as say a word to anyone, I'll kill them, and the ones you love. How's that sound? Good? Yeah, I thought so. Keep this between me and you.

Also, concerning your friends. When I come back, I don't want you to bring any of them. If you do, then consider them already dead. My patience is very low as of now, and I don't feel like dealing with minor threats.

Here's what I want you to do: Enjoy the time you have left with your family, because when I do come back, you'll be gone and I'll be left to take care of them.

I hope that last part made you mad, because it's one hundred percent true.

When I return, you will know. Trust me.

Your friend no longer,
-

I put the letter down and gritted my teeth.

Who sent this? WHO?

[There's no way to tell Lance. Ditzy just dropped it off and left.]

I rubbed my face and looked around the living room.

"What now?" I asked no one in particular.

Simple, we do what the letter said, enjoy life. Come on Lance, there's no way anyone made a deal with the Devil. If they did, then it would be our job to remove them. Am I correct?
{I hate it when you're right... And trust me, I'm going to enjoy life. And who ever this is, I will face them when the time comes.}
[That ah boy, Lance!]

I chuckled lightly and picked the letter up. Better hide this before anyone else reads it.

This chapter was a filler, but a necessary filler.

Chapter 8 (Chapter 133)

2035

"Wait!" one of the small fillies up front yells out.

I smile and close my memories book, "Yes?"

The small filly looks around the library and back to me, confused, "Who sent the letter?"

"I'm getting to that," I say with a chuckle.

"But," a colt in the back says, "Did Twilight get k..."

"I'm getting to that also," I state, a little smile on my face.

Another colt looks at me in confusion, "But, weren't you suppose to die when..."

"Listen, do you all want me to tell you my story, or would you rather me spoil it all for you?"

"Story!" they all yell out at the same time.

I smile and start to open the book again.

"One more thing," a older colt up front says, "What happened to Fawn and Spark? Are they still okay?"

I held up a hoof, "My children are fine." I put my hoof back on the book, "Shall I continue?"

They all gave a nod.

"And," another says. "Did you really kill your friend?"

My eye twitches, "... Are you all going to let me finish? You've all be quiet up till now." I held a hoof to my face, "I invited you all to my library for a story, not question and answer time."

"Sorry," he mutters.

I sigh and looked at the book, "As I was saying before I was interrupted..."

Present day
Five days after the letter

... And this is why I never go to Greg's.

[What were we thinking?]

I groaned and sat up, shaking my head in the process.

Note to self, don't drink anything Greg gives me.... it only leads to this.

I stand up and trot over to one of the sinks in the bathroom and turned it on.

[I told him to.]
<... Of course.>

I chuckled and splashed some water on my face.

Now, should I go kill Greg for doing this, or should I head home?

[Number one.]

I shrugged and turned the water off. I then trotted out of the bathroom and into the destroyed living room.

Damn, Greg's and Pinkie's house is a mess... Well, what do I expect from two crazy ponies?

After walking through the house and out the front door, I take in a deep breath of fresh air.

That whole house smelt like punk and marijuana.

I let out a sigh and take to the sky, wanting to clear my head a little. I mean, hangovers, gotta hate them.

I flew through the sky lazily, letting the wind blow through my mane.

[... Why do I have an urge to have sex?]

I rolled my eyes and...

A small poof of fire appeared in front of my face, followed by a piece of rolled paper to fly into mouth.

I stopped mid flight and brought my hooves to my face.

I grabbed my throat and began to try and force the paper out of my throat.

After several attempts, I was able to pull the paper from my throat. I coughed a few times and looked at the roll of paper.

"Da fuck?" I muttered as I unrolled it and read the words it contained.

'Hey Lance,

Sorry I didn't reply to you in such a long time and, sorry to hear about everything on your side... I .... I really don't know what to say except that I am glad you're safe. If there is anything I can do, I would love to help you out and some of Ponyville too once everything on my side clears up. I can't do much though, my wing is sort of.... Different and by different, I mean not mine... It's a changeling's wing. Mine got ripped off and, well, I died. I died and was only brought back to life to see Ditzy leave me confused and hopeless.

One thing man, it's not your fault. You did your best and that's all that matters, it was their fault. You shouldn't beat yourself up about this or else I would. Give me around two days man, I will be there for my bro.

Also if I can make a request, I would like to pay a visit to that filly's grave. No pony should go through that. I've lived a few seconds of it and detested every bit except for seeing my mom.

Just a small visit, that's all I ask and after, just you and me bro, we are going to catch up and live life to the fullest for the weekend, okay?

I guess, this is just a part of life. Best we live it to the fullest, right?

Two days man!

No Shame. No Pride..... Wow, I haven't said that since, a really bucking long time man.... We really have a lot to catch up on.

Razor Graze.'

He finally replies! After seven or so months!

[What was our last letter to him again?]

[No...]
*Clears throat* <Hey Graze, bad news.

A few of my enemies came together and attacked me and a few of my friends on Nightmare Night. They actually beat us, as in they beat the shit out of my friends and forced me to surrender.

Luckily, Twilight and the others came for me and rescued me. And, we were able to remove all of the threats, at a high cost.

Ponyville is gone. As in, it was completely destroyed during the fighting. So many innocent ponies died... and it was all my fault. I don't care what every one says, I screwed up!

I'll never get those images out of my head... I saw a filly die, killed by a explosion. And knowing it's my fault is the worst of it.

Wish me luck, I'm going to try and go on with my life.

Lance.>
[Oh yeah...]

I smiled and quickly flew off towards me house.

Five minutes later

I sat in front of my desk, writing out my next letter to Graze.

As I finished it, I shook my head.

Seriously, I only see trouble in the near future thanks to this simple letter. But hey, it's going to be fun!

I quickly read over the small letter:

'Yo, Graze,

Sure, you can come visit. All I ask is that you prepare for a lot of changes. You'll be surprised at how much everything has changed.

Anyways, I would say more, but come on. If you're coming, I see no point.

Lance'

Short and sweet. That's how I like it.

After sending the letter, I turned to the room and sighed.

I really should get to picking up all those sheets.. Meh, maybe at a later date.

Right now, I just want some damn food.

I shook my body slightly and trotted out of the living room and down the hall to the living room.

[Feeding time!]

Damn, that was hard to write... crossover next chapter.

Bonus chapter: Finding Twilight part one

Future edit: You can skip this chapter as I never finished the plot and it ends on a cliffhanger. You can just skip to the last two chapters.

Well, I've decided to split this up into two or three parts.

Anyways, this is just a bonus chapter. Revolving around Lance trying to rescue Twilight from Val.

Before you ask, yes, even though this is a bonus chapter, all the events in this story happened during the seven month time elapse. So, this'll explain one of the adventure's Lance went on during the seven months.

Yes, the beginning is slightly rushed, but I had to do this to set up the rest of the chapter.

Also, if you see parts where quality was lacking, it was probably the parts I wrote after my boxing matches... I only won three out of eight... meh XD Or the parts where I was in the hospital, or something along those lines.

Last thing: I think I messed up on the whole 'Griffon's, Griffin' thing. So, please don't call me out on that one.

Bonus chapter: Finding Twilight part one

Four weeks after Nightmare Night

"Lance! Lance! Get up you lazy bum!" Someone yelled as I was thrown out of the bed and onto the cold floor.

"Da fuck!" I yelled out as I sat up and glared at the one who pushed me out of bed.

"Heh, sorry. You just wouldn't respond when I just told you to wake up." David said as he trotted around the bed and helped me up.

I stood up and shook my head, "Two questions are raised here. One, why are you in my house? And two, why did you wake me up! It's a Saturday! A SATURDAY!"

David chuckled, "The door was unlocked. And, don't you remember? That one pony from Trottingham set the date to today."

"Oh, forgot." I muttered as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

A week ago, a pony came down from Trottingham with the intentions of having a party in the honor of the ones who died during the Nightmare Night Massacre. It may not be the best way to honor them, but it's something.

Plus, I'm the main one who's responsible for their deaths.

I sighed deeply and trotted past David, "You know I would have woke up on my own, right?"

He smiled smugly, "It's twelve dude."

I facehoofed hard and looked at him, "Well damn. I was suppose to pick up Twilight from the spa.... how screwed am I?"

He smiled and spread his wings, "Don't worry bro, I covered for you. I told her we were doing something for my kids, and that I would get you there within the hour."

I smiled and gave him a nod, "I owe you one. How much time do we have to get there?"

He looked at his hoof... he's not even wearing a watch...

"About five minutes."

I spread my wings, "Let's get a move on!"

[*Yawn*... Ah, morning porn.]

[Nothing, Dawn. Nothing at all.]

Seven minutes later

I came to a stop outside of the spa, breathing heavily.

I looked behind myself and chuckled. I must have left David behind or something, because he's not behind me.

[Forget him.]

I shrugged and pushed open the spa doors.

A few ponies turned in my direction, but went back to what they were doing when they saw that it was only me.

"There you are!" Twilight said as she trotted up to me, a pissed off look on her face.

I waved nervously, "Hey Twi, hows your day?"

She glared, "You were suppose to be here thirty minutes ago!"

I gulped, "Sorry Twi..."

She sighed and smiled, "It's fine, just try to be on time next time."

I saluted her and smiled, "You got it, ma'am!"

She giggled and trotted past me, rubbing her side up against me, "Come on, stud."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I turned and followed her out the door.

Once I stepped out the door, I trotted up beside her and smiled brightly at her.

She looked at my face and giggled, "You okay, Lance?"

I nodded and wrapped my tail around hers, "Yep, better than ever."

She pressed herself up against me as we trotted down the street.

[Wooohooo! We're getting laid!]
{Shut up. You know we're going to the party, right?}
[Oh... no sexy time?]
{No sexy time.}

I chuckled and rubbed my cheek against hers, "You ready for the memorial party?"

She sighed and nodded, "I guess..." She then stopped and looked at me, "Lance... what was it like?"

"What was what like?" I asked, stopping also.

She took a breath and looked me in the eyes, "What was it like that night..."

My lip trembled slightly, "Horrible, I saw ponies... being blown apart. I was trying to focus on fighting Nightmare, but I keep looking past him and seeing all the ponies..." A single tear ran down my face.

Twilight pulled me into a gentle hug, "It's okay, Lance. You did all you could do."

"I could have done more!" I suddenly screamed, attracting the attention of all the ponies around us.

Twilight leaned back and looked at me with saddened eyes, "Lance, you did all you could. You saved a of ponies and actually saved all our friends. If you hadn't told us all to go back with Celestia... I don't want to know what would have happened."

I gulped back tears and pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm sorry, Twi."

She returned my hug with greater force, "For what?"

The tears began to pour down my face, "For being the one they were after! If I hadn't been there, they wouldn't have attacked and killed..."

She leaned back and put her hoof to my mouth, "Lance, listen to me, please. It wasn't all your fault. I promise."

I let out a deep sigh and wiped a hoof across my eyes, "Come on Twi, let's get to this party..."

She looked at me in concern, "Are you sure you can go, Lance? If you want, we can go home and talk about all this. The kids are with Dali after all..."

I shook my head, "No, I have to be there. It's the least I can do for causing their deaths..."

Twilight sighed and wrapped her tail in mine again, "When we get home tonight, we're going to talk this whole thing out. Okay?"

I smiled slightly, "Okay, Twi." I nuzzled her cheek, "I love you so much."

She giggled and returned my nuzzle, "I love you too, Lance."

I smiled warmly, but stopped when I looked around to see the large crowd of ponies who had gathered around us.

"What? Never seen a couple enjoying a tender moment together? Well, how many of you are getting laid tonight?" I said, a small grin still on my face.

Twilight facehoofed, "Lance, you know how to ruin just about every moment we have, huh?"

I began to trot down the street, causing her to trot after me, "Yep, every time."

Ten minutes later

This is the party? Really?

[Wow, you'd think that the guy who wanted to do this would have put more work into it...]

Indeed, the set up of the party was crappy.

There was next to no decorations, and nothing about the ones who died. Well, there was a sign that said, 'Remember them, because they won't ever forget you'. I guess that's good, but they deserve more then this!

{Yeah, at least...}

I turned my gaze from the main set up and looked around the area.

The stallion who set all this up had chosen the area outside of Ponyville. Which was a good choice, seeing as we were over looking the construction of New Ponyville.

"Life is a gift, always remember that." I heard a old stallion say to a few colts and fillies.

A small smile formed on my face as I watch the children nod up at the stallion.

"Lance." Someone said behind me.

I turned around and smiled, "Frederic, I haven't seen you since... that night."

He smiled weakly and adjusted his large eye patch, "I've been busy with a few things..." He sighed loudly and forced a chuckle, "So, what have you been up to?"

I shrugged, "You know, surviving." I then choked back a few tears, "Frederic, was it my fault that all that happened?"

He looked pained as he put a hoof on my shoulder, "No Lance. I know for a fact that it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. We just made a bad move, that's all."

I looked off to the side, "I guess you're right. It's just, I feel all this guilt..."

"I know, I feel the same thing. But, all we can do is live life to the fullest." He said, a small smile on his face.

This caused a smile to form on my face also, "Thanks Frederic."

He smiled warmly and gave me a light push, "Go, try and enjoy the party. We have to remember all of them, and I think this is a great way to do that."

I nodded and looked around again, at all the crying ponies who lost friends and family that night. "Yeah, it is..."

I saw Twilight and her friends all crying in a circle, while the bronies stood around, a few crying, a few just standing there. Everywhere else was the other ponies, the ones who had been caught in the fighting.

[Gah! Emotional!]
<... Be quiet, Break.>

Frederic trotted off towards a few ponies who were looking out over the remains of Ponyville, each had tears streaking down their face.

I sighed and looked back at Twilight and her friends. Seeing them cry tugged at my heart.

I gulped and trotted towards them, tears still rolling down my face.

"How you doing, Lance?" Peter asked as I passed him.

"Fine..." I muttered as I continued towards the girls.

Sixteen minutes later

"... And this is why we must remember them. They were caught in the middle of a tragic event. They didn't ask for it, they were just minding their own business. Further more..." The stallion on the stage said as he continued on with his long speech, telling why he started this party and everything else.

But, to tell you the truth, I don't think he spent a lot of time on his speech. I mean, he's jumping around to much. Plus, it sounds corny....

"Ugh! Can we go now?" A small colt asked off to the side.

"Shhh! Not now." His mother said as she leaned down to him.

I chuckled and looked over at Twilight, "When we get home, can we have a family outing with Fawn and Spark?"

Twilight smiled up at me and nuzzled my nose, "I'd love that."

"Now, I'm going to show you all a presentation of a project I have planned that will memorialize all those who died that night." The stallion on the stage said loudly as he levitated a large chest up on the stage. "This presentation is very special. A new type of magic, so I'll need a powerful unicorn to assist me in setting it up. Any volunteers?"

A few ponies whispered, and a few shrugged.

"I got you a volunteer!" Rainbow Dash yelled out as she flew up behind Twilight and began pushing her towards the stage.

"Rainbow!" Twilight hissed seconds before she was forced up onto the stage by a snickering Rainbow Dash.

The stallion smiled and held out his hoof, "Hello, Miss..."

"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight answered as she nervously shook his hoof.

He smiled and shook her hoof, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sparkle. As you may know, my name is Value."

Value? Pfft, stupid name... I mean, yay, awesome name!

[Yeah, you better say awesome! I wanted my name to be Value!]

Value waved his hoof towards the chest, "Okay, Mrs. Sparkle. We're going to open that chest and slowly pull out the large object inside. Don't worry, it's safe."

What's his problem? I mean come on, he has a very creepy smile right now.

"Umm, I think I can do that." Twilight muttered.

Value nodded and used his magic to lift up a large necklace, which he put over himself. Next, he moved over to the chest and told Twilight to do the same.

The two of them used their magic to slowly open the chest and raise out a large blue crystal.

Da fuck? How's this a presentation?

Value waved a hoof at Twilight and told her to stand behind him. As she stepped behind him, Value stepped forward.

"Okay everyone, just look up here and..." He then slammed the crystal into the ground, sending out a bright light, followed by a shock wave. The shock wave traveled through the crowd, knocking ponies over, but only Unicorns. All the others, Earth ponies and Pegasi stood still, as if nothing had happened.

The wave reached me and the others and sent me to the ground, followed by all the bronies.

After a second, I forced myself to my feet and looked towards the stage to see...

... That's not possible!

Val!

Val was standing on the stage, a large evil smirk on his face. Behind him was Twilight laying the ground, holding her head.

I looked around and saw that all the unicorns in the area was holding their heads, or to be more specific, their horns.

"To easy." Val said in a smug tone.

I shook the dizziness from my head and stomped forward, "What did you do to them!" I yelled, scaring a few other ponies who were not affected from the strange shock wave.

Val gave a small shrug, "Oh you know. Took away all the magic all of you held so this will be easier."

"You what!" I heard most of the crowd yell out in surprise.

He smirked, "Oh, it's not permanent. Just temporary..." He chuckled and held up the necklace, "If you were all smart enough, you would have questioned why I put this on. This little necklace here repelled the magical wave, leaving my magic unharmed."

I jumped up on the stage and glared at him, "Alright, Val! I know for a fact that I killed you!"

He only smirked and shook his head, "Ah, Lance, so naive. You can't kill an Alicorn that easily."

The crowd began to mummer at this.

I of course already knew this.

"Pfft, being a Alicorn won't mean much when I'm beating the living shit out of you!" I yelled taking a step towards him.

He laughed and tapped the ground.

I allowed myself to smirk, "Oh come on, Val. You should know I can't die. What chance do you stand right now, huh?"

His horn flared and he brought Twilight up in front of him, using his magic to hold her by the neck, "I may not be able to kill you as of this moment. But, I know of a way."

My glare intensified, "Put her down, or I fucking swear, I'll rip your fucking head off!" I screamed, meaning every word.

He shrugged and waved her side to side, "Oh, but I can't. She's my insurance."

I clenched my teeth in anger, trying to keep my cool, "Insurance for what?!"

"To make sure you do as I say." He said simply.

"And if I don't?" I said, taking a step closer.

He smiled, "If you don't, I'll snap her neck, right here, right now."

I hesitated, fear taking place of my anger, "Wh... What do you want me to do exactly?"

Val grinned, "Good. As you know, I can't kill you in your current state. So, let's just say I've figured out a way to get past that."

"Get on with it!" I hissed.

He glared, "Don't you dare tell me what to do! Or I'll take my anger out on your precious wife!"

I held my tongue, but continued to glare at him.

"As I was saying," He said, glaring at me and all the ponies in the crowd, "You're going to do this one thing, and if you fail to do this. Bye bye Twilight."

"I'll do what ever it is!" I yelled angrily.

He smirked, "I know you will. Come to Naserrith. There, we'll finish this once and for all."

"Naserrith? And where is that?!"

His horn began to glow brighter, "You'll figure it out." He rubbed his chin, "Before I go. Just a heads up. I've made a lot of friends over the years, and all of them will do anything I tell them to do. So, before you think you can bring all your friends with you, remember this. If you so much as bring one of your friends, and I'm talking about the ones from Earth, with you, I'll make this little runt pay." He stated, shaking Twilight, who was groaning in pain from the sudden lose of her magic.

A low laugh escaped his lips, "But feel free to bring along any regular ponies. That'll be enjoyable to watch."

"What will be enjoyable to watch?" I asked, trying to restrain myself, knowing if I tried anything, I would lose the one I love.

"Oh, you'll find out." He said evilly as his horn began to glow brighter. "Just remember, get to Naserrith, and find the Temple of Moilia. That's where all this will end."

"Where is it?!"

"Find out." He said simply as he and Twilight suddenly disappeared.

"NOOO! Get back here!" I yelled as I jumped for the spot where they had been.

I growled angrily as I twisted around and jumped off the stage. I then began to walk down the hill and towards the Everfree Forest.

"Lance! Where are you going?!" Frederic yelled as he shakily ran after me.

I didn't stop, "Where do you think! I'm going to Naserrith to save her!"

He galloped up next to me and took a deep breath, "Do you even know where that is?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and hung my head, "... No..."

[FUCK! What do we do now?!]

Frederic put his hoof on my shoulder, "Lucky for you, I do."

I looked up at him and grabbed his hoof, "Where?! Tell me!"

He smiled, "Only if you promise to do as I say."

I snarled slightly and nodded.

Fifteen minutes later
War room in the Palace

Frederic, Shining Armor, and I stood around a large table with a large map on it.

Frederic moved his hoof across the map for a few seconds before coming to a stop, "Aha, just where I thought it was."

I leaned over the table and looked at where he was pointing. The area at which he was pointing was a large desert area, with a small square in the middle. Above the square was the name 'Moilia'.

"That's the place he wants me to go to?" I asked, studying the map.

"That's what he said." Frederic replied.

I nodded once, "Then that's where I'm going."

Frederic held up his hoof, "Lance, you can't just go there and fight him head on."

What? Why can't I?

"Why?" I said, a little annoyance in my voice.

He sighed and put his hooves on the table, "This place, Moilia, is very special. Celestia has spoken of this place." He let out a loud breath before continuing. "She told me that as long as you are within the temples walls, you lose all connections to magic."

I shrugged, "Okay, what does this have to do with me? As I see it, he'll be the weak one."

Frederic looked at Shining Armor and back to me, "Well, as far as I can tell, you're immortality comes from a form of magic. And, so does you're different forms."

I shook my head, "No, my immortality comes from being a Angel, and I don't need magic to transform."

"Lance," Shinning Armor said, giving me a stern look, "I've done research on this place before, and I can tell you this; It doesn't matter what powers you have, or how you got them, the temple takes everything from you and makes you normal. Doesn't matter who you are, as long as your inside, you're powerless."

I bit my bottom lip, "I..." I gulped loudly, "What am I going to do? I know he has something planned for me there, and I can't fight unless I'm in my alternate form.... I'm useless..."

Frederic shook his head, "No, you're not, Lance." He smiled lightly, "Lance, you're always determined to protect your friends, and even more determined to protect Twilight. You died for her after all."

A faint smile formed on my face.

"And," He continued, "I've seen what you can do when you're trying to protect her. You don't need Break and Dawn to fight Val, all you need is your love for her."

[So damn corny!]

"And we've all seen what the power of love can do." Shinning Armor said with a small laugh.

I nodded, still smiling, "Okay, you both made your point. But seriously, what am I going to do about this?"

Shinning Armor looked at Frederic and smiled.

Frederic smiled back and looked at me, "Alright, Lance, I think we have a plan. Seeing as how I'm the Prince, and Shinning Armor is the Captain of the Royal Guard, and also a prince, I think we can work something out."

"I can send a platoon of the Spec Ops guards with you. All hoof picked by me," Shinning Armor said with a large smile.

At my confused look, he added, "Spec Ops guards, they're pretty much the Royal Guard, just wear different armor and are used for foreign threats. Kinda like the Equestrian Military."

I looked at them and sighed, "Okay look, I would love to take them, but they'll only slow me down. I intend to fly all the way there and..."

"You can't fly there," Frederic said plainly.

I looked at him with raised eyebrows, "And why not?"

Shinning Armor beat Frederic to the answer, "Because, to get there, you'll have to go through the Griffon territory and the Zebra territory. We're on bad terms with the Griffin's. Thanks to a incident a while back. If they see you flying over, they'll more than likely chase you down and take you into captivity. There's only one way to do this."

I groaned and looked at him, "How do we do this then?"

"Simple." Frederic said, "You'll take the 'Iron Charger' there. And before you ask, the Iron Charger is a military train. There's enough room inside for you and a entire platoon of Royal Guards."

[Oh yes!]

"I don't know if taking the Royal Guard with me is a good idea." I said, a bit unsure.

Shinning Armor waved his hoof in front of himself, "Don't be naive, Lance. If you take the Royal Guard with you, they'll be able to take care of the minor threats while you go after Val."

Hmmm, I still don't know...

I shook slightly at the thought and looked at the two prince's, "Okay, I'll take them with me." I looked around, "So, when will I be able to leave? Because I want to get there as soon as possible."

Shinning Armor furrowed his brow, "Well, I can have them ready within two hours, and have them on the train in an extra thirty minutes."

Frederic nodded, "Don't worry, Lance. The trip there is only two days, at the most."

"Two days?! But I could get there faster on my own!" I half yelled.

"Calm down!" Frederic yelled back before catching himself, "Listen, Lance. It would take you four days to fly there. You have to take breaks, but on a train, you don't have to. You'll get there faster, I promise."

I exhaled and turned for the door, "Alright, I'll listen to you two. Just please hurry and get the guards ready, I want to leave as soon as possible."

"Will do, Lance." Frederic called after me.

"Wait, Lance." Shinning Armor yelled, causing me to turn around.

He smiled brightly, "Bring back my sister, you hear me?"

I smiled back and nodded, "Don't worry, I'll bring her back if it's the last thing I do."

Two hours later
Canterlot train station

"Five minutes!" The Lieutenant yelled as the platoon of fifty seven Royal Guard's trotted onto the train.

[They are so fucking badass!]

I chuckled lightly and adjusted my saddlebags, each filled with a few essentials I may need on this journey.

After finally adjusting the final strap, I trotted over to last passenger carriage on the train, the only one not full of Royal Guard's.

"Lance!"

I turned around and saw Tovy galloping towards me.

"Uhh, hey, Tovy..."

He came to a stop in front of me and frowned, "Don't go, Lance! I don't want you to get hurt! Just stay here with me!"

I sighed and shrugged, "Well, sorry to tell you this, Tovy. But I'm going no matter what happens. I can't let her die because of me."

He hung his head, "Can you do one thing for me?"

"... Depends." I said slowly, bringing a hoof up to my mouth.

Tovy jumped up, pushing his face towards me, aiming for my lips. But, instead, his lips made contact with my hoof and I gave him a slight push, causing him to stagger slightly.

"No, Tovy. I told you, I don't go that way," I said sternly.

He hung his head again and kicked at the ground, "It was worth a try..."

I turned and jumped up on the train, "Listen, if I make it back, I may go on a guys night out with you. And I don't mean a fucking date. I mean we do something as friends, nothing more. Okay?"

He smiled up at me and nodded, "Yes! Not a date, just a guys night out!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I trotted into passenger car.

When I stepped inside, I saw five Royal Guard's sitting at a table, laughing. Which is weird to see, but meh.

[Military train, huh? I don't see how. I mean, there's tables by all the windows. It's more like a dinner train or what ever you call them.]

[Maybe...]

I sat down at a table, laying on my stomach on the booth. I positioned my head so I was looking out the window.

After a few minutes, the train lurched forward, slowly picking up speed.

I watched the buildings slowly crawl by, a few ponies looking at the train with confused faces.

Soon, I was watching the country side fly by outside my window.

I closed my eyes, intent on getting a some sleep.

"Hey, isn't that guy the one we're doing this for?" I heard one of them ask.

"Ah, looks like him. Who else would have red strips?" Another said.

I then heard the sounds of hooves on wood.

Letting out a small sigh, I sat up and looked at the five Royal Guard's who stood beside my booth.

One of them, a unicorn, did a sort of nod, "You're Lance?"

I nodded.

He smiled and held out his hoof, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. My name is Sil."

I shook his hoof, a small smile on my face.

The one beside him, a pegasus, spoke next, "I'm Chachila."

"Names Luric." Another Pegasus stated.

"Jarkins." The unicorn between the two Pegasi said with a smile.

"And I'm Zoarin." The last one, a pegasus, said.

I nodded to each, my smile slowly widening.

"It's nice to meet all of you, but..." I said, raising an eyebrow, "Shouldn't all of you be with the rest of the platoon?"

Sil only chuckled, "Yes, we should, but I like to have my team by themselves. You know, so we can be our selves."

"Team?" I said, sorta confused.

Jarkins nodded, "Yep. Sil here was promoted to Master Sergeant a while back and was permitted the privilege of setting up his own personal squad."

"How'd you manage that?" I said, looking at Sil.

He shrugged, a small grin on his face, "Let's just say that I took an arrow for someone very important."

"Was it to the knee?" I said with a small smirk.

He shook his head, "No, it went into my lower back."

{Break! Why did you make me say that! I hate that meme!}
[Worth it.]

"Yeah," Zoarin said, "You should have seen this guy, he was just trotting past Princess Luna and boom, someone takes a shot at her and the arrow goes right through his armor. The funny part is that he didn't even mean to do that."

"I still can't believe it." Luric said with a chuckle.

I looked at all of them, wondering why they were all so laid back.

"You guys seem different from the rest of the guard. You don't seem so, serious." I said, looking at each one of them.

They all looked at each other, smirking.

"Well," Chachila said, "When Sil here was going over the list of Royal Guards, he chose the most laid back guards. He wanted to set up a squad that trust each other, but can also have fun."

"And he made the right choices." Luric said smiling.

"Sure did." Sil said happily.

I smiled and nodded. I then went back to looking out the window, "Well, it was nice meeting all of you."

"Listen," Sil said, causing me to turn around, "We know what happened. With your wife being taken and all."

I looked at the floor, "Yeah, so?"

"We'll help you get her back, we promise." Zoarin stated, slamming his hoof into his plated chest.

Sil jerked his head downward in a nod, "My team and I will help the others take on any threats that get in your way. We'll clear the path for you so you can get her back."

I smiled, "Thank you... all of you. Even though this is your job, and you've been ordered to help me, I appreciate it."

Sil smirked, "Oh? We were ordered?" He and the others laughed, "Oh no, I volunteered to help. And since I volunteered, so did my team."

"Yeah, we joined because we wanted to help, unlike the others who were ordered to come." Chachila said proudly.

I let a large smile form on my face, "Thank you, I'll owe you all one when this is over."

Zoarin shrugged, "A drink will do as a reward."

The next day
10:17 AM

"Don't even try it." I warned as I watch Luric hold a feather over Chachila's snout as he sleep.

"Shh!" Luric shushed as he began to lower the feather.

"We're all going to die..." Zoarin said with a chuckle.

Luric slowly began to drag the feather across Chachila's snout, causing Chachila to slap Luric's hoof away in his sleep.

This caused us to snicker slightly as Luric went in for another try. But this time, Chachila's hoof shot upward and grabbed Luric's hoof.

"Don't try it." He said sternly, eyes still closed.

I chuckled and twisted around.

"Where you going, Lance?" Sil asked from his booth.

I shrugged, "I don't know. Just going for a little walk around the train."

"Hm, have fun." Zoarin said as he leaned over a table, reading a book I gave him.

I trotted to the end of the car and opened the door. I then walked through it and into the next couch.

Inside, I could see a few Royal Guard's sitting at the tables, all talking or laughing.

Huh, I guess they aren't all as strict as I had thought... cool.

As I trotted down the aisle, a few of them smiled and waved at me. I smiled and waved back.

[And that's how I clop.]

[Too bad.]
{*Sigh*}

I continued my way through all the carriages, going til I came to the first car. This one held very few Royal Guard's, but they all had serious looks on their faces.

"Ah, Lance." The Lieutenant said happily as he stood up from a table that had maps spread out on it.

"I've been meaning to talk to you." He said, gesturing for me to come over.

I trotted over and sat down across from him, "Why?" I asked simply.

He chuckled and pointed his hoof at the map, the one showing our current location.

"As you can see, we are right in the middle of Griffin territory. Meaning, we are now half way to Naserrith."

I smiled and nodded, "Do you have a plan for this?"

He gave a sharp nod, "Of course. We'll be fighting any threats that are not Val. But, if there are no other threats, we'll be doing our best to help you during your fight."

"Hmmm, is this really the plan?" I questioned, a bit worried.

He sighed, "Sadly yes. Little is known of Val, so we don't know what he's capable of."

I looked over the maps and sighed, "When will we get there?"

"I think we'll be there by late afternoon tomorrow."

"Good." I said as I stood up and began trotting for the door.

"Hey, Lance, wait."

I turned, "What?"

The Lieutenant stood up and stretched out his back, "Listen, when we arrive, I want you to stay with us. Don't run off, okay?"

I sighed and gave a reluctant nod.

The Lieutenant smiled lightly and trotted forward, "Look, Lance. I know what you're going through. I almost lost my wife to cancer a year ago. I remember trying to do anything and everything to make her better. I was desperate, like you are now. But, miracles happen. We don't know how, but the cancer disappeared before it was able to spread through her body." He put his hoof on my shoulder, "You're just going to have to trust us, Lance."

I look at him and force a hopeful smile, "I know, I promise I won't run off."

He gave me a pat on the shoulder and smiled, "Thanks, you don't know how much easier this makes it for us. And you. We're planning to..."

A sudden explosion, followed by the entire train shaking, interrupted the Lieutenant and sent both of us stumbling to the ground.

Before I could stand, another explosion rocked the train, throwing me back to the ground.

The Lieutenant jumped up quickly and began yelling out orders to the Royal Guard's who were in the carriage.

I forced myself to my hooves and stumbled over to the window as another explosion shook the train.

When I looked out, I saw the most unexpected thing.

The Darkness.

I thought I killed their leader! Why are they attacking us now?!

A Griffin flew past the window, throwing me into confusion.

The Lieutenant stumbled up next to me and groan, "Griffin mercenaries... that's just great."

"Mercenaries? Why are they helping the Darkness?" I asked, still confused.

"Simple," He said, "Someone's paying them."

The train shook violently as three explosions went off at almost the same time.

The Lieutenant turned and yelled at the remaining Royal Guard's, "Get everyone in their stations! NOW!"

"Sir!" They yelled as they galloped for the door.

I began to gallop after them, but the wall a few feet from me exploded inward, throwing me to the ground.

Before I could stand up, three pure black Pegasi flew into the carriage, followed by a Griffin wearing a body armor type suit.

One of the Pegasi jumped for the Lieutenant, but he dodged to the side and gave it a hard kick to the side. Causing it to disappear in a burst of black smoke.

But, before he could draw his sword, the Griffin charged him, slamming him into the wall.

I jumped up and galloped towards the two remaining Pegasi. I slammed into the first, sending it through the hole in the wall. The second swished its blade like wings at me, but only cut off a few strands of my mane. I threw my hoof forward, slamming it through the pony.

I spun around and watched as the Lieutenant head butted the large Griffin, causing it to stumble back.

I sprung forward and slammed my head into it's back, causing it to gasp in pain.

The Lieutenant twisted around and gave the large Griffin a hard buck to the chest, causing it to fly out the hole in the wall.

"This is not good!" The Lieutenant yelled as he pulled out his sword and galloped for the door.

I began to follow, but stopped when I looked out the hole and saw all the Griffon's and Darkness flying around. The Darkness was using some form of magic and was throwing large balls of magic at the train, each one blowing a huge chunk out of it.

I gulped and sprint for the other couch.

When I ran in, I saw nothing but Royal Guard's and Griffon's fighting it out. A few dark Pegasi were mixed in with the large crowd.

[Angel form?]
{No, I only need Breaking Dawn.}

A bright light flashed as I changed into Breaking Dawn, causing a few Griffon's and Royal Guard's to look my way.

I cracked my neck and flew forward, slamming into two Griffon's in the process. I grabbed each by the neck and slammed them together, instantly knocking each out.

As I threw them to the side, a dark Pegasus flew forward, slamming its bladed wing into my shoulder.

I grimaced in pain and hooked it in the face, turning it to black smoke.

I coughed slightly and flew forward, slamming my hooves into any Griffin or dark Pegasi I flew past.

When I reached the door, I pushed it open, ready to provide a little help for the next car. But, when I opened the next door, a large explosion sent me flying back into the one I just came from.

As I coughed and tried to stand, a Griffin reached down and grabbed me by the neck.

It lifted me up to it's face and laughed. It pulled back its talon and... fell?

I mean, it let me go and just fell to the ground... what?

When I hit the ground and looked up, I saw the Lieutenant, smiling.

"Gotta be careful, Lance."

I shrugged and jumped up, "I am."

And before he could reply, I charged towards the car that I was going to previously.

But, when I entered it, all I saw was the landscape speeding by.

There was no other car anymore. Just a scarred platform where it use to be.

I ran across the destroyed carriage, and ran into the next one. Inside this one was very few Royal Guard's, who were trying desperately to fight off a couple Griffon's who had flown in through one of the large gaping holes.

I clenched my teeth and flared my wings. I sprung forward and headbutted one in the back of the head. As he fell, another slashed it's talon's across my chest, causing blood scars to form.

I winced slightly and grabbed its talon as it tried to redo it's attack. I twisted hard, breaking it's hand and pushed forward, causing the Griffin to stab its own talons into it's gut.

{I'm not...}

I grabbed the unconscious Griffin that I knocked out and threw it towards another, sending both of them out one of the holes.

I turned to help take care of the others. But the Royal Guard's had already taken care of the other Griffon's in the car.

One of them nodded towards me and jumped out through the hole, spreading his wings and taking flight.

Hmmm, should I?

[Yes, we should try and stop them from getting on the train. Or at least slow down the amount of them getting on.]

I gave a nod and bent down and picked up one of the fallen Royal Guard's swords.

{I know, I'm just going to injure them.}
[... How are we even holding this sword in our hoof?]

Before you start saying, 'Hey, ponies can't hold swords in their hooves!' Watch this, it pretty much makes it cannon that ponies can indeed use swords with their hooves:
The proof is in this link.

I spread my wings and flew out of the train and into the morning sun.

The second I was out in the open, a pair of Griffon's veered off their path and flew towards me.

As the first one reached me, I ducked under its talon and slashed my sword across it's unarmored wing, removing it entirely.

I quickly twisted around and barely dodged the other Griffon's sharp talons. I flew forward and ducked under its next attack. I then slammed the sword forward, tearing through the muscle in the Griffon's leg.

It yelped in pain and stopped flapping its wings, causing it to fall towards the ground.

I smiled proudly, but snapped back to being serious when I heard two more explosions.

I flew towards a group of Darkness, sword held in one hoof.

But, before I could reach them, a large Griffin slammed into my side. It grabbed me by the throat and began to apply pressure.

I began to gag, trying to push the Griffin off of me, but was unable to break it's iron grip.

[SHIT! I got this!]

My hoof shot upward, the one holding the sword, and swished past my face.

The Griffin's grip instantly loosened as it's hands were removed from its body.

As it looked at its arms, now with stubs, I flew forward and delivered a devastating kick to its face. Sending it towards the ground.

I winced slightly as I removed the talons from around my neck and quickly flew after the train, which was still speeding away.

While I was flying towards it, I could see more and more Griffon's and dark Pegasi landing on the train. While the others bombarded it with explosives.

Once I reached the train again, I set out to stop the Pegasi who were constantly bombing it.

I flew towards three of them and cut one in half, and as it turned to smoke, I gave the one next to it a heavy left jab. The last one stopped and threw its bladed wings towards me. I brought the sword up and blocked the attack and spun backwards, slamming my back legs into its chin.

I sighed and wiped a hoof across my forehead.

I looked down at the train and groaned. There where Griffon's on top of the couches, each one either fighting a Royal Guard, or tossing explosives into the car below.

"Why me?" I muttered angrily as I flew towards the train.

I landed on the roof and pointed my hoof at two Griffon's, "Come at me bros!"

The first one glared and flew towards me, but when I swung the sword, it ducked under it and slammed it's head into mine, causing me to fly across the roof of the train. I skidded to a stop and tried to stand, but the large Griffin pounced on me and held me down with its talons.

But, before it could try anything, something slammed into it, sending off the side of the train.

Chachila landed in front of me and smiled as he extended his hoof, "Need some help?"

I rolled my eyes and allowed him to help me up, "Thanks."

And after saying that, I flew towards the second Griffin, catching him by surprise.

I brought the sword down on its right wing, removing it from it's body. As it reared up in pain, I spun to the side, slamming my back legs into it's side. As it fell off the side, I twisted around and slammed the flat side of the sword into another's face who was trying to grab me from behind.

Chachila landed beside me and slashed his sword across a Griffin's throat.

"Heh, you're pretty good." He commented.

I smiled and brought my sword up, "You're not so bad yourself."

[UGH! Don't quote all those action movies!]

Two minutes later

"Shit!" I yelled out as I tripped over one of the bodies on the roof.

I fell to the ground and turned over just in time to block the talons of one of the Griffin's. I gritted my teeth as I pushed back with the blade and used my back legs to push myself away from the Griffin.

Chachila flew over me and slammed his sword into the Griffin's gut, causing it to fall of the train.

I stood up and looked around. Luckily, there weren't that many more left. Just a few flying around, and a few inside the train.

"Come on! We have to stop them before they hit the engine!" One of the Royal Guard's yelled as he took to the air.

I looked skyward and flew upward.

[We are so badass!]
{No, we're only luck...}

Something heavy slammed into me from behind, catching me by complete surprise. I pulled my wings in and twisted in mid air.

The large Griffin, who had rammed me, was flying down towards me, its talons pointed downward, towards me.

{Okay you two, you ready to pull a Rainbow Dash move here?}
<[You know it!]>

I took a deep breath and twisted back around til I was facing the ground, which was coming up fast.

Seconds before hitting the ground, I flared my wings and flapped hard, sending my body forward at a high speed.

The Griffin, however, wasn't so lucky. As it went to pull up, its body slammed into the ground, either killing it or knocking it out. I hope it was the former.

But, as my luck would have it, my prosthetic wing gave out.

I slammed into the ground, sending dirt and rocks everywhere.

After a few seconds, I gasped in pain.

"Fu...ck..." I gasped as I forced myself into a sitting position.

I painfully stood up and began to limp in the direction the train was going. I slowly began to gallop as the pain slowly resided.

"Whoa! Are you okay, Lance? That was a painful looking fall!" Luric yelled out as he flew down to fly beside me.

I chuckled and spread my wings, "Don't worry about me, just keep them off the train."

He frowned, "You better be okay." He then banked left and flew towards a few dark Pegasi.

I clenched my teeth and took to the air, flying for the train. I resisted the urge to scream in pain each time I flapped my wing. I knew I should have listened to Twilight when she told me I had to be careful with it...

I forced myself to fly until I was next to the train.

With a grunt, I threw myself through a small hole in the side of the train and landed in front of three Royal Guard's.

"Buck! Are you okay?!" One asked as he quickly helped me stand on all fours.

I winced and nodded.

"Lance!" Chachila yelled as he flew in through the window, "What happened?!"

I shrugged, "My wing gave out, nothing big..."

The train again rocked with a explosion.

"Chachila, you should get out there and help. I'll help on the inside." I said as I picked up another sword from another fallen Royal Guard.

Chachila laughed, "Giving orders, huh?" He then flew out the hole, followed by one of the other Guards.

I smiled and began to make my way down the carriage, moving towards the front.

After passing through a few couches, and fighting a few Griffon's and dark Pegasi, I came to the second to first car. Inside was two Royal Guard's who were trying to fight five Griffon's.

[Unfair odds right there.]

I cracked my neck and ran towards them... only to have a sixth one slam into my side.

I slammed into the wall and hit the ground with a loud grunt. I stood up quickly and faced the Griffin.

The sword I was using was no longer in my grasp, it was knocked out of my hoof when the Griffin rammed me.

As the Griffin sprung forward, I dropped into a fighting stance, ready for some hoof to talon combat.

But, before it reached me, four different swords slammed into its side, sending the Griffin to the ground.

"Aha! How'd ya like that one!" Jarkins yelled as he trotted into the carriage, a couple swords floating around him.

[This reminds me of 'Fallout: Equestria'...]

Jarkins nodded at me as he began to launch the swords at the Griffon's and dark Pegasi. Each sword slammed into it's target. Either killing it or incapacitating it.

As the last one fell, Jarkins turned to me and smiled, "I see you're holding your own."

I nodded and picked up another sword, "Thanks, Jerkins. I'm getting too old for this stuff."

[Aren't we only eighteen though?]
{Yeah, I just feel old...}

"Too old?" Jarkins laughed as he lifted up a few more swords and trotted back the way he came.

I chuckled to myself and picked up another sword.

"You alright?" One of the guards asked me as I began to trot towards the next car.

I gave a nod, "Never better..."

[Are you sure you're okay? It doesn't feel like you're okay...]
{I'm fine.}

I stepped out of the carriage and into the next one. Thankfully, the Royal Guard's in this one had already taken care of the Griffon's and dark Pegasi.

I looked over at one of the large holes in the wall and trotted over, almost falling over when another explosion went off.

When I looked outside of the train, I saw that the most of the Griffon's were pulling back, but the dark Pegasi seemed to stay. Strange...

"What is he doing?" One of the Royal Guard's asked as he and the others looked out a window on the other side of the car.

I turned and walked over to them. When I looked out, I saw Chachila and another guard trying to fight three very large Griffon's.

"He's going to get himself killed..." The guard next to me muttered.

I shook my head, "Nah, he'll do fine. He has them in his..." I stopped as I watched the other guard get slashed across the throat. Which, caused him to fall away from the fight and distract Chachila.

[Well fuck...]

Damn it!

I opened the window and climbed through it. But, as soon as I turned to fly to his aid. The Griffon closes to him swung out with its talons and knocked off Chachila's helmet.

My eyes widened as I saw Chachila's now headless body begin to fall towards the ground.

[Damn it!]
<...>

I kept pace with the train, but watched as the three Griffon's flew towards the front of the train.

"Follow me!" One of the Royal Guards yelled to his comrades as they all ran towards the engine.

I glanced around quickly, seeing no other threats, and flew towards the front.

After a few seconds, I flew to the side and landed in the car that was next to the engine.

I started to walk towards the door that lead to the engine, but four Royal Guards stood in front of it, trying to break the door down.

Among them was Sil, who looked pretty pissed as he tried to use his magic to break the door down.

I trotted up and groaned slightly.

"Lance!" Sill yelled as he stopped working on the door and looked at me, "Can you help us out here?"

"What is it?" I questioned, wondering why they were having trouble with the door. I mean, it should be pretty easy to break down.

"Well," he said, looking at the door, "It appears that they've somehow put a spell on the door."

"And hows that possible?" I asked, "They're Griffon's. Not unicorns."

[Lance? Why so serious?]
{I'm going to remain serious till I get back my Twilight back!}
[Okay... sorry...]

"I have no idea..." Sil muttered as he let out a sigh.

"Buck!" one of the other guards yelled as he kicked the door again.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to them, "Move!"

They all looked at each other and slowly backed away from me and the door.

I put my hoof on the door and thought for a second.

....

Ah!

I moved over to the side and slammed my hoof through the wall. I then pulled it out and turned to face the Royal Guards, "It's that damn simple! If the damn door is locked, break down the wall!"

They all nodded, a little fear in their eyes.

[Wow... we're scaring Royal Guards....]

I waved my hoof at them, motioning for them to follow and broke my way through the small hole. When I was in the section between carts, I could hear the three Griffon's yelling at someone. Strange?

I shook my head and kicked the door open. I jumped in, followed by the other Royal Guards.

But, what I saw surprised me.

Val was standing in front of the three Griffon's, smirking. The three Griffon's continued to yell at him.

"... suicide!" One yelled.

Val looked up and smiled at me and the guards.

"Ah, Lance. What a surprise."

"You bastard!" I growled, anger replacing my serious attitude.

"Words are only a front, Lance," he said as he disappeared in a flash of light.

I started to yell at the Griffon's, but, before I could, another flash of light filled the car.

"Ah crap..." One of the guards muttered.

[Fuck, is that a...]

.... What the fuck?!

The thing that appeared in the car was a small yellow box with a timer on it...

And the timer said eleven seconds!

"Move!" Sill yelled as he and the others turned and galloped out of the car. I turned and ran after them, jumping through the hole and continuing to run down the car.

Wait... wings!

I spread my wings and propelled myself forward, grabbing Sil and another guard in both my hooves.

I then flew to the side and out of the hole in the wall. The other two guards jumped out, but only one of them was a pegasus...

Seconds after leaving the train, the entire front blew outward. The force of the explosion slammed into me, knocking me out of the sky.

Before we slammed into the ground, a small shield engulfed us.

But, as we hit the ground, it only blocked out a small amount of the impact. The shield shimmered for a second before it gave out completely.

Okay, I split the chapter here. Sorry for the cliff hanger. You'll find out what happens in a week or so.

Bonus chapter: Finding Twilight part two

When my body hit solid ground, I let out a pained groan. Over on the tracks, I could hear what sounded like tons of metal being crashed together. But, I couldn't see it. Because we had landed in a patch of tall, dead grass.

I slowly stood up and looked over at the train... or, what was left of the train.

The first two cars of the train were scattered all around us, while the other cars lay off the tracks, most of them crushed or broken into pieces. There were small fires all over the front few cars, while the ones behind them were smoking.

[Damn...]

I took to steps towards the wreck, but stopped when I heard someone groan.

I looked over to the side and saw Sil and the other guard laying on the ground, only a few feet from each other.

Sil was slowly standing up while the other guard pushed himself into a sitting position.

Sil coughed and trotted up to me, looking at the wreck, "Celestia..."

He then looked at me, "Lance, I owe you my life."

I waved him off and began to walk towards the wreck, "No, you don't. Just consider us even."

"Even?" He asked as he trotted next to me, "For what?"

"You're helping me," I stated, "So, I helped you."

{So?}

When I reached the wreck, I saw a few bodies laying around, a few Royal Guards and a few Griffon's.

Damn it, Val! Why would you do this!

... Okay, stupid question...

Seven minutes later

"Put him here..." Zoarin said as I walked towards him, a unconscious guard on my back.

As I placed him on the ground, Zoarin sighed heavily.

"Why would they attack us?"

I stood up straight and looked around at the few Royal Guards who were able to still stand, "I know why."

Zoarin looked at me, "Then why?"

I looked up at the sky as I spoke, "Val. He was in the engine when me and the others broke in. It looked like he was arguing with the last three Griffon's, but I don't know what it was about."

"... I should have known," He muttered as he trotted over to another injured guard.

I started to sit down, but stopped when I saw Sil trotting towards me.

"Well, Lance," he began, "It seems we may have a small problem."

I groaned and shook my head, "What happened?"

"The Lieutenant is dead," he deadpanned.

What?! But, I need him!

At my shocked expression, he continued, "Apparently, he died trying to hold off a few of those dark Pegasi."

I hung my head for a second, but quickly lifted it, "So, I take it your in command now?"

He did a double take and shook his head, "Oh no! The Sargent Major is the one who'll be taking command of the platoon, or, whats left of it."

.... How many are even left?

"Uhh, Sil?" Jarkins called out from somewhere in the wreckage.

"What?!" Sil yelled out in annoyance.

"I think you've been promoted to commander of this platoon..."

Sil rolled his eyes, "And why would you think that?!"

"The Sargent Major is.... kinda divided right now..." Jarkins responded.

Sil stomped his hoof, "Buck!"

"So..." I said slowly.

"So what?" Sil asked as he looked back up at me.

"How many guards are even left?"

His eyes widened and he turned to one of the guards, "You! Get a head count! NOW!"

The guard gave a nod and quickly ran off to take count of the remaining guards.

"Okay," Sil said with a sigh, "Now to get my team together and..."

"Sil," I said, interrupting him.

He turned his head towards me, but remained quiet.

"Ummm, Chachila didn't make it..." I said slowly, rubbing the back of my neck.

Sil cursed and stomped his hoof against the ground. "Why do..."

"Sir!" the guard from before yelled as he galloped towards us.

Sil growled slightly and glared at him as he came to a halt in front of us, "That was fast! How could you have counted all the..."

"Sir, there's only eleven guards left that are able to stand."

Sil's expression dropped at the low number of guards he had left.

[Yeah, we're screwed.]
{*Sigh* No we're not.}

"Sil," I said, attracting his attention, "We don't need a large force to fight Val, all we need is timing and a plan."

"That's what the last Captain said..." Sil muttered.

I sighed, "I know I must sound like a bad war movie right now, but..."

"What's a movie?"

I held up my hoof, "But, I mean it. Val will be powerless in the temple, just like us. That means I should be able to fairly fight him." I then gestured towards him, "As for you and the remaining guards, you can help me fight him, or, if there's more Griffon's or dark Pegasi there, you can handle them."

"You know that was pretty much the whole plan from before.... right?" he asked as he adjusted his helmet.

I shrugged and walked over to a sword, "So?" I then bent down and picked up the blade, "Hey, does anyone have a sheath for this thing?"

"So? So, what are we going to do? We have no transportation and no way to defend ourselves properly."

"Well, my plan is to fly there. But, seeing as not everyone is a..." I stopped long enough to catch a sheath one of the guards had thrown me, "Thanks!" I began to put on the sheath, but continued to talk, "Since most of the guards are not Pegasi, I don't see that happening. So, we're just going to have to walk there. Should be easy."

"Just one problem," Sil said as he trotted up to me.

"Which is?" I asked as I put the sword in the sheath and adjusted it to my body.

"We're still a few hours walk from the boards of this territory, and another fulls day walk to get out of the Zebra's territory. And on top of that, another half day of walking to reach the temple."

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him, a bit of shock on my face, "You mean to tell me, this little incident has added on almost two days?!

Yep, that's it. the plot was never resolved. If you didn't skip like I said you should, you just wasted your time. XD

The Final Act: Part 1&2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Epilogue

Epilogue
16 A.B. (2028)

The young filly closed the large book titled “Memories” and sat back with a look of confusion.

“That's it?” she said as she began to shift through all of the folders marked ‘evidence’ that lay around her. “That can't be the end! There has to be another journal or something.”

The young filly continued to search through the paper work, but couldn't completely understand what was written on them. However, she continued her search, determined to find information regarding the existence of a second journal.

“Scamp! What have I told you about touching mommies work things?”

The filly spun around, startled by her mother's yelling. “I'm sorry, mom! I was just curious about your new case!” she blurted out defensively.

The older mare sighed and stepped into the office, it's floors covered in paper and folders. “Then ask me, don't destroy my office in your quest for answers.” She then began to reorganize the room with her magic while her daughter stood there patiently.

As soon as she finished, she turned to see her daughter with the biggest smile she could muster.

“You have a question?” the mare asked, followed by the filly quickly shaking her head yes. This caused the mare to smile, and she took a seat. “Fire away.”

Scamp’s smile widened. “Tell me about him! What's he like? Did you read his book?! Do you believe it?!”

Her mother held up a hoof, “ One at a time dear.” She turned in her seat and began reading over a few papers. “I just got this case yesterday day, honey. But I just finished my first meeting with him today.”

“And?” Scamp asked while leaning forward.

“He's quiet, and content,” the mare said as she turned back around to face her daughter. “And yes, I've read the book. He mentioned it several times during the meeting, but it's irrelevant to the case.”

Scamp cocked her head in confusion, “Why?”

“It's fiction, honey. A book he wrote to make himself seem more interesting, a way for him to retreat from the real world. He's convinced himself it's all true and will not listen to reason.” The mare shook her head, a bit of annoyance in her voice. “He's making it very hard to represent him. At least I can fall back on mentally unstable if all else fails.”

“But it is real,” Scamp said quietly, looking at the floor.

“What was that?”

Scamp looked up, “It's all real, he couldn't have made all of that up. I know it all seems like make believe, but it's real. I know it is.”

Her mother just smiled, “ I know, honey. It has a lot of cool things in it that young fillies like yourself are attracted to, I use to be like that. But, that book was written by a insane stallion, and I have to somehow prove he's innocent. Which is impossible with this book.”

Tears of anger swelled up in Scamp’s eyes at being brushed off because of her age, but she did her best to keep her voice at a normal volume. “Where did they find him?”

Her mother noted her daughter's mood, but didn't mention it. Instead, she lifted a folder up and shifted through it. “Apparently, they found Mr. Greenfield in Manehattan in a library, which he owned.”

“How'd he avoid being noticed for so long if he owned a library?” Scamp asked. “I mean, he looks so weird from the way he describes himself in the book.”

The mare nodded and lifted a picture. The picture showed a aged Pegasus stallion with a distressed expression holding a sign with numbers on it. His fur was cyan, with a black mane, and he had green eyes, but he was devoid of any kind of uniqueness.

At her daughter's puzzled look, the mare chuckled, “This is Lance Greenfield, age 41. And before you say anything, his appearance was changed with magic a long time ago.”

“Then how'd they find him?” Scamp questioned.

Her mother lifted up the book and shook her head. “Because of this! He wrote it and then read it to the children during story time. What a…” she caught herself from cursing and sighed again. “I'm suppose to be his lawyer, but he's already condemned himself.”

“What's going to happen to him?” Scamp asked, obviously worried.

“If he's lucky, I'll get him a reduced sentence, but most likely he's going to the loony home for ponies like him.”

“But what if the book is real and all of that actually happened?” Scamp asked hopefully.

Her mother looked at her, and frowned, “It doesn't matter if it's true or not, he murdered someone. That book can't help him, all it's good for is to be used against him.”

“But if it's true, then we should help him,” Scamp reasoned, but at the look her mother gave her, she added. “Because it was unfair to him to be treated like that by that watcher thing.”

The mare leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes, appearing to be stressed. “You're too young to understand any of this, Scamp. Just go play outside or something, do something more age appropriate and leave court cases to the adults. Okay?”

“But…” Scamp began, but was cut off by her mother.

“No more questions. I need to get to work, this case is already killing me with stress.” She turned to her desk and began lifting up folders, and muttered, “I hate cases involving humans.”

Scamp started to say more, but instead stamped her hooves on the floor in frustration. She turned and left her mother's office and walked down the hall to her room.

Once there, she kicked a small table over and repressed the urge to scream.

“Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm stupid!” she declared to no one in particular.

She stepped over to her nightstand and pulled out her own journal. The words ‘Detective notes’ was written across it. She opened it to reveal all of her past notes on other cases her mom had worked on. She merely clenched her teeth and ripped the pages out, leaving the blank ones still attached.

“I'm done playing detective,” she mumbled as she looked at the blank page. She looked away from the book and out her window.

Outside, the small town was bustling with activity. Everyone seemed excited about the upcoming trial, especially since one of the princesses was going to be attending.

Scamp looked back at the paper and slammed her hoof on it. “I'm going to prove he's telling the truth, even if it takes me most of my life!”

Thus, an obsession is born.

Author's Note

Ooo, what could this mean.

Part 3: You’re gonna go far, kid

Author's Note

I wrote part 3 back in 2016, but I never released it as I wasn’t sure if I should. And I planned to never release it, but recent events in both the LTD community and my personal life encouraged me to release part 3.

I’ve edited it and refined a few points to flow better, and will be releasing it daily. Yes, the entire thing is finished, so no need to worry about me leaving it unfinished like I tend to do.

Part 3: You’re gonna go far, kid

Part 3

Chapter 1
45 A.B.

“Four suspects confirmed inside the building,” came Echo-1’s gruff voice through the radio. “Three armed with firearms, the fourth is a Unicorn. Echo Team ready to enter.”

“Copy that,” came the response of the lead Enforcer. “Echo-2 are you in position?”

Echo-2, Jace, looked over his shoulder at Scamp and Dew, who both gave a single nod in response.

“We are in position, ready to breach.”

The three of them were at the back side of the building, while the other three members of Echo were at the front.

Scamp took the moment of silence to adjust the submachine gun on her right side and the pistol on her right hoof. She flexed her wings slightly, anticipating the next few minutes.

“Echo Team, you are clear to breach.”

“Breaching.” There was a small explosion on the door, followed by Jace bucking the door open.

Scamp was the first in, followed by Jace and Dew.

“Left side clear,” she said into her mic as she scanned the room, using the reticle on her helmet's HUD to aim the submachine gun on her side.

“Hallway clear,” Jace announced. “Proceeding down the right side.”

Scamp followed from the rear, watching their back as they walked down the hallway.

As they neared the end, the sound of gunfire could be heard from the front of the building.

“Contact! Hostiles are in the warehouse section!” Came the loud but calm voice of Echo-1.

Jace tensed slightly, but the three of them kept up their slow steady movement. As they neared the door, it burst open and a unicorn ran into the hallway. They came to a stop right in front of Dew, who had their rifle almost pressed right up to their snout.

“Don’t move!” Dew screamed in a commanding but surprised voice.

The Unicorn stared at all three of them, who now had all weapons pointed at him. He took a step back.

“Don’t do it!” Jace commanded.

In an instant, the Unicorn’s horn flared to life just in time to push all three weapons up as they fired, the bullets barely missing his head. He then dropped down into a fighting stance as his horn flared again sending all three members of Echo Team flying backwards.

Scamp, being a Pegasus, recovered first mid air and brought her body around to face the Unicorn, moving the reticle to his chest. But just as she fired the gun snapped to the side, causing her bullets to miss completely.

“Fucking Unicorns!” She roars as she’s grabbed by unseen magic and slammed into the wall.

As she hit the ground, the other two had recovered and opened fire on the Unicorn. But curses and thuds revealed they’d had the same results as she had.

With a grunt Scamp jumped to her hooves and jumped forward, using her wings to propel her towards the Unicorn. This move seemed to catch him off guard as he back peddled and tried to stop her with his magic.

Her gun was yanked aside again, but this time she wasn’t attempting to use it. Instead she continued forward and slammed a hoof into his face.

The Unicorn stumbled back looking dazed, giving Scamp time to tackle him to the ground.

The two of them wrestled back and forth, with Scamp trying to get a magic inhibitor over his horn and the Unicorn trying to get free and focus. Suddenly, she felt her right hoof start bending towards her head, the attached pistol slowly inching towards her.

She grunted as she fought against the magic, but it was a losing battle. Sweat poured down each of their faces as she fought to hold him down and keep her pistol from pointing at her head.

Just as she was sure she was about to get shot, she gave up holding him down and shot her hoof up and gripped his horn. His eyes widened as she let out a roar and jerked her whole body to the right, snapping the horn in the process.

The Unicorn let out a scream of agony as he stopped fighting her and grabbed his broken horn.

She stood up just as her teammates made it to her side.

“Celestia!” Dew exclaimed as he saw the screaming Unicorn and Scamp dropping his horn. “Horn Snapper at it again.”

“He was asking for it,” Scamp said as she readjusted her gear and weapons.

“It was justified,” Jace said as he hoofcuffed the Unicorn and placed a magic inhibitor on what remained of the horn, just as a precaution.

“Damn Bronies,” Dew said, staring at the large B on either flank of the Unicorn, the branding that all Bronies must have.

With a sigh, Jace stood up and keyed his mic, “Echo-2, Unicorn suspect in custody.”

“Copy that, Echo-2. Echo-1, status?”

There was a pause before a response came. “Echo-1, all three suspects are down. No casualties on our end.”

“Outstanding, Echo Team. Finish clearing the building.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Good work making the arrest, Scamp!” Cherrywood, the radio operator, said happily as she trotted out of the command truck and towards the Members of Echo Team as they returned. The Unicorn trudging along with his head down.

“Thank you, because I obviously did all the work back there,” Scamp replied, a playful tone to her voice.

“Oh shove off!” Dew said as he punched her side, getting a chuckle from the rest of the team.

“Yes, excellent work, filly,” came a cold voice from the command truck.

Scamp looked over to see the lead Enforcer standing in the doorway to the truck, an unimpressed look on his face. His imposing black power armor with gold trim only added to the malice his presence gave off.

“Thank you, sir,” Scamp responded, knowing it wasn’t in her best interest to joke around with him.

“My only comment,” he said, lowering his voice as he looked each of them in the eyes. “It took six of you to bring down three armed Bronies.”

“Four sir,” Dribble corrected, gesturing to the Unicorn.

The Enforcer stared at Dribble, causing him to start sweating under his intense stare.

“The fact you consider an unarmed Unicorn a threat only lowers my opinion of your team.” He steps forward, his yellow fur seeming to glow in the sunlight. “Now, release him into my custody.”

“Yes, sir.” Echo-1, Parker, says with a nod and pushes the Unicorn towards the Enforcer.

The Unicorn finally looks up and tries to stare the Enforcer down, but the stare he gets back causes him to whimper and back up.

“Seize him,” Enforcer Strawell said calmly. Two other Enforcers, these ones wearing their helmets, step out of the command truck and stomped up to the Unicorn.

They didn’t give him time to react as they roughly grabbed him and began dragging him away to the Enforcers Mobile Command Rig.

“You’re all dismissed,” Enforcer Strawell said as he brushed back his pink mane and put on his helmet, hiding his glare behind the darkened visor.

Echo Team saluted as he walked away.

“Creepy prick,” Scamp muttered, getting nods from her teammates.

The six of them turned and headed for their own truck, a large armored truck with “Echo” on its side. They all entered the truck without a sound, removing their helmets as they all took their seats facing each other.

Scamp wiped sweat from her brow as she pulled out her water bottle from its compartment and took a few swigs of flavored water.

“That Unicorn was a damn threat,” Dew said aloud now that they were all alone. “He threw us around like we were nothing. And almost made Scamp perform her own sucide.”

“Yeah but ol’ Horn Snapper wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to add another horn to her collection,” Dribble remarked, a large smile on his face.

“I’ve only broken like twelve horns,” Scamp said with a look of innocence on her face. “Well I guess thirteen now.”

“Yeah but who’s counting?” Dribble teased, getting a water bottle thrown at him.

“Don’t mind Enforcer Strawell,” Parker said, changing the subject. “We don’t usually have to work with him or any of the Enforcers from the Office of Equine Affairs.”

Scamp rolled her eyes at the mention of the OEA, and lifted her left hoof to look through her wrist mounted PDA.

“Find any more ‘intel’, while we were in there?” Dribble asked, smiling at Scamp as she tapped at her PDA.

“Nope,” she replied dismissively, already being used to being teased for her side project.

“I’m just saying, you have checked every single Brony database we’ve found, and none of them have even mentioned him or anything related to him.” Dew said seriously. “You’re going to get in trouble if Command or any Enforcer finds out about your snooping.”

“Leave her be,” Calypso said, causing everyone to look at her. “She’s not technically breaking any laws. Besides, screw the OEA.”

“Well if Calypso says drop it,” Parker says with a smirk. “ Then we drop it.”

Scamp gave a small smile to the other Mare, who only nodded and went back to the book she was reading.

“So who’s buying drinks tonight?” Jace asked, causing everyone to point to Dribble.

“Aw applesnatch.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that night

Scamp stepped into her house, throwing her badge and locker keys onto the kitchen table. She walked to her fridge and pulled out a soda and leftovers from the night before, putting them into the microwave.

With a sigh she walked to her room and removed her pistol from her hoof, placing it by the bed. Using her wings she removed her jacket and tossed it over the nearby chair.

She returned to the kitchen and grabbed her food as soon as the microwave went off. She balanced the food on her wing and grabbed her soda with her other wing. Carefully she walked down the hall to her study.

Upon entering, she sat down at her desk and laid her food out. She turned on her computer and connected her PDA to it, transferring the small amount of data she’d found.

All around her were maps, pictures, and notes. The main piece of the collection was a large heavily used book filled with bookmarks. The faded title ‘Memories’ adorn the top of the book, with a piece of paper taped under it.

The computer chimed when it finished downloading the contents of the PDA.

Scamp stared at the files she’d found on the Bronies computers, clicking through each looking for anything of note. After a few minutes she smiled as she found something she was looking for.

She jumped up and flew to the largest map on her wall that was covered in red pins. Using her wing, she lifted a new pin and placed it on the map.

“Hmm.” She leaned back and looked over the map, trying to make sense of the dots. Her eyes glanced at the top of the map where she’d written ‘Possible Ominus Sightings’.

If she could figure out how to get in contact with Ominus, the dimensional traveler Lance knew, then she might be able to help him return to his own world.

Her gaze drifted to a picture of Lance, taken by her when she tried to gain permission to talk with him. She’d only been allowed to look at him from afar while he sat alone during yard time.

She then lifted up the book and ran a hoof over it, a smile appearing on her face when she read the new title she’d given the book.

‘Living the Dream’

Wherever you will go

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Another way out

Chapter 3

Scamp hit the button on the coffee machine, watching as her cup was slowly filled. Once it finished, she grabbed the hot cup and took a sip, a tired sigh escaping her lips.

“Another late night?” Calypso asked as she stepped out of the locker room's shower, using a towel to dry her hair.

“Kinda, I’m just trying to make sense of some findings,” Scamp said as she stepped over to her locker and pulled out her uniform.

Calypso nodded as she also started taking out her uniform. “Just don’t go overboard.”

“Sure,” Scamp smiled to herself as she put on her uniform and other pieces of gear.

The two remained silent as they got ready.

Once she was finished, Scamp drank the rest of her coffee and headed for the door, “I’ll see you in the morning briefings.”

Calypso only waved as she finished putting on her gear and grabbed a book from her locker.

Scamp walked down the hallway, passing other SWAT officers as they went about preparing for their shift.

Up ahead she saw Dribble messing with his PDA.

“Hey, you’re actually here on time today,” Scamp teased as she neared him.

He looked up at her and smirked, “Says the one who usually sleeps through meetings.”

She waved him off as she walked past him and into the briefing room. After taking her seat, she sat back and rubbed her face. The room only had a few other officers in it, as she was a bit early.

With a yawn, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, intending to just rest them for a moment.

“Sergeant Scamp!” A gruff voice yelled, causing her to jolt awake. The stifled laugh of the officers around her filled the air.

Scamp looked around, realizing the room was now filled with officers. She must have fallen asleep.

“Now that Miss sleeping beauty has joined us, we can begin,” the captain said as he stood at the front of the room.

She looked around and spotted Dribble smirking at her with a ‘what’d I say?’ look on his face. She covertly flicked her hoof at him, causing him to quietly chuckle and look up front.

The Captain went over the normal morning briefings, telling each team they assigned post that day. Echo Team was getting their favorite post; standby.

“Before I let you all go,” the Captain said as he finished up the morning briefings. “The OEA has sent us some more Wanted posters and packets, I’ll be handing those out to all team leaders after this meeting.”

Everyone groaned at this, as it always meant more work on their end.

“That is all, team leads talk to me in my office. Dismissed.”

Everyone in the room stood up at once and began leaving.

Scamp watched as her team leader walked to the front with the others. He looked her way and waved her off.

She nodded in response and followed everyone else out of the room.

“Hoping for a familiar face?” Lemongrass, a member of Bravo Team, said in a snide tone as she walked past.

She ignored him, not up to fighting today. This caused Lemongrass to huff and walk away to his own team.

Dew slid up next to her as they exited the room. “I heard a rumor that the Queen will be in town soon.”

This caused Scamp to look at him in puzzlement, “Why the hell would Queen Twilight want to come here?”

“Dunno, but it probably has something to do with our friend over at OEA getting promoted,” Dew said as he pulled some dry hay snacks from a pouch on his belt, shoving it into his mouth.

“It’s probably about that new law she just passed,” Calypso said as she appeared beside them as they walked. “The one that basically removes all rights from Bronies.”

“Ah,” Scamp said with a frown. “Yeah, the new law that is about to light a powder keg with all of us around it. The Bronies are already heavily regulated and segregated, what’s the point in banning them from all major cities?”

“Control,” Dribble injected as he joined them. “That’s the whole point of the OEA, and it’s why Strawell got promoted to head of all Equine and Brony affairs. I’m surprised they haven’t just combined the OEA and the OBA yet. They’re basically the same thing at this point.”

“It’s for apparences,” Jace commented as he joined them as they made it to the motor pool. “The OEA is more about Brony control than the OBA is. The OBA is just there to get hit with the public opinion and be the bad guy.”

Scamp nodded at this, “It makes you think, doesn’t?”

“Thinking like that can lead to being charged with treason,” Parker said as he caught up with them. “Which doesn’t help the whole ‘free state’ the Queen preaches about.”

“So wanted packets?” Scamp asked as they neared their rig.

“Already sent to your PDA,” Parker said as he opened the rigs back doors. “I didn’t see any familiar faces, but you’re the expert on all that.”

“Thanks, Parks,” Scamp said with a smile as she climbed into the rig, followed by everyone else.

“I know we all just kinda ignore it,” Dew began after they all got seated. “But what happens if one day Scamp recognizes one of those Wanted ponies as someone from her book?”

Everyone looked unsure at this, even Scamp.

“Then we’ll go from there,” Parker said as he got in the commander's seat. “Till then, we’ll just do our jobs.”

This seemed to set everyone at ease.

Scamp opened her PDA and began looking through the new Wanted packets, but none of them matched any of the characters from Lance’s book. As she expected.

She’s always hoping to find at least one of them who knows anything about the book. But so far, the few she’s been able to speak to know nothing about Lance or that book. They don’t even act like they do in the book, but she chalks that up to the time reset and them going down different paths.

The few who aren’t accounted for though, she’s hoping to one day meet. So far every character in that book has been at least spotted, all except two.

“Where to for breakfast?” Jace asked as he took the driver's seat.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp swiped through her PDA haphazardly as she lay on her back in the middle of the rig, boredom getting the better of her.

This was a common occurrence for any time on standby, there’s nothing to do but wait for the shift to end. Or for someone to cause enough trouble to warrant your team responding.

“You’re gonna break that,” Calypso said without taking her eyes off her book.

“No I’m not,” Dribble replied as he tried to take the back off of one of their drones. “It’s just stuck.”

The radio in the rig blared to life, causing all of them to turn towards the front of the rig.

“Echo Team, your presence is needed at the Hay Town office building. Two hostile Bronies have taken over the building and are threatening on scene officers with a bomb.”

“Oh lovely,” Calypso said as she closed her book.

“Show Echo Team enroute,” Parker said as Jace hit the sirens and began heading towards the Hay Town office building.

“Another suicidal Brony with a bomb?” Dribble asked as he started adjusting his gear.

“Packets coming in now, guys,” Parker said as a beep emitted from all of their PDA’s.

Scamp opened and began to read the report. “Not much here.”

Parker nodded as he summarized, “Just says they knocked out an officer in the downtown police station and fled on hoof. Hurt a few civilians by throwing them out of the way with magic. Then holed up in an office building. No intel on the bomb other than it appears to be homemade.”

“Oh that poor Unicorn is going to lose their horn today,” Dew joked.

Scamp smirked and slugged his shoulder.

“Pretty simple plan,” Parker interrupted. “The layout of the building is being sent to you now. Teams of two. There’s three ground entrances, and we’re going to hit it from all sides. Work our way towards the middle of the building.”

“What do we do with the two wannabe terrorist?” Dribble asked.

“Drop them on sight. Dew will check out the bomb once we’re clear.”

“Yes, sir,” Dew said as he checked his rifle once more.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Calypso and Scamp quickly made their way to the back door, where five officers were waiting.

“Finally,” one of them said as they approached. “Took you SWAT guys long enough.” He looked them over, “SWAT gals.”

“You’re relieved,” Scamp said with a tad too much annoyance.

The five officers didn’t respond as they walked back down the alley, muttering to each other.

“City cops,” Calypso said with a shake of her head as they both stacked up on either side of the door.

“Echo-4, in position,” Scamp said into her mic.

“Echo-2, in position,” came Jace’s response.

“Echo-1, in position.”

“Echo Team, you are clear to enter,” came the response from Cherrywood over the radio.

Scamp gave a nod to Calypso as she opened the door and the two rushed in. They slowly began moving through the hallway, calling out to each other every time they checked a room.

“Echo Team, check your PDA for a mission update.”

Scamp propped herself against the wall and nodded to Calypso. “Check it, I’ll cover you.”

Calypso looked at her PDA and began to tap away at it. “That’s… strange.”

“What?” Scamp asked, a bit of worry washing over her.

“We have new orders directly from Strawell himself. We are to capture the two Bronies alive and hand them over to him when he arrives.” Calypso sounded puzzled by this, as these new orders were very abnormal.

“They want us to capture a suicidal Brony alive while he’s holding a bomb?” Scamp asked in disbelief.

“It appears so.”

After a moment of silence, Scamp sighs. “Fuck it.”

They both resume moving down the hallway, their helmets amplifying all the sounds around them.

“Damn it, Greg!” Came a muffled yell from down the hallway.

Scamp and Calypso pushed forward, guns pointed to the door the sound came from. They stacked up on either side quietly.

With a practiced elegance, Scamp reached under herself and grabbed a snake cam. She slowly ran the thin camera under the door, staring at the camera feed on her PDA.

Inside she saw two ponies, one all green with a blue mane, and the other a dark grey color with a black and blue mane. They were arguing quietly, but she could see the green one had what had to be the bomb in his magical grasp.

Something was off about them, but Scamp couldn’t figure it out.

Then, as if hit by a cold lighting bolt, it hit her. She started frantically tapping through her PDA, getting an alarmed look from Calypso.

She brought up two pictures and placed them by the camera feed. When she compared the two, she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

“Scamp!?” Calypso hissed, clearly worried for her friend who was suddenly looking very unwell.

“It’s them,” Scamp whispered, a dazed look on her face.

“Who?!” Calypso asked back in a slightly panicked voice.

“The missing two from the book,” she said in a trance. This caused Calypso’s eyes to widen, but before she could say anything Scamp seemed to snap out of her daze. “Let me handle this!”

“Scamp, no!” Calypso yelled in a hushed voice as she reached out for her. But Scamp had already pushed open the door and rushed into the room.

“Oh fuck it’s the cops!” The green one screamed as Scamp rushed in. “Stop! I swear I’ll do it! I’ll blow us all to hell!”

“Wait wait wait!” Scamp yelled, coming to a stop and standing on her back hooves, waving her forelegs in front of herself.

“Drop the bomb and hit the ground!” Calypso screamed in stern but panicked voice as she came in behind her, gun trained on the green pony.

“Oh my fucking God!” The grey one yelled as he started bouncing from hoof to hoof, eyes wide.

“You hit the ground bitch!” The green one yelled waving the bomb in front of himself.

“I will drop you! Drop the bomb NOW!” Calypso’s voice was raised as loud as she could, her gun never moving.

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!” The grey one repeated, his bouncing becoming more frantic.

“Everyone stop!” Scamp screamed, her voice cracking as she did so.

This luckily had the effect she wanted as everyone stopped screaming and looked at her.

She came down to all four hooves and stared at the pair, the green one still holding the bomb in confusion, and the grey one still bouncing. “What are your names?”

The green one looked even more confused at this. “What?”

“Names!” She yells, causing everyone to flinch.

“Uh, Greg Campbell,” the green one said slowly.

The grey one finally stopped bouncing as he answered. “Jeronimo.”

“Pony names, as well!” She hissed, sweat pouring down her face behind her helmet.

“Uh shit…. Mellow Haze?”

“S-Shadow Breeze.”

There was a moment of silence as the two pairs looked at each other.

“Scamp,” Calypso addressed her friend, not liking the situation at all.

“Are you…” Scamp hesitated. “Looking for Lance?”

The two Bronies looked dumbfounded at this.

“You know Lance?” Shadow Breeze asked in shock.

This snapped Scamp back to reality and she turned to Calypso. “These ARE the two from the book.”

“Fuck,” was the only thing Calypso said in response.

“What book?” Greg asked.

“We don’t have time for that, a whole lot of shit is about to go down,” Scamp answered, remembering that Strawell was on the way, probably bringing more Enforcers with him. “And drop the bomb.”

Greg blinked and looked at the bomb in front of him, and smiled sheepishly. “Oh, uh this isn’t a real bomb,” he admitted as he dropped it. “Just pieces of wire and dry wall from the wall taped together.”

“Idiot,” Calypso said under her breath, her gun finally lowering a bit.

“On the ground!” Came the loud voice of Parker behind them as he and the rest of the team burst in, guns trained on the two Bronies. “Hooves out!”

“Wait!” Scamp yelled, turning to face her team.

“Wait?!” Jace yelled back, his adrenaline clearly running high.

“It’s the missing two from her book,” Calypso deadpanned.

“No,” Dew instantly remarked.

“Look!” Scamp sent their pictures and info to the other members of her team.

Parker reviewed the info and cursed.

Greg and Shadow Breeze stood behind Scamp, looking very uncomfortable with all this attention and guns directed at them.

“Scamp,” Parker began slowly. “We have to bring them in, you know that right?”

“We can’t!” Scamp pleaded. “Strawell wants them, that can only mean one thing!”

“If we let them go, it’ll be our heads,” Parker reasoned, a pained and conflicted look on his face.

Scamp looked back at the pair, getting a nervous smile and wave from Shadow Breeze in response. She lets out a sigh and forces herself to calm down.

“I understand that. But we can let them go and just say they escaped. I’ll take full blame for them escaping.”

Parker looked at his other team members, who all looked just as conflicted as he did.

He suddenly lets out a roar and kicks a nearby chair over. “Unicorn!” He yells, startling Greg and everyone else. “Are you able to teleport?”

Greg blinked and nodded slowly.

“Good. The Brony Unicorn teleported himself and his accomplice away just as we made contact. Bomb was secured and no casualties taken on either side.”

“Uh, yes sir!” Jace yelled in response. Everyone else gave their acknowledgment as well, Scamp was practically beaming.

Parker stomped up to Greg and raised his PDA showing a location to him. “This is my kitchen at my house. Study this picture and map, and teleport when you’re ready. Do not leave till I come get you. Clear?”

“Uh, crystal clear?” Greg responded as he looked over the details.

After a few moments, he nodded and gave a single wave as he and Shadow Breeze flashed away.

Parker growled as he hit his radio mic, “Echo-1, target’s teleported as soon as we entered the room. Bomb secured.”

There was a long pause before a response came. “Copy that, Echo-1. Exit building through the front door when ready.”

“We’re in trouble,” Dribble said with a frown.

“Yep!” Parker snapped back as he walked out of the room.

Scamp looked at her friends sheepishly. “Thank you guys.”

“Let’s go, secure the bomb,” was the only response she received from Jace.

“Oh it’s a fake, sir,” she said as she lifted it up and passed it to Dew.

Jace only shook his head as he and the others left the room, leaving Scamp and Calypso.

Calypso looked at her and shook her head, “That could have been played better.”

Without elaborating on her meaning, she walked out as well.

Scamp took a deep breath and exhaled, a lot of emotions playing through her at that moment. She lifted her head high and walked forward, following her team.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Teleported away?” Was the first thing they heard as they exited the building.

Standing before them was a group of Enforcers and Strawell, his eyes ablaze with anger.

“Yes sir,” was the only thing Parker could respond with.

“This is the exact reason you should have a Unicorn on your team! For countering other Unicorns!” Strawell exploded, his normally calm and calculated demeanor gone, replaced with just pure anger.

“To be fair, sir,” Dribble interjected. “The ability to teleport is very rare among Unicorns.”

Strawell turned to him and pointed at him,but didn’t address him. “Your team is being benched till further notice!”

Parker tensed, but did not voice his opinion. “Yes sir.”

“Get out of my sight,” Strawell commanded.

The members of Echo team saluted and quickly made their way to their rig.

“Get in there,” Strawell commanded, causing his Enforcers to rush into the building.

As the rig's doors closed behind them, Parker glared at Scamp. “We’re putting a lot on the line for you. Don’t you burn us.”

Scamp could only nod in response to this as the weight of the situation fully landed on her shoulders.

I knew you were trouble

Chapter 4

‘Don’t you burn us.’

Parker’s words echoed through Scamp’s mind as she paced her home office, chewing her lip. Parker and her team were supposed to show up soon with the two Bronies.

She was nervous. Nervous for what she’ll learn from the pair, and nervous about her team's opinion of her after today.

This is what she’s been working towards all these years, and now that she’s found two Bronies from the book who actually know Lance, she should be excited. Instead she felt reserved.

The ring of her doorbell caused her to snap back to reality and she moved for the front door. Upon opening it she was greeted with Dew and Dribble, both sporting weary smiles.

“Hey, Scamp,” Dew greeted, walking in followed by Dribble.

“They here yet?” Dribbled asked as Scamp closed the door.

“They should be here soon,” she answered.

The three stood in silence for a bit, not sure what to talk about at that moment.

After a few minutes there was a knock at the door.

Scamp opened it to find Parker and Jace, the two Bronies behind them.

“Sorry it took so long, it’s not easy moving wanted fugitives through the city,” Park said as they all entered the house.

As she closed the door she saw Calypso walking towards the door, so she held it open for her as well.

Calypso only offered a nod as she entered.

A sigh escapes Scamp’s lips as she closed the door and walked into the living room with everyone else.

“So?” Jace asked, looking unsure. “Now what?”

Scamp gave a wave and headed for her study, “we’ll talk in my study.” She walked down the hallway and paused at the door, “just don’t judge me for it.”

She’d never let anyone into her study before, scared she’d be looked at as an obsessed mare. Which she was if she was being honest.

Upon entering, Parker cursed under his breath and Jace made a face.

Dew and Dribble stared wide eyed as they entered.

Calypso paused as she entered and sighed, “oh no.”

“Holy fucking shit!” Greg exclaimed as he entered.

Shadow Breeze didn’t react as he entered.

Scamp stood in front of them with a dumb smile on her face.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke, everyone just looking around them at the madness.

Finally, Dribble spoke up. “I knew you were serious about all this, but damn, this is a bit above too much.”

Scamp chuckles nervously as she rubs the back of her neck, “Yeah, I can’t deny that.”

Calypso holds up a hoof to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s skip all the shame and get to the main point of business.”

“Yeah,” Greg said loudly. “Like for starters, what is all this and why is there a picture of me and my friends on that book over there?”

Scamp looked to the book in question, Lance’s book. He had drawn a picture of all his friends and himself on the front cover.

“Well,” she began as she stepped over to it and lifted it. “This book was written by Lance, and is the only reason I know about his past and you two.”

“Lance wrote a book about us?” Shadow Breeze asked with a smile.

“Well a book about his adventures from his point of view. He includes a little too much in some parts and doesn’t make sense sometimes, but it’s all important because it’s his past.”

“Wait wait, why do you have all this? And know so much about us and Lance?” Shadow Breezed suddenly asked.

“The question of the century,” Dribble joked dryly.

Scamp nodded at this, ignoring Dribble’s comment. “When I was a young filly, my mother was the lawyer that represented Lance in court. Before the court case, I read through his case and his book, and there was just something there. Something that urged me to look deeper.”

“Why was Lance in court?” Greg asked in confusion.

Scamp and the others looked at him, like he should already know this. Then a thought hit Scamp as she glanced at her large map with pins in it.

“Where have you two been this whole time? You’re the only two from the book that have never been found.”

Shadow Breeze seemed to study her before answering. “Well you see, we’re actually not from this dimension. Our friend Ominus helped get us here so we could find Lance and bring him home.”

“I knew it!” Scamp exclaimed, excitement plastered on her face. She composed herself quickly when she received a few looks. “Sorry.” She looks back to the Bronies. “Well if you two aren’t from here, then there’s a lot of things you need to know.”

“Let’s start with why the police tried to arrest us,” Shadow Breeze said with a hint of worry.

“Because you’re unbranded and claimed to be friends with the most hated Brony to ever live,” Parker deadpanned with a straight face.

“Okay but why is he hated?”

“I think it’s best if I describe it this way,” Scamp says as she steps over to her desk. “I’ve put a lot of work and thought into this whole thing. Our world is nothing like your world, for example; Bronies in your world are seen as equals and loved. But in ours, they’re seen as vermin and are barely tolerated.”

Before they could ask why she continued, “this all stems from two events, I believe. When Lance arrived here, he tricked Cody into killing Fredric. He then killed Twilight’s lover, James Wash.”

“Can’t blame him there,” Greg said with a shrug.

“Well,” Scamp continued, “that even caused Twilight to hate all Bronies and she spent years pushing for new laws and regulations to be imposed on them. Then she dethroned the Princesses and named herself Queen, which spelt the end for Bronies rights.

“Lance ran off and started a new life, but was caught when he wrote this book and read it to others.”

“Sounds like Lance,” Shadow Breeze said with a shake of his head.

“The Queens Enforcers arrested him and put him up on a mock trial. My mother fought her tail off for him, but the final say was the Queens, and she sent him to a maximum security prison to rot. Nothing but manual labor all day and night.

“After the trial, the Queen used his book to hunt down and arrest anyone mentioned, no matter if it was true or not.” She patted the book, “luckily for me, I had kept the original and swapped it for a copy when my mom had it as part of evidence.”

“So wait, they arrested all of our friends in this world?” Greg asked, sitting on his flank.

“Most of them,” Scamp answered as she lifted a notebook and flipped through it. “Most were arrested, but Zorrow was killed in a no-knock warrant, Annabel was frozen in stone with the Elements, Alexander was killed by Fluttershy’s husband when he appeared on their land without warning, David was hit by a carriage, and Malbatorus the dragon was hunted down and slain by a group of Bronies for fun.” She flipped the page and added, “Oh, and Louie the dog was kicked to death by James.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Shadow Breeze exclaimed.

"Any good outcomes?" Greg asked.

Scamp thought for a moment before nodding. "Well, Fawn ended up growing up in a loving household and became a successful lawyer. Her parents didn't die in this timeline for some odd reason."

"Who?" Shadow Breeze asked before his eyes went wide. “… wait! Who married Fluttershy?!”

“Another Brony named Walter Pinkman, real piece of work. I’m pretty sure his marriage to Fluttershy was against her wishes, but I have no proof.”

“Ima kill ‘em,” Shadow Breeze said in a low voice.

“Don’t worry, he died years ago due to diabetes. Their son, on the other hand, is just like his father.”

“You can say that again,” Dew said with a shake of his head.

“What about my wife?” Greg asked, stepping forward.

“Pinkie Pie?” Scamp checks her notes. “OD’d twenty years ago while at a human party. Her death was the start of a lot of pushing to regulate Bronies.”

“Fuck this is a dark timeline,” Greg muttered loudly.

“So,” Shadow Breeze started, “what’s happened to the Bronies still around today?”

“They’re all mostly staying in a few shanty towns around Equestria. They used to be allowed to enter pony towns and cities to work or shop, but new laws are slowly banning them from ever setting hoof anywhere near pony owned property.”

“None of this really matters to us though, all we need to do is break Lance out of prison and teleport back to Ominus’s dimension,” Greg said confidently.

“Yeah good luck with that,” Dribble interrupted. “That place is where the Queen sends the Bronies she wants to suffer. She and her guard personally watch and run that place. Ain’t no way you can just break him out.”

“Very true,” Scamp said slyly as she turned around and pulled out another book. “But I have a plan for that.”

“Of course you do,” Parker said as he facehoofed.

“We just need to track down a few ponies and gather some info, and we’re golden!” She says with absolute glee.

“It sounds so simple and easy when you say it like that,” Dew sighed.

Scamp looks at her friends, her ears laying flat. “Guys, I’m really sorry about all this.”

“No,” Parker shakes his head. “This is exactly what you’ve always wanted. We just got mixed up in it.”

“And basically lost our jobs,” Dribble added.

“Strawell will make sure of that,” Dew rubbed his face with an exasperated sigh.

Scamp looks to Calypso, who hasn’t spoken a word about any of this. “Cal?”

Calypso closed her eyes and exhaled. “If you’re asking my opinion, I think we, the rest of Echo, should take a step back and let you do whatever you think you need to do.”

This hit Scamp hard, as she thought her team would back her up on this.

“I’m sorry,” Jace said with sad eyes. “But I agree with her, this isn’t Echo Team business and never involved us. We just got caught in the crossfire.”

“I’ll probably be demoted for today’s events,” Park remarks. “I want to help, I think we all do, but we all have too much to lose. We support you one hundred percent, Scamp and you’re always going to be apart of the team, but this mission you’re embarking on, will have to be a solo endeavor.”

The emotions work their way over Scamp’s face. “I understand.” She straightens up and puts on her trademark smile. “Honestly, I’d have done this alone anyways if you all had been able to avoid getting caught up in it.”

Parker nods, smiling a bit. “Good. With that, I say we take our leave. Scamp, I will see you at the morning briefing,” he said in a way that implied all was forgiven as long as they went back to normal.

“Yes, sir!” Scamp responds.

Everyone slowly files out of the room, saying their goodbyes as they did. As Calypso left, she gave a nod to Scamp and the Bronies.

“Don’t get caught,” was all she said as she left, leaving the three alone in the study.

An awkward silence fell between the three as they stared at each other.

Greg was the one to break it. “Question; can I read the book?”

Scamp stared at him for a few moments before nodding.

“Sweet!” He grabbed the book with his magic and opened it to the first page.

Shadow Breeze watched him read and turned to Scamp. “How long will this plan take?”

“Depends, I guess,” Scamp shrugs, sitting down and rubbing her face. “A few months, a year at minimum.”

Shadow Breeze kind of hissed at that, “ehhh yeah, what if I said we were on a time limit? And the longer we’re here, the higher chance of the Watcher finding us is?”

“Fucking great,” Scamp said in a snide tone. “Need a new plan then.” She jumped up and headed for the door, but stopped and turned to him. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be an asshole.”

“I get it, you’re under a lot of stress right now,” he said in complete understanding. “We’ll get this worked out.”

“We sleepin’ here?” Greg rudely interrupted. “Or do we get a bed?”

Scamp eyes him with mild content. “The couch in the living room folds out.”

“Nice,” Greg said as he went back to the book.

Scamp looks back to Shadow Breeze, who just smiled sheepishly and raised a hoof as if to say sorry.

She left the room and entered her own, stripping her uniform off as she made her way to her bed. She flipped down and groaned into the pillow.

“I’m stuck with an idiot and a polite shy guy. Fuck.”

The day's events played back in her head, keeping her from relaxing. This was exactly what she’d dreamed of happening, but it wasn’t going the way she’d hoped it would.

Parker’s words hit her again, sending her mind down a rabbit hole of possibilities. Sleep would not come easily.

We’re gonna be OK

Chapter 5

The door to the room closed as Scamp stepped out, leaving the two Bronies alone. Jero waited till he heard her bedroom door close before he relaxed.

“I’m starting to think this whole thing is going to be more complicated than Ominus led us to believe,” Jero said with a frown.

“Nah, we’ll be fine. That chick is some kind of badass, so no worries, bro,” Greg said as he flipped the page in the book. “Oh shit!” Greg suddenly exclaimed.

“What?!” Jero asked with a start.

“Lance wrote a chapter from my point of view,” he smirks. “That cheeky bastard.”

Jero rolls his eyes and walks around the room, looking over all the items and notes pertaining to his world and friends.

The amount of detail was both amazing and mildly creepy, Jero just wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“Pfft, good ol’ Louie,” Greg muttered to himself.

Jero makes his way out of the room and into the living room. He started looking over the items that adorn the walls and tables.

There were pictures of a younger Scamp standing next to a older mare at what looked to be a high school graduation, one of her on a training course covered in mud, and one of her with a group of ponies in military like gear with the caption ‘Griffon Capital, end of war ~36 A.B.’.

On another table he saw a picture of Scamp at another graduation party, this one labeled “Police Academy graduation ~38 A.B.’. And by it was a picture of Scamp and the ponies he’d just met. A banner in the picture read ‘Welcome to Echo!’, it was dated 40 A.B.

One picture stood out to him, it was a picture of Echo Team standing around the corpse of a large creature, all of them looking worse for wear. ‘Operation: Dream Catcher, end of Nightmare ~42 A.B.’.

He continued snooping around the room and found a remote controller. Curiosity got the better of him and he hit the power button.

A TV in the corner of the room flicked on, showing a news broadcast.

“Huh,” Jero said as he put the controller down and started looking through cabinets.

It didn’t occur to him that he was going through someone else’s private things, he was too interested in what he’d find to notice.

In one of the cabinets he found a few DVD’s, each labeled with dates.

He chose one at random and popped it into the DVD player that was under the TV. There was a pause as the TV switched channels and a menu appeared.

The option ‘Play’ presented itself and Jero selected it.

The screen suddenly filled with Lance’s face, causing Jero to jump slightly in surprise. This was a much older Lance than he was used to seeing.

“I’ll ask you again, Mr. Greenfield,” a rough sounding voice asked from off screen. “Tell me where you gained all this information contained in your book.”

A tired sigh escaped Lance’s mouth as he looked past the camera. “I’ve told you,” his voice gravely from age, “it’s a retelling of my life, that’s how I knew it.”

“Your book describes the Nightmare and Darkest Bleak before either were known to still exist. Furthermore, the amount of detail you put into the book is astounding. A lot of research would have gone into that.”

Lance only shook his head and didn’t respond.

The video continues with the interviewer asking Lance more questions, but Lance never responded again, just stared at the camera.

The video ended abruptly. Jero checked the other DVD’s but they were all very similar with Lance barely talking and the interviewers yelling questions at him.

“Hey did you know Lance was fucked by a horse back on Earth?” Greg suddenly asked as he walked into the room.

“He what?!” Jero asked, completely taken off guard by the question.

“I dunno, apparently Lance got fucked by a horse some time before the rapture. Never knew that,” Greg replied like that was the most normal thing in the world.

“I…” Jero worked his brain to respond. “… have no idea how to respond to that.”

“Find anything interesting in here?” Greg asked as his ADHD kicked in causing him to change subjects.

“Uhhhhh,” Jero said still reeling from the information Greg dropped on him. “Well, Scamp is like you said, some kind of badass. And Lance is old now.”

“What year is it?” Greg asked as he kept reading the book.

Jero walked over to the kitchen table where Scamp left her PDA. He tapped at it till it turned on, showing the date and time.

“45 A.B., so that puts Lance at… sixty two here, but seventy three in our time.”

“Fuckers old as fuck,” Greg chuckled. “When we get back to our world, he’s going to be a seventy three year old fuck in a twenty nine year olds body. Nice.”

Jero wasn’t sure how Lance would feel after all this, but he hoped things would at least go back to normal once they return. He misses his wife and kids. And he was sure Greg missed his as well.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jero was jolted awake by Greg kicking his side.

“Bro look at this, we’re famous criminals now,” Greg said gesturing to the TV.

Jero sat up groggily and looked towards the TV which was broadcasting a story about the events of yesterday.

“The two unbranded Bronies took a office building hostage and threatened the hostages and police with home made bombs,” the news caster said as a video of Greg waving his ‘bomb’ around and screaming incorently played on screen.

“There were no hostages,” Greg huffed as he ate a bowl of cereal.

“The pair were able to evade capture due to negligence of the on scene SWAT team. This calls into question the current state of police operations and their hiring process.”

Jero shook his head, he may not know a lot about this world, but he could clearly see the news station had an agenda they were pushing.

The channel changed to another showing an action movie.

“Shit was getting too boring for me,” Greg said with a mouth full of cereal.

Jero glanced at the time and saw it was 6:34 AM. “Is Scamp still here?”

“Nah she left an hour or two ago,” Greg answered, turning his attention to the movie.

“What’s our plans for the day?”

Greg smirked, “Scamp said to stay here till she returned. But I’m not about that life, I’m going to put on a disguise and go check out the city.”

“Very bad idea,” Jero commented, knowing he couldn’t possibly change Greg’s mind.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Greg said as his horn flashed and he changed into a blue earth pony with a purple mane. “Gonna go with this guy. Pinkie calls it the ‘stranger in my bed’ guy.”

“Jesus,” Jero covered his face with his hooves. “I don’t need to hear that, man.”

Greg only laughed loudly at this, clearly enjoying himself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp tapped through her PDA as she sat in the slowly filling up briefing room. She’d seen her team mates, but they all looked a bit dejected at being benched.

“I heard you guys lost two high value targets,” Bognog mocked as he slid next to Dribble a few seats away. “Apparently outsmarted you guys and escaped. When was that the last time that happened? That’s right, never, so that makes you guys the first and only SWAT team to lose their targets even after fully surrounding them.”

Dribble ignored him and stared straight ahead, the anger clear on his face.

“Looks like we’re going to be getting a whole new Echo Team very soon,” Bognog mocked in a almost sinister tone.

“That’s enough, Nog,” Blitz, Alpha Teams Leader, commanded in a stern voice as he stepped up behind Bognog.

“Of course, sir,” He said with a smirk before turning and leaving.

Blitz doesn’t say anything else as he walks back to his own team.

“Everyone find a seat and plant their flank there now,” the Captain called out as he walked towards the front of the room.

All the officers in the room took their seats as the Captain reached his podium.

“Alright, nothing new on the agenda today, so let’s get started.” He began calling out teams and their positions for the day, but skipped over Echo Team.

Once he finished he looked out over the crowded room, a different look on his face. “Echo Team, you are to report to the OEA office on the fourth floor of this building.”

All eyes turned to the members of Echo Team, most smiling like they were in on some kind of joke.

“Yes, sir,” Parker says loudly.

“You’re all dismissed,” the Captain said as he took his leave.

As everyone slowly left the room, Scamp joined up with her teammates.

“The OEA office? Why?” She asked, confused as to the reasoning. Usually a benched team was confined to a desk till they were allowed out onto the field again.

“We’re getting fired,” Dew said solemnly. “I’ve heard the comments of some of the higher ups, we’re being replaced.”

This caused the members of Echo to go silent as they left the room.

“Dead ponies walkin’,” Lemongrass called out as they walked by, which caused Bravo’s Team Leader to come over and drag him away.

This didn’t help the mood of the team as they headed for the fourth floor.

It wasn’t long before they were standing outside the OEA’s office door. This office was mainly just for administration and storage since the OEA rarely had anyone stationed inside.

Parker pushed open the door, expecting to see a regular OEA employee at the desk, but what they saw instead sent shivers down their spines.

“Echo Team,” Strawell deadpanned with a straight face, his armor absent, but his black uniform still caused him to look very imposing. “Come in.”

The six ponies nervously entered the barely big enough office and stood in front of Strawell.

He looked each one of them up and down, his eyes lingering on Scamp longer than the others. “I’ve gone over all of your After Action Reports and checked all sources to confirm them. I’m here to offer my apology for my words after yesterday’s… events.”

This caught everyone off guard, as they’d never heard of Strawell apologizing for anything before.

“I’ve decided to revoke my order of benching you, and instead will be placing your team under my direct command.” He lifts an envelope and passes it to Parker. “I already have a mission for your team. We’ve traced a signal back to what we believe to be a relay station for the terrorist group ‘Luna’s Spear’.”

The mention of the name caused a stir among the members of Echo Team. Luna’s Spear were responsible for most of the attacks on pony cities over the last few years.

“This is a simple mission,” Strawell continued. “So consider it a test. If all goes well, you will be able to advance to one of my Task Forces.”

Parker looked at a loss for words, they’d gone from being fired to being offered a Tier One Operator’s position.

“Um, thank you, sir,” he said, giving a salute, followed by the rest of his team.

“Dismissed. Go ready up, I expect this mission to be done before lunch.” Strawell walked around the desk and sat down, pulling out paperwork.

Echo Team stepped out of the room and began heading for the armory.

None of them knew what to say, but the relief and eagerness was clear on all of their faces.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Greg checked his new appearance in the mirror, pleased with it.

“Not a damn pony could recognize me now,” he blew a kiss at his reflection. “Oh behave!”

He laughs at himself as he walks to the front door and opens it.

A gun was shoved into his face as he realized there were four heavily armored ponies right outside the door.

“Don’t move!” Came the static filled voice of the lead pony.

I won’t back down

Chapter 6

“Echo-2, in position,” Jace said into his mic as Scamp and Dew stood on either side of the door.

“Echo-1, ready to breach,” came Parker’s calm voice.

Both teams were on either side of a large warehouse, the number of hostiles inside were unknown.

Scamp looked down at the ground, staring at the wire that ran under the door and possibly lead to the computer that the signal was picked up from.

If they were successful, not only would they move up to become Tier One Operator’s, but this would be a major step towards tracking down the leadership of Luna’s Spear.

“Echo Team, clear to breach,” came Cherrywood’s calm voice over the radio.

Dew hit a switch and the explosives on the door blew the locks. Jace kicked the door open and Scamp pushed in, followed by the others.

They carefully moved down the maze of stacked boxes, watching for hostiles at every turn. The wire lead them to the center of the warehouse where it entered a hatch in the floor and disappeared down the dark stairs.

Parker’s group met up with them just as they arrived and cursed, “Echo-1, the relay wires lead to a hatch that leads to what appears to be an underground section of the warehouse.”

There was a pause. “Copy, you are clear to enter the underground section. Expect radio communication to drop once you enter.”

“Copy, proceeding.” Parker signals for his team to enter the hatch and descend the stairs.

Scamp was second in behind Dribble. The further they descended the darker it became.

“Switch to night vision,” Parker ordered as they all flicked a switch on their helmets, painting the world around them in green.

The stairwell ended at a door.

“We have a door,” Dribble reported. He reached out and checked it, confirming it was locked.

“Moving,” Dew said, knowing his role. He approached the door and pulled out a thin rope like material. He carefully pushes it into the lock of the door and wiggles it around till he gets it all inside. He slowly retreated to his original position.

“Shield eyes,” he warns as everyone looks away and he hits the button on his PDA.

There was a pop and bright flash. When they all looked back, the door handle and lock were gone, as if they’d been teleported away.

Dribble kicked the door open and the team moved into the doorway with practiced ease, checking their sectors.

“Rooms clear,” Scamp announced.

They moved to the only door in the room, after pushing through that door, they found themselves in a long hallway.

The team moved down the hallway, eyes on the door at the end and their rear. Once they reached the door and breached it, they found themselves in a large square room, filled with desks and computers. There were doors on each wall, but the wire they were following lead to the center of the room.

They approached the computer that was connected to the wire with unease. It was the only one that was on as well.

“I don’t like this,” Jace said as he and the others scanned the room around them with their weapons up.

“Echo-1, we’ve located the source of the signal,” Parker said, the unease clear in his voice and on his face.

Only static answered him.

“Dribble, get to work on the computer. Everyone else cover him, I don’t want to be caught off guard down here.”

Dribble walked up to the computer and started messing with it while the rest of the team formed a circle around him, using the desk as cover.

After a moment, Dribble looked around puzzled.

“This isn’t a relay station.”

“What do you mean?” Parker asked.

“This computer isn’t capable of performing that sort of task. The only thing I can find on here is a video file…” Dribble leaned forward and cursed.

Scamp couldn’t help but glance over, and when she did it felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “Oh shit.”

Dribble clicked the video, which started playing with the sound playing out of speakers all around them.

The video showed security footage of an office with two ponies arguing, followed by two more bursting in.

It was footage of the day before when they’d helped Greg and Shadow Breeze escape. Their voices were being broadcasted all around them as the video played, then it skipped to Parker giving the order for the two to teleport to his house. The footage was then replaced with each of their pictures and the word ‘traitor’ plastered across them in red letters.

Suddenly, Strawell’s voice filled the air from the speakers. “Echo Team has betrayed this country and have been aiding terrorist groups throughout Equestria.”

As he spoke, the team stood there dumbfounded, not fully accepting the situation.

“May Queen Twilight have mercy on their souls,” Strawell’s voice boomed twice as loud as before.

“What does…” Jace began but was cut off by a loud bang and his helmet visor exploding with a spray of blood and glass.

“Contact!” Parker yelled as the world around them went to hell.

Scamp fired blinding as she dived for cover behind a desk.

“All sides!” Dew screamed, his rifle barking nonstop.

She leans around the desk and spots a fully armored pony firing a machine gun towards them, she opened fire but her small caliber bullets did nothing but spark off the black armor.

“It’s OEA Enforcer’s!” Calypso screamed over the roar of gunfire.

Scamp came back up to fire again, but a bullet blew through the desk she was behind and slammed into her vest. Her eyes widened as she fell backwards, the spray of blood that shot up from behind her vest and onto her helmet visor obscured her vision.

“Scamp’s down!” Dribble yelled out.

With a hiss of pain she looked down to her chest and saw a smoking hole in her vest. She winced as she pulled at her IFAK and opened it, fumbling for the little syringe filled with pain killers. She found it and used her wing to jab it into her neck.

The injection immediately took effect and the pain from the gunshot disappeared, allowing her to focus.

An Enforcer jumped over a desk and landed in the middle of the team, firing point blank into Dew, the bullet shredding through his vest and out his side.

Scamp jumped up and with all she had left in her she grabbed the hind leg of the armored pony and lifted him up. He lost his balance and fell face first into the ground. Scamp deployed her blade that was attached to her left foreleg and jammed it between the ponies helmet and neck, killing him.

Dew coughed and whizzed as he struggled to stay up as he too injected himself with the pain meds. He rolled around and resumed firing at the advancing Enforcers.

Scamp stumbled back to her position to close the gap and resumed firing, her bullets only slowing them slightly. Then without warning the one she was firing on sprinted towards her, ignoring the bullets that bounced off of his armor.

He collided with the desk she was using as cover and sent her flying with it. Scamp scrambled out from under the desk in time to receive a heavy buck to the side of her helmet, the visor spider webbing from the impact.

She quickly responds by jumping up and pushing aside his rifle as he fires. As she did so his hoof shot out and grabbed her by the neck, trying to knock her down. But she held her own as the two pushed into each other and ended up standing on their hindlegs with his hoof around her neck and hers keeping the rifle from pointing at her.

A glance to her side told her no help was coming as the others were also stuck in melee with the other Enforcer’s.

The Enforcer roared as his free hoof shot forward, digging a blade into Scamp’s gut. She gasped in pain as he ripped the blade sideways.

She responded with her own blade, slamming it over and over again into his neck. One of the stabs found a gap and caused the Enforcer to let go and stumble back, grabbing at his throat.

As he collapsed, so did Scamp. She lay on her side and looked down to see her insides were now spilling out.

“That’s bad,” Scamp muttered, in shock.

She dragged herself over to the dead Enforcer and wiggled his gun free. She then, without a targeting system to aid her, pointed it at the Enforcer currently grappling with Calypso and fired.

The heavy round easily penetrated the armor and punched into the Enforcer’s side, dropping him instantly.

Calypso regained her posture and immediately tackled the Enforcer who was on top of Dew.

Scamp heaves the rifle over to the Enforcer punching Parker. Her injuries were catching up to her as she struggled to raise the rifle.

“Come on!” She hisses as she tries to get her body to respond and raise the heavy rifle.

As if to mock her, the Enforcer broke free of Parker’s grasp and fired his shotgun over and over again, removing parts of Parker’s uniform, gear, and flesh with each shot.

“No!” Calypso screamed as she rammed into the Enforcer and shoved her pistol under his helmet and unloaded.

As the Enforcer fell, Calypso jumped to Parker’s side, trying to remove his helmet and yelling his name.

Scamp scanned the area in a daze, seeing that they’d somehow killed the entire group of Enforcer’s.

“Shit! Scamp!” Dribbled yelled as he slid up beside her and removed her destroyed helmet. He shakily removed her vest and ripped her uniform open. With shaking hooves he removed a spray from his IFAK and sprayed it on her exposed guts, causing her to scream despite the pain meds.

“Move, help Dew!” Calypso yelled as she laid her full Medbag by Scamp. Dribble ran over to Dew to try and help him.

“Hang in there, Scamp,” Calypso said in a shaken voice as she sprayed something onto her exposed guts, followed by her gently pushing them back in. She then placed a magical seal over the large wound to hold her over till they could get to somewhere safer.

“Oh fuck, contact! Coming down the hallway!” Dribble yelled as he and Dew took up positions by an overturned desk and began firing through the doorway at the approaching Enforcer’s.

Calypso placed another seal over the bullet wound in her chest and pressed down.

“Dew’s down!” Dribble yelled as the sound of gunfire started to ramp up.

“Okay look at me, Scamp,” Calypso said, patting her face to get her attention. “I need to help Dribble, so I need you to stay awake. Do not pass out!” She grabs and raises Scamp’s foreleg with her pistol on it. “Just hang in there, please!”

Scamp watched as Calypso left her and ran to join Dribble, both of them firing as fast and accurately as they could. The desk they were using as cover was slowly breaking apart from the onslaught of bullets.

“Focus on the left one!” Dribbled yelled as a loud whoosh was heard. “Missile incoming!”

Scamp watched as the two dived away from each other as a middle screeched in and hit the roof above the desk they’d been at, spraying debris everywhere.

She wiped her face as she saw an Enforcer step out of the smoke, barely visible without her night vision. She raised her hoof and began firing, the bullets posing little threat.

He turned towards her and fired, the bullet barely missing her head. Before he could fire again, sparks exploded off the side of his helmet. As he fell, Calypso slid up against his body and turned the attached rifle on the approaching Enforcer’s.

A sudden flash blinded Scamp as the dark room briefly lit up.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Don’t move!” The lead pony commanded through his helmet's speaker.

“Uh, you got it,” Greg said, looking like a deer in the headlights.

“Secure him.” The lead pony said as another pulled Greg out and led him away from the front door.

Once they were on the sidewalk, the armored pony looked him over as he brought out a pair of cuffs.

“Wait!” Greg blurted out, “I was being held against my will by those Bronies!”

This caused the Enforcer to stop, “Are there other hostages inside?”

Greg shook his head no.

The Enforcer thought for a second before holding out the cuffs. “Go ahead and just put these on, it’s just protocol is all.”

Greg looked at the cuffs then the Enforcer. “Uh, can I try something first?”

“What?” The Enforcer asked, confused.

Without warning there was a flash from where Greg’s horn would be, causing the armor to collapse into a heap.

“Get teleported, FED boi,” he smiles and starts messing with the now ownerless armor.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jero squirmed from under the Enforcer, the hoof on his back keeping him down. The bind over his wings and wrist cuffs further restricted his movement.

"We haven't found the Unicorn yet, sir," one of the Enforcer's reported as he returned to the living room where Jero and the Enforcer holding him down were.

"Keep looking, the spell on the house prevents him from teleporting, so he's here somewhere," the lead Enforcer above Jero replied, grinding his hoof down into Jero painfully. "Of course, this would all go a lot faster if this one would just talk."

Jero remained quiet, not willing to give them anything.

"And where's Le'Mint? He's been outside with the Earth pony for well over ten minutes," the Leader said angrily. "Le'Mint! Report?"

There was silence as neither of the Enforcer's moved.

"Go outside and see what's taking so long," the Leader growled, taking his anger out on Jero's back by grinding his armored hoof harder into him.

"Sorry boss," a different Enforcer said as he entered the room. "The guy ran when I tried to cuff him, uh, but I got him cuffed."

The two Enforcer's stared at the third one for a few seconds before the Leader responded, "What's wrong with your speakers? Your voice isn't coming through correctly."

"Oh uh," the third Enforcer reached up and touched his throat. "The guy kinda kicked me a few times, I think he knocked something loose."

"Report it to the Armorer when we return." Then in a more authoritative voice, "Next time a suspect runs from you, you radio it in immediately! I'll deal with you after this mission is finished."

"Uh yes, sir!" the third Enforcer said with a sloppy salute.

The Leader growled slowly and shook his head. Then he snapped like he was listening to something, probably his radio in his helmet.

"Well that's some good news," he looks at the other two Enforcer's. "We need to pick it up here, the other team has engaged Echo Team and have already scored a kill."

Jero jerked violently when he heard this, "You bastard's!"

"Shut it," the Leader snapped as he kicked the back of Jero's head, dazing him. He then looked to the second Enforcer, "Get back to checking the house. Inform the other's of the good news." He then looks to the third Enforcer, "And you, you're done tonight. Take this punk and put him in the command vehicle around the corner, then stay there. You're benched for this mission."

The third Enforcer slumped, but nodded. "You got it, sir."

"Watch that tone!" the Leader snapped as he stood up and forced Jero to stand.

The third Enforcer walked over and roughly pulled Jero, forcing him to follow him outside. Once outside, Jero spit on the side of the helmet of the Enforcer, complete hatred pasted on his face. He may not have known the members of Echo Team very well, but they'd put themselves on the line for them, and now they were being killed because of them.

"Dude, don't spit on me," the Enforcer said as he wiped his helmet with his hoof. "Jesus fuck, man."

"Greg?!" Jero yelped in surprise.

"Yeah?" Greg asked in confusion.

"How'd you get... we don't have time for this, we need to try and save Scamp and the others!" Jero said, becoming frantic as Greg started undoing his binds.

"But how?"

Jero looked around trying to think fast, then he spotted a large truck down the street with the words 'OEA' on its side. An idea hit him. "Okay! Yeah!" He points to Greg, "Take me to the truck like you were supposed to, and we'll force whoever is inside it to tell us where Echo is. Then you bam! Teleport and get them!"

"Uhhh," Greg looks at the truck uncertain. "I can try."

"Let's go then!" Jero said as he quickly walked towards the truck, Greg coming up behind him.

As they reached the truck, the doors opened and a single unarmed Earth pony opened the door. "Heard you got benched, Le'Mint." Behind him were a few seats and a full set up with radio's and multiple computer screens. The Earth pony looked at Jero and pointed at him, "Why isn't he restrained?"

"Uhhhh," Greg replied sheepishly as he used his magic to lift and slam the pony around inside the truck, hitting the seats and walls.

"Don't knock him out, Greg!" Jero hissed.

Greg nods dumbly as he releases the technician, who just falls to the ground in the truck with a grunt. As he started to slowly try and get up, Jero jumped into the truck and pinned him.

"You're going to tell us where Echo Team is and you're going to do it now!" Jero all but screamed into the ponies face.

"What?! Hell no!" The tech yelled as he started to fight. "Help! HELP! They're trying to..."

Greg's horn flashed and the tech went limp.

"Greg!" Jero screamed as he stood up off the tech and looked at his friend in disbelief and anger.

"He was yelling for help, man. I had to," Greg said, thinking that was the best course of action he could have taken.

"Gah!" Jero ran over to the computer screen's and froze. The screens showed security footage of a group of ponies in a circle with office desk all around them grappling with what looked to be Enforcer's. It didn't take long for them to recognize it was Echo Team, fighting hoof to hoof with Enforcer's.

"Can you figure out enough from this to teleport to them?!" Jero asked in a panic.

"Maybe? This computer has a shit ton of info on it. Let me just, figure this shit out," Greg said as he threw the helmet off and started messing with the computer, clearly not knowing what he was doing.

On screen, Jero watched in horror as he saw one of Echo Team lose their melee and get gunned down point blank. Tears began to run down his face as he watched helplessly.

A moment of relief hit him as he saw that they'd dispatched the last of the Enforcer's and started helping each other. But his horror only grew when he saw on a different screen that one of the downed Echo members was Scamp, and even through the screen he could see how bad it was.

A different scene showed a large group of Enforcer's heading down a stairwell, which could only lead to the team. "Greg?!"

"I'm trying!" Greg screamed, losing his cool.

The Enforcer's reached the long hallway leading to the room with Echo team, and they immediately opened fire. Jero watched as two of Echo started returning fire. A wave of hope washed over him as he saw a few Enforcer's fall as they pair's rifles seemed to work just fine against their armor.

Then, he let out a pained whine as he saw one of the two members of Echo take a bullet to their helmet and fall off of the desk they'd been propped up on.

"GREG?!?!"

"FUCK!" Greg cursed loudly, sweet flooding down his face as he seemed to be making no progress.

On screen, a rocket was let loose from the Enforcer's and flew towards the defenders. As soon as it made contact, one of the Enforcer's broke from the others and sprinted at full speed towards the smoke that obscured the members of Echo. They jumped through the smoke and landed on the desk the pair had been using as cover.

Scamp, who was lying on the ground wounded and not appearing to be able to move, started firing her foreleg mounted pistol at the armored Enforcer, which only caused him to look at her.

"NO!" Jero screamed, shaking the screen.

The Enforcer fired, but the bullet seemed to miss Scamp. Off to his side, one of the member's of Echo had finally gotten back up and fired their weapon, hitting the Enforcer before he could fire again.

"OH HOLY FUCK I GOT IT!" Greg cried as he jumped back and without any flair, disappeared.

Jero watched the screen as Greg appeared by Scamp. His horn flashed, and she disappeared from the ground.

"Shit!" A surprised voice came from behind him. On screen, Greg flashed again and Dribble, who was trapped under a desk disappeared.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Dribble yelped as he hit the ground as he appeared on the edge of a seat.

Calypso appeared, looking crazed as she stared straight ahead, still in a shooting position.

Finally, Greg appeared looking absolutely terrible and spent. He collapsed in a heap, heaving loudly.

"What?" Calypso said in a daze as she finally started to regain herself and she looked around.

"Uh, we saved you," Jero replied, still crying. "I'm so sorry we couldn't get there faster!"

"No worries," Scamp groaned from the floor, her midnight blue coat looking a lot less colorful as she laid curled up on the floor.

"Scamp!" Calypso said as she fell next to her and then cursed. "I left my medical bag where she'd been laying!"

Greg groaned as he sat up, glanced at the screen to see the Enforcer's slowly moving down the hallway, not seeming to know what happened. He sighed, "Yep."

He flashed away, panicking everyone. He shortly returned holding the medical bag, he dropped it by Calypso, gave a sort of thumbs up motion, then collapsed. Unconscious.

"Idiot!" Jero said with a facehoof.

"That idiot just saved Scamp," Calypso said as she grabbed her bag and shuffled through it. She flipped Scamp on her back and injected something into her. "See you later, Scamp."

"Wait, don't... put me.... under... damn it..." Scamp tried to fight it, but she was rendered unconscious as well.

Dribble opened the back door a touch, "Uh, so where are we?"

"Oh, outside Scamp's house in an OEA truck," Jero replied, not thinking anything of it.

"An OEA truck?!" Dribble yelped as he rushed past everyone and jumped in the driver's seat. He began messing with some kind of black box on the dash.

"What's wrong?" Jero asked, stepping up front with him.

Dribble ripped out a few wires and used a tool to cut a few bindings, removing the box. He then tossed it out the window and turned the truck on. "They can track the truck with that." He then put the truck in drive and drove forward carefully, trying not to make too much sound so as not to alert any of the other Enforcer's.

"I'm assuming they're in Scamp's house?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, three of them," Jero answered.

Dribble shook his head as they started to pick up speed now that they'd left the neighborhood. "They're so incompetent."

"Excuse me?" Jero asked with a cock of his head.

"The Enforcer's," Dribble said with a shake of his head. "We should have died immediately back there, and they shouldn't have been outsmarted by you two. If that'd been our team, we'd have handled both of those situations a lot better."

Jero gave him a weird look at this.

Dribble glanced at him and sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to think of anything else right now. I'll process what happened back there once we get somewhere safe and I can down a few brew's."

Not knowing how to respond to that, he looked to the back. Calypso was doing her best to stabilize Scamp, and Greg was laying next to the tech they'd knocked out.

"What are we going to do with the pony?" Jero asked.

"What pony?" Dribble asked, looking back and noticing the tech. "Ah hell." He pulls the truck over and climbs out of the seat and heads towards the back. He flings open the back doors and roughly rolls the unconscious tech out the doors and slams them.

He returns to his seat and resumes driving.

Jero blinks at this and just shrugs. He may not be used to this world and how it operates, but these guys clearly did.

He looked out the window, watching as they left the neighborhoods and started heading away from the city, into the countryside. "What's the plan?"

"No plan," Dribble replies solemnly. "We're just going to get somewhere to lay low for a bit. Find out more about what's going on, then we'll make a plan."

"Gotcha," Jero says with a slow nod. He looks out the window again, watching the trees fly by.

The image of a pony getting shot over and over again point blank kept running through his head. He wouldn't be able to relax even if he wanted to.

This is war

Chapter 7

Scamp awoke with a gasp as she sat up quickly, wincing from the sharp pain her her midsection. She looked down to see bandages wrapped around her stomach and chest.

"What?" She said aloud in a groggily voice, confused as to what was going on. A glance around revealed she was in a small room with a bed and a mirrored dresser.

In the mirror she saw a horrible looking pony staring back at her, their color drained from their fur. It took her a moment to realize it was her that she was staring at.

With a grunt she climbed out of the bed and stumbled to the only door in the room. She pushed it open and half stumbled through it into a living room.

"Scamp!" Calypso yelped as she ran over and helped support her, "You should have called for me, you shouldn't be moving with those injuries!"

"I'm fine, Cal," Scamp responded in a weak voice.

"You most certainly are not!" Calypso scolded as she lead her to a couch in the room, a TV broadcasting a newscast about the weather.

Scamp let herself be laid on the couch, coughing from the pain in her chest. "What happened? Where are we?"

"We're in a cabin forty miles outside of Manehattan," Calypso responded as she pulled a blanket up over Scamp, ignoring her first question.

"Oh dang," Scamp replied softly, staring at the TV screen blankly.

Calypso left her and went back to what she'd been doing, cataloging their gear and supplies.

An hour passed like this, with Scamp blankly staring at the TV and Calypso repeatedly going over their gear.

"Breaking news!" A stallion on screen suddenly said, as the news switched from sports to a solemn looking pony. "Shocking video has been released by the OEA regarding one of the city's most decorated SWAT teams, Echo."

This caused Calypso to run over and stand by the couch, her eyes glued to the screen. Scamp slowly sat up, eyes wide as everything came back to her.

"According to reports; two days ago, Echo Team, SWAT's most prestigious unit, were caught on camera attacking OEA Enforcer's."

The screen changed to a video of six ponies dressed in Echo Team's uniforms walking up to a group of Enforcer's who seemed to be arresting two ponies who looked suspiciously like Greg and Shadow Breeze.

"Echo Team? Why are you here? We're just finishing up arresting these two terrorist, we have it under control," one of the Enforcer's said as he approached the six Echo Team impostors.

"We'll be taking those two," the lead impostor said in a rough voice, like Parker's.

"Sorry, sir. Order's are to return them to OEA," the Enforcer responded as he turned his back on them.

"No, I'm sorry," the Parker imposter said as he shot the Enforcer in the back, and the other members of the team also opened fire, killing all the Enforcer's before they could react.

The video cut back to the newscaster, who looked absolutely mortified. "As you saw, Echo Team, the very team that stopped both the Nightmare and the Storm King, killed OEA Enforcer's unprovoked in order to free two known terrorist."

A collection of headshots replaced the newscaster, showing portraits of ponies with the OEA symbol behind them. "These are the brave stallion's and mare's who were mercilessly gunned down without warning." The screen then switched to picture's of Echo Team, with 'Deceased' plastered across Dew's, Jace's, and Parker's portraits. "Three members of Echo Team were killed in a shootout with OEA, but Sergeant First Class Calypso, Sergeant Dribble, and Sergeant Scamp are still at large. They are to be considered armed and dangerous. If you see them, report them immediately to OEA or the police."

The news broadcaster was replaced by another message that was giving details of the three and the two Bronies they'd helped.

Calypso kicked the table in front of her and walked over to a chair and collapsed on it, hooves on her face as she shook with anger.

Scamp just stared at the screen, shocked by the lies they'd just witnessed. This would cause them to become the most hated ponies in Equestria, and there was nothing they could do about it.

The front door opened and Dribble and the Bronies came in, carrying food.

"You won't believe the shit they just played on the radio!" Dribble yelled as he threw the food on the floor in anger, absolutely seething.

"They broadcasted it on TV!" Calypso snapped, so angry tears were running down her face.

"What now?" Shadow Breeze asked sheepishly, ears back.

"No idea!" Dribble yelled, walking to a chair and falling on it, crossing his forelegs and staring at the ceiling.

Scamp looked at her two friends and then to the two lost looking Bronies. She let out a hiss of pain as she stood up and walked around the table in front of the couch to stand in front of everyone.

"Look guys," she started, trying to sound confident. "We're just going to lay low for a few days, we'll figure something out."

"Yeah, good plan," Dribble mumbled, his usually easy going nature seeming to be nonexistent now.

Scamp looked between her friends, unsure of what to say or do to fix things. Her eyes drifted over to a table which held their gear; the blood soaked uniforms catching her attention.

'Don't you burn us.'

Parker's word slammed into her, causing tears to flow down her face as she stared at the mess of bloody gear.

"I..." she started, but her voice caught. A wave of nausea hit her as she swayed slightly. Then suddenly, her demeanor changed as she thought of the events that lead to this mess.

"Fuck!" She screamed, startling everyone, as she started slamming her hooves down onto the coffee table, breaking it to pieces as she cursed and cried out.

No one stopped her, they just watched in silence.

Once the coffee table was nothing but broken pieces of wood, she collapsed to her knees, crying loudly.

It was all her fault.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Calypso finished replacing the bandages on a sleeping Scamp, the other ones ruined when she reopened her wounds during her breakdown.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jero asked as he laid on the floor where the coffee table once stood.

"Yeah, if she'll just stay down she will be," Calypso said with a sigh, looking like she hadn't slept in two days. Which was probably true since she was the one who had to look after Scamp.

Dribble walked into the room, also looking like a wreck. "I just checked the internet, they've rounded up our families for questioning," he said grimly, dried tears on his face.

Calypso paused for a moment, but then resumed her work. "We expected that."

"They'll be fine, normal procedure is to just detain, question, release, and observe," Dribble said as he sat at the table with all their gear on it.

"Nothing about any of this is normal," Calypso deadpanned back.

Greg, on the other hand, didn't seem to be listening to them all as he sat in the corner, still reading Lance's book. Jero was happy Greg had had it on him, as he was sure Scamp would have been upset to also lose it.

Jero stood up and walked over to Greg and sat down next to him on the couch. "So?"

"So what?" Greg asked, not looking up from the book.

"What's our plan? We can't just stay here, it's already been two days."

Greg sighed and sat the book down, looking serious, "If you want my opinion, we need to get to that prison, break in and teleport him out."

"It's not that easy," Dribble interjected from across the room. "They have an anti-magic field around the facility that spreads out at least twenty miles in all directions. And before you ask, no we can't disable it. It was set up by the Queen, and only she can remove it. Which she won't. If you still want to save that jackass, you're going to have to do it without magic. And that ain't going to happen. So just drop it, you've already caused enough damage as is."

A frown grew on Jero's face as he listened to Dribble, his mind drawing blanks on how to help Lance.

"Hey!" Greg suddenly snapped, hopping up and stomping towards Dribble. "I know you're mad at what happened, but don't take it out on us!"

Dribble jumped up and head butted Greg, hitting him in the snout. "Hey, jackass! Don't you forget what we lost because of you!"

"Both of you, quit it!" Calypso commanded, stepping between them. "We can't be fighting each other right now!" She turns to Dribble, "We made our choice, and we paid the price for it. There's no changing that now." Then she turned to Greg, "It's because of you that we're all still alive, and we'll forever be grateful. But you need to calm down. Okay?"

Greg took a step back, wiping blood from his snout. "I'm sorry."

Dribble sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry too, I'm just so stressed out right now."

"Then let's make a plan," Calypso suggested. "We're not doing anyone any good just sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves."

"You still want to help them save this Lance guy?" Dribble asked in surprise.

Calypso just sighed as she walked back to Scamp, "Honestly? What else are we going to do? We can't go back to our old lives right now, and probably never will be able to. We're outcast now."

This seemed to not sit well with Dribble, but he walked over and sat in the chair by the couch with Scamp. "Yeah, I guess you have a point." He did not sound fully on board with the idea.

"So where do we start?" Jero asked as he and Greg also walked over and sat down with them.

"First," Calypso began, "we're going to get Scamp settled, then we're all going to sit down and seriously talk about everything we know. We'll go from there."

This seemed to placate everyone as they turned to the TV and stared at it, not really watching it. Calypso continued her work on Scamp, adding an I.V. drip to her foreleg.

ooo000<^>000ooo

"No no no!" Dribble yelled as he jumped out of his seat, startling everyone awake. It was now nighttime and everyone else had fallen asleep where they'd been sitting.

"What?!" Calypso yelped as she sat up from her position on the floor and looked to Dribble. He was staring wide eyed at the TV, and when she looked, she understood why.

On the screen showed a live broadcast of the Queen addressing a crowd of ponies, and behind her were a group of ponies.

Their family members.

"Scamp, wake up!" Calypso yelled, shaking Scamp awake.

"What?! WHAT?!" Scamp screamed in a panic before her eyes landed on the TV. It took her a few moments to realize what she was seeing. "Mom?!"

"Accused of high treason!" The Queen all but roared, giving a speech to the gathered ponies. "These ponies, these traitors, have been aiding and abiding the very same terrorist who have been attacking and killing your family members!"

"We have to do something!" Scamp grunted as she tried to get up, but Calypso held her down.

"There's nothing we can do," she said, tears on her face.

"I can teleport and grab them," Greg offered, jumping up and looking to prepare to teleport.

"Don't you dare!" Calypso ordered angrily, causing Greg to flinch. "This is a ploy to get us to act. If you teleport there, then you'll be falling into their trap, and everything will have been for nothing!"

"But your family?" Greg asked, looking conflicted.

Calypso turned to the screen where the Queen was reading off their charges. "I know."

Scamp, the drugs in her system making her emotions flare, cried raggedly as she watched the screen.

"I am hereby revoking their rights to a trial, as they are no longer citizens of Equestria," the Queen bellowed, getting a thunderous applause from the gathered crowd. Behind her, the gathered ponies stood solemnly; some crying, others staring blankly ahead.

Scamp saw her mother, standing near the front, head held high.

The Queen seemed to bask in the praise of the ponies around her before she continued, "We shall commence with the execution!" The crowd went absolutely crazy at this, cheering and whistling.

"No!" Scamp cried out as the Queen turned around and stared down at their family members. Time seemed to slow down as Scamp watched as her mother turned to the Queen and stepped forward.

"This isn't the Equestria we all grew up in! Nor the Equestria the Princesses created!" Her mother yelled, almost drowned by the crowd.

The Queen didn't acknowledge her, instead, her horn flashed almost violently. All the ponies before her screamed in agony as they all seemed to internally combust, burning to ash almost instantly.

The crowd loved this as they only grew louder.

"Holy fuck, this is not the Equestria we know at all," Greg said, his body shaking from adreline.

"That's nothing like the Twilight I know..." Shadow Breeze said in a daze.

Dribble walks away, kicking a chair into a wall as he walks past it. He went outside and slammed the door, his wails of agony could be heard by everyone else.

Calypso got up and walked over to her medical bag, grabbed a syringe and walked over to the other couch. She stuck it in her leg and injected herself. She laid back, crying as she slowly put herself to sleep, not wanting to deal with anything else right at that moment.

Scamp could only stare at the screen as the Queen smiled back, the camera staying on her face almost as if to mock them.

She tried to get up, but everything hit her at once and she collapsed into the floor, unconscious.

ooo000<^>000ooo

"I don't like it here," Jero said, rocking back and forth on the floor next to Scamp as she slept on the couch.

"No shit," Greg said as he threw a blanket over Calypso while she slept on the other couch. "Like, what the fuck?!"

Jero clinched his eyes, shaking. "What can we even do here? Twilight's a tyrant that can kill a pony in an instant, and Lance is in a place that we could never even get near let alone break him out of."

"Well we're not giving up, if that's what you're thinking," Greg snapped, seeming even more determined now than he had been before.

"Then what are we going to do?!" Jero yelled, his calm nature falling to the side in his anger and desperation.

"We're going to kill that cunt and save your fucking friend, that's what we're going to do," Dribble said in a cold voice as he walked back in through the front door.

"But how?" Jero asked as Dribble walked up to the table covered in gear and started shifting through it.

"I have no idea, but we're going to do it, no matter what. They've taken everything from me," he shook in anger as he picked up his vest. "My wife and daughter were on that stage."

This shook Jero to his core, as he hadn't realized that kids could have been a part of the crowd he saw die. He hadn't looked too hard to be honest.

"So, kill Twilight and free Lance?" Greg asked, walking up next to Dribble watching him gather his gear.

"Yep, once Calypso's awake, we'll actually make the real plan. But no matter what, Queen bitch dies."

Natural

Chapter 8

"We can't kill the Queen," Calypso deadpanned, shifting in her seat at the table and pushing her scarlet red dreads back behind her ear.

"Why not? She deserves it!" Dribble retorts, throwing his hooves up.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't kill her," Calypso began. "I'm saying we literally can not kill her. She can kill with a simple spell, you saw that first hand. Not to mention all her guards that follow her around at all times."

Dribble sat back, mumbling to himself.

Shadow Breeze nods along, thinking to himself as to what they can do.

"Anything can be killed," Scamp commented. "Remember what they said about the Nightmare? That was supposed to be impossible to kill, but we did it."

"Yes, but we had the Queen's backing, and if we hadn't had the spell's she'd provided, we'd never have stopped it," Calypso reminded her.

Shadow Breeze suddenly looked up at them, an idea coming to him. "What if we don't have to kill her to win?"

"She dies, no questions," Dribble snapped loudly.

This didn't faze Shadow Breeze as he continued, "I'm not saying we don't kill her, just not right now." Everyone looked at him with questioning looks. "If we free Lance, he can fight her himself."

"Lance lost his powers," Greg interjects. "In the book he says he can't talk to Break or Dawn anymore. And he lost his angel powers as well."

"I don't think he did," Shadow Breeze says with a small smirk. "So I've been thinking about it. How could the Watcher take away his angel form? I don't think he did, at least not really. I read the last chapter of his book, and combined with what Ominus said, I think they're just locked away."

"What do you mean?" Greg asked.

"The Watcher doesn't have the authority to erase souls, remember? He just collects them. And sent Lance here instead of collecting his soul, because apparently, according to Ominus, he needs Lance away from his original dimension." Shadow Breeze looked around at everyone, seeing they were still confused about his meaning. "So basically, if the Watcher can't erase souls, and couldn't control Lance directly, then I think he could only hide Lance's powers from himself. Make him believe they were gone."

"Oh," Greg said as his eyes widened slowly. "Oh! So Lance could still have all his powers, but he's been tricked into believing they're gone?"

"Exactly!" Shadow Breeze said excitedly. "So I'm thinking if you can cast the same spell on him that released Break and Dawn, then he might be able to access his powers again. At least some of them. But that'd be more than enough to handle this new Twilight."

"Would this work?" Calypso asked, not following fully but trusting them.

Shadow Breeze looked at her and replied honestly, "I'm not sure, it's just a theory. But from what I know of Lance, I'm very sure this will work."

Dribble listened along, "Okay. If it'll end in her dying, I'm for it."

Scamp smiled as she leaned forward, "I'm fairly certain that if we can return Break and Dawn to Lance then he'll be able to take care of the Queen all on his own."

Calypso rubbed her chin in thought, taking everything in.

"It'll work for sure. The spell is super simple too, like anyone could do it," Greg said with a confident smile.

"Then it’s settled," Calypso said as she stood up. "We're going to free Lance and have him fight the Queen."

Scamp then frowned, "Well that still leaves the problem; how will we break him out? Not only is there an anti-magic shield around the area, but the moment we attack the facility, the Queen will just appear and wipe us out before we breach the first door."

At this, Calypso smirked, "I might know someone who can help with attacking the facility. The only problem is we'll have to attack the palace at the same time as the prison as a distraction, otherwise this won't be possible."

Dribble thought for a second before slamming his hoof down on the table, "I'll take over attacking the palace, it'll give me a chance to face that bitch."

"No," Calypso said firmly. "It can't be you. Your drive to kill the Queen will jeopardize the mission."

"Don't you want her dead?!" Dribble asked, offended at her words.

"Of course I do!" Calypso snapped back. "She killed my parents and sister! But we have to be rational here. Attacking the palace isn't about killing the Queen, it's about distracting them and making them think she's the target, that way our assault on the prison will go undetected."

"I'll do it," Scamp spoke up, catching them both off guard. "I'll perform the assault on the palace so you two can free Lance."

Calypso shook her head in disbelief, "But wouldn't you rather be there when we free Lance? It's what you've been working towards most of you life!"

Scamp just smiles at her, "It is, but I need to do this. It's my fault the others were killed. My fault our families were forced to die on live TV."

"It wasn't just your fault, Scamp," Dribble sighs. "We're all equally to blame. It doesn't matter if it started as your burden, we all made our choice back in the office building. Whatever happens is on all of us." A solemn look fell across his face, "And we'll all have to live with the consequences."

"But," Shadow Breeze asked as he looked between all of them. "How will we break in and free Lance? And do it undetected? Even if Scamp attacks the palace, the Queen will prioritize the prison over the attack on the palace."

"Communications blackout," Dribble said as the idea formed in his mind. "Yeah, if we put up our own magical barrier around the palace, they'll think we're doing that to cut them off from calling for help. Not keep the prison from contacting them. They'll be in the dark thinking the attack on the palace will be the main target. Of course they'll still call for help from other sources, but we can handle those a lot better than the Queen herself."

"Yeah, but Scamp all by herself? Injured?" Shadow Breeze asked with worry and doubt.

"Nah, I'll be there," Greg said with a cocky smile. "My magic will be useless at the prison anyways, and I can show anyone how to do the spell. It's not that hard once you get the concept." He then leans back confidently, "Besides, if it's just Scamp it'll look suspicious. But if I'm there, it'll look like a real threat and like we're all serious and shit."

"As far as my injuries go, let me handle that," Scamp added confidently.

"I don't like it," Calypso commented. "But, we really don't have the luxury of being picky."

"So the plan?" Shadow Breeze asked, wanting a summery.

"We're going to head to New Ripman, the Brony shanty town near Manehattan, and meet up with someone I know. They should be able to point us to some allies who will be willing to attack the prison. From there, Greg and Scamp will attack the palace while Dribble and I attack the prison with our new allies. If all goes according to plan, we will radio you two to let you know when you can pull back. Main point of attacking the palace though; avoid actually confronting the Queen."

Dribble chuckles at this, "Sounds so simple."

"The best plans always do," Scamp says as she sits back, hooves behind her head.

ooo000<^>000ooo

"So this is a Brony shanty town," Jero said in a conflicted tone.

The town of New Ripman was nothing like he'd expected. All the buildings looked like they'd been built already in a state of dilapidation, and the ponies didn't look much better.

Where the streets of Manehattan were filled with well dressed and happy looking ponies, these streets were filled with dirty ponies and not a single one looked happy. They all had B's where their cutie marks should have been, which only saddened Jero further.

"Great place, huh?" Dribble asked, looking uncomfortable.

"It's not that bad," Scamp said as she looked around, seeming to look for something in particular. "Here, I'll catch up with you guys at the meeting spot, I need to gather supplies."

"I'll come with ya," Greg said as he stopped and turned to her.

She only shrugged as she began walking off towards what appeared to be the market, Greg walking after her.

"Will they be okay without us?" Jero asked the others, not liking leaving Greg and a wounded Scamp alone in this place.

"She comes here all the time, so she'll be okay," Calypso replied as they continued down the street.

This didn't stop him from worrying, but it made him feel better.

The trio walked down the street, getting looks from all the Bronies around them. Calypso and Dribble had their gear in bags slung over their backs, so their cutie marks were clearly visible, showing they were normal ponies and not Bronies. Even Jero, despite being a Brony, was seen as a normal pony since his cutie mark was also visible.

"So who exactly are we meeting?" Jero asked, uneasy with all the looks they were getting.

"Not here," was the only answer he received from Calypso as they neared a decently large building.

As they neared, a pony stepped out and approached them. They all came to a stop a few feet away from each other, just looking at each other.

"Yes, Cally?" a voice said from a radio attached to the pony who came out to greet them.

"I need a favor that benefits both of us," Calypso said to the voice on the radio.

There was a pause before a response came, "Alright."

The pony before them nodded and started heading for the entrance to the building.

"Come on," Calypso said as she started walking after the pony, followed by the other two.

"So who is this guy on the radio?" Jero had to ask.

Calypso looked over her shoulder at him, "Jack-o, a second generation Brony. He used to work with Echo back before the OEA started cracking down on working with Bronies. He's a solid guy that I trust."

"What's a second generation Brony?"

"The kid of a original Brony. If one of your parents is a Brony, you are labeled as a Brony. Same goes for anyone who has human blood in their family tree. It's why so many ponies avoid getting with Bronies, don't want to doom your kids and their kids."

Jero shook his head, the concept seeming so stupid and unnecessary to him.

The pony ahead of them lead them to a door inside the building and opened it for them. The trio walked in and was greeted with a pair of Unicorn's. Both of their horns began repeatedly flashing as they walked around them.

"Don't panic," Dribble said to Jero as he started to get nervous. "They're just checking if we're bugged or under any kind of spell."

Once they finished, they disappeared into a door. As soon as they were gone, a pony walked through another set of doors and beckoned for them to follow.

He led them to another set of doors and allowed them through.

Inside they were greeted with a middle aged pony, looking at them with raised eyebrows. "So, Cally, what possibly could you want this time around?"

Calypso broke her normal character and smiled largely as she walked across the room and hugged the pony. After a moment, they broke the hug and she returned to her normal self.

"They killed Dew, Jace, Parker, and our families," she said simply.

"I saw," the pony replied, a sad look on his face. "But why have you come here? You know I can't help you with the Queen."

Calypso shook her head at this, "No, not the Queen, Jack-o. We need to break into the Bastille."

This caused Jack-o to raise an eyebrow. "Why? It's a Brony prison, what benefit would that bring you?"

"Ever heard of Lance Greenfield?" Calypso asked, which only seemed to confuse Jack-o more.

"You mean the guy that killed the Queen's lover and earned her eternal hate? Yeah, I might have heard of him. But why do you want him?" Jack-o asked, stepping away from her and back around his desk, sitting down.

"We believe he's the key to defeating the Queen," Calypso offered, not revealing too much about their real motivations.

"But, the guy’s old, and just a Pegasus. What could he possibly have that could fight a literal God?" Jack-o leaned back, trying to gauge the true meaning behind Calypso and the others coming here.

Calypso let out a sigh and leaned on his desk, "We have reason to believe that if we were to get him away from the anti-magic field we could cast a spell on him that will awaken some hidden powers. He would use those to deal with the Queen."

"You mean the fantasy powers he said he has in his book?" Jack-o asked, catching Calypso off guard. "Yeah, I have a copy of his book. It's fiction, written by a mad pony."

"But it's not!" Jero interrupted, walking up to join them. "I'm Shadow Breeze, I'm from the same dimension as Lance. It's all true, the whole book. It's just not true in this dimension."

Jack-o looked between the two of them, not looking impressed. "Seriously?"

"Test him," Calypso offers. "Have a Unicorn here scan his memories."

He rubbed his chin as he thought about it, but finally he sighed. "Fine." He reached over and hit a button, causing a Unicorn to come sprinting into the room.

"Yes, Jack-o?!" The young Unicorn asked eagerly.

"Scan this pony's memories. Tell me if he's really from that book written by the crazy pony locked up in Bastille."

The pony sloppily saluted and trotted up to Jero, staring him in the eyes the whole time. Jero only smiled nervously back as the Unicorn leaned forward, his horn glowing continuously.

A few awkward moments passed before the Unicorn snapped up and looked at Jack-o in shock. "He's the Shadow Breeze from the book! He really is!"

"That's enough, you may leave," Jack-o cut him off. The young pony quickly left the room, not able to hide his excitement.

"Okay then," Jack-o said once he was out of the room. "Tell me, what's your plan?"

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp stepped into the dimly lit shop, filled with assorted herbs and plants. She walked straight for the front counter.

As soon as Greg stepped into the shop, a bit of panic hit him. He knew what kind of shop this was immediately, and it didn't sit well with him.

"My shits legal," the pony behind the counter said before Scamp neared him, obviously knowing who she was.

"I'm not here on police business," Scamp said with a hint of annoyance as she reached the counter and stared him down. "I need something for pain. Something strong, but won't put me on my ass. I need to be able to move."

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes at her, not trusting her, "Ain't got anything like that here. Never have."

Scamp growls and slams her hoof on the counter, wincing from the pain in her midsection. "Yes, you do. I know you do. I'm not here to bust you, I'm here as a customer." She pulls out her foreleg mounted pistol and slides it across to him.

He eyes the pistol eagerly, seeing that it was a SWAT model. "Well, I think I have something for you after all." He disappears into the back.

She grunts as she grabs her side, clearly in pain. But she waves Greg off as he starts to help.

The shopkeeper returns with a small box with syringes in them filled with a green liquid. "This'll do you, nice doing business with you, Officer."

Scamp started to grab them, but Greg suddenly stopped her and got up on the counter with his forelegs, staring across at the other pony.

"Oh no no no, that ain't the good shit, bro. That'll knock her on her ass after like ten minutes. We want the blue ones." Greg glared the other pony down, who stayed firm at first, but eventually sighed and took back the box and returned to the back.

"How'd you know the difference?" Scamp asked in amazement.

Greg smiled proudly at her, "Believe it or not, I ran a similar business like this back home. And from what I can tell the process for making things is the exact same, so ya know."

Scamp wanted to comment that that wasn't something to be proud of, but she held her tongue, just grateful he'd caught it.

"The blue ones are kinda bad though, they'll keep you up and going through almost any injury, but damn are they addictive. Plus they have diminishing returns, so the more you use them the less effective they are."

This didn't sit well with her, but she had no choice. She'd just have to be careful with them.

The shopkeeper returned and pushed a box of twenty towards them, not looking happy with the results of the transaction.

"Anything else?"

Scamp turned without saying another word and headed for the door. But Greg looked around and smiled. "Take bits?"

Outside, Scamp put the box in her saddlebags and looked around for the next shop she knew she needed.

Greg joined her shorty, putting something away in his saddlebags. She pretended like she didn't see what he had.

"Where to next, boss?" He asked in a chipper voice.

She started walking down the street, knowing where to go next. "If we're going to attack the palace, then we need gear and weapons."

"Definitely," Greg agreed happily.

The pair traveled down the streets, weaving through trash and ponies alike. Most ignored them, but a few seemed to recognize Scamp.

Finally, they arrived at a busy store with the words 'Final Bastion' written across the front. The inside appeared to have an assortment of gear and weapons laid out on tables with a few security ponies walking around.

"Behave inside," Scamp warned as they entered, gaining the attention of all the security ponies immediately. She walks straight ahead confidently and reaches a counter with a scraggly stallion leaning back in a chair.

"Lyle," she said in a flat tone.

"Scamp," he replied likewise.

"I need shit, the good shit," she said in an even tone, eying the stallion.

Lyle rocked back and forth, working something in his mouth before standing up and waving them to the back.

Once in the back, he led them to another room, this one locked with a heavy vault door. He worked a few locks and input a password into a computer screen, followed by the door opening just enough for them to enter.

Inside was an assortment of weapons, armor, and gear, more than was easily available back at the SWAT armory without special permissions.

"Ain't none of it cheap," Lyle remarked as he took up a chair behind a desk in the middle of the room.

Scamp only lifted the bag off of her back and dropped it on the counter. "Not a problem, I know you like SWAT gear."

This brought a smile to the stallion's face as he patted the bag. "Alright then, whatcha needin'?"

"I need a 45-70 semi-auto rifle with double stack mags, a foreleg mounted 10mm pistol with spare mags and armor piercing bullets," she glances over to the corner where she sees a suit of armor labeled 'Dragons Skin', and true to its name looked like it was made from the skin of a red dragon. "And if that's the real deal, the armor over in the corner."

Lyle whistled loudly at this, a smile plastered on his face. "Well, sounds like someone's planning to do something stupid. I love it." He started gathering the requested items, almost dancing around as he did so.

Scamp looked to Greg, who was messing with a blanket labeled 'Cover all!'. She ran her eyes over the rest of the room thinking over what else she needed, running calculations in her head.

"Anything else?" Lyle asked eagerly as he brought over the last item.

"Four hoof grenades, the YH-842 if you have them, eight compact flash bangs, RGH-09 preferably. Four hoof mounted retractable blades. And the helmet that comes with the Dragons Skin, the one with the built in targeting system."

"Oh shit this is getting me goin'!" Lyle said crudely, running around excitedly.

Greg lifted the blanket and threw it over himself, disappearing completely. "Whoa! Where have you been all my life!"

As soon as Lyle brought the requested item, Scamp looks at a display case and frowns. "Is that the combat drug created by Diamond Dog's? The one that boosts energy and awareness?"

"The very same!" he retrieves it and lays it by the pile. "Just be careful mixing that one with any other drugs, no idea what it'd do."

Scamp looked over the pile and nodded in satisfaction. She opens the bag and lays out her old gear.

Lyle looks it all over and nods. "That'll cover everything but the armor and the combat drug."

This caused her to frown as she looked down at her PDA, she hadn't wanted to trade it as it was important to her.

"I'll throw in my SWAT PDA, with unrestricted access to the Network. And untraceable. Not to mention it's already filled with all kinds of things ponies around here would trade an arm and a leg for."

A bright smile touched his cracked lips, clearly liking this trade. Unrestricted access to the Network alone was worth it.

"Throw in the blanket as well," Greg interjected, tossing the Cover All! onto the pile.

"Deal," Lyle said, not even thinking twice, eying the PDA hungrily.

Scamp smirked at this, "Well if you're that eager, then you're going to throw in those wing blades over there."

This caused his smile to transform into a frown, as now the deal was basically even. "Fine." He added the wing mounted blades to the pile. "Want this bagged?"

Soon the pair walked out of Final Bastion, bags over both of their backs.

"This timeline might be all kinds of fucked," Greg commented, a smile on his face. "But holy shit, does it have cool shit."

Scamp only smiled at this, as she had to agree with his assessment.

Honor for all

Chapter 9

"It's suicide," Jack-o finally said once Calypso finished telling him their plan. "The pair going for the palace will die too quickly for the assault team to even break into the cell blocks of the Bastille."

"Normally, yes," Calypso agreed. "But the mare in question is probably one of the only I'd trust to do it."

Dribble gave a sharp nod, "She can do it."

Jack-o looked between them, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm not seeing it." He glances at a picture on his desk, a picture of an older stallion standing with a younger Jack-o. "But," he said with a sigh. "I think it's worth the risk."

Calypso sat back relieved.

"I'll round up some Bronies," he said as he stood up and walked towards a door. "There's plenty of Bronies around here that have friends and family in Bastille, so there will be plenty of willing volunteers. Just," he stops at the door, turning his head to them, "this all hinges on your mare keeping the Queen distracted. Otherwise everyone involved will die."

She nods back in understanding, "You can count on her."

"I hope," Jack-o remarks as he disappears into the doorway.

"This way, please," a stallion said from behind them, holding open another door for them.

They were led back outside and given a radio.

"Jack-o will be in touch," was all the stallion said before he returned into the building.

Once they were alone, Jero turned to Calypso and asked, "So who exactly are these guys?"

Calypso just grins as she starts walking down the street, "Resistance, the 'bad guys' of this world."

This confused Jero as he followed, "If they were the bad guys and you guys were cops, then why didn't you arrest them or turn them in before?"

"It's complicated," she replied. "We worked with them once upon a time to bring in actually bad Bronies, but the OEA shifted things from being about stopping bad guys and keeping ponies safe, to just repressing Bronies in general. They've been putting in a lot of effort to paint all Bronies as the villains, and it's working."

Dribble sighed, "Working so well, that even a few of us started to believe it."

Calypso patted his shoulder as they walked, "We're correcting all that now. We can't fix the past, but we can fix the future."

ooo000<^>000ooo

"Last stop," Scamp said aloud as the pair entered a different kind of shop, this one filled with weird devices and scrolls.

The shopkeeper, an old Unicorn, walked out from the back, doing a double take when they saw the pair.

"Scamp?!" They yelped as they turned and started hobbling out of the room.

"Stop, I'm not here as a cop," she said calmly, but annoyance was clear in her voice. This interaction seemed to be normal for her around here.

"Heard that before," the old mare snapped, head peeking out of the door.

Scamp stepped up to the counter and dropped her bag on the floor, "I need some of your wares."

"All we got are the legal kind, lil' copper!" the mare insisted angrily.

"Yeah, well I need the questionable kind," Scamp sighed, reaching into her saddlebags and pulling out her last item for trade; a metal looking card with gold trim.

"Is that..." the mare said in awe, coming out of the back and approaching them.

"A government card with unrestricted access to the city's funds? Yep, it's good for one withdrawal of any size before it gets shut off." The mare seemed to hang on every word, eying the card with hungry eyes.

"I guess we can do business, Scamp," the mare said with a wide smile, putting on a polite act.

Scamp only nodded, glancing at Greg, who looked confused but invested in the situation. "I need contraband, the kind brought from other dimensions."

The mare's eye twitched at this, but she continued to smile, "Oh, those kinds of wares! Sure, we've got it." She did an one eighty and walked for the door leading into the back of the shop, waving for them to follow.

Scamp lifted her bag and grabbed the card with her wings, and the pair followed the old mare.

"What's that card exactly?" Greg asked curiously.

"It's supposed to just be used in emergencies, so that members of the SWAT team can keep functioning no matter what. But it'll be shut down the moment its used, just as intended. So it's value is basically limitless."

Once in the back they were led to a second door and then down into a basement, then another door, and finally a door that opened to a huge room. It was obvious they'd just entered a pocket dimension of some kind, as the room stretched too far to be a part of the building they'd just been in.

"What are you looking for exactly?" The mare asked, stepping next to a computer screen.

Scamp reached into her saddlebags and pulled out an old piece of paper with a drawing on it she'd gotten years ago. Over her years looking into Lance's past and talking with Bronies, she'd found out about a few creations and items that were brought to this dimension from others when some Bronies figured out how to swap dimensions. However, there was only one that interested her. She'd used it once, in a temporary form when she was still in the army.

She opened the paper and turned it towards the old mare, showing the symbol to her.

"You know about that one?" the mare asked in slight surprise.

Scamp only nodded once in response.

"You also know that there's no guarantee you'll actually receive the mark, right?" she warned.

"I'll risk it," Scamp remarked, holding up the card.

"I've sold this item many times over the years, but no one's actually received the mark," she further warned.

"I understand the risk, just bring me the item," Scamp snapped in annoyance.

The mare stared at her before shrugging and walking away to retrieve the item.

"What exactly are you getting?" Greg asked, not recognizing the symbol right away.

Scamp glanced at him and tapped the paper with the symbol on it, "I used to be in the Army before the police, and during the war on the Griffons, I stumbled across a Brony Griffon who had these strange powers that let him teleport and blast wind from his talons. After the battle, a Unicorn in my unit was able to use a spell to let us all mimic using the abilities, for fun. But if I could actually gain these abilities, then I'll have no problem assaulting the palace all on my own." She then muttered under her breath, "It's the only way to do it solo."

The mare returned with a strange rune, the symbol engraved in it, "The Mark of the Outsider." She placed the rune down and pushed it towards Scamp, "This rune will summon the Outsider's attention once you fall asleep, and if he deems you worthy he'll summon you and grant you his mark. If not, then you'll just wake up the next morning as normal. If that happens, I'll only return a fourth of your payment, but in this case," she eyed the card in Scamp's possession, "I can only offer a smaller item of much lesser value as repayment."

Greg's eyes widened as he stared in awe at the item, realizing where it was from. "Bad ass, man."

"Deal," Scamp said as she placed the card down and took the rune, placing it in her bags.

"Good doing business, I'll see you tomorrow when you return the rune," the mare almost mocked as she snatched up the card and held it close.

Without another word, the pair left the basement and returned to the street outside.

"What if it doesn't work?" Greg asked as they began to head down the street towards the meeting spot.

"Then we're screwed and I'll have to figure something else out," Scamp replied, keeping her mood high as they walked.

Greg frowned, but glanced at his saddlebags, where a glass tube was sticking out. He used his magic to push it back in and they continued on.

ooo000<^>000ooo

"We're a go," Calypso said as Greg and Scamp met up with them in the center plaza of the town.

"Same on our end," Scamp replied, patting her bag on her back.

At this, Calypso sighed, "That means we'll be splitting up here soon."

"Yep," Scamp nodded with a small frown. "But we'll all three be together after this is all over."

"No doubt," Dribble said. "It'll just be a quick little operation at a maximum security prison, and then a hop and a scoot to Canterlot to meet up with you two for the final leg of the operation."

"It's so simple when you say it like that," Calypso joked with a roll of her eyes.

Greg walked over and slammed hoofs with Shadow Breeze. "Yo bro, how's the town on your end?"

"Actually really nice!" Shadow Breeze said with a smile. "The Bronies here might be being put through some tough shit, but they're willing to help despite all that."

"Sounds nicer than the ones we've met," Greg chuckled.

"I'm sorry to break this up, but I need to get Greg back to Jack-o's so he can train some Unicorn's on how to cast that spell to release Lance's consciousnesses," Calypso interrupted.

"Oh yeah, let's go then," Greg said with a smile as the pair started walking away.

She looked over her shoulder at Scamp, "We'll meet up tonight before you get on the train for Canterlot."

Scamp nodded in response. She then turned to face Dribble and Shadow Breeze, "Speaking of that train, we should go get those tickets and get ready before we head out."

ooo000<^>000ooo

Night had fallen on New Ripman, and the group had regrouped at the train station on the edge of town.

They were all solemn as Scamp and Greg waited for the train to arrive.

"We're all going to see each other again," Dribble said suddenly, looking extra sad to split up.

"I know," Scamp replied, not wanting to mention that their entire mission hinged on her receiving a marking that almost no one else had been given.

A moment of silence passed before Dribble couldn't stand it anymore and he stepped forward and hugged Scamp. Calypso couldn't help herself as she too joined the hug, all three embracing each other tightly.

"You come back alive," she said tearfully to Scamp.

"Of course," Scamp responded, squeezing the two harder.

Shadow Breeze walked up to Greg and the two stared at each other. Greg holds up his hoof for a shake, "Yeah, uh, you stay alive too, bro."

Shadow Breeze just stared at his hoof before knocking it aside and going in for a hug. "Damn it, Greg, don't do anything stupid out there."

"Jeez, I won't," Greg said, trying to remain tough and not return the hug. But after a moment he relents and hugs Shadow Breeze tightly. "We're going home after this, I promise, brother."

"Thank you," Shadow Breeze said thankfully, breaking their embrace. He looked over to the others who had also just broken their hug, and addressed Scamp, "Please watch out for Greg, we need him back home."

Scamp wiped her face and nodded, "I won't let anything happen to him, don't worry."

'Don't you burn us.'

She ignored her internal thoughts, not wanting to deal with them right now.

Shortly after this, the train pulled into the station, and the pair lifted their baggage and boarded the train. Handing their tickets to the ticket master as they did so.

They found an empty room and opened the door, closing it behind them. They put away their luggage on the floor and seats, and took their seats next to the window.

Outside, their friends waved to them. They returned their waves as the train pulled forward, removing them from their sight.

Once they were moving along, they sat back and looked at each other.

"We're probably not going to survive this, are we?" Greg asked, already knowing the answer.

Scamp sighed and shook her head, "Probably not, that's why I volunteered to do it, I couldn't allow any more of them to die for me."

Greg nodded in understanding, "That's the same reason I came along, I can't let Jero die, he's a much better person than I am."

This brought a sad smile to Scamp's face. "Well look at us, a pair of suicidal buds going to attack one of the most heavily protected places in Equestria with the literal God of this world residing inside."

"Piece of cake, am I right?" Greg smirked, holding out his hoof for her.

Scamp rolled her eyes and slammed her hoof into his. "For sure."

Animal I have become

Chapter 10

A bump caused Scamp to jerk awake, eyes wide in shock. Her dreams were not treating her very well, replaying the day's past events over and over again. She wasn't new to trauma and loss, but it'd never been her fault before.

Suddenly, she realized she was alone in the cabin, Greg's spot where he'd been sleeping now empty. The window blacked out, the outside too dark to see anything.

She got up and walked over to the door, planning to go look for Greg. But the door was locked. A grunt escaped her throat as she hit the door a few times before deciding it wasn't budging. That's when she realized there was a sound behind her.

Scamp spun around, eyes wide in surprise at what she saw. The outside of the window was now a gray void with what could be rocks floating around. Her eyes glanced to where she'd been sleeping, the rune resting there, a slight glow to it.

"Right," she said as she stood up straight and trotted forward, jumping up into the window and onto a rock on the other side.

Before her was a surprising sight; a few rock formations that resembled destroyed buildings, the kind she'd saw during her assault on the Griffon Capital.

She walked forward, heading for the doorway of the false building. As she neared, a human male in black clothing appeared in the doorway.

"Aren't you an interesting creature, Scamp," he disappeared in a black twisting mist.

Scamp hadn't known what to expect if the rune actually worked, but this definitely wasn't on the list. She stepped through the door, a destroyed room lay before her.

The man reappeared sitting on a table near her. "A lot of new worlds have been opened to me as of late, and yet not many interesting stories or events to follow. Its rather disappointing, having so many different beings pining for my attention and barely any of them providing anything for me. Everyone wants power, but they have no reason to need it."

He again whisked away.

She looked around and walked down a clear pathway through the clutter, leading down a hallway back out into the void. As she stepped outside, he reappeared by her, leaning against the wall.

"But you? Fighting a foe so beyond you, that you should be worshiping it? That is something worth needing powers for," he walked around her, staring down at her. "What exactly are you willing to do? What are you willing to become in order to stop her?"

He stepped out into the void, off the rock, but did not fall as he floated up a few feet above her, "Your current plan is to kill as few as you can when attacking the palace. If you proceed with that plan, you, Greg, and the rest of your friends will die. Knowing this, do you still wish to push forward knowing you may have to become something you are not?"

This sent Scamp's mind reeling, as she indeed had planned to kill as few as she could when attacking the palace. But hearing this did not sit well with her. She wasn't a killer that killed for the sake of it. Sure, she'd been in the Army and then a SWAT officer, and had killed many in that time, but those had been bad guys doing bad things. She'd never killed anyone not involved. The OEA were the bad guys here, and so was the Queen, but what about the palace staff? Guards? Surely they're not all bad, just doing their jobs and living their lives as they believe they should.

Could she kill them?

"Don't you burn us," the Outsider suddenly said aloud. "What a terrible thing to have to live with."

"Yes," Scamp says, looking up into his black eyes. "I'm going to push forward."

Without a word spoken, he leaned up and nodded.

Scamp raised her left hoof as an intense burning sensation bubbled up right above her hoof. The symbol she'd seen all those years ago, and on the rune, slowly started appearing on her foreleg, like it was burning itself into her as it did so.

Once it finished, she could feel something change inside of her, like she was connected to something bigger, something deeper, than anything she'd ever felt before.

"With my mark, you will gain access to the powers of the Void. Meet me further along," he replied as he turned and whisked away.

Scamp began to run down the path ahead of her, looking ahead at what appeared to be more rock formations.

The path ahead broke up and separated away from each other. She tried to use her wings to fly over the gap, but found she couldn't fly here.

"This must be a way to test the powers," she thought aloud as she ran at the gap. As if on instinct she suddenly appeared on the other side. The act of teleporting like that caught her by surprise, as she thought she'd have to do something special for it to happen. But all she had to do was want to be in a certain spot and she appeared there.

When she'd been granted these powers before, she'd had to raise her hoof and point it where she wanted to go, but now it happened when she wanted it to.

"The powers you were playing with before were faint and imitations of this power," the Outsider commented, nowhere in sight. "These powers are raw, they are you. They are just as much a part of you as your soul. Use them."

A smile appeared on her face as she teleported along the rocks, clearing the gap with ease. It just felt so natural.

She walked along, coming up on a strange scene. Before her, she saw ponies frozen in time. It took her only a moment to notice the ponies were Echo Team, surrounded by OEA Enforcer's.

"Betrayed by your own people," the Outsider said as he walked around her, walking between the frozen Echo members. "Promised a better life, you and your friends walked into an ambush. And against all odds, you survived." He stopped by Dew, Jace, and Parker. "Not all of you made it out though."

He disappeared again.

Scamp walked through the frozen in time Echo members, feeling intense guilt and pain as she walked past her dead friends.

Further down the path she came to another scene; Calypso, Dribble, Shadow Breeze, and a few other ponies were sitting together, seeming to be frozen mid-conversation.

The Outsider appeared on the table they were sitting around. "What most would be a suicide mission, you and your friends are calling it the only option you have. Its success is fully tied to you, though. That's more pressure than some could handle, but you? You thrive in it."

As he left again, she walked by her friends, placing a hoof on Calypso's shoulder. She stayed there for a second before continuing forward.

"The odds are against you," the Outsider said from a rock above her as she walked along. "One power isn't enough."

Ahead of her, she saw another rune, slightly different from the one she had. She picked it up, causing a flash to happen. The rune disappeared, and she felt something new spread through her body.

"A power that allows you to take on many opponents at once will be invaluable to your cause," the Outsider said from above her. "Try it now. Stop time."

Scamp furrowed her brow, not understanding how to use the power. She decided to do the same thing as she did when teleporting. And just like that, everything around her stopped. She smiled and was excited when she realized she could still move unrestricted.

"Queen Twilight, a tyrant that shouldn't have been, brought about by the meddling of others, and the foolish actions of a single man." The Outsider walked in front of her, arms crossed. "Your world does not reward the actions you're about to take. If you fail, the consequences will be far worse than you can possibly imagine."

"I know," was the only thing Scamp could say to that.

The Outsider stares at her before disappearing for the last time.

Scamp suddenly sat up in bed, a cold sweat coating her body. She looked around, seeing Greg half laying on the seat and half on the floor. She raised her left foreleg, expecting to see nothing there. But to her relief, she saw the Mark of the Outsider burned into her leg, its black lines easily visible among her midnight blue coat.

The train hit a bump, causing Greg to fall into the floor, yet he doesn't wake up. That was when she noticed a few green bags in his saddlebags.

She could only sigh at this, but she couldn't blame him. She knew his past, and knew he was functional even under the influence.

Out the window, she saw that the sun had come up and they were nearing Canterlot, the Capitol city visible in the distance, high in the mountains.

The last time she'd been there was when the Storm King invaded. She'd been hailed a hero then. After the day's events she'd be hailed a monster. Win or lose, it wouldn't matter as far as the public is concerned.

'Don't you burn us.' The words echoed through her mind again.

"I won't this time," she answers her mind out loud, staring determinedly up at the palace that stood above Canterlot.

Bad reputation

Chapter 11

Jero laid at the edge of the forest, the afternoon sky beating down on his face. He didn’t like what he was seeing; a mile from where he and the others were was an enormous facility, fences topped with razor wire circling the perimeter. The anti-magic field not only stopped Unicorn magic, but also made it where Pegasus couldn’t fly, as he’d already found out when trying to use his own wings.

He turned to the ponies around him, a large group of Bronies who had volunteered on their own to assault the Bastille. Each having their own reasons for being there.

Calypso laid on her side, a radio in her hoof, waiting.

They were ready. As soon as they got the go ahead from Scamp, they’d start their attack. The Bastille would see them coming and call for help, but as long as the Queen isn’t the one to respond, then they will be able to handle anything that is thrown at them.

“Problem,” one of the ponies said, running up to Calypso and Dribble. “A convoy just entered the Bastille, and it looked like Strawell and his Enforcer’s were a part of the convoy.”

“Why are they here? Did they figure us out already?!” Jero asked in a panic.

“No,” Calypso said with a shake of her head. “Strawell makes random visits here to interrogate prisoners, we just happened to pick a day when he decided to show up.”

“Good,” Dribble growled. “If I can’t kill the Queen, then he’s a good consolation prize. He’s mine once we’re inside.”

Calypso didn’t comment on this, instead going back to staring at the radio.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You look so badass,” Greg said with a large smile, eyes bloodshot.

Scamp only grunted in response, adjusting the rifle on her side and the armor around her.

“It’s just…” he says looking her over, the red Dragon’s Skin armor that covered her entire body looking familiar. When she put on the helmet, he smiled awkwardly. “It just looks like a buddy of mine.”

“Yeah,” Scamp says, her voice sounding slightly deeper through the helmet's speakers. “Bronies make armor from Dragon’s in this world, and it’s a lot stronger than most other armor available. Even at OEA.” At his still uneasy look, she adds. “Yes, this is armor made from Malbatorus.”

“Fuck me, I’m sorry Mal,” Greg said, patting the helmet, raising a blunt to his lips and taking a heavy hit.

She ignored him as she tested the suits systems, putting the combat drug into an injection port on her right side, and placing fifteen of the blue syringes into another two ports. That way she wouldn’t have to take time to stop and take them.

The claws on each of her hooves extend and retract at a thought, the benefits of using magic to connect the user to their gear. Every part of the armor and systems could be activated with a simple thought, allowing for extremely fast reaction times.

“Can you use the powers with all that though?” Greg asked, playing with the Cover All! blanket he had.

She teleported behind him and bumped him with her shoulder. “Yep. And it doesn’t restrict my movement at all.” She grabs her side, her injuries seeming to flair with pain with each movement.

“Sweet, bruh,” Greg smiles, holding out his hoof to her.

She smiles and lifts her hoof off of her side to bump hooves with him. “But what about you? Can you function while under the influence?”

“Pst,” he waves her off. “Of course I can. I think I’m actually better off like this, like I can really focus.”

“I hope you're an important part of this mission.” She walks to the window of the room they were in, a hotel overlooking the front gates of the palace, where four guards stood.

“Speaking of that shit, I’ve thought of something cooler. Black out the whole city, it’s super easy.”

She looked at him doubtfully, but shrugged. “Sure, we can try it. If not, we’ll just stick to covering the palace only.”

Greg only snort laughs as he walks to the window, humming to himself.

Scamp picks up the radio and walks to the window, not sure if she was ready for what was about to happen.

There was a moment where she thought about calling this off and sparing anymore death.

“Fuck it, do it, Greg,” she said, keying the radio over and over again, signalling the others to begin. Her eyes staring straight at the four guards across the street.

“Hippy Hoppy, black out!” Greg yells, adding flair to his spell. His horn flashed, and the electricity flickered for a moment. The guards below began looking around confused, one of them tapping his ear piece.

“All you,” Greg said as he threw the Cover All! over himself, disappearing.

Scamp grits her teeth as she injects the combat drug into herself, feeling adrenaline pump through her body, and her mind sharpened, becoming aware of more around her.

She then clences her eyes as she injects the blue painkillers into herself. The burning and tearing like pain in her midsection slowly receded till she felt better than she’d ever felt in her life.

Music started playing inside her helmet as she pressed a button, a song from the human world that always pumped her up.

“Oh boy, here we go!” she exclaimed as she suddenly jumped through the window and soared across the street towards the guards.

They reacted in complete panic as they tried to ready and use their weapons, but she suddenly appeared next to the middle two and used the Dragon talons to remove both of their heads. She spun around and fired her rifle, removing a chunk of one's neck. She kicked her back leg back, impaling the last one on her talons.

Wasting no time, she teleports through the gate and along the ground towards the front doors of the palace. The guards around her panicked and tried to hit her with their weapons, but the erratic teleporting made it impossible to get a lead on her.

The entire time she was teleporting, she was firing a shot from her rifle, dropping guards all around her. It only took her six seconds to cover the distance between the front gate and the front doors, but she’d already killed twelve guards in that time.

Instead of trying the door, she slams through a window near the door, cutting down a guard on the other side. She then began galloping down the hallway, accurately gunning down any pony who entered the hallway, be it guard or servant.

“Main hallway!” came a yell from around a corner up ahead.

Scamp rounded the corner and took a bullet to the side, which caused her to stumble, but she pushed forward. The armor doing its job.

The twelve guards ahead of her dropped into firing positions and opened fire. But she had already appeared in the middle of them and turned into a spinning ball of blades and death.

She came out the other side of them, covered in gore and leaving heaps of pony parts behind her.

The next few hallways and corridors she ran down ended in the same way.

After cutting through a small crowd of guards she slid into a room and stumbled to a chair, hissing in pain as she injected more pain killers, her third dose since starting.

“Are you okay?” Greg asked, still invisible. He sounded sick to his stomach.

“Yeah,” she grunted as she stood up. A bullet pinged off her helmet, ringing her ears horribly. She spun around and fired her rifle, killing a young servant who had picked up a guard's weapon. “I’m just fine.”

“Oh shit, this is Twilight’s study, dog,” Greg said as a book lifted up and disappeared as he pulled it under the blanket.

“We don’t have time for this, Greg!” Scamp hissed as she moved for the door. A few bullets smash into the door frame as she starts to exit. Her response was just to simply remove a grenade and toss it down the hallway, causing all of the ponies outside to scream. They were cut short as an explosion was heard.

“I have an idea, I’ll catch up with you,” he says, moving around the room unseen.

“That’s a terrible idea,” Scamp commands, but she pushes out of the room regardless.

She gunned down or cut down anyone she came across, hoping she’s doing enough.

“Sergeant Scamp!” a voice suddenly boomed throughout the building. “Attacking me?! In my palace?! HOW DARE YOU KILL MY LITTLE PONIES!”

Scamp just laughs at this, not sure if the Queen could hear her. “Shut up ya dumb bitch.”

She turned a corner and came to a stop. At the end of the very long hallway stood a large purple pony, wings flared and horn glowing.

“There you are!” the Queen bellowed.

Scamp immediately teleported backwards and began to do her best to evade the Queen, not wanting to face her.

“Magic?!” she heard the Queen bellow angrily.

While moving erratically down hallways, she appeared in the middle of a large group of guards, scaring them and herself. Time came to a halt as she went ballistic, talons and wing blades tearing through anything that stood.

Time resumed as she was still cutting her way through them, causing a massive amount of panic. Some of the guards started firing wildly. The guard Scamp was about to attack was suddenly shot through the neck by a guard near him.

It didn’t take long for her to finish off the remaining guards, but she didn’t linger, knowing the Queen was looking for her.

She made her way down another hallway, and appeared near the front doors, where a few Enforcer’s stood, looking around.

“There!” one yelled as they all turned on her. Unfortunately for them, she teleported next to each of them, her talons easily cutting through their armor.

As the last one fell, she saw a large group of them moving through the courtyard, heading straight for her. A bullet slammed into her flank before she could react, she jumped back and blinked away.

She took a step and limped, cursing as she realized the bullet must have penetrated. She could only take another injection and use a medical foam to plug the hole.

The Enforcer’s began to enter the palace, so she took a few shots at them, killing the first three through the door. She backed off as they began returning fire.

Scamp retreated down the hallway, still killing any who she came across. Behind her she could hear the clanking of the Enforcer’s metal hooves on the floors of the palace.

It wasn’t that she was scared of facing them, but she needed to prolong this fight as long as possible.

After a few turns, she jumped into a random room and closed the door. Soon after, she heard a few metal clad hooves run by her. She gave it a second then hoped out, catching a trio of Enforcer’s off guard. They didn’t stand a chance as she basically passed through them, running in the opposite direction.

She rounded a corner and was suddenly slammed into the wall next to her by an unseen force, and then flung upward hard. On instinct alone she caught herself with her wings and teleported back the way she’d come.

“Killing you isn’t enough, little pony,” the Queen said in the distance, in a calm and almost loving voice.

Scamp ran the opposite direction, taking an injection as she coughed up a bit of blood onto her inner visor. An internal system activated and wiped the blood free of the visor.

A bit of panic was starting to rise inside of her, the Queen terrifying her beyond anything she’s ever faced before.

An Enforcer stepped out of a doorway ahead and fired their shotgun, blasting Scamp directly in the face. She tripped over herself and slid into a room, out of sight of the Enforcer.

Her hooves shot to her helmet, panic rising. From behind her she heard four more blasts and felt each one hit her back and side. She spun around and fired blindly with her pistol, running it empty. No more gunshots came her way and she went back to trying to get the helmet off, its visor shattered.

As soon as she got it off, she saw a few trails of blood running from her face, the pieces of the visor stuck in her face. She glanced to the door to see the Enforcer dead, the 10mm armor piercing rounds mercifully penetrating the armor.

She pulled herself across the floor, the armor on her body broken and bent uncomfortably in all the wrong places, hindering her movement.

Her wounds from the ambush almost screamed at her as she moved, blood oozing through the dressings.

“Shit,” she groaned as she got behind a couch and started removing the broken armor. Thankfully, none of the slugs from the shotgun had penetrated, but they’d been enough to bend the armor, ruining it.

It took some effort, but she was able to get out of the armor, leaving her with nothing but her talons, pistol, and wing blades. She grunted as she removed the remaining injections and pulled the last of them from her pouches. With a bit of effort, she jammed two into herself, feeling instant relief.

Now that she wasn’t moving around, she started to realize she was feeling a trembling feeling in her legs. She didn’t have time to worry about the effects of mixing the combat drugs and injections. That's tomorrow's problem.

If there is a tomorrow that is.

She lifted up one of the flash bangs she had and put it under her wing for safe keeping, taking one in her other wing as well.

With a grunt and a groan she stood and walked out of the room, thankful to see no one.

“Alright, here we go,” she began moving down the hallway, keeping her eyes ahead and ears open.

“It’s a maniac!” A pony inside a room whispered, “They’re just killing everyone! Even servants like us!”

Scamp kept moving, deciding against entering the room. A guard ran around the corner up ahead, carrying a wounded guard.

As he came to a stop, eyes wide, she flung the flashbang she had ready towards them. As soon as it went off, she fired the pistol, killing the one standing and finishing off the wounded one.

An Enforcer came around the corner, clearly pissed at her actions. But he didn’t expect her to appear next to him, and his head falling from his body was also not what he expected to happen.

“Don’t think, just act,” Scamp muttered, falling back on training as blood obscured her left eye.

A weird feeling washed over her and her eyes widened, before she could react she let out a loud scream as an intense pain sheared through her body, surpassing the injections threshold.

She teleported ahead and snapped around, dread spreading through her as she saw her right wing being held in the air by purple magic.

Then as if in a horror movie, the Queen’s head slowly came around the corner, a loving look on her face. “It’s just starting, Scamp. But don’t worry, I’ll be there, by your side through the whole thing.”

Scamp teleported back over and over again, breathing hard and wanting to be anywhere but here.

The Queen only chuckled at this and fully rounded the corner, walking after her as if she was a mother following her toddler.

“You crazy bitch!” Scamp spat out as she finally hit the end of the hallway and took off running down a new one, breathing hard as she really just wanted this to be over.

Out of nowhere a pony tackled her and took them both to the ground.

“I got her!” the young colt yelled. “Queen Twilight, over here!”

Panic coursed through her body as she teleported to the side by a few feet and jumped up, the surprised colt looking up at her, his mouth wide.

She spun around and bucked hard, feeling and hearing the talons shred him as he was kicked away. She didn’t look back at the body as she took off galloping again.

“Come on,” she hissed, wishing for the others to appear and give the signal to leave. “What’s taking so long!”

“Who are you talking to, love?” the Queen suddenly said, her face appearing an inch from Scamp’s.

Her body reacted on its own as she swung her right hoof up at the Queen, going for the kill.

Then she found herself laying in the throne room, and fell face first onto the floor.

Confused, she tried to stand, but found she couldn’t get her legs underself. Then it dawned on her, and her heart sank. Her right foreleg was gone from the knee joint down, looking like it had been ripped free with great force.

“You killed a colt,” the Queen said from across the room. “So no more games. No more running around playing hero. You’re staying here. With me.”

Scamp grits her teeth as she pulls out a magical seal from her IFAK and places it over the bleeding stump, taking another injection in the process.

She was down to four more, not enough at the rate she was taking them.

“Oh honey, there’s no need for those weapons.”

The talons on the ends of her hooves were suddenly ripped off of her in all directions, causing her to fall flat onto the ground. The pistol had also been taken. She was now weaponless, with the Queen staring her down with an out of place caring look on her face.

“So,” the Queen says sweetly, using her magic to grip Scamp. “Where should we start?”

Time is running out

Chapter 12

"Breach!" Calypso yelled as she and Dribble leaned away from the door, followed by its door handle exploding.

They moved in expertly, their SWAT uniforms and gear making them stand out among all the raggedly dressed Bronies. Most of the Bronies wore nothing but a gun, but some had surplus gear on.

Jero, however, had nothing on but a vest that said 'PRESS' on it. He found it fitting, as he didn't plan to do any fighting and just follow them to Lance.

All around him was nothing but chaos, with Bronies running into the prison yards from all sides. They ran for windows and doors, using homemade explosives to blow them open.

He let a few more Bronies go in ahead of him before following after them, keeping his head down.

Gunfire and screams echoed down the halls as he followed the stream of Bronies, who all seemed a little too excited.

"Rip and tear, boys!" one older one screamed as he hauled ass past Jero and the others, running ahead with a shotgun on his side.

"Really?" Was the only thing Jero could say to that as he trotted along, flinching at the louder bangs.

The stream of Bronies lead him to a large cell block, with Bronies and guards fighting, and prisoners at their cell doors screaming their praises for the chaos before them.

It didn't take him long to spot the two SWAT members as they pushed forward, their movements and shooting smooth, showing their mastery of this kind of fighting. They were checking cells as they passed, looking for Lance.

Jero knew he needed to help, so he ran down the opposite side of the cell block, checking cells.

The three eventually met on the other end by doors that lead to another cell block.

"No luck," Jero announced, getting a grunt from Calypso as she slammed a small block of explosives on the door and took her position on one side of the door, waving Jero away.

As they blew the door, a hail of bullets flew through it, cutting down a few eager Bronies as they had already rushed the door.

Dribbled cursed as he and Calypso both threw flashbangs into the doorway. After two bangs, they immediately pushed in, their guns flashing as they worked their way through the defenders.

Jero felt sick as he started following behind them, stepping over the bodies that lined the hallway. When he caught up to the pair, he found them at a T in the hallway, a sign pointing to the right read 'Cell Blocks C-G' and the other pointing to the left read 'Cell Blocks H-K' and 'Prison Admin'.

The stream of Bronies didn't stop as they came to the T and seemed to pick a direction at random. Some heading for the right, and the rest heading to the left.

"Right!" Dribble said, seeming to already know what they needed to do. "Calypso, you go right. I'll head left."

"Dribble, no!" She called after him, but cursed. "Shadow Breeze, go with him and make sure he stays on mission. Do not go after Strawell."

"Uh, got it!" He said, feeling the need to salute as he ran after Dribble.

The hallway was filled with both dead Bronies and guards, making it hard to run.

Once he reached Cell Block H, he quickly ran his eyes quickly over the cells, not seeing Lance right away. What he didn't see was Dribble among the ponies fighting in the center of the room.

Suddenly, red lights along all the walls began to flash, and the cell doors opened. The prisoners didn't waste any time as they rushed out and quickly overwhelmed the few guards in the room.

"Looks like the Bronies have reached the control room," Calypso said over the radio.

"That'll complicate things," Dribble replied.

Jero didn't respond, just ran through the crowd and out into another hallway, which led him to another T. Admin on his left, and the Cell Blocks on the right.

He started to head to the right, but the sound of a grenade going off to his left drew his attention.

"Dribble?" He said into the radio, hoping he hadn't gone towards Admin.

Instead of Dribble responding, Calypso keyed up her mic. "It looks like reinforcements are starting to arrive. The Bronies outside are engaged, but we need to pick this up."

"I have Strawell in sight!" Dribble's voice came over the radio. "He's running across the yard towards the Cell Blocks."

"I said do not engage Strawell, we have to prioritize Lance!" Calypso yelled over the radio, but Dribble never responded. "Damn it!"

Jero decided against going towards Admin and instead ran for the Cell Blocks.

The Bronies and prisoners had basically taken over the Cell Blocks at this point, allowing Jero to run through them freely. He kept looking for Lance's unique face, but he had yet to see him, and now that the prisoners were roaming free he wasn't sure if he'd be able to spot him.

Then he had an idea and he grabbed a random prisoner and asked, "Hey! Do you know where a pony with red stripes is?!"

"Fuck off, man," the prisoners said as he ran off.

He tried again, asking a few more, but he was blown off by each of them. Until one finally stopped long enough to listen to him.

"You mean the freaky old man in K block?"

"Probably! Thank you!" Jero said as he shook hooves with the prisoners and then began to sprint through the remaining Cell Blocks.

"Lance is in K block!" he called into the radio, getting affirmatives from the other two.

As he neared the last two blocks, he heard intense fighting.

Cell Block J was a war zone. Bronies and prisoners died everywhere while a group of Enforcer's fired from a fortified position near the end of the hallway.

Jero wasn't sure what to do as he dived for cover behind a pillar. More Bronies ran into the room to join the firefight, but were outgunned and out-skilled by the Enforcer's.

"Calypso, there's Enforcer's in J block! The Bronies are not doing so well against them!" He yelled into his radio, hunkering down more as bullets flew all around him.

"I'm on my way, but I'm on the opposite side of the facility. Dribble? Location?" Calypso was clearly out of breath as she spoke.

"Moving that way, I'm engaged with Enforcer's in the courtyard." Gun fire could be heard over the mic, and a lot of yelling.

"Shadow Breeze, stay put till I get there," Calypso yelled as she breathed heavily, her galloping hooves clearly broadcasting through the radio.

The gunfire seemed to pick up as the stream of Bronies entering the Cell Block started to slow down.

"I'm pinned!" Calypso called over the radio. "The reinforcements have broken through and are inside the facility! I can't get to you, Shadow!"

Jero was fully lost on what he should do, as things were starting to fall apart.

"Get sum'!" The old brony from earlier, the one with the shotgun, yelled as he ran into the room and fired dual rocket launchers towards the Enforcer's.

The explosions broke the Enforcer's defenses and scattered them, allowing the Bronies to gain the upper hand as they swarmed over the barricades and entered into melee with the Enforcers.

"Uh, moving to K block!" Jero announced into his radio, but only received a response filled with gunfire, unable to hear what was being said.

He made his way over the barricade and followed the Bronies to the last Cell Block. Excitement building as he neared the end, knowing he'd finally find Lance.

As soon as he entered the Cell Block, he was horrified at what he saw. All the prisoners of that block were lined up, and dead.

He fell to his flank, stunned. The Bronies around him running forward and getting gunned down by the Enforcer's.

It took him a moment to collect himself, watching as the Bronies around him died. Somewhere behind him, he could hear even more fighting, meaning the reinforcements were closing in as well.

That's when he noticed a single prisoner still in their cell, a pony in black armor with golden trim standing in the doorway, watching the carnage around them.

He caught a glance of the prisoner, and his heart swelled. It was Lance.

Jero stood back up, determined.

Before he could move forward, the same old Brony appeared again, coming up beside him.

"Is that your man?" he asked, loading his shotgun.

Jero nodded in response.

"I got this, get your man!" the old Brony sprinted forward, seeming to dodge all gunfire directed at him. He jumped onto a table and then into the midst of the Enforcer's.

This amazed Jero, but he took the opportunity and ran straight towards Lance and the Enforcer in his cell door.

As he reached them he jumped forward and slammed his head into the head of the Enforcer, who's only reaction was to grab him and throw him into a pillar outside of the cell. He whizzed as he tried to stand, but the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Stay down," the Enforcer commanded. Behind him, Lance leaned to look out and stared blankly at Jero, not seeming to care he was there.

The fighting around them slowly died down as Jero slowly stood up, staring the Enforcer down.

He shot forward, flaring his wings as a distraction. But the Enforcer only head butted him, imitating his earlier attack. This caused Jero to collapse to the ground, his head spinning.

Then everything went quiet, with a few ponies yelling in protest, and a few gunshots followed.

"This was a waste of life," the Enforcer commented as he reached down and lifted up Jero, throwing him into the middle of the room where a few other Bronies were being hoof cuffed. He was surprised to see the old brony was still alive as well.

A pair of cuffs were placed on Jero's hooves as well, the Enforcer's around them rounding them up. Lance was also brought out and shoved down among the crowd, cuffs already on.

"Lance!" Jero yelled to him, trying to get up, but a swift kick to his back sent him down. He was dragged back up and gagged, now unable to speak to Lance.

A few minutes passed before a group of police officers brought more Bronies to the room, setting them down among the group.

He then saw two officers dragging in a wounded Calypso, who looked like she'd been near an explosion as her gear was covered in dust and metal bits. They dropped her and hoof cuffed her as she lay on her stomach.

She coughed as she turned her head and saw Jero, her swollen face barely showing any emotion.

"This all of them?" the Enforcer with golden trim asked, walking along the line of Bronies.

"Nope, fucker, missed one," Dribble said as he came in through the back hallway, gun trained on Strawell.

All guns focused on him, and Calypso looked towards him panicked, almost seeming to be asking 'what are you doing?!'.

The lead Enforcer held up his hoof, "Don't shoot him." He takes a few steps towards Dribble. "Sergeant Dribble."

"Strawell," Dribble said, his voice basically dripping with hate.

"What's your plan here, Sergeant?" Strawell asked, seeming unfazed with having a gun pointed at him. "If you wanted to shoot me you would have already done so."

Dribble squared up with him, twenty feet between them. "Shooting you is too good for you. I'm going to kill you with my bare hooves."

"I don't think that would be possible," Strawell said dryly.

"Are you scared, Strawell?" Dribble mocked. "Your father would fight me, stallion against stallion."

Strawell looked back at the crowd behind him and waved a hoof. "Guns down." As the Enforcer's and officers lowered their weapons, he turned to Dribble. "Alright, you want a melee? Then I'll just show you why that's a bad idea."

Jero looked between the two, remembering a conversation he had with Dribble, where Dribble spoke of his intensive hoof to hoof training, and the championships he'd won over the years. He didn't know much about Strawell, but he had high hopes of Dribble winning a fair fight like this.

"So you are a real stallion," Dribble said with a smirk as he removed his rifle and helmet, cracking his joints as he prepared to fight.

"Always have been," Strawell deadpanned as he raised his hoof and put a hole in Dribble's forehead, killing him instantly.

Calypso screamed, and Jero yelled into his gag, tears flowing down his face.

"Fool," Strawell remarked as he turned away from Dribble's body and walked back to the crowd. His cold eyes passing over the lined up Bronies. A few of them spit at him, and others threw curses.

"What to do with the rest of you?" He walked up to Jero and removed his gag. "Where's the other one, the green one?"

As soon as the gag was removed, Jero looked towards Lance and yelled, "Lance, it's me, Shadow Breeze! Your Shadow Breeze! Greg and I came to..."

Strawell slapped him and re-engaged him, glancing over to Lance, who's eyes were wide as he stared at Jero.

"Jero?!" Lance exclaimed, his gravely old voice cracking as he spoke.

"Oh great, he's talking again," Strawell said with a groan. He suddenly raised his pistol and killed the Brony next to Jero, spraying him in blood. "Well that settles it. The Queen will not be pleased to hear about any of this. Kill the Bronies, leave this one and the SWAT mare alive."

Everyone started screaming as an Enforcer began walking down the line, stopping only to shoot each Brony in the head.

A Unicorn Brony started crying and his horn flashed uselessly as the anti-magic field kept him from using his magic. As the Enforcer reached him and fired, the Brony disappeared.

This caused everyone to stop and look to where he had been.

"Magic's back on the menu, boys!" the old Brony suddenly yelled, his own horn flaring to life.

All hell broke loose.

The last song

Chapter 14

Lance stared at her stump before smiling and reaching out to shake it. “Likewise, miss…?”

The moment he touched her stump she remembered it was a fresh wound and her eye twitched in intense pain, but she held it together.

“Scamp, my mom was your lawyer during your trials,” she replied, her excitement overcoming the sinking feeling of the pain meds wearing off.

“Meadow Glory was your mother?” Lance asked in surprise, then smiled warmly. “So you’re the little filly who was obsessed with my book.”

For the first time in years, she blushed and stammered, “Oh, yeah that was me.”

“Should have seen her room,” Greg joked as he came over and hoof bumped with Lance. “Wall to wall crazy shit about you and our lives.”

“Scamp, sit down and stop moving! You’re making your injuries worse!” Calypso commanded as she tried to sit her down.

“I’m good, Cally,” she replied in good spirits, turning to face her and fell to the floor. Flank up in the air and chin on the floor. “Okay, now you can save me, Calypso.”

“Idiot,” Calypso scolded as she flipped open her medical bag and started looking her over. A grim look on her face.

Greg smirked and slugged Lance in the shoulder, “So, fucked by a stallion back on earth?”

Lance sighed and chuckled, “You read the book.”

“Oh yeah,” Greg laughs. “You’re a weirdo, bud.”

“I’ve missed you guys,” Lance said, his faded mane hanging in his face.

“What about them?” Greg asked, getting a confused look from Lance. His horn flashed, and a moment later Lance brightened up even more.

“Break! Dawn!” He yelled to no one around them. But Scamp knew who he was speaking to. A smile formed on her face.

“These wounds…” Calypso remarked slowly, a grim look on her face. “These are far worse than anything I’ve seen on a living pony. You have internal bleeding, several broken ribs, fractures on all your legs and one actually broken. Not to mention your teeth are chipped to hell and both of your orbital bones are shattered. Missing a leg and a wing, and the other broke at the base. And more holes than I can count. You shouldn’t even be moving right now, let alone conscious.” Her eyes narrowed, “what are you on?”

“Eh drugs?” Scamp offered, the pain coming back in full now that the drugs and adrenaline were wearing off.

“She’s on this,” Greg said as his horn flashed causing a blue syringe and the empty combat injection to appear by Calypso. She only had to glance at it to realize what it was.

“You’re both bucking idiots!” She yelled, digging through her bag frantically.

“I had to, it was the only way,” Scamp said as she started to feel faint, and a new pain started rising in her hooves and chest. “My chest is hurting.”

Calypso slammed her hooves down on the bag in frustration, and snapped, “because you’re dying! You mixed the worst kind of drugs together! And there’s nothing I can do!!”

“Ominus can save her!” Shadow Breeze yelled. “We just have to get back to our entry point!”

Scamp looked past them and saw her mother standing among the crowd. “Mom?!”

Her mom shook her head at her and pointed to her.

Everything darkened as she lost consciousness.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp thrashed awake, horrid images and memories haunting her dreams. Panting she looked around and was confused to find herself in a bedroom of some kind.

The objects that littered the room around her was nothing she’d ever seen before, or knew existed. What surprised her more was that she felt fine, better than fine actually. She felt like she was young again, all the pains in her body gone.

She looked down to find she had all her legs, even her wing was back. “Huh?!” She jumped up in a panic, and looked herself over. She was covered in healed scars, and where she’d lost her leg she saw a seam like it had been fused back on. But it and her wing didn’t look like they belonged to her.

The leg rippled suddenly, as if it was alive.

She decided she’d had enough of that and was just going to ignore that thought.

The door opened and Calypso stood in the doorway, “You are literally the luckiest mare alive, you know that?”

“Huh?!” Scamp asked, still confused.

“Come on,” was the only thing Calypso said in response as she left the room. With nothing else to do she followed after her friend.

Once out of the room she realized they were no longer in Equestria. The pictures on the walls showed a human male with a goatee standing with many different creatures, each picture seeming to be from a different universe.

“We’re in Ominus’s dimension?” Scamp asked her friend.

“Yep,” Calypso said unhappily. “I didn’t want to stay, but when this Ominus guy said that the moment he pulled us out some thing called the Watcher erased our home, then I had no choice.”

She did not sound happy at all, but Scamp understood why. They’d both just lost their home, just like that.

They remained quiet as they entered a living room of some kind where the others were. They were all in their human forms, and laughing together.

This brought a smile to her face as they neared.

“There’s the Queen Slayer,” Lance joked as they neared. He was now back in his younger body, the body of a late twenty’s male.

“Nah, Horn Snapper,” Greg interjected, a blunt between his lips. “She just grabbed that horn like she was an expert, and snapped that bitch!” He imitated the action she’d taken, laughing the whole time.

Scamp waved them off as she took a seat on a couch with Calypso.

“She’s an expert at snapping horns,” Calypso added, looking to be trying to get over losing her home.

Lance looks her over and asks in a deeper voice, “how old are you exactly?”

She blinked at him for a moment before remembering that his subconscious Break could take over sometimes, “Thirty two.”

“Barely older than us then,” Break/Lance said with a nod before Lance asked in his normal voice. “I’ll never be able to thank you for all you did for me.”

Scamp raised her hoof and looked at the Mark of the Outsider, a grimace flashing across her face. He may be grateful for what she’d done, but she’d never be the same after this. “I had to do things in that palace. Things I’ll never be proud of.”

“I heard,” he replied sympathetically. “But you’re among others who’ve been there, we understand how you’re feeling.”

This helped her, but she still felt like kicking herself some more.

“Besides, it doesn’t matter because they all got erased in the end, so you killing them or the Watcher, same result,” Greg added, trying to be helpful.

This did not help her. She just sighed and held a smile to them, “well, I’m not new to truama. I’ll work through it.”

“Not meaning to intrupt,” Shadow Breeze began. “But what now? Can we all go home?”

Ominus sighed as he sat back and rubbed his goatee. “I was waiting too see if Scamp’s body would accept or reject the upgrades before saying anything.”

Scamp looked at him wide eyed, filled with questions.

He only smiled sheepishly at her, “it obviously accepted them. But we’ll talk later.” With a clap of his hands he jumped up and stood in front of everyone.

“Alright guys, that was the easy part,” he exclaimed, getting surprised looks.

“THAT was the easy part?!” Scamp was floored at this. She’d basically been killed and that was the easy part of whatever this was.

“Yep,” he began to pace. “So we’ve pissed off the Watcher, and when he erased the new world he’s begun looking for me. I’m sure I could avoid him here for a while, but we need to deal with him, not hide from him.”

“From what I can tell,” he said grimly. “He’s taken the original souls of our friends and spread them among other dimensions. It’s bait to draw us out.” A smirk appeared on his face, “and we’re going to take the bait and use it against him!”

“How?” Shadow Breeze asked with a cocked head.

“We’re basically two ships out at sea at night with old radar systems,” Ominus said, a hologram appearing and displaying what he was saying. “We can’t find each other if we don’t move, but if we want to win, we’ll have to get our opponent to move as well. This means us making the first move, and watching for a response. The winner will come down to who spots the other's position first and acts.”

“What do you mean he’s spread our friends out?” Lance asked, arms crossed.

The hologram changed to a diagram of a few human shilotes being dragged to little circles. “Exactly that. I’m not sure of any of their locations, but I can find them. The Watcher wants us to go after them so he can track us down. But two can play that game.”

“So we’re gonna stick it to the Watcher?” Lance smirked.

Ominus snapped his finger and the song ‘paralyzer’ began to play through some speakers.

“We’re gonna get our friends back and fuck the Watcher,” he declared boldly.

Scamp looked at everyone gathered, a smile touching her face.

Looks like the adventure is just starting.

Prodigal Daughter: Epilogue

Epilogue

Scamp examined her once missing leg, not sure how to feel about it yet. Ominus had said it was some kind of living flesh, whatever that means. At least it didn't hinder her at all when moving around.

What she couldn't get over, however, was the twisting feeling inside of her as some of her organs and bones had been replaced with unnatural things that she didn't fully understand.

Sighing, she took her attention off of herself and looked up at the scenery before her; rolling hills and a little forest off to her left. From her position on the porch, she could barely make out the pond almost fully hidden behind one of the hills. It was her childhood home in Equestria. At least, an imitation of her home.

She was currently in a pocket dimension that could imitate anything you wanted it to.

Now that everything had come to a close, mostly, she finally had time to reflect on the past weeks events; the deaths of her friends, her mother, the many ponies she murdered, the colt, the Queen, and Strawell.

Her eyes clenched shut, as she recalled the palace assault. The mark on her leg almost burning at the memory.

"There you are," came the voice of Lance from behind her.

This snapped her back to the present and she wiped her eyes as she turned to him as he walked through the door and onto the porch.

"Oh, this is a nice place, your home?" he asked as he took the chair opposite of her, the one her mother would have sat in.

"Yeah," she sighed as she turned back to the scenery. "I took all this for granted growing up."

"People tend to do that," Lance remarked. "How are you feeling?"

Scamp let out a laugh as she turned to him, "I'm fantastic. I lost everything and killed innocent ponies. Dribble died, and so did all of my other friends."

Lance didn't respond right away, just let her sit there as they looked at each other. "Believe it or not, I understand exactly how you're feeling."

"How?!" Scamp snapped, but stopped herself. "I'm sorry. But in your book you clearly never did the things I did."

"Yeah, but did you ever wonder why I never finished the book and it just cuts off an entire arch and skips to the end?" Lance asked in an even tone.

This caught her attention, as she had always wondered why there was build up then it just skips eleven years.

"It's because I caused one of my friends to get killed," he sat back and looked out over the rolling hills. "I couldn't bring myself to write about it. It's one of my biggest regrets."

"What happened?" Scamp asked as she applied all of her focus on him.

Lance looked at her, looking to be deep in thought. "David got taken control of by an evil force that we were dealing with, and I entered his mind to fight it. I wasn't able to save him while inside his mind, but I promised him that I'd do anything and everything to break the curse. Everything was going well until he got a hold of my son."

He looked down and clenched his fist, "I could have done a lot of things; I could have backed off and let Twilight handle it, I could have talked him down, hell I could have surrendered. But I acted on instinct and killed my friend."

Scamp watched as he put his face in his hands, shaking at the memory. They stayed quiet for a moment before she finally broke the silence.

"He had your kid, and even though he was under the control of another, you did what you had to do to save Spark." She reached out and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

Lance looked up and sighed, "Honestly I know you're right, but it's still something I will have to live with for the rest of my life." He seemed to attempt to compose himself as he continued, "But see? You're not alone, and you will get through this. It just won't be easy."

She offered a smile at this, "Thank you, Lance." His words helped a bit, but she knew he was right, she'd be dealing with this the rest of her life.

The pair went back to sitting in silence, the tension in the air slowly dissipating.

"I'm curious," Lance began. "Why'd you care so much about me and my book? As far as I know you're the only one who read it and believed it."

Scamp thought about how to answer that. "As a foal I was fascinated with mysteries and solving cases, and I'd always go through my mothers cases and try to solve them myself. Then I read your case and book, and something inside me just clicked. I've never really understood it, but I've always felt like it was a part of me. That sound weird?"

Lance nodded along as he listened, "Not at all, I've seen and heard weirder." He then smiled, "You're mother though, was an amazing lawyer and mare."

"Believe me," Scamp said with a thoughtful look towards the hills. "I know. She was my inspiration to keep moving forward no matter what happened. Probably the reason I'm still alive."

"She was one tough no nonsense mare, that's for sure," Lance thought, thinking back on his meetings with her. "Meadow Glory is the reason I was just sent to prison and not worse."

Scamp smiled thinking about her mother. "She wasn't always like that, all serious and straight laced," she willed the pocket dimension to produce a copy of her mother out in front of them, a much younger version of her. A lime green mare with a black mane stood before them, looking goofy and happy. "Apparently, according to old videos and her friends, she used to be a ball of energy and happy going."

"What changed?" Lance asked as he looked at the mare with a bit of confusion, as the Meadow Glory he would have known never smiled and always wore a suit of some kind, with her black mane always up in a ponytail.

"My father was killed," she said suddenly. "While she was pregnant with me he was killed unfairly by police. She never told me why, or anything about him. We didn't even have pictures of him in the house growing up. I don't even know his name."

"I'm sorry," Lance offered, knowing what it was like to grow up without a father. He looked back to the mare before them, looking more and more confused. "You know, I feel like I know her. From before I came to your world."

"I guess you could have, during the beginning when Bronies first appeared she was just barely an adult."

He leaned forward and saw the cutie mark, which he had never seen before since she always wore a dress suit around him. "That cutie mark, huh, she looks like Adry."

"Adry?" Scamp asked with raised eyebrows. "That's my mom's nickname from when she was a filly?"

Lance looked at her surprised, then lifted his backpack up and pulled out his book he had written. It was the original copy, as Greg had saved it from the other dimension by bringing it with him.

"You've read this all the way through?" he asked slowly, seeming to be trying to figure something out.

"Yeah, more times than I can count, why?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He opened the book and skipped to near the end, letting out a surprised sound, "There's a few pages missing, you do that?"

She shook her head, "No, my mom brought it home like that. It's always irritated me."

Lance seemed to be lost in thought as he looked through the book some more, "I handed this book over intact, and it was fine up till then." He looked at her, "Your mom removed a few pages in this book."

"She wouldn't, that's tampering with evidence," Scamp insisted, not understanding where this was going.

"One question then," he continued, "How'd your parents meet? Did she tell you?"

"Uh, yeah? She told me," Scamp sounded very confused. "She ran into him one day at his cabin, and fell in love with him at first sight. They got married and had trouble conceiving most of their marriage till she became pregnant with me."

"You're shitting me," Lance muttered as he rubbed his face. "Okay, what do you know of your father?"

"Uh, he was a really rough stallion, really tall, loved flowers, and my mom liked to call him 'Papito'," she replied, thinking back on what little she'd been told. "And he used to be a guard for the princesses, but that's all I really know. I haven't really cared about him so much, since I don't even know him."

"Scamp," Lance started, willing the pocket dimension to bring another pony into existence next to the younger version of Meadow Glory. "In my dimension, I know your mother. She married one of my friends, but in my dimension she and my friend never were able to have a kid."

She looked at the pony by her younger mother, her eyes slowly widening and her mouth falling open. "No, that can't be my father."

"In your dimension," Lance continued, "I know what really happened to your father, now that I realize who he is. The OEA in their early days found out about him and he was killed with the help of the Queen before she fully took over. He must have hidden his relationship with your mother, because otherwise they would have gone after her too."

"Lance, no, that can't be my father!" Scamp stood up and couldn't stop staring at the pair of ponies before them.

"Take my hand," Lance said, holding out his hand for her.

"Why?!" She asked, still overwhelmed at this being possible.

"We're going into my mind to visit a few memories," he replied.

This was enough for her to slowly reach out and let him take her hoof.

Everything went white as she suddenly found herself in an empty void with three ponies standing before her.

She already knew who they were. It was Lance and two other ponies. One was blue with glasses and white strips and mane, and the other the same but red and wearing sunglasses. Break and Dawn.

"Yo!" Break basically yelled as he stepped forward and held up his hoof, "Break, the cool one as you already know."

Scamp stared at him blankly before smiling and slamming hooves with him.

Dawn stepped forward as well and held out his hoof, "Dawn. Thank you so much for saving Lance and helping us be able to talk to him again."

"It was no problem," she replied as she slammed hooves with him, causing him to winch and step back, shaking his hoof. He had been going for a hoof shake, not hoof bump. "Sorry."

Lance smiled as he stood back and gestured to the computer screen behind them. "Normally we'd all talk more, but this is important."

She nodded as she walked up between all of them and watched as Dawn started clicking through menus.

"Damn, you're one muscled up mare!" Break suddenly said, getting a slap to the back of his head from Lance.

"Behave, Break," Lance warned.

"I am!" he snapped, then looked back at her. "I meant that with respect, Scamp."

"Sure you did," she couldn't help but chuckle.

Dawn brought up a video and leaned back for everyone to see, "Found it."

A video started playing, it was in the point of view of Lance. It seemed to be from a few years after the destruction of Ponyville, evident from the sign that was visible that read 'New Ponyville'.

"Heya, Lance!" a lime green mare yelled as Lance neared the town, running out to meet him. "Did you get the present I asked for?"

"Shit, that IS my mom," Scamp muttered, seeing her younger and happier looking mother smiling on the screen.

"I had to go to Manehattan to find it, but I got it," Lance replied, holding up a box with a bow on it.

"Oh thank you, Lance!" She replied, hugging him and grabbing the box. "He's going to love this!"

"Anything for you, Adry," Lance chuckled as the pair started walking for the little town.

Scamp watched intently, looking over her mother's younger self, amazed that Lance knew her.

"Adry in my world was nothing like the mare I met in your dimension," Lance said from beside Scamp. "I didn't even make the connection during the whole trial. Losing her husband really affected her."

"Which makes sense," Dawn added. "She was absolutely in love with him in our world, more than I thought possible to be honest."

Break started to say something but Lance shook his head at him.

On the screen, the pair reached a colorful building and entered.

"He got it?" a slightly younger Shadow Breeze asked as he walked up smiling.

"He did!" Adry said excitedly as she lifted the box above her head.

"Not a total screw up," Peter said from the corner, eating a pie.

"Hey now," Lance said back as he walked over to Twilight and nuzzled her cheek.

The screen fast forwarded a bit till it came back to all of them standing around the door in the dark.

After a few moments, the door opened and a very imposing stallion stepped in, his face showing no joy as he entered.

"Surprise!" Everyone suddenly screamed as the lights flashed on, causing the stallion to jump a bit.

"What is..." he began, but a smile slowly appeared on his face, a massive contrast to the cold look he had had previously. "You guys."

Adry ran forward and jumped up and hugged him around the neck, "Papito! We surprised you, huh?!"

"You got me good," the stallion said happily as he hugged her with one leg.

"Good to see you, Mr. Bleak," Lance said as he walked up and bumped the large stallion's leg.

"Likewise, my boy," Mr. Bleak replied as he let Adry down.

Adry ran off and came back with the box, "We got you this!"

Mr. Bleak took the box and opened it, a look of love flashing on his face. "By Celestia, are these..."

"Rare seeds from flowers that only existed four thousand years ago?" Lance finished for him. "They were not easy to find, so thank Adry for doing all the research and legwork to find those."

"My little Glory, you didn't have to do this," he said, leaning down and lifting her up into a large embrace.

"I'd do anything for you, my big Papito," she replied, nuzzling into his neck.

Scamp sat back, shocked at this. This confirmed it, her father had been Darkest Bleak, one of the most wanted stallions of her world that had been hunted down and killed by the OEA before she was born.

"That guy has always been looking out for me," Lance commented. "And that even means his daughter as well."

"My mom believed it was real," Scamp said quietly, looking straight ahead. "She removed the pages, that means she must have believed it."

"She probably did, more than once she hinted at believing me but always changed the subject," Lance reached over and patted her shoulder.

"But she always told me to drop it and that it was all a fantasy," Scamp's mind reeled as she thought back to her mother over the years.

"It was to keep you safe," Lance offered. "You know what the Queen and OEA did to anyone mentioned in my book. Just being married to him was enough for her to be arrested. She got lucky that anyone who read the book before the trial didn't notice she was Adry. So that means the copies of the book are missing these pages too. Huh."

Scamp walked away from the group and stared off into the void. "What does this mean for me?"

"Nothing, really," Lance said as he walked up beside her. "But at least you know now."

"I want out of here, please," Scamp asked, wanting to be back in the pocket dimension overlooking the hills.

Without a word, she found herself back in her body and sat back in her chair. She looked out at the rolling hills, tears in her eyes.

They sat in silence for a while, her mind going over her life. Her father being Mr. Bleak started to make sense as she thought about it, all the little comments her mother made over the years adding up.

"Thank you, Lance," she finally said, turning to him with a tear stained face.

He only waved her off, a pleased look on his face.

"It just makes me so sad to realize how happy my mother used to be," she remarked. "After my father died, she started going to school to become a lawyer."

"She's an amazing mare, in both worlds," Lance said as he too looked out over the hills.

"What was she doing in your world before the Watcher appeared?" Scamp asked.

"Ah," Lance leaned back, thinking back. "She and Darkest were traveling the world. And she's just as happy and in love as you just saw. The only difference is they haven't had kids yet.

"I want to meet her," she said with determination.

"Definitely, once we finish the Watcher, I'll introduce you to them. Trust me, they'll both love to meet you even if you're their daughter from another dimension."

Scamp looked out over the scenery, wiping the tears from her face. "Then we need to hurry up and kill this bastard."

Lance could only chuckle at this and reach over and pat her back. The pair staring out over the beautiful scenery.

After some time, the door opened and Calypso walked in, "Oh, I thought this one was empty, sorry you two."

"No no, stay," Scamp called after her.

Calypso sighed as she turned around and walked in and sat between the pair. "So what are you two doing in here?"

"Just talking," Lance said with a chuckle.

"I found out my dad is Darkest Bleak," Scamp suddenly announced, shocking Calypso.

"What?!" Calypso yelped and looked at Scamp with wide eyes, her dull white fur seeming to brighten to show her surprise.

"Yeah, apparently she and him were also together in Lance's dimension, and it all match's up for ours as well," Scamp said coolly, acting like it hadn't surprised her at all.

Calypso just stares ahead out over the porch, then sighed again. "Of course he was your dad. Any other revelations for me?"

"Not that I can think of," Scamp jokes, playfully slugging her shoulder.

"I've been meaning to ask," Lance started, looking at the two of them. "How'd you two meet?"

"We're teammates," Calypso answered. "Echo Team of the Manehattan Special Weapons and Arcane Tactics unit. I was there first, then Scamp came in afterward."

"She says team," Scamp adds. "But we are a family, with all that brings with it."

"Were a family," Calypso says grimly.

"There's still us," reassures Scamp as she reaches over and touches her shoulder.

She nods and pushes her dreads back, "I just wish they were here with us."

The three of them sat in silence for a bit before Lance decided to change the subject.

"I like your cutie mark," he gestured to Calypso's cutie mark; a band-aid over a planet.

"Oh thanks," she replied slowly, looking at him with a blank stare.

"What's it mean?" Lance asked, trying his hardest to engage with her.

"That I like helping ponies?" Calypso said as if that should be obvious.

"Oh, yes of course," Lance said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

Scamp just smiled at the two. "Be nice, Cally," she teased the other mare.

"I am," was her simple response as she looked between the two.

"She's not being rude, this is just how she is," Scamp said to Lance, to the irritation of Calypso.

"What about yours?" Lance changed the subject quickly.

"Oh, I like to listen to music when under pressure, and I used to be called Ace by old friends," Scamp said, glancing at her own; a Ace of Hearts playing card with two white music notes on either side of it. She always wished she had something a little more fitting, but at least it fit her and she didn’t get stuck with something stupid.

Lance nodded, still a bit nervous of Calypso.

"I have a question," Calypso suddenly said, looking at Lance. "After killing the Queen's lover, why did you then go and write it into your book?"

"Oh, eh," Lance coughed, looking around. "The story didn't make sense if I left that out?"

She shook her head at him, "Idiot."

"I didn't claim not to be," he joked, getting a small smile from her.

"Speaking of questions about the book, what the hell happened to Zane?" Scamp asked as she leaned towards him, looking at him expectantly.

"Zane?" Lance asked, looking to be thinking about the question. "He went after a woman named Lauren Faust to try and meet her, but it turned out she had gone to another dimension and not Equestria."

"And Zorrow? Did he get with Applejack?!" she was starting to get excited finally getting answers to her questions.

"Eh, no. He blew it when he worked up the courage to talk to her and tried to impress her by showing her all his notes and pictures he'd taken of her. She put him in the hospital, four times actually. Every time he was released, she was there to put him back in. It was honestly pretty funny, but we eventually had to stop her from attacking him. He now spends his time bird watching."

Scamp was fan fillying as she only got more excited. But Calypso beat her to asking a question.

"Why did you include so much crude content and then read it to colts and fillies?"

"Oh, I just skipped over those parts when reading to anyone," Lance reassured.

"Didn't you also write about a friend having sex, in full detail?" she continued, getting a look from Scamp.

Lance coughed nervously, "Eh, I did. I thought it would be funny?"

"Uh huh," was her only response as she shrugged and let it go.

"I made a few questionable decisions when writing the book," Lance began, leaning back. "Included a few things I shouldn't have, revealed some things, and maybe forgot a few arc's that should have been finished. But honestly I wouldn't write it any other way."

"You could say that," Calypso said as she slugged his arm with a smile.

Scamp watched the two getting along somewhat and smiled.

"Do you like alcohol?" Calypso asked with a smirk.

"I can drink," was Lance's response, returning her smirk.

"Well buck yeah, let's go find a mini bar or something," she laughed as she stood up and headed for the door.

Lance started to follow, but turned to see Scamp still sitting in her seat. "Coming?"

Scamp took one last look out at the hills and forest, a look of peace on her face. "Yeah, I'm coming."

She stood up, stretched, and headed for the door. As she exited, she heard a sound and turned to see her mother and Mr. Bleak standing on the porch, standing side by side and waving to her.

"Be seeing you guys," she said with a smile as she stepped out and closed the door.

Author's Note

A lot of thought went into Part 3 and its plot points. If I do a part 4, it won't be done like this one, I'll probably release a chapter whenever I feel like writing. Going back to the way the original LTD was written, making it take longer to get to plot points so everyone can enjoy the ride.

Thank you for everyone who has followed this story over the years. It may not have been well written on my part, but I've always loved reading people's reviews and experiences with the story. It's because of all of you that I haven't deleted this story or fully abandoned this fandom.

Also, I'll leave you all on a confession: I've never read Three of Me VS School Society, or any of the stories involving Ominus. I was just really good friends with their authors back in the day.

Here’s the playlist for part 3: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4DWAHQheptAjb19s7lAles?si=unphv0TaQ1u7yQu52kQtbA

Part 4 Act 1: Start of a new adventure

Part 4 Act 1
Prologue
2 months later

"Up and at em', honey!" Twilight yelled as she walked by the bedroom door, causing Lance to groan loudly in response and flip out of bed.

"Hurry, dad! I'm starving!" Spark also yelled as he ran by the bedroom door.

"Yep yep!" Was Lance's response as he performed his morning routine and then followed the rest of his family to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen he found his wife and two kids already at the table, eating breakfast.

"Look who's finally awake, kids," Twilight teased as she reached out with her magic and combed Lance's messy mane down.

Spark picked up a biscuit and threw it to Lance, "Heads up, dad!"

Lance caught the biscuit and took a bite, causing his two teenage kids to laugh. "Alright make way!" he yelled in an exaggerated voice as he ran around the table, ruffling their manes as he made his way to his chair.

He slammed his flank down and began to eat, shoving his son playfully. "What's the plan for today, boy?"

Spark rolled his eyes, "I'm going to go hang out with Nova at the Palace."

"Just don't get into trouble, again," Lance joked as he turned to his daughter. "What about you, Fawn?"

Fawn just shrugged, "No plans today. I'm just going to go to the Park and hang out with Jelly Beans."

"Well tell her dad to come by later, Lance and him need to clean up their mess from yesterday," Twilight said while glaring at Lance.

"Look, Greg and I didn't mean to destroy the garage." At her continued glare, he adds, "But yes, we will definitely get that done today."

"Thank you," she said with a victorious smile.

Lance takes another bite and turns to her, "Now, what are we doing today?"

Before she could answer, the kitchen door burst open and Scamp walked in, wearing combat gear and a perplexed look on her face.

"Scamp!" Lance called to her with a wave. "Good to see you! Come take a seat, we got biscuits and gravy!"

"Aunt Scamp!" the kids called out as they jumped up and ran to her, hugging her.

Scamp didn't move as she was hugged, her confused look still on her face. The kids break the hug and step back, looking at her.

"What's wrong?" Spark asked, his head cocked to the side.

Scamp blinked a few times, then sighed. "Fuck it." She walked past the kids and sat down at the only free seat left.

"It's so good to see you again, Scamp," Twilight remarked as she passed some food to Scamp, who stared at it for a long second before shrugging and devouring it with no class. Everyone stared at her awkwardly as she made a mess of the food.

"So, what brings you to my house, Scamp?" Lance asked, trying to get past the awkwardness.

She stopped her assault on the food and looked over to him, "Uh.... Stuff?"

Lance and his family seemed to accept this as an answer.

"Yeah...." She looked at each of them before resting her eyes on Twilight, who just smiled back. "I killed you in my timeline."

This caused her and the kids to stare at her blankly before laughing loudly.

"Oh you kidder!" Twilight laughed as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Aunt Scamp is the best at jokes!" Spark laughed loudly.

"I love Aunt Scamp!" Fawn basically yelled.

Scamp slammed her hoof into her face, looking exhausted. "Fuck I can't do this anymore." She looks to Lance, who was just smiling awkwardly while looking at his family. "Lance, this shit isn't real."

"Uh, what?" Lance asked, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

She cast her hoof around the room, "This all looks right to you?" She then pointed at his smiling family, who's smiles only grew as she did so. "Does THIS look right to you?"

He looked between her and his family, not seeing her meaning. "Uh, I guess it does?"

With a heavy sigh she stood up and walked behind Spark, "Lance, you are under the spell of the wizard we are fighting. You should have been able to break out on your own, but here we are."

Lance stares at her before chuckling and reaching over and taking Twilight's hoof, "I think the stress has finally gotten to her."

Scamp just facehoofs again, insulting him under her breath.

"I love Aunt Scamp!" Fawn yelled again.

"Lance, snap out of it. It's so damn simple; just realize this is an illusion and bang, done deal." She leans on the table between the kids, "Or we have to cause you emotional trauma to snap you out of it. I'd really like to avoid doing that, so please, help me out here."

Twilight uses her magic to lift up a biscuit and stick it in her mouth. "Just take a seat, Scamp. You're clearly having PTSD from your time in your dimension."

Scamp snapped her head at Twilight, eye twitching.

"Scamp," Lance warned.

"I love Aunt Scamp!" Fawn yelled again, hooves shooting up in excitement and happiness.

"Oh that’s enough of that!" Scamp snapped as she raised her hoof and shot Fawn in the side of her head, causing her to fall out of her seat.

"FAWN!" Lance and Twilight yell as they jump over the table to her.

"Scamp?!?!" Lance yelled while turning to her, only to see her giving him a look that seemed to ask 'seriously?'.

Without another word, she turned her hoof and shot Spark out of his chair as well.

"SPARK! NO!" Twilight screamed as she flew over the table, but a third shot dropped her as well, causing her to fly over the table and slam face first into a wall.

Lance seemed to break as he fell to his knees among his dead family, staring up at Scamp with an incredulous stare.

"Well? Is that enough trauma?" she asked, crossing her hooves as she stared back at him.

A few moments passed before Lance's eyes seemed to unglaze, and he looked around with a new mindset.

"Huh," he slowly stood up. "I really am not good with mind altering spells."

"Really? I couldn't tell," Scamp replied with a sigh as she lifted her helmet visor and rubbed her temple. "I broke out of mine almost instantly. You've been here for like two minutes, but that's like a week in your mind. Did none of this seem off to you?"

Lance looked a bit sheepish as he realized just how off everyone had been acting, he just never put two and two together. Then he frowned, "Did you really have to literally kill my family, right in front of me?"

Scamp just rolled her eyes, "Don't be a baby. It's not like they're really your family."

"Did you have to smile when you shot Twilight?" he asked, recalling her smiling widely as she shot his wife.

"Eh, no comment," she started to fade away. "Now wake the fuck up, we got a wizard to stomp."

Lance just blinked as she disappeared. He took one last look at his dead family and shuddered. Might be fake, but watching them die while thinking they were real was a bit much for him.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lance groaned as he sat up from the stone floor, rubbing his head.

"Little help!" Scamp yelled to him as she danced around a man in a flowing robe, shooting magical missiles and lighting from his hands at her.

It took a moment for Lance to come to reality, but when he did he jumped up to his hooves. "Coming!" His body flashed as he transformed into his Holy Dawn form and dashed towards the dueling pair.

"Why won't you stand still, little pony creature?!" the wizard yelled as he continued to try and hit the agile mare.

Scamp dodged and weaved around his magical attacks, firing her pistol or rifle at him, only for him to block her shots with magic. She'd teleport near him to attack, but he'd just counter her by also teleporting. Stopping time didn't seem to work as he'd just counter by stopping time as well. A stalemate.

With a whoosh, Lance came out of nowhere and slammed head first into the old wizard, sending him flying across the room and slamming into a wall with a loud thud and crack. As he hit the ground, parts of the stone wall fell around him, showing how hard he hit the wall.

"Get some," Lance remarked, striking a pose.

"Nice hit," Scamp said as she appeared at his side, giving him an amused look.

"Damn straight," he stepped towards the downed wizard and struck another heroic pose, "Had enough, evil wizard?"

He received no response from the wizard, who remained on the ground where he landed.

"Eh," Lance moves closer and resumes his heroic pose. "I said, had enough, evil wizard?"

Again, no response came.

"Hey bro, you good?" Lance asked as he deflated and stared at the prone wizard.

Scamp teleported next to the wizard and leaned down, checking on him. "Huh, he's dead."

"What?!" Lance asked in shock. "But I only knocked him out of the way?! Anyone can get up from a hit like that! Plus he's like the ultimate wizard of this world, more powerful than anyone we've come across when it comes to magical prowess!"

"Yeah," she replied slowly as she rolled him onto his back, "but he was just an old frail man. I think any kind of physical damage would have done him in."

Lance fell to his flank, dumbfounded, "But, I didn't want to kill him..."

Scamp appeared next to him and patted his shoulder as she walked by. "Buck up, champ. Killing bad guys is cool."

As she walked away, he muttered, "Killing in general is bad."

He stood up and looked at the dead wizard, shaking his head. At least this world would finally be free, thanks to them.

"Come on, Lance. Let's go let Princess Slut know we killed the big bad wizard," Scamp called from the doorway to the chamber.

"Don't call her Princess Slut!" Lance scolded as he ran after her. "Her name is Princess Slobodanka."

"And she has like fifty lovers that I've seen so far," she remarked with a wave of her hoof. "So, Princess Slut fits her pretty well in my opinion."

Lance just sighed, "Just don't call her that to her face. We're the hero's of this world now."

"That depends on if she's appreciative or a dick," she said with a sweet innocent smile.

He could only shake his head with a smile at this.

ooo000<^>000ooo

"Again, I'm so sorry," Lance apologized as he walked backwards out of the throne room, a huge crowd glaring at him. "She's just tired after fighting the evil wizard."

He stepped out and the door slammed in his face. With a sigh he turned to Scamp, who stood there with a grin on her face.

"Couldn't help yourself?" he asked, not able to not smile back at her.

Scamp held up her hooves, "she fondled three different men while thanking us. It just slipped out."

Lance started to say something, but a hologram of Ominus suddenly appeared next to them.

"I need you guys to finish up playing in that world, I found one of our friends."

"On our way," Scamp replied, getting a nod from Ominus as he disappeared.

"We're not 'playing in this world'," Lance muttered, "We were saving them from a great evil while he was searching for our friends."

Scamp shrugged, "I haven't taken any of this very seriously, to be honest. I was just helping them while we waited for Ominus to find one of the Bronies."

"Doesn't matter, what we did in this dimension has saved millions from slavery and torment," Lance said a bit to heroically.

"Yeah, but I don't think this world's inhabitants were really worth saving," she commented, tapping a button on her built in PDA in her right leg, causing a portal to appear near them.

"Everyone is worth saving," Lance countered.

"They eat babies born with deformities, and they do math wrong. Four plus four is not four. I don't even get the logic of this world," she rolled her eyes and jumped through the portal.

"Doing math wrong isn't a reason to..." he stopped halfway through the portal, eyes wide. "Wait?! Did you say they eat babies?!"

"Yep, I just didn't know how to tell you. You just seemed so happy when interacting with the citizens," Scamp said over her shoulder. "Besides, why do you think I never ate anything they gave us?"

"Oh God!" Lance gasped as he quickly jumped into the portal, wanting to leave that world behind for good.

Scamp only laughed as she opened the door to the portal room and stepped out. "Damn, I love multidimensional adventures!"

Author's Note

Part 4 will be longer than part 3 was, but the draw back will be that I’ll just be writing chapters when I have the urge. So I’m not going to promise fast chapters or any kind of upload schedule.

I honestly just want to write and see where their adventures take them.

New conflicts

chapter 1

I stepped into the command center where Ominus and the others stood around floating icons. Ominus turned to face me as I entered.

“Ah, there you are, is Lance with you?” He asked, going back to working on the icons around him.

“Yeah, he’s dealing with some inner turmoil at the moment,” I joked as I looked over my shoulder at Lance as he trudged along, staring at his hands.

“I didn’t actually eat a baby… Did I?” he asked in a desperate voice.

I roll my eyes and remove my helmet, shaking out my mane. I shouldn’t mess with him, for now. “Nah, I checked the food they provided us. You didn’t eat any human babies.”

He exhaled in relief, “Thank God.” It took him a second before his eyes widened, “Wait, why did you make a point of saying human babies?! Did I eat some kind of babies?!”

“So, you found one of the Bronies?” I asked as we stepped up with the others, ignoring Lance’s panicked question.

“Well, I actually found all of them,” Ominus replied, not sounding very pleased like I thought he would be at such a revelation.

“That’s awesome!” Lance exclaimed, not taking notice of Ominus’s displeased look.

I eyed him and the icons around him, “What’s wrong?”

“Isn’t this a good thing?” Lance asked as he looked between us.

A frown appeared on my face, as I didn’t like this at all. Ominus, from what I know of him, is usually very sure of himself and not worried about anything. But right now he looks like I did when I’d have to give bad news to families.

“Normally, yes, it would be a great thing, but,” he turns to the many icons around him and begins clicking through them. “The Watcher isn’t going to be playing the long game on this one. Right as I started to zone in on one of our friends, he suddenly pulled them all. It wasn’t hard to actually locate them after that, because he put them all in the same place.”

“So what’s the problem?” Greg asked, taking a puff of a blunt. “Let’s get in there and get ‘em.”

“The problem,” Ominus started as he opened a menu. “Is that he brought them to the one place I’m not able to travel to. The Eternal Plains.”

“Why can’t you go there?” I asked, watching him work through the icons with ease.

He chuckles nervously as he raises a hand with a shrug, “I’m banned for going against the Ultimate Authority Dimension.” At our questioning looks, he continues. “First off, the Ultimate Authority Dimension, UAD, is basically the ones in charge of all life.”

“You mean God?!” Lance asked, clapping his hands together excitedly.

“No,” Ominus deadpanned. “They definitely are not God, but they are ‘gods’ in the sense of the word. Like a step below the big man himself. But they live up to their name, that’s for sure. They have complete control of all reality and all life. Simply put, they created everything you see and all life in every reality.”

“That makes them God,” Lance retorted with a frown. “I’ve met God, many times, and he’s a pretty chill dude.”

Ominus couldn’t help but laugh, “They were created by the big man, and given some of his powers. They then used those powers to create their own life to control, and that’s just how its been since the beginning. As for me being banned, I’ve kinda meddled in their business one too many times, and I’m on a final strike basis with them.”

“So,” Calypso asked, leaning towards some of the icons. “What are the Eternal Plains?”

“An interesting place,” Ominus assured as he smiled a bit to himself. “The simplest way to explain it is that there are two halves of reality. The wild dimensions, and the civilized dimensions. The wild ones can be categorized as what you consider fictional universes, while the civilized ones are like the one you’re from.

“The Eternal Plains,” he continues, “are all of the civilized dimensions combined into one. Existing on a single endless expansion, hence why it's called the Eternal PLAINS. The UAD combined all of them a few thousand years ago, and have been watching over them while the wild dimensions have been left alone to continue as they please.”

“If all civilized dimensions were combined, and we are from one, then why weren’t we living in this Eternal Plains place?” Lance asked, a valid question.

“I don’t have an answer to that,” Ominus admitted. “It wasn’t just yours, there were a few others that weren’t integrated into them. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why though.” He stops working on the icons, seeming to be pleased with whatever he was looking at. “You guys should have been there, to be honest, but for whatever reason your dimension was excluded. Calypso and Scamp, however, are from a wild dimension, so they’ve been exactly where they were supposed to be.”

“So, the Bronies are on this Eternal Plains place?” I asked, getting back to the original topic.

“Yes,” Ominus said with a nod, stroking his goatee. “The Watcher, unlike me, is allowed here. His domain is somewhere on the plains, but I’d never be able to find it. Unless,” he smiles at the group, “we play his game against him. We’re going to stick to the original plan, hunting for our friends while also watching for clues leading back to him. He’ll have to reveal himself somewhat each time he wants to check on his bait.

“So, while you guys are saving our friends, I’ll be here, watching for him to make a move. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I know I’ll be able to back track him to his domain where his true form lives.”

“Wait, his true form?” Lance asked, cocking his head. “Wasn’t the stone form I saw him?”

Ominus shook his head, “No, that’s his Judge of Life form. That’s the form he takes when he plays god, but in reality, he’s very similar to me. Just instead of helping others and fighting for good, he travels the dimensions stealing life and whatever else he wants. While also playing up his Judge of Life fantasy.”

“What’s his true form then?” I asked, surprised by this revelation.

“I actually do not know, he never leaves the Eternal Plains in his true form. But that doesn’t matter right now, because we need to go over a few key points of the plains if I’m going to send any of you there.”

I nod, running my hooves through my messy main. I need to get out of this gear and bathe, soon.

“First up, all life has a single soul that makes up their being, as you already know.” An image of a cyan colored blob appeared in front of them. “This is your soul. On the Eternal Plains, every single living thing uses their souls for everything. To fight, to buy things, and even to create things. Right now, you can’t access your soul, as I don’t have the ability to grant you those abilities.”

He pressed an icon and an assortment of weapons appeared on the screen. “I highly recommend you find a Soul Smith and get a Soul Weapon created. It’ll be a weapon that fits you completely and will even be a part of you.” The images disappeared and were replaced with an animation of a man holding a cyan blob. “You’ll also have to find someone to unlock your soul so you can gain your own Soul abilities. Like your own personal super powers in layman terms.”

“Oh that’s bad ass,” Greg said in awe, a smile on his face.

“The Soul abilities you’ll gain will be personal to you, so I can’t even imagine what you’ll get. But, I do have bad news,” he turns to Greg and Shadow Breeze. “You two aren’t going, it’ll be too dangerous for you.”

Shadow Breeze shook his head in disapprovement, “No, we need to go. We can handle ourselves.”

“Yeah, I was the reason we were able to kill the Queen,” Greg adde, very clearly unhappy with this turn of events.

Ominus didn’t react to their protest. “It’s not going to happen. Lance and Scamp will be the ones to go. Calypso will be staying here with me just in case there’s an emergency and I can send her in to help.”

I looked at Calypso, who seemed surprised at this, but she gave a nod in agreement.

“I’d prefer it this way, guys,” Lance interjected, patting Greg on the shoulder. “I don’t want you two to get hurt.”

“I can handle myself!” Greg snapped, his calm demeanor falling apart as he stared Lance down. The two squared up, but Lance shook his head.

“No, it’s final.”

Greg took a step back, “You can never see me as anyone other than the dumb stoner that just coasts through everything.” He crossed his arms, a disappointed look on his face. “I went to rehab, I got better, I got my shit together. But you always dismiss me when I try to offer help or suggestions.”

“You’re currently smoking a blunt,” Lance said coldly.

I personally think Greg and Shadow Breeze should come with us, they’ve proven they can handle themselves. But with the way Lance is acting, I’m not so sure about voicing that opinion right at this moment.

Greg facepalmed, seeming to give up. “I relapsed to save you, dumbass. Otherwise I wouldn’t have touched the shit. I want to stop right now, but I can’t. We have too much going on.”

“Excuses,” Lance shook his head. “Any reason to get high, huh?”

“You know what?” Greg said with a sigh as he turned to leave the room, waving over his shoulder at them. “I’m done. Good luck, guys.”

Lance watched him leave, then sighed. “Don’t mind him guys, he’s just high.”

I stared at Lance, realizing that despite him being a good man, he held certain biases against his friends. I don’t know how I feel about that.

“Greg was a great help in saving you,” Calypso said in a strict tone.

“I’m sure he was, but I can’t worry about saving our friends and also him at the same time.” Lance nods to Ominus, “Continue.”

Ominus sighed, shaking his head. “The Eternal Plains are endless, with no end in any direction. So there are teleport stations all over the plains. Those are what I’ll be using to get you in, and you’ll be using them to get to our friends when I can locate them.”

“So, our plan is to teleport to one of these stations that are near them, then just walk around till we find them?” I asked, focusing on the mission at hand.

“It’s the best I can do,” Ominus said with a shrug. “You can take your time. If we get into a hurry down there, we’ll make mistakes. We need to stay under the Watcher’s radar till we find one of our friends and reveal ourselves. If all goes according to plan, we’ll find him before he finds us. If he tracks me down first, then he’ll be able to take his time in dealing with us. We can not let that happen.

“Do not go down there and cause a big scene, do not mention the Watcher, and definitely do not follow any clues you see that could lead to him. They’ll more than likely be traps set up by him.”

He looked at me and Lance, eyes lingering on Lance before sighing again. “Go get some rest you two, I’m going to get everything ready.”

Lance only nodded in response as he turned and walked out of the room, followed by Calypso and Shadow Breeze. I started to follow, but Ominus reached out and held me back.

“Hold on, Scamp, I need to speak with you.”

I give him a strange look as I stop and turn to face him, “Everything okay?”

He looks me over and checks my right foreleg and wing, “How’s the new appendages holding up?”

My leg stretched out and flexed, “It’s doing pretty well. It’s still a bit weird having body parts made of living mechanical flesh, but ya know, I’m used to it now.”

“Good, good…” he frowns, getting serious. “I need you to look after Lance while you’re in the Eternal Plains. He’s a good guy, and despite what we just saw, he loves his friends and will do anything for them. He’ll even do anything to help or save random people. I need you to get him on track, and not get himself killed. You’ve been traveling with him for the past two months, so you already know how he can be”

I can’t help but chuckle at this, as I’d seen my fair share of how dumbly selfless he can be. “I’ll watch after him, don’t worry.”

Ominus smiles as he nods and walks back to the floating icons. “Get some rest, Scamp. You two will have a lot of work ahead of you over the coming months.”

I didn’t need to be told twice as I turned and left for my room. As I walked down the hallway, I passed Greg’s room, where I saw him staring at his hands while sitting on his bed.

“You good?” I ask, stopping to check on him.

He didn't look up at me as he replied. “I’m good. I just thought he’d finally see past my old self after all we’ve done.”

“Sometimes,” I say, leaning on the door frame. “The opinions we form of others aren’t easily changed. Lance may never be able to see past your past, but he still loves you and just wants you to be safe.”

“Yeah, I know,” he lays back on the bed, lifting a blunt to his lips, “Call me selfish, but I want to be taken seriously by my friends, not be looked at as the idiot stoner.”

A frown graced my face. I’m not even sure how to help him with this situation. This is more of a Calypso kind of problem, she knows just what to say in moments like this.

“I suggest talking this through with Calypso,” I suggested, slowly walking backwards out of the room.

“Okay,” was his only response.

With an awkward smile I backed all the way out the door and then continued down the hall to my room. I need to get out of this gear and shower, badly.

As I neared my room, I saw Lance enter his own room, looking just as tired as I felt.

My room, and bed, greeted me as I entered my room. I stripped my gear off as I headed for the shower, sighing loudly.

“This shit just gets better and better.”

Welcome to the Plains

Chapter 2

I adjusted my new clothing as I looked myself over in the mirror, the zip up jacket actually looking quite nice on me. The two tones of blue adding to the look; the upper legs and hood being a darker blue than the rest of the jacket that extends down past my flank.

The baggy grey pants really helped by allowing me to still be able to use my full range of movement. There was only one part of the whole ensemble that I wasn’t so sure about.

Ominus said we’d have to dress for both combat but also to blend in. He called it the Assassin’s Creed approach, whatever that means.

So he’s replaced my helmet and visor with a simple mask.

I guess simple isn’t the right word, as it can do everything my helmet could do, and more. Plus it attached to my face with some kind of magic so no straps.

The mask itself was grey with green predatorial eyes in deep black sockets. Two little green horns adorn the top of the mask above the eyes; Ominus called them Oni horns. The mask extended down into almost a beak that would cover my snout.

Overall it looked somewhat like an owl's face.

I place the mask on my left shoulder, where it locks into place. Very convenient.

I do final adjustments, making sure the pistol on my left foreleg was attached properly, as well as the retractable talons on my right leg.

“Perfect,” I muttered, jumping a few times and flaring my wings, pleased with the fit of everything.

Happy with everything I teleport to the door and step out. I step up to Lance’s door and bang on it.

“I’m almost done!” Came his response as the sound of crashing could be heard from his room, followed by cursing.

A chuckle escaped my lips as I shook my head. He may be older than me by a wide margin, but boy did he act like a teenager sometimes.

The door opened and he stepped out in his pony form, striking a pose. “How do I look? Pretty cool? Badass?”

A brown trench coat adorns his body, covering most of it. The high collar coming up to his jawline. He even had on a cowboy hat with a blue bandana around his neck, and a pair of ridiculous goggles with red lenses hung around his neck.

“Ominus is messing with you, isn’t he?” I asked, slapping the brim of the hat down, covering his face.

“No?” He asked in confusion as he fixed the hat. “I picked these clothes out myself.”

“Ah,” I spin around and start heading for the command center, a large smile plastered on my face.

“Why?! Is something wrong with them? Do I look stupid!?” He asked as he ran to catch up to me.

I just smiled wider as he stared at me for an answer.

“I can’t tell when you’re joking with me or being serious,” he said with a frown.

“Don’t worry about it,” I slug his shoulder with my wing.

“I will worry about it,” Lance muttered as we entered the command center.

Ominus stood before a portal, looking nervous. “I have to admit, I do not like sending you two down there. A lot can happen. And dying there is not the same as dying out here.”

“How?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Since they operate on a Soul system, where they use souls for everything, if you die you don’t go to an afterlife. You just become a part of a weapon or used as currency. It’s basically a continuous existence where you are aware of everything happening but can’t do anything other than exist.” He looked at our now horrified looks. “I mean, it’s super simple! Don’t die.”

“Very simple,” I mocked, shaking my head. Dying has never scared me, as I had an idea of what happens to us. But now knowing for a fact the outcome of us dying in this new world has me a bit worried. “What should we do when we arrive?”

He gave a nod as he gestured to the portal. “You two will be appearing by a teleport station, no one will think you’re out of place, nor will anyone care. Wild dimension denizens will make their way to the Eternal Plains one way or another, so you don’t need to hide that fact about yourselves.

“Once there, you should start by talking to someone at one of the larger shops about where to get Soul weapons and to have your Soul abilities unlocked. I can’t help you there, I’m afraid. The only good news is while on the plains everyone can understand each other, so there’s no need to worry about language barriers.”

“Sounds easy to me,” Lance commented, tipping his cowboy hat dramatically.

“It’s not, but I believe in you two.” He walked over and placed a hand on each of our shoulders. “Please, be careful. If you get in trouble call me, I’ll send in Calypso as close to you as I can. But refrain from contacting me as each time you do, it could give us away to the Watcher.” He squeezes our shoulders then walks back to the portal, “When you find one of our friends, place one of the beacons on them and I’ll instantly beam them back here, then I’ll start the hunt for the Watcher.”

“Gotcha,” I said, giving him a salute, which just caused him to chuckle.

“Good luck you two.”

Lance and I stepped towards the portal, with him going in first.

“Scamp,” Ominus said before I entered, causing me to turn to him. “If things start to get dangerous, use the beacons on yourselves. Just know, anyone I pull out with the beacon will be banned from returning to the plains, so only use it in a life or death situation.”

“Thank you, Ominus,” I said with a smile.

“You can call me Nathan,” he said with a content smile on his face.

I give a bow as I back into the portal, entering the Eternal Plains.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I’m not sure what I expected, but the world before me was beyond my imagination. We were on a grassy hill with an endless city around us, stretching far into the distance in all directions.

“I thought it’d be just plains,” Lance said aloud, voicing my own thoughts.

“New arrivals?” A large bear looking creature said as he stood up from where he’d been laying against a building, presumably the teleporting hub.

“Yep! We’re new to the Eternal Plains!” Lance announced freely, much to my annoyance. I’d rather not be so forthcoming with that kind of info.

“Ah, so wildlings? Perfect! I’m the official tour guide of the Plains!” He said joyfully, shaking Lance’s hoof with his large bear claws.

“We’re damn lucky then to appear at the right teleport gate then!” Lance replied in a joyful voice, much to the creature's delight.

“Names Lembak,” he said with a toothy grin.

“Lance Greenfield!” He then gestures to me, “this is Scamp.”

“Nice to meet you, Scampy,” Lembak said with such charm I wanted to barf.

“Yeah,” was the only response I gave as I pulled up my hood, eyes locked with his.

“Eh…” he rubbed the back of his head, appearing uncomfortable under my stare. “Right, tour guiding! Since you both are new then you’ll need somewhere to stay. I know of such a place.”

“No,” I cut him off. “We don’t need a place to stay. What we need are weapons and information about Souls.”

He stared back at me dumbfounded before collecting himself, “say, what are you two doing here if you don’t mind me asking? You seem to know more than most newcomers.”

“Oh, we’re here too…” Lance began to say.

“Lance,” I snap, catching them both off guard as I step between them and stare up at the bear-like creature. “We’re here on business, our business.”

He frowned deeply, but didn’t ask any further questions.

“So mister ‘tour guide’,” I started, the sarcasm at mentioning his title almost dripping from my mouth. “Guide us. Where is the nearest place that deals in Souls?”

His frown deepened, but he relented with a sigh, “go down this hill by following the path. Walk till you see a building labeled ‘Hemps Emporium’. He’ll be the guy you want to talk to.”

I narrow my eyes at him, causing him to look away from us. I then break my cold stare and smile. “Thank you, Lembak.” With a twirl and a flick of my tail, I start down the hill.

“I’m so sorry about her, she’s a bit rough around the edges,” Lance apologized for me, causing me to roll my eyes.

He ran to catch up with me, “You don’t have to be so rude, you know.” A frown was on his face, “I think it’s best if I handle all conversations going forward.”

“Look,” I said carefully, trying not to snap on him. “That guy is a conman, I don’t know his angle, but he’s definitely not a ‘tour guide’.”

“But he seemed so nice, I’m sure you’re just reading too deeply into him,” Lance countered.

A sigh escaped my lips as I turned to him, “You’re a good man, Lance. Maybe too good. I respect you, but I need you to take a step back, pull your head out of your ass and try seeing the world for what it is. Not what you want it to be.”

I may have been a bit harsh, as his ears lowered slightly as he looked ahead, chewing on his lip. Finally, he asked, “If you don’t trust him, why are we going where he said to go?”

“We’re not,” I said with a smirk. “I ain’t going anywhere near the place he suggested. We’re going to look elsewhere for the stuff we need.”

Lance didn’t look pleased with that. “I’d rather we not wander aimlessly. But okay.”

There we go, I was afraid he’d argue for us to do it his way.

We traveled down the street, creatures of all kinds walking around us. Surprisingly, I was seeing more human like creatures than anything else.

“What about there?” Lance asked, pointing down a long street where a sign was clearly visible. ‘Monsieur Crane’s Soul Service’.

“Perfect place to start,” I said in agreement and turned to head that way.

It didn’t take us long to weave through the crowd before we were at the building under the sign. Despite the sign being massive and impressive, the building in question was small and quaint.

I pushed open the door and we stepped into the building. There wasn’t much in the way of product or decor, just a simple room with weird objects locked away in cases, and a single table near the back.

“Coming, my friends!” A voice called out in a weird accent. After a moment a strange creature stepped out of a back room and threw open its four arms. “Ah welcome! Welcome to Monsieur Crane’s Soul Service! The finest in the Plains!”

I took this creature in, not able to gauge him very well. His slender body, long neck and jovial smile not giving anything away.

“Are you able to help us unlock our Soul abilities and make soul weapons?” Lance asked, just jumping straight to the point.

The creature laughed as he stepped up to the table and took a seat in a large pillow covered chair, “oh no no no, I’m simply the guide to those peoples! I can help with information and even point you towards required materials, but that’s it! That’s more than enough, yes?”

I eye him carefully as I step up before him and plant my hooves on his table. He reacted by smiling and placing two of his hands behind his head.

“What do you charge?” I asked, causing him to chuckle lightly while holding his other two hands up.

“My fees are rather cheap, despite the amazing services I provide,” he smiled back at me calmly, holding my gaze.

Lance stepped up beside me. “We are new here, so we actually don’t have anything like Souls or things like that.”

“Wildlings?” He asked in surprise, clapping his hands together. “Oh wonderful! It’s been so long since I’ve had the pleasure of meeting others from outside the Plains!”

He jumped up and spread his hands wide. “In that case, you are in luck! I am a collector of stories, with a deep interest in stories from beyond the Plains! I’ll take those as payment in your cases!”

“So you want us to tell you stories?” I asked, dumb struck at the idea.

He waved a finger at me, “‘Not simply tell, I want to experience them! I have a device that can copy memories. If you use it and copy some memories to it, I’ll take that as payment.”

I frowned deeply at this. I did not like the idea of handing over my own memories to this guy. Or anyone for that matter.

“Deal,” Lance announced, causing me to facehoof.

“Excellent! Tell me what you want and I’ll tell you the price!” The creature probably named Crane said in glee, almost dancing in place.

My frown remained as I made our request. “We need to unlock our Soul abilities, how do we?”

“So simple! I’ll only need a happy memory for that kind of information.” He stepped away and retrieved a device. Placing it before Lance, he held up a strange hat-like device attached to the main device.

“Uh, just put that on?” Lance asked, not even questioning any of this.

“Yes yes! Once on, it will take you into your mind. Once there you can just simply pick a happy memory for me! Any will do as long as it’s got a story attached to it!”

“Okay?” Lance put on the helmet. His eyes glazed over and he slammed face first onto the table, slumping to the ground.

I glared at the creature, who only smiled awkwardly back at me. “Ehhh, he was supposed to wait and lay down. Standing up while using produces those kinds of results.”

“Yeah,” I say, still glaring. “Don’t worry, it’s on brand for him.”

Lance groaned as he slowly stood up, removing the helmet and rubbing his face. “There, I let you have a copy of when my son was born. That thing hurts your face apparently when using it though.”

“No, you slammed your face into the table by misusing the device,” I tease, a coy smile on my face.

“Huh,” was his only response.

“Oh wonderful, wonderful!” Crane exclaimed as he reviewed a screen on the device. He sits back down into his extravagant chair, smiling up at the two.

“Unlocking your Soul abilities is actually quite simple. The materials however, not so simple to get.”

“Go on,” I pressed, my displeasure not very well hidden.

He started twirling his fingers about, acting carefree. “To unlock your Soul abilities, you will need a Soul Mystic, and a very special living gem covered in etchings of an unknown language. Very rare, and only can be used a few times before being depleted.”

I nodded along, writing notes into my PDA. “And where can we find one of these gems?”

Crane clapped his four hands together, “lucky you, I actually know the location of one of these gems. I just need another happy memory and it’s yours!”

“Lance pay the man,” I say over my PDA as I keep tapping away at it with my wing tips.

Lance groaned as he grabbed the helmet and put it back on.

“Lay down first,” I reminded, but the sound of him slamming into the table again just caused me to sigh.

After a few moments, he came back too and stood up, rubbing his snout. “Ugh, yeah, I gave you a memory of me meeting my wife. Damn that hurts!”

“It doesn’t hurt those who use it properly,” Crane commented, smiling at the screen.

“Ah yes yes,” he finally says. “So I have the teleport hubs tag you’ll need, and the location of the gems once you arrive. Only bad news; You won’t be the only ones looking for it. Other relic hunters and the like will be there. Very nasty business getting put up against them. But if you are fast and agile, I know you can score the win before them!”

Crane gave four thumbs up, only getting frowns from the two of us.

“Great,” I sighed as I held out my PDA attached to my foreleg. “Put the info into this.”

“Ah little fun computer,” Crane chuckled as he reached out with two hands and tapped away at the screen. “There. The tag ID and directions to the general location. Courtesy of Monsieur Crane!”

I looked at the info he’d typed into my PDA, frowning. “Those are some very basic directions.” The directions literally just say ‘walk west down hill, enter labyrinth, find gem!’.

“I pride myself on keeping things simple!” He replies with a wide smile.

“Okay, what about the Soul weapons?” Lance questioned.

Crane only shook his head, his smile never breaking. “Those are more complicated. Soul abilities first, then we talk about Soul armament’s.”

“Uh-Huh, thanks,” I said slowly, still not able to gauge this guys motives.

“You have been a great help, Monsieur Crane. We will be back soon!” Lance said happily holding out his hoof for a shake.

Crane leaned forward and shook his hoof with all four of his hands, “Yes! I look forward to living the memories you’ve given me! I wish you the safest of travels and luck, my new friends!”

I rolled my eyes as I stepped out of the shop and waited for Lance.

He came out smiling happily, “I really like this guy.”

“Yeah, I will too if this info turns out to lead anywhere.” I examined the picture of the gem that just pinged up onto my screen. It was just a simple looking ruby with cyan lines etched all over it in strange designs.

“I trust him,” Lance announced as we walked for the teleport hub.

“You trust everyone,” I remarked back, smirking.

“Not everyone and you know it,” he pouted, knowing I was right.

As we neared the hill, I saw Lembak sitting by the building. Once he saw us approaching he got up and quickly started walking away, looking like we’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t be doing.

“We’ll see you later, Lembak!” Lance called after him, waving when he stopped and looked back at us.

“You can count on it, Lemy,” I said with a single wave, causing him to get back to retreating from us.

“I rest my case,” I said as I stepped towards the front doors of the large tower-like building.

“What case?” Lance asked, seeming to forget our previous conversation about him trusting everyone. “Scamp, what case?!”

I could only laugh as I pushed open the doors and step inside the teleport hub.

I will walk 500 miles

Chapter 3

The inside of the teleport hub was actually very basic looking. A blank cylinder shaped room that extended high into the sky, with a simple button in the center of the room.

“I expected more,” Lance said in disappointment as he entered behind me.

Taking a quick look around, I took a step up to the button in the middle of the room and pressed it. The entire room suddenly blinked away, leaving us standing in a dark blue void, with what looked to be stars all around us.

“Uhhh, what do we do now?” Lance asked, looking just as confused as I felt.

“Location ID or desired destination?” A loud but sweet female voice asked from all around us.

I blinked a few times before bringing up my PDA. I read off the long string of numbers, letters, and symbols. Not sure if that’s what I was supposed to do.

The voice stayed quiet for a moment before the whole room shifted to a light green color.

“Location reached. Thank you.”

“No thank you!” Lance called out, but received no response.

Behind us a door appeared as the room faded back to white.

We looked around, frowning.

“Did we even move?” Lance looked skeptical.

Instead of answering him, I walked for the door and stepped outside. A barren land greeted me.

“Oh, we definitely moved.”

We stepped outside and looked around; there was nothing in sight in any direction. Except for, of course, a single building made of stone not too far away from the hill.

“Well that’s obviously the Labyrinth,” Lance stated, heading for the building.

It didn’t take us long to reach the lone building, which was barely bigger than a small shack.

“So this is a labyrinth,” Lance said, sounding unimpressed.

I rolled my eyes as he missed the obvious. With a bit of a heave, I pushed open the door revealing a descending stairwell that seemed to go down forever.

“Oh,” was his only response to seeing the deep stairwell. “I really don’t like this.”

“Yeah, but we’re going in,” I all but commanded as I put on my mask and started walking downward.

Behind me, Lance groaned as he cursed and followed me down.

Thirty minutes passed before we came to the end of the stairwell. I expected darkness, but light seemed to immanent out of the stone walls around us, keeping the area nicely lit.

Before us lay at least twenty different passages, leading who knows where.

“Oh God, what if we get lost?!” Lance panicked.

I just rolled my eyes and held up my PDA. “This bad boy has auto mapping. We aren’t getting lost down here, trust me.”

The map on the screen slowly grew, revealing more and more of the area around us, showing dead ends and what could be drop offs.

“That thing is cheating,” Lance commented with a relieved grin. “Ominus is the best at gift giving, that’s for sure.”

I only nodded in agreement as I followed the many tunnels on the PDA with my eyes. Finally, I found one that looked promising.

“This way,” I led us down the rows of tunnels till we came to the desired one and began heading down it.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Fuck how long is this going to take?” Lance asked at the eight hour mark of walking the labyrinth, sweat running down his face.

I sighed, according to my PDA’s map we still had what appeared to be an endless expansion of tunnels around us. “Just keep walking, we’ll make camp later to rest.”

ooo000<^>000ooo
Next day

With a heave I threw my sleeping bag filled with camping gear back into the mini pocket dimension Ominus gave us for storage. I turned to Lance who looked like he’d lost hope.

“Come on, Lance. Chin up,” I said in a forced cheerful voice as I walked by him and hauled him to his hooves.

“This could take a long time to find this gem, not to mention the walk out,” he said with his ears flat to his head.

I slugged him in the shoulder a bit too roughly, “we’ll worry about that later, little baby.”

He frowned, “I’m not a baby, I’m a grown man.”

“Of course you are,” I smirked, getting him to at least smile.

His mood seemed to improve as he started walking down the tunnel, “well! Back to it!”

ooo000<^>000ooo
Three days later

I turned the corner, keeping a steady pace. Checking my map I then turned down another passage. I pushed forward, shifting the weight on my back.

“So many turns,” Lance groaned from his position slung across my back, hooves scraping the ground every other step I took.

“Stop complaining, you’re not the one carrying a BIG baby around,” I snapped, irritated that he wasn’t in good enough shape to walk for days on end.

He didn’t seem to have it in himself to retort, just went back to staring at the ground as I walked us down the next bland passage.

At the next corner I turned and came to a sudden stop, eyes wide in surprise.

About thirty feet away just coming out of another tunnel was a man, who looked just as surprised to see me.

I started to say something to him, but he immediately charged at me, drawing a short axe with a cyan colored blade.

My eyes shot open in surprise as I bounced Lance up into the air, much to his loud protest, and bucked him back down the passage we’d just come from.

The man took a swing for me with such ferocity that I saw the muscles on his arms basically explode in size.

Just as the blade came near me, I teleported behind him, my retractable talons flashing as I swung them across the back of his head.

Despite all his raw power that he clearly had, he was slow. His body crumpled to the floor with a thud.

I flicked the blood from my talons and retracted them.

“Uh, that was easy,” I mumbled as I looked at his short handled axe, watching in confusion as the blade slowly dulled from cyan to grey. I reached down to pick it up, and the whole thing crumbled in my grasp.

“What?” Was the only reaction I could have to the sight of the weapon disintegrating before me.

“Jesus! Who is he?” Lance asked as he walked up to me, rubbing his side where I had bucked him.

“Probably someone like us, looking for that gem,” I said as I started going through his pockets, using my wings to dig deep and pull everything out.

“We’re looting the dead now?” Lance asked in a disapproving tone.

I just rolled my eyes as I moved to his bag and dumped it out. There was just junk, food, smoke bombs, and… you gotta be kidding me.

“Is that the damn gem?!” Lance asked, falling to his knees before the ruby covered in cyan etchings.

I was both relieved and annoyed by this; if we’d missed this man then we would have never found the gem.

It was right then I noticed he already had a deep gash on his side, fresh. That didn’t come from me.

My ears perked at the sound of running footsteps approaching us. I picked up the gem and tossed it into the pocket dimension and turned to face the tunnel the footsteps emitted from.

“Back up, Lance,” I commanded in a low voice as I lowered into a fighting stance.

Moments later a woman came sprinting out of the passage. She slid to a stop as she saw us and the dead man.

Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to take it all in, not reacting just yet.

I took the moment to look her over. Unlike the man, who was nothing but muscle and crudely dressed, this woman was lean and dressed like a punk. Her pants seemed to sit low as her boxers sat above her belt line. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail that seemed to barely be enough to hold her hair up. On her hip was a sword that resembled a chokuto, a little music note charm dangling from the pommel.

All in all? I can take her.

The two of us stared at each other, neither moving a muscle as we tried to gauge the other.

Lance must of moved, because at the sound of something scraping the floor, the two of us exploded into action.

She moved incredibly fast as I almost lost my head as her cyan blade left its sheath with such speed that it was at my neck by time I was able to react.

I teleported behind her, going for the same attack I’d used on the man. But to my immense surprise, she had already spun to meet me as I appeared behind her. With ease she deflected my talons, her sword starting to cut into my hoof as I flashed away.

I reappeared at her side, swiping her legs. She only stumbled a bit as she twisted her body in a strange way, going for another strike with her blade.

Time stopped as I watched the blade tip slowly inch towards my face. Even with time stopped, she was still moving!

My talons flashed as I went for a swipe at her midsection, but her hand, slowed down but still quick, slapped down and knocked my hoof down, throwing me off balance.

Time resumed as the blade tip shot past my face, cutting my left ear down the middle.

With a hiss I flashed a few feet away from her, but she twisted like an agile snake and followed after me. I slowed time, but it did nothing as her speed this time seemed barely affected. As her sword swung for me, I went to block it with my talons.

To my horror her blade cut through my talons like they didn’t exist and continued towards my face.

Luckily I was able to teleport away just as the edge reached my chin.

I stumbled as I appeared fifteen feet behind where I’d just been.

This woman is on a whole other level!

A sudden force, like telekinesis, pulled at me, sending me flying back towards her. I teleported away, but every time I did the same thing would happen.

It felt like something was attached to me and yanking me around!

As I was again pulled towards her, I twisted in mid air, righting myself and firing three bullets from my pistol at her. To my continued amazement she deflected each shot with her sword.

That most definitely is not fair!

Instead of teleporting away like I had been doing, I teleported back then suddenly forward, appearing in front of her, seeming to finally catch her by surprise.

My talons might have been ruined but I still had my hooves!

As I appeared in front of her, my front hoof slammed heavily into her face, sending her backwards. I snapped up my pistol and fired a few rounds after her.

She just deflected them again as she stumbled back and regained her footing.

I teleported back before she could retaliate.

“Wait!” Lance suddenly yelled, flying in between us in his Holy Dawn form. “Let’s all just stop and talk for a minute!”

I frowned at him, was he trying to get killed? This woman was a monster in battle!

The woman returned her sword to its sheath and stood up straight, placing her sword hand on her hip. She worked her jaw with the other.

I took her lead, still being weary of her as her speed meant she could still draw and use that sword before we could react, and stood up straight.

Lance looked between us and sighed in relief. “Good, we don’t need to fight.” He turned to the woman. “We found the gem on that man over there. We’re willing to give it to you after we use it to get our soul abilities. Okay?”

I facehoofed, he really was an idiot.

The woman looked at both of us, then shook her head. “It’s called Ego.” She crossed her arms, her eyes still narrowed. “Why make an offer like that?”

“Because,” Lance said, stepping towards her, smiling, “there’s no reason to fight. We can split it. We use two to get our, eh, Ego abilities, and you can have it after. It should have at least one use left in it.”

“Just Ego.” The woman shakes her head, “I don’t think you exactly understand the item you have.”

Lance chuckled sheepishly, “yeah you’re right, we don’t. We’re not from this place. I’m from an Earth dimension, and she’s from a fictional dimension.”

I frowned deeply at this, not wanting to just give away this kind of information. Especially to someone I was just fighting!

This revelation caused the woman’s narrowed gaze to relax. “I see.” She then looked to me. “You’re pretty skilled, for a horse.” I could feel a slight jab hidden in her words.

“Yeah, you too,” I responded, snorting and spitting a glob of mucus onto the ground.

She frowned at my actions, as I intended.

“Guys, let’s just keep it civil,” Lance said carefully, sensing the tension between myself and the woman. He holds out a hood to her, smiling, “Lance Greenfield.”

The woman stares at him for a long moment before reaching out and shaking his hoof, “Bronwyn Pendragon.”

At her stare, I frowned, eyes glaring at her behind my mask. “Scamp.”

“Now that we’ve been introduced,” Bronwyn began, stepping back from Lance. “Nicely hand over the Ego Ruby. I will not let you grossly misuse it.”

“Not happening, sister,” I say calmly, blading my hind legs slightly, lowering back into a fighting stance.

She seemed to want to say something, but instead flashed past Lance, and instantly appeared before me. She didn’t teleport, she’s just moving very fast!

Her sword was already moving towards my neck, but I anticipated this. Time slowed down as I barely dodged her strike and head butted her stomach. I then instantly clamped down on her leg with my teeth, biting till I felt blood in my mouth.

Suddenly a loud boom filled the room, followed by Bronwyn being thrown away from me. I stared blankly as I realized Lance had just punched her away.

He suddenly spun on one hind leg and slammed his other back leg into my face, sending me flying backwards in the same fashion as the woman.

“ENOUGH!” He bellowed, three voices mixed into one. This caused me to stop what I was doing and stare at him. Bronwyn did the same, staring at him in shock.

Lance was in a form I’d never seen before; it was similar to his Angel form, but he had an angry glow around his body, and horns on his head. More devil than angel, but both at the same time.

“We are going to stop fucking fighting and talk!” He roared, slamming his hooves into the ground.

Bronwyn and I looked at each other, both seeming to weigh our options.

“Let’s talk than,” Bronwyn said as she held up her hand as her sword, which had been knocked out of her grasp, flew to her. She caught it and returned it to its sheath.

I sigh and nod in agreement as I fully stand up, removing my mask and putting it back on my shoulder.

Lance exhaled heavily as he returned to his normal self. “Good. Now what do you mean you won’t let us misuse the gem?”

Bronwyn eyed him, seeming to look for his angle. “That ‘gem’ is an Ego Ruby. It’s filled with unique souls of very powerful beings. They’re meant to be used as keys to enter locked dimensions.” She scoffed, “but to use them to just gain Ego? That’s a ridiculous waste of life and potential.”

“But,” Lance started, looking confused, “Monsieur Crane said if we got this ‘Ego Ruby’ then we’d be able to have a mystic give us the abilities.”

She just stared at him blankly, “I have no idea who that is, but they’re either misleading you or are just a fool. Either way, there’s simpler ways to have your Ego released without having to go to one of those wacko mystics.”

Lance thought this over, and looked at me. I just sighed, shrugging at him.

He nodded like I’d just answered a question I didn’t know he asked. “Here’s the deal; we’ll give you the ruby if you help us unlock our Ego.”

Damned trusting idiot.

Bronwyn seemed annoyed at this, but she relented, holding her hands up. “You have a deal, pony boy.”

“Sweet!” Lance held out his wing to me expectantly.

I thought about refusing, but his innocently pleading eyes broke me. “Fine,” I pulled the Ego Ruby from the pocket dimension and tossed it to him.

He caught it and walked over to Bronwyn, holding it out to her.

She seemed a bit taken aback by all this, but nonetheless she took the Ruby and flicked it away into a different looking pocket dimension.

Lance smiled then turned to me, “plot a course out of here, Scamp! We have a couple days walk ahead of us!”

“Or,” Bronwyn injected, holding up three rune covered sticks, “we can use my Return charms, and instantly move to the exit.”

“That’s a thing here?!” Lance asked in excitement, clearly happy he didn’t have to walk all the way back.

She just shook her head as she handed one to Lance and tossed mine towards me. I caught it with my wing, the two of us eying each other.

We definitely were not going to get along.

Annoyance

Chapter 4

We all appeared right at the door that lead down into the labyrinth, much to Lance’s excitement as he started kissing the ground dramatically.

“Oh the outside! I’m never walking that much again!”

Bronwyn and I watched him, then looked at each other. It was clear neither of us liked the other.

“Where too?” Lance asked as he stood up and turned to her, pulling his goggles up.

The tall slender woman looked between us before nodding her head. “Follow me.”

She led us back up the hill to the teleport hub.

Once inside she hit the button, and pulled out some kind of paper. I expected her to read it, but she just tossed it into the air, where it burst into flames.

“Location reached,” the female voice said aloud as the room changed back to white.

At my questioning look, she sighed. “Flash ID tags. They store location data making it easier to travel to them.”

“Ah,” I mouthed as she led us out the door and into a desert location. A much smaller, but still massive, city lay before us.

“I’m going to take you to a friend of mine, then you’re on your own,” she didn’t look at us as she said this.

“Perfect,” I replied, shaking out my wings with a loud ruffle, much to Bronwyn’s annoyance.

We all walked in silence for a moment before she looked to Lance, who was walking next to her, “you said you were from an Earth dimension? If so, why are you a Pegasus?”

The fact she called him the correct terms, but used horse on me, irritated me greatly.

“Long, long story,” Lance laughed. “I actually wrote it all down right here in my book!” He pulled his book from his pocket dimension and hoofed it to her.

My eyes and nostrils flared as I watched her take the book and start reading it.

After a few pages, only glancing up to walk around obstacles, she gave a nod and looked at him. “Your grammar is absolutely terrible.” At his sheepish grin, she continued, “but I get the picture.”

She seemed to be thinking about something, looking slightly conflicted. “You know,” she began, looking to have made up her mind, “I have some friends who are also from an Earth dimension. Just not a recent one.”

“What do you mean a recent one?” Lance asked, obviously finding her very interesting.

Bronwyn grinned at this, “There are a lot of concepts that are well beyond your understanding. For one, I’m well over two cycle’s old.” At his very confused look, she laughed. “I told you, concepts well beyond you. Let’s just say I’ve been around a long time.”

“Whoa, so you’re immortal?” At her nod, he points to me, “so is she!”

“What?” Both Bronwyn and I asked in shock and surprise.

“Yeah duh,” he said, like I should already know this. But when he turned to see my confused face, he continued, “You’re Mr. Bleak’s kid, and both his son and grandson were immortal. So obviously that makes you immortal.”

I don’t think my eyes or mouth could open any wider as I stared at him. I hadn’t even thought of that! Me? An immortal? Just fuck, I have no idea how to feel about that.

Bronwyn just stared at me before saying, “welcome to the club, it only gets worse from here.”

“I…” I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Just, couldn’t you have dropped that on me earlier?!”

“I thought you knew,” Lance said with a shrug of his wings.

“Shit, Lance,” I groaned, facehoofing. It’s not like I want to die, but living forever unless I’m killed? I’m starting to hate the idea of it.

“Changing subjects,” Bronwyn suddenly said, keeping her head forward as we walked. “Why are you two here in the Plains?”

“Oh, we’re here to save some of our friends who were stolen by this being called the Watcher,” Lance freely said. I was too preoccupied with my own mental problems to be annoyed this time.

Bronwyn came to a stop, causing me to walk face first into her.

“This Watcher, what exactly is he?” She asked carefully.

Lance pointed to the book she still held, “it’s in the book, the last chapter.”

She flips the book open and goes to the end. She reads it, slowly flipping pages. Her face slowly shifted to a look of discomfort.

“I know this Watcher,” she suddenly said, causing Lance to stand up straight and flutter a bit.

“You do!?” He asked with a wide smile.

“Unfortunately,” she said, tossing the book back to Lance. “He’s the partner of one of my greatest enemies. The two of them have been thorns in my side since before I became… immortal.” She seemed to want to use another word other than immortal.

“So you know where he is?” Lance asked hopefully.

“No,” was her response, deflating Lance’s mood instantly. “But I’ve been looking for him and Lorenzo since I arrived on these plains.” She looked at the two of us. “I’m sorry to say your odds of finding the Watcher are far below zero.”

“Actually,” Lance started, seeming to be a bit smug, “We have a friend named Ominus who’s helping us look for our friends. So I think our chances are a lot higher.”

“Ominus?” She asked, looking completely dumbfounded. “Nathan the Traveler?!”

“You know him?” Lance asked, his smugness reaching new levels.

“Of course I know him,” she said with a frown. “My duties caused us to cross paths many times, but he was usually the cause of the problems I was coming to fix.”

“Wait, are you a traveler like Ominus?” I asked despite myself.

Her mood seemed to darken as she addressed me, “no, I am not. I am, was, an Enforcer of the Central Dimension before the Ultimate Authority Dimension made themselves known and brought about the Eternal Plains.”

Enforcer? Just having that title made me dislike her even more.

She looked back to Lance, her mood softening. “What’s his plan?”

“Well,” Lance began, ignoring my waves to get him to shut up, “each of our friends are spread out on the plains, and when either he or we locate one of them, we’ll rescue them. When we do, the Watcher will try and track us back to Ominus. But Ominus plans to do the same, and is confident he’ll be able to beat the Watcher at tracking.”

I was dumbfounded, but not surprised, this dumbass just told our entire plan to this strange woman!

“That’s actually a very good plan,” she said with an approving nod. “Of course I wouldn’t expect anything less from Nathan.”

She went quiet as she walked ahead a bit, looking to be deep in thought.

I teleported next to Lance and glared into the side of his face.

It took him a moment to realize I was there, and when he turned to see my glare, he winced. “You okay, Scamp?”

“You know when they say don’t meet your heroes?” I ask, my glare only intensifying. At his slow nod, I continued, “you are the example they should give.”

I look ahead and pick up my pace, flicking my tail into his face as I pass.

He was silent for a moment before coming to his senses. “Wait? Are you mad at me?! What’d I do?!”

I didn’t respond, just followed after Bronwyn, not pleased with this situation at all.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“That bitch,” I muttered while looking at my split ear in the mirror. Part of my ear still stuck up as it should, but the other half hung limp.

“Great,” I sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, walking back to where Bronwyn and Lance sat at a table.

I returned to my seat, using my wing to mess with my messed up ear.

“Is your friend supposed to meet us here or something?” Lance asked.

“He’s on his way,” Bronwyn answered, sitting with her arms crossed and leaning back on her chair. She still seemed to be deep in thought.

Glancing around, I noticed people and creatures were all clearing out slowly. “Is everyone leaving for a reason?”

“They don’t like the energy I’m giving off,” she replied in an uninterested tone.

I frown at her, “and what does that mean?”

Her eyes flicked to me, a slight smirk appearing on her face. “You’ll know when you unlock your Ego.”

“This is all so cool,” Lance commented, looking more and more excited with each passing minute.

The displeasure I felt having to play nice with this woman was intense. I’ve never had to make nice with someone I’ve had a fight with. They’re usually dead or arrested. It’s much simpler that way.

“There he is,” Bronwyn suddenly said as she stood up and walked across the now empty room to a man who had just stepped inside.

Lance and I followed her, with me being weary of the situation and Lance not able to hide his excitement.

“This them?” The man asked, looking us over.

“It is,” Bronwyn stated, pulling an item out and handing it to him.

The man looked it over and smiled a toothy grin, “that’s more generous than you normally are. Even giving me a tip? So kind, turning a new leaf, hm?”

“Do it and then be gone,” Bronwyn said with a flick of her wrist.

“Oh sure sure, right on it,” the man stepped up to us and slapped his hands together. He leaned his head forward and spoke into his hands in a strange tone.

After a moment, he reached out for us, his hands glowing a deep cyan. I leaned away at first, but seeing Lance all but jump into the man’s hand, letting him place his hand on his head, I relented. The man placed his hand on my head, and at first I felt nothing.

Then, the world seemed to brighten, become sharper. A serious chill ran through my body, followed by what felt like all my muscles relaxing then tensing.

The man stepped back, bowed, and disappeared in a bright flash.

“What the hell did he do?” I asked, feeling nothing different about myself now that he wasn’t here.

But looking at Bronwyn, I instantly knew something was different.

Cyan colored tendrils seemed to reach out of her body and grab onto random objects around us, even one on both Lance and me.

“You see it now,” she said with a smirk. “My Ego.”

I looked to Lance, who looked on in awe. His body was emitting a light blue glow, and so was mine when I looked at my hoof.

“That’s it? Say a few words and our Ego is unlocked?” I asked in disbelief.

“Now you see why I said it was a gross misuse of the Ego Ruby,” she replied, a bit mocking.

“What’s my Ego do?!” Lance asked, hopping from hoof to hoof.

She looked to him, “the only way to find out is through the use of a spell. Luckily, that spell is sold for cheap at most low end shops.” Reaching into her pocket dimension she pulled out two cubes, tossing one to each of us. “Go ahead and activate those, they’ll let you know the basics of your Ego.”

I looked over the cube, not really sure how to activate it.

“Squeeze it,” Bronwyn said with a sigh.

With both front hooves, I squeezed the hard cube. It suddenly started glowing a deep yellow, seeming to absorb the glow from my hooves.

It grew brighter till it finally split open, symbol’s floating up in front of me. I could not read these symbols.

Sensing my incomprehension, Bronwyn rolled her eyes. “You need to learn this. It says you can attach your Ego to others and disable their own Ego, and that you can also absorb and store Ego inside of yourself. Congratulations, a useful set of abilities.” Her tone was flat while speaking, showing no emotion.

“What about me!?” Lance all but begged.

She looked at his symbols and nodded in approval, “it looks like you can make cards using excess Ego and use them in any way you want. The effects of each card seems to be up to you and the Ego used to make them, but you can only have thirty in a deck at a time. Huh, that has potential to be an amazing ability!”

Lance actually let out a squeal of delight at this. “I get to be a duelist!”

Bronwyn’s normally emotionless expression softened into a smile, “You’re lucky, some receive an Ego that is pointless, and has little value for combat.”

“Thank you, Bronwyn,” Lance said happily as the two bumped fist to hoof.

I blinked at the pair getting along, and realized something. I was a background character! Just another group member of Lance’s party. Now that’s some bullshit right there.

“I’ve been doing some internal reflection,” Bronwyn suddenly said, getting our attention. “If you’ll have me, Lance, I’d like to accompany you. If you’re going after the Watcher, then you’ll need my help. He’s one of the many I am searching for, so marking him off my list will be a great help.”

Before I could voice my opinion, Lance smiled widely. “Welcome aboard, Ms. Pendragon!”

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“So how do I use my Ego?!” He asked, bouncing again.

Bronwyn rubbed her chin, “To use Ego, you’ll need to have excess stored inside of you. You’ll need to use a Ego weapon to slay foes to steal their soul. Or use Ego Jars. The best method is using your Ego weapon, so we’ll need to get you yours.”

Lance shook his head with a frown, “Well I don’t want to kill others just to get my powers.”

“You’ll have to,” Bronwyn replied simply. “Your Ego will require a lot of Ego just to work.”

“I could just use the Ego Jars,” Lance thought aloud, looking displeased.

She just shook her head at him, “You could, but they’re not that effective, and the Souls trapped inside of them are usually weak ones.” A sigh escaped her lips as she looked at me. “If you are against killing, Lance, then she can just transfer some of her Ego to you since she doesn’t seem to care about life like you do.”

I stared blankly back at her, eye twitching. That was an unnecessary jab.

“You’re right!” Lance said in agreement. “That solves that problem, so how do we get our Ego weapons?”

“I know of a Soul Smith. But we’ll need to obtain the metal you’ll use for your weapons.” She turned, waving for Lance to follow her.

As she and Lance stepped out of the building, I bucked my back leg back, shattering the table behind me.

“Hey!” the owner yelled from across the room.

I ignore him as I trot out the door, following the conversing pair.

“Each person is attuned to a different kind of metal,” Bronwyn said, Lance flying next to her. “There’s an endless mine we can head to, it’s a special place that has every single type of ore to ever exist in any dimension. You will need to pick the one that speaks to you.”

“How will I know?” Lance asked, rolling midair.

“Trust me,” she said with a smile, “You’ll know.”

Great, they’re getting along.

I reach up with my wing, flicking my torn ear with a frown. Reluctantly, I took to the air and caught up with them.

New toys

Chapter 5

I groaned as we walked past what must have been the hundredth ore deposit, not a single one ‘speaking’ to Lance or me. Trudging along behind the other two, who were talking about Lance’s past, I narrowed my eyes. I kick a rock, causing it to fly past the two and hit a wall..

Bronwyn turned to look at me, clearly annoyed at my actions. She raised an eyebrow, stopping in her tracks. I stopped as well, staring at her suspiciously.

“That’s not normal,” she muttered, staring right at me.

“What?” I asked, raising a hoof in confusion.

“Your Ego,” she started, looking me over. “It’s changing.”

When she didn’t elaborate, I sigh. “What do you mean?”

“The Ego that was infused into you to unlock your Ego is fading, your own replaces it over time. But your soul is… different.”

Lance looked at me in awe, “What’s that mean for her? Is it good or bad?”

Bronwyn stared at me for a moment longer before looking to Lance. “The normal color of Ego is Cyan. But hers,” her eyes shift back to mine, “is starting to become darker.”

“Huh,” Lance said with a cock of his head. “It's starting to look like Luna’s mane.”

I look at my hoof and see the glow around me had changed from the light cyan color to a dark indigo with little white sparkles mixed in. Like the night sky.

“Well,” Bronwyn says in a fake tone. “Aren’t you full of surprises, little horse.”

“Why don’t you let me show you some of my surprises,” I reply in a low voice, staring straight into her eyes.

Lance held up his hooves. “Hey guys, let’s stay on topic please.”

Both Bronwyn and I sigh, relenting.

“So, what does it mean for my Ego to be this color?” I ask, at least wanting to know that much.

She shrugged, “It could mean a lot of things, but to be honest, it usually just means you have damage to your soul.”

“... Wonderful.” That would be my luck. Wonder what it was that damaged my soul?

“But we need to get back to searching, we could be here a while,” she said, waving for us to follow. Then she stopped, turning to me with a frown. “If your soul is that color, then there is a possibility I know which metal you’re attune to.”

My suspicious look didn’t drop as she then led us down another passage.

We walked for a few hours, with Lance answering any and all questions she threw his way. She was very interested in his time before the Watcher showed up, actually laughing loudly at some of his stories.

If she had an angle, I couldn’t see it. I want her to try and betray us, that way I can deal with her and we can move on with our mission in peace.

“Try this,” she finally says over her shoulder to me. She steps aside and I see a strange ore deposit. It looked exactly like my aura; the night sky dotted with stars. “Starry Night, also known as Deep Space. It's a metal that only appears in a single dimension. I’ve never seen anyone who could use it, so give it a go.”

I frown as I step past her and up to the large ore deposit. At first, I thought nothing would happen. But as I neared, my aura began to almost reach out for it.

“That one…” a voice that sounded vaguely like my own echoed in my mind.

“Eh,” I said awkwardly, watching as my aura spread out around the ore. “I think I heard a voice in my head just now.”

“Yep, that’s your metal then,” Bronwyn said, trying to sound unimpressed, but a hint of amazement shown through.

“That’s badass looking,” Lance said with a wide smile.

I looked the ore deposit over, unsure of how we’d cut any of it away. “How do we…”

A series of blue blurs hit the ore as a chunk fell away. I glance to my side at Bronwyn in annoyance as she sheathed her sword.

“There you go,” she said with a large smirk.

“Yeah,” I walked over and lifted the ore, my aura seeming to absorb into it. It felt like it weighed barely anything.

“Wow, let me see that,” Lance said as he stepped up, holding out a hoof.

I reached out and let him take it, but the moment he tried to lift it from my hoof, he couldn’t. He looked at it in confusion and grabbed it with both hooves, straining as he tried to use his whole body to lift it from my hoof.

“What the hell?! How are you holding something so damn heavy?!” He asked in astonishment.

“It’s not even heavy?” I looked at him in confusion. Is he messing with me?

Bronwyn stepped up, her smirk still there. “It’s attuned to her soul already. That’s the wonder of Ego weapons; they are completely connected to their owner, and refuse anyone else who tries to wield them. Right now, that ore will be attuned to her until she steps away from it. Once it's infused fully with her soul by a smith, then it’ll become a real Ego weapon.”

I stared at the chunk of ore in awe, amazed that something like this could exist.

“Ooo! Then let’s go find mine now!” Lance started hovering in place, looking to be about to explode in excitement.

“I actually may have an idea for you as well,” she said, walking forward. “If you’re an Angel, then there's a few ore’s I know of that may fit you.”

As the two of them walked away, I stayed staring at the ore that looked like the night sky, mesmerized by the swirling pattern of the metal. It took a moment, but I tore my eyes from the strange ore and threw it into my pocket dimension. I galloped to catch up to the others.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Okay, try that one,” Bronwyn said with a frown as Lance ran to another ore deposit, the twelfth one so far.

“Nothing,” he yelled back to her, looking panicked as he desperately wanted to find his special metal.

“Hm,” she rubbed her chin. “That was the last Holy kind of ore I know of. I thought for sure it would have been one of them.”

Lance didn’t look like he was anywhere near ready to give up as he turned to us, “Well, let’s keep trying!”

With a sharp nod, Bronwyn spun on her heels and headed for a different tunnel. “We can try a few different places.”

As Lance walked towards where we’d been sitting, he stopped and looked right at me. Eyes wide.

I blinked back at him, not sure what he was seeing or thinking. “You good?”

“That stone you’re sitting on, Break said it's speaking to us.” Lance had an entranced look on his face as he looked at what I was sitting on.

Hopping up, I turned to look at what he was interested in, and raised an eyebrow. It looked like nothing special.

“That one?” Bronwyn asked as she came back to stand beside him. “You sure?”

“Positive,” Lance said as he stepped closer, his aura being pulled towards it.

Bronwyn just blinked, staring at the ore. She stepped forward without a word and pulled her sword, slicing a chunk off for Lance, who took the piece and held it up.

“What is this metal?” he asked in amazement.

“It’s…” She looked puzzled, “Iron.”

“What?” Lance asked, his amazement and wonder dying in an instant. “Just iron? Is it like holy iron? Or some kind of special kind?”

“Nope,” she said in disbelief. “Just simple Earth iron.”

Lance just stared at the iron ore, dejected and disappointed. “So my Ego weapon won’t be very strong, huh?”

“The type of metal doesn’t affect the durability,” Bronwyn assured. “Ego weapons are indestructible, and can only be destroyed by a vastly stronger Ego weapon, or if the user dies. The type of metal just affects its looks and some of the qualities of the weapon itself.”

She draws her sword and holds it before us, letting us finally examine it up close.

“Mine, for example, was forged from a material that the gods of my world used. It's filled with my Ego and righteousness. If my mother was to be believed, it was the same kind of material that a hero named Jack from my original world used to defeat the ultimate evil.” She twirls the sword and returns it to its sheath. “My point is, the material is usually special to you for a reason. And for some reason, iron is what you’re drawn to. Your weapon will be just as special as any other Ego weapon, so do not dread it.”

Lance didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Thank you, Bronwyn.”

She smiles as she pulls out three return charms, giving one to each of us.

Wasting no time, we all use the charms and appear at the entrance to the mine.

Like a young colt, Lance took off running for the teleport hub, yelling over his shoulder, “Come on, guys!”

I shook my head with a smile as he ran off. Then I looked at Bronwyn, and my smile faded.

She stared back at me, also frowning.

We didn’t say anything, just stared at each other.

“I don’t like you, lady,” I finally said, voicing my opinion out loud finally and directly.

“The feeling is mutual, mule,” she replied back, putting a hand on her hip.

“You ruined my ear,” I said with a bit of a growl as I pointed at my ear with a wing tip.

She smiles back at me, “yes, I did. If it makes you feel better, I was aiming for your eye.”

“You only had the upper hand because of that sword, if you’d had a normal weapon like I did, the outcome would have been much different,” I said, glaring up at her.

She crouched down to my level, “if I recall, you were on the defensive the entire fight. Using that teleport and time stopping ability to avoid me. I don’t need a weapon to out match you.”

A smug smirk crawled onto my face, “Yeah? How’s the bite doing?” I lick my lips mockingly.

Her frown returns as she stands up, staring down at me. “If Lance hadn't stopped us, you’d be dead right now.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” I stared defiantly back up at her.

“Guys?! Come the fuck on!” Lance called from the teleport hub doorway up the hill.

The two of us stared at each other coldly, but we both turned and headed up the hill towards Lance.

Lance stopped us before we could walk past him and enter the hub. “Is everything okay between you two?”

There was a pregnant silence between us before I sighed and smiled. “Yep, all peachy.”

“All is well,” Bronwyn replied, a fake smile also on her face.

“Good!” Lance said happily as he flew around us and grabbed me around the neck with one foreleg and pulled Bronwyn down to our level, placing his other leg around her neck. He pulled all three of us into a hug. “I know we had a rough start, but I know we’ll all be best friends at the end of this journey!”

I stared daggers at Bronwyn, her eyes glaring back into mine. Lance may think we can all be friends, but neither Bronwyn or I will ever like the other. That was clear.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“What kind of weapons will we get?” Lance asked as we entered the building that housed the Soul Smith, according to Bronwyn that is.

“That’s heavily dependent on you,” she replied, looking around the workshop for the owner. “The Soul Smith will take the ore and infuse it with half of your soul. It will then reveal to him what kind of weapon to create, and whatever is produced will be exactly what fits you.”

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” a male anthropomorphic cat said as he walked in, looking between all three of us.

Bronwyn walked over and pulled out a box, “It has been a minute, but I did bring you the materials I promised.”

The cat man grabbed the box and opened it, his whiskers raising as he smiled, “Now that’s just perfect. You’re amazing, Bronwyn.” He then looks at Lance and me. “What of them?”

“They need their Ego weapons forged, and I knew you were the best in the plains, so I’ve brought you new customers. You may thank me now.” She joked, making me shake my head.

“Paying customers?” he asked, looking at her with a skeptical look.

She pulled out a bag and tossed it to him, “I’ll be paying this time around.”

The cat man caught the bag, sniffing it. A large smile appeared on his face, “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” He then looked at the two of us. “Alright then, who’s going first?”

“Me!” Lance all but screamed as he ran forward and produced his iron ore to the cat.

The anthropomorphic cat raised an eyebrow in amusement as he took the ore, his own hands glowing as he did so. “Ah, iron. Simple and basic. The metal of the noble spirit.” He walked to a table, waving Lance over.

The feline lifted the ore onto the table and began to run his hands over the iron, seeming to absorb the leftover Ego that came from Lance. He reached out and took Lance by the hoof, pulling him closer.

A bright glow began to radiate from the two as the cat ran his free hand around the ore, muttering something.

“Ah, that’s interesting,” he finally said, the glow receding.

“What is?” Lance asked, looking starstruck.

“I know what your Ego weapon is,” the cat said, taking the ore and walking towards the back. “Stay here.”

As he disappeared through a doorway, Lance started bouncing in glee. “Ooo, I wonder what I’ll get?! Maybe a badass sword like yours?”

“Maybe,” Bronwyn replied with a thumbs up. “Whatever it is, it’ll be exactly what your soul wants.”

An hour passed, with Lance flying around in circles above us, not able to sit still.

“How long does it take?!” he asked as he passed us.

“Not long for us,” Bronwyn reassured. “Forging Ego weapons is not like normal blacksmithing. He takes the ore to a specialized dimension and uses the forges there to perform the work. It takes months, sometimes years, to forge a single Ego weapon.”

Lance’s eyes widened in horror at this, “Years?!”

She chuckles at him, “Which is why he went to a different dimension. The one he goes to does not follow the rules of time as we know it. He could be in there a thousand years, and it wouldn’t age him at all. It’s honestly very fascinating!”

“But how long till he comes out for us?!” Lance asked in a panic.

“Could be any minute now. At worst just another hour. An hour out here is two months inside there, and on average it takes three months or so to craft a Ego weapon.”

Her reassurance seemed to calm Lance, who went back to flying in circles.

True to her word, a few minutes later the cat man returned, holding a wrapped bundle.

He placed it on a table and Lance shot down next to him, staring at the bundle. “Is it ready?!”

“It is, son,” he chuckled as he unwrapped the bundle and revealed the item to Lance.

On the table sat two gauntlet style gloves, the knuckles slightly larger. They were a mix of gray and cyan.

Lance deflated, “Gloves? But I’m in my pony form, I can’t even use them!”

The cat smiled, “You don’t seem to understand how Ego weapons work. Go ahead, pick them up.”

Doing as he was told, Lance picked them up. The pair of gloves morphed before their eyes into hoof gauntlets, able to fit on his front hooves.

“Whoa!” Lance exclaimed, surprised by this.

“Ego weapons are a part of you, they’ll change form to fit you. No matter what you change into, they’ll change as well,” the cat informed him.

“What do they do though?” Lance asked, putting them on his hooves.

The feline took a stance and threw a punch into the air, “When you hit someone or something with them, they will cause you to hit much harder than you should be able to, and will absorb all the impact force into themselves. So you can punch a boulder, destroy it, and feel like you just threw a simple punch.”

Lance smiled at the gauntlets on his hooves, “That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Look at you, Lance,” I said with a smile, “becoming a real one hit wonder.”

He just rolled his eyes, grinning ear to ear, “Ain’t a thing that’ll wanna mess with me now.”

“You’re up, little missy,” the cat said, looking at me.

I stepped up to him, pulling out the Starry Night ore and placed it on the table.

He whistled when he saw it, “When I saw your aura, I should have known this was the metal you’d give me.”

We performed the same thing he’d done with Lance, holding my hoof as he ran his hand over the ore, muttering in a low voice.

Once he was done, he looked surprised. “Oh wow, that’s rare, very rare.”

“Huh?” I cocked my head at him, but he just took the ore and left the room.

“There’s something strange about you,” Bronwyn said with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know what, but I’ll figure it out.”

“You do that,” I said, squaring up with her.

Lance stepped between us, not paying us any attention as he held up his hooves, “Just look at these! They fit so well! Break and Dawn say that a half of each of us are these bad boys, it feels like I’m holding each of them in my hooves!”

I ignored Lance as I stared over him at Bronwyn. She stared right back. We would definitely be fighting again soon, and this time, it would be fair.

ooo000<^>000ooo

13 hours later, next morning

“They’re finished!” the cat man called out, waking me up from my slumber on a makeshift bed on the floor.

I groaned as I sat up and looked towards him as he placed a bundle on the table, looking exhausted.

“I’ve never had to work so extensively on an Ego weapon before, but they are truly amazing!” He said as he excitedly waved me over.

As I stepped up the others were just making their way towards us.

He unwrapped the bundle to reveal many different kinds of blades and talons, all with the night sky pattern swirling across them.

“You’re a unique customer,” he said with a wide smile. “These all attach to different parts of your body, and are able to absorb into you! Able to extend and retract at will! It’s simply amazing! And they just look so beautiful!”

I reached out and touched one with my hoof. It reacted to my touch, glowing slightly, begging me to pick it up and wear it.

“Let me,” he insisted, his hands glowing as he picked them up and began to put them on me.

Four sets of talons were attached to my hooves, sinking into my skin. He then placed blades on each of my wing tips, they also sank into me naturally. Then he lifted up the strangest set of blades. They resembled dentures, with little blades where the teeth should be.

“Open,” he said.

I slowly opened my mouth and he placed the dentures into my mouth, the blades going all the way around my teeth on both the top and bottom. They retracted into my gums, but I felt no discomfort. Instead, it felt right.

“Don’t worry, Ego weapons can not harm the one whose soul resides inside them. The blades will not cut or hurt you at all, no matter what you do,” he said, looking me over.

“Let me see, Scamp,” Lance asked as he came up to me.

I smirked as all the talons and blades extended naturally, I looked at him and gave him a wide smile, the blades taking the place of my teeth.

“Jesus, you look terrifying,” he remarked, looking both amazed and scared. “I seriously pity the next person to piss you off.”

My eyes involuntarily flicked to Bronwyn, she was just smirking at me, looking me over. “Yeah, I pity that person too.”

“So elegant,” the feline commented, examining the blades that covered my wings. “You will be a ball of fury now.”

Lance laughed, “trust me, she’s always been a ball of fury.”

I retracted the talons and slugged his shoulder playfully.

“We should be going,” Bronwyn interjected. “You two need to get used to using your Ego and weapons.”

“Ooo yes!” Lance said as he turned to face her. “I’m one hundred percent down for that!”

“Yeah,” I said, retracting the rest of the blades. “I’m ready as well.”

Bronwyn eyed me, knowing exactly what I meant.

“Let’s get moving,” Lance said, already heading for the door.

“Enjoy,” the cat said, bowing as he eyed us.

“Aye,” I replied as I turned and walked for the door, flicking my tail in Bronwyn’s direction. “Let’s go, woman.”

This irked her, but she didn’t respond as she followed.

Yeah, don’t like being called things other than your name, huh?

I worked my mouth as I brought the blades back out. Oh yeah, I’m going to love these little babies!

We'll all get along, one way or another

Chapter 6

“Where do we start?” Lance asked, examining his gauntlets as he flew beside us.

“We’ll be starting with you two getting to know your Ego weapons and the soul inside of them,” Bronwyn stated, glancing around us as we walked.

I also looked around, cautious as always. We had teleported to a hub that was surrounded by nothing; no hills, trees, or even rocks. It was just hard flat dirt in all directions as far as the eye could see.

“Why here?” I questioned, getting side-eyed from Bronwyn.

“Privacy,” was her simple answer as she finally came to a stop, the teleport hub at least a mile away from us now.

She stepped ahead of us and turned to face us. “This entire process is very simple; you two will enter your mindscape and meet the soul inside your Ego weapon’s.”

“Why?” Lance asked, removing his goggles.

“To fully form a bond with your Ego weapon, you’ll need to meet the soul that resides within. It was created using half of your soul, so it’ll look exactly like you and be just like you in most ways.. The only difference will be personality, as they are their own separate being now and will want to create their own identity.”

“I’ve already met mine,” Lance suddenly announced, causing Bronwyn and me to look at him.

“How could you?” Bronwyn asked, looking confused.

He smiled sheepishly, “Well you see, I can already talk to my consciousness, and when I got my weapon a third one appeared in my head. So I’ve been kind of talking to him this whole time.”

At our stares, he adds, “His name is Eclipse, and he’s a pretty chill guy. Break and Dawn get along with him, not to mention he’s been appearing out here in the real world just like they can.”

“You are a very special guy,” Bronwyn said, nodding her head in approval. “You’re already way ahead of anyone else in your position.”

Her eyes darted to me as she said that. I rolled my eyes at her.

“So we can move ahead to teaching you how to use your Ego, I’ll share some of my excess Ego so you can practice.” She then looked to me, “While we’re doing that, you’ll need to go inside your mindscape and speak with your Ego weapon. I’m sure you two will have a riveting conversation.”

I chose not to engage this time. “How do I get inside my own mind?”

She rolled her eyes at me, acting like I should already know all of this. “The first time entering you’ll need to use a rune, after that you’ll be able to do it on a whim.”

Before I could ask, she tossed a small rune covered stone to me. I caught it, staring daggers at her as she and Lance walked away to train.

Shaking my head, I sat down and looked at the ruin. It only took me a few moments before I realized how to use it.

Everything started to fade away, the brown landscape being replaced by a dark void.

I blinked as I stood up, looking around. Where Lance’s mind was a blank void, mine had what looked to be stars all around me.

Turning, I jumped a bit in surprise as another pony stood not too far away from me, smiling widely at me.

“Oh shit, I didn’t mean to startle you!” the pony said, looking apologetic.

This mare did not resemble me at all. The only thing we had in common was cutie marks and eye colors. Her coat was darker, and her mane was blue with what looked to be stars floating around inside of it. To top it off, she more resembled an alicorn in body shape, and had eyeliner on. I definitely never wear make up.

“Uh, I thought Bronwyn said you’d look like me?” I questioned, stepping up to her so I was looking up at her, as she stood a head above me.

The mare smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head, “Yeah, I guess if I was made of just you and only you I would.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said, narrowing my eyes at the mare.

She rubbed her chin with a wing tip, looking to be thinking. “How do I explain this to you?” She sat down on her flank, running a hoof through her mane. “I’ll just come out and say it. Just don’t over react, okay?”

I have a feeling I’m not going to be happy with whatever this is. “Just tell me.”

“As you know, our father is Darkest Bleak and we know of his past thanks to Lance’s book,” at my nod, she continued, “Darkest Bleak then went on to become mates with Nightmare Moon, had a kid, then lost her when she was banished to the moon. Then he went on to meet our mom, who had us. We then grew up to join the army, then the police, and finally Echo.”

“What’s the point here?” I interrupted, not following anymore.

“We then went on the operation to kill the Nightmare that had returned for the fifth time. The Queen gave us a spell that could help us kill the Nightmare, and after a long battle we were able to use the spell to finally kill it.” At my raised eyebrow, looking more annoyed than anything else, she adds. “Except we didn’t kill the Nightmare that day.”

“Yes we did, we cast the spell and it died instantly,” I said, recalling that day. “Even the Queen confirmed it was dead.”

“She lied to us,” the mare said, standing back up. “The spell she gave us did not kill the Nightmare, just split it into six parts and caused it to lay dormant.”

“Six parts?” I mouthed, starting to realize what they were saying.

“Each member of Echo had a part of the Nightmare placed inside of them, where it was supposed to slowly die. Instead, in our case, it just became a part of us.” She smiled sheepishly, seeing my wide eyes. “But don’t worry! Your soul overpowered the Nightmare long ago, leaving it on the sidelines.”

“You’re saying that I’ve been under the influence of the Nightmare for the last few years?!” I asked, things starting to make sense.

“Kinda, but only a little bit. The Nightmare is why you’ve been able to fight as well as you’ve had. It hasn’t affected our personality or anything, so we’re still the same as we’ve always been. Just in my case,” she said, gesturing to myself, “I have half of you and half of the Nightmare inside of me, so I have qualities of both.”

“That explains why my Ego is colored differently,” I muttered, frowning.

She nodded, “Yes. We’ve been mildly corrupted by the Nightmare, but thanks to our father we’ve overcome its influence and taken advantage of it. I don’t know how the rest of Echo has fared, but Calypso seems to be okay.”

“So you’re not entirely me, which is why we look so different and you don’t exactly act like me. Does that mean we can’t bond?”

She rolled her eyes and messed up my mane, “Always jumping to the worst conclusions. We can still form a bond, just as long as you can accept me as I am.”

I fixed my mane in annoyance, but let out a sigh, looking up at the tall slender pony, “So I still have part of the Nightmare in me right now?”

“Yes,” she replied simply.

“But I still have full control over my actions and thoughts? Does it not affect me?” I pressed.

“You still have full control of yourself,” She assured. “It doesn’t affect you much, just dulls your morals a bit. Which, to be fair, has really helped us out in the past. Hasn’t it?”

I thought about that. Before the operation to hunt the Nightmare, I was a bit more reserved at killing. But afterwards, I was able to get past those reservations, which saved my life on more than one occasion. Plus, it helped me in the Palace.

“I guess it has, but I’m really not sure how I feel about having part of the Nightmare inside of me. And, if you’re both me and the Nightmare, does that mean you have memories or thoughts from it?”

She sighed at this, “I do. I’m equal parts you and Nightmare. While you are more you. I’m two souls mixed together. So to be honest, I’m neither you nor Nightmare. I’m something completely different. I’m my own pony.”

“I can accept that,” I finally said, rubbing my chin. “What is your name?”

A bright smile appeared on her face, “I’m Ayla! I want us to be best friends!”

I couldn’t help but return her smile, “Well, Ayla, I’m open to being friends. Are you willing to spill the blood of our enemies?”

“Born ready!” She cheered, clapping her hooves in delightment. “Just you watch, I’ll be the best weapon you’ve ever wielded! Together, we’ll become a blender, making our enemies into protein shakes!”

I chuckle heartily, “Oh I really like you!” I hold up my hoof, and she grins as she slams hooves with me.

“We’re going to be best friends, aren’t we?!” she asked in excitement.

“Looks like it,” I wink at her, causing her to laugh happily. “Let’s get out there and get to know each other more.”

She nodded, suddenly lifting me up into a large hug, spinning us around.

As we spun everything faded away, the dirt landscape returning. I blinked a few times, the bright sun a great contrast to the dark void that is my mind.

Slowly standing up, I looked around and saw Bronwyn and Lance. They were not too far away, with Bronwyn standing on the ground watching Lance fly above her, casting all kinds of abilities around himself.

“I see you’re finally out,” Bronwyn commented as I stepped up beside her.

“Yeah,” I replied, not engaging. “How’s Lance doing?”

“He’s actually doing pretty amazing, he’s already figured out how to use his Ego. And he’s very imaginative, which helps him come up with cards for his Ego.” She seemed to be very proud of him, which only served to irk me further.

“Scamp!” Lance called out as he waved to me. “Watch this!”

He held out a hoof and a cyan colored card appeared in it. “God Flame!” A massive ball of fire flew out in front of himself. He clapped his hooves and looked back at us. “You see?!”

“I did,” I called up to him, causing him to fly in circles happily. “Does he have to yell the name of the card for it to work?” I asked, looking at Bronwyn.

“He doesn’t, but he just seems to love calling out his attacks. I’ve tried warning him that it's a bad idea for actual combat, but he just said his hero calls out his attacks and then he blasted a blue beam from his hooves. So I’m just letting him be himself.”

I nodded, “It’s best to just let him do whatever he wants, within reason.”

“How’d your meeting go?” She asked, seeming to genuinely be curious.

“It was weird, the soul inside of my Ego weapon is actually two different souls. One being me and the other being an evil being from my world.” At the sudden snap of her head as she stared at me, I add, “But I’m still in full control, and the soul inside my weapon is also the dominant soul.”

She shook her head at me, disapproving, “More and more surprise from you. What’s next? Going to find out you’re a god or something?”

“Har har,” I frown at her. “What’s your problem? Mad at the outcome of our fight? Since you were losing?”

Bronwyn took the bait and spun on me, staring down on me. “If you think you were on the winning side of that fight, then you are clearly not ready to face me.”

I smile, flicking my mane with my hoof. “I may have seemed to be losing, but that’s because you had an advantage and knowledge I did not possess at that time.”

“You think having your Ego and weapon now will make a difference? I have more experience and skills than you could ever hope to have.” At my smirk, she put her hand on her sword's sheath, pushing on the pommel with her thumb. The blade peeked out at me. “Don’t let your new toys trick you into thinking you are on my level.”

Raising my hoof up, the talons sliding out of my skin, I smile up at her. “Don’t let your overconfidence blind you into underestimating me. It’ll get you killed.”

Her sword flashed as it left its sheath and flew for my throat, but my own talons met it. I deflect her blade away and swipe at her with my wing blades, but she in turn deflected them with her sword.

With a swift movement, I teleported to her side while swinging my talons at her. She pulled her leg back and brought her sword around to block my attack. Then in one quick motion, her blade dove for my face. Instead of teleporting away, I caught the blade between the blades over my teeth.

She glared down at me as I clamped her sword between my teeth, wiggling my eyebrows up at her as my wings flared and dove towards her, blades ready to sink into her flesh.

Without warning, Lance appeared between us, a wave of energy blowing away from his body and sending Bronwyn and me away from each other.

“What is your problem?!” He yelled, flames seeming to dance around his eyes as he stared at each of us. “I thought we were getting along?! Why the hell are you two still fighting?!”

I stood up, wiping dirt from my face from where I landed. “You don’t understand, Lance. Her and I just do not mesh well together. Plus she’s an asshole.”

“Say’s the horse who started our current fight, and the first one,” Bronwyn said as she dusted herself off.

“Me? Starting it? Learn to take responsibility for your actions, miss I’ve been alive forever!” I snapped, taking a step towards her, but Lance’s flared wing blocked my path.

“I don’t care who started it, I’m going to end it!” He yelled, looking to Bronwyn. “Give me more Ego, and I’ll fix all of this right here, right now.”

She didn’t look like she wanted to go along with his plan, but he held his gaze on her. She finally sighed and pulled out a strange glowing stone like object, tossing it to Lance. He caught it and seemed to absorb Ego from it.

Sitting down on his flank, he began to hold a card in front of himself as he seemed to be putting Ego into it. He muttered, glancing at each of us as he did so, seeming to be deep in thought as he tried to craft some kind of effect into the card.

After a few minutes of Bronwyn and I taking turns staring daggers at each other and looking at Lance, he finally sighed and stood up.

“Got it,” he said as he held up the card.

“What effect did you create?” Bronwyn asked, crossing her arms.

He smirked as he walked backwards away from us. “A way that will definitely make you two get along.”

“Don’t you dare cast a spell on me that forces me into liking her!” I yelled, getting angry at the prospect of being forced by a spell to be friends with this woman.

“It’s not that kinda thing,” Lance assured, slightly calming me down. “I’m just going to send you two into a pocket dimension and keep you there till you are able to get along.”

“Whoa there, Lance, don’t even think of doing that,” Bronwyn warned, eyes wide.

“I agree with her, do not even try it,” I also warned, taking a step towards him.

He looked at me and suddenly flicked a card up into the air. It flashed as an effect was cast, but I couldn’t tell what kind. “This is for your own good!”

I went to stop time and teleport to him to stop him, but quickly realized neither of my abilities worked. That card he used must have shut them down. That’s way too overpowered! What the hell!

“Good luck!” He yelled as he threw the card forward, causing a portal to open and suck myself and Bronwyn towards it.

“You fucking bastard!” I screamed as I flew into the portal, unable to stop myself. Bronwyn flew in after me, landed on top of me.

I quickly threw her off of me and ran for the portal as it closed, with Lance standing on the other side waving. It slammed shut just as I reached it, causing me to slam into the ground and slide across the ground.

“Damn it!” I yelled as I slammed my hoof onto the ground.

“This is just great,” Bronwyn said from behind me.

Turning around, I saw she didn’t have her sword on her. Which meant I now had the advantage!

…

I couldn’t use my Ego weapons! They either won’t extend or are no longer there. Same for my pocket dimension, as I couldn’t open it. I also seemed to not be able to teleport. He must have done all this with his effect.

That is just so damn unfair!

Behind Bronwyn was a small campsite, complete with a fire in the middle. Other than that, there was nothing around us

Lance can’t be serious.

“I’m not playing along,” Bronwyn said as she walked away, towards the campsite. “He’ll pull us out eventually.”

“At least we’re on the same page,” I groan as I walk over to the campsite and take some of the supplies.

“What are you doing?” She asked, watching me gather gear and supplies.

I rolled my eyes at her, “I’m making my own camp. I’m not waiting here with you.”

“Good,” she said with a nod, falling back on a chair she’d made out of sleeping bags. “Be gone with you then.”

“Gladly,” I mutter, dragging the supplies away. “Bitch.”

Screw you, Lance. Sticking me in here with this woman. I guarantee I can outlast him. He’ll pull us out of here in a day at least, two at the most. His attention span isn’t high enough for the task he’s trying to accomplish here.

I glanced over at Bronwyn as she laid in her makeshift chair, arms behind her head, humming to herself.

Lance should have just let her leave and never told her our plans, which would have saved us a lot of trouble.

With a heave, I continue to drag my gathered supplies away.

Friendship IS magic

Chapter 7

The dart soared through the air, becoming embedded in the dart board. Another bullseye.

I sighed as I picked up another dart with my wing and performed a backflip, spinning midair, sending the dart towards the board. The dart landed on top of the one already on the board, perfectly stacking itself onto the first dart.

“Oh, yet another perfect game,” I said aloud in a fake excited voice. I went to pick up another dart, but lost motivation before throwing it.

Stepping outside into never ending sunlight, I looked around at all the structures around me. But no inspiration hit me.

It had been a few months, at least, since I’d been trapped with that woman. But luckily I was able to set up my little settlement just far enough away from her that I could just barely see her campfire. I would have gone further away, but the land is on a loop or something, no matter which way I go, I always end up back at her camp.

From what I can tell, she’s spent the majority of her time just sitting around, sometimes she’d go for a run or do some kind of training, but not much else.

I, on the other hoof, have been a little more productive. I’ve been using the infinitely replenishing supplies to build a tiny town for myself, most of the buildings are unused, as I built them out of boredom. But I did build a gym and bar, which is where I have been spending most of my time.

Plus, I think I’ve been able to improve my flexibility through months of work, so I have that going for me. So this whole thing won’t be a complete waste. I just wish I could have been training my Ego or something, but Lance didn’t allow those here. Asshole.

The only thing is, this is all so very boring! Lance has far exceeded my expectations for his willingness to wait us out. I thought he would have given in by now.

Not sure what to do next, I just head for the gym. At least I can do some more training. Again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next morning (Approximately)

I stepped out of my house, staring up at the blinding sun, frowning.

After a bit of stretching, I took off on my morning jog. Morning for me at least, seeing as the sun never went down. A bit of an oversight on Lance’s part, eternal daytime may not have been the best idea.

As I jogged past the last building of my makeshift town, I broke into a full gallop, picking up speed. The wind whipping against my bare fur, as I wasn’t wearing any of my clothes today. No need for them.

While my town slowly disappeared behind me, I saw it reappear up ahead. Good ol’ endless loop.

However, for the first time during one of my runs, I saw Bronwyn out on her own, coming my way at an angle from the left. She was moving fast, just like me. We didn’t cross paths during this loop.

On the next loop, we barely missed each other. I slid to a halt, turning to look after her.

Bronwyn had done the same, staring back at me.

Our equally cold glares met each other, neither of us speaking.

This marks the first time we’ve acknowledged each other since arriving.

“Woman,” I said with a nod.

“Horse,” she replied, giving her own nod.

A moment of silence passed before I rolled my eyes and turned to face her fully. “How’s this place treating you?”

She eyed me, suspicious of my motives, but responded anyway, “Lance could have given it some variety.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking around at the bland world. “I guess he didn’t want us to get distracted.”

“You’ve seemed to be keeping busy,” she commented dryly. “With all that building and ‘singing’ you’ve been doing.”

My frown deepened, catching the way she said singing, “My singing is fine. At least I’ve been being productive. All you’ve done is lay around and work out.”

“That ‘laying around’ I’ve been doing is called mediating, but I wouldn’t expect you to understand that. Your mind seems way too busy for anything like that,” she said with a sly smirk.

I raise an eyebrow, an unamused look on my face, “Insults? That’s what we’re doing?”

“Insults? I’m only speaking the truth,” she said innocently, still smirking.

Rubbing my chin, I weigh my options. It's clear we aren’t making progress, and our personalities clash too much to just get along normally. Or hold a conversation, it seems.

“I don’t like you,” I say finally, turning her smirk into a blank stare.

“I’m not very fond of you either, horse,” she replied, crossing her arms.

I eye her up and down, “Wanna go?”

“Go now?” She asked, her emotionless face falling into a smile.

“Right now. Hooves versus fist, no holds barred. We go till one of us surrenders.” I roll my shoulders, stretching my wings out.

“That’s foolish of you,” she commented. “You’re just going to get hurt, badly.”

“You down or not?” I asked, wanting to get past all the insults and get to kicking her ass.

She began to stretch as well, looking excited. “Oh, I’m down, horse. I just don’t know why you’re so quick to get hurt.”

Rolling my eyes, I lowered into a fighting stance, waiting for her.

After a few more stretches, she lowered into a strange pose, her hands held low.

We slowly inched towards each other, watching each other's movements carefully.

I can’t see an opening, which leaves only one option.

Music began to play inside my head.

Flapping my wings hard, I shoot up above her, then dive straight for her. She reacted fast, grabbing my hoof as I aimed for her face, and slammed me hard into the ground. Without missing a beat, the moment I bounced off the hard ground I spun, my back hoof catching her chin. As her head snapped to the side, I grabbed her leg, using my wings and body weight to lift her into the air and slam her down hard behind myself.

She also didn’t miss a beat; as soon as she hit the ground, her hands shot out and grabbed my mane and a wing, yanking me down hard. With amazing grace, she rolled over on top of me, holding me down with my own leg and wing.

As she applied more and more pressure, trying to either break my appendages or choke me out, I lifted my lower body, my back legs wrapping around her waist. With a roar, I throw them back down, slamming her backwards into the ground again.

Flapping my wings, I quickly right myself and stand before her. As she quickly jumps up, I buck my back legs for her face. Her reflexes saved her as she caught both of my back hooves in her hands, she then lifted me off the ground, returning the favor as she slammed me into the ground over and over again.

While mid swing, I start flapping my wings hard, twisting my body and breaking her grasp on my hooves. As I came around, I slammed a hoof straight into her face, sending blood spraying as I broke her nose.

In the same instant, she returned the favor, her own fist slamming into my snout, shattering it as well. As I flew back, she caught my leg and pulled me back, slamming a fist into my face again.

Unluckily for her, as her fist met my face, my own hoof found hers. The two of us recoiled away from each other, holding our faces.

I stared down at the blood on my hoof, more dripping down from snout. Working my mouth, I spit out a bloody tooth.

Bronwyn worked her nose with her fingers, looking just as displeased as me.

With a ruffle of my wings, I turn back to her, lowering back into a fighting stance. Not done yet. She did the same, changing her pose.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Six hours later

I stumbled and fell to my knees, having trouble seeing with both of my eyes swollen. I don’t know how many bones were broken in my body, but I wasn’t going to let her win. My body was exhausted, the hours-long fight being almost too much for me. My broken wings and front left leg not helping.

Bronwyn didn’t seem to be fairing much better, her body also covered in cuts, bruises, and at least one broken arm.

We both looked horrible, our swollen faces glaring at each other as we both stood back up and limped towards each other again.

Once we neared, I screamed in pain as I exploded into movement, spinning forward and tackling her to the ground. We rolled around, coming to a stop with her on top.

She gripped my mane and began slamming her fist into my face over and over again. I used my good hoof to block a few hits as I pushed against her, turning us over till I was on top. Rearing up, I slammed my entire body downward, using all my weight to slam my hoof into her face.

Unluckily for me, this caused me to fall to the side, followed by Bronwyn jumping onto me again, putting me in a choke hold.

I fought against her, but she had me in a position that I couldn’t get out of, and the pressure she was applying to my neck cut off my airway. Gasping, I reached back with my good hoof and grabbed her hair. Using everything I had left in me I stood up, with her now on my back, still choking me. I then flip forward, landing on top of her and breaking her grip on my neck.

Now, standing above her, I take the chance and jerk my head forward, clamping down on her neck with my teeth. She got a hand up on my jaw and fought to keep me from fully biting down. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t close my mouth completely, her hand preventing me from finally winning.

Suddenly, her broken arm shot up and she grabbed me by the stomach. Letting out her own gurgling roar, she slowly lifted me off the ground and threw me over herself.

I slammed into the ground, hissing in pain. Bronwyn coughed loudly as she grabbed her throat and rolled over vomiting onto the ground.

This being my only chance, I recover and jump forward, slamming my head into hers. We both fell back, the hit hurting me just as much as it hurt her.

Just to spit me, she reached out and grabbed my leg, pulling me towards herself. Despite her wounds, she began to wail on me with both her hands, the broken one not hitting as hard as the other.

I didn’t just let her wail on me unhindered, I returned just as much as she gave, my own hooves flying past her hands. We battered each other, both of us yelling as we swung our appendages into each other.

This went on till we both fell into each other, breathing heavily.

“Get, off of… me,” I gasped, weakly hitting her with a hoof.

“You’re the one… leaning on me!” she gasped back, her blood mixing with mine as she pushed me off of herself.

We both collapsed onto the ground, staring up into the sky.

“Give up?” I asked breathlessly, shielding my swollen eyes from the sun with a hoof.

“No,” was her only response as she sat up slowly, looking just as bad as me.

I groaned as I also stood up, shaking as I tried to get into a fighting stance again.

She stepped forward and kicked me in the chest. I spun with the momentum of the kick and bucked out, hitting her in the pelvis. We both again collapsed.

“How about,” I coughed, sitting up and staring at her, blood oozing from my mouth and wounds all over my body, “We take a break?”

“Giving up already?” She asked, grunting as she sat there, also leaking blood from wounds scattered across her body.

“Never,” I growled, then wincing in pain. “We’re just not making any more progress here.”

She was silent for a moment before finally responding, “That is a fair assessment. We’ll call it here, for now.”

I nod in agreement, but when I go to stand up, I find my body has given up on me completely. I remain on the ground.

“Oh? Can’t return home?” She asked in a mocking tone, but as she stood and took a step, her body seemed to also give out, and she collapsed to the ground. She rolled onto her back, looking at me with a frown. “Don’t say a word.”

For some reason, I couldn’t help but to laugh. It started as a chuckle, but it slowly ramped up into a full belly laugh, ignoring the intense pain it caused.

Bronwyn stared at me strangely, but after a few moments, she also began to laugh.

“I really did a number on you,” I say once I finally am able to stop laughing.

“Says the one who’s broken to pieces,” she says with a crooked smile.

I raise an eyebrow, rolling on my side to look at her better, “I saw you limping, and don’t think I don’t see that broken arm.”

She held up her broken arm and chuckled, “I’ll give you that one, but I did way more damage to you.”

“Pretty sure I did just as much if not more damage to you,” I countered, smirking.

Bronwyn coughed loudly as she grabbed her chest, looking uncomfortable. “I am having trouble breathing, so I GUESS you hurt me pretty good.”

I lift up one of my broken wings, shrugging, “Yeah, I guess you did do some real damage to me.”

She laid back and looked up at the sky. “I think it’ll be okay if we postpone our fight till a later date.”

Grunting, I also lay back, looking up at the bright blank sky. “I’m okay with that. To be honest, I don’t think I can continue right now.”

“Me either,” she admitted. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to let the pain over take me and go unconscious.”

The pain in my body seemed to flare at her words, “Yeah, I think I’m going to do the same here.”

“I’ll recover first though,” she challenged, smiling.

“You’re on,” I replied, hissing as the pain in my body seemed to get worse. It didn’t take long, I passed out from blood loss and pain.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I gasp as I wake up, sitting up in a panic, looking around.

“Beat ya,” Bronwyn said from a few feet away from me, already sitting up and addressing her wounds.

“Barely,” I say back, deciding to look over my own wounds, just to find they’d already been treated. “Okay, you may have beat me by a little more than ‘barely’.”

She rolled her eyes as she tried to set her arm, but seemed unable to get the right angle.

“I gotcha,” I drag myself over to her and take her arm in my hooves. “Don’t scream like a bitch, alright?”

“Just do it,” she says, not looking worried.

With a loud pop and snap, I reset her arm and shoulder. To her credit, she only grunted in pain.

“You didn’t have to treat me first,” I say, sitting back on my flank, rubbing my broken leg.

“Eh, don’t think about it,” she replied, sitting down fully.

We remained silent for a few minutes, quietly looking ourselves over.

“So tell me,” Bronwyn began, looking at me, “Where’d you learn to fight? Its been a while since I’ve met someone who could keep up with me like that.”

I shrugged, “It's nothing special, I just have a lot of training from being in the army and police, but to be honest, I’m mostly self taught. Everything just seems to come naturally to me.” I then wave a hoof to her, “You?”

“Me?” she asked, chuckling, “I’ve actually been trained in many different fighting styles. Not to mention just picking things up as I go.”

“That reminds me; how old are you? You said two cycles, but I have no idea how long that is.”

She pushes some hair out of her face, thinking, “To be honest, that’s hard to explain. A cycle is the measurement of time between the beginning of time till the end of time, which is when time resets for all dimensions. That is unless you are in the Central Dimension, which never got reset.”

I couldn’t fully grasp the idea, “That would make you, what? Trillions of years old?”

“Give or take,” she replied coolly, smiling at my amazed face.

“But,” I began, not sure if I actually can believe her, “You don’t act like someone who’s that old?”

“How’s someone that old supposed to act?” She teased, but at my questioning look, she continued. “I have what's called a Sempiternal Body. I gave up my mortal body long ago when I became an Enforcer for the Central Dimension.”

“So, what is a Sempiternal Body?” I asked, all the new info starting to pile up.

“Now that’s really hard to explain,” she began, “To put it simply, it protects me from aging and the effects time would normally have on my mind and body. It preserves my personality and soul, allowing me to remain constant.”

I rub my chin, thinking, “Okay. Now tell me what this Central Dimension is.”

“Was,” she corrected. “The Central Dimension was, as the name suggests, the center of all dimensions, unchanging and ever present. It held the ruling body that oversaw all of creation and dimensions. When time would come to an end, the Central Dimension would remain in place.”

“I’m…” I rubbed the back of my head, “Not following.”

Bronwyn sighed, but nodded in understanding, “Do not worry yourself, the concept isn’t something one could fully understand in a short time.” She then leaned back, waving a hand, “But enough about me, I want to know more about you. How’d you and Lance meet? WIth him being from an Earth dimension and you a fictional one?”

I chuckled, “Oh boy, is that a long story.” At her expectant stare, I continued, “Well, it all started when I was a filly.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Bronwyn sat back, seeming to digest the story I’d just revealed to her.

After a moment, she smirks, “So, you ate the throat of the tyrant Queen?”

I smiled sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head, “Yeah.”

“That’s exactly what you tried to do to me,” she rubbed her throat, causing me to chuckle nervously and nod. “That’s brutal. I love it to be honest. Do whatever it takes to win.”

“That’s what I say!” I reach out and bump her fist with my hoof.

She looked to my flank, looking at my cutie mark, “Which brings me to my next question; what's your opinion on music?”

A wide smile grew on my face, “I can’t live without it! I’m always playing music with my implant!”

“Your what?” she asked, confused.

“Oh,” I lift my right hoof and tap the cracked screen of the PDA, shifting through a few menus. “I have an implant that plays music directly inside my head, I always have something playing when not talking to someone. Like, I was playing music during our entire fight.”

“Doesn’t that distract you?” She stared at me wide eyed, seeming impressed.

I waved a hoof, “Nah, I’ve gotten so used to it. I feel it really enhances my actions and keeps me motivated.”

She leans forward, “What were you listening to during our fight?”

“So many songs!” I exclaimed, playing one through my PDA’s speakers, “But this one is my favorite. It’s a human song, called Bad Reputation! I don’t know why, but it just always hypes me up!”

The song played as she listened, nodding along to it. “I’m going to be honest, that cutie mark of yours really caught my attention when I first saw it during one of your runs. But I was a bit too blinded by bias to ask about it. I’m a big music lover! My personal room back in the Central Dimension had a library of almost every song ever created!”

“Oh that’s so badass!” I said in awe. “I would of killed to see that!”

We stared at each other for a moment before I hold out a hoof to her. “I think we need to make this official. My name is Scamp.”

She laughs and takes my hoof, shaking it, “Bronwyn Pendragon. It is a pleasure to officially meet you, Scamp.”

Without warning, a portal appeared next to us and began to violently suck us in. We both were pulled through it and landed in a pile.

I yelped in pain as I rolled off of Bronwyn, finding myself back in my clothes and gear. My injuries from the fight were also gone.

“So? Friends now?” Lance asked, smiling as he hovered above us.

“Yeah, we’re friends now,” I say as I stand up, super happy to not be in constant intense pain anymore. Those injuries would have taken months to heal, and even then, I’d never have been the same again.

“Don’t do anything like that again,” Bronwyn warned as she stood up, making sure her weapon was still there.

“I promise,” Lance replied, crossing his heart.

I looked around, “So, what did you do that entire time we were gone?”

“I didn’t have time to do anything, you’ve only been gone for like two seconds.” He said, looking very proud of himself.

Both Bronwyn and I stared up at him, dumbfounded and angry.

“Now, I know you two are mad, but it couldn’t have taken that long to become friends, right? Like an hour?” He said, waving his hooves in front of himself.

“It took MONTHS,” I snapped, flaring my wings furiously.

“And you made it always sunny!” Bronwyn yelled, pointing at him with fire in her eyes.

“Uh… oops?” He said sheepishly. At our continued glares, he pulled out a card and started to yell something. But I sent a tendril of my Ego towards him, shutting off his Ego. I’d mentally trained on how to do that, so it’s good to see I was able to put it into practice.

Lance’s card faded away, his Ego seeming to disappear. His eyes widened, but as he started to fly away, Bronwyn caught him with her own Ego. She began to slowly pull him down towards us as he fought as hard as he could to fly away.

“Wait wait wait! I’m sorry, okay?!” he yelled in panic, looking back at us as he fought to get away.

I raised a hoof and smiled slyly at him, “I’ll accept that apology after I wail on you a bit.”

Bronwyn gave a sharp nod, cracking her knuckles, “Same here.”

“Oh god!” Lance yelled. “What have I created?!”

He screamed like a little filly as he was finally pulled down to us.

Scamp's mind blowers

Chapter 8

“I think we’re ready to start searching for the Bronies,” I announced as I stirred the pot of food, the flames casting light into the darkness around us.

Bronwyn nodded from her seated position, messing with a small computer. “You two grasped Ego faster than most,” then she glanced my way, “and you were already very capable beforehand. So I think you’re both ready.”

Lance frowned from his prone position, rubbing a bruise on his face. After a moment, he sighed, “but now we gotta find them, and that’s going to be hard.”

I chuckle as I pour some stew into a bowl and place it by him, “come on, Lance, cheer up.”

He took his bowl, still upset, “you guys hit me, a lot.”

“You’ll be fine,” Bronwyn says as I hoof her a bowl.

I take one for myself and sit down, the three of us forming a triangle as we ate.

“So, is the music charm because you like music or something?” Lance asked as he looked at her sword, seeming to try and get a conversation going.

“You could say that,” she said, grinning at me. Then she looked back to his flank, covered by his trench coat. “What kind of cutie mark do you have?”

“Oh, eh,” he chuckles nervously as he stands and reveals his cutie mark; a crash test dummy symbol with angel wings greets us. “Kind of awkward how that little guy appeared.” At Bronwyn’s stare, he continued, “I got it when helping a friend test some tricks, and I stupidly thought ‘wow, I’m a good test dummy!’ and boom, got this. The wings appeared after I died and returned as an Angel.”

“Oh! You’re an Angel? What kind of Angel?” Bronwyn asked, taking interest in his words.

He looked a bit awkward as he covered his cutie mark. “Just a Guardian Angel for my family. I’ll be around till they’re all gone, then I’ll be returning to Heaven.”

She nodded, smiling widely, “That explains so much about you.”

Lance sat back down and went back to eating, making it obvious he wanted the subject to change.

Obliging him, she turned to me. “And how’d you get yours?”

“Oh, its really stupid,” I say, waving her off. “I just got it fighting some guys and I use to play cards a lot.”

“That’s not what you told me,” Lance suddenly said, head shooting up and staring at me.

My eyes widened as I realized I’d messed up my story, my face glowing red, “Oh, eh…”

“You lied!” Lance said, jumping up, smiling, “That means the story behind your cutie mark is embarrassing!”

“No!” I say as I stuff food into my mouth quickly.

“Oh, you have to tell us now,” Bronwyn said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

“Nah,” was my reply as I stared wide eyed into the fire. “I’m good.”

Lance turned away, a faint blue glow coming from his front.

“Lance, what do you think you’re doing?” I asked, my Ego slowly inching towards him.

The blue glow flashed away and he turned, smiling.

“What?” I cautiously ask, my Ego tendril hovering over his hoof.

“Oh nothing,” he said, looking down at my Ego before suddenly striking a pose. “Except a trip into the mind!”

“Wait!” I yelped, my Ego attaching to him, but I was too late as we all appeared in a familiar dark void. “Fuck…”

“Oh, hey you guys!” Ayla said excitedly from behind me as she galloped up and danced in place. “It’s awesome to get to meet you for real!”

“Whoa!” Lance said in awe, staring up at the large slender pony.

Bronwyn eyed her in amazement, “When you said different, you weren’t lying.”

I just put my face in my hooves, already knowing why we were here.

Lance got over his awe and smiled up at Ayla. “It’s nice to meet you too! I’m…”

“Lance Greenfield, A.K.A. Girokon, the writer of Living the Dream!” Ayla leaned down, face to face with him, smiling happily, “I’m Ayla! I’m your number two biggest fan, next to Scamp!”

He smiled awkwardly, “Well the book is actually called Memories… but thank you, Ayla.”

“Whoa whoa whoa! This place is nicer than your head Lance,” Break said as he appeared next to Lance. I only groaned loudly at this, not realizing they could also appear here.

“Looks like the night sky!” Dawn said excitedly as he appeared.

A third one appeared, this one must have been Lance’s Ego weapon, Eclipse. “Well bite my bum and call me Chuck! This place is more beautiful than the sky at night!” He spoke like he was a cliche country guy, but had a british accent.

I do not like Eclipse.

Surprisingly, a woman appeared next to Bronwyn. She looked exactly like her, but wore a dress and her hair down.

“Hm, very unique,” was the only thing she said as she looked around.

“Melody,” Bronwyn said, seeing me looking up from my hooves at her Ego weapon.

Eclipse stepped up next to me and slapped his hoof down on my shoulder, “Buck up, Scamp! We’re all just gonna watch some memories and all have a laugh together.”

I glared up at him, and Ayla’s hoof slid between us, stepping between us.

“Take a few hundred steps back, little guy,” She said in the sweetest voice ever. “Or you’ll be walking on stumps back to your Soulbind.”

Eclipse smiled up at her, sweat starting to run down his face as he starts backing up quickly to Lance’s side.

Standing up, I look between everyone. “I want all Ego’s and consciousness to go. Now.”

Melody bowed and faded away. Ayla gave me a quick side hug and also disappeared, Eclipse not far behind her.

“Aw come on, Scamp!” Break whined. “Let us hang around, I want to personally see this embarrassing story.”

I turned my gaze to him, a fiery blaze igniting within it.

He smiled coolly back at me, but Ayla appeared next to him, a crazy smile on her face.

“Yeah, actually I agree with Scamp, Dawn, let’s go.” Break blinked out of existence. Dawn started to say something, but at Ayla’s slow head turn, he flinched and disappeared as well.

“Thank you, Ayla,” Bronwyn said, giving her a thumbs up.

Ayla looked to her and clapped her hooves happily as she slowly faded away.

“Your Ego weapon is scary,” Lance commented, then flinched as he looked around, worried she might reappear.

“She’s perfect,” I replied, sighing. “Now let’s just get this over with.”

Behind me, a small computer appeared. Rolling my eyes, I turn and step up to it.

“Smaller than mine,” Lance teased as he and Bronwyn stepped up on either side of me.

“Yeah yeah,” I say as I tap away at the screen, quickly figuring out how to operate it. Just like Lance’s, everything was labeled.

The top of the list seemed to be when I was born, so I scrolled a bit till I saw one labeled ‘Cutie Mark!’. Well that was simple.

I look at the two next to me; they both stared back expectantly. Reluctantly, I hit play.

Unexpectedly, the entire area around us changed, a crowd of school aged colts and foals surrounded us. They were all facing a stage.

“Okay, this is a lot more impressive than mine,” he admitted.

“Oh geez,” I said as I saw a much younger me run from backstage and take center stage.

“Hi, everypony!” Young Scamp screamed at the top of her lungs, looking very overjoyed as she stood there wearing a dress.

No one responded, which didn’t dissuade young Scamp as she performed a twirl.

“My talent is going to be dancing and singing!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, getting a few giggles from the crowd.

“Ehhhhh…” I cringe back as Bronwyn and Lance walk forward, stifling laughter.

On stage, young Scamp started twirling and dancing about as she tried to sing a cute song about friendship. It sounded horrible, and the dancing was terrible. The laughing colts and fillies didn’t help at all. Especially the laughing Bronwyn and Lance.

With a yelp, young Scamp tripped on her dress and slammed down onto the stage. This only caused everyone to laugh even louder, even the adults joined in.

“Oh I can’t watch this part,” I say as I hide behind a random colt in the crowd.

Young Scamp looked out over the laughing ponies, looking to have tears forming in her eyes. Then, like something snapped inside of her, she jumped up, glaring out over the crowd.

“You all know what?!” She screamed in anger. She ripped off her dress, stomping on it angrily. Instead of running off stage, she walked forward, standing on her hindlegs and grabbing the mic in her hoof.

She stared down the crowd as the laughing slowly stopped, everyone staring at her.

Clearing her throat, she puts the mic to her mouth and takes a deep breath.

What flowed out of her mouth was a mixture of screaming and yelling, her voice sounding a lot deeper than it did previously. Her voice sounded almost demonic as she sang about ‘the bullshit we put up with’. The crowd remained in stunned silence as they watched her sing with a voice that did not fit her tiny body.

After she finished, she threw the mic over her shoulder and looked out over the crowd, breathing heavily, face red from all the screaming she’d done.

It started slow, but the crowd began to cheer, all the colts and fillies going ballistic. Young Scamp stood proud as a flash happened, and a cutie mark appeared on her flank.

“My cutie mark! I got my bucking cutie mark!” She screamed as she jumped around the stage.

The memory came to a stop, everything fading out.

I looked up from where I’d been hiding to see the two staring at me, mouths hanging open.

“Hehe, yeah…” I said sheepishly, still cringing.

“I did not expect that,” Bronwyn commented as she still looked to be at a loss.

“What did I just witness?” Lance asked, confusion and worry on his face.

“Um, Death Metal?” I admit, standing up, ears down still.

Lance only blinked, “How the hell did you do that with your voice?!”

I only chuckle nervously as I back up to the computer and shrug, “Just practice.” I did not want to tell them I spent months screaming in front of a mirror with a Bronies kid helping me. My mom hated it when I’d randomly start singing like that.

“I’m not sure what to do with that info,” Bronwyn said before smirking. “You’ll have to sing like that for us sometime.”

“Hell no,” I replied quickly, shaking my head. “The last time I sang like that was at boot camp, and that will remain the final time.”

“We’ll see,” she said with a sly smile. I only glared back, standing my ground.

“What else have you got in here?” Lance asked as he stepped up next to me and started scrolling.

I allowed him, as that was the worst memory I had.

“What’s ‘Punk backpacking’?” He asked as he clicked it.

The scene changed to the side of the road, where four ponies were walking, heavy packs all over their bodies.

The lead pony turned to the group, seeing they were slowing down. “Eight more miles till the hotel. Push!”

Ah, this time period. Right after highschool and right before I left for bootcamp. I traveled Equestria for two years, walking and hitching rides to Brony settlements to look for clues about Lance’s past.

Again, I cringed when I saw myself in the middle of the group. Ears pierced with multiple loops and studs, snake bite loops on my lips, of course a nose piercing, and my hair chopped short. Fuck I hate this phase in my life.

“You look like a goth chick,” Lance says, a bit of Break in his voice.

Punky Scamp rolled her eyes as she picked up her pace and walked past the leader, “Then keep up.”

The memory faded after this.

“That’s it?” Bronwyn asked, clearly expecting more.

“These memory banks only really store memories that you remember or think about often. Sometimes it’ll have some forgotten memories, but usually, you have to dig deep for the good stuff,” Lance said, clearly knowing a lot about this subject.

“Yeah,” I say, frowning, “Now let’s stop looking through my memories.”

“Oh shit, ‘First time’, what ever could that be?!” Break said through Lance as he clicked it.

My eyes widened, as I knew what we were about to see.

A destroyed room faded in, gunshots and screams in the distance, explosions going off randomly.

With a crash, two ponies wearing military style gear stumbled into the room. A worn out and dirty Scamp ripped off her helmet, coughing loudly. The pony next to her, looked around frantically, gun shaking on his side as he scanned the room.

“I don’t know if they saw us enter!” He said in a panic.

Soldier Scamp wiped her face, trying to fix her busted looking rifle.

The other soldier, who I know is Lime Pie, walked to a window and peeked out. “Looks clear to me. The Griffons didn’t see us.”

With a nod, Soldier Scamp gave up on her broken rifle and turned to him, “We need to regroup with the main battle group before we get pinned down again.” Her eyes suddenly widened as her gun tried to fire. “LIME!”

Before he could react, a Griffon burst through the window and tackled him, the two tumbled as they fought. Soldier Scamp didn’t waste time as she jumped in and knocked the Griffon off of Lime Pie.

The Griffon recovered quickly and stood facing them. Lime Pie’s gun had been ripped from his side during the fighting, same for the Griffon, luckily.

The three stared each other down before they engaged. It was messy fighting, but the lone Griffon was able to slice Lime Pie’s throat with its talons. Soldier Scamp roared in anger as she tackled the large bird, and they tumbled around. The talons ripping at her uniform and vest, but she fought back with her hoof blade.

They rolled till she asserted her dominance on top and began to viciously stab the Griffon in the chest over and over again, sending blood and feathers everywhere. Once she finished her onslaught, she stood and stumbled back.

She fell to her flank and pushed herself against a wall. Looking over the carnage and her bloody hooves, she put her head in her hooves and stayed that way as the memory faded.

No one spoke right away.

Finally, Lance let out a awkward laugh, “So I thought that was…”

“My first fuck?” I ask, knocking him away from the console. “Yeah, no. I know that was Break that did that, but I’m holding you accountable for that one, Lance. Even if it had been what you thought, you think it’d be cool to see that?”

I scroll to a random moment labeled ‘One night stand: Ponyville’. “See that? That what you wanted? Or maybe this?!” I scrolled to another one, ‘Fourth times a charm’.

Lance kicked the ground like a colt being lectured by an angry parent. “No, I’m sorry. I should do better at controlling Break.”

“Yes you should,” Bronwyn interjected. “Some memories should never be relieved, let alone gawked at. The cutie mark memory was fine, but any after that was going beyond the scope of Ok.”

Sighing, Lance nodded in agreement. “I understand, I also need to work on my impulse control.”

“Good,” I say as I hit the back button, but miss as a memory starts playing. I panic for a second before seeing what it was, calming down a bit.

Karma hit hard as Lance had to sit and watch me fight the tyrant Queen, ending with the brutal finish of me literally eating her throat. As traumatic as all that was, watching it from the outside was amazing.

Lance looked green as he stood over the Queen, his wife in another life.

“God fucking damn, I heard what happened, but it was so much worse to watch,” he whined, walking to sit down.

“Even better in person,” Bronwyn praised as we bumped fist to hoof. “You are one tough, mare, Scamp.”

“Why thank you,” I reply, laughing at Lance’s reaction.

Then he looked at the slowly fading Greg. “Huh, he did more than I thought he did. I thought you two were exaggerating his part.”

“You need to chill out on Greg,” I say, finally having the subject come up. “I really would have failed and died without Greg.”

Lance worked his jaw, chewing on his lip, “I guess.”

I sigh, it would take some time, but I will fix this Lance and Greg issue.

“Ooo!” Lance suddenly turned to us, changing the subject. “Let’s check out Bronwyn’s memories!”

“Absolutely not,” she stated, her tone and face demanding he drop it.

He almost missed the massive hints she was giving him, but when he did, he acted like he didn’t notice. “Actually, no, I’ve learned a valuable life lesson today.” He looked at us, trying to act tough in the moment, “We do not view others' memories without their permission. Remember that, you two.”

“Uh-huh,” I say, raising an eyebrow at him.

Bronwyn only shook her head at him.

I turn to the console and press the power button.

Onward we go!

Chapter 9

With a sharp intake of air, I sat up, sweating heavily. My eyes darted around, taking in the dark landscape and the flickering fire. Not too far away, Bronwyn glanced up from her computer; she didn’t say anything, just gave me a nod and went back to what she was doing. I wiped my hoof across my face, noticing Lance was sitting up as well and staring blankly into the flames.

“You alright?” I ask as I sit up, shaking the blanket off of myself.

“Are you?” He asked in turn, not looking away from the fire.

Sighing, I shrug, “Yeah, just got a lot of memories that like to pop up in dreams.”

“I get that,” he says with a sigh as he finally looks at me. “I’m thinking about what happened in your mind.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, the light from the fire dancing across his features, “About Greg?”

He kind of rolled his eyes at that, “No. About what you and Bronwyn said to me, and how I acted in there.”

“Ah,” I lean back on my haunches, using a wing to rub my chin. “You acted like a teenager.”

Nodding in response, he sighed, “I’ve always been like that. I just never feel like an adult, know what I mean?” I only shook my head in response. “Oh. I don’t know what it is, I just like doing what I want and usually don’t think about it.”

“You need to work on that,” I replied evenly. “There are boundaries, and you need to learn to see them, and not cross them. And,” I lean towards him slightly. “You need to be nicer to your friends and forgive them.”

“You mean Greg,” he says with an annoyed sigh. “I’ll think about it, I guess.”

A frown appears on my face as I sit back, shaking my head at him as he averted my gaze, staring back into the fire.

After a long pause, with me staring at the side of his head, he looks back to me, “What will you do after we’re done here?”

“Once we save your friends and kill the Watcher?” I ask, to which he nods. “To be honest, I haven’t thought of it. My world is gone, everyone I know is gone. I guess Calypso and I will figure something out. What about you?”

He nods along as he listens to me, then smiles faintly. “I’m settling down finally. I’m going home to Twilight, and staying there. I’m done with adventures and fighting. I took her and my life for granted, and it only took me forty years to figure that out.”

“So, kill the Watcher and then go home? Just be a husband and father?” I ask, not expecting his answer to be so simple and mature.

“Yep, I miss my wife. I miss my kids. I’m just so damn tired, Scamp. I just hope you’ll stick around and join us, I’ve come to enjoy having you around,” he offered a smile.

I just sigh in response, “I don’t know if I have it in me to just settle down and stay in one place after everything I’ve seen and done.” At his falling ears, I add, “But, I will think about it, okay?”

This brought his mood up as he grinned, “Thank you. I want you to meet everyone properly once we’re all back home.” He held up his book, giving it a wave, “I left out ten years of time, so there’s a lot you don’t know.”

Seeing the book brought up a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but one pushed its way to the front, one that I’ve always been bothered by.

“Lance, I have to ask something,” I started, eyes narrowing slightly.

He noticed my narrowed gaze, “Uh… what is it?”

I crossed my hooves, “In your book, you talk about all the mares going into heat and attacking the stallions.” His eyes widened as he seemed to remember that he wrote about that. “Not only is that something that doesn’t happen, it’s just gross. Wrong. Did you make that up?” I don’t know what answer I was hoping for.

Lance lifted the book, staring at the cover. “There’s a lot in here that I shouldn’t have written about. That being one. But, that one is actually a really bad event.” He looked me straight in the eyes, looking serious. “The Heat events went on for five years before the truth came out. It was always Anarchy, from the very beginning even before we knew she existed.”

“What?” I asked in a flat tone.

With a sigh, he continued. “Annabel actually was the first human to arrive in Ponyville, beating me by minutes. But she, being a Draconequus, decided to remain hidden and just mess with everyone. The whole mares going into heat was her doing, she made everyone there think it was a normal process. It was one of the worst things she did.”

“That’s…” I shook my head, not wanting to get into that right now. “How did you find out? What’d you all do about it?”

“She admitted to it one day, during a prank war. She wanted to prove she was number one, so she told everyone about her ultimate ‘prank’. When we confronted her about that not being right, and asked if she realized just what she’d done, she just laughed. Annabel was truly a being of chaos. A prime example of what happens when you give a human unlimited powers.”

“Was?” I ask.

“We had to banish her to the moon,” he said, looking pained. “She didn’t learn from her mistake, and tried to do it all over again. So we made the painful choice to get rid of her.”

“How did Discord react to that?”

Lance smiled a bit, “He actually was appalled at her actions, and was the biggest help in subduing her. Despite everything, he’s one of the good guys.”

I sat back, thinking about what I’d been told. I had more questions about the incident, but I decided to let it go.

“I read the book,” Bronwyn suddenly said without looking away from the screen of her computer. “And I will say; that’s absolutely disgusting. I say you should have done worse to her, but I digress.”

He only frowned at this, but nodded in agreement. “I know.”

Wanting to change the subject, for his sake, I turn to Bronwyn on the other side of the fire. “So, what will you be doing after we kill the Watcher?”

She looks up at me, then shrugs, “Same thing I’ve been doing; hunt down the names on my list.”

“Your list?” I ask, her words peeking my interest.

Bronwyn just chuckles, “I have a list of names of the ones who betrayed us, or have caused great harm to come to those I care about. The top of that list is Lorenzo, the one I mentioned earlier. Your Watcher is also on that list, but much further down. Once we kill him, nothing changes for me. I’ll be here while you two return to your world.”

“I wish you’d come with us,” Lance said, looking saddened at her words.

She just looks back to her computer screen, typing away, “I’ve been alive for a very long time, Lance. I’ve made many friends in that time, but I’ve always stayed my path. So don’t take it personal.”

Lance’s shoulders just dropped as he looked back to the fire.

“Good news though,” she added, turning her computer to us. “I found one of your friends.”

“Which one?!” Lance asked in excitement as he jumped forward, looking at the screen.

“The one named Zorrow Bialeki, he’s a part of a movie studio as a main actor it seems,” she hits a button and the screen changes to a picture of him with two large creatures standing beside him as they walk through a crowd. “However, those two are members of Jakuz, an organization whose leader is on my list.”

“Does that mean he’s a prisoner being forced to act in movies?” Lance asked, looking disappointed for some reason.

She nodded, “The Jakuz focus on making profit, and are very well known for slave labor. They have used slaves in the past in their projects, so I’d say its safe to say Zorrow here is a slave.”

“So we need to save him,” Lance said as he looked at me. “Do you have the beacons from Ominus?”

I reach into my pocket dimension and pull out a strange red and white ball. “Yep, got them right here.”

Lance blinked at it, then burst out laughing, “He made them look like Pokeballs? That’s amazing!”

I stared at the strange ball, raising an eyebrow. I have no idea what a ‘Pokeball’ was, but Lance seemed to think it was funny.

“Well, pass out a few,” he said as he held out his hooves and wings, looking excited.

Rolling my eyes, I pull out a few more and give them to both of them. “Just remember, whoever we use these on will get sent to Ominus’s dimension, but they’ll also be banned from returning to the Eternal Plains.”

“Got it,” Lance said as he played with one of the beacons.

Bronwyn didn’t look hers over as she put them away, “I’ll have a plan in the morning for how to proceed.”

“Perfect,” I reply, pulling my blanket up around my shoulders, the chill finally catching back up to me.

Lance put his away and laid down, staring up at the sky. “I wish we’d found one of the others first. Like Fredreic or Peter.”

Bronwyn looked a bit pained as she glanced over to him. “Lance, I thought you knew this; anyone who died to the Watcher himself actually died. They’re not coming back.”

A sad look swept over his face at this revelation. “Ah, good to know.” He pulled his hat down over his face, hiding his face. Despite this, I saw the glimmer of a tear roll down his cheek.

I thought about consoling him, but I knew he just wanted to be left alone with his thoughts. So I chose to lay back down on my nest of blankets, staring into the fire and Bronwyn beyond them.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is what the Jakuz call security?” I asked as we sat at a table, looking across the street to a large compound filled with warehouse-like buildings. Four lightly armed bipedal creatures stood out front, laughing and talking to each other. Paying minimal attention to the world around them.

“No one messes with them,” Bronwyn stated, eating her food while looking the compound over. “They’re not seen as bad guys by anyone but myself and my friends. Perks of being in the entertainment industry, being able to do whatever you want as long as you give the people what they want.”

Lance, leaning back in his chair with his front hooves crossed, smiled, “So this should be incredibly easy than.”

“It will be,” Bronwyn confirmed. “You two will search for your friend, I’ll be heading for the tower in the middle of the compound. I’m going to pay the CEO a little visit. I’ve been putting this off for too long.”

I shoved more food into my muzzle before looking up again, “I can kill em all, so no worries, Lance.”

“No!” Lance suddenly hissed, catching me off guard. “We’re not killing anyone. Only hurt them enough so we can get to Zorrow.”

“That’s a stupid idea,” I finally replied, shaking my head as I went back to devouring my lunch, getting stared at by everyone around us.

“Maybe so, but no killing,” he replied firmly.

Bronwyn only rolled her eyes, not saying anything else on the matter. “Do what you must then. I’ll stick to my plan.”

Lance then looked back to the front gate with the four guards. “I’m sure we can sneak in…”

“Nah, I got it,” I said as I finished off my food and chugged my beverage. I looked to Bronwyn, who gave me a nod. I nodded back as I pushed myself away from the table and began to stretch. “Just keep up with me, Lance.”

“What’s the plan?” Lance asked, eyeing me in confusion.

“Save Zorrow, knock out and wound anyone who gets in my way.” I finish stretching and walk across the busy street to the four guards wearing business suits.

They didn’t turn to me as I walked up to them. Oh it would have been so damn easy to just kill them and run in.

After a few seconds of them not noticing me, I finally cleared my throat loudly, “Excuse me, gentlemen.”

Finally, they all turn to me, looking displeased at my disturbing them.

“What?” The closest one to me asked, looking very unhappy as Lance also joined me.

“We’re looking for a friend of ours, Zorrow Bialeki. A pony,” Lance asked, tipping his hat at them.

“The Zorrow Bialeki? Friends of his?” One of them asked before they all started laughing. “Get out of here, Equines.”

“So he is here?” I asked, a sly smirk appearing on my face.

“Of course he is,” another retorted, standing up straighter, flexing slightly. “Now get.”

“Where exactly?” I pushed, irritating them further.

The lead one stepped forward, towering over me. “As they posted on the Net, they’re currently filming. If you really were his friend, you would have known that. You’ve had two warnings to leave. If I have to say it one more time, then you won’t be leaving the way you came.”

I looked to Lance, who was frowning up at the imposing creature. “Oh no, Lance. He’s threatening us.”

Lance looked at me with a strange look, but I only smiled back.

In a flash, I teleported between all of them, my Ego blades flashing as I spun, attacking all four at once.

Screams filled the air as the four guards fell to the ground, missing limbs.

“SCAMP! I said no killing!” Lance yelled, looking completely shocked at my actions.

“They’ll be fine,” I chuckled as I kicked a hand out of my way, causing it to land on the face of its previous owner. Who just yelled and flailed around. “Just missing a few important bits.”

“I love it,” Bronwyn stated as she stepped over the screaming guards and headed for the doors. “See you two soon.”

I smile sweetly at a displeased Lance as I happily hop over the body parts and guards.

“Jesus, you two are psycho’s,” he mumbled as he lifted off the ground and flew over everything.

As I reached the door, Ayla appeared, giving me an excited smile as she bounced from hoof to hoof. “It wouldn’t hurt to ‘accidentally’ kill at least a few, right?”

I can only chuckle at this as I jump up to the door and walk in, entering the large compound.

It is I! Your savior!

Chapter 10

“Please! I swear I don’t know where they’re filming!” the large, newly limbless, bear creature yelled as I held it by the scruff of its fur, standing atop its chest.

“That’s what they all said,” I reply, gesturing over my shoulder at the many crying and screaming creatures, all wounded in various ways. “Come on, you’re telling me not a single one of you knows where the filming is taking place? You work here, right?”

“As a guard!” He yelled back, looking both shocked and in a panic. “They don’t tell everyone everything! I just watch the break room!”

“Likely story,” I say as I raise my hoof talons, causing him to squeal in terror.

“Scamp, can I speak to you?” Lance asked from behind me.

I sigh, then narrow my eyes at the once bipedal bear. “I’ll be back for you. Don’t go anywhere.”

With a kick, I flipped backward and landed next to Lance. “Yes?”

He looked around at the carnage, looking green, “When I said dont’ kill anyone, just hurt them. I meant like, knock them out.”

“Oh, Lance,” I say with a chuckle as I reach out and pat his shoulder. “Do you know how hard it is to knock someone out? And keep them knocked out? This is much more effective, removing legs so they can’t run for help, and hands so they can’t use a device to call for help. Plus,” I look at my Ego as it trails to each of the creatures around us. “It’s actually very hard to keep all their Ego turned off, so this is the best course of action.”

“It probably isn’t,” he challenged, but didn’t offer up a better solution. “Just, try and cool it a bit.”

Over his shoulder, I see a tall and skinny cat man run in, a weapon in his hands. “Yeah, I gotcha.”

Without a word, I appeared before the cat man, my blades flashing quickly. He yowled in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

“What did I just say?!” Lance asked in annoyance.

Looking over my shoulder, smiling innocently, “He had a bead on you, I saved you, so you’re very welcome.”

Ayla appeared on top of the large bear creature, looking over the area with a pleased look.

Returning my attention to the yelling cat man, I leaned down, lifting him up by his shirt collar, “Alrighty cat boy, riddle me this; where are they filming right now?”

He didn’t answer me, just kept hissing and yelling in pain.

Holding up a hoof, my talons popping out, got his attention as he looked at me, still squirming.

“I don’t know!” He insisted through clenched teeth.

Shrugging, I raise my hoof.

“Wait!” He screams out, causing me to stop raising my hoof. “They could be in building K!”

Looking around, I saw we were near buildings S and T. “Perfect, you’ve done good today, feline.”

With a grunt, I dropped him and turned to Lance. “Hear that?”

He just frowned as he nodded, “Yes, building K. It’s probably somewhere behind us.”

“Then let’s get a move on,” I say as we take to the sky and start flying past buildings.

As we flew, Lance looked at me, “You seem to be enjoying this more than you should.”

I can only shrug in response, “It’s different when you’re fighting monsters. Which they are, since they use slaves.”

Lance seemed to consider this, “I guess it’s like fighting Nazis. Can’t feel bad for the bad guy if they’re just pure evil.”

“I don’t know what a Nazi is, but exactly,” I say as I flip in the air, watching the buildings fly by.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the building labeled K.

Landing at the front door, I rub my hooves together. “You ready to see your friend, Lance?”

He didn’t look ready, but he nodded, “Oh sure, can’t wait. Just don’t maim anyone else like that please.”

“I can try,” I reply as I step through the doors.

Upon entering, a small lobby greeted us, a large red sign was lit up that said ‘FILMING’. Perfect.

We walked for the only door in the room that looked to lead anywhere and walked down a hallway. The walls were covered in posters for movies, not many catching my attention. But one made Lance stop.

“Uh,” he muttered as he looked at a poster that showed a pony holding onto a large bosomed lizard woman. The title ‘Forbidden Love: Star Crossed Lovers’ sat at the top of it. “They’re making him act in sappy romance movies. We have to save him.”

The poster next to it showed Zorrow swinging from some kind of flying contraptions, a large machine gun slung over his chest, firing away into a crowd of undead creatures, titled ‘Zorrow: Undead but not Dead’.

“And action movies,” I added after seeing the poster.

“Yeah, B rated movies, they’re torturing him!” Lance lamented, looking to feel intense pain for his friend.

With renewed purpose, Lance began to gallop down the hall, heading for the end of the hallway. I followed, looking at all the posters we passed featuring Zorrow.

Say what you will, but these Jakuz are pumping out movies faster than I’ve ever seen. It’s actually quite impressive.

Lance burst through the door and came to a grinding halt, followed by me as I slammed into him, knocking us both over.

“What are you two doing?!” a large hippo looking female asked as she rushed over to us. “Is that blood?!”

I slowly stood, eying her up and down. I could easily take her.

“We’re extra’s?” Lance offered lamely.

The hippo lady’s lips fell into a straight line, looking us over. “We don’t need the wounded background actors yet, so go ahead and head over to the buffet. We’ll call you when it’s time.”

Lance dragged me along as I stared up at her, still wanting to take her down. “Thank you!”

He drug us over to a large table covered in food. He looked around nervously as everyone around us seemed to just ignore us. I also saw many other creatures covered in fake blood and injuries. Those must be the real extras.

“Don’t do anything rash, we can find him this way easier,” Lance commented, looking around still.

“Yeah, till someone finds the mutilated people outside,” I reply as I look the table over and begin to pick up random food items, shoving them into my mouth. “Oh shit, this is good!”

“We don’t have time for that,” Lance said as he frowned. “They might be keeping him in a cage out back or something…”

I lifted up some kind of meat cake and took a bite out of it, my eyes rolling back in pleasure. “Where have you been all my life!” I ate more of the sweet treat, getting a glare from Lance.

“Scamp, we need…”

He was cut off as a very beautiful and makeup-covered gazelle-like woman walked up, her breast barely covered by her costume. “This is the main actors table, the extra’s is over there.” She pointed to a tiny table with a single plate of food on it.

I blinked as I looked that way, food still in my mouth and on my face. Gulping down what was in my mouth, I turned to her, holding a piece of a kebab in my wing. Looking her up and down, I snort, “Why are you dressed like a slut?”

Lance immediately punched my shoulder and turned to the gazelle lady, “I am so sorry about her, she has no manners.”

“Clearly,” was the woman's response as she glared down at me. “I could easily have you fired and removed from the set. I’m engaged to the lead actor, as you already knew.”

“Good for you!” I say with fake enthusiasm as I take a bite out of the kebab, letting out a moan at the amazing taste. “You need to try this.” I hold it up to her.

She just rudely slaps it out of my grasp and points to the much smaller table in the corner. “Kindly go to your designated eating area. Now.”

“Ooo, trying to sound dominant?” I asked, standing up straight and smiling up at her.

“We’re going!” Lance said as he bit my tail and began to drag me away from the fuming woman.

I pointed a wing tip at her, still smiling, “I got your number, gorgeous!”

“Are you trying to get us kicked out?” Lance hissed as he pulled me to the extra’s tiny food table.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped up to the table and lifted up a pathetic piece of food, just a little ball of meat and cheese. “It’s just something about those uppity attitudes that rubs me the wrong way.”

Slipping the ball of meat into my mouth, I chewed for a few seconds before coughing violently and spitting it out, spraying it all over the table and food before me. “What the hell?! That’s fucking disquesting!”

“Welcome to the life of an extra,” a cute minotaur female said as she stepped up to us. “Who did your costume? Those specks of flesh and blood look so good!”

I looked down at myself, the gore from my carnage covered my body. “This? I did it myself.”

“Amazing! You should become a makeup artist instead of trying to be an extra! You’d excel at it!” She encouraged.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say awkwardly, smiling as wide as I can.

“Actually,” Lance began, looking around. “Have you seen a pony named Zorrow?”

“The lead actor?! Of course, he’s around the corner on set.”

Lead actor, didn’t that woman say… huh.

“Thank you so much!” Lance said as he started trotting that way.

“You can’t just go to the set!” She warned him. “They’re filming! You’ll be fired if you interrupt!”

“Don’t worry about us,” I say as I walk past her, kicking the tiny table over with my back leg as I pass it. “We can handle ourselves.”

“What?” she asked in confusion as we walked away from her. But neither of us responded as we walked towards the set.

After rounding the corner, we were met with a very strange sight. A large group of many different styles of creatures surrounded a large stage, cameras all around it. The stage itself was made up to look like a dark city street.

A pony attached to wires was flying around the set as the camera’s followed him.

“Stand down, Gilantis! I have you out skilled!” the pony, who could only be Zorrow with that hairdo, yelled as he flew past a strange dog-like creature in a ridiculous costume. Zorrow himself was dressed up in a brightly colored superhero costume, looking even more ridiculous than she thought possible.

“They are torturing him,” Lance muttered, watching his friend fly around on the wires. “Just look at that costume.”

I nod in agreement. “Well, let’s get him out of here.”

The two of us walk towards the stage, no one looking at us till we start pushing our way through them.

“Hey!” Someone snaps, but we keep walking.

“No extras!” Another yells and reaches out to grab my mane. But as his hand neared me, I suddenly jerked my head towards him and bit his hand hard, drawing a bit of blood. “AHHH! WHAT?!”

We hop up on stage, causing all eyes to fall on us.

“CUT!” Someone, the director probably, yelled in anger. “Who sent the extras up there?!”

“No one!”

“Not me!”

“That horse bit my hand!”

A little smile played on my lips as we walked closer to Zorrow, who was dangling above us.

He looked down at us very confused before his eyes widened as Lance removed his hat, looking up at him.

“Lance?!”

“Hey buddy, we’ve come to save you,” Lance said with a large smile.

Zorrow made a gesture to someone off stage and he began to lower, “Hold on everyone! I know this guy!”

There were murmurs all around us, but no one said anything.

With a flick of his legs, he climbed out of his harness and walked up to Lance, looking very overjoyed. “I thought I’d never see you again, man!”

He went in for a hug, but Lance only held up a hoof and stopped him. “It’s all good, bro. We went through a lot of trouble, but we’re here to get you out of here.”

“Get me out of here?” Zorrow asked, cocking his head. “Why?”

“Because you’re a slave and they’re forcing you to make movies for them,” Lance said, gesturing over his shoulder at the crowd around us.

“Slave?” Zorrow asked, then laughed loudly. “I’m not a slave, I’m a actor! THE actor actually! They love me here!”

“But the Jakuz use slaves, which means you are a slave,” Lance countered matter of the factly.

“The Jakuz?” Zorrow looked confused, then chuckled again. “Oh, the Jakuz. No, those guys are just security here. We hire them to keep the peace. I co-own this company with a few other mainstream actors.”

Lance seemed to consider this before shaking his head, “They’ve done a real number on you, buddy.”

I looked around, not being as dense as Lance, and realized what was going on. Oh boy, probably SHOULD have shown some restraint on those guards after all.

“Lance,” Zorrow said with a genuine smile as he placed a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s really all good. I really have a lot to tell you! I have a fiancée too! Diamond!”

The barely dressed gazelle lady from earlier suddenly exploded out of the crowd, knocking people aside as she stepped up onto the stage and stomped towards Zorrow. She even knocked Lance aside as she approached. As soon as she reached Zorrow, she leaned down to his height and the two began to vigorously make out.

“Ew,” I mutter as I lean away from the display.

“Get off of him, succubus!” Lance yelled as he took up a fighting stance in front of the pair.

“Hey, Lance,” I started, but Zorrow’s laugh cut me off.

“Chill, Lance. This is my wife to be, Diamond! The best damn actress in the industry!” He said as he broke the kiss, but they remained in an embrace.

“Oh you’re too kind, darling,” Diamond replied, then gave Lance a sideways glare. “Your friends are a bit rude, I don’t want them here.”

Zorrow only rolled his eyes, still smiling, “It’s alright, love. They just… Who are you by the way?” He asked, looking at me.

Before I could reply, Lance jumped into the air and pulled his Ego hoof gauntlet back, and yelled, “Girokon PUNCH!”

A loud boom filled the room Diamond was sent flying away from Zorrow, who was still standing there holding the air she’d just been standing, and slammed into a wall. But instead of breaking through it, she just crumbled to the ground, as the wall was heavily reinforced, apparently.

“Diamond?” Zorrow said aloud in a daze as he looked down and saw he was holding her arms in his hands. “Diamond?!”

Lance landed in a dramatic way next to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy. I vanquished the evil succubus.” He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote ‘brainwashed, please help’ on it, and slammed it onto Zorrow’s forehead.

Zorrow just blinked as he turned to Lance, shellshocked. “Lance? My wife…”

“You mean succubus!” Lance said as he pulled a pokeball from his pouch and reared back. “Don’t you worry, Zorrow! Ominus will break the spell!”

Zorrow just looked back to the arms in his grasp, looking to be unable to comprehend the sudden change in events. A pokeball slapped against his head, bouncing off and opening, seeming to suck him into itself. The little ball then disappeared in a blink.

I facehoofed. “Fuck, Lance. Really?”

“I got him,” Lance said, pulling a list out and marking a name off of it. “That’s a win for us.”

This was ridiculous. LIke, so far from rational, that I can’t even comprehend it either!

“What did you do with our star?!” the director yelled in surprise as he and others hopped up on the stage.

Lance stepped forward, flaring his wings. “Let me handle the Jakuz, Scamp. We don’t need to mutilate any of them.”

I just blinked at him, thinking about telling him what was actually going on. But to be honest? I don’t have it in me. So I just sigh and give him a wave.

“Bring him back!” Someone yelled in anger.

“He’s not yours anymore!” Lance yelled as he dived forward, tackling the director. With no grace whatsoever, Lance began to punch and kick all those around him, his Ego hooves sending them flying away with each punch.

A screaming biped came flying towards me, so I stepped aside letting them pass and hit the wall behind me.

“What is going on?” the large dog creature said from behind me, still standing where he’d been during filming.

I sigh and look over at him, “To be honest, I’m not sure anymore. He’s just working through things, I think.”

“Where’d Zorrow go? Is he okay?” the dog asked in a worried tone.

Looking towards the large dog, I saw genuine worry in his eyes. “He’s okay, I promise. We’re friends of his.”

“He’s my friend,” the dog said, looking to the ground in sadness. “When will he be back?”

“Uh, maybe soon?” I lied, not wanting to tell him the truth. “How’d he become an actor?”

“Oh!” The large dog smiled as he scratched his ear with a back paw, his costume shaking as he did so. “He saved a little kid from a kidnapper and someone recorded it. He said some really corny lines as he did, and the owners of this company found him. After a while, he became a partner! He’s really famous in this part of the Plains! He doesn't’ just act in movies, he has a lot of charities and other things he does to help others! Will he be back by tomorrow at least? I know for a fact he’ll be needed at the new children’s hospital to do a meet and greet with some terminally ill kids.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” I make a sucking sound as I look around, rubbing the back of my head. “Sure, he will.”

“Oh thank the UAD, I didn’t want to go alone, I’m the villain in all our stuff we do,” the big dog said in relief. “What’s your name, ma’am?”

I smile awkwardly as I hold out a hoof, “Scamp.”

The dog reached out for my hoof with a paw, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms Scamp. My name is…”

The large dog suddenly flew away from me and slammed into the same wall that Diamond did. Lance landed in front of me, looking worn out.

“Keep your filthy paws off of my friends, beast!” he yelled after the dog, who was now unmoving next to Diamond.

I frowned as I lowered my hoof, looking at Lance with a displeased look on my face, “Get it out of your system?”

He looked back at the crowd of groaning people, some looking worse than others. “Yeah, I got all of em. That dog almost got the upper hand on you, Scamp. It’s a good thing I was here.”

“Did you whack your head?” I ask, shaking my head at him. He was acting stranger than usual.

“We need to get out of here,” Lance replied, ignoring the question. “We saved Zorrow, so we need to catch up to Bronwyn.”

“I can at least agree with that last part,” I sigh as I flare my wings and fly for the entrance, flying over the extra’s.

“Run, slaves!” Lance said as we flew over them. “You’re free now! Run for the gates!”

“Are we still getting paid?” A guy yelled after us as we entered the main door and flew down the hallway.

We burst back out into the daylight, people running around us. They were carrying the wounded that I’d left behind.

“Oh holy UAD, it’s them!!” The bear I’d tormented screamed from a stretcher as he rolled off and began to try and crawl away.

“I got this,” Lance said, but I reached out and grabbed his mane.

“No time, we have to get to Bronwyn,” I yell, trying to save them from further damage.

“You’re right,” Lance replied with a nod as he took to the sky and flew for the tower in the center of the compound.

I looked to the wounded and helpers, all staring fearfully at me. I offer a shrug and weak smile, “Sorry about that, all a misunderstanding.”

“A MISUNDERSTANDING?!” one of the limbless people screamed as I took to the air and left them all behind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

It didn’t take long for us to reach the tower, bodies all around its base.

“Looks like Bronwyn didn’t listen to the whole ‘don’t kill anyone’,” Lance mumbled as we flew to the top of the tower.

As we neared the glassy top, I saw Bronwyn on the other side, sitting on a table.

I flew up to the window and knocked on it, getting her attention. She looked out, seeing me covered in blood, and laughed.

Extending my hoof talons, I prepared to cut the glass, but Lance suddenly slammed into the window, bouncing off and tumbling backwards.

“OWW! That’s tough glass!” He yelped, holding his head as he hovered behind me.

Rolling my eyes, I slice at the glass, causing it to fall away with ease. Carefully, I flew through the new hole and landed in front of Bronwyn.

“I’m assuming you’ve figured it out,” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chuckling, I nod, “You mean this being a real movie studio and we attacked it as if it was a slave operation?”

She stifled more laughter as she nodded, “Yes, turns out the Jakuz are just security, not the head of the operations here.”

Looking past her, I saw a few dead people in suits.

Following my gaze, she shrugs, “I mean, I didn’t believe them at first. It took going through their files to realize that. You know, your friend Zorrow is…”

“An actual actor here who is actually really beloved and a huge part of this city?” I interrupt, getting a smile from her.

“Did you find him?”

“Oh we found him alright,” I replied, looking back as Lance tried to get through the window, getting caught on the glass.

“And we saved him!” Lance announced as he finally fell into the room. “And dealt with the Jakuz!”

Bronwyn started to say something, but I just shook my head at her, causing her to look confused.

“I’ll tell you later,” I say, letting Lance live in the fantasy.

She just nodded in response and pointed to some files on the table. “The good news, I found two more of your friends. One of them is actually in this building.”

“Who is it?” Lance asked in excitement. “Who’s in the building?”

“The dog named Louie. It seems Zorrow was looking for your friends as well, and found two,” Bronwyn said as she picked up the two files. “The other is the one called Seth, and we have his location.”

“Where is Louie?” Lance asked as he looked under the table. “Come on, Lou!”

“I need to warn you,” Bronwyn begins, “You can understand him here on the Plains, and he needs our help.”

“Sure sure, where is he?” Lance asked happily.

Bronwyn looked at him for a moment before walking to the door and opening it. “Young Louie, this way. Your friend is here.”

“Lance?!” A small voice yelled as a little brown dog ran in, skidding to a halt in front of Lance and myself. “OH my God! Lance! It’s actually you!”

“Lou! I can understand you!” Lance yelled as the two began to jump around each other. “We’re here to save you, pal!”

Louie pants in excitement, “I know! She told me you were!” He then stops and looks serious. “But before that, I need your help.”

“What kind of help?” I ask, looking at the little dog.

He smiles up at me, “I found a way to get my human body back! We just have to go to a special location!”

I look at him, thinking, “If we send you to Ominus, you’ll be in your human body. So there’s no need.”

He shook his little head, “No, I’ve spoken with Ominus in the past, I have a special kind of curse or spell or whatever on me, I will always remain a dog, no matter what dimension I’m in. This is my only chance to return to normal!”

“Hmm,” I thought for a second. “We will help you, right, Lance?”

“We will save you, buddy,” Lance said as he dug around in his trench coat pockets.

“Oh thank you, Lance!” Louie said happily. “I’ve always wanted to talk with you, and this will be a great time for you to finally hear my story and all about my past! Oh! I don’t even know where to start!”

A pokeball bounced off his head, causing him to look very confused.

“I got you, bud!” Lance called out as the ball sucked him in and disappeared. “That’s two!” He pulled out his list and marked another name off.

“Lance,” I said, facehoofing again. “You need to stop doing that and just let us talk before sending them away.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Lance replies, putting away his list. “The faster we save them, the faster we finish this.”

Bronwyn looked at me in worry, but I just shrugged. Lance pulled out a few of his cards, checking them over, taking away a few he seemed to want to replace.

“Where’s Seth?” I ask, looking back to Bronwyn.

She blinked, seemed somewhat lost for a moment before she threw Louie’s folder over her shoulder and held up Seth’s. “That’s the problem.”

I took the folder and opened it, frowning at what I saw. “I’m guessing this man next to him is someone you know?”

“Heildan, a close friend of Lorenzo’s,” she replied grimly. “His Ego allows him to temporarily mind control others.”

“That’s not good,” I commented as I looked at the man, who was dressed like a friendly jester. “But I’ll be able to cancel that with my Ego.”

“We still have to be careful. They know how to deal with Ego, and will simply cut yours with one of their weapons if they see it trying to connect to them,” she said as she crossed her arms. “If he is here, with one of your friends, then that means Lorenzo is connected to this now. If he appears, we need to deal with him together. Alone, he will kill us.”

I nod, looking at Lance, who was still messing with his deck of cards. “What is Lorenzo’s Ego exactly?”

She furrows her brow, “He can teleport, but it's not that simple. He can create portals of any size in an instant, and uses them to block and return attacks. Not only that, he can open portals to other places that connect his soul too, which is how he always gets away from us. If you let your mind wander while facing him, he could even open a portal inside of you. I’ve lost a few friends to that.” With a sigh, she continues, “If we face him, stay focused, watch where your attacks go, and do not let him distract you. If you take your attention off of him, his Ego will be able to freely do as it pleases with you.”

Now this guy sounds actually dangerous, as in, I don’t think I want to face him.

“I can handle him,” Lance announces as he finishes his deck and puts it away. “So, let’s go save Seth!”

Bronwyn and I look at each other, both looking unhappy with Lance, but neither saying a word.

I need to have a chat with Lance, very soon. This behavior he’s adopted is going to get one of us killed!

You are me, and I am you?

Chapter 11

“We need to talk,” I said to Lance as we walked through the city, heading for the teleport hub. I was still covered in blood, which surprisingly wasn’t that uncommon here in the Plains, since people were staring, but not panicking.

“About?” Lance asked, looking ahead blankly.

“About what just happened,” I say, staring at the side of his head as we trotted along. “How you’re acting.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just kept his eyes forward. After a while, he glanced my way, seeing me still staring at him. Finally, he sighed, “I just want to go home, Scamp. I’m tired, and I want my family back.”

“I get that,” I say, feeling the same way but unlike him, I couldn’t get mine back. “But, you need to slow down, look at what's happening. Zorrow was actually doing very well for himself back there, he was not a slave like we thought.”

Lance seemed to digest this, thinking back, a frown on his face, “You sure?”

“Did you listen to a word he said?” I countered.

“Not really,” Lance admitted, “I saw him and just started thinking about how much closer we were to getting back, and I just kinda acted.”

“You acted possessed,” I point out.

With a deep sigh, he looked upward, “Scamp, I’m not feeling like myself nowadays.”

This caused me to raise an eyebrow, as he’d not said a word about feeling like that. “How so?”

“Ever since I gave half my soul to make Eclipse, I just feel tired.”

“That’s normal,” Bronwyn said from behind us. “The trick to getting over that is to absorb more Ego. It’ll never replenish what you gave up, but it helps fill the void.”

Lance seemed to look a little happier at this, but his mood still seemed down. “How about you? How do you feel after giving half your soul?”

I blinked back at him, then smiled sheepishly, “Eh, better than ever to be honest. Having Alya at the back of my mind, always there, encouraging me, is really nice.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m just used to having that,” Lance replied dejectedly.

I didn’t know what to say to cheer him up.

Ayla appeared next to me as we walked. “Tell him that you understand exactly how he’s feeling, and that you promise you’ll help him get through this.”

This caused me to recoil in surprise, as that wasn’t what I’d expect to hear from her. She just smiled brightly at me as she faded away.

“Lance,” I started, getting his attention. “I wish I could return home, see my mom again. Ever since Greg and Shadow showed up, my life has gone through so many changes that I’m now at a place where I don’t even recognize myself anymore. But you, you’ve remained constant, even through years of imprisonment and interrogations. And now, we’re so close to getting you home, we just have to push a little harder. I’m here, Lance. I’m staying at your side till I see you and your family returned to each other. Can you do that for me, Lance?”

He looked at me, a tear running down his face, “Thank you, Scamp.” That was his only response, but I felt I’d said the right thing, as he seemed to cheer up a bit. His ears were no longer pressed down at least.

Bronwyn sped up to get next to me and patted my shoulder, giving me a nod of approval.

A small grin made its way onto my face, and for once, I felt good about myself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You two need to understand something,” Bronwyn said, standing at the teleport hubs console, “So far, you two have only faced normal Ego users. None of them hold a candle to Heildan. He has more experience than I do in both fighting and Ego.”

My eyes widened at this, “He’s stronger than you?”

She nodded back at me, “Yes. Most of my enemies are stronger than me, seeing as I came in recently to the fold. I was the most recent Enforcer when the UAD revealed themselves, so all of my enemies are the same ones the Enforcer’s have been fighting for a long time.”

This did not set well with me, as I wasn’t sure if I’d even stand a chance against them.

“Then what can we even do against him?” Lance asked, voicing my thoughts exactly.

“Work together,” was her response. “You two need to stick to each other when we fight him. If he takes control of either of you, or me, cut the Ego connection with your weapons.”

Lance sighed, “This doesn’t seem to be in our favor.”

“It’s not in our favor,” she replied to him. “But we have to do it. And I do believe in us.”

I smile as I nod to the console, “We got this. Ready?”

“Yep,” Lance replied, trying to perk up.

Bronwyn only gave a nod as she stepped up to the console, and began to type in the coordinates they’d gotten from Seth’s file.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The rain poured down on us as we walked through the field of wheat, my hooves and clothes covered in mud from trudging through the field. Lance groaned in annoyance as he pulled his coat collar up, pulling his hat down to try and keep the rain from hitting his face.

Bronwyn didn’t seem fazed as she stomped along, rain pelting her face.

Up ahead was a lone building, lights on in all the windows. According to Seth’s file, he was living here with others. The reason behind it is unclear, but Bronwyn was sure it’s the home of Heildan, and the ones there were his puppets.

“So we’re just walking up to his house?” Lance asked, never being on board with this plan.

“It's the only way,” Bronwyn said grimly. “There’s a charm over the area that makes it impossible to teleport.”

I frown as I try to teleport, but find I can’t. “That’s pretty cool.”

She chuckles at my annoyance, “Just be ready for anything. He more than likely has had eyes on us for a while now.”

“Great,” I replied as we trudged through the field, pushing down the wheat as we went. “Are these his fields?”

She laughs at this, “Probably not. Everything he does is for aesthetics and fun.”

“So, an old barn house on a hill surrounded by wheat fields is his idea of fun?” I ask.

“Well it’s actually more fun to fight in,” a man suddenly said from beside me. The rain came to a sudden halt.

My eyes widened as I snapped my head to the left, seeing a colorful jester smiling down at me.

Without a word, I flexed out all my blades and spun at him. He just danced backwards, dodging all my blades easily.

Bronwyn jumped over me and went after him, her sword out. My Ego flew across the ground and connected to him.

He seemed to stumble as he looked past Bronwyn and right at me, “Did you just negate my Ego? Now that’s new!” With ease, he dodged the attacks of Bronwyn. A blade flashed, cutting my Ego from him.

Without warning, he jumped back and seemed to fall into the ground. Bronwyn chased after him, looking around for him.

Lance took to the air, looking around for him as well.

I stood at the ready, looking around for him.

“What an interesting, yet annoying Ego you got there,” he said an inch behind my right ear. My wings flared, cutting through the air where he should have been. But they didn’t connect with anything as I spun and saw nothing.

“Above!” Bronwyn yelled as she dashed back towards me.

Looking up just in time to see him mid-flip as he twirled in the air and dived straight for me, two daggers in his hands.

My own wing blades barely make it in front of me to block his attack, but his attack seems to drill through my defense, the blades coming straight for my face.

A cyan shield suddenly appeared inches from my face, stopping the blades.

Thank you, Lance!

I twist my body and stab my own wing blades straight at him, hoping to catch him mid-dive. But he seemed to be able to see this coming as he deflected my blades. As he neared the ground, his body moved impossibly, seeming to right himself just as he touched the ground, landing on his feet instead of his head.

As he jerked towards me, I stopped time, his eyes wide as he attacked.

No counter for this, huh?!

My hoof talon swung upward, catching him in the gut and ripping through his clown outfit, blood spray frozen as I carried the blades up through his chest and then tipped his jester mask.

Time resumed as he spun away, holding both hands to his wounds.

“WOW!” He screamed in agony. “That was not something I expected! Time control?! WOW!”

Despite his injuries, he still was able to dodge Bronwyn as she attacked, and even dodged my attacks. Lance launched a fireball at him, and he just seemed to catch it and throw it back.

Heildan coughed loudly, blood spraying out the mouth hole of his mask.

Stopping time again, both Bronwyn, who was barely moving, and I pushed towards him, going to finish him off.

Just as we reached him, I swear I heard a low laugh coming from his mask. Suddenly, he began to move, unhindered somehow. He dashed past both Bronwyn and I, his blades flashing.

As time returned to normal, both of us collapsed. I had a fresh stab wound in my flank. Bronwyn looked to have a stab wound to her gut.

He could have killed us, but he chose to wound us? That can’t be good.

“Thank you for showing me that trick, but it won’t work on me twice. Isn’t Ego just wonderful?!” He danced around us, eyeing Lance, who was flying above us, looking to be unsure how to handle this guy.

Grunting, I stood up and turned to face him, Bronwyn not far behind me. So I can’t use any of my void powers? Noted.

It was at this moment I realized his wounds seemed to have healed, the ripped clothing revealing barely scared skin.

“He’s controlling some others and using their powers on himself,” Bronwyn observed, starting to walk a circle around him.

“Right you are,” he said happily. “What are you going to do about it?”

She just smiled as she suddenly back flipped into the wheat, disappearing. A sudden scream was heard as she appeared a hundred yards away, her sword impaling a strange creature.

“Oh, so you’re willing to kill my puppets, that’s new,” Heildan murmured unhappily, crossing his arms and tapping a dagger tip against the front of his mask.

Lance came out of nowhere, going for a sucker punch. But Heildan just sidestepped him, ignoring him completely as Lance hit the ground and jumped up, a card flashing as a frosty wind blew in front of himself.

Heildan looked surprised as he started to freeze, but a sudden blast of heat from his side melted the frost, allowing him to get out of the way.

“And you have an Ego like that?” He laughed as another scream was heard, Bronwyn doing some work on his puppets. The mask seemed to frown as he looked in her direction. “Apparently you guys won’t let me enjoy this.”

Both Lance and I joined forces as we began attacking the jester, my Ego constantly attaching to him and getting cut almost immediately. Lance threw many different types of attacks at him, but nothing we did seemed to affect him.

He just dodged anything we threw at him. That was till Lance suddenly threw a card that turned into a mini sun, burning everything around it, us included. I got away with minor burns to my left leg and neck, but Heildan got the full brunt of the attack, his whole right side covered in 3rd degree burns. Lance was unaffected, as it seemed to not hurt him.

“OOOO! Okay, yes! Burn me! BURN ME!” Heildan screamed out as he grabbed his face and thrashed around, still dodging me as I attacked. He suddenly grabbed my hoof, his eyes suddenly visible through the mask’s eye holes. They were bloodshot, aflame with rage.

“You want to play?! Let’s play a better game!” He pulled me forward, throwing me behind him with such strength that I couldn’t react at all. Suddenly, a different man appeared next to him, looking to be in a daze.

Heildan threw up his hands, causing the man to do the same. “Switch!”

Something strange happened, my vision shut off for a moment, and I lost all feeling in my body. Before I could really panic, it all came back, but now I was on the other side of Heildan and the man. Then I saw myself, struggling to stand up.

[What the fuck?!]
(You’re not, Lance!)

My eyes widened as I heard the voices of Break, Dawn, and Eclipse in my head. I looked down and saw cyan fur with red stripes under the sleeves of the trench coat.

Oh no.

[Did that motherfucker just swap your minds?!]

“Oh! Now for the fun part!” Heildan yelled as he began to cut the man before him into ribbons, his blades going crazy. “I wish you luck in fixing this switch now!”

“You fucking bastard!” I hissed in Lance’s voice, diving towards him. Lance’s body felt very odd, more bulky than my own.

He didn’t even try to attack me, just dodged me, seeming to enjoy this too much. “Nice lunge!”

[Let me deal with him! You’re not used to using Lance’s body!]

I clenched my teeth, not wanting to just give control of Lance’s body away, as I didn’t want to be not in control of my actions.

[I can’t take control! What the hell, Scamp?!]
(Her will is stronger than a bullwhip!)

That makes no sense. But I was pleased to know Break couldn’t force me to give him control like he could do with Lance.

Lance, in my body, stood up, looking terrified, “Switch us back, please, this crazy pony is right in front of my face!”

Heildan just laughed as he watched us, more screams happening in the distance. He looked out there, frowning.

No time for this, I need to deal with him, then I can deal with this change.

I stood up straight, and held my hoof up. Two blank cards appeared there.

How do I use this?

{Thank you, Dawn.}

I glanced at Heildan as he seemed to be enjoying Lance, who was running in circles, screaming about Ayla chasing him.

[Make the card do a big fire ball! That’ll get him!]
(Nah nah, make it cast a living rope that’ll tie him up!)

I’m starting to see why Lance hasn’t done anything different with his Ego.

([])

Ignoring them, I took all of the Ego he had in his body, and put it into the two cards. If this works, then I’ll be very upset with Lance for not doing this before.

Once the card was ready, I turned to Heildan, who was riding my body as Lance screamed in terror, galloping in circles.

“Heildan!” I yelled, causing him to snap his head to me and jump off of my body and land before me.

“Yes, unfortunate pony?” He asked, staring down at me.

“Goodbye,” I say with a smile as the card flys up and disappears. He just stares at me as nothing happens.

“And that did?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“Uh,” I said, smiling sheepishly. “You should be gone now.”

I guess it can’t do that. I tried to open a black hole in his chest to suck him in, but that might be beyond the abilities of his Ego.

He threw his hands wide, “Still here, afraid.”

Taking out the other card, I threw it up, frowning. I had no faith in that one working.

With a laugh, he reached out for me, but suddenly grabbed his head in pain. He began to wail, thrashing around as he stumbled around. “What have you done to me?!”

I blinked at him, then smiled, “I gave you a large brain tumor. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think that’d work.”

“You gave me cancer?! Are you insane?!” He screamed, finally falling to the ground.

Bronwyn ran over, carrying a pony that looked to be Seth. “What happened?!”

“She gave him cancer! Now help me!” Lance screamed as he ran, still running from Ayla, which we couldn’t see.

Bronwyn looked between us, seeming to slowly realize we’d switched bodies.

[Holy shit! You gave him cancer?! What is wrong with you?!]

Really? Killing him, fine. Giving him cancer, too far?

“What? Lance gave him cancer?” Seth asked, not seeming to realize what’s going on yet.

Heildan began to crawl away, but I pounced forward, holding him down. “Oh no, you’re not going anywhere till you help us.”

He just looked up at me, his mask twisted in a sad, pained look. “I’ll only help if you remove this tumor! The pressure is killing me!”

I think for a moment before replying, “Deal. Start with how do we get back in our bodies?”

He looked up at me, then laughed, “I dunno!”

Rolling my eyes, I look at Bronwyn, “I need a little extra Ego, please.”

She nodded as she retrieved an Ego rune and threw it to me. I caught it, and drained the Ego into my body. A card appeared before me and after a moment of thought, I cast it on Heildan.

His masked eyes widened, “You didn’t!”

“I did,” I replied, smiling. “Truth spell.”

[Ooo get em!]

(WOOOO DOGGY! Get that man to get Lance back to us!)

Ignoring them, I lean down, “Alright, how do we fix this? How do we get back to our original bodies?”

“I honestly do not know! I killed the only person I’ve found with that Ego ability!” He pleaded, the spell forcing him to talk.

This brings a frown to my face as Lance runs by, crying, “Scamp please tell her to stop! She keeps screaming for me to get out and bring you back!”

“Ayla!” I yell, hoping she can hear me. “Stop chasing him, I’m working on it.”

Lance slowly stopped running, looking around in a panic, “Oh thank Christ! She stopped!”

“Wait, that mare is inside Lance’s body?” Seth asked, getting a nod from Bronwyn. “Wicked.”

I sigh and look back to Heildan. “Do you know where any other Bronies are? Like Seth over there?”

Heildan looked to be trying to stop talking, but the spell forced him to speak. “Yes!”

“Where? Write the coordinates on this paper,” I shoved a piece of paper and pen in his chest. He started to write, but then seemed to smile widely. He wrote out a set of coordinates, then fell back on his back. I looked at it, and the name he’d written under it.

“Spark?” I said in shock, a lightning strike happening as if on demand.

“SPARK?!” Lance yelled as he ran over and grabbed Heildan by the collar of his remaining jester outfit. “My son is here?!”

“He’s with Lorenzo!” Heildan laughed, beginning to roar with laughter, despite the pain he was in.

Bronwyn glared, her grip on her sword's sheath tightening.

[Shred every ounce of body! Leave nothing for his friends to find!]
(Make a noose and hang him from that tree over there!)

Yeah, and cancer was too far.

I pushed Lance away, holding up a hoof to stop him.

“Heildan, where is the Watcher?” I asked carefully.

He just smiled up at me, and shrugged, “No idea.”

Why did it feel like he was lying?

“Now, remove this tumor!” he demanded.

“Don’t,” Bronwyn said as she stepped up. “He’s a horrendous being, who has done things far worse than you can imagine. There is no redeeming him.”

“Everyone can be redeemed,” Lance said as he looked down at him, getting a smile in return from Heildan. “But not anyone who messes with my kids.”

In a flash, Lance reared up and slammed his hoof down on the man's face, smashing through the mask. He slammed his hoof down over and over again. A burst of cyan Ego flew from the now dead man and entered into Lance’s body, causing him to shudder.

“Oh…” Bronwyn said in shock. “That should have been a massive influx of Ego you just got.”

“Lance?” Seth asked, stepping up to Lance, looking worried.

Lance looked at him, swiping my hair out of his face, “I’m good, Seth. But I don’t have time to talk.”

Before Seth could talk further, Lance pulled out a pokeball and tapped it on Seth’s chest, causing him to get pulled into it, just like the others.

That’s unfortunate, I would have liked to at least speak with him before we sent him away.

“Now, Lance,” I said as he started to walk away. “We need to fix this problem first, then we’ll get your son back.”

“No, I’ll use your body if I have to, but I’m not sitting around and waiting for my son to get hurt!” He snapped, revealing to myself just how frightening my own face was when I was mad.

I held up a hoof, “Hang on, let me at least try something, please.”

He exhalled angrily, but nodded.

“Give me some Ego, just focus on me and transfer a bit to me,” I said, trying to explain how my Ego worked.

It took him a few tries, but eventually I saw a trail of Ego reach out to me and start to feed some directly into my body. I could feel the Ego entering my body, and it was powerful!

I gave a nod as a card appeared before me, and I attempted to try and replicate the Ego ability the man before had used on us.

But it took me four card attempts before I finally figured it out, causing us to switch back.

I stumbled a bit as I returned to my body, feeling a very powerful energy within me. Heildan was just filled with Ego! I feel like I have an endless supply now!

“Scamp!” Ayla yelled as she hugged me, her body seeming to glow with all the extra Ego we had inside of our body.

“Hey, Ayla,” I say aloud, even though I could have just thought that, and returned her hug.

Lance however, looked displeased as he stood up and looked himself over.

“You can do so much with the Ego you have, Lance,” I say, still impressed with what is possible with his Ego.

“I guess. You two ready to go get my son?” He asked, already turning to head in the direction of the teleport hub.

“Lance, we need to take a moment to collect ourselves!” I say after him, understanding his hurry, but we can’t just rush after Lorenzo.

“No! I’m not waiting another second now that I know he’s out there with that mad man!” He snapped back at me.

But Bronwyn stepped between us. “Lance, if we go in as we are now, your son will die. Listen to us.”

This seemed to stop Lance as he looked between us, his body deflating. “I just want my son to be okay.”

“He is, he’s being used as bait,” Bronwyn replied calmly. “We just need to take a moment to figure out how we’ll approach this.”

Lance didn’t look like he agreed, but he nodded. “Okay.”

She relaxed, “We need to work with you a bit and see what else we can do with those abilities you have. Scamp just proved you can do a lot more than you’ve been doing.”

“I don’t like what she did,” Lance admitted, looking at me. “I know I ended up killing him, but that wasn’t me! Something inside of you made me do that!”

I smiled sheepishly back at him, as he didn’t know about the Nightmare corruption inside of me. While it doesn’t affect me, it seems to have been able to affect his weaker soul.

“That’s… hard to explain,” I say, getting looks from both of them. “Eh… When my team killed the Nightmare, the Queen tricked us and the spell we used spread its soul between the six of us. I have a part of the Nightmare inside of me, and that’s the reason Ayla and my mind looks the way it does.”

Lance stared at me with wide eyes, looking more pissed than I’ve ever seen him.

“But,” I continued, “My fathers genes seem to have overpowered the Nightmare, making it where it can’t control me or affect me too much. But it seems it was able to affect you and influence you.”

“Damn it, Scamp,” Lance scoffed, shaking his head. “That’s something I should have been told earlier!”

“I know,” was my only response as we stared at each other.

Bronwyn sighed then turned her attention to me. “Scamp, I think you should know that right now, you have more excess Ego inside of you than I do. Heildan has been around for a very long time, same amount of time as Lorenzo actually. I can not imagine the types of souls you currently have inside of you. A few of my friends are probably in there, too.”

I frown at this, “Is that bad?”

“No,” she says after a moment. “No, it’s actually really good. We won’t be running out of Ego anytime soon, that’s for sure. Not to mention you have a few powerful beings souls within you. Ayla just became among the strongest Ego weapons around, even above mine.”

“Wow,” I muttered, not really sure how to feel about that. I didn’t kill him, it was Lance. Or I guess it was the Nightmare influencing Lance that killed him.

Ayla smiled brightly at me, “I also wanted to tell you that with all this excess Ego in me, I feel like I can try something. I just have to figure out how to do it.”

‘Like what?’

She twirled in place, “So I think we can combine our dad's original form with the Nightmare form! We may be able to transform like Lance can!”

A frown appears on my face. Transforming now? Is that what my next evolution was going to be?

“It’ll be fun!” she assured me happily.

I guess, since it’ll help us going forward. What’s giving up a little more of myself when I’ve already given up so much?

“So dramatic!” She laughed as she gasped, “I hope we get his antlers!”

‘Our dad had antlers? How do you even know that?’

“I have his memories thanks to the Nightmare!” She exclaimed, getting a sigh from me. I don’t even want to know.

I realized the other two were just staring at me, seeming to know I was talking with Ayla.

“Eh, sorry about that. What’s the plan?”

Bronwyn nodded to the house on the hill, “We’re going up there to check things out, then I’m training with Lance some more.”

And I’ll try and help Ayla with this transformation business. “Perfect.”

“Let’s just not stay here too long, please,” Lance groaned, then he looked at us in excitement. “Wait! Let me just cast another card like the one I sent you two into, but this time so we can train!”

Another one? As long as it's nothing like the first, then I can handle it.

“That is a great idea, but let me help make it this time. That way we’ll have everything we need and won’t be miserable,” Bronwyn said as she leaned down next to Lance as he brought a card up before himself.

As she talked to him and he added her ideas to the card, I sat down hard, looking up at the dark sky. The rain hadn’t come back, which I was thankful for.

“It’s going to be okay,” Ayla reassured as she sat down next to me and laid her head on top of mine.

“I hope,” I said aloud, watching the others work on the card, trying to make the perfect training dimension. “I just hope I don’t become the Nightmare after all this.”

It's fusing time!

Chapter 12

The wind whipped past my face as I stared into Ayla’s eyes while she stood in front of me. Months of work, and we’d made barely any progress at transforming.

“Focus on me,” Ayla says as we reach out and touch hooves. A dark glow begins to form around us, slowly swirling and building up speed. The dark energy began to form a tornado around us as it began to intensify in brightness.

Suddenly, it came to a grinding halt, disappearing with a loud whoosh, leaving Ayla and me staring at each other in frustration.

“Damn it,” I muttered, dropping my hoof back to the ground.

“We’ll get it,” Ayla reassures as she leans forward and places her forehead against mine.

I sigh as I nod and turn to see Bronwyn, Lance, and their Ego weapons taking a break. Lance made it so we can see each other’s Ego weapons while inside this dimension.

“Let’s join them,” I say as we turn and head for the other two.

“That was a good attempt,” Bronwyn said as we neared them, giving us a thumbs up.

Ayla gave a nod, looking just as exhausted as I felt, “We’re making slow progress, but this would be easier if we had instructions to follow.”

Bronwyn chuckled, nodding, “Welcome to trying to do something new.”

I sat down hard and pulled out a snack pouch from one of the boxes of supplies around us. Ripping it open, I poured the contents into my mouth, munching loudly.

“They taste better if you heat them,” Lance commented as he ate his own with a spoon.

“Meh,” I shrugged and opened a second one, eating it the same way as before. Lance just rolled his eyes.

“So,” I said after I finished the pouch, looking at Lance. “Let’s go over this again.”

He sighed loudly as he turned to me, looking a bit annoyed, “I don’t know how else to tell you this; I first transformed mid-fight after my friends had been hurt by Frederic’s father. Break and Dawn took control of me and forced my body to access the holy energy within me. We didn’t know that’s what it was back then, but it just came as second nature to us.”

I nod, thinking hard, “And what about nowadays?”

“I can just do it now,” he replied, trying to think as well. “With a thought, I can switch between any of my transformations, basically instantly.” He looked at me and Alya over, “But I think it’s going to be different for you two. When you two start to transform, all that dark starry energy swirls around you. That’s completely different from me.”

Bronwyn rubbed her chin as she looked up into the sky, “Hm, maybe you’re going about it wrong.”

“How so?” I asked, my tired expression dropping into a scowl. “We’re doing our best to focus our thoughts and get on the same wavelength, but it keeps falling short right before we transform. It’s like it rejects us.”

“Have you tried not focusing on transforming, and instead trying to combine?” She asked, getting a raised eyebrow from Ayla and me. “Maybe trying to focus on doing it the way Lance does it is the wrong approach. You said you are trying to make a form combining your fathers original form with this Nightmare beings form.”

Ayla’s eyes slowly widen as she seems to realize something, “Of course!” She grabs my shoulders and shakes me as she smiles at me, “Scamp, you are more our father than I am, and I am more of the Nightmare than you are! We’ve been trying to transform as if we’re trying to just shift into a new form! But what if we should instead focus on trying to merge you and I together!”

“Like Goten and Trunks fusion in Dragon Ball Z!” Lance suddenly exclaimed, getting strange stares from everyone around him. He kind of chuckles as he looks embarrassed, “Sorry, it’s a TV show in my world. But, it's basically what you just said; try and combine yourselves together to create a completely new being! Meaning it won’t be like mine where I’m still in there, controlling what I do, but instead it’ll be whatever you two become when combined! That make sense?”

I blink at him, a smile slowly forming on my face, “Now that’s something I haven’t thought of.”

“Let’s try it!” Ayla yelled as she ran back to our original position, jumping from hoof to hoof in excitement.

Giving a nod to the others, I stand and walk back to Ayla, standing before her.

“Okay!” she says, smiling brightly, “This time, don’t try and focus on thinking about what I am, instead focus on merging into me. Think about becoming one singular being with me.”

I nod, not fully understanding, but having an idea.

We squared up, and reached out to touch hooves. Unlike before, where it was a slow start up, the dark energy seemed to burst from us. Flying around us at an incredibly fast speed.

Staring into Ayla’s eyes, I felt a deeper connection to her than I had before. Then I blinked out.

ooo000<^>000ooo

This is… strange.

I blinked as the world faded into focus in front of me, revealing the shocked faces of my friends. This felt… very weird. Not wrong, just weird.

“I’m… alive?” I say out loud, my voice deep and raspy, but also pleasant to the ear.

“Scamp?” Lance asked as he approached.

I looked up at him, and shook my head. “No, I’m not Scamp.”

“Ayla then?” he asked, looking worried.

Again, I shook my head, “No, I’m neither. I’m both. New and unique. I am Scayla.”

“What? So it is like DBZ,” Lance muttered, then smiled happily up at me. “You look amazing, by the way.”

I blink down at him, then summon a mirror using magic. Staring into it, I looked myself over.

A tall, dark coated mare stared back at me. Dark, starry antlers sat atop my head, and somehow I’d gained piercings on my lips, nose, and ears. My midnight blue mane flickered with stars, same as the space around my pupils. My cutie mark changed to reflect who I am now; it was the same cutie mark as Scamp’s, but now the playing card had a crescent moon and the symbol of Nightmare Moon.

“Perfect,” I say, smiling.

“You have magic now?!” Lance said in shock, getting a sly smile from me. “But you don't have a horn?”

Chuckling, I give myself a twirl, loving how free I feel now. “I don’t need a horn, my body is a conductor of magic.” Flaring my wings, a loud whoosh is heard, causing my smile to grow impossibly larger. “Being alive is so amazing!”

“Are you…” Lance said slowly, looking back at the others, “Still Ayla and Scamp?”

With another twirl, I come to a stop, staring down at him, “If you mean do I still have the same desires as them, then yes, I do. I am the two combined, I know and want what they do. But you need to understand this, I am me. So call me by my name, please.”

“Okay, Scayla, it is nice to meet you then,” he said, holding out a hoof.

I take his hoof and shake it, both rough and elegantly. He grimaces a bit, but doesn’t protest.

“Now,” I say, turning and walking towards some test dummies, “If you don’t mind, Lance, I want to play around a bit.”

“Uh, sure, go ahead,” he said, seeming to not know what to do with me.

Stepping up to the twenty or so test dummies, I flexed my body, power and energy bursting from me. This felt good, very good.

My body not only conducted magic through it, I was also a living Ego weapon. Blades could come out of any part of me.

With that in mind, let's try this.

I flared my wings and flapped them hard in front of myself, sending my Ego and magic mixed together towards the dummies. They don’t stand a chance as they are shredded by the combination.

“Ooo, now that’s fun!” I exclaim, realizing I have a different Ego from Scamp. While her’s seemed to shut off others' Ego and allowed her to transfer it, mine was more brutal.

To test it, I took a tendril of Ego and slapped it across a remaining dummy, slicing it in half.

My Ego appears to be able to affect the physical world, basically becoming impossibly sharp whips. The possibilities were endless!

The dummies replaced themselves as I sprang into the world, Ego exploding out of my body, tendrils springing forward and impaling each dummy through the chest. They were each then shredded as I flexed my Ego, causing it to whip around violently.

Landing back on all fours, I flipped my long mane back, smiling proudly.

“Jesus fucking christ,” Lance said from afar. “That is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Bronwyn had a different opinion though, “That is so beautiful!”

I turn and bow to the pair, their own Ego weapons standing behind them. “Thank you, my friends.”

“Woooo, that is some fine abilities you got there, Scayla!” Eclipse exclaimed as he walked towards me.

A tendril whipped forward and smacked his forehead, sending him flying back behind Lance. I chose to make the Ego blunt instead of sharp, no need to hurt him, badly. “Thank you, Eclipse, but stay over there, please.”

Melody stepped around Bronwyn and stepped up to me, looking me over. “This is beyond impressive. Ego weapon and soulbind, combining. I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”

“Thank you, Melody,” I say, smiling at her.

“What? She doesn’t get hit but I do?” Eclipse whined, getting shushed by Lance.

“I’m not very fond of you,” I say bluntly, barely glancing his way.

“Eh… fair,” Eclipse says, chuckling to himself.

Giving another bow, I spin back around, “If you’ll all excuse me for real this time, I’d like to train alone for a bit.”

“Of course,” Melody says, returning to Bronwyn.

I walk further away this time, stepping up to more test dummies.

Behind me, I could hear the others also resuming their training.

So, if my Ego can be used as blunt and bladed weapons, what else can it do?

With a moment of thought, a wicked look fell across my face as my Ego shot forward. Multiple tendrils grabbed the same dummy on all its limbs and lifted it into the air. With no effort at all, I pulled it apart in all directions, dropping all the pieces to the ground below.

“Starting to look like a villain,” I muttered, then smiled to myself.

With the endless amount of Ego within me, I felt literally unstoppable.

Then an idea slipped into my mind, as if someone else suggested it. My eyes widened, as the idea excited me.

With a thought, new dummies appeared, these ones being more lifelike than the ones before. Their bodies are closer to a living human than the previous; organ’s, bones, and all.

My Ego tendrils rose above me and shot forward, impaling each in the top of the head. With a bit of effort, I forced my Ego to branch out through their bodies, extending through each limb and appendages. Their bodies wiggled and jerked violently as my Ego spread through them.

With my Ego connected to them and fully spread through them, I flexed the tendrils.

Like uncoordinated zombies, the lifelike dummies began walking towards me. I smiled brightly as I made them start dancing awkwardly.

I can control a corpse? Oh yeah, things are all coming together now.

“The level of disturbing is off the charts with that,” Lance said as he flew above me, looking a bit sick at the display.

I lifted one of the dummies up to him and threw its arms wide. Lance cringed away, but I jerked the dummy forward, forcing it to hug Lance.

“Gah! Get this thing off of me, Scamp!” He squealed, thrashing about.

“Not my name,” I yelled back in a sing-song voice.

“Scayla!” He yelped as I added four more to the now group hug.

I laugh loudly as I pull the puppets away from Lance, causing him to flee back to Bronwyn, who was also laughing at the display.

Looking at my new puppets, I nod in approval. I whip my Ego, causing the tendrils inside the dummies to spin, turning into mini blinders as they completely obliterate the dummies bodies.

“Brutal,” I say in awe, in love with all my abilities and the possibilities they presented.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I trotted back to the group, not even tired after hours of training.

As I approached, I used my magic to levitate multiple different food pouches out of the supply boxes. With a thought, small balls of heat formed around each of them, heating them.

With all the class I had, I began to rip open pouches and pull the contents out with magic. I basically shoveled it all into my mouth, being just, if not more so, a messy eater as Scamp.

“Yep, Scamp is indeed in there alright,” Lance chuckled, watching me devour pouch after pouch.

I just rolled my eyes at him, not really caring about how I came off as I enjoyed my dinner.

“Scamp will be returning, correct?” Bronwyn asked, seeming a bit worried.

“Of course,” I reply, tossing all the empty pouches over my shoulder, pulling out even more. “I can end this coalescence whenever I want.”

As I pushed more food into my mouth, something rumbled within me as I felt something tear deep inside.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I slammed face first into the dirt, Ayla doing the same on my opposite side.

Groaning, I sat up and rubbed the dirt from my face.

“Welcome back you two,” Bronwyn chuckled, picking at her food with a fork.

Blinking, it slowly came back to me. It felt like a dream, only faintly remembering bits and pieces of what happened when we were fused.

“That was amazing!” Ayla proclaimed, joy clear on her face.

I could only nod my head, the experience still too new to me to be able to form an opinion on it.

“You were scary as fuck,” Lance said, getting a nod of agreement from Eclipse.

“Scary is good,” Melody commented. “The power Scayla possesses is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen.”

Scayla? So that’s the name of the fusion. The imagery of vicious Ego tendrils shredding through dummies filled my mind. Lance was right, that is scary.

Ayla nodded in agreement, knowing what I was thinking.

Looking back to Lance, I nod to his floating cards next to him. “Made any more progress?”

He glanced at his cards and gave a sharp nod, “Aye. Bronwyn helped me realize a lot about my powers, but I’m not comfortable doing the things you did, or anything similar. I’m not a killer.”

“That’s okay,” I assure him. “That’s why you got me, I kill so you don’t have to.”

He smiled back at me, giving me a tip of his hat.

“So you’ve made progress, just not ‘kill them all’ kinds of progress?” Ayla asked sweetly.

“Eh, yeah, pretty much,” he replied, looking anywhere but her as she stared at him with wide joy filled eyes.

I can’t help but grin at the two as I pick up a food pouch, frowning when I find it empty. Shifting through the box, finding all of them to be empty as well. “Oh come on, who ate my supply?”

“You did, technically,” Bronwyn said, laughing at my angry face as I kicked the box over.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The portal opened before us, revealing the wheat fields beyond. I stepped through first, just catching a glimpse of the portal we originally entered closing. As the others stepped out, I looked around, seeing the body of Heildan still sitting a few feet away. His smashed mask seemed to stare straight at me.

Ayla appeared over him and stuck her tongue out at his smashed up face, causing me to chuckle.

“So, saving my son now?” Lance asked, looking ready to go.

“We will try, but I’m warning you, Lorenzo is the top dog. We could train you two for a full reset, and I still wouldn’t be confident in us fighting him.” Bronwyn said with a sigh.

“I don’t care,” Lance came back with, looking determined. “He has my son, and I will do whatever it takes to get him back.”

I nod, pulling my hood up, “Besides, we probably don’t need to kill Lorenzo, just get Spark and bounce.”

Bronwyn didn’t look convinced as she adjusted the strap on her sword. Her head suddenly snapped up and she turned to the lone scarecrow that sat in the field, its head facing us.

“What?” I asked, not seeing anything out of place.

“We were being watched,” she said with a frown as she shot her Ego towards it, grabbing hold of it and yanking it over to us. As it landed, the head rolled off of the body, revealing a strange device inside of it. Ego seemed to emanate from it as Bronwyn lifted it up.

“By who?” Lance asked, stepping up next to her.

She glared down into the eyes of the scarecrow, “Larenzo and his cronies.”

Lance grabbed the head and stared into its eyes, shifting into Breaking Dawn mode. “I’m coming for your ass’s, fuckers! Don’t even try to hide! I will find you and pound your ass!” He paused, the flames of his eyes crackling quietly. “Pound it in the non sexual way!”

“Okay,” Bronwyn said as she took the head and shattered it with her bare hands.

“Nice one, Lance,” I replied, an eyebrow raised as I smiled at him. He frowned at me, shifting out of his rage form.

“Let’s just go get my kid, alright?” he said, shrugging off his blunder of words.

I flash my Ego bladed teeth, “Let’s go then.”

The unexpected

Chapter 13

“This is where the coordinates lead?” Lance asked as we stepped out of the teleport hub, all confused at what we were seeing.

“I expected… I don’t know, something more deathy?” I said, a look of complete confusion on my face.

“Lorenzo is a… special kind of being,” Bronwyn said, a disappointed look on her face.

The landscape all around us was a strange combination of a circus, amusement park, and a Chuck E. Cheese. A giant sign sat before the teleport hub; ‘Lorenzo’s Fun Park’.

“This is the guy who’s your worst enemy?” I said, dumbfounded.

She just facepalmed, “I swear, this is not what I expected his personal slice of the Plains to look like.”

“Welcome to Lorenzo’s Fun Park!” A man in a mascot outfit said as he walked up to us, doing a little dance.

“And you couldn’t find him, even though he has a whole park named after him?” I asked with a smirk.

“The Plains are… endless,” she sighed, slamming both hands into her face.

I looked at the mascot as he danced to us. Taking a step forward, I cleared my throat, “Alright then, a few questions.”

Lance shot past me, in Breaking Dawn mode, and tackled the mascot.

“Where’s my son?!” He roared, holding the mascot up by his collar. When he didn’t get an answer right away, he slammed his hoof into his face.

“Where’s my son?!” He punched him again. “Where’s my son?!” He punched him yet again. “Where’s my MOTHERFUCKING SON?!” He slammed his hoof into his face, then ripped the oversized head off, revealing a beaten and bloody young man's face.

“Please stop!” he yelled through broken teeth, “If you lost your son, he might be at the Security Office!”

“Thank you!” Lance yelled, pulling him up and headbutting him. Knocking him unconscious.

“I’m pretty sure that was just a normal teenager,” I said as I stepped past Lance and the unconscious mascot.

Lance shakes his head, looking around for more mascots to shake down. “He’s a minion of the man who has my kid, they get no mercy.”

I try not to laugh, knowing he was being serious.

“Let me handle this,” Bronwyn said, patting his shoulder. “We shouldn’t attack random people, like kids.”

“That’s not a kid,” Lance said, gesturing to the mascot. “An eighteen year old at the minimum.”

“AH! Hello! Welcome to… HOLY FUCK, MARK!” Another mascot yelped as he approached, but noticed the knocked out kid.

“Ah shit, Lance?” I said, waving to the mascot.

“Where’s my kid!” Lance roared as he flew towards the fleeing Mascot, tackling him to the ground.

I chuckle as I look at Bronwyn. “Alright, so what’s the real plan here?”

She watched Lance assault the poor mascot before looking at me, “This park of his looks to be massive, like most of the places are on the Plains. But he knows we’re coming, and he wouldn’t hide from us. I think what the kid over there said is our best course of action.”

“Security Office,” I said with a nod as Lance trotted back to us, breathing heavily.

“Okay, I got the guy to talk. Security Office, best place to start,” he adjusted his coat collar and hat.

“Good work, Lance,” I said, a little sly smile on my face. “Let’s get going before more mascots fall victim to your wrath.”

“Yes,” he said, holding up a hoof and flexing it, “My wrath for those that take my kids.”

“Yeah, that one,” I say, stifling a laugh as we walk down the hill and into the park itself.

Luckily for us, a map lay before us. This park was indeed massive, looking to expand a few hundred miles in all directions. Something like high speed trains seemed to be the best way to traverse the park.

“Where would they keep Spark?” Lance said, hovering up and examining the map closely.

“Impossible to tell,” Bronwyn said as she walked up and placed her finger against the map. “Here’s the Security Office.”

I looked where she was pointing, then traced it back to us. A decent walk for sure.

“If we take a tram, we’ll be there in a few minutes,” She said, looking in the direction of a tram station.

WIthout a word, Lance turned and flew in that direction. We followed shortly behind, not taking that long to reach the station.

Upon arriving we were greeted by a nice looking lady with a clipboard.

“Hello guest!” She said with a wave.

Lance started to step towards her, but Bronwyn grabbed him by the tail.

I instead stepped forward, “Uh, we want to go to the Security Office. He lost his, uh, kid.”

“Oh no! A lost child is a big deal!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth. “Come come! I’ll get you heading in the right direction!”

“Well thank you, ma’am,” I say nicely, seeing Lance still lurch towards her a bit.

She leads us to one of the many trains and puts out her hand, “Take this one to the next station. The Security Office will be two blocks to the west.”

“Thank you again,” Bronwyn says as she drags Lance onto the train. I follow behind them, turning to thank her.

But as I turned, the door slammed shut, and the woman’s face twisted into a wide smile. She transformed into a tall slender man, waving to us.

“Lenrick!” Bronwyn yelled as the train suddenly shot away from the station, flying down the track at an impossible speed.

“What just happened?” I asked in a panic.

She grimaced as she put a hand on her sword, “We walked into the trap.”

“Good,” Lance said, flexing his wings and shifting into his Holy Dawn form. “That means we’re close to the ones who have Spark.”

“Being this close is bad for your health,” someone said from behind us as the doors at the end of the train car opened and two people walked in.

Bronwyn tensed up at seeing them. “Marco and Yaz.”

“Bronny,” the woman said, a crooked smile on her face. “Ready for another rematch already?”

I looked the pair over, not seeing much impressive about them. They were dressed in pretty bland clothing, blue jeans and tshirts.

Some reason, this actually made them look more imposing.

Bronwyn drew her sword, eying the woman. “You two take Marco. Don’t even bother using Ego against him, his Ego causes all others to be ineffective against him.”

“Noted,” I muttered, putting on my mask.

“Yaz’s Ego will send you into a dream world that she controls,” she says as she lowers into a fighting stance. “If you find yourself there, you need to kill yourself. If you let anything else kill you, then you’ll actually die.”

“Duly noted,” I said with a frown.

Lance growled as he stared at the pair, seeming ready to rip their heads off.

Yaz drew her own longsword and sliced at the wall next to her, “Don’t even think about escaping through the walls. This here is an Ego train, indestructible.”

“Fucking Lenrick,” Bronwyn hissed.

Without warning, Ego shot from Yaz’s body, aimed for each of us. Bronwyn reacted fast and slid forward, slicing each tendril before it reached any of us. She then sprang forward, engaging the other woman.

Marco strolled towards us, hands out wide, “Well well, I’ll have to admit, I haven’t fought horses before. So this’ll be new.” A large sledgehammer suddenly appeared in his hand.

Lance and I took a step away from each other, trying to get a bit of distance to engage him. The train car wasn’t that wide, just barely enough room for all of us to stand side by side. But there was still plenty of room for him to use that large hammer of his.

“Lance, follow my lead,” I say, thankfully getting a nod from him.

I bared all my blades and then spun forward, wings propelling me forward. With as much speed and flexibility as I could muster, I began to relentlessly attack him, all my hooves and wings flashing.

But he easily used the handle of his sledgehammer to deflect all my attacks.

That’s the moment Lance appeared, his hoof seeming to blaze with fire as he threw it towards Marco. Even though he blocked Lance’s attack, he was thrown backwards, skidding across the ground.

Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, I teleport behind him before he comes to a stop, and spin my wing blades down at him.

Annoyingly, he somehow twists his body and blocks my attack.

My vision went dark as I suddenly found myself slamming into the roof of the train car, then falling to the ground in a heap.

“Scamp!” Lance yelled as I heard him engage Marco.

I coughed violently as I pushed myself up, my mask shattered into my face. Reaching up, I pulled the ruined mask from my face, then pulled a few shards from my face. Did he hit me in the face with his hammer?! I didn’t even see him move!

A grunt got my attention as I heard Lance get hit by the hammer, but he didn’t fall as he continued to attack the man.

With another grunt, I pushed myself to my hooves and started to fly towards the fight, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a Ego tendril snap forward and catch my back hoof.

SHIT!

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stumbled as I found myself in a strange environment, large flowers all around me.

“Ah, got you!” the voice of Yaz called out in glee. Something large started running towards me through the flower-like trees.

Shit! How am I supposed to kill myself? My Ego weapon can’t harm me, so what then?

The sound grew closer as my time started to run out.

Ayla appeared beside me and started digging through my pockets. She pulled out a single knife and hoofed it to me.

Taking it, I realized it was one of my old talons from before I got my Ego weapon.

I frowned as I held the small talon, not really liking what came next.

With a boom a massive astral looking wolf burst out of the forest and landed before me.

Without a word it lunged straight for me.

Grimacing, I slammed the talon into my throat, eyes shooting wide at the surprising amount of pain I felt.

I stabbed three more times as I fell to the ground, the wolf mere feet away.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I let out a loud gasp as I jumped to my feet, completely disoriented as I returned to reality.

“That’s how you do it, Scamp!” Bronwyn cheered as she and the other woman danced around each other, blades flashing at incredible speeds.

Looking at Lance I saw him struggling to keep up with Marco. A card flashed and Lance’s speed seemed to pick up as he now matched the speed of Marco.

I froze time as I teleported over and went for a fatal attack with my talons. But he just spun on me and blocked my attack again, catching me completely off guard. Looks like his Ego also negates other abilities as well.

He grabbed me by the collar and threw me into the frozen Lance, sending us both flying into the wall as time resumed.

Lance yelped in shock at the sudden change of going from attacking to hitting a wall.

“He outclasses us,” I say as we both pull ourselves to our hooves.

“Yep. Try following my lead this time,” Lance replies, not seeming to be discouraged at all.

He trotted forward, dropping out of his Holy Dawn form. “We don’t need to fight,” he said simply, much to the amusement of Marco.

“You’re right,” he replied, twirling his hammer. “All we really want is you, if you agree to come with us, we’ll spare your friends.”

Lance frowned as he looked back at me. I shook my head, eyes wide. “You know,” he started, looking back to Marco, “Normally I would take that offer. But you all made a mistake.”

“Let me guess, we took your kid so now no mercy?” Marco laughed, still twirling his large hammer around his body.

“Exactly,” Lance replied simply as his body exploded in a blast of energy, causing me to look away.

When I looked back, I saw he was in his strange Angel slash Demon form, looking angrier than he had the first time I saw it.

“Scamp! Ego, NOW!” he bellowed as his wings flared, much larger than they’d been before.

I didn’t waste time as I attached my Ego to him and began to pump more and more of my excess Ego into him.

As I did, the glow around his Ego gauntlets increased as six cards appeared and flashed.

Marco just watched in amusement, seeming to not want to interrupt whatever Lance was doing.

“You’ve just made your second mistake!” Lance yelled as the energy exploded around him again, a final card flashing as I finally pulled my Ego tendril from him.

“And what could that mistake be? Letting you power up?” Marco mocked, spinning his hammer a final time and holding it up, ready for Lance’s impending attack.

“Letting me power up!” Lance roared, but paused when he realized what Marco had said. Instead of commenting on it, he just burst forward, the ground where he’d been standing shattering.

He damaged the train?!

Lance slammed into the handle of the hammer with his head, knocking Marco back as he did so. He then began to slam his hooves forward, and even though they were blocked, loud booms were heard with each impact.

Marco’s confident smirk slowly faded as he looked to become serious.

A tendril of Ego shot towards Lance, coming from Yaz. Not missing a beat, I sprang forward and sliced it with my talons, severing it before it reached Lance.

Ayla appeared before me, “Come on, Scamp, let’s fuse to make Scayla!”

‘No!’ I say suddenly, surprising both of us. ‘I don’t trust her…’

Ayla frowned at me, looking very displeased. “But she could wipe the floor with these two!”

I don’t know what it was, but remembering how she acted didn’t sit well with me. Plus, I did not like not being in control of my own actions. I’m pretty sure I had been the reason we split up earlier than intended when we first fused. “We can handle this without her.”

She sighed, but didn’t fight it as she faded away.

We can do this, I know we can.

Kicking off the ground, I shot towards the fight between Lance and Marco, my own attacks joining the onslaught.

Now with both of us, he started to falter.

“Lorenzo!” he suddenly yelled in a panic, looking up at a camera-like device. “Help!”

Nothing happened as we pushed our attack. Then, with a resounding boom, Lance punched his hammer out of his hands.

Marco’s eyes went wide as Lance’s hoof freely connected with his face, spraying gore onto the car behind him. The headless body stumbled a bit before collapsing. A massive amount of Ego poured from the body and into Lance.

Lance, looking unfazed that he just killed someone, spun and flew towards Bronwyn and Yaz. I just stood there, shocked that he actually killed him. That wasn’t really Lance’s style after all.

“You bitch!” I heard Lance roar as he punched her sword as she swung it for him, deflecting it away and punching her in the chest.

Just like Marco, a large amount of blood, bone, and organs blew out her back and covered the car behind her.

“What?!” Yaz spat, not fully comprehending what just happened. She stepped back, reaching up and touching her chest, where a large hole now resided.

“That ones for Spark,” Lance grunted, spinning around and bucking her in the face, sending her flying backward into the wall.

Bronwyn looked at Yaz, then to Marco, looking completely shocked at what she was seeing. “Did you just…”

“One shot them? I did,” Lance confirmed as he stayed in his Angel/Demon form. Ego began to flood his body again as it drained from the now dead Yaz.

Bronwyn and I shared a look, both not realizing just how powerful Lance truly could be if he put aside his morals.

“Bravo!” A man's elegant voice said over a loudspeaker.

“Lorenzo,” Bronwyn said grimly as she looked up at a camera above us.

“It’s good to see you again, Bron. Bring more friends to die for you?” Lorenzo asked. She looked pained, but continued to glare up at the camera.

“It doesn’t matter,” he continued, “What the late Marco said is true; we’re only interested in that one, the Lance character. We just want him, pass him along and you two are free to go.”

“Ain’t happening,” Lance said, flying up and putting his face in the camera. “I meant what I said, I’m finding you and beating your ass! Then I’m taking my son away from this hell hole!”

“Ah, yes you did say that, didn’t you?” Lorenzo chuckled. “I’m going to spoil something for you; your little truth spell trick didn’t work on Heildan. He was acting. I don’t have your stupid kid, but I know where he is.”

“Where?!” Lance yelled, shaking the camera.

“Where else but with your friend the Watcher!” he roared with laughter, causing Lance to destroy the camera.

“Hey now, no need for the anger,” Lorenzo retorted, another camera in the room turning to face us.

Lance flew to it and grabbed it as well, “Touching my kid was the worse mistake you could of made!”

“Surely,” Lorenzo jokes. “I can take you to him, you just have to surrender and let me take you to the Watcher. You can have one last father son moment together.”

“Or,” Lance offers, “I can kill you, then the Watcher, and get him myself.”

“You could, yes,” Lorenzo conceded, “If you ever find the Watcher that is.”

A door down the hall opened, and a strange lizard-like man stepped into the room.

“But I’m afraid I’m not going to be facing you three today. So I leave you in the capable claws of my associate, Leem. He’ll make sure to treat you to something special.”

As Leem the lizard man stepped forward, he licked his lips happily.

“Leem, get rid of that female horse's left leg, the one with the symbol, before you send her on her way. That little mark is an annoyance I don’t want to deal with later.” Lorenzo said before the mic seemed to shut off, leaving us with just the lizard man.

“Gladly,” Leem said in a low, gleeful voice.

Lance landed next to us, staring the creature up and down. “He doesn’t look to tough?”

She just shook her head, “Don’t underestimate him, you two.”

“I don’t like this,” I said, not liking that I had been singled out.

“Scamp, negate his Ego. Lance, try and use some of the cards we came up with against him. I’ll keep his attention the best I can.

Leem’s arms then split into four as he pulled out four different curved swords. “I warn you three, I haven’t eaten today, so I’ll be a bit rusty.”

We began to advance on the lizard man, being extra careful of him since his Ego was a mystery.

“Be careful,” he warned as we approached. “I bite.”

“Yeah?” I reply, Bronwyn shooting forward and slamming blades with him. “So do I!”

All three of us engaged him, attacking from all angles. He easily used his multiple limbs to deflect our attacks and keep us all at bay. My Ego attached to him, but he didn’t seem to care as he let me remain attached.

Lance flashed a card, causing Leem to grunt painfully.

With a whip of his tail, he slapped Lance away and sliced my Ego, allowing him to use his Ego. His body flashed a light Cyan color.

Bronwyn and I pressed our attacks, and I was able to slip through and cleave off one of his arms. He yelped in pain as Bronwyn sliced another off, then impaled him through the chest.

He grabbed her sword and held it in himself as he brought another sword around to strike her.

Abandoning her blade, she dashed back, dodging the attack. Using her own Ego, she pulled the blade from his chest and caught it.

Springing forward, Lance cast another card, blowing a chunk out of Leem’s side with a energy blast.

With everything I had, I sliced away at him, taking parts of his body with each attack.

He roars and springs back, looking to be falling to pieces. With a swipe, he again cut my Ego form himself.

“Stupid teamwork!” he roared as the Cyan flashed over his body again, causing all of us to stare in shock.

He was completely unhurt now, all the damage we’d inflicted on him gone. He was now back to his prefight state.

“Oh that’s not good,” Bronwyn muttered. “This must be the assassin I’ve heard so much about. Lorenzo’s personal pet.”

Leem laughed, twirling his blades, “Figured out my Ego yet?”

“Save point,” Bronwyn replied, getting a wide smile from Leem in return. “This isn’t good.”

“Can we even kill him?” Lance asked.

“We can, it’ll just have to be instant. Before he can use his Ego to revert his body back to a non damaged state.” She looked him over as he just waited for us, seeming to enjoy watching us try and figure out how to beat him. “Or just get him to use his ability to return to his home point.”

“Then let’s get to beating,” Lance said as he cast a card, causing Leem’s head to explode. “Easy as that.”

Leems body flashed, returning to normal. “Yeah, not that easy, horse man.”

“Scamp, we’re going to have to rely on you here,” Bronwyn said, getting a nod from me.

The three of us began to approach Leem again, this time with knowledge of what he can do.

“Prefect,” he said, raising his swords into a fight stance. “Lambs to the slaughter.”

We sprang forward, our attacks all being blocked by his swords.

You can do anything with friends at your side

Chapter 15

Lance slid to a stop over the spot where Leem and Scamp had just been standing, looking both surprised and terrified.

“What just happened?” he asked, looking at Bronwyn, who had a look of rage on her face.

“Damn it, that overconfident…” she clenches her fist then spits onto the ground. “Leem took her.”

“Took her where!?” Lance growled, his own rage barely contained.

Bronwyn looked up at the camera as it flashed. “His personal slice of the Eternal Plains. The Dome of the Dead. If he sticks to his usual modus operandi, which he usually does, then he’ll throw her in the pits to fight till she dies.”

“So… like two men enter, one man leaves?” Lance asked, getting a weird look from Bronwyn before she shrugs.

“Basically. But I’ve never seen Leem’s colosseum, it's so far outside of the teleport hubs, that it’s virtually impossible to find unless you live there, or he invites you.”

Lance nods, thinking.

“Just know,” Bronwyn says, looking unhappy. “We can only go after her, or the Bronies. Not both at once.”

“Why?” Lance questioned, frowning at her.

“If we go after her, we could lose the trail. This place, Lorenzo’s Fun Park, changes coordinates all the time. Once we leave, we’d have to track down the new ones, which could be impossible. So we have to choose now; Save Scamp, or continue looking for the Bronies here. Because I can guarantee most of them will be in this park.”

Sighing, Lance looked out the window at the landscape as it flew by. “It sounds like your mind's made up,” he huffed, crossing his hooves.

“It is,” she said, frowning. “I’m going after Scamp.”

Lance looked a bit surprised at that, “I thought you were going to choose the opposite.” He looks unsure of himself, the heat rising from his body. “Well, I trust Scamp can handle herself. I’m going after my friends and son, Scamp will catch up when she breaks out of that place.”

“It’s not that simple,” Bronwyn replied. “I can’t leave you alone in this place. The Watcher is after you and you alone.”

“I can handle myself,” he assured her. “If you want, go find Scamp. I’ll stay here and tear some shit up till you get back.”

She looked him over, seeming unsure, “Lance, you may be powerful now, but you are not ready to face ninety percent of the people under Lorenzo.”

“My mind is made up. Scamp is a capable mare, she’ll find her way back to us. Either way, I’m staying here. The more of my friends we find, the closer we get to Ominus finding the Watcher.”

Bronwyn let out a groan as she sat down on the floor, “Damn it all.”

Lance then remembered something as he pulled an item from his pocket dimension. The emergency beacon to alert Ominus they needed help.

“Is that…” she said, knowing what it was. “Who will Nathan send? He can’t come here himself.”

“A friend,” Lance says with a smile as he hit the button. The little device started beeping.

“PLEASE FIND A NON-MOVING LOCATION!” The device blared.

“Ah, we need off this wild ride,” Lance said, chuckling a bit to himself.

Looking around, Bronwyn didn’t see anything that could stop the train.

Lance picked up on this, then flared his wings. “You know what, I got this!”

Before she could protest, he galloped forward and got in the in-between of the two train cars. Raising his hoof above himself, he slammed it down, shattering the Ego infused train car beneath him. A few more hits, and the two cars slowly started separating as he split the car they were in from the front of the train.

He walked back, smiling proudly. “Now we’ll eventually come to a stop.”

“How did you do that?!” She asked, eyes wide. He’d just broken an object that was basically an Ego weapon. That only happens when someone’s own Ego vastly outmatches the original caster that created the object.

Looking at the two dead bodies, she had her answer. “Amazing.”

“Yeah, I can be pretty amazing sometimes,” he said, flexing a bit. Break obviously influenced him a bit more at that moment.

It took some time, but the train eventually ground to a halt. Lance tossed the beacon onto the ground.

“ACCEPTABLE LOCATION! STANDBY!” It screeched.

Nothing happened for a moment, the two just staring at the beeping device.

Then, with a flash, two ponies appeared before them.

Calypso!

And Greg.

“Greg?! Why are you here?!” Lance yelled, clearly unhappy with this. He began to pull a pokeball from his pouch.

Calypso sighed, “Ominus wants him here. Greg apparently has potential, and could be a great help at dealing with the Watcher.”

A pokeball soared for him, but Greg caught it with his magic.

“Whoa Lance! Don’t act so rash!” he said, then took Lance in. “I thought you said you’d never use the Apollyon form again after we lost… David.”

Lance sneered, flexing his demon-like wings. “It’s required here. You need to go, it's too dangerous for you.”

Greg just chuckled, not appearing to be high at all. “It’s alright, bud. I’ve had a full history class on this place, I know what it's like here.”

“You do not,” Lance said, eyeing him down. “The information Ominus has is a bit inaccurate and outdated.”

“Maybe it was, but our friends you saved gave us a better insight into what this place is like,” Greg said, smiling up at the rage filled eyes of Lance.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bronwyn interjected. “If this is the Greg that helped Scamp kill the Queen, then he’ll be a great help.”

“Thank you,” he said with a smile, bowing to her.

She then looked at what they were wearing. Calypso had her SWAT gear on, complete with a rifle. Greg had a simple outfit on; an Adidas style black jacket and pants, white stripes going down the arms and legs. The jacket was zipped all the way up, completing the look.

“Those weapons you have,” she said gesturing to the rifle and pistol on Calypso, “Are inferior here. Most opponents will have some way of dealing with firearms. Be it speed or a defense of some kind.”

“It’s what I know, and what I’ll stick with,” she retorted, sizing Bronwyn up and down.

“We’ll have to unlock your Ego as well, but luckily there’ll be someone around here who can do it. As for Ego weapons, I’m not so sure. We may have to hold off on those for a bit. There could be substitute weapons here, it is an amusement park after all.”

“We’re in an amusement park?” Greg asked, walking to a window and smiling at what he was seeing. “Ah fuck yeah!”

“It’s an evil amusement park,” Lance deadpanned.

“Evil or good, the place looks awesome!” Greg replied much to Lance’s annoyance.

Bronwyn walked to the end of the train car and looked out over the area around them; down below was a small crowd of park goers, all staring up at them in confusion.

“Right then,” she said, looking back at them all. “I’m going to help you two get some weapons and Ego unlocked, then I’m heading to find Scamp.”

“Whoa wait, what happened to Scamp?” Greg asked, eyes wide.

“Is she alive?” Calypso asked, worry plastered on her face.

“She should be alive,” Bronwyn reassured them. “One of Lorenzo’s men took her to a coliseum of death.”

“Who the fuck is Lorenzo?” Greg asked, looking between her and Lance.

“I feel we have a lot to explain before I leave,” she replied.

Greg then looked to Lance, “So, we are staying in the Apollyon form long term now?”

Lance glared at him as he shifted back to his normal form. “If you knew just how dangerous it really was here, you wouldn’t question it.”

“Chill, bro,” Greg chuckled. “Now, I want to find out what kind of Ego powers I’ll get!”

Before Lance could say anything, Bronwyn nodded, “Let’s find a map. There definitely is a vendor or booth out there that has someone who can unlock it for you two.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This place is just so damn cool!” Greg exclaimed as they walked by a booth that had a strange creature dancing on a table, dodging knives thrown by park goers.

Lance snorted again, “You wouldn’t say that if you’d been here since the beginning. The owner of this evil place is in cahoots with the Watcher, who has my son.”

“Yeah, I heard the story the first time,” Greg retorted, a bit annoyed. “Lorenzo is the big bad guy of our adventure right now, and after him is the Watcher. I get it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t just enjoy the scenery as we go!”

Mumbling to himself, Lance walked ahead, catching up to Calypso.

Bronwyn fell back to walk next to Greg, “Do you know the problem he has with you?”

Sighing, Greg just shrugged, “Yeah. I use to be a major fuck up back in the day. But his real problem with me is that I let a friend of ours die.”

She looked down at him, a look of sympathy on her face. “What happened?”

“A new threat came to town,” Greg said, looking ahead, reminiscing, “It honestly wasn’t anything new, we fought stuff all the time. But this one got a hold of a friend of ours, David. I helped send Lance into his mind to break the control, but it didn’t work. Then later, David grabbed Lance’s son. I stepped up and tried to use my magic to save him, but I’d been high on a new drug I was into, and my magic fizzled out. The attempt just angered our mind controlled friend, who began to try and break the neck of Spark. Lance had to take drastic action and kill our friend.”

She reached down and placed a hand on his shoulder as he held back tears.

“Lance blames me for it, and honestly, I do too sometimes. If I hadn't been high, I would have easily been able to save Spark, and David.” He looked at Lance as he spoke with Calypso. “He’ll never be able to see past it.”

“I see,” Bronwyn said, sighing loudly. “Killing a friend to save another isn’t something most have to face. But you both did what you had to do. You made mistakes, and it seems you’ve made changes to correct them.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he mutters. “To me or him.”

Bronwyn started to offer more advice, but Greg sped up and joined the others, seeming to be done talking about it.

“This is a complicated group,” Bronwyn said in exasperation as she rubbed her face.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Welcome to Marv the Mystic!” the heavily robed man exclaimed as they entered his tent. “What you in the market for? Trinkets? Charms? Love?” He said the last part while wiggling his eyes at Calypso and Lance, who happened to be standing side by side.

“Eh, no,” Calypso deadpanned as she stepped away from Lance’s side.

“Ego unlocks,” Bronwyn stated, stepping up and leaning on his table. “You able?”

“Am I able?” he laughed, his fingers glowing cyan. “That’s child's play!”

She gave a sharp nod and motioned for Calypso and Greg to step forward. She slammed an item down on the table and pushed it towards him. He grabbed it greedily and hid it within his robes.

“Nice, very nice…” he muttered, then held both of his hands out to them. “Come come, let me touch you.”

“Touch me? Sounds like a creepy uncle at thanksgiving,” Greg joked, getting no laughs. He groaned and stepped forward, letting the man place a hand on him.

Calypso looked unpleasant as she removed her helmet and stepped forward as well.

Cyan pulsed through his hands as the two looked uncomfortable. After a few moments, he pulled back. “Done and done! Anything else you require?”

“Not unless you have weapons,” Bronwyn replied.

“Firearms preferably,” Calypso added.

“Hmm? Weapons? Firearms? Not I. But I know a guy. He makes Ego bullets that could fit in that strange gun you got there, horsey,” Marv said, rolling his hands. “Just need a bit more, payment.”

Bronwyn eyed him, then dropped a different item on the table. He all but snatched it and hid it in his robes.

“Four booths down, to the left. Tell him Marv sent you, ask for his special service. Anything else?” he asked, looking like a greedy snake.

“No,” Bronwyn said as she lead the group outside into the open.

“So that was it? We got Ego?” Greg asked, not seeing anything different about himself.

“Yes, use these and I’ll tell you what you can do,” she said, handing out those strange cubes.

As they looked them over, Lance chuckled. “Squeeze 'em.”

They nodded and gave the cubes a squeeze. After a moment they glowed yellow and split open, little symboles hovering above them.

“Let’s see here,” Bronwyn said, reading Calypso’s first. “That’s interesting. It looks like you can use your Ego to heal minor wounds and ailments. Seems to take a lot of Ego to heal more complex wounds. That is actually an amazing Ego.”

This seemed to please Calypso greatly, as it fit her perfectly.

Switching to Greg, she leaned forward to read his. “It looks like you can enhance the Ego of yourself and others, either increasing or decreasing its effectiveness. Not only that, you can place glyphs all around you, that will do basically whatever you want them to do. Only drawback is you have to touch them yourself to activate them. I’ll be honest, that’s an incredibly useful Ego.”

“Only if the user was smart enough to utilize them,” Lance muttered, getting a glare from Bronwyn.

Greg either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him as he smiled brightly, “Bad fucking ass, man!”

Bronwyn pulled out two runes and held them to Lance. “Lance, these are Ego jars, if you could please share some of your spare Ego, we can get them a massive head start.”

Lance took them, squeezing them as he poured excess Ego into them. Once they seemed to be filled, he tossed them to the other two.

As they used them, Bronwyn nodded, “Perfect. Next Lance, take them to our training dimension and show them the basics.”

He rolled his eyes as a card flashed and a portal opened. With much excitement, they all three entered. Just as that portal closed, another opened next to it and they all stepped out, looking less excited.

“You’re still here?!” Greg asked, seeing Bronwyn still standing there. “It’s been two days, I thought you’d be long gone!”

“Time works differently in there, you’ve been gone a second. Didn’t Lance explain that to you?” she asked, looking at a grumpy looking Lance.

“Eh, no, he avoided me outside of telling me how to use Ego,” Greg said, looking at Lance as he looked away with a huff.

“Uh-huh,” Bronwyn said, a tone of displeasure in her voice. “But you two get the basic’s now?”

A glyph with a pot leaf appeared next to him and he slapped it, causing a little thumbs up emoji to appear in front of himself. “Basically yes.”

Calypso twirled a few of her Ego tendrils around, using them to fix her red dreads. “It’s actually very simple once you understand it.”

“Good, good,” she said as she nodded, side eyeing Lance still. “Now, let’s get you better weapons.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Ah, more tourists! Welcome to the store that’ll help you storm the gates of the Netherworld!” a strange goat looking creature exclaimed.

“Hello, pal!” Greg said as he hopped up on the table. “Marv sent us, told us to ask for the fun services!”

“Good ol’ Marv, sending me such wonderful customers! Well! Let’s not dilly on the dally! Follow, follow!” he said, waving for them to follow him to the back of his tent.

Upon arriving in the back, he pulled a cloth revealing a table with strange tools on it. “Tell Mister Old-Scratch what you be needin’!”

Calypso looked between everyone then walked forward, “I was told you can make something called Ego bullets for my guns?”

He laughed, hunching down and examining her rifle. “Hmmm, yes yes. This is a simple process. I’ll of course need some Ego, but I can make a good number of them for you. They won’t be a good replacement for a good trusty soul weapon, but it’ll get you by.”

She looked unsure, but at Bronwyn’s nod, she agreed.

Old-Scratch reached out with a hoof and pulled some excess Ego from her, then lurched to his work table, his hand and hoof working fast as he began to combine materials together in a way that made no sense to anyone but Bronwyn.

After some time, he stopped, and turned to her, holding up a box of loose ammo. “Should be to your liking, yes. Now a payment. I want a single dread of your hair. Mmm, yes that.”

She frowned at the old goat, but complied as she extended her hoof blade and sliced a dread from the back free, handing it to him.

The old goat grabbed it and ate it immediately, causing Greg to gag a bit.

“Oh now that was wonderful, yes, thank you, horse.” He turned to Greg. “What of you, puke colored one?”

“Huh…” Greg looked unsure of himself as he looked around the room. He never was one for weapons.

He finally conceded, sighing, “I got nothing. I’m not a weapons guy, despite how awesome I think they are.”

The old goat murmured as he turned and dug through a chest. He came up holding a crude wooden club with a faint cyan glow to it. “I have this club with a weak soul within it.”

Greg grabbed it with his magic and swung it around a bit. “Perfect!”

“As for the payment,” Old-Scratch said, saliva dripping from his mouth.

“Yeah yeah, hair, I got you, bro,” Greg said, looking for something sharp to cut his hair.

“Let me have a lick, horse,” the old goat said as he grabbed Greg by the shoulders and drug his long gray tongue up from his neck and side of her face, then through his hair giving him a massive cow lick.

Greg stood there in shock, body ridged.

“Oh good, yes. Anything else, new friends?” He rubbed his hoof and hand together while looking at them expectantly.

“Eh, no thanks, you’ve been a great help!” Lance announced as everyone backed out of the room, except Greg who still stood frozen in place.

Bronwyn walked back in and picked him under her arm, his body stiff like a board. “We thank you for your services,” she said with a bow as she walked backwards, the solid body of Greg held tight.

“Do come back, yes.” The old goat waved as she left the tent, his slit eyes watching her every move.

Once outside with the others, she placed Greg down. He rocked back and forth and fell over, making a clattering sound like a cartoon character. Pinkie Pie seemed to have rubbed off on him a bit.

“That was… uncomfortable,” Calypso muttered as she began to load the new bullets into her rifle.

“Welcome to the Eternal Plains,” Lance said with a wave of his hoof.

Greg, finally snapping out of it, sat up and wiped his hair down. “Why did that have to feel so sexual and personal?”

“Don’t think about it to hard,” Bronwyn said, stepping in front of the group. “I do not like the idea of leaving you three alone, but there’s not much choice.”

She pulled out a little computer-like device and handed it to Lance. “This can contact me anywhere. When I’m ready, it’ll ping your location so I can use a teleport hub to return here.”

He took it and reached out to shake her hand, “Go save Scamp, we’ll handle things here.”

Not looking convinced, she looked between them, “Lorenzo and his men are top rankers, so if you face any of them, try and do it together. Support each other.”

“We got this, Bronwyn, trust,” Greg said, slamming his hoof into his chest.

She gave a nod and turned to walk away, glancing back after a moment to give them one last look. She could only hope they could survive without her guidance.

She disappeared into the crowd of happy park goers, leaving the ponies to fend for themselves.

A Motley Crew

Chapter 16

“Rec time!” A loud voice over a speaker blared, stirring me from my daydreaming.

Looking up from my back on my bed, I saw my door swing open on its own.

With nothing else to do, I hopped out of bed and limped out of my cell, my missing leg really annoying me at how it hindered my walking pattern.

“I knew you looked like a tiny horse when they dragged you by,” the voice from the cell on my right said as he stepped out as well.

Glancing his way, I took in the large creature that resembled a praying mantis. It wore cobbled together armor that looked like it’d fused into his exoskeleton.

“I prefer the term pony,” I reply, getting a few chuckles.

“Well, pony, my name is Beans,” the mantis said, smiling at me.

“Beans?” I ask, the odd name making me chuckle. “Okay, well my name is Scamp.”

“Fitting name for one so small,” a large yeti creature said in a gruff voice as it stepped up to us.

I stared up at the yeti, frowning. Fighting him in the arena would be… unpleasant. “Let me guess, you’re here to intimidate me?”

“I like this one,” the yeti said to Beans.

Beans made a clicking sound and turned to me, “He’s Doc. The one who’ll take a look at that stump.”

“The giant yeti is Doc?” I said aloud with an incredulous smile on my face.

The Nuble from before, Remi, pranced up to us and stood up before me, towering above me with her mustelid shaped body. Without her makeshift cloak, I could see just how strange she really looked.

“Damn I did not realize how tall you actually were,” I said in awe as I stared straight up at the smiling beak of Remi.

“Yeah, Remi here is the resident Nuble. Doesn’t talk, but damn can she cook,” a little goblin woman said. Remi flexed her arm and slapped it a few times. “And a hell of a fighter.”

I looked at the goblin, eying her up and down.

She stared back, smiling slyly as she noticed me looking her over, “Liking what you see?”

“Not my type,” I deadpan. “Just never seen something like you, little green thing.”

“Oh, har har.” She holds out a hand, “Moxxi.”

I use my wing to shake her hand. Looking at the motley group around me, I raise an eyebrow.

“Are you all friends, or?” I noticed the rest of the creatures around us were heading for the other side of the room.

“Friends?” Moxxi laughed, looking around at the group around her. “Nah.”

“Not worth it, making friends here leads to complications,” Beans said, making a gesture around himself.

“Friends drag ya down,” a dark demon looking guy said as he posed on the floor behind the group, laying on his side with his head propped up with a hand.

I looked past everyone and eyed the brooding demon man, “And you are?”

“Drake, Prince of Hearts. Dark Hearts,” he said, flipping his hair and biting his thumb.

“Ew,” I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t mind Drake, he likes being all dark and dramatic,” Moxxi said, waving a hand at the still posing demon man.

Beans rubbed his mandibles together. “Yes he does, he likes to woo the new meat.”

“Are you sure you guys aren’t friends?” I asked, looking between each of them.

Doc chuckled loudly, “We’re sure. Just sticking together here helps pass the time in between the killing and dying.”

I concede with a shrug, then hold up my stump. “So, big yeti named Doc, what can we do about this?”

He reached down and took my stump with surprising gentleness, examining it. “Some fool burned this, so that complicates things.”

“Is it fixable?” I asked, but when he raised an eyebrow at me, I smiled sheepishly, ”I mean, can you make it so I can at least fight?”

Doc gives a nod, “I can see what I have put aside, but we should be able to get you up to fighting standards.”

“Thank you,” I say, not expecting to receive help in a place like this.

Remi gave me two thumbs up as she then pointed to where all the others in the area had gone. She made an eating gesture and pointed to me. Before I could say anything, she fell to all fours and ran in that direction.

“She said she’ll get you food,” Moxxi said as she and the others followed.

“Oh, tell her thanks,” I replied as Doc began to lead me to the other side of the large room where a junk pile resided.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You’re sure this is safe?” I asked as I looked at the rusty makeshift prosthetic that Doc had crafted for me out of random junk.

“Safe in the sense it’ll help you walk? Then yes. You’ve had your tetanus shot right?” Doc asked as he ran a strap over my chest and buckled it down, helping to secure the prosthetic to my stump.

“Eh… Yes?” I say, unsure as he shakes his head at me.

The sound of claws on stone got my attention as I turned to see Remi sprinting towards us on all fours, a pouch held in her beak. She came to a stop and stood, pulling a small pile of sandwiches from the pouch.

They looked to be an assortment of sandwiches, some with meat, and others with vegetables and fruit. She held up the meat ones in one paw, and the vegetarian ones in the other, seeming unsure of which I prefer.

“Uh, thank you, Remi,” I said as I grabbed one of each and shoved them one at a time into my mouth, chewing loudly.

Doc raised an eyebrow at me as I devoured the sandwiches. “For such a cute tiny pony, you eat like an Orc.”

I chuckle as I shove another into my mouth. “I’m not sure what an Orc is, but I just love food.”

“I see,” he replied as he took my new fake leg and flexed it a few times. “As for this, you should be able to walk like normal again. Might take some getting used to, though. Don’t hit anyone with it, it's not that strong.”

I hold it up, my mouth full of meat and fruit, “Thank you, Doc!”

Food flew from my mouth and landed on his face. He simply wiped it off with a hand and sighed, “You’re very welcome, messy pony.”

Finishing the last one, I looked at Remi. “Got anymore of those?”

She shook her head, but pointed back the way she came.

“Lead the way then!” I said as I stood, still starving.

Remi smiled brightly as she took off in a dead sprint. Taking the chance to test the new leg, I chased after her.

Doc was right, it would take some getting use to. I stumbled multiple times as I galloped ahead, but it wasn’t that bad thankfully.

Once we reached the other side of the room, we entered a door and came to a very large cafeteria, creatures eating at long tables.

Waving me after her, Remi slinked up to a buffet table and grabbed a plate. She began to take different parts of other foods and began to pile them on her plate.

I took a different approach as I grabbed two plates with my wings and began to pile them as high as I could with as many different foods as I could. This place, despite being a death pit, had some tasty looking food!

Oh is that meat of a dragon?! Add a bit of that to the pile. Oh shit, no way, a kebab with meat from multiple different creatures?! Going to try that right now.

Once I was sure I couldn’t carry anymore food, I looked for Remi, seeing her waving me over to a part of a long table.

When I stepped up, I saw the others from earlier sitting around her. Taking my seat, I looked at them as I put my food down.

“Not friends, but you also eat together?” I ask, taking a kebab and ripping a chunk from it. Oh fuck yes, that’s what I need in my life right now!

“Eh, easier to find seating this way,” Moxxi said as she chewed on a hunk of meat.

Beans leaned over me, looking my pile of food up and down, then looking at my midsection. “Two things here: one, that is a lot of food for such a small thing. And two, ponies eat meat?”

I laugh out loud despite myself. “Good questions. This is nothing, I can put away like three times this amount.”

“Where does it all go?!” Moxxi asked, looking at me in slight disbelief.

“My stomach?” I say as I pat my belly. “As for ponies and meat, yeah, I’m apparently weird there. Humans in my world brought the idea about, and most ponies shied away from the thought. But I tried it once, and oh boy, not a damn thing is better than medium rare meat!”

Drake cut his food with a knife and lifted it to his mouth with a fork. “Hm, this little pony is a bit terrifying.”

“A bit?” Doc asked as he sat down beside me. “You should see her pain tolerance. Putting that prosthetic leg on was not pretty, and she didn’t yell in pain once.”

Remi slapped my back as she ripped into the leg of some kind of creature, being just as messy as me.

After shoveling a portion of the food into my mouth, I look around the room. “So, what should I expect going forward?”

“Well,” Beans started, wiping his mouth with a front leg, “There are bouts every morning, afternoon, and night. The participants are random for each one, but you are going to fight at least once a week for sure. Sometimes more.”

“But with the quarterly tournament starting tomorrow, you’ll be fighting for sure in the morning. Just don’t score any points, and you shouldn’t have to join the actual tournament, and you’ll be able to avoid fighting multiple times a day,” Moxxi said as she picked food from her mouth.

“Honestly, just do as I do,” Drake says as he places a hand to his heart, “Have someone you trust strike you down and play dead. When the preliminaries are over, act all hurt. You’ll get the next two days off for sure.”

“Just avoid combat, and run from fights,” Doc adds.

Remi takes a piece of meat and stabs it a few times violently, then nods.

“Yeah, don’t do that,” Moxxi says with a chuckle, “Remi likes to actually fight in the tournaments. She usually gets knocked out near the end, so she’s lucky enough to still be alive. Pretty sure Leem would shred her to pieces if they fought.”

Remi shook her head and held up a fist as she looked up into the ceiling, a determined look on her face.

“She’s got a death wish for sure,” Drake commented, using a napkin to tap at the corners of his mouth. He flipped his hair back, leaning back in his seat. “It’s very simple; the best way out of here is to catch the eye of a rich benefactor and get bought.”

“Ain’t a single ‘rich benefactor’ out there that wants a demon twink boy,” Moxxi teased, throwing a piece of bloody meat at him, landing on his chest and smearing his black suit.

“Oh come on! You know it’s hard to wash anything down here, Moxxi!” he whined as he grabbed a napkin and desperately padded at the stain.

Moxxi just laughed loudly as she went back to eating.

“So,” I begin, “The only two ways out are to win the tournament, then beat Leem. Or, get sold as a slave?”

“Yep!” they all say at once, bringing a frown to my face.

“Guess I gotta kill Leem then,” I sigh as I poke at my food, suddenly not as hungry.

“Impossible,” Doc announces, getting a look from me. “Do you understand his powers at all?”

“I fought him,” I said, causing all of their heads to snap to me. “But he just negates all damage he takes. My Ego can turn off others' Ego, but even that didn’t work.”

“Well that’s because,” Drake said as he leaned towards me, crossing his fingers in front of his face, “Leem’s Ego activates when he takes fatal or incapacitating damage, and it can’t be negated.”

“I’ve seen all kinds of things thrown at him since I’ve been here, but no matter how much damage is done to him, he comes back. Hell! I saw him get turned to ash in an instant, and he still came back from that,” Moxxi said as she jumped up onto the table and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me, “he is unkillable!”

Remi held up her little board and wrote on it. ‘Leem scary, but killable!’

“And how would you kill him?” Drake asked with raised eyebrows.

She erased what she’d written and scribbled on it, turning it to us again. It showed a picture of her standing on top of Leem, her arms up in a victory pose. The words ‘I break his spirit!’ surrounded it.

“Uh-huh, perfect plan,” Drake said sarcastically, shaking his head.

I leaned back and rubbed my chin. If he’d been turned to ash and still was able to come back, then what could I possibly do? This is going to require some workshopping.

“Just stick with us tomorrow,” Beans said as he stood up. “We’ve all been here for a few years, and we know just how to survive.”

Giving him a nod, I stand up, taking a few more bites of my food before lifting up the remains.

“This place isn’t so bad,” Moxxi assured. “I mean, as long as you can fight and not die.”

“Noted,” I replied, following Remi and Beans to a few large trash bins. Tossing my food in, I follow them back to the main area with the cells.

Looking up, I was still taken back by how many cells there were and how high it went. That was also when I noticed every floor had their own cafeteria. Huh.

Glancing to my leg, I had to count my blessings; I at least got put with some nice creatures. They had a weird group dynamic, but they seemed like good people. Despite the current situation.

“Rec time will be over here soon,” Doc said as he walked up to me. “Let’s do some physical therapy with you and that new leg. Try and at least give you a fighting chance.”

I smile up at the white yeti, giving my fake leg a shake, “Let’s hop to it then.”

Remi sprang up next to us, seeming to want to help.

“We’ll start with simple sprints, then move on to jumping,” Doc said as he led us back to the junk pile.

The She Beast

Chapter 17

"Another one!" Greg yelled as he slammed his hoof down on the booth's table, staring the booth's owner down.

"One try per soul," the bored game master said, not even looking at Greg.

Greg growled as he slammed his hoof down onto an orb, giving it a single soul from his excess Ego. The lights came back on as a couple tiny clown marionettes came to life, dancing around.

He reached out with his magic and picked up another dart, aiming the dart at one of the dancing puppets.

"Greg," Lance said from behind him.

"I got this, don't worry," Greg responded, eying the one with the stupidest face.

"We don't have time for games, man!"

Paying him no attention, Greg let the dart fly, nailing the stupid clown in the face.

"Fuck yes!" Greg cheered, slamming his hoof over and over again on the table. "Give me my muthafuckin' prize, my man!"

The booth's owner, without looking his way, tossed a key-chain on the table. "A winner, everyone. We have a winner. Enjoy the prize."

Greg floated the key-chain charm to his face, smiling triumphantly at the little charm that had a sad clowns head with a dart in its eye. "Worth it."

"You spent forty souls on that," Calypso said with a look of disbelief and annoyance on her face. "Forty people died just so you could use their souls to win a... is that a key-chain?"

"Yep!" Greg said as he put it away in his pocket dimension. "That's going to my son."

"Jesus, Greg! We literally do not have time for this!" Lance yelled, getting a few stares.

Seeming unfazed, Greg turned to them. "I need to win something for Jelly Beans now."

"Listen to me, Greg," Lance says slowly, like he was talking to a child, "We have a mission; find our friends and family, that way we can find the Watcher. And kill him."

"I know the plan," Greg replied with a calm smile, looking around. "Ah, perfect!"

"God dammit," Lance groaned, facehoofing.

Greg slid up to another booth, the sleazy looking creature behind it barely looking his way.

"Guess how many nuggets in the jar, win the prize," it said, gesturing to a large jar with gold nuggets of equal size.

Leaning forward, Greg looked it over, mouth moving as he did math in his head. He placed his hoof onto the orb, transferring a soul as payment. "Four thousand and eighty two."

The creature slowly turned to him, staring directly into Greg's eyes. "Hmmm."

Greg smiled widely back at him, "It's literally simple math, bro."

Blinking slowly, the booth owner reached under the table and tossed a stuffed eldritch horror onto the table.

"Oh fuck yeah! Jelly Beans is going to love this shit!" He said as he snatched it off the table and threw it into his pocket dimension.

"At least someone's happy," Lance mumbled as he and Calypso stared at Greg in annoyance.

"My man," Greg asked, leaning on the booth next to the creature. "Tell me this; seen any other ponies like us?"

"Yep," the creature said in a bored voice, then nodded its head to the orb.

Greg slapped it, transferring a soul.

"Take the nearest tram to station JL35K23, then head to the circus tent. I heard they have a special show tonight featuring a tall pony."

Kissing his hoof and flicking it towards the creature, Greg sat back, "My man, you are amazing."

"I don't believe it," Lance facehoofed again.

"I have my methods," Greg replied coolly as he began trotting towards the nearest train station.

Calypso looked at Lance as they started to follow, "Is he always so... carefree?"

"When he's high he is," Lance remarked, looking at Greg's back. "Which he probably is, right now."

"You seem to hold a lot of resentment towards Greg," Calypso said slowly. "Which is strange since you two are friends, and he talks so highly of you."

"You don't know him like I do," Lance sighed. "He seems like he's always in control, but when it matters, he crumbles."

She didn't look convinced as she looked towards Greg. "I may not have a history with him, but from what I do know, he's pretty capable. He did stand up to the Queen and overpowered her own magic."

"That's probably due to her being tired from fighting Scamp. Greg never could have taken her on, and just got lucky."

"I think you're a bit biased and casting judgment," Calypso observed, causing Lance to roll his eyes and speed up. "You just don't want to see past the past."

This caused him to look back at her in shock.

"I know what happened," she said to him, causing his shoulders to slump a bit. "Greg showed me the memory."

"Then you know how he fucked it all up and how he killed David," he hissed.

"I saw a stallion at his lowest point in life make a major mistake, causing the loss of a friend. He regrets it, I can tell you that much," she said in a caring voice, which did not seem to fit her usual tone.

He sneered again, resuming his previous mood, "Yeah, I hope he regrets it."

As he turned and walked faster away from her, she sighed. She may be a Doctor, but this was well outside her scope of expertise.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The three ponies approached the large circus tent, a crowd cheering inside. A large sign out front listed the shows for that night.

"Huh, I have to admit, this one was rather easy," Lance remarked, seeing a picture of an annoyed and pissed looking Vinetion and a scared Aaron.

"Two for one!" Greg cheered as he trotted towards the entrance.

A large alien looking creature stood out front, multiple tentacles stretching from its body.

"Three for the show, my weird brother!" Greg said as he held up his hoof to pay admission.

"No equine allowed at tonight's show," the alien thing said in a bubbly voice. "Park rules."

"What?!" Greg asked in shock, looking back at the other two. Then looked back up at the alien, glaring, "Bro, that's racist as fuck!"

"Okay," Calypso said as she stepped up and pushed him back. "May I ask why?" she asked as nicely as she could.

The multi-limbed alien stared back blankly. "I do not question the policies. When we have equine performers, no other equine may enter. Things have gotten... rowdy, in the past."

"I'll get rowdy out here if you don't let us in!" Greg said as Lance pulled him further back.

"Thank you," Lance said as he pulled Greg away, followed by Calypso.

Greg huffed as they were out of view. "Great, now what?!"

"I don't know, let me think," Lance said, sitting down and thinking of their next course of action.

Calypso rubbed her chin, deep in thought.

Pacing around, Greg suddenly stopped, smiling. "So no equine allowed?"

"That's what the creepy thing said," Calypso responded, Lance didn't even acknowledge him.

Greg's horn flared and he stood before them in his human form. "He said nothing about humans!"

"That's... actually a good idea, Greg," Lance conceded, standing up. "Hit me."

With a pop, Greg slapped Lance.

Lance blinked a few times, then sighed, "Okay, that one's on me. Should have been more clear. Hit me, WITH the human spell."

"Ah!" Greg said with a chuckle. "I gotcha, bro."

With two flashes, Calypso and Lance stood before him as humans.

"Ehhh, this feels fucking wrong," Calypso said as she looked herself over, taking note of her slightly darker skin color than the other two.

"Trust me, I get it, I prefer my pony form," Greg commented, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Walking back to the entrance, the three approach the alien creature.

"Three please," Lance asked, holding up his hand.

The alien barely looked at them this time as it moved a tentacle to point to an orb. "Ten souls each to enter. Enjoy the show."

Once they were inside, they took in the massive size of the place. The outside did not do it justice!

Massive bleachers surrounded four circles, where a group of performers were jumping around the ring.

"I don't see them," Greg said as he looked each of the creatures over.

Calypso took the lead and walked them to one of the front rows, standing at the end of it. "They'll probably be one of the next shows, if we haven't already missed them."

"I hope we haven't, this'll get complicated if we have," Lance said as he crossed his arms.

They stood quietly as they watched the show, not enjoying it at first. But as the next show began, they were treated to some animal taming. This at least got Greg and Lance interested as they laughed along with the crowd, Calypso remained unamused

The Ringmaster, a normal looking human male, stepped out after they removed the animals, taking center stage. “Well now, that was amazing, right folks?!”

Everyone roared in agreement.

He twirled the mic around as he smiled brightly at the crowd around himself, letting them calm down before resuming. “Do we have a treat for you tonight! You saw them last week during their debut, and LOVED them!”

Again, the crowd roared in agreement.

“Now! We will bring them back for their second show!” He yelled into the mic. Lights dimmed and spot lights moved to a tent flap.

“She is a beast who knows no reason! He is a timid young man, wanting to tame the she beast!” he announced as the sounds of chains and roaring could be heard coming from behind the closed tent flaps. “Can true love get through to the beast?”

“Oh fuck,” Greg muttered, already knowing what was coming.

After a few moments, a pony burst through the flaps, running in a panic. “Here comes our young man now!”

“Jesus you fuckers are crazy!” Aaron yelled, breathing heavily, bruises covering his body. The crowd just laughs, treating everything as part of the show.

“Do you hear that?” The Ringmaster asked, cupping a hand to his ear. “I think the she beast isn’t far behind our young lover boy!”

A cart rolled out with a extremely pissed off Vinetion standing atop it, heavy chains connected to her hooves and neck.

“I will kill everyone in this fucking tent! I SWEAR IT!” she roared, only being met with cheers from the crowd.

“Oh boy, they’re using her as a prop for the show,” Lance said, shaking his head.

“Get in there, lover boy! Try and get through her barbarian brain!” The Ringmaster yelled, whipping at Aaron, causing him to yelp and jump towards Vinetion.

She strained against the restraints, eyes flaring in anger. “If this fucking place wasn’t so barren, I’d have killed you all!”

“So dramatic,” Greg chuckled as he opened his pocket dimension and reached in. He pulled out a potted plant, a simple flower with vines around it.

“Oh, that’s great,” Lance said, a smile on his face.

“Yeet!” Greg yelled as he threw the potted plant high into the air. It landed a few feet away from Vinetion, her eyes snapping to it immediately.

“No throwing trash into… IS THAT A PLANT?!” The Ringmaster screamed, the crowd laughing in response.

With a stomp of her front hoof, vines shot from the plant and wrapped around everyone around her, choking them.

“That’s our Vine,” Lance laughed as he jumped over the railing.

Greg’s horn flashed, removing their human forms, then followed after him. Calypso stayed in her spot, taking up a position overlooking the area.

“She’s resisting!” a cat/hippo creature cried out as he hit a button. A vine wrapped around his neck and yanked him down hard to the ground.

Vines shot up and ripped the chains from Vinetion’s body, allowing her to move freely.

“Lance?!” Aaron yelled, seeing them approach.

“Sup, bud,” Lance said with a cheerful smile.

Aaron let out a sigh of relief and ran to hug Lance. “I’m so fucking happy to see you!”

A pokeball slapped him as he neared Lance, causing him to disappear in an instant.

Greg began laughing despite the situation, wiping tears from his eyes. “Dude, that was mean as fuck!”

Lance just shrugged as they approached the raging Vinetion.

A vine snapped towards Lance, but stopped as it touched his neck.

“Lance?” She asked, stopping her rampage, staring at him in confusion.

“Hey, Vine. Having fun?” he asked, gesturing to the struggling people around her.

She blinked, then smirked. “I’m just getting started! These fucks have been asking for this!”

“I’m not going to stand in your way,” he replied, looking around.

The Ringmaster suddenly broke free of the vine holding himself and grabbed a device on his jacket. “He’s here!”

A vine grabbed him again and began to slam him into the ground over and over again.

The two watched as the raging mare went back to throwing the creatures around the area. The crowd, not realizing this wasn’t part of the show, was going ballistic.

“So you must be the little pony my boss wants,” a large demon wearing a cloak said as he floated down from the roof.

Lance looked up at him as he floated down, smiling, “You must be another of Lorenzo’s goons.”

“The very same,” the demon replied as he touched down on the ground, waving his hands out wide. “Except, I prefer the term gentleman. I’m no goon.”

“Shoot him!” Greg yelled, followed by a bullet slamming into the demon's head, causing it to snap back. “Nice.”

“Ego bullets?” the demon exclaimed as he rolled his head back to look at them. “Those hurt, but won’t cut it here.”

“Ah shit,” Greg said as he pulled out his crude club. “Guess we’re beating his ass the old fashion way.”

Lance flashed as he shifted into Holy Dawn mode, a card flashing as he began to exude power.

Vinetion threw away the last of her tormentors before stepping forward, vines shooting up around her.

The demon looked between them, then smirked, “Oh no, I’m out numbered, what could I possibly do?” He threw the cloak off of himself, revealing a body that looked to be nothing but scars and burns, with more muscles and mass than comfortably possible. Slamming his fist together, flames erupted from the impact.

“Careful guys,” Lance warned as they circled the demon.

Catching them off guard, the demon jumped forward first, slamming a fist into Lance. Flames exploded around his fist as Lance was sent flying backwards.

Vines shot up and wrapped around the demon's body, trying to wrap him up. But fire seemed to flare around his body, burning away the vines.

Greg ran in, slamming his club into the lower back of the large demon. The club shattered immediately.

The demon turned to face him, raising an eyebrow at Greg.

“Look, its the best I have!” Greg yelled as his horn flashed and he appeared behind the demon. “Weed blast!”

A torrent of solid mariquina spewed out of Greg’s horn, slamming into the burning back of the demon.

Turning around, the large demon looked at him confused, then stepped forward. He stopped, taking a deep breath.

“Did you just use my body’s natural flames to burn some kind of drug?” he asked, looking to get a bit high.

“Yeahhhhh,” Greg replied, nodding with a dumb smile on his face. “The good shit, bro.”

“Ah fuck, alright, give me a minute,” the demon said as he sat down, picking up a solid mass of burning marijuana and pressed it to his face, taking a deep inhale.

“Like it?” Greg asked as he walked up and sat down on his flank.

“What the fuck is going on?” Lance asked Vinetion as he flew back up, confused by the sight.

“It’s… Greg being Greg,” was her only response.

“Hey man, try this shit. It’s laced with…” Greg looked at the others, then smirked back at the demon, “Laced with some good shit.”

A large rolled blunt appeared before them.

The demon took it and took a hit, coughing loudly. “Oh shit, what is this?!”

“The Greg Special,” he replied, nodding proudly.

After a few more hits, the demon sat back, holding the blunt between two fingers. “Name’s Balgore.”

“Greg Campbell,” Greg said as they bumped fist to hoof. He shook his hoof a bit as Balgore’s fist burned his hoof.

Lance facehoofed at the scene before him.

“We good?” Greg asked, two more blunts appearing between them.

Balgore laughed, taking both of them. “You know what, little pony? We’re good.”

“Fuck yeah,” Greg said, pumping his hoof a bit. “Power of weed and friendship.”

Pulling out a card, Balgore handed it to him. “Ever need help, give me a call.”

“What about your boss?” Greg asked, taking the card.

“What about him?” Balgore laughed, taking another hit. “The worse he’s going to do is yell.” He then leaned forward and smiled slyly. “By the way, my Ego literally prevents me from taking damage. This fight wouldn’t have gone well for you guys.”

“Oh fuck that, I don’t want to fight you for sure now!” Greg laughed, his own blunt appearing between his lips.

The crowd around them had stopped cheering, and looked on in confusion. Then slowly, they started booing.

“Oh shove off,” Balgore said as he stood up and began to float back up into the sky. “I’ll be seeing you later, Greg.”

“See ya, Balgore! I got more weed and shit if you’re ever interested!” He yelled back, waving goodbye.

Once he was gone, Greg turned to his friends, seeing their deadpan stares.

“What?” He asked innocently. “Dude was chill, no need to fight him.”

“God, I don’t even know how to process that,” Lance said with a groan as he started walking away.

Vinetion just chuckled after a second. “That’s the Greg I remember. Never get clean again, please. You were so boring.”

Greg just made a clicking sound as a glyph appeared and he slapped it, causing a little rabbit to appear, giving finger guns.

“Adorable,” she remarked as she followed Lance.

With a flip of his mane, he hit the blunt and tossed it to the side.

As they neared Calypso, she was just rubbing her head like she was in pain.

“The fact that worked is hurting my brain,” she groaned.

“Join the team,” Lance remarked as he hopped over the railing.

“Greg, never change,” Calypso finally said, getting a wink from Greg.

Pit time

Chapter 18

“You’re a fast learner,” Doc commented as he watched me easily jump from table to table, my prosthetic seeming to give me little trouble.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” I replied as I backflipped off the last table, landing on all fours.

The others were around us, enjoying the remaining rec time we had.

Remi held up a juice box, shaking it at me.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I took it, taking a few sips before returning it to her.

“So, Scampy,” Moxxi began, smoking a homemade cigarette, “What were you doing fighting Leem?”

“Long story,” I sighed, but all of them looking at me now, I continued, “I’ll need to give a lot of context before it’ll make sense.”

“We got the time,” Beans clicked, getting nods from the others.

“Okay,” I said as I pulled a chair to myself, “it all starts with this book…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I finished my tale, telling them about basically everything that had happened since finding the Bronies. Ending with fighting Leem.

“That is honestly pretty impressive,” Moxxi said with a smirk. “Especially all the throat eating.”

“Kind of barbaric,” Drake commented. “But I am moved by your drive and willingness to do what it takes.”

“I’m interested in this ‘living flesh’ you spoke of,” Doc said as he lifted the wing that had been replaced with said flesh.

“I got nothing to tell you there,” I admitted. “Ominus never would elaborate on it.”

Remi held up her chalkboard to show a picture of me with a cape on, standing heroically. She smiled at me and gave a thumbs up.

“Thank you,” I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head.

“So if I understand,” Drake began, “Your goal is to find this Watcher and kill him to save the friends of another person? Just to restore his world but not yours?”

At my nod, he laughs lightly, placing a hand over his heart. “My my! I’m both moved by your dedication and selflessness. I may actually give you the chance to date me.”

I just laugh out loud, followed by the others, “Calm down, lover boy. You also aren’t my type.”

He frowned at the group laughing at him, but he just flicked his hair and tapped a finger against one of his small horns on his head.

“All jokes aside,” Beans said, bringing the laughing down, “this all hinges on you actually getting out of here. And only a few have ever earned their way out.”

“How did they do it?” I ask, turning to face him.

“By joining Leem and his employer. And believe me, they are very picky.”

I furrowed my brow. There was no way I’d get out that way, I was against them and they’d never believe I wanted to join them.

“Leem would never take her,” Moxxi stated the obvious.

“Yeah, which just leaves beating him or escaping,” I say, frowning.

“Or getting bought,” Drake said, a charming smile on his face. “That’s my current plan.”

“Good luck,” Moxxi teased, poking his arm. “The only person who’ll buy you is a lonely old monster with a fetish for submissive fuck boys.”

Drake placed a hand to his forehead, looking up dreamily, “if only I was so lucky.”

“Gross,” I say, rolling my eyes. “What about you guys? What are you doing when you get out?”

“If we get out,” Beans corrected. “But I’d love to open a shop for others to bring their pets too. Sell them all kinds of services to improve the lives of their little critters.”

I blinked at him, not expecting that from the man sized praying mantis.

“I’m going to start my own practice,” Doc replied, waving an arm around. “Free for all who are in need of medical help.”

“Movie star,” Drake said flamboyantly, striking a pose. “It is my destiny after all.”

“I’m definitely opening a shop to build shit,” Moxxi chuckled. “Or maybe even join a air ship crew.”

Remi held up her chalkboard; it was a drawing of her sitting on a throne with a crown and scepter in her hands. The words ‘Queen Remi’ sat above it.

“What of you, Scamp?” Beans asked, gesturing to me with a mandible. “What do you plan to do once your adventures come to a close?”

I sat back, looking upwards as I thought about his question. “After everything I’ve seen and done, I think I’m going to take a break and relax. Maybe start a farm like my mother always wanted to do.”

“Farming?” Drake scoffed. “Trivially boring. Think bigger.”

Moxxi slugged his arm, causing him to whine in annoyance. “Don’t listen to him. Do whatever you want!”

I grinned at her, then looked around the area, at all the creatures going about their own activities.

“Is there anyone here who might possibly know of a way to win? Or escape?” I ask, chewing on my lip.

“No one of present,” Beans remarked, clicking sounds coming from his mouth.

Doc snapped his fingers, “there is Miss Reinhardt.”

“The bitch that keeps beating Remi in the tournaments?” Moxxi asked with a laugh. “She ain’t going to help.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” I ask, looking between them.

“Reinhardt is an asshole, sticks to herself,” Moxxi said, picking something out of her teeth. “She’s one of very few who have faced Leem and was allowed to live.”

“She’s probably the closest to being allowed to leave and join his crew,” Drake said as he coolly ran a hand through his jet black hair.

“Where is she?” I asked, glancing around.

“Can’t miss her, she’s the only one who’s wearing real armor, a large Orc lady,” Moxxi said, pointing to the sixth floor.

Looking up, I scanned the railing, quickly taking note of a woman in gray armor leaning on it, looking out over the creatures below her.

“Her?” I asked, getting a nod from Moxxi. “I’m going to talk to her.”

“Bad idea,” Beans clicked, “if you two get in a fight, it could bring about… bad consequences.”

“I don’t plan to fight her,” I reassured them, but they all looked back at me with unsure faces. “Just going to ask her for advice.”

“Yeah, good luck!” Moxxi said, making a peace sign with her hand.

I took to the air and flew upwards, heading for the armor clad woman. Once she saw me approaching, she kept her eyes on me till I landed beside her.

She was a very imposing woman alright; light grayish green skin with deep blue eyes. Blonde hair sat braided upon her head, and two small tusks stuck out of the corner of her mouth.

“Can I help you, horse?” She asked in a gruff voice, her displeasure at my disturbance clear.

“I’m a pony,” I clarified, which just caused her to grunt in response. “I heard you’ve won a tournament and survived fighting Leem.”

She spat on the ground between us, snorting, “I’m not talking to a little magical pony from a child’s fantasy book.”

I narrowed my eyes up at her, then snorted hard and spat a glob of mucus by her foot, “I ain’t a little pony from a child’s fantasy book.”

Reinhardt grunted in response to me, a sly smirk on her face. “Why do you care about me facing Leem?”

“Because,” I replied as I put my front hooves on the railing next to her, “I’ve fought him too, and I want to know if he can be beaten.”

She laughed in response, “you fought Leem? Guess that explains the missing leg. Ate it, didn’t he?”

Raising the prosthetic and curling it, I gave a nod.

“He has a thing about humiliation and eating his victim,” she said as she raised her hand, a robotic looking appendage where her left hand used to be. “I didn’t win when I fought him. He just liked how I fought, and decided to keep me around for a second round.”

“Do you have a plan for facing him again?” I asked, getting a glare from her.

“I’m not talking about my plans with anyone, especially the new horse in the block who’s not even fought in the normal arena yet.”

“I can handle myself,” I said evenly.

“Handle a gumdrop maybe,” she retorted, laughing roughly.

I took a deep breath, keeping my cool.

“Want a bag for the rainbows you shit out?” She asked, laughing even harder.

“Look, I’m just…” I started but was cut off.

“Want me to find you a little saddle so you can make a little girls dreams come true?” The laughter from the Orc only increased in volume.

“You wanna go, cunt?” I snapped despite myself. Oops.

Her laughter died immediately and she turned, squaring up with me. “Want to say that again, twinkle bell?”

I stared up into her hard eyes, and sighed. With a twist of my body, I spin and slam my right hoof into her face. She stumbled back in shock, but quickly recovered as she roared and tackled me.

Alarms began to blare all around us, but we didn’t pay them any attention.

She was on top and was laying into me, my only saving Grace was our close proximity as I pressed into her, causing her hits to barely affect me.

On one of her sloppy swings, I latched down on her good arm, the metal bracer saving her from my teeth.

“Let go!” She yelled as we fought back and forth, me finally pushing us back to a standing position.

Forgoing her trapped hand, she pulled me forward and kneed me in the chest. The air was knocked out of me, but I remained locked to her arm, my eyes aflame as I stared back at her.

She reared her knee back, preparing for a harder strike this time, but I suddenly let go of her arm and dropped, swiping her leg out from under her and bucking upwards. My hit sent her into the air a bit, eyes wide. Then she went over the railing and fell towards the floor below.

“Ah shit,” I groaned as I shot forward and followed her over the railing.

Luckily I caught her by the leg and began to flap as hard as I could, trying to slow her fall.

We both hit the ground, but not as hard as we could have thanks to my wings.

Reinhardt let out a groan as she slowly sat up and looked at me with a perplexed look. “Why the hell did you save me?!”

I just grinned back at her, breathing heavily, “I have no fucking clue.”

Before she could say anything else a beam hit her, causing her to slump back. I started to scramble up, but a beam hit me as well.

“Everyone back!” A guard yelled as the crowd around us started to disperse back to their cells. “Rec time is over!”

A guard roughly grabbed me and glared at me, “you two just earned yourselves a night in the Hole!”

“The fucks the Hole?” I asked, but got no answer as they began to drag the two of us away.

“Don’t worry, Scamp!” Moxxi called from her cell. “I’ve been there! Just don’t freeze to death!”

Oh shit, I feel like I have an idea of what the hole is.

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a grunt, the guard kicked me over the ledge, causing me to fall into a pit that smelled of death.

A crash behind me signified Reinhardt was thrown into the same pit as me.

“Don’t murder each other, and if you’re alive in the morning, you’re going straight to the preliminaries,” a guard called down to us.

Two beams hit us, allowing us to move again.

“Wait!” I called up, “will we still get breakfast?”

He just laughed in response as he disappeared, followed by a door slamming shut.

“We’re in the Hole, and you’re worried about breakfast?” She asked, a frown on her face.

I just sigh and look around, seeing both but dirt and bones. “Breakfast is literally the most important meal of the day.”

She blinked at me, then laughed loudly. “You are very strange!”

“Says you,” I say back, sitting down hard. The temperature felt like it was dropping.

Reinhardt sat down with a clank of armor, looking me over. “You could have let me die back there, you earned my death with that move of yours.”

“Yeah,” I replied, starting to shiver since I had no clothes on. “I just had the urge to save you, don’t look into it too hard.”

With a smirk, she wagged a finger at me, “someone isn’t as hard as they pretend to be.”

“Don’t critique me, you don’t even know me,” I say in annoyance, shaking heavily now.

She reached down and began to undo straps on her body, then removed her waist cloth. She tossed it at me, “you’re going to freeze to death being this stubborn.”

I eye her as I take the heavy cloth and wrap it around my shoulders. It wasn’t enough to keep the cold away, but it was better than nothing.

Leaning back, she looked up at the lip of the pit. “You really should have let me die back there, Orc’s can hold a grudge for a long time.”

All I do is wave her off, “then I guess my mistake.”

But then she smiled, “but we have a tradition as well; honor the greater warrior. Doesn’t matter how you won, you still beat me. Then saved my life. That bonds us.”

“Oh geez,” I groan. “I’m not out here to get bonded with anyone!”

She just laughs, then slams her fist into her chest a few times. “I, Reinhardt Torebas, pledge my fealty to you, Scamp.”

“No no,” I said as I shook my hoof at her. “We’re not bonding and we are definitely not pledging fealty to one another.”

“Too late,” she said smugly. “It is done. We are battle buddies now.”

I facehoofed, groaning loudly, “this is so ridiculous.”

She just laughs louder at my suffering. “You and I are going to become the best of friends, you watch.”

Not responding, I just sit there and shiver. Morning couldn’t come fast enough.

The Preliminaries

Chapter 19

The guard hauled me out of the pit, my body stiff from the hard floor and freezing air of the night.

“Hope you two are in fighting condition, because the preliminaries are starting here soon!” A guard joked, taking joy in our suffering.

“Yeah yeah,” I groan as I stand up, stretching with a hiss of pain.

Reinhardt hadn’t faired much better, her armor may of kept her warmer, but it definitely didn’t help with comfort.

“Move it, assholes,” another guard said as he began to roughly push us. “Don’t make us drag you there.”

We allowed ourselves to be led down the winding hallway, towards the sounds of a cheering crowd.

It didn’t take long till we were pushed into a large cage with others.

I frowned as I looked around, not recognizing anyone. Then my stomach growled angrily, clearly upset that I missed breakfast.

As if drawn by the sound of my growling stomach, Remi slithered through the crowd and appeared before me. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a large tray of sandwiches.

“You are a life saver!” I said in glee, getting a happy ruffle of neck feathers from Remi. I grabbed one and devoured it without a thought. But as I grabbed the second one, I sighed.

I grabbed half of them and turned to Reinhardt. “Here, you need to eat.”

She smirked at me as she took them, “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?”

I just rolled my eyes and went back to eating my sandwiches. Remi eyed Reinhardt with disdain.

“She’s with me now,” I said reluctantly, causing Remi to frown and furrow her brow. She then drew a picture of me and Reinhardt standing side by side, arm and leg over each other’s neck and cheering, a heart was drawn around us with the words ‘friends now?’ above it.

“Looks like it,” was my response as I finished the food and took the water she offered next, chugging half of it and giving the rest to the Orc behind me.

Remi didn’t look happy with this development, but didn’t write anything else. She did however pull out a metal helmet of sorts and presented it to me.

“Oh, thank you, Remi,” I said as I took it and placed it on my head, surprised it actually fit. It covered the top of my head and most of my lower neck, perfect. I buckled the strap under my chin.

“I must warn you two,” Reinhardt said from behind me. “There are rumors of a few wealthy elites that will be observing the tournament this time around. So people are going to be fighting a lot harder than usual. Don’t underestimate anyone out there.”

“Got it,” I say, observing those around us more closely now. “What should I do during this free for all?”

“Survive till the buzzer and then see if you made enough points to qualify a position on the leaderboard,” Reinhardt replied, followed by Remi giving me finger guns.

“Easy.” So survive till the buzzer, then hope I make it on the leaderboard? Simple.

“When they release us, follow me, I know the spot for the perfect weapons,” she said, slamming her fist together.

It wasn’t long after that when the announcer began to speak into his mic.

“Alright, are you all ready to watch some carnage!? A melee of epic proportions!?” He yelled into the mic, the crowd responded like they were blood thirsty animals. “Our brave warriors are about to face off against one another for a chance to enter the Grand Tournament of Ultimate Authority! The winner earns the right to face our beloved leader himself; Leem the Undying!”

The crowd got even louder somehow.

“The melee last till the buzzer! The contestants will slug it out till then to earn points! You earn more points for killing your opponent, and only half if you KO them! All weapons are permitted, and there are no rules!”

With one last roar from the crowd, he screamed into the mic, “Let the death and carnage begin!”

The gates flew open and the crowd around us surged forward.

Reinhardt took the lead and ran through the crowd, zig zagging as she went. I had a little trouble keeping up, with everyone else being taller than me and not wanting to take to the air for fear of drawing attention to myself this early.

Remi suddenly scooped me up and expertly slithered her way through the crowd till we caught up to Reinhardt.

She placed me down as the Orc grabbed a sword for herself and then tossed me a set of talons that seemed to be able to fit on my hooves.

“Happy birthday, use them to shred some assholes,” she laughed as she spun around and cut down a creature that was trying to sneak up on her.

Wasting no time, I put on the talons, thankful they attached correctly.

Remi grabbed two curved blades from the wall and twirled them happily.

The three of us began to walk towards the middle, trying to get away from most of the fighting that was taking place near the walls covered in weapons. We walked in a circle, watching those around us.

Luckily, most were too busy with their own fights to pay us any attention, but I still had to remove a leg from someone who got too close.

Remi grabbed her chalkboard with her tail and pointed it at me. It simply read ‘points!’. She then immediately shot away and slid into a group battle. Her blades easily sliced through anyone unfortunate enough to be near her.

When she’d finished, she hopped back to us, leaving eight dead behind her.

“You really do like to fight,” I chuckle, getting an enthusiastic nod from her.

“Heads up,” Reinhardt warned as three Minotaur’s charged towards us, all three wearing similar armor.

As they neared us, it turned into a blood bath, their body parts flying high as the three of us went on a rampage. Once we finished we all looked at each other, surprised.

“I think we’re all too alike in ruthlessness,” I say, getting a nod from both of them.

“I for one love our newfound sisterhood,” Reinhardt said, slugging Remi in the shoulder. She frowned at first, but then smiled as she slammed her fist back into Reinhardt’s shoulder plate. “What should we call ourselves?”

“Not now,” I replied, seeing Moxxi not too far away dodging around a large beast. “Follow me.”

I galloped through the battling crowd, cutting down anyone who attempted to get in my way. They all seemed to underestimate the tiny pony, which was clearly a terrible idea.

The large beast swung again for Moxxi, but she agilely dodged it. Before it could attack again, I slammed into its back, going absolutely insane with my hoof claws; cutting away at the back of its neck and head.

As it dropped dead, Moxxi laughed up at me, “Scamp! I see the Hole didn’t break you!”

I slide off the large beast and landed before her, “nah it was a pleasant retreat from my cell.”

“Love the sarcasm,” she replied as she twirled her sword in her hand. “Say, mind letting me ride you into battle? It’ll be so freaking cool!”

“No,” I said simply, looking around.

“You say that now, the idea just hasn’t settled yet,” she replied with a sly smile. I just roll my eyes.

Remi and Reinhardt arrived, covered in just as much blood as I was.

Behind them, I saw Drake strolling up to a behemoth of a troll.

As I started to move towards him, Moxxi reached out and stopped me, looking at the same thing I was.

“Leave him be, he does this every tournament,” she said in an amused tone.

Drake walked up behind the troll behemoth and yelled something to him. It turned to him and without warning punched him with its oversized fist. Drake flew back and landed on the ground, he then began to wither around in clearly fake agony as he dramatically ‘died’.

“That’s how he avoids all this,” Moxxi laughed.

“Uh-Huh,” I said in an amused tone. I had to admit, he was dedicated to the act. He laid on his back and held a black rose between his hands.

Before we could say anything else, flames swept over the crowd to our left, the screams of many burning creatures filled the air.

“Shit, someone unlocked the flame shit!” Moxxi yelped as she and Remi took off in the opposite direction.

Reinhardt and I looked at each other and nodded, and took off after them. No way I’m facing someone with a flamethrower!

It was that moment I saw Doc leaned over a wounded dog man, wrapping a bandage around a bloody wound.

The creature with the flamethrower looked his way, and began to reach into a pouch. He pulled out a small device and pulled a pin, tossing it towards Doc and the wounded dog man.

Without even realizing it, I was already galloping to intercept.

“Scamp?!” Doc yelled in surprise as he saw me coming.

I didn’t acknowledge him as I jumped into the air, using my wings to spin my body, and kicked the grenade with my back hoof, sending it back the way it came.

Then, as if to spite my good deed, the grenade exploded when it was still within range of me. A wall of flames slammed into my left side and the shockwave sent me spinning through the air.

I felt myself slam into the ground, rolling roughly a few feet. I coughed hard as I felt an intense burning sensation all over the left side of my face and body.

My left eye was obscured as I struggled to stand, looking towards the creature wielding the flamethrower.

He looked overjoyed, till he suddenly exploded as someone shot his tanks. Screaming, he ran around on fire till someone shot him again, dropping him.

Doc was suddenly at my side and trying to push me down, “stay down, girl! You are severely wounded!”

“I’ve had worse,” I say, followed by coughing violently. Is that cooking flesh I smell? I can’t tell if that’s me or the other guy.

“I severely doubt that!” He retorted as he pulled something sour smelling from his pouch and sprayed it on me, causing the burning to intensify. The next thing he did was rub some kind of salve on my wounds, which seemed to reduce the burning to an acceptable amount of pain.

“That helmet seems to have saved your head and hair from the flames,” he said, then in a softer tone, “you should have let me die, getting between us like that was stupid.”

“I’ve been doing that lately,” I replied in a smart ass tone, going to rub my left eye free of whatever was obstructing it.

“Don’t touch it,” he snapped as he grabbed my hoof.

“Whoa, shit, Scamp,” Moxxi said with a grimace as she and the others approached, watching the fighting around us.

“That is going to be an amazing scar,” Reinhardt commented with a forced smile.

“What’s over my eye?” I asked, annoyance clear in my voice.

“Well, to put it nicely,” Moxxi began awkwardly.

“How’d she lose her eye?!” I heard Beans exclaim from my left side, sounding like he was dragging something.

My eye widened as what he said hit me like a freight train.

“Uh…” Moxxi said as she sheepishly stepped out of my view

“How bad,” I ask calmly.

“I’ll be blunt,” Doc said slowly. “It’s still there, but you’ll never see out of it again.”

“Look on the bright side,” Moxxi said as she stepped back into view. “You don’t have to fight in the tournament anymore.”

“And you also get an eye patch,” Reinhardt added, getting a glare from me.

I grunted as I stood up, ignoring Doc’s protest. “I’m fine, you all need to focus on the fight around us.” At their unsure looks, I stomped my hoof, “come on, people! Go get ‘em!”

“You got it,” Reinhardt said with a grin as she spun in her armor and stomped towards the nearest melee, twirling her sword as she went.

Beans made a few clicking sounds as he hauled Drake up next to me, with him still playing dead.

“Beans and Moxxie,” I say loudly as I hiss in pain, pointing my charred prosthetic at them, “take up a position on either side of Doc, let him tend to any of the wounded he wants.”

They looked at each other, then nodded back at me.

“Drake,” I looked at him as he laid there, still holding the flower. He let his forked tongue roll out of his mouth, attempting to look more dead. “Never mind.”

Remi looked at me with a worried expression.

I nod to her, “you can stay with me, cover my left.”

She gave me a determined nod as she crouched down and eyed everyone around us.

“And you’re going to sit down,” Doc said as he gently tried to push me back down.

“Doc,” I replied, giving him a stern look, “go help others. You can focus on me once this is over.”

He frowned down at me, but relented as he moved on to others. Beans and Moxxi followed him, watching out for him.

“Good,” I muttered as I glanced around, taking in the chaos around me. Taking a step caused me to hiss again as I felt the skin on my left side ripple with pain.

“Fuck this,” I said through gritted teeth.

I just want to lay down now, sleep through this shitty pain. My entire left side of my vision was now gone permanently, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it now.

No good deed goes unpunished, huh?

A slender creature moved towards me, but was instantly cut down by Remi.

I limped along, watching the others perform the task I’d assigned them.

Reinhardt seemed to be enjoying herself as she worked her way through groups of creatures, sending limbs and bodies flying in her rampage.

Remi hovered over me as she fended off anyone who drew to close.

Then someone charged us and tackled her, tumbling away from me. I frowned as I saw another lizard-like creature beeline for me.

As he neared, I flare my wings, which caused an intense ripping pain to shoot through my body, and jumped over him as he lunged for me. I landed right behind him and twisted around, slicing through his legs with my hoof talons. He screamed in pain as he fell down on his new stumps.

Before I could recover, another lion based creature took a swipe at me. I barely blocked it with my prosthetic leg, which groaned under the weight of the impact. I then slammed my hoof into the underside of his chin, the talons embedded all the way to the base.

He went limp as I threw him to the side.

From in front of me, a six armed creature cut down its opponent and turned to face me, a wide smile on its face.

Awesome, just awesome.

As I prepared to engage it as it ran towards me, Remi came out of nowhere and wrapped her body around the strange creature. She squeezed hard as it fought, then began to hack away at its neck with her blade, brutally decapitating it.

She smiles at me as she throws the head away into the fighting around us.

I blink at her, then chuckle, despite the pain.

A loud buzzer went off, causing all of the fighting to come to a grinding halt.

“There you have it, folks! The preliminaries have closed, and what a show it was! More violent and bloody than we’re used to!”

The crowd cheered loudly, shouting random names.

I swear I heard a few sporadic ‘Stumpy!’ mixed in among the roaring crowd.

“The judges will now tally the points! Standby for your leaderboard!”

“That was quick thinking you did back there,” Doc said as he ran back to me, the giant yeti looking my injuries over with a concerned look on his face.

“Those were some good kills too,” Reinhardt complemented, wiping blood from her face. “Horrifically wounded and still fighting. I chose my new best friend wisely.”

Moxxi stepped up to me, leaning in to look at my left side more closely, “just fuck, you really got messed up.”

“She saved me,” Doc said, a bit of guilt in his voice. “She stopped that thermal grenade from killing me and a person I was helping.”

I held up a hoof, silencing him, “don’t worry about it. I just did what I had to do, don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Drake sat up finally and looked at me, recoiling in horror. “I heard what you all were saying, but she looks way worse than I imagined!”

“Welcome back to the realm of the living,” I said sarcastically to him.

“Thank you, Scamp,” Beans said as he rubbed his mandibles together. “For saving Doc and helping us keep it together.”

I started to reply, but the announcer’s voice boomed through the stadium.

“The results are in! And are they surprising!”

A massive leaderboard appeared above us, listing everyone who would be advancing to the tournament.

Remi and Reinhardt were there, obviously. Luckily the rest of the team weren’t up there… except…

“Scamp’s advancing!?” They all exclaimed in shock, turning to look at me.

I stood there dumbfounded. With a deep sigh, I looked skyward at the giant leaderboard.

“Ah horseapples.”

Turn of events

Chapter 20

“Great,” I muttered as I stood by the junk pile, looking myself over in a large mirror.

The burns covered more of my body than I thought; spreading from my left eye all the way down my left side and legs. It even ruined my cutie mark!

Luckily, the flames missed my wings, since they’d been flared when I got hit. So just the base seemed to be burned on my left wing.

My mane, even though most of it was protected by the helmet, was singed. I lost some length on the left side.

Frowning, I lift up a pair of scissors and try to even out the length of both sides. But I failed. I’m not a hairdresser. I drop the scissors, shaking my head.

Taking a step, I hissed loudly in pain. How the hell will I fight like this? The burns were starting to slowly scab over, and that was making it harder to move. Soon, I wouldn’t be able to move without ripping the healing scabs.

“You need to be laying down,” Doc said from his work table, where he was building me a new leg to replace the now damaged and charred one I currently wore.

“I wish I could,” I replied as I painfully limped over to him and slid into the seat. “But I have a fight coming up tonight apparently.”

He frowned as he muttered something.

With a sharp gasp of breath I opened my wings, flapping them a few times, wincing as I did. “This is going to go great.”

“Doc can fix it,” Moxxi suddenly said from her seated position nearby, getting a glare from Doc.

I look between the two, confused by the reactions, “You can?”

“I can,” he said solemnly, “But I wouldn’t call it fixing it.”

Nodding my head back to the burns over my body, I shrug, “Can’t be worse than what I’m feeling right now.”

“Doc, just do it. She won’t survive the tournament if she’s unable to even move,” Moxxi protested, hopping up and walking up next to me.

Doc let out a sigh and turned to me, his eyes filled with sympathy.

“He has the power to speed up the healing process,” Moxxi says, getting a small head shake from Doc.

“I thought Ego wasn’t allowed here?” I raised my eyebrow, glancing between the two.

“It’s not Ego,” Doc answered, raising his hand as it began to glow a light pink. “It’s my own ability. This place shuts off everything, but I used the favor I’d earned in the past during bouts to request mine back.”

Closing his fist, the glow disappeared, “But I only use it on cuts and broken bones. Because it doesn’t ‘heal’ the wounds. All I can do is advance them along their own natural healing process. So if I use it on your burns, I won’t fix anything. The burns will just accelerate to the point that they’re fully healed scars.”

“Then let’s do it,” I say, a bit excited. But at his continued soft stare, I sink a bit, “What’s the draw back?”

“If I do this, you won’t be able to use any other form of magic or Ego to reverse the damage done to you,” he said as he leaned back, rubbing his face. “You’ll have to go through heavy surgery and facial reconstruction to fix it if I do this.”

I blink at him, weighing my options; I could either say screw it and deal with the pain, but I could die due to low mobility. Or, I let him use his ability on me and advance my burns to the point they're just scars, but at the cost of not being able to have them fixed the easy way.

“Ah fuck it,” I say, my mind made up. “Fix me up, Doc.”

He groaned, but nodded as his hands began to glow. Standing up, he walked towards me, “I’ll need you to lay down. You’ll want to be unconscious for this part.”

Frowning, I lay down on the hard floor, my burns facing up.

“Oh I can’t watch this again,” Moxxi exclaimed as she walked away quickly.

I did not want to think about what she could mean by that.

Doc crouched down next to me and held a hand above my face. “It’s going to be okay, Scamp.”

His hand flashed a bright pink, and my vision darkened.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Everything slowly came back to me, like I was falling back into my body. Groaning loudly, I sat up. My body no longer was filled with agony as I sat there, blinking. My skin felt a bit tight on my left side, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Unlike before.

“Your burns healed nicely,” Doc said from my left. I turned to him, seeing that he was helping Remi with a few of her wounds. “No infection developed, and your limbs still have full mobility.”

Looking to my left hoof, I saw he’d put a new prosthetic leg on me. This one actually looked a bit more sturdy than the previous one.

Hauling myself up, I stepped up to the mirror, looking myself over.

The burns were no longer bloody, black, charred flesh. Now it was a more tamed color, but still looked rough.

“How unfortunate,” Drake said from atop a box, laying in a ‘sexy’ pose. “You were actually kind of cute before those burns.”

I rolled my eyes up at him, but he was right. I no longer looked attractive, in my opinion. No big deal, not like I was interested in looking good.

“You honestly look a lot better,” Reinhardt chuckled as she stepped up to us. “Scars improve attractiveness.”

Remi held her chalkboard up to me with her tail, and a little picture of me standing on a mound of corpses greeted me. ‘Looking good while stacking bodies’ was written around it.

Letting out a chuckle, I wiggled my only eyebrow at her. “Why thank you, Miss Remi.”

She made a laughing like sound as she pulled the board to herself and drew a laughing face on it.

Looking back to the mirror, I flexed a few times, pleased to see that I had the majority of my movement back. There was a slight tightness around me, but I’d get used to it.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This shit is abysmally easy!” Vinetion laughed as she threw another creature over the ledge of the high rise. “You guys were having trouble with these guys?”

“Not these pushovers,” Lance sighed as he flashed a card, causing four creatures to stop fighting Calypso and start making out with each other. “The guys that gave us trouble were like that demon guy. These guys are just sad.”

Greg took a hit of a blunt as he lifted two goons and slapped them together, “Yeah, I don’t even know why these guys are trying at this point.”

As Lance knocked the last goon out, they heard cries for help coming from across the roof. Two sets of heavy doors burst open and a large serpent-like man stumbled out, bloody and bruised.

Lance looked back at everyone, then back to the wounded creature. “Where’s our friend?”

“You gotta help me!” the creature yelled as it stumbled towards the group.

“Freeze!” Calypso yelled, leveling her rifle on the advancing serpent.

He didn’t listen, but before anyone could attempt to stop him, a bang came from behind him. His eyes widened, “PLEASE!”

With a whoosh, he was pulled backwards roughly and swung sideways, slamming into the wall. Followed by him being thrown to the right, over the ledge of the high-rise.

As the group looked back to the open doors, a smile appeared on their faces.

“Grace!” Lance yelled as he ran forward and the two grabbed hooves, pulling each other into a hug.

“What the fuck are you assholes doing here?” She asked, looking both happy and shocked at the appearance of the others.

“Looking for our friends!” Lance answered excitedly. “We found out Zane was supposed to be here.”

“Oh he is,” she chuckled as she waved her hoof, followed by three others walking through the doors as well. “I’ve also been looking for our friends, I just didn’t realize you fucks were out here too.”

Greg blew smoke straight into the air as he walked up, “I was wondering if you’d ever show up.”

“Yeah, the guys who were trying to hold me were idiots. A little seduction and boom, a bunch of bodies were left,” She replied, flipping her hair. “Are you getting high again? Fuck yes.”

Cody stepped up to them, eye twitching, “She’s been bragging about that since she saved us.”

“Lance!” Dana screamed as she took him up in a hug, squeezing him hard.

“Hey, mom,” Lance chuckled as he returned the hug.

She lifted a leg, looking him over, “Have you been eating enough? You seem thinner than the last time I saw you.”

“I'm eating fine,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s so good to finally see you guys again!” Zane said with an excited tone as he moved to hug Greg. “I haven’t seen you in a while!”

As he reached him, legs out for a hug, Greg lifted a leg and let Zane run into what he was holding. A pokeball.

“Huh?” Zane asked as he was suddenly pulled into the ball and disappeared.

“Not a fan of that guy,” Greg said as he hit the blunt again.

Cody blinked in confusion at what just happened. “Is Zane okay?”

“He’s good,” Greg chuckled and raised a pokeball. “These things are awesome, bro!”

“Is that a pokeball?!” Cody asked, smiling. “Let me see it!”

“You got it!” Greg said as he tossed it to Cody.

The ball landed in Cody’s hand, then opened as it sucked him into it.

“Ah, shit, probably shouldn’t have thrown it to him,” Greg said with a sheepish smile as he took a heavy hit from the blunt.

“We need to wash these clothes,” Dana said as she looked at the stains on Lance’s clothes.

“We don’t have time for that, Mom,” Lance replied, a bit annoyed that she was acting like, well, a mom.

She glared at him as she stepped back. “We need to find Barehoof.”

“Mom, I don’t know if he’s here. I’m pretty sure it’s just humans, I don’t think any ponies were brought here,” Lance replied, rubbing his eyes.

“There are, we have one of the girls with us,” she replied, looking back, seeming confused to not see who she was talking about. “I mean, she was behind us.”

“There’s someone else with you guys?” Vinetion asked, getting a nod from Grace.

“Oh yeah, I thought she was right behind us.”

“Who is it?” Lance asked, but he was answered as confetti blew through the door and coated them all in colored shredded paper.

“Pie Babe!” Greg yelled as he blew through everyone and slammed into the pink pony.

“Hi, Melly!” Pinkie laughed as the two embraced tightly, spinning around in a circle.

She then sniffed the air, and frowned, “Are you… on the plant again?”

He stopped their spinning, smiling sheepishly at her. “I am, actually. But its for a good cause!”

A glare slowly fell on her face, his forced smile getting wider in response.

“He’s high because we need him to be. He’s actually saved us a few times,” Lance admitted, sighing. “I promise he’s not doing it for pleasure this time around.”

Greg smiled at him thankfully, then lifted her chin, “I promise, babe, I’m only like this for the others sake.”

“Sounds convenient,” Pinkie said in a low voice, eyes still narrowed. Then suddenly she sprang back to her happy self, “But I trust you, Melly!”

“I think he shouldn’t be touching that stuff again,” Dana said with a displeased look on her face.

A pokeball bounced off the back of her head, causing her to disappear.

Everyone turned around to see Calypso standing there.

She shrugged, “I didn’t like her negativity at the current situation.”

Lance stared at her for a moment, then started laughing. The others slowly followed till they were all in an uproar.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“What’s the plan?” Calypso asked as they stepped out of the single high-rise and back into the carnival around them.

“Well now that we know ponies were sent here too,” Lance said, looking at Greg and Pinkie as they made out as they walked. “I think that ups the stakes.”

“Definitely,” Grace said, holding up her locket and looking at the picture within. “My wife and kid are here somewhere.”

“We all have loved ones trapped in this hell hole,” Vinetion grumbled.

“Is there any way to speed this up?” Calypso asked.

“Ooo! We can use their version of the internet!” Pinkie said loudly before going back to making out with Greg.

“Actually, that’s a good idea,” Lance said. “We can find a computer and see what we can do with it.”

“Sweet, where the fuck can we find one?” Grace asked, looking around at the booths.

“Four booths down to the left, bro,” Greg said suddenly, lifting Pinkie up and the two falling to the ground together.

“Gross,” Calypso said as she took a step away from the pair.

“How does he know… screw it, lead the way!” Vinetion said, pointing ahead.

Lance led the group past a few booths, heading for the aforementioned one.

“Let me talk to the booth owner, I’ll convince him to let us use his computer, if he even has one,” he said, glancing back at the pink and green pile that was rolling after them.

As they stepped into the tent, they were greeted by a skinny furry creature. It was messing with a device that looked like a laptop.

“Welcome, welcome, the name of the game is darts. Hit the targets, win a prize,” he said, not even looking up at them as he gestured to the game he was running.

“Actually, my good, sir,” Lance began, leaning next to the creature. “We need to use your computer there.”

“No,” was his only answer. “Buy a round of darts, or leave.”

As Lance started to say something else, a vine shot up and wrapped around his neck. As he screamed, he was wrapped in a viney cocoon.

“Vinetion!” Lance whined as he turned to face her smirking face.

“What?” She asked innocently. “You heard him, he said no. Well now we have a computer, and he gets to take a nap. It’s a win win!”

He facehoofed as he picked up the laptop and turned it to face them. “So, what are we doing here? Looking something up? Posting something?”

“I got this shit,” Grace said as she bumped him aside and started messing with the computer with her wing tips. “I’ve already tried this earlier, but I only found something about Zorrow. But he was already gone when I went after him.”

“Yeah, we got his ass,” Lance chuckled, watching her work.

“So I have another idea. This whole park has its own website, so it must also have a forum or something.” She smirks as she opens a tab, “Look at me, the smartest bitch in this whole group. Our buddy here,” she slapped the wiggling cocoon, “has an employee log in.”

“Well fuck yeah, something is finally looking up for us,” Lance said with a sigh of relief.

The group watched her work her way through the employee only forums, clicking on threads one at a time.

“Try using the search feature,” Greg asked as he and Pinkie stopped attacking each other's faces and joined the group.

“There isn’t one,” Grace said in annoyance, then scrolled to the top. “Ah, nevermind, there is one.”

She typed in a few different search terms; pony, brony, Lance, Watcher, etc., but nothing of interest came up. That is till she typed in Lorenzo.

Among all the threads that popped up, one stood out; ‘We’re a fun park, not a wannabe prison!’.

Clicking on it revealed a lot of disgruntled park employee’s, complaining about the extra work they were having to do now that Lorenzo was making them watch equine prisoners.

“These guys are really pissed off,” she chuckled as they all read each reply, looking for something that could help them. But they got nothing, as they were all just complaining, but not talking about specifics.

“Ask about the prisoners,” Greg offered.

She nodded as she typed away at the computer, adding a comment asking if anyone actually knows where any of the prisoners were.

It didn’t take long before a few responded, voicing their displeasure at the situation. Then one replied that caused Grace to smirk.

“Got em,” she said as she clicked a picture which had a few tram stations on them and directions to different places.

“Holy fucking shit, did we just finesse the locations of all our friends?” Lance asked in amazement.

“Fuck yeah we did!” Grace laughed as she pumped her hoof in the air.

“This guy is saying they’re not even being held by any of Lorenzo’s men yet!” Lance announced, a wide smile on his face.

Calypso nodded, adjusting her helmet, “Well, this all came together quite nicely.”

Lance took out a little camera and took a picture of the screen, a little picture coming out of the camera. He took it and looked at it, smiling. “Now the easy part.”

He printed a few more pictures, handing them out to everyone.

“Bro, let me use the computer,” Greg said as he slid up, taking over the laptop.

“Why?” Grace asked with a smirk. “Gonna look at weird porn?”

Greg just laughed, taking a hit of his blunt. “Probably later, but I want to look up some shit.”

“Oooo! Let me help!” Pinkie said as she jumped on his back, looking past his head at the screen.

“You got it!” he laughed as he began to type away with his magic.

The others stepped outside the tent.

“So are we splitting up?” Vinetion asked.

“No,” Lance responded. “We can’t afford to lose each other. We’ll just have to go down the list one at a time. They’re not labeled, so there’s no idea how to know who’s who.”

The group looked at the list, examining each one.

As they stood there, something started beeping in Lance’s pocket. With a look of confusion, he pulled out the beacon Ominus had given him.

“EMERGENCY TELEPORTATION REQUEST! EMERGENCY TELEPORTATION REQUEST!” It screamed as it flashed red and blue aggressively.

“What does that mean?” Grace asked, staring at the device in confusion.

“I don’t know,” Lance admitted. “Ominus must be sending something to us.”

He tapped the button and threw the device to the ground.

It screamed a few more times, then stopped. In a flash, Jero appeared standing over the device, blood on his face. He was breathing heavily, looking to be in shock.

“Jero?!” Lance yelled as he jumped to his side, grabbing him. “What the hell happened to you?”

Jero blinked a few times, then looked at Lance, then grabbed his shoulders in a panic, “Lance it’s bad! So fucking bad!”

“What happened?!” Lance yelled back, shaking him slightly.

“Ominus,” he began, suddenly going pale as his adrenaline crashed. “Some guy named Lorenzo… it was bad… Lance…”

He slumped back, unconscious.

Emergency Protocols

Chapter 21

Jero stepped into the command center after hearing the sound of the teleporter. Zane was standing there looking confused.

“Oh, hey, Zane,” Jero said to him as walked over.

“What just happened?” he asked, completely lost.

“Lance apparently has been just sending you guys back without warning,” Jero said as he lifted up a pamphlet for Zane. “So I made this, it’ll explain everything that’s going on.”

Zane took the pamphlet, “Actually it was Greg that hit me with this weird ball.”

“Oh,” Jero chuckled, “it's usually Lance.”

The teleporter flashed again, and Cody stood there with wide eyes.

“Cody!” Jero said as he ran around Zane and stepped up to Cody, helping him off the platform. “They found you!”

Cody looked around the room, confused, but before he could ask, Jero held up a pamphlet that said ‘So Lance hit you with a pokeball and didn’t explain anything: The story so far’.

“Greg is the one who sent me here, I think. I wanted to hold his pokeball, but I guess it went off and sent me here,” he said as he took the pamphlet and opened it.

“So how are things there? Lance looking like he’s doing okay? The others said he’s acting off, more than usual,” Jero asked.

Cody blinked as he read over the information, “Oh, uhhh, yeah he looks good. I didn’t get a chance to talk with him, so I’m not sure how he’s doing inside.”

Again, the teleporter flashed. Dana stood there, a perplexed look on her face.

“... Hi, Mrs. Greenfield,” Jero said sheepishly, holding up a hand to help her down.

“What just happened?!” she asked, looking around the room with a scornful look on her face.

“Someone, probably Lance, hit you with a pokeball, which teleported you here, where it's safe,” Jero responded carefully, not wanting to set her off.

“Where is here?!” She asked, noticing Ominus near the teleporter working hard on tracking the Watcher.

Not wanting her to distract him, he held up the infamous pamphlet, “Here, read this!”

She eyed it, then snatched it as she buried her face in it.

He stood there awkwardly, realizing the other two had quickly left the room once she appeared.

“What does this mean by ‘Lance is now technically seventy three’? He was the same age as I last saw him!” She exclaimed, eyeing him hard.

“Oh it's really really hard to explain…” he said with a forced smile. “He got sent to another dimension where time worked differently, and was there over forty years before we got him out.”

Her eyes twitched, “My son is not allowed to be older than me.”

He wanted to laugh, but he knew it wasn’t in his best interest to do so. “If you want, I can take you to the lounge. We have basically every form of entertainment to ever exist.”

“Send me back to my son,” she demanded, crossing her arms.

“No can do,” Ominus said from his chair, fingers typing away furiously. “If they send you back with one of the beacons, then you’re banned from returning.”

“That’s not going to work,” she announced, putting her hands on her hips.

Ominus glanced her way, actually looking a bit worried, “Mrs. Greenfield, I’m sorry, but I really can not send you back.”

She began to square up with him, but the teleporter flashed again.

Jero turned to it, a pamphlet already in his hand for their next friend. But the sight before him confused him greatly.

“Ah, so this is the Travelers domain,” a suave man said, his face hidden behind a scarf, only his intense eyes visible between the mask and his tricorn hat. A cloak with a high collar sat on his shoulders, attached in the middle with a chain. His clothes under the cloak resembled those worn by a Victorian era noble.

“Uh, who are you?” Jero asked the man, who just cocked his head at him.

“Get back!” Ominus bellowed as he slid between them, his Travelers blade materializing in his hand, taking the form of a longsword.

“Nathan Traveler, the famous Ominus. I’ve heard a lot about you,” the man said, giving a bow. “There’s no need for the weapon.” He tilted his head back up, a smile clear on his face despite the mask, “It won’t do you any good.”

“Jero, enact the emergency protocol’s I showed you,” Ominus said calmly, taking his weapon in both hands. “I’ll handle this.”

Jero slowly backed up as the two men stared each other down. He quickly waved Dana over, letting her leave first.

“I know you know who I am,” the man said, stepping off the platform.

“Lorenzo Pompeo, the Insane,” Ominus said, then smiled, “And also the Eternal Coward, the Master Escapist.”

This seemed to press the right buttons as Lorenzo’s blade flashed and the two clashed swords.

Jero quickly ran from the room, sprinting down the hallway. The sounds of an epic battle could be heard behind him.

He sprinted down the hall, catching up to Dana.

“Follow me!” he yelled, causing her to chase after him.

“What’s going on?! Who was that?” she asked in a panic as they ran down the hallway.

“I don’t know! I think it’s one of the people aligned with the Watcher!” he yelled back, the sounds of fighting increasing.

They sprinted into the main lounge where everyone else was.

“What the hell is that sound?” Seth asked as he and Zorrow played a game together.

“We’re under attack!” Jero yelled, getting all of their attention. “We need to get to the safe dimension! Now!”

Everyone immediately jumped into action, already knowing what they’re supposed to do. That is, except for the three who’d just arrived.

“Zorrow! Help Cody, Zane, and Lance’s mom!” Jero commanded as he ran to a compartment on the wall and pulled out a strange device. Turning it on, it lifted up and slammed into his chest. This allowed him to have his own personal pocket dimension.

“Come on!” Zorrow yelled as he led the three out of the room. Everyone else was gathering up their things, not wanting to leave it behind.

Suddenly, Ominus and Lorenzo blew through a wall as they traded blows. They seemed evenly matched as far as skill goes, but Lorenzo seemed to be faring better as he somehow redirected all of Ominus’s attacks back at himself.

“GO GO GO!” Jero yelled to everyone around him as the two titans battled each other.

Despite Lorenzo being able to somehow redirect his attacks, Ominus seemed to be holding his own very well. His sword changed over and over again as he attacked, taking on different shapes to try and get around the other man's defense and abilities.

“Jero! This way!” Zane yelled, not following Zorrow like he was supposed to.

“Damn it, Zane! GO!” Jero yelled as he dodged around the two men, heading for the hallway where the others had gone.

Ominus was suddenly thrown past him, flying down the hallway.

“My my! Nathan, you fight harder than I expected!” Lorenzo said from behind Jero.

Jero spun around to see the man strolling towards him, following after Ominus.

“We met again,” he says in a mocking tone. “You look more scared than a few minutes ago.”

Taking a step back, Jero stared back at the man with wide eyes.

Before he could react, Zane shot past him and slammed into the man, trying to knock him down. But it looked like he’d run into a brick wall, as the man didn’t even budge.

“Go, Jero! I’ll handle this fucker!” He yelled as he tried to lift the man up.

“You idiot!” Jero screamed as he heard Ominus sprinting back towards them.

Lorenzo just smiled at Jero. “Ooo, good chance for some character development for you.” He reached down and grabbed Zane by the back of the neck, he threw him up into the ceiling, where he slammed into the hard metal and began to fall back to the ground.

Before he hit the ground, a portal of some kind seemed to open within him, sending blood spraying in all directions. A stream of hot blood splashed across Jero’s shocked face as he watched his friend be shredded form the inside out.

A hand grabbed his shirt and flung him backwards, sending him flying down the hallway as Ominus reengaged the heinous man.

Jero began to breathe heavily, but the yells from his friends further down the hall got his attention, breaking his shock for now. He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could away from the battle.

When he entered the room, he saw his friends arguing as they tried to remember the code to enter the safe dimension.

“Get out of the way!” Jero snapped as he pushed through them and punched in the correct code. The door whooshed open. “Get in, now!”

“Are you okay?!” Dana asked in a panic as she grabbed a cloth and went to wipe his face.

He stopped her hand, shaking his head, “I’m fine. Everyone in, NOW!”

They all looked at him in shock, not used to him being this forceful and loud. But they listened as they all quickly filed into the safe dimension.

He began to close the door, but Cody put a hand out to stop the door. “Get in, man! What are you doing?!”

Jero only shook his head, “I have a few other responsibilities. I’ll come back soon to join you all.”

“What?! No, get in!” Cody demanded as he reached out to pull him in. But to his surprise, Jero punched him square in the face, causing him to fall back into the other dimension.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he pushed a button and the door slammed shut, locking them away safely in another dimension.

With a shaky sigh, he turned and ran out of the room, heading for the command center.

Upon entering, he saw nothing but destruction as the previous fighting had been more intense than he could have imagined. To his dismay, he saw the main devices and teleporter was smashed to pieces.

The world seemed to shake as the battle between the two seemed to increase in intensity.

Moving on to his next task, he ran down the hall to Ominus’s room. He ran in and began to go through his personal effects. It didn’t take him long to find the few items he was told to grab if something like this happened.

A Dimensional Key, which would allow them to travel between dimensions, if they knew how to use it. Two devices used for cross dimensional communications. And finally, one of Ominus’s personal pocket dimensions filled with random items.

Jero tossed those items into his own pocket dimension, and moved on to the next task.

He sprinted down the hall to a special room covered in runes and strange symbols. Being careful not to step on any of it, he jumped through the room and landed in the middle of the main circle. Taking the special chalk, he added a few specific symbols to the mess, causing the whole room to light up as a golden glow covered the chalk lines around him.

Carefully leaving the room, he ran towards his final task.

The next room he entered had a large platform like device in the middle. He ran up to a panel and opened it, taking out a note left for him by Ominus, instructions written on it.

Reading the list of instructions, he began to type away at the console. After a moment, the platform lit up and a hologram head appeared before him.

“Yes, Nathan?” the head said, before glaring at him. “You’re not the traveler.”

“Eh, no, I’m not,” Jero said as he read more of the instructions. “I’m a friend. Ominus is currently fighting someone who’s with the Watcher. I’m supposed to tell you that Ominus is calling in his favor.”

The head frowned at him, but sighed deeply. “What does he require?”

Reading the note, he says, “Send your son to the Eternal Plains with a packet of XND-09-PLO, and give it to a pony named Greg.”

“Is he crazy?” the head asked, eyes wide. “Those drugs will kill anyone outside of the UAD! They’re too powerful!”

“I’m just reading the note,” Jero admitted, waving the note up at the head.

The head sighed again, “Tell Nathan I will do this. But this is the end, his favor with me is used up.”

“Thank you,” Jero replied, bowing awkwardly.

“Hmm,” the head disappeared.

Letting out the breath he’d been holding, he spun around and ran back down the hall. That was the last task, now to get into the safe dimension.

But as he neared the door, he saw Ominus moving his way, looking worse for wear. “Go back, now!” he yelled, waving Jero back.

“Did you win?” Jero asked, but got a grim look back.

“No, I just bought us some time, he’ll break out of my hex cage here soon,” Ominus said as he led them to a locked room.

“Aren’t I supposed to go into the safe dimension?” Jero asked, not sure what they were doing now.

Ominus placed his hand on the door, causing it to open. “Change in plans, I need you to get down to the Eternal Plains and warn the others.”

“Why warn them?” he asked, looking unease. “Aren’t you going to be able to beat this guy?”

“I don’t know,” Ominus admitted. “Did you get the message to my friend?”

Nodding his head yes, he looked back down the hallway.

“Good, then as long as my theory about Greg is correct, then this’ll all be worth it.”

“What do you mean?” Jero asked, raising an eyebrow as Ominus stepped up to what looked to be another teleporter.

“Honestly, it's hard to explain. But I believe Greg is the key too…” a tiny portal seemed to materialize before him as a blade flew out of it, stabbing right through Ominus’s gut.

Jero’s eyes went wide as he spun around to see the man, clothes ripped to hell, standing in the doorway. His mask was gone, revealing a crazed smile with bone white teeth.

“Lost your focus there, Nathan,” Lorenzo mocked, reaching into a portal next to himself and ripping the sword from Ominus’s gut. “Honestly, I think you are the only one who ever stood a chance against me. You just didn’t commit.”

“Jero, get up there,” Ominus coughed as he stepped around Jero, holding his stomach.

Not wasting any time, Jero hopped up onto the platform and began to mess with the console. He wasn’t an expert, but he’d been taught how to use the teleporter to at least ping Lance and the others.

“You know, Lorenzo,” Ominus said as the two squared up yet again. “You have one hell of a major flaw. You talk too much.”

They clashed again, blades sending bright flashes all around the room as they connected.

A portal opened in front of Jero, and Ominus’s sword almost removed his head. Luckily, Ominus had noticed his attack had been deflected towards Jero and stopped his momentum, saving him. But by doing so, he left himself wide open.

As Jero hit the final button, sending the teleport request to Lance, he heard a dreadful sound. Followed by Ominus gasping loudly.

Reluctantly, he spun around, seeing Lorenzo standing over a kneeling Ominus.

“Good fight, Traveler,” Lorenzo said with a touch of respect as he lowered himself, blade raising behind him.

“Ominus!” Jero screamed.

Ominus slowly turned his upper body to face Jero, his left hand holding his midsection. He smiled up at Jero and raised a hand, giving him a thumbs up. “It’s going to be okay, Jeronimo.”

Jero heard the teleporter ding as he began to get teleported away. As he began to fade away, he saw the blade of Lorenzo flash through Ominus.

“SEAN!” Jero screamed as he was swept away.

Author's Note

I will say this; this chapter was not written lightly. I do not like killing other people's characters, especially without their knowledge. But I can not let my vision for this story suffer as a result.

What I will say though, the finale is already written and in the works. It'll be a special treat when we get there. So hang in there, guys.

Traveling forward

Chapter 22

“What did he just say?” Greg asked in a panic as he came galloping out of the tent, Pinkie rushing after him.

“Come on, Jero,” Lance said as he lifted him up. “Wake up!”

Jero just groaned, but did not fully wake up. Then, a glow started to emanate from his body. It started out dull, but slowly ramped up till it was hard to look at him. His body then raised into the air, the golden glow casting light all around himself as he began to raise higher and higher.

“What the fuck?!” Grace asked in shock as the group watched him raise, the golden light only growing brighter and brighter.

He then flared all his appendages wide as he became as bright as the sun for a moment. Then, all the light seemed to suck right back into his body, and he slowly lowered to the ground.

Everyone looked on in shock as he lay there in his human form, they were even more shocked when a weapon similar to Omnius’s appeared in his right hand.

“Okay,” Greg began, breaking the silence as the crowd around them stared at the odd scene. “I’m high as fuck, but that really just happened, right?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jero sat up, groaning loudly as he rubbed his head. It took a moment, the scenes from before came rushing back, causing him to start to hyperventilate.

“Whoa, calm down!” Calypso said as she held him down with a hoof. “Everything is okay, you’re safe.”

“But we’re not safe!” He yelled, getting the attention of the others as they all ran over.

It was then he noticed he was sitting on a bench inside a large pavilion.

“Jero, what happened? You mentioned Omnius and Lorenzo!” Lance asked as he ran to his side.

“Fuck that! Why do you have Omnius’s sword?!” Grace asked, looking at the weapon still in his hand.

Jero raised it, eyes wide. “Oh boy… that’s what he meant when he said the ritual was important.”

“Man, you need to explain what happened,” Lance pushed, looking annoyed.

With a sigh, he turned to face his friends. “The Watcher found us first, and sent Lorenzo. Omnius fought him while I got our friends and family to a safe place. But Omnius gave his life to get me out of there.”

“But Omnius can’t die, that’s his whole thing!” Lance yelled, looking more upset than Jero had ever seen him before. “Omnius has said a million times that nothing can kill him!”

Then Lance’s face twisted into a look of horror as Eclipse informed him of something.

“Except,” Lance began, shoulders slumping. “Being killed by an Ego weapon is not the same as dying any other way. It takes your soul and twists it, repurposing it to use you as a way to increase its own powers.”

“What are we going to do now?” Greg asked with a frown. “Omnius was going to be our Ace. We can’t do this without him!”

“We’ll make due,” Lance said in a calm, cold voice. “Now tell me, Jero, what was with the golden lights that lifted you into the air?”

Jero blinked at him, looking just as confused as they were. “I’m not really sure. Omnius had given me a list of responsibilities if the Watcher found us. One of them was completing a ritual. He made it very clear that only I could be the one to do the ritual, but he never told me what it’d do. Just that I was his chosen one.”

“Wait wait wait,” Greg said, taking a hit of his blunt, seeming to inhale the entire thing in one large intake. He let the smoke explode out of his mouth and nose as he spoke, “Did he make you do the Gods of Good’s Traveler’s transfer ritual?!”

“The what?!” Jero and the others all asked at once, causing Greg to look a bit taken back.

“Oh, I got high with him a few nights before coming here. He told me that he has a failsafe that if he ever dies, his powers would be transferred to the next worthy person. I’m guessing he thought Jero was fitting for that.” He then crossed his hooves, “Not like I wanted to be a cool Traveler dude.”

“Damn it, Omnius,” Lance said, facehoofing. “You’ve fucked us here.”

Vinetion just shook her head.

“Jero is the Traveler now?” Grace asked, raising an eyebrow. “Not to be a bitch, but Jero you’re the worst choice for the Traveler. Someone like me, Lance, or Vinetion would of been a better choice.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jero said, lowering his head.

“Hey! Shut up, mean ass!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she jumped up on the table next to Jero, staring down everyone else. “Omnius was super smart! And the nicest, bestest, greatest guy we all ever knew! If he thinks Jero was the right choice, then he IS the right choice!”

Greg jumped up on the other side of Jero, glaring down at his friends, “You three have always been very full of yourselves! Big fucking assholes! Just because Jero doesn’t have powers, or is okay killing others, doesn’t mean he’s the wrong choice! This fucker is a better person than all three of you combined! Hell, I think he’s the only truly good member of our little family!”

“Exactly!” Pinkie yelled. “You all should be ashamed of yourselves with how you’ve acted!”

The three in question stared back, looking unsure of how to react to the sudden outburst.

“I think we all just need to take a step back,” Lance said slowly. “Jero, I’m sorry. I’m sure Omnius knew what he was doing.”

“I guess since he was so smart,” Grace mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Honestly, I’m sorry,” Vinetion said, bowing her head. “You two are right. Jero, you are the perfect choice for the Traveler role.”

“Ugh,” Grace said, seeming unhappy with everything.

“Thank you, guys,” Jero said, looking between Greg and Pinkie.

“No problem, bro!” Greg said, turning to him and smiling, “Now show us some of those bad ass Traveler powers!”

Jero stared back, then smiled sheepishly. “Eh… I actually have no idea how to do… anything! I didn't get a manual.”

“Swap forms?” He asked, but got a shake of Jero’s head as a response. “Well shit… now what?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“The main thing to remember,” Reinhardt began as the guards entered the cell block, grabbing those who were fighting. “In the early rounds, it's okay to take it easy. No need to go all out at the start.

“You three,” a guard said, pointing at myself, Reinhardt, and Remi, “Come this way.”

Without a word of protest, the three of us followed the guard as we and others were led towards the arena.

“They will call out the contestant names for each bout. This will take a long time, so just sit back and enjoy the show,” Reinhardt said as she leaned down to me as we walked.

We were led into the cages surrounding the arena, the crowd outside the gates already being hyped up by the announcer.

On the wall of the cage was a large image of the tournament brackets. It didn’t take long for me to find myself and the others among the many names. It looked like I was in the mid brackets, so it could be a bit before I’m out there for my bout.

I’d be facing someone named ‘Gimpy’.

“Oh, you’re up against the freak? Have fun,” Reinhardt chuckled, followed by Remi shaking her head, writing ‘Gimpy is weird’.

“Good to know,” I say, flexing my wings as I began to stretch.

They began to call out others for their matches one after the other. Most bouts seemed to last only a few seconds, as the match ups were a bit unfair.

Then Reinhardt’s came up. She slammed her fist together, smirking as she stepped out to a roaring crowd and a flattering introduction by the announcer. She was a clear favorite of both the crowd and announcer.

Her opponent seemed strong, butt as he ran for a weapon on the wall, she simple dashed for him and began to go berserk on the poor guy. It didn’t take her long to beat him into submission, the crowd screaming her name as she stood above him, hands up as she took in the praise.

As she walked back into the standby cages, she gave me a smirk. “Beat that, Scamp. Bare hands.”

I just laughed as she wiped some of the blood off her gauntlets on a large creature near her, getting an angry grunt from it.

A few more bouts took place before my name was finally called.

“Go turn Gimpy into Limpy,” Reinhart jokes, slugging my shoulder as I walk by.

“Next up is the little horse from the mystical forest! You love her, you hate her, Stumpy!”

I frown a bit as I walk to the middle of the arena, the crowd a mixture of cheers and boos.

“Her opponent is the fiendish, crude beast! You saw him dominate Blaze last week, will he do the same today?! It’s Gimpy the manticore!”

From a different gate stepped out a strange creature in a gimp suit, black leather covering his body and tails. He unzipped the zipper over his mouth, a wide toothy smile gleamed across the arena at me.

Ah, gimpy like gimp… I thought it meant he had a limp or something.

“I’m going to break you,” he called to me, smiling as he began to advance.

I can take him.

I flip around and fly towards the wall, the gimp not far behind me. He roared in excitement.

My eyes scanned the wall, looking for a weapon I could use. But not a single one on this stretch of the wall was usable by me. All either too big or oddly shaped.

Ah shit.

Spinning around, I dodged to the left just as the manticore’s tails shot for me. I weaved in and out of the sharp tails, much to his frustration.

“Stand still!” he yelled, his bladed tail getting a little too close for comfort a few times.

“Look at those skills! But how long can she keep it up!?” the announcer yelled in excitement.

The blade tipped tail suddenly whipped to the side and came from my left.

Barely turning my head fast enough, I block the attack with my prosthetic leg, the blade penetrating through it with ease. Luckily, it was enough to stop the attack, but now I was stuck on his tail.

“Perfect!” he yelled as he yanked his tail straight up, carrying me with it. With a whoosh, he swung me through the air and slammed me into the ground. Not giving me time to recover, he began to thrash me around, hitting both the ground and the weapon covered wall.

I grunted loudly as I hit the hard surfaces, trying as hard as I could to try and get my leg unstuck from his bladed tail.

“Stop fighting and go limp!” he roared, throwing me around more roughly and frantically.

Finally, with a groan of metal on metal, I came free of the blade and was sent flying away. Using my wings, I was able to save myself from hitting the ground again.

Sliding to a stop, sending dirt flying everywhere, I flare my wings. Gimpy was sprinting towards me, eyes ablaze with anger.

Glancing to the wall, I eye a certain item, a smirk appearing on my face.

“Just roll over for me!” he yelled as he neared me, his tails stretching out behind him as he prepared to attack.

Using my wing to snatch the item from the wall, he reached me. I didn’t run or move as he slammed into me, sending me to my back.

He slammed down over me, eyes crazy. “Gotcha now!”

“You got me,” I deadpan as I twist, slamming the item in my wings grip into his chest. He blinked as he looked down to see the knife sticking out of his barreled chest, then started to laugh loudly.

“That was your plan?! That blade wasn’t large enough to reach my heart!” he laughed, his bladed tails slowly coming over his back, coming towards me.

“I know,” I responded as I pressed a button on the knife. A loud hiss was heard as he straightened up, a weird look on his face.

“What the…” he stumbled back, starting to become pale.

“Injection knife,” I say as I slowly stand up, dusting myself off. “Bet that pocket of air inside you feels amazing.”

He coughed as he ripped the knife from his chest, then went down to his knees.

Not taking a chance, I grabbed another bladed weapon from the wall in my mouth and jumped onto Gimpy. With a hard twist of my neck, I slammed the blade into his eye. He roared in pain as I jumped back, slamming a back hoof into the hilt to send it deeper into his head.

As I landed, he slammed into the ground, twitching.

“Unbelievable!” the announcer screamed. “Stumpy has defeated Gimpy! She advances!”

I walked back to the standby cage, confidence in my step as the crowd cheered. I didn’t enjoy this, but apparences were everything in this place apparently.

“I thought he had you for a second there,” Reinhardt chuckled as I stepped in with her and Remi.

“Oh, he was tough. But the right weapon for the job just happened to be there,” I say as I examine the damage on my prosthetic. Doc is going to love that. “But I could have taken him regardless, I just wouldn’t have come out unhurt.”

Remi suddenly hugged me, lifting me high into the air. She held her chalkboard up with her tail. ‘You scared me!’

“Eh, sorry about that,” I say as she twirls us around and sets me back down on the ground.

She then saluted me as her name was called. Like a ferret, she slithered out the door to the roars of many.

“That Nuble sure is attached to you,” Reinhardt commented, watching Remi dance around the arena as the announcer spoke about her.

“I don’t get it, honestly,” I say, shrugging. I then smirk at her, “I could honestly say the same about you. Miss Orc.”

Reinhardt just rolls her eyes, “You defeated me, then saved me. Not to mention how you handled yourself in the preliminaries.”

I just shrugged at this, as it at least made sense.

Remi sprinted back to us, covered in fresh gore. She had a wide smile on her face as she raised her chalkboard. ‘I won.’.

Reinhardt and I just laughed at the sight.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I seriously needed this,” I say aloud as I sit down and begin to stuff food into my mouth. The others watched me messily devour the pile of food.

“I’m still shocked at how she eats food,” Drake said, eating his food with much more grace than me.

“It’s bold!” Reinhardt said loudly as she slammed down next to me, a plate of meat before her. She begins to audibly eat her food, making just as much noise as me.

The two of us slammed hoof to fist as we ate.

“I heard you killed Gimpy,” Moxxi said with a wide smile. At my nod, she snorted and laughed. “Good! That guy was a creep!”

“Should have seen her in the act, got him thinking he won, then murdered his ass,” Reinhardt chuckled, slapping me on the back.

“Mhm,” I grunted, food in my mouth.

We all ate in silence for a few moments before Reinhardt broke the silence, “I gotta know.” She looked at Beans, “You’re a large bug, got a lover?”

Beans looked at her and cocked his head, making clicking sounds, “That’s a personal question.”

“Yes it is!” she laughed.

“Come on, Beanie, I’ve wondered the same thing,” Moxxi said as she slapped his side.

“Once,” he said simply. “But our species only mates once, then the female kills the male.”

“That’s my kinda relationship,” Reinhardt said as she took a bloody bite of meat.

“So, you two chose true love and never banged?” Moxxi asked.

He chuckled lightly, “No, we made love. But I defended myself on instinct. I’m not a very good Mantis.”

“This is why I like you, Beans,” Moxxi laughed loudly. “Never change.”

“What of you, Mox?” he asked in turn, getting a smirk in return.

“You ever seen goblin men? Once you experience other races, they lose all their appeal,” she twirled her fork as she grinned back at everyone. “But to answer your question; Yes, I had a lover. But they died, as lovers tend to do.”

“Drake?” Beans asked, everyone looking at him.

“Me?” He asked, placing a hand to his heart. “Not a single soul has been able to tame this dark heart. I have searched the Plains, but not a one has been worthy. I have…”

“Long story short, no,” Moxxi finished for him, getting a pout from him.

He crossed his arms, looking away defiantly, “I had a monologue for that.”

Moxxi waved him off, “No one cares to hear it.” Then she looked at Doc. “You?”

He sighed and smiled, “I do. A wife and kids. Four kids.”

“Oh you’re a family man,” Reinhardt observed. “I didn’t expect that to be honest.”

“I haven’t seen them for a long time. She took them and left me back before I became a healer,” he replied, picking at his food.

“Oh, you were a family man,” she said bluntly, getting a frown from the others. She just shrugged.

“Okay, Miss Badass, what of you?” Moxxi asked, leaning on the table.

“Nope, no time for relationships. They get in the way of killing, clouds the mind,” she replied simply as she continued to eat.

Remi, without being asked, held up her chalkboard for everyone. ‘Nuble males are gross. All people are bad. No relationship for me.’

“You got that right, sister!” Moxxi laughed, nodding in agreement.

“Scamp?” Beans asked, all eyes falling on me. I stopped eating, looking up as food fell off of my face.

Swallowing the food in my mouth, I shrug. “I kinda did have someone I could of called a lover, but he’s dead now. He was my team leader, so it made it hard for the two of us to do anything other than keep it professional.” I stare at my food for a moment, thinking of the past. “Sometimes I wish we’d just said screw it and got together.”

“So, we all are either single, or have dead lovers,” Moxxi said, chuckling. “Yeah, we’re a happy group alright.”

Slowly, I begin to eat again, my mind replaying memories.

I wish Ayla was here right now, it’d be nice to talk with her about some of this.

And on we go!

Chapter 23

With a groan, I stepped back into the standby area, my opponent knocked out in the middle of the arena. They hadn’t been as bad as Gimpy, but they sure put up a hell of a fight.

“That’s your second win,” Reinhardt said as she slapped me on the back.

“How many more of these damn rounds?” I asked, annoyance clear in my voice as I looked to the brackets.

“One more tonight, then the last three are tomorrow,” She then smirked. “Looks like it’ll be me and you fighting each other tomorrow morning. Then the winner fights Remi if she wins her bout. Now that’s going to be interesting.”

I just smile back at her. When we fought, I wouldn’t be holding back, of course. Neither will she. But at least I won’t have to worry about us killing each other. Going to be a good ol’ beat down. Same for fighting Remi. No weapons, just fist vs hooves.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Your opponent after dinner looks like it's going to be Mallogory. She’s actually a threat,” Reinhardt warned as we sat by the junk pile. “She recently got her personal abilities unlocked by gaining favor, so she’s blowing through opponents.”

“What’s her abilities?” I asked as I watched Doc fix my prosthetic, again.

She frowned, “That’s the problem, I’m not sure. Everyone who fights her gets knocked out the moment they get within melee range. So I don’t know if it's magic or something else. She’s one of the few to actually beat me. I couldn’t even tell what she did to me, I just woke up back in my cell, sore as hell.”

“Well,” I said with my own frown, “Anyone can be beaten. I’m sure I’ll figure something out come time.”

Reinhardt smiled at that, “That’s why I like you, Scamp. Always looking for a way to win.”

I just shrug in return, going over a few possibilities in my head.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Standing at the gate that led out into the arena, I watched as Reinhardt beat the literal shit out of her opponent. The poor creature barely stood a chance as she used her fist to wail on him.

Once she won, she slowly strode back to the standby area, waving her hands to the crowd.

“Fuck I love and hate this place,” she announced as she entered the cage.

“Yeah, well I just want to get out of here,” I replied, waiting for my name to be called.

“Remember, everyone gets knocked out as soon as they get close to her,” Reinhardt reminded me.

“I got this,” I said confidently.

Remi gave me a thumbs up and hugged me for good luck.

I don’t know what she can do, but I always figure something out.

At the sound of my name, I stepped out, the crowd now fully cheering for me after the last two bouts.

“Here comes Stumpy! The flying horse with an attitude! You saw her demolish her last two opponents, but how will she fare against…. MALLOGORY!”

The crowd exploded even louder than before as a strange creature stepped out and approached the center of the arena where I stood.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but she was about on par. She seemed to be some kind of reptile with black skin that looked like scaled armor. Her face looked strange, like a white mask sat upon her face. The blue cloak that covered her upper body and lower face flowed behind her, like two tails. Her tail looked dangerous, thick and heavy. It could definitely do some damage.

But I couldn’t see anything special about her, so her ability must not be physical based. Her right hand was covered in wrappings, so maybe that has something to do with it.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking a bit bored and annoyed.

“Yeah, me too. You shouldn’t have to face me,” I say back, smirking the best I can. Gotta show confidence here.

She rolled her eyes as she stood there, not moving. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

I eyed her wearily, not liking this one bit. I opened my wings prematurely, just in case.

Advancing slowly, I kept my eyes on hers, watching for something to happen. I focused my entire being on her, time seeming to slow down as I approached. Every twitch of her body caused my eyes to snap to it, watching for her instant knockout ability. Unsure of what even to watch for.

As I got close enough to strike, I saw it. She flickered, ever so slightly, then her fist was in my face.

Thankfully, my reflexes kicked in and I flew backwards, my wings propelling me away from the almost instantaneous attack.

Landing a few feet away, we both stared at each other in shock. She was shocked I dodged, and I was shocked at what she just did.

“Did you just stop time for a split second there?!” I asked, dumbfounded.

“How did you dodge that?!” She asked, just as dumbfounded as me.

Not too long ago, I could also stop time, so I know the concept. But what she did doesn’t feel like freezing time. Similar, but definitely not the same thing.

We stared at each other, now looking at the other in a more serious light.

Then a smile broke on her face as she pulled down the cloak. “Well, this’ll be fun!”

I couldn’t help but smile back as we sprinted towards each other.

Her body flickered again, but now that I knew what she was capable of, I dodged to the left just as her fist flew past my cheek. The look of surprise on her face was replaced with a breathless expression as I slammed a hoof right into her gut.

Spinning with my forward momentum, I spun to face her as she slowly doubled over, the wind knocked out of her. But as I started to go for another attack, she flickered, her leg shooting straight up, catching my chin in the process. I was sent into a forced back flip as I barely caught myself and landed on all fours, my chin in horrible pain.

She came at me again, flickering. But to her surprise, as she went for another punch to my head, I ducked it. I dropped to the ground, twisting my body awkwardly, and bucked her square in the face.

The hit sent her straight to the ground, where she slowly began to get back up, groaning.

“That ability is amazing,” I say, working my jaw. “But you don’t have any fighting training, do you? Just kinda used to people getting caught off guard by your little trick?”

“No need to know how to fight when your first hit always wins the fight,” she replies, now fully standing before me. “You’re skilled though.”

“Thank you,” I say, grinning at her. She returned my grin, but then we both got serious again.

I have a tournament to win.

She sprang towards me, not flickering this time. Using my wings, I shoot to the side, then spring for her side. With a flicker, she was suddenly facing me, her leg flying up again towards my head. But this time, I saw it coming as I simply rolled to the right and flew past her, sweeping her legs out from under her.

As she fell to the ground, I flipped my body and used my wings and legs to propel back towards her. I twisted midair as I reached her and flew under her, using the ground as a brace. I kicked up with my back legs as hard as I could. This sent her flying straight up into the sky.

With a loud whoosh, I shot after her, quickly overtaking her and preparing to kick her again, this time back to the ground.

Using my wings to spin myself, I prepared to deliver a heavy kick to the approaching reptile lady. But just as I kicked out, she flickered. My eyes went wide as she was no longer in front of me.

A hard hit to the side of my head revealed her location as I recoiled hard, keeping myself airborne. But she landed on top of me, grabbing my ponytail in her hands and pushing me downward hard, sending us flying towards the ground.

I twisted as we reached the ground, slamming her into it first. We both skidded away from each other as we quickly recovered, getting back to our feet.

We were both breathing heavily, but we also both looked excited.

I honestly haven’t had a fight like this since I fought Bronwyn! I’m loving it!

“You are great,” she chuckled, adjusting her cloak and clothes.

“So are you,” I reply, fixing my ponytail with my wings.

“You’re making me work for this one,” she said as she began to walk back towards me.

I laugh as I walk casually towards her.

“But,” she says, looking conflicted, “I need to win this. I’m not going to remain a slave in this place.”

“I get the feeling,” I say back, watching her carefully.

“So I’m sorry for this,” she says as she seems to shift into a very focused looking state.

This can’t be good.

As we neared each other, I watched for her to flicker. And when she did, I dodged left, only to be punched square in the face. Hard.

Before I could recover, she began to flicker rapidly. Each flicker was accompanied by a hit to my face or chest. There was nothing I could do as I was hit again and again, every move I made was instantly countered.

That’s when I realized I was now on the ground, eyes blurry and unfocused.

“Again, I’m sorry,” she said from above me as I struggled to stand. But her next flicker was her last as her foot made contact with my head, causing me to feel like I was falling into a deep, dark pit. The darkness slowly overtaking me as the cheers of the crowd faded into the distance.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Everything hurt as I felt myself coming too. I still couldn’t see for some reason, but it didn’t take long for me to realize I had a bag over my head.

Wonderful.

“Ah, awake finally,” a high pitched male voice said from nearby. The bag was then ripped off my head, revealing I was in a rather large, fancy room.

An overweight ogre looking man stood above me, smiling impossibly widely.

Trying to move revealed I was chained up, legs bound to each other.

“What the fuck is this?!” I snapped, not hiding my displeasure.

The large ogre laughed as it adjusted its fancy suit. “I bought you after you lost your last fight last night.”

At my confused look, he smirked, “You heard me. You are now the property of Sir Reeve of Hympth.”

“I’m no ones property,” I said flatly, looking him up and down.

He just reached down and patted my head, “Shhh, quiet my little future wife.”

I frowned, eyes narrowing, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

Sir Reeve got an evil look on his face as he began to reach for me. But at the sight of my dark indigo bladed teeth caused his eyes to widen.

He realized something right then. We were apparently no longer in the Dome of the Dead, and that meant I was no longer being restricted.

Flexing, my Ego blades extended and easily cut through my restraints. I stood up fully, flaring my wings as I stared up at the ugly Sir Reeve’s. Blades extending out of my three hooves and wings.

“Oh… I thought we were still within range of the Dome…” he said, sweat pouring down his fat face and coating his clothes. “If you… would kindly put those away, we can start over.”

With a flick, I cut a shallow gash across his belly, causing him to scream in horror as he threw himself away from me.

“Guards!” he screamed, causing four large ogre’s to rush into the room and run at me.

I rolled my eyes as I attached my Ego to each of them and spun through them, basically blending them all together as I passed through them.

Landing behind them, I turned to face Sir Reeve’s, giving him a sly smile.

“So, you wanted me to be your wife?”

He wailed as he pushed himself away from me as I advanced on him.

“Wait wait wait!” he yelled in a panic. “If you stop, I’ll do anything you want!” When I didn’t stop walking towards him, he got more desperate. “I’m rich! I have Ego and Ore’s! They’re all yours if you just stop!”

I stopped advancing on him, thinking to myself. “How long have I been out?”

“A full day! The tournament is over if that’s what you’re asking!” he screamed, not calming down.

“Who won?”

“That Mallogory chick!” he all but cried out.

I held up a hoof, pointing the claws at him. “Stop fucking screaming and crying!”

He slowly stopped, his face a mess.

“Good,” I said, glaring at him. “What happened to her?”

“She lost of course!” he replied, but at my continued glare, he adds, “They fought for like four hours! He beat her and ate part of her tail. THen threw her back into the general populace! Made a huge speech about her possibly being worthy of joining his crew one day!”

Opening my mouth, he saw my bladed teeth, causing him to wet himself.

Ayla appeared over him, looking extremely pissed as she pointed to him, “Kill him! He’s a creep and a perv! KILL HIM!”

“Soon,” I say to her, causing him to look at me confused. “I have a task for you, then I’ll let you go.”

Ayla looked upset, but upon reading my mind, she relaxed, looking pleased.

“What kind of task? Because I’ll do anything if you just let me go,” he says, seeming to calm down to his normal self. Seems thinking he was going to live was all it took.

“We’re going to use those riches you talked about and buy a few more people from the Dome. Then you’re free to go.”

His eyes widened, “What?! That’s not cheap!”

“Fine,” I say simply as I take a step towards him.

“But!” He yells in a panic, “Not to expensive for me!”

“Thataboy,” I say, keeping my blades out. “We’re going to head back, buy a few people, then free to go. Deal?”

“Deal!” he readily said.

“And if you say a word to anyone about what is happening, I’ll kill you. No matter where we are or who’s watching, I’ll kill you first and worry about everything else afterwards.”

He didn’t seem pleased with this, but he nods his head. “Of course.”

“Then let’s go,” I say, waving for him to get off the ground. “And bring your wallet.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I glared into his back as we walked along, angry at the situation. He still called for help to every guard he saw on his ship, and I ended up having to kill every single servant and guard he had brought with him.

He was going to be a problem, but I think threatening him with full dismemberment, including his manhood, was enough to get him to play ball going forward. If not, oh well.

“Just…” he said over his shoulder in a shaky voice, “Let me do all the talking. I’m well known here.”

“Yes, but one word out of your mouth that I don’t like, or one strange look from anyone, and I’m going to enjoy blending you up.”

I adjusted the pendant attached to my neck, ready for anything now. Apparently this pendant is given to VIP’s only, and allows them to use their Ego and abilities unhindered.

This was a game changer for this forsaken place.

As we approached the massive VIP entrance, Sir Reeve held up his pass.

“Back already?” One of the guards asked, laughing as he saw me. “And brought your new pet?”

“Eh.. I did indeed,” Sir Reeve replied, trying not to look my way. “I actually was planning to buy a few more.”

“You nasty dog!” the guard laughed as he waved us through. As I passed, he winked. I resisted the urge to say anything to him.

Sir Reeve led us through the mostly vacant halls, following signs that pointed towards an Administration of some kind.

As we entered a fairly large room, we were greeted with a bunch of busy looking creatures running around. They seemed to be taking bets and moving currency around.

“Sir Reeve!” A man said as he walked up and bowed to him. “I thought you were done for the month?”

“I’ve come for a few more… pets,” he said the last part carefully, eyes flickering to me.

“Oh? Got any in mind?” the man asked with a sly smile, looking at me with a look that I did not like.

“I have a list this time around. A few caught my fancy,” he said as he held out a list of names I’d given him.

The man looked the list over, raising an eyebrow. “There are males on this list, I thought you weren’t into that?”

Sir Reeve’s eye twitched as he frowned. “They’re for my daughter.”

“Oh, bringing the kids into the fun?” he asked, winking creepily. “I’ll get the prices for you.”

As he stepped away, Sir Reeve shook in anger. He definitely was not happy with the current situation.

“Buck up,” I say, trying to get him to not act rashly. “I’ll think about giving you a little special reward if you play nice here.”

“What does that mean?” he asked dumbly, but at my wink, he smiled slyly. “Dirty girl. Am I starting to appeal to you?”

Trying not to kill him right there, I just shrug. This has the effect I wanted as he no longer looked like he was going to do something stupid.

“Two of those names are very expensive, Sir Reeve’s. Both three times more expensive than she was,” the man said as he returned.

“Make it happen,” Sir Reeve replied, seeming to be excited now. Gross.

“Yes sir,” he said with a bow and gestured for the door. “You know where to pick them up after payment has been made.”

Sir Reeve led us out the door and down the hall. He stopped at an office of some kind, using a console to make the payment. Once that was done, we resumed the walk down the hallway.

We arrived in a large room with a few massive doors at one end.

“This is where we wait for your friends,” he said, his eyes running over my body.

I again resisted the urge to kill him. For now.

Luckily, we only had to wait half an hour before the guards entered the room with my friends all limp and laying on carts.

“Ah, perfect,” Sir Reeve said as he waved them on. “You know the drill. Take them to my ship.”

As we walked, I looked back at my friends. They all stared at me dumbfounded, but the paralyzing beam they’d been hit with kept them from speaking.

After leaving the Dome, we walked across a walkway back to Sir Reeve’s large airship. The guards took their cargo up onto the ship and dumped them all in the bay.

The lead one returned to Sir Reeve and handed him a little device. “Enjoy, Sir.”

“Thank you!” Sir Reeve said happily, glancing my way. “Come along, I want that little reward first before finishing our deal.”

I roll my eyes as we walk onto the ship and into the bay. He closed the door behind us, leaving just us and my paralyzed friends.

“Let’s do this, right here,” he says eagerly as he begins to undo his buckle, trying to get his pants down.

“Gladly,” I say as I walk up and jump up in front of him. He stared at me in confusion at first, but that confusion turned to horror as my blades shot out.

“Wait, you promised!” he screamed, but I didn’t answer him as I spun forward, turning into a drill as I flew through him. A large hole sat in his chest as he collapsed forward.

Shaking my head, I reached down and picked up the little device he’d been given. Pressing the button caused a little shimmer to wash over my friends.

They all slowly sat up, looking around.

“Scamp, what the hell?” Moxxi asked, then smiled happily. “You are my new favorite person!”

“You saved us? You could have just escaped without risking yourself,” Beans said, clicking as he looked at me.

I wave them off. “I couldn’t leave you, assholes. You’ve grown on me.”

“Okay, but why the hell is she here?” Reinhardt asked, pointing to the lizard woman as she stood up.

Mallogory stood up as well, looking just as confused. “Yes, why am I?”

“After that fight you gave me, I couldn’t leave you there for Leem,” I said as I looked at her tail, now missing some of its length. “Besides, you fought Leem and lived, just like me and Reinhardt.”

She looked at her tail, then my leg. At my nod, she looked grim, “Leem is not normal. He just let me wear myself out, then humiliated me in front of the crowd.”

“That’s his whole thing,” Reinhardt said as she sighed.

Remi slowly walked up to me, tears in her eyes as she held up her chalkboard. ‘Thank you, Scamp. Me part of crew now.’

“I don’t have a crew,” I replied to her, then smiled up at her.

“Uh, yes you do,” Moxxi said as she waved her hand over everyone around her.

“After what you just did, I’ll follow you anywhere,” Doc said, a thankful smile on his face.

I blinked as I watched them all turn to me, smiling just as wide as Doc.

“Your mission is now my mission, Scamp,” Beans said as he clicked rapidly.

“Already bound to you,” Reinhardt said, giving me a thumbs up.

“I guess I’ll stick around for a while,” Drake said, pushing his hair back and giving me his charming smile.

Mallogory crossed her arms, “I’m not going to be in your crew like they are.” But then she smiles a bit, “But I’ll definitely hang around for a bit. See where this all leads.”

“Guys,” I said, feeling touched at their words. “I’m a terrible choice for a leader.”

“Shut up and let’s figure out how to fly this thing,” Moxxi laughed as she and the others began to walk for the door leading out of the large bay. Being careful to step over the bodies I’d left behind.

Ayla appeared next to me, “I like them.”

I smile as I turn to her, glad to finally have her back. “Me too. I’ve missed you, Ayla.”

She beamed a smile back at me and fell into a hug with me, “It’s been so terrible having to watch you go through all that back there, but not be able to speak to you!”

“Don’t worry, it’s over now,” I say as she leans back.

“We will find a way to kill that asshole Leem, and then we’re going to make him eat his own damn legs!”

I laughed as I began to follow after the others. “It’s good to have you back, Ayla.”

Look at me, I am the captain now

Chapter 24

Lance sighed as he messed with his Ego gauntlets, tired after the past two days of searching for the others. While they had their locations, they still had to search for them when they arrived.

So far, after two full days, they’d only found Drax and Rainbow Dash. While it was nice to see them again, he was more concerned with finding his wife. Which just made him feel worse as he felt like an asshole when they’d find someone new and he’d just be disappointed.

Not to mention he still can’t even look at Dash without feeling guilt. Even after all these years, all he sees when looking at her or her kids is the final moments of David as he killed him.

Add that to the growing list of things he’d need to come to terms with when this was all over. His eyes darted to Greg, who was talking with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, a frown touching his face.

He definitely would have his hooves full once this was all over.

“Can we talk?” Jero asked as he stepped over Lance.

Lance looked up at him and nodded, moving over for him to sit down. “What's up?”

Jero sighed and looked up into the night sky, “I don’t know if I’m up to being the Traveler.”

“Honestly, it's a lot of responsibilities wrapped up in a very complicated title,” Lance replied, taking his hat off.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Jero said as he pulled out a picture of his wife and two kids. “What about them? I can’t just leave them to travel the dimensions or whatever! And I will not bring them into any of this either.”

Lance starred up into the sky, deep in thought. “Well,” he finally said. “Who said you have to do any of that?”

Jero started to say something, but then stopped, looking stumped.

“I mean, if I were you, I’d just ignore the responsibilities till some being or God came and made me do something,” Lance offered, smiling at Jero.

“That sounds irresponsible, Lance,” Jero said with a frown.

“So?” Lance chuckled. “It’s the mysterious and vague ‘Gods of Good’, pretty sure they won’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“I don’t know,” Jero replied, looking displeased with the offered advice. “I guess I’ll just have to figure it out.”

“You’ll get it,” Lance said back, putting his hat back on.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the others mingle among themselves.

“I’ve asked a few times, but you’ve ignored me,” Jero began, looking at Lance. “You’re the only one who knows the full story. I know Scamp was taken by one of Lorenzo’s men, and a woman named Bronwyn went after her, but why aren’t you worried about her?”

Lance took a deep breath, then turned to face Jero, “I have to find my family. Scamp would understand that her entire life has been spent trying to reunite me with them.”

Jero looked at Lance with a disappointed look. “Lance, this isn’t the you I remember. And I don’t think Twilight and the kids will like this either. You’re sounding like you’re taking advantage of Scamp’s desire to help you.”

He started to get angry, eyes flaring slightly. But at Jero’s continued soft, disappointed look, he seemed to calm down. “I don’t know, Jero. I’ve changed a lot over the years, and I’m worried my family won’t want anything to do with this new me.”

“They’ll always love you, they’re your family,” Jero reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“And I am, I’m taking advantage of Scamp. I hate myself for it, but she’s been so willing to help me that I just didn’t think about her as a person. Just a means to get me back to my family. The worst part is she’s still helping me despite how I’m treating her. Not to mention I let her get kidnapped, then immediately moved on without her. I just don’t know how to fix it if she comes back.”

“I can’t help you there,” Jero replied, but gave a reassuring smile and squeeze of his shoulder. “But I can say this; focus on her, include her in your thoughts and don’t ignore her. I haven’t known her long, but from what I do know about her; she’s a tough mare who’s determined to accomplish her goals, no matter the cost to herself.”

“You’re right,” Lance said with a loud exhale of breath. “You know, Jero, you are a good fit to be the Traveler, even if you don’t know anything about it.”

“Thank you, Lance,” he replied, patting his shoulder and then leaning back. The two starred up at the night sky, watching the blinking stars.

After some time, the beacon in Lance’s pocket began to beep again.

This time around, instead of confusion, horror spread across all their faces.

“That has to be Lorenzo,” Greg said as he and the others stepped over, watching Lance pull the device out of his pocket.

“Shit,” Lance said as he watched the device blinking up at him.

“TELEPORTATION REQUEST! TELEPORTATION REQUEST!”

“Break that shit!” Grace said as she stepped forward.

“Stop,” Jero said, taking the device from Lance. “It more than likely is not him. I’ve been waiting on someone to appear, and this must be them.”

“Who the fuck are you waiting for?” Grace asked, glaring at him.

Without responding to her, Jero pressed the button and threw it to the ground.

After a few moments, the device confirmed the request, followed by a bright flash.

What now stood before them was not anything any of them expected.

“What the fuck is that?” Greg asked as he stepped up to the large thing. He poked at the large, cyan colored mess of material.

A fish bowl shaped head suddenly lifted up from the jumble of material, a simple face appearing on the sphere. “Do not touch me, lower being.”

“Oh fuck its alive!” Greg yelped as he jumped back into Pinkie’s hooves, holding onto her neck.

The cyan thing slowly stood up, standing at about ten feet tall as it towered above the group. It looked rather simple, looking just like the Apollo Belvedere statue, just with a fish bowl shaped head. A simple light yellow cloth ran around its body, like a toga.

“Who are you?!” Lance yelled, looking to be ready to transform at any moment.

The being looked between everyone, then raised a small box. “My father requested I deliver this to the one called ‘Greg’.”

“Yo, that’s me,” Greg said, jumping from Pinkie’s hooves and trotting up to him, looking to no longer be fearful. “What ya got for me?”

The cyan being stared down at him, its mouth becoming a straight line. “This is a special drug from the Ultimate Authority Dimension, the Seed of Knowledge, it is used by scholars to glimpse the threads of reality.”

“Sweet, the ultimate high!” Greg said with a wide smile. “Gimme!”

“You will die upon using this,” the being deadpanned. “It is too much for one outside the UAD to handle. It will override your mind, causing instant brain death. Omnius requested this for you, but I fear he overestimates you.”

“Omnius thought I could handle it?” Greg asked, seeming to gloss over the death part. “Then I got this shit. How do you use it?”

“Eat it,” The being said simply as it floated the box down to Greg.

Greg opened it and looked at the little cyan cube within, seeing swirling colors within it. “Ah fuck, that looks badass. Like a little galaxy!” he looked it over, pushing on it. “I’mma smoke it.”

“You eat it,” the being insisted. “You are meant to eat it.”

“I got this, I’m an expert on this kind of shit,” Greg said as he walked back to Pinkie Pie, looking over the cube. “Oh, I know what I can mix this with.”

“I fear Omnius’s judgment was… clouded on this matter,” the being said as he looked over the group again. But this time, its eyes stopped on Jero.

“You are a Traveler?” it asked, looking shocked. “Evil or Neutral?”

“Uh, the Good one?” Jero replied sheepishly.

“You are not Omnius,” the being said. “Does this mean?”

“Yes, he died shortly after I contacted your father,” Jero confirmed.

“That changes things,” the being said, its face disappearing from the sphere.

“I’m not giving this back,” Greg announced, putting the UAD drug away in his pocket dimension.

“I am staying here, for now,” the being said as his face returned. “The Watcher is wanted within the UAD, and I am to assist the Traveler in dealing with him.”

Lance cocked his head, “Why would he be wanted in the UAD?”

The being turned to him, looking him over. “Did Omnius not inform you? The Watcher is a low ranking being of the Ultimate Authority Dimension who was banished long ago.”

“Oh shit,” Greg said loudly as everyone stared in shock at the being before them.

“So you’re a God?” Lance asked, eyes wide.

This seemed to amuse the being, “No. I am not a creator. I am a simple messenger. My father is an ArchDemo, a guardian of the UAD. He has requested I assist you, as only messengers are allowed to travel between the UAD and the Creation.”

“So does this mean we just win now?” Grace asked, looking around. “I mean, we have some kind of all powerful being on our side now. No one can beat us now!”

“I will not help with anything outside of dealing with the Watcher,” the being stated. “My powers are forbidden from being used on any form of Creation.”

“But if we get you to the Watcher, you’ll be able to solo his ass?” Vinetion asked hopefully.

The being just looked at her, a line above his eye, like he was raising an eyebrow. “If you mean; will I be able to fight him alone? Then no. I am a lowly messenger with simple reality powers. The Watcher was a Virtue, the middle of the pack of the hierarchy of the UAD. I am nothing but a spec before him.” At the hopeless looks of the group, it continued, “But together, we stand a chance. If this Greg can withstand the Seed of Knowledge, then our chances increase greatly.”

“So this all hinges on Greg,” Lance said, getting a large smile from both Greg and Pinkie. “Great.”

“Till then, I will be your silent companion,” the being said as it flashed, taking on a new form. It was now a small fairy-like being, complete with little wings and everything.

“Oh shit, you look like a male Tinkerbell!” Greg laughed as the little cyan fairy flew up to him.

“This is the form I will take to blend in. Do not make crude jokes,” the fairy said, its little fish bowl head flashing an annoyed look.

“What do we call you?” Lance asked.

“My given name is beyond your capacity to comprehend, let alone speak. You may call me by my moniker, Castor.”

“Well, Castor, I guess welcome to the team,” Lance said, looking unsure of any of this.

Castor gave a bow and flew over and landed on Greg’s head, standing by his horn. “I will remain with this Greg till he dies of the Seed of Knowledge.”

“Sweet, I get to be the keeper of the fairy,” Greg said with a proud smile.

“That’s my, Mello!” Pinkie laughed as she and Greg began to make out noisily, again.

“I fear I’ve made a grave mistake,” Castor said with a frown as he held onto Greg’s horn for dear life.

This at least caused the group to laugh, breaking any remaining tension.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This place is a mess,” Drake said as he lifted up a pillow covered in blood.

I just chuckled as I helped move the bodies from the bridge of the ship, trying to get it ready to fly.

“So, I hate to rain on our parade,” Moxxi said as she threw an arm out a window. “But do we even know how to fly this thing?”

“Afraid not,” Beans said while putting body parts in a trash bag.

“I’m a warrior,” Reinhardt laughed. “So no.”

“I can,” Drake said casually as he carefully lifted an eyeball. “This is just foul.”

“You can fly an airship?” Moxxi asked with raised eyebrows.

Drake flipped his hair, casting a charming smile towards her. “I was once in a relationship with an airship captain. They taught me to fly the ship so I could take over so they could… Oh, that’s when they had time to cheat on me.”

“Okay, that solves that,” I say, cutting him off before he went off on another story. “Now, we need to get an engineer, communications, and then diagnostics.”

“Mox can be the engineer,” Beans said with a click.

Moxxi crossed her arms, glaring at him. “Oh, just because I’m a goblin means I should be able to maintain the complex machinery inside an airship? That’s incredibly racist, Beans.”

“I didn’t mean to make assumptions,” Beans said remorsefully.

“Good, learn to be better, Beans,” Moxxi said, then sighed. “But yes, I can maintain the airship's machinery. But not because I’m a goblin! I just like this kind of shit.”

“I will handle communications,” Beans said with a few clicks.

Mallogory looked around, walking over to the diagnostics workstation. “This looks simple. I’ll take over this portion of the ship.”

“Good,” I say as I watch them all look over their new stations.

“Well, we don’t have weapons on this stupid ship,” Reinhardt said with a frown. “So I guess I’ll just play security.”

“If we’re ever boarded, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself,” I chuckle as I take the commander's seat.

“Remi, can you help me out below deck?” Moxxi asked, getting a thumbs up from the Nuble.

That left Doc.

“I’ve looked through this ship's medical bay,” he announced. “It is the saddest excuse for a medical facility I’ve ever seen. All this wealth and they cheap out on the most crucial part.”

I nod, happy to see everyone had a task. “Perfect, let’s see if we can get this thing in the air.”

Everyone slid into their new seats, Moxxi and Remi leaving for their stations below.

“Oh, we’re receiving our first communication request,” Beans clicked happily as he flipped a switch.

A voice then came over the bridge's loudspeakers. “Hailing the Bountiful Wealth, Sir Reeve, respond immediately.”

“The Bountiful Wealth?” I asked, getting a few snickers. “We’re fixing our call sign.”

Looking over my new command chair, I saw a mic button. With a flick, I responded, “Sir Reeve is in his quarters, I can take a message.”

“Leem is requesting an audience, immediately.” The man on the radio said, clearly annoyed.

“Eh…” I press the button, “Can do, we’ll pass the message along and he’ll be there shortly.”

“No need, Leem is on his way to speak to him. Open your bay doors, now.”

“Oh shit,” I muttered, the others looking at me in a panic. “How long till we can take off?”

“Uh… five minutes?” Drake stuttered, sweat now on his face. “It’s going to take a bit with just us.”

“Eh, bring up the camera’s facing our rear,” I said, unsure if we even had external cameras.

But to my surprise, after a moment, a screen lit up, showing a few camera feeds. Nice.

Looking at the feed pointing to our rear, back at the Dome, I saw Leem quickly stomping towards our ship.

“We don’t have five minutes,” I say as I jump up, walking towards the doors leading off the bridge.

“Where are you going?” Mallogory asked from behind me.

“I’m going to go hold him off, hopefully long enough for you all to get the ship running. I’ll make it back before you leave,” I say with a sigh, not looking forward to facing this beast again.

“I got your back,” Reinhardt said as she slammed a fist into her chest.

As I smiled back at her, Mallogory slammed her fist down and jumped up as well.

“I’m coming too, I need payback for my tail,” she said, looking very unhappy.

“Thank you, guys,” I say thankfully. I stepped up to a cabinet and pulled out two more pendants, thankful that asshole had more than one. “Put these on, it’ll allow you to use all your Ego and abilities.”

“Now we’re talking!” Reinhardt said as she put it on and held her hand out. A greatsword suddenly materialized in her grip, a wide smile plastered on her face. “Oh have I missed you!”

Mallogory sighed in relief as a light cyan glow flashed over her. With a flick of both her wrist, two rapier style blades appeared in them. They looked unique, with the handguards looking like snakes curling around them, and looked perfect for both cutting and piercing.

“Okay, if we’re all three going, then let’s just focus on stalling him. No need to take any risk here,” I say as we move quickly down the hall, heading for the bay.

“Easy, just hurt him a lot!” Mallogory said with a snort.

The three of us reached the bay, the doors already opening for us. We quickly walked to the bay doors, staring out as they lowered.

As we stepped out of the ship, we saw Leem just reaching the bottom of the ramp. He looked up at us, a wicked smile appearing on his face.

“I thought so,” he laughed, his four blades already in his hands. “Sir Reeve only ever buys one female a visit, never more than that. And never men.”

The three of us stood side by side, staring down at him defiantly.

“We’re going to fuck you up, lizard fucker,” Reinhardt says with a sly smile.

Mallogory side eyed her, but didn’t say anything.

“Well I’ve never complained about a free meal,” Leem smirks, licking his lips. “And you three taste amazing.”

My left leg trembled slightly at the stump at his words, causing me to narrow my eyes.

“Come at me then!” Leem said, opening his hands wide. “Feed me!”

Friends

Chapter 25

As we neared Leem, we branched off, with me going down the middle.

All the blades in my body extended as I sprang forward, clashing blades with him. With complete grace, I swiped away his blades with my wings, using my front hoof claw to shred away at his chest.

Reinhardt and Mallogory came up on either side of him, their blades flashing violently. His body flashed over and over again as he continued to heal through our attacks. Every time a hand was cut off, another would appear and grab his blade to continue his attacks.

Despite being outnumbered, he was holding his own very well. A few of his attacks getting through our defenses. Luckily for me, I was able to dodge them. The other two had their own methods for dodging his attacks.

As I removed his head, an arm suddenly shot out of another of his arms and slammed into my face. It had enough force to send me flying back and bounce off the ramp behind me.

With me out of the way, he turned his attention more on Reinhardt, mostly ignoring Mallogory.

He suddenly stopped attacking as he lunged forward, latching onto her and lifting her up, arms holding her against himself.

“Bastard!” She yelled as she fought against him.

“I’m going to put the squeeze on you, tin can!” He yelled as he began to squeeze her against himself, her armor groaning as it began to bend and pop.

Mallogory stabbed away at his back, trying to cut his arms to free Reinhardt.

I quickly rejoined the fight, sawing away at his limps uselessly as he continued to crush Reinhardt against his body. He was laughing loudly as he did so.

“This is what I love! The hopelessness you all feel right now as I slowly kill your friend, and all you can do is struggle uselessly!” he roared with laughter.

Not knowing what else to do, as attacking him did nothing, I latched my Ego to Reinhardt and began to pump Ego into her. Hopping she could do something, anything, to save herself.

She pulsed with a cyan light as she became translucent and poured out of her armor like a liquid, pouring out the boots and pooling below them, right between Leem’s legs.

He looked just as confused as we all did and he finished crushing the now empty armor. The pool of grey green liquid moved away from him and reformed into a now mostly nude Reinhart. Cyan Ego seemed to form over her like underwear.

“You bastard, that was my favorite armor!” She yelled, her blade materializing back in her hand.

I didn’t have time to think about what just happened, as I took Leem’s momentary confusion and slammed into him, sending him flying towards the edge.

As he stumbled, an arm shot out and latched onto Mallogory’s face and yanked her after himself. She’d tried to dodge, her body flickering, but he seemed to expect that and caught her anyway.

“AH shit!” She yelped as Leem went over the ledge, followed by her.

“Fuck!” I yell as I jump after them, flying after as they fell. We were actually really high up, at least thirty stories high.

I quickly caught up and grabbed Mallogory, cutting the arm that was attached to her. “Gotcha!”

She smiled at me thankfully, but a second hand grabbed my leg and began to carry us downward.

He just did not give up!

More arms shot up as he fell, attaching to us and pulling us after him. I held tight to Mallogory as I flapped my wings hard, trying to at least slow our own fall.

Leem slammed the ground below, but his hands stayed attached to us. I spin quickly, cutting the hands from us and pulled up, thankfully causing us to just land on the ground with a thump instead of a thud.

“You good?” I ask as we stand up.

“For someone who just fell a great distance, I’m pretty good,” she replied, looking a bit shaken.

“The one thing I hate is falling,” Leem said in annoyance as he was already up and stomping towards us.

The two of us nod and jump up, springing towards him.

“We need to get back to the ship!” I yell as I bypass his attacks and slice his side, landing behind him.

“Go! I’ll stall him!” She called to me as she began to clash with Leem, her dual blades easily keeping up with his four.

He suddenly slammed all four at her, causing her arms to open wide. As he went in for a fatal strike, she flickered, her swords were now crossed as if she’d just performed a X shaped cut.

Leems body started to fall away in four parts, but a quick flash of cyan recovered his body.

“Impressive,” he laughed, standing tall before her. “Join me, you’d make an amazing addition to my team.”

Mallogory stared back at him, then to me. A weird feeling passed through me as she looked at me.

“Hmm, tempting offer,” she said, but she flickered, sending his head flying away. “But nah!”

I smile, relief washing over me as I dash forward, sliding under him as he flashed back to normal.

He looked down between his legs, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Ever seen something like this before?” I asked as I flared all my blades and kicked him upward. He didn’t go that high, with him being so heavy, but he did lift a few feet into the air.

Flapping my wings hard, I flew up into him, and began to spin like a tornado. He yelled in shock as he was sucked into the vortex I was creating, getting shredded to nothing but a pink mist. He reformed over and over again, but was instantly turned to mist.

I kept it up, going faster and faster. This wasn’t killing him permanently, but that wasn’t the goal. The tornado of death I had become slowly moved to the left, carrying him with me as I kept him in a constant state of bloody mist.

Finally, I used the momentum I’d built to shoot out of the vortex I’d created and flew towards Mallogory, grabbing her and zooming straight up, all within the span of a second.

As we soared straight up, I heard Leem roar in anger behind us.

“Get back here!” he bellowed, his arms shooting up after us.

However this time, I was moving way to fast as we rocketed towards the docks above.

Once back at the docks, I saw Reinhardt, now wearing a poncho over her body, and Remi standing there.

“I thought you two were dead!” Reinhardt yelled as I let Mallogory down and landed beside her.

“Trust me, I did too for a moment down there,” I replied, covered in so much blood I was still dripping.

“Is he dead?” She asked hopefully, but slumped when I shook my head no.

“We have time to escape, but he’s still down there.” I gesture to the ship, “Are we ready?”

“About, we were waiting for you,” she said as Remi used a cloth to start wiping my face free of blood.

“Perfect, let’s get out of this hell hole!” I say as we quickly enter the ship's bay.

“Reinhardt, go tell the others to take off. I don’t care which direction, just get us moving,” I say as I point towards the bridge. “Remi, get back to engineering and help Moxxi.”

They both salute, which causes me to roll my eyes with a smile, and sprint off to perform their given task.

“I’m going to go get cleaned,” I say, waving for her to follow with my wing. “You should too, I got Leem’s blood all over you.”

She looks at her cloak and frowns, “I hope this overly fancy ship has a laundry room or something.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stepped out of the shower room, feeling refreshed after taking my first shower in like a week. I’d forgotten how amazing it felt to be clean!

Upon entering the main lobby of the shower rooms, I saw Mallogory drying off with a towel. She ruffled the short feathers that covered most of her upper body, shaking herself dry.

I couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing her without her clothes. “You look like a chicken.”

She snapped her head to me, eyeing me hard. But at my continued smile, she chuckled. “That’s kind of offensive, you know?”

“Is it?” I ask, drying my mane with the towel. “My bad.”

She rolled her eyes, wrapping her towel around herself.

“So, I have to know; what is that ability of yours?”

“It’s my Thorn,” she said, but when she noticed my raised eyebrow, she continued. “Now that’s hard to explain to someone not from my dimension. It’s basically like Ego, but doesn’t run on souls. That’s why I have this hole in my hand.”

She held up her clawed hand, a small glowing hole sat in the middle of her palm. “This is my stomata, the source of my powers.” She closed her fist, smirking to herself. “Now if you’re asking about my personal Thorn, then prepare to be impressed.”

I can’t help but chuckle at her actions as she got all dramatic.

“There are infinite alternate realities that run parallel with ours, and I’m able to swap physical places with anyone of my own alternate selves, and carry on with whatever action they were about to perform. All I gotta do is want to do a certain action and bam, I swap places.”

I blink at her, this ability seemed way too complicated. “So, you can travel between realities?”

She laughs in response, waving her hands, “No no, I wish that was the case. Would be so damn cool! All I do is swap physical places, not minds. I don’t go anywhere, I just take over whatever position and action they are performing.” Then she points at me, “which is why I’m still amazed you countered it. How’d you manage that?”

Shrugging, I lean back and cross my legs, “honestly, I had my suspicions that you could control time or something, so when I saw you flicker, I just reacted.”

“Wait, you can see me flicker?” She asked in shock. At my nod, she smiles widely, “that’s amazing! When I perform the action, it’s basically instant! Everyone else I’ve used it against don’t see anything! That flickering is the millisecond between me swapping places.”

Well, now that just raises a few questions about myself doesn’t it?

“That flicker gave me time to react,” I confess. “If you had real training, you’d be a terrifying opponent.”

“Like I’ve said, don’t need training when most opponents die before they even realize I moved,” she said with a cocky smile.

“Till you meet someone like Leem,” I counter, causing her cocky smile to waver. I looked her over, working my jaw as I thought about something. “If you want, I can train you a bit, when we have the time.”

She looked to be about to decline, but she leaned back, a grin appearing on her face. “Sure, I’m down.”

With a grunt, I pushed myself up and walked over, holding a hoof out to her. “Then we should make this official, even though we already know each other’s names.” She reached out and gripped my hoof as I began to shake her hand. “Names Scamp.”

“Mallogory,” she said with a little laugh, obviously thinking this was ridiculous. “Thank you, for you know, saving me. Twice.”

I beam a smile back at her as I stare into her eyes with my eye, “that’s what friends are for.”

“Friends,” she coos back.

“Friends,” I repeat, feeling a bit warm and fuzzy as we shook one last time and broke the handshake.

Things become serious

Chapter 26

I sat back in the captain's chair as I returned from the showers, looking out the window at the other end of the bridge at the landscape flying by. My friends were messing with their stations, still getting familiar with them.

As I watched them work, I finally took the time to go over myself. Now that we were far from the Dome, I could finally interact with my pocket dimension. Upon opening it and shifting through the contents with my hoof, I bumped a certain object. Pulling it out, my eyes widened.

A beacon from Omnius.

A smile touched my lips as I could have him help me regroup with the others. It was about time I got back to Bronwyn and Lance.

But before messing with the device, I saw another strange item within my pocket dimension. Something I don’t remember putting in there. Taking it out, I saw it was some kind of rune with a music note on it.

“Huh,” I said, raising an eyebrow, trying to remember where it came from.

Oh! It’s something from Bronwyn, I remember seeing her give one to Lance so she could keep track of him. I just don’t remember her giving me one. Must have slipped it in when I wasn’t paying attention.

Going back to the beacon, I turned it over and opened the little panel, which revealed the communications part of the device.

I know he said restrict how often I contact him, due to the Watcher. But I think this counts as an emergency.

Flipping two switches and holding down the mic button, I hold it to my mouth, “Come in, Omnius. Do you copy?”

Nothing came back.

“Omnius, do you copy? This is Scamp, I need your help.”

Again, nothing came back. Not even static, which might be normal with this advanced form of communication.

I waited a moment, all of my friends looking up from their stations.

I frowned as I hit the mic again, “Omnius, come in. This is Scamp, I repeat, this is Scamp. I require your assistance. Please, come in.”

Releasing the button, a sense of dread fell over me, as I thought he’d respond faster than this.

“Hello, Scamp,” came a voice that was definitely not Omnius’s, a voice that made me stiff in my seat.

No response came from me as I stared straight out the window ahead. My friends took notice of my reaction, worried looks staring up at me.

“Cat got your tongue?” the voice asked with a light chuckle.

“Where is Omnius, Lorenzo,” I say in a dark tone.

“You know the answer to that,” he replied in a cheerful tone. “So, you escaped the Dome of Doom? Color me surprised.”

“What of the others?” I asked, ignoring his false praise.

He made a clicking sound before replying, “I killed one little guy, but I can’t seem to find the others. You wouldn’t happen to know where they could be, hm?”

I did not respond, just leaned further back in my chair, a blank stare on my face.

“Scamp,” Mallogory asked from her seat. “How bad is this?”

“Bad,” Beans said to me. “From what she’s told us, this Lorenzo fellow is one of the main people she’s fighting against.”

“And it sounds like he’s achieved a massive victory,” Reinhardt said, getting a few glares from the others. “What? I speak only the hard truth.”

With a sigh, I hit the mic, “You’ve made a mistake, Lorenzo.” He laughed in response as I continued, “I do not care what it takes, or what it costs me, I will kill you.”

“Love the resolve!” he sang back, clearly enjoying himself. “But I’m afraid it won’t go as you plan. Omnius here was the only one among you that posed any kind of threat to myself or my partners. With him gone, I’m just not seeing any happy outcome for you.”

I put the device down, done speaking with him.

“To bad for the kids,” he suddenly said, causing my head to snap to the device.

Snatching it back up, I hit the mic, “What the fuck are you on about?”

“Your friends kids,” he said in a caring voice. “I wonder what the Watcher plans to do with all of them once you all are dead.”

“The Watcher has the kids?” I asked, pressing him to give away more information.

“Oh yes. All the little snot nosed brats. Baby horses have always looked so ugly to me though, so I don’t see the appeal of wanting to parent them.”

“Why does he have them?” I pressed, my good eye twitching.

He clicked his tongue, “I see, wanting all the details? Well, my little Scamp, its simple; you and your friends will do anything for those kids. So, give up, and I’ll personally make sure they are safe.”

I flicked the device off, not even going to entertain his false promise.

“What’s the plan?” Reinhardt asked, everyone looking to me for our next move.

Frowning, I shake my head. “Honestly, you all don’t need to follow me any more. Drop me at the next teleport station, and then you can do what ever you want.”

“We’ve been over this,” Drake said from the pilots seat, flipping his hair. “You’re stuck with us.”

“You helped us in the Dome, and helped us escape it,” Beans said, clicking happily, “If you think we’ll abandon you, then you’re crazy.”

A smile appeared on my worn, damaged face, “I don’t deserve this guys, but thank you.”

“So, our plan?” Reinhardt asked again.

Looking at her, trying not to laugh at her new skirt and poncho set up, I nod, “Alright then, if you’re all in, then let's do this. Beans.”

He looked at me expectantly.

Holding up the device, I look at him, “This is a beacon that allows me to speak to Omnius dimension and teleport to and from his dimension. There is another attached to it that is owned by my friend Lance. I want you to try and figure out how to get in contact with Lance’s device. Is that possible?”

He stood and strolled across the bridge to me, taking the device. “I would say it’s possible. I can probably even get it to teleport us to him if this works the way I think it does.”

“Perfect,” I say with a smile. As he returned to his seat, I turned to Drake, “How far till the next teleport station?”

With a dramatic sigh, he turned to me, hands still on the flight controls. “My map is limited, you need someone on the navigation panel to know that kind of info.”

“On it,” Reinhardt said as she moved to the last station, looking it over. “Uh… no idea what any of this does.”

“Take some time to figure it out,” I say to her, getting a thumbs up in response.

I reached over to a mic next to me and spoke into it. “Moxxi, any problems down there I should know about?”

It took a few moments before she responded, sounding a bit winded, “Nope, we’re all good, Captain Scamp.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “Keep me updated.”

“Can do!”

“Mallogory, how’s the ship as a whole looking?” I asked as I put away the mic.

She smiled up at me as she turned to the screen before her, “Looking good as far as I can tell!”

“Then all we can do is wait for Beans to figure out a solution,” I say as everyone continues to work at their stations.

All I could do was sit there and think, not happy with the information that’d just been revealed to me.

“Oh, we’re being hailed,” Beans said suddenly, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

“From who?”

He clicks as he reads the information before him, “We’re being hailed by a ship called ‘Be eating you’.”

“Well, I wonder who that could be,” I say with a grimace. “Screw it, put 'em up.”

After clicking a few buttons, the voice of Leem filled the bridge.

“You ingrates, I spare you and allow you to fight in my Dome, and this is how you repay me?! By humiliating me?!” he roared over the radio.

“Boohoo,” I say, getting a few snickers from my friends. “Want to cry more about it, Leem?”

He remained silent for a moment, the sound of something breaking could be heard over the feed. “You laugh now, but I’ve been going easy on you. Toying with you. I promise, when you see me next I’m going to be serious. No more games.”

“Leem, we will not be seeing each other anytime soon,” I reply, looking at Beans who gives me a nod, tapping the device with a mandible.

“Look behind you, horse,” he said in a voice dripping in snark.

My eyes widened as I looked at Reinhardt, who still was looking over the panels before her.

When she saw me looking at her, she threw her hands up. “I’m a warrior! Not a nerd! I don’t know any of this tech shit!”

“Drake?” I ask, hoping he could see anything on his map.

He glanced down and sat up straight, “So, two ships are slowly catching up it seems.”

“Wonderful,” I mumble, leaning back as Leem just started laughing maniacally over the radio. “Cut him off.”

Beans hit a few buttons and turned off the feed, silencing the psycho lizard.

“How long till they’re on us?” I ask, not sure what we can do against them if they actually have weapons. Which I know they will.

“Eh,” Drake groaned. “I’m pretty sure they’re already in range for weapons.”

“Well, they’re not shooting at us yet,” Mallogory said just as the land ahead of us exploded as a shell flew past us, followed by a beam of energy.

“Bad timing,” I groan as I grab the seat arms. “Drake, maneuver like your life depends on it!”

He yanked the ship to the left hard, jolting all of us. “This thing handles terribly!”

“Just keep us alive!” I call him as I grab the mic next to me. “Moxxi, Remi! We’re under attack, prepare for a lot of jerking around!”

“Could have warned us before that first one!” she yelled back.

“Alert me of any damage,” I yell back as we jerk around roughly, beams and shells flying past us in all directions.

“Beans, focus on teleporting us to Lance’s device!” I yell, getting a few clicks in response as he held on to this console, working fast.

“This ship does not like moving like this!” Mallogory yelled as her screen flashes yellow in a few places.

“Keep it up,” I commanded Drake, not liking how close some of those attacks were getting.

The ship groaned loudly as we rolled to the right, rolling over and over again violently.

“DRAKE!” I yelled, the ship seeming to scream for us to stop.

“I have to!” he screamed back, panic clear in his voice.

“FUCK!” Reinhardt yelped as she lost her grip and slammed into the wall on the other side of the bridge.

Not wanting her to get hurt, or hurt anyone else, I jumped from my seat, using my wings to fly to her and catch her mid flip. She was extremely heavy, but I held tight as the ship continued to spin around us.

Finally Drake stopped rolling the ship, allowing me to drop Reinhardt back in her station.

“You’re a lifesaver, Scamp!” She said, looking slightly paler than normal. I gave her a salute as I flew back to my seat.

Flipping a switch brought up a camera feed showing the exterior of the ship. The air around us was filled with projectiles and beams, it was amazing we hadn’t been hit yet.

“Status?” I asked as we tipped back and shot straight into the sky.

“The ship is failing, that’s all I can tell!” Mallogory yelled back, her screen now more red and yellow than it should be.

“Beans?!” I asked in a panic.

“Maybe,” was his only response, looking focused.

The entire ship suddenly shook violently as massive explosion was heard.

“We’re hit!” Mallogory yelled in panic.

“Scamp! The engines are fucked down here! We’ve lost all but two!” Moxxi yelled over the radio.

The ship began to slow tremendously. And if we slowed down, we’d lose maneuverability, and if we lost that, then we’re dead.

“I got it!” Beans cheered. “Sending teleportation requests now! All he has to do is hit accept!”

“Thank all that is good!” I yelled as a second explosion rocked the ship.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jero smiled as he watched Grace and Octavia hug as they were reunited, crying into each other as they did so. Adry stood there watching as well, looking relieved to finally be freed from her cage.

Lance sighed as he marked this location off of his list.

“We’ll find Twilight,” Jero reassured him, knowing exactly what was wrong.

“I know,” he replied, looking at the hugging couple. Then to Adry, he wasn’t sure if he should tell her or wait for Scamp to return.

Jero looked to where he was looking and patted his shoulder, “We should hold off on that till Scamp is here, let her decide.”

“Good idea,” Lance said, relaxing a bit.

“On the bright side, the next set of coordinates aren’t that far away,” Jero said as he looked at his list.

“Lance, a question,” Rarity, who they’d just recently found, said as she stepped up to them. “I know you told me you’d tell me later, but any chance of us finding Peter or my son anytime soon?”

Lance and Jero looked at each other, a pained look on their faces. They’d talked about telling everyone that Shining Armor, Frederic, and Peter were dead, but they’d decided they should wait till after all this to keep everyone focused.

“Rarity, we’re looking, I promise. We’ll find your son, but we haven’t found any of our kids yet. So my best hope is they’re not even here.”

“Oh I do so hope little Jasper isn’t here, this place is dreadful! And of Peter? Any sign?” she asked hopefully, giving them puppy dog eyes.

“Not yet,” was all Lance could say.

Jero took over and smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry, Rarity, we’re on this.”

“Thank you, you two, I know you won’t let anything happen to him,” she said, giving him a hug, then Lance. She then walked towards Adry.

“Oh Adry darling! You look so good for a pony coming out of a cage!”

Adry just laughed, messing with her messy mane, “Oh I try my best, Rare! But this place! Just WOW! I wish we were here under better circumstances! A whole endless circus amusement park!”

“I know right?!” Pinkie said as she hopped up and hugged Adry. “We should totally vacation here after this all blows over!”

Lance smiled at the sight, happy to be seeing everyone again.

Then his beacon began to buzz.

“What the?” he said as he pulled it out and held it in front of himself.

“Well, I can say this time I’m not expecting anyone,” Jero said in puzzlement.

“Should we ignore it?” Lance asked, unsure of what to do.

Jero thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, Scamp’s still out there, and she may try to reach us this way. Omnius said that the two beacons were connected, but he told me you guys should avoid teleporting to each other due to it possibly attracting the attention of the Watcher. But I guess that’s redundant at this point.”

“So accept it?” Lance asked, getting a nod from Jero.

He grinned as he clicked the button and tossed it to the ground.

It beeped a few times as it flashed, causing everyone in the area to stop and look on in shock.

“So you’re the new Traveler?” Lorenzo asked, tipping his tricorn hat at a stunned Jero.

“Lorenzo?!” Lance yelped, shifting into his Apollyon form instantly.

“Good to meet you in the flesh, Lance,” Lorenzo said, nodding to him. “But I’m sorry to say, I’m not here to play around. I need you to come with me, whole or missing limbs.”

“He’s not going anywhere!” Grace roared as she soared towards him from behind.

Without taking his eyes off Lance, a portal opened behind his back, slowly drawing his sword. Grace flew into the portal, unable to stop herself, and suddenly appeared in front of him.

Four quick flashes were seen as she hit the ground, looking confused.

Everyone let out cries of horror as she fell apart, Octavia being the loudest.

“As I said, no more games,” Lorenzo said simply as his Ego flared.

Behind them, not noticed by anyone, the little beacon began to buzz again.

A hopeless battle

Chapter 27

I almost fell out of my chair as the ship rocked with the second explosion, our speed decreasing further.

“That hit our side! Living quarters are gone!” Mallogory yelled out as she watched her screen.

“I guess it’s a good thing we’re up here then!” Reinhardt called back over the groaning of the ship's hull.

The only good thing we had going was any second now Lance would hit the accept, and we’d be pulled out of this mess!

Except, as the ship continued to pitch and roll as Drake struggled to keep us alive, my hope for a fast rescue wanned.

Two more explosions rocked the ship.

“That’s it!” Drake yelled as we came to a stop. “Engines gone, we’re dead in the freaking water!”

“Moxxi?!” I yelled into the mic, getting nothing but coughs and wheezes as a response. “Moxxi?! Remi?!” but no further response came.

“That last one hit the engines directly,” Mallogory said grimly. “The gravity field is still active, so we’re not going to fall to the ground below, but we’re not going anywhere.”

I slammed my hooves into my face, waiting for us to be blasted out of the air at any second.

“They stopped firing,” Reinhardt said as she looked out the window.

“They have?” I asked as I ran over, looking out and seeing two fairly large warships not that far away from us, their broadsides facing us but no longer firing.

“But why? They can easily kill us now,” Drake said as he unbuckled himself from the pilots seat.

I looked at the two ships, working my jaw. “They’re going to board us.”

“Good, that’s the kind of fighting I’m able to do,” Reinhardt said, leaning on her greatsword.

The doors to the bridge burst open and Remi slithered in, Moxxi in her arms.

“You’re alive!” I yelled, rushing over to them as she layed Moxxi down. Moxxi coughed violently, bloody and bruised.

“Sorry, Scamp, I couldn’t get the engines working again,” she wheezed.

I couldn’t help but laugh lightly as I patted her shoulder, “You did good, Mox.” I then looked to Remi, “Get her to Doc, now!”

She gave a nod and scooped the little goblin up, rushing out of the bridge.

“Now, will it just be Leem? Or a whole boarding party?” Reinhardt asked aloud, looking ready to fight.

Drake leaned against the window, looking up at the ships. “If I had to wager, I’d say his whole crew. He said he wasn’t playing around anymore after all.”

“We’ll handle them,” I said, looking at my friends. “Beans and Drake, go to Doc and wait. We’ll handle the boarding party.”

Beans gave a nod, hitting a few buttons on the consol before leaving and rushing past us.

Drake did not move as he looked out the window again. “I think they shot something at us.”

“What?” I asked, starting to walk over to him.

Then his eyes widened, “Oh shi-”

The window in front of him exploded violently as Leem blew through it. He crashed through a few stations and panels, landing in the middle of the bridge, covered in gore.

My eyes widened as I realized Drake was no longer there. My eyes traced the walls and blood trail to Leem, the realization causing a pit to form in my stomach.

I’d lost another friend.

“This ends here!” Leem roared, wielding nothing but his fist.

I shook slightly, either from the sight of Leem or the loss of Drake, but a cold calm soon took over.

Eyeing the sheathing Lizard with hatred, the three of us squared up with him yet again.

“Careful,” Mallogory warned, feeling the same dread we all were.

Leem didn’t wait for us, he charged straight for us, plowing through anything in his path. As he reached us, I spun forward violently, shredding his legs out from under him. But as soon as I cut through them, they reappeared, and did not even slow him as he continued towards the other two.

Reinhardt dodged right, swinging her sword at him. It cleaved through his torso, but he continued forward and slammed into her, sending her flying into the wall. He spun around, ignoring the blades ripping into him, and grabbed at Mallogory.

She flickered, causing him to miss her as she flickered like mad; removing limbs and heads like crazy. But he was in overhaul mode or something as any damage was recovered immediately.

I came in from the left, attaching my Ego to him and slicing through his neck, trying to get his attention away from Mallogory.

And it worked as three hands shot out of his back and grabbed me, one on my midsection, prosthetic, and back right leg.

He roared furiously as he ripped his hands away from himself, taking my prosthetic and back right leg with them. Despite myself, I let out a scream of pain as I was sent flying into the captain's chair, now missing my prosthetic and leg.

Reinhardt was on him in an instant, slicing and pushing, trying to push him towards the shattered window. But he just spun around on her and grabbed her by the neck.

She turned to liquid again, getting out of his grip easily.

Mallogory flickered as she appeared in the air, kicking him hard towards the window. He stumbled a bit, but grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground, golden yellow blood splattering out of her mouth as she gasped. He then threw her hard into the ceiling and turned, snapping forwards with his mouth and catching Reinhardt as she reformed.

She let out a pained grunt as he chomped down on her left arm, then yanked hard as he removed it at the elbow.

Before he could do any more damage, I slammed into him, ripping into his neck with my own teeth, my two remaining hooves and wing blades shredding his body as I flapped and pushed hard, aiming for the window.

A hand came out and knocked me back as he snapped forward, mouth going for my neck.

A pair of blades penetrated through his skull as Mallogory came to my rescue, barely making it in time. The hand holding my throat extended fast, slamming me into a wall as he roared in anger.

As he slammed a fist towards her, she flickered, dodging it. But she didn’t dodge the second one that suddenly blew through her stomach, coming out her back. Her eyes went wide as his head struck forward like a snake, removing her entire left arm at the shoulder.

“No!” I screamed, slicing the hand holding me and rocketed back towards him. Reinhardt grabbed him with her remaining arm and bellowed as she tried to lift him. Two arms shot from his back and penetrated out her back, one through her chest and the other through her gut.

That’s when I slammed into him, with everything I had. My impact helped Reinhardt finish her surplex, and she flung him over herself. Both he and I went out the window.

He tried to grab for the ship, but I did everything I could to slice away at his arms and appendages as he tried to stop from falling. Instead, he grabbed hold of me, taking me with him.

Ayla appeared next to me as we fell, looking sad as she held out her hoof to me. I grimaced, not wanting to, I REALLY did not want to.

But, I did. I grabbed her hoof.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I’m back!” I yelled in glee as I saw I had my full body. “FUCK YES!”

Ego flared from my body, turning all of Leem’s limbs into a pink mist. I soared straight at him and sent a force field into him, sending him flying away violently.

He didn’t relent as he grabbed the ship and used his momentum to swing right back at me. He slammed into my Ego tendrils as I grabbed every inch of him, squeezing hard as I entered his body and began to attack every inch of him.

Leem roared, and to my surprise, broke out of my Ego and pulled himself into me. He grabbed an antler and bit into my snout. Two tendrils saved me from losing my face as I held his jaws open.

Throwing him back, I had a realization. I’ve seen how Scamp fights this monster, and nothing works. But what if…

As he came back, my body flared as I prepared a spell.

When he reached me, I slammed forward, butting heads with him. My spell flashed right then.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“What is this?!” Leem roared as we stood in a white void.

“Your mind,” I say with a smirk. “And boy is it empty!”

He rushed towards me, but I appeared behind him. “Good luck with that here. This might be your mind, but this is my domain!”

With a snarl, he wheeled on me and charged again. Instead of dodging, I just raised my hoof and pointed it at him.

“Enough!” I slammed my hoof down, causing him to fall to the ground, unable to move as if something was holding him down. “Better.”

With a wave of my wing, a console appeared before us.

“What is that?!” He yelled in anger, still fighting.

“Your memory bank,” I said as I ran a wing over it. “All of your memories are stored here, very delicate stuff.”

A second lizard appeared, similar to Leem. I just did the same thing to him.

“You and your Ego weapon get to watch you lose yourself.”

I smiled as I remembered something that happened to Lance in his book. If that worked on him, then it should work here. I don’t know if it’ll be permanent, but it doesn’t matter.

Without a word, I began to smash the large console, not stopping till it was nothing but rubble.

Leem and his Ego weapon screamed in agony. I wanted to stay and watch, but reluctantly, I pulled myself out of his mind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I watched as a tame and confused Leem fell away, giving him a little wave as he disappeared into the clouds below.

Flying back to the ship, I landed in the destroyed window, seeing Scamp’s friends laying there, unmoving.

Before I could say anything, I felt that little asshole forcing me away. But I just got out!

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a grunt, I hit the ground after unfusing, shaking in both fear and pain. Leem may be gone for now, but he did so much damage to us!

Unable to stand, I pulled myself to Reinhardt, checking on her. She grimaced in pain, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Get him?” she asked painfully.

“I got him,” I replied, getting a weak smile from her.

“Good, fuck ‘em,” she coughed, the two holes in her body, and missing arm, draining a lot of blood. She winked at me, and turned to liquid.

I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but I don’t have time to think on it.

Frantically, I pulled myself over to Mallogory, horrified she wasn’t moving.

A trail of blood followed me as I got to her and raised her cloak, examining her wound. It was bad.

“DOC!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, praying someone heard me.

Using my wings, I tried to stop the bleeding on her left shoulder where her arm use to be. I wasn’t enough to save her, not like this!

“DOC!” I screamed again, thankful when I heard something large running my way.

I looked up as he burst into the room, eyes wide in horror at the sight.

“Please!” I yelled in a hoarse voice, not liking the amount of blood pouring out of her wounds.

“Scamp, we need to-”

“Save her!” I yelled, nodding to Mallogory. “Then Reinhardt, then me! That’s a fucking order!”

He flinched then ran to Mallogory, his hands glowing.

I coughed, realizing something was broken inside me, and then fell backwards, darkness taking me.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You fucker!” Lance roared as he jumped forward, a card flashing beside him.

Lorenzo jumped back as the air where he’d been standing sucked inward and exploded. Lance blew through the smoke and slammed a hoof into Lorenzo, who blocked it with his sword. Thanks to his Ego gauntlets, he was not wounded and instead sent the suave man flying backwards.

But a portal opened behind him and he reappeared beside Lance, slamming the hilt of his sword into the side of Lance’s face. This hit had more power behind it than it should as Lance was sent straight into the ground and left a crater the size of his body.

Jero engaged with Lorenzo, swinging his blade wildly, as he had no training.

“This is the new Traveler? Hero of Good?” Lorenzo laughed. “It’s almost a pity to kill you right now.”

A vine wrapped around his neck and yanked him down hard, more vines wrapping around him.

“How annoying!” He coughed as he suddenly cut his way out of the vines and spun towards Vinetion’s surprised face.

But Lance appeared between them, deflecting the blade as a card flashed. A massive beam of energy shot out of his mouth, catching Lorenzo off guard. As the beam subsided, he stood there, clothes shredded and burned, but he remained standing.

“Whew, if that’d had just a tad more Ego to it, I’d be gone!” He laughed, slamming his fist into a portal and smashing Lance in the top of the head again. “Stay down! I need you alive.”

“No,” Lance replied simply as he stayed up and flew into Lorenzo, pounding away at his defense with his hooves.

His eyes went wide as he dodged back as a bullet flew past the space his head had just been.

He looked to Calypso as she fired again, this time he deflected it with his sword. With a twirl, he stabbed his blade into a portal, the tip coming out beside her head.

But a glyph appeared, blocking the attack.

“This asshole,” Greg growled as he joined the fight. He nodded to Lance as he hit two more glyphs, causing a box to appear around Lorenzo.

Lance flashed another card, a large cyan sword made of Ego appeared above him, with a twist of his body, the blade cut through the box.

With a yell of annoyance, Lorenzo had blocked the attack with his sword, sliding along the ground with the force of the hit.

Greg jumped forward, dancing around as he kicked glyphs all around his body.

All kinds of attacks began to hit Lorenzo as he blocked most, but a few got through. A spear of energy pierced his gut, but he just kept fighting.

Vines grabbed his legs, holding him in place as Lance flew forward, tackling him to the ground. He began to wail on the man, the ground around them cracking and exploding from his rage filled hits. A portal opened in front of Lorenzo’s face, causing Lance’s own fist to slam into his face.

This sent him flying as Lorenzo twisted to his feet and sprinted towards Jero, determined to at least kill him.

Jero’s eyes went wide, not sure how to defend himself here. But as he was seconds from death, a loud explosion was heard as Rainbow Dash slammed into Lorenzo’s side, sending him rag dolling across the ground.

“Nice!” Greg yelled to the rainbow colored mare as she flew high into the sky again. Greg twisted and kicked a glyph, causing a massive amount of lava to pour out of a glyph and fall towards the downed Lorenzo.

But he wasn’t done yet as he rolled into a portal and appeared next to Greg, blade already at his throat. “Everyone stop! Or I kill this idiot!”

Everyone stopped moving. That is, except Lance as he suddenly appeared next to them, his back leg slamming into the man's head, sending him rocketing away again.

“Jesus, thanks Lance!” Greg said, pale as a ghost after almost losing his head.

Lance only nodded as he took off after Lorenzo.

“Okay,” Lorenzo said as he stood up. “I’m throwing out the ‘don’t kill these ones’ order. I’m killing you all!”

As Lance neared, his eyes went wide as he saw the blade flash towards him. He stopped and spun to the right, but the blade sliced through his right wing, causing him to slam into the ground.

“Lance!” Greg yelled as he teleported next to Lance and punched a glyph, sending a shower of spears towards Lorenzo.

The man just stared at them, eyes ablaze. He looked like a completely different person now.

A portal appeared before him, catching all the spears and sending them towards every single person around him.

Screams were heard as everyone not paying attention was impaled with a spear.

Greg’s eyes went wide as he saw his wife take a spear to the flank.

Lance roared as he shot back up and cards began to flash all around him.

A beam of energy shot at him, but Lorenzo redirected it towards Rainbow Dash, who barely dodged the sudden attack.

Anything that came at him, he just sent towards one of their friends.

Drax was hit with a massive wave of energy, almost killing him instantly.

“Lance, we need to focus!” Greg said, his eyes unable to stop darting to his screaming lover.

“FUCK HIM!” Lance bellowed, not wanting to let up.

Lorenzo sidestepped into a portal and appeared behind two others.

“NO!” Jero screamed as he ran towards them, not caring he didn’t know how to fight or use his powers.

Vinetion spun around and kicked Octavia away as Lorenzo sliced the air where they’d both been standing. She stumbled back, eyes wide as she felt her neck open.

Lorenzo blocked a bullet from Calypso as he pushed his attack, finishing off the large green mare.

“Vine!” Octavia yelled from the ground. Without a look, Lorenzo sliced a portal in front of himself, silencing the gray mare.

Lance slammed into him, but his attack was blocked by the man's sword as he sidestepped. He jammed his sword into Lance’s side, and with a twist, forced him out of his Apollyon form. With a crash, Lance slammed into a table and flew over it.

Greg began to punch for a glyph, but Lorenzo’s blade swiped the air suddenly between him and his glyph. Looking at the man, he saw his wide, insane eyes staring back at him.

He growled in anger at the man as Jero stepped up to his side.

“What do we do?” he asked as Greg stomped a hoof in anger.

“Fuck, I don’t know,” Greg admitted, not taking his eyes off the man.

Lorenzo cocked his head, his bare chest showing through his destroyed clothes, “All you had to do was surrender the striped horse. That’s all you had to do.”

With a flick of his hoof, Greg hit a glyph, causing the ground below Lorenzo to open up. But the man countered with a portal of his own and landed behind Rarity.

The mare screamed in horror, but as he went for an attack, Rainbow Dash swept by, snatching up Rarity at the last possible second.

“Annoying,” he said as he pointed and went to open a portal, but nothing happened.

“Gotcha,” Lance gasped, using a card to shut off his Ego temporarily. Lance grabbed the man from behind, putting him in a full nelson. “GREG! NOW!”

Greg looked unsure of himself, but gave a nod as he jumped forward, almost dancing as he punched many different glyphs, causing his horn to glow brighter and brighter.

“Special FUCK YOU Cannon!” Greg screamed as he landed on all fours, horn pointed at Lance and Lorenzo.

“Hey, no no no!” Lorenzo yelled in a panic as a small, powerful beam shot from Greg’s horn and flew towards them. “STOP!”

The beam penetrated his chest, and out Lance’s back.

Lorenzo’s already wide eyes went even wider as he fell forward, with Lance falling behind him.

“Oh shit, Lance!” Jero yelled as he rushed towards them.

But Lorenzo wasn’t dead. He rolled, slapped the ground as a portal appeared, and slithered in like a wounded snake. But he did not reappear anywhere near them.

“Calypso!” Greg yelled. The white mare was already running forward, her Ego reaching out and latching on to everyone. She pulled it from the ones she knew were already gone.

Greg slid up next to Pinkie, holding her close as she cried into his chest.

Lance, with Calypso’s ego attached, began to cry. Deep, heavy sobs as he rolled over, having trouble breathing as he looked at his dead friends.

Drax cried out in pain as he was healed slowly, his burned flesh slowly healing back to normal.

“What was that guy?!” Calypso asked as she tended to Pinkie’s wound herself, her Ego already working its magic on everyone.

“A goddamn monster,” Jero said, falling to his ass, looking at his hands in shock.

Rainbow Dash landed, placing Rarity down. She then saw the little beacon beeping, cocking her head at it.

Crash landing

Chapter 28

“There you go,” came Doc’s voice as I slowly came too, the pain in my body reduced by a wide margin. I at least felt not as broken on the inside.

“Mallogory?” I asked as I sat up. “Reinhardt?”

“Alive,” Doc said with a nod.

“How long was I out?” I looked around, seeing nothing had changed.

“Barely a few minutes,” he said, working on Reinhard’s gut wound, his glowing hands working their magic.

With a grunt, I sat up and raised off the ground using my wings. I fluttered over to the window and looked out the hole, seeing the two ships still there.

“It’s only a matter of time before they make a move,” I started, frowning. “Once they realize Leem’s not on the ship, they’ll probably open up on us again.”

“We need to get off the ship then,” Doc said as Remi ran into the room carrying more medical supplies for him.

Looking over at the blinking device connected to the ship, I frowned. If we leave, we’ll miss the teleport. Then we’ll be stuck here, wherever here is. “We’ll need to figure something out, because we can’t leave the ship.”

“Then I guess we wait for them to just shoot us down,” Reinhardt said, watching her wounds slowly close.

Mallogory groaned as she came too and sat, checking her stomach for the now healed over wound. “Well, that’s a neat trick.” Then she noticed she no longer had a left arm. “Ah, that sucks.”

“Welcome back,” I say to her with a nod.

She blinked at me, looking around, “Wait, you killed Leem?”

“No,” I admitted, pointing over my shoulder out the window. “I took his memory and threw him overboard. So we shouldn’t have to worry about him for a while, I hope.”

“Brutal,” she said with a nod of approval. Then smirked at me, “Lost another leg?”

“Lost an arm?” I retorted, chuckling.

“Alright love birds,” Reinhardt interrupted, groaning as she stood up. “We need to focus here. What’s the plan?”

I cleared my throat and looked out the window again, the two ships still sitting there among the clouds. “We have two options as I see it; take the fight to them, or make peace.”

“Make peace?” Reinhardt said with a touch of disgust.

“At least for now, long enough to get out of this mess,” I reply, staring at her. “We’ll have a vote.”

“Ah, I knew democracy would rear its head eventually,” Beans said with a few clicks, laughing. “I’m for peace.”

Moxxi walked onto the bridge, looking a bit better than the last time I saw her. “I vote for peace. I don’t feel like getting shot out of the sky today.”

“Kill em,” Reinhardt crossed her arms, huffing.

Remi held up her board. ‘Fight.’

“Peace,” Doc said, his white fur covered in our blood.

“I say,” Mallogory began, looking conflicted as she looked at her arm, then me. “Fight.”

I nod, seeing the votes were tied. “I guess it's up to me.”

Looking between my friends, all of them looking to me for the final decision. I called for a vote because I did not want to make this particular decision.

“Peace,” I finally said, eye closed as I heard a mixture of relief and disappointment. “I will not risk your lives further, this is final.”

With a sour look, I flew over to the communications station and opened up a link to the warship that’d hailed us earlier.

“Come in, this is the Bountiful Wealth, hailing the lead warship on our port side,” I said into the mic, nervousness taking me over.

“What?!” a voice yelled into the mic. “Where’s Leem!?”

I looked back at my friends, sighing, “He’s no longer with us.”

“Lies,” the voice said in anger. “Leem is the undying! You have thirty seconds to put him on, or we’re blowing you out of the sky!”

“So much for peace,” Reinhardt huffed, clearly unhappy.

Shit! I kicked the console before me and turned to my friends. “Okay, we need-”

The ship shook hard as two explosions were heard. The ship began to groan as the gravity field seemed to start to fail.

“The lying bastards!” Mallogory yelled as she grabbed a chair as the ship was rocked with another explosion.

“You expected them to be honest?!” Reinhardt yelled as everyone ran to a chair and jumped into it, buckling in.

“Calm down and prepare for a crash landing!” I bellowed as I jumped down into the pilots chair. The engines may be gone, but the controls should still control the fins and turning thrusters. The best we could do now was hit the ground with the belly of the ship.

“This is how I fucking die?!” Reinhardt yelled in anger.

The ship seemed to scream as it was hit with another shell, causing the gravity field to completely fail.

“Here we go,” Mallogory sighed, tightening her straps.

We began to fall, slow at first, but quickly it picked up speed as we plummeted through the clouds. Falling straight down, a death sentence for us.

“At this angle, we will for sure die on impact,” Beans called out calmly, despite the situation.

“Thank you, Beans!” I yelled, racking my brain for a solution.

“Mallo! How are our turning thrusters and engines!” Moxxi suddenly called out.

Mallogory turned to the screen and frantically looked it over. “Uh, thrusters are good. Eh, engines are still gone.”

“What about power to engines?” she asked as we broke through the clouds, the ground far below us but fast approaching.

Looking over her screen, she punched it in anger as she couldn’t find what she was looking for. “I don’t know!”

“Okay, we’ll assume they’re still getting power!” Moxxi yelled in a panic. “Scamp, push all ship power to the engines and overload the thrusters!”

I blinked over at her, but she waved me on, “Do it! It’ll blow the engines and thrusters all at once, which should send us flying forward so we can try and control our fall!”

“Moxxi you’re amazing!” I began to divert the power and prepare the thrusters. Slamming my hoof down, the power flickered as we all heard the engines roar to life below us. Then they exploded, followed by the rear thrusters also blowing.

Just as she said, we shot forward roughly, picking up more speed than when we were free falling.

Pulling hard, I used my wings and hoof to try and pull the front of the ship up.

“Oh this is going to hurt,” Beans said as he hunkered down in his chair, pulling in all his legs.

My eye strained as I stared out the window, watching the ground quickly approaching.

Then as a loud groan was heard, a bright flash blinded me.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Do not touch that,” Calypso yelled as she saw Rainbow Dash reach out for the beacon.

“But,” Rainbow Dash started, but sighed as she backed away from it.

Jero stood up slowly, looking out over his hurt friends and the innocent bystanders who’d got caught up in the fighting. Most of the park goers who had been hurt were hit with attacks redirected by Lorenzo. Calypso was sending her Ego to everyone, not caring if they were part of the group or not.

Lance was punching the ground, cursing as he reeled in his sobbing. Greg was still holding and soothing Pinkie Pie, looking very forlorn as he stared blankly ahead. Drax however was looking better, his wounds healing back to normal.

With a frown, he walked over to the beacon and lifted it, not sure if he should destroy it or accept the teleportation request.

After being tricked by Lorenzo appearing, he wasn’t sure he wanted any more surprises.

He looked over to his three dead friends, tears finally touching his eyes as it all started to hit him all at once. But instead of crying or feeling sorry for himself, he tightened his grip on his Traveler’s blade and turned to his friends.

“Listen up!” He yelled, catching them all off guard. “We need to gather ourselves and get out of here. Lorenzo and the Watcher know where we are now and we have no ace’s up our sleeves anymore.”

“What about them?” Rarity asked meekly, trying not to look at the bodies of their friends.

“I’ll handle that,” Jero said in a calm voice. “But we need to go, now.”

“Throw away that device first!” Adry yelled from her hiding spot behind a few tables. “It only brings death!”

Jero looked at the beacon and sighed. “We have a choice, ignore this, or press it. It could be Scamp, or it could be another bad guy.”

“We’re not voting,” Lance said as he drug himself to his hooves, stomping over and snatching the device from Jero with his remaining wing. “It could be Scamp, but I can not risk anymore of you. We’re not allowing the teleportation request.”

“Who’s Scamp?” Adry asked as she came out of her hiding spot slowly.

Lance looked at her, thinking if he should tell her or wait. His mind was made up for him.

“She’s your daughter from the timeline Lance was trapped in,” Greg said, getting a glare from Lance.

“My what?!” Adry asked in shock, looking to Lance for clarification.

He just blinked back at her, still not wanting to be the one to tell her. He wanted to wait and let Scamp decide how to approach that.

Calypso appeared at his side, holding his severed wing up to the stump, using her Ego to heal it.

“It’s…” Lance began, sighing in relief as he felt the pain in the wing stump reside. “It’s very complicated.”

She narrowed her normally happy eyes and glared at him, now more resembling the Meadow Glory he knew in the other dimension. “Lance, tell me. This Scamp is my daughter from another timeline?”

“... Yes,” he finally confirmed. “It’s a long story that I think she’d rather tell you herself. But, she is the only reason I am here now and we’re all slowly working towards restoring our old lives to normal.” He then looked at the device, frowning. “That does not change my decision about using this.”

Adry chewed on her lip as she nervously twirled her mane around her hoof. “But what if it is this Scamp?”

“It could be,” Lance conceded, still looking unhappy. “But the risk of it being another Lorenzo type guy is too much. So if it is Scamp, then we’ll just have to trust she can make it back on her own without our help.”

“That’s cold, Lance,” Rarity commented, looking at him in disappointment. “She’s a friend of yours, and you're okay letting her fend for herself? Shame on you! If Peter was here, he’d tell you to do it.”

The mention of Peter brought more dread upon him as he glanced at her. “I’m looking out for the group.”

“And the group wants to help this Scamp chick,” Rainbow Dash said as she landed roughly by Lance. “From what I’ve heard, she’s one bad flank. And a loyal friend, like myself. You gotta at least risk it. We can handle any bad guy who comes through otherwise!”

Lance’s eye twitched as he fought with himself internally.

“She’d risk it for you,” Jero said calmly.

“God! FUCK! Okay,” Lance finally said, taking the device and pressing the button. He tossed it to the ground where it began to flash orange, which was new.

“MASSIVE OBJECT TELEPORTATION IMMINENT! MAKE SURE THERE IS CLEAR SPACE ABOVE DEVICE FOR TWO MILES!”

“What the hell does that mean?” Greg asked as they all suddenly heard a massive boom above their heads. As they looked up they saw a massive airship rocketing through the air, fire covering the entire hull as parts broke off of it as it flew straight towards the ground far from their current position.

“Fucking hell!” Lance exclaimed with wide eyes as they all watched it smash through a tall building and crash through a ton of booths and stalls as it made contact with the ground and violently slid. The front separated from the back as it flew off to the side, the rest of the ship grinding along the ground.

“That definitely just raised our kill counts…” Greg cringed, getting a few dirty looks from the ponies.

The remains of the ship rolled forward, finally coming to a stop with the tail pointing straight up. Fire roared out of the engine part of the ship, looking about ready to explode again.

“Come on!” Lance yelled, testing his reattached wing before taking off towards the burning ship in the distance. The others quickly chased after him.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I coughed loudly as I felt the ship finally come to a halt, with the front flat against the ground. Which left all of us hanging in our seats.

Working the buckles of my restraints, I struggled to see the others in the black smoke that poured up into the bridge.

“Alright! Who’s not dead? Sound off!” I yelled in a horse voice, the smoke gagging me.

I heard the responses of all my friends, except Remi, but that didn’t mean anything with her being mute.

With a twist, I was able to get out of my restraints and flew over to Beans. He was already out of his seat and helping Doc and Moxxi.

Flying to the other side I saw Mallogory helping Remi out of a jumble of wires that had fallen on her.

“Damn life saving devices!” Reinhardt cursed as I moved to help, but she just turned to liquid for a moment to let them fall through her.

Satisfied they were all free, I looked around and saw a much bigger hole than the one before, smoke being sucked into it.

“This way guys, come on!” I screamed over the groaning of the ship around us. I hovered by the hole, holding a hoof over my face as I continued to yell to them.

Thankfully, they all slowly climbed their way to me and began to pull themselves through the hole. Once I saw the final one pass me, I flew out last.

As I landed on the outside of the window, smoke pouring out behind me, I began to cough violently.

Someone slapped my back a few times then pulled me up, “Gotta get off the ship, move!”

I nod, seeing that it was Mallogory that was dragging me along. Coming back to my senses fully, I flair my wings and look towards Moxxi. “Get on.”

She looked over, and despite the situation, smiled, “Knew you’d come around.”

Once she was on my back, I looked to the others. “I can only carry one at a time, so hang in there.”

But as I prepared to fly off to the ground, two others suddenly shot up the side of the ship and hovered before us.

Lance! And Rainbow Dash?

“Oh boy, this looks bad,” Rainbow said as she looked us over, then saw me. “OUCH! What the buck happened to you?!”

“Help first, questions later!” I yelled up to them. They both nodded and flew down to help.

Lance grabbed Doc, who held Beans, and motioned for Mallogory, who jumped on his back.

Rainbow Dash grabbed Remi as Reinhardt got on her back. Both of them let out strained groans as they struggled to lift off the ground, but luckily the two of them were powerful flyers.

I grabbed the bottom of Remi to try and help as the three of us flew off of the burning ship.

“Who are you guys?!” Rainbow Dash asked in an annoyed voice as we slowly flew away.

“My friends,” I said as I struggled to keep a grip on Remi with my one leg. Luckily, she used her tail to hold onto me, which helped greatly.

“And you?!”

“That’s Scamp,” Lance said, his eyes filled with sadness and regret as he stared at me, which confused me.

“Oh damn! You’re Scamp?! I repeat the question from earlier; what the buck happened to you?!” Rainbow asked, eyes wide in amazement.

“Life,” I say simply, getting a few chuckles from my friends.

Lance just looked away.

We flew towards the ground, far from the crash, with Lance leading us. After a moment, I saw a familiar group of ponies. Ones I’ve only seen in pictures from Lance’s book.

FInally, we landed, all of my friends climbing off of us. I sat down hard, trying to catch my breath as my lungs burned like they were on fire.

“Scamp?! What have you done to yourself?!” Calypso roared as she ran over, her Ego attaching to me and the others. I started to question what she was doing, but I felt a cooling sensation run over my body as her Ego spread through my body.

For the first time since arriving in the arena, I felt relief from pain that had just kept building up as time went on. Even my lungs started to hurt less as I felt the little pulses of her Ego through my body.

“It’s a long story,” I sighed, giving her my best smile.

“Idiot,” she spat out, then hugged me tightly.

I returned the hug, happy to see my friend after all the shit I’ve been through. She pulled back, looking at my burns and eye in confusion.

“Why aren’t these healing?! My Ego is supposed to be able to heal stuff like this!” she yelled in frustration, pumping even more Ego than necessary into me.

“That would be my fault,” Doc said remorsefully. Upon Calypso wheeling on him, furious eyes staring into his, his shoulders slumped. “I have the ability to speed up healing, but only along its natural progression stages. But the drawback is that they become unhealable with anything outside of cosmetic surgery.”

Calypso stomped her hoof in anger, obviously trying not to start screaming, “That is the worst healing ability.”

“I know,” was his only response.

“I’d be dead without him or his abilities,” I say, getting her attention. “I chose to have him use them on me. It was that or die. So please, Cal, lay off him. He’s a good person.”

She sighed, patting my shoulder. “Welcome back, Scamp.”

“So you’re Scamp?” A woman said from my left side. Turning my head, I was taken aback by what I saw.

“Mom?!”

The green mare laughed awkwardly, “According to Lance, I guess I am.”

I blinked at the much younger version of my mother. A much happier looking version too. This looked to be about the age that she had me, according to pictures I had of her from back then.

I was at a loss for words, just staring at the mare that was my mother in another time and place.

“Do we hug?” She asked, a sheepish smile on her face.

“Do we?” I asked, completely confused on what to do at that moment. As we blinked at each other, I forced a chuckle. “Let’s put a pin in that, yeah?”

She relaxes a bit and smiles thankfully back at me. “Sounds like a plan.”

Looking at Lance, I saw he was looking at me with tears in his eyes. Seeing that I was looking at him, he turned and walked away, wiping his eyes.

In the distance behind us were the sounds of screams and sirens as people ran from the burning debris.

That’s when I noticed everyone outside of my group looked pained, like something was bothering them.

“What happened?” I asked, putting the pieces together. If it took them that long to accept our request, and they all look tired and hurt, then something must have been going on.

“Lorenzo happened,” Jero said in a grim tone.

My eyes widened as I sat on my flank, looking around at the ponies. “I know he killed Omnius… who else?”

“Vinetion, Grace, Octavia, and Zane,” Jero replied evenly, looking more mad than sad. “The Watcher found us and sent Lorenzo to Omnius’ dimension. After killing him, he tricked us into teleporting him here. We barely stopped him.”

I looked to the ground in shock. I may not have personally known them, but I felt like I did after years of following their story. Everything finally caught up to me. We lost. My small victory against Leem meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

“Then we lose, the Watcher wins,” I suddenly said with a loud exhale of air, slumping my shoulders as I hung my head.

I felt two others come up on either side of me, placing their hand and hoof on my shoulders. Looking up, I saw Adry and Mallogory, both with looks of concern.

“Don’t give up,” Adry said, lifting my chin with her hoof.

“You’re too badass to just quit,” Mallogory said, giving me a confident smile. “Where’s that chick that was kicking my ass back in the Dome? Or the mad bitch who defeated Leem?”

This at least brings a small smile to my face.

“We have a way to win,” Jero said, getting me to look at him. “It’s complicated,” he said as a little fairy thing flew up beside him, looking at me with a little animated face.

“What the fuck?” I said with a shake of my head. “You’re going to have to explain this one to me.”

Task master Lance

Chapter 30

As my friends and I returned to the main group, everyone looked towards us.

Jero was the first to approach as I sat down at a table, “how’d the talk with Lance go?”

“Good, actually,” I replied with a little grin.

Greg and Pinkie Pie walked up, both looking overjoyed to see me.

“Scamp, this is my amazing wife, Pinkie Pie. Babe, this is the badass I’ve been telling you about,” Greg said as he slapped my back with pride in his voice.

Pinkie Pie got really close to me as she looked me over, a large smile on her face. “You’ve been through the wringer, huh? Does it hurt?” She pointed to my burns.

I just blinked, then smiled, “Nah, Doc over there healed them completely. I’m good to go.”

She suddenly hugged me tightly, “welcome to the family, Scamp! We’ll celebrate once we’re all back in New Ponyville!”

“I look forward to it,” I reply, the hug catching me off guard.

“Come on, babe, I think our overbearing excitement might be a touch to much for her right now,” Greg said with surprising maturity.

Pinkie leaned back and patted my cheek, “she feels the same way.”

“Huh?” I ask in confusion.

But Pinkie just winks and hops away, following Greg.

She really is just as random as the book made her out to be.

Next up was Rainbow Dash and Rarity, who walked up cautiously.

“Dear, now that everything has calmed down, how are you feeling?” Rarity asked in a caring tone. “Need anything?”

I can’t help but smile at her kindness, I’m definitely not use to ponies being like that. “Thank you, but I’m good. I look worse than I really am.”

“But you’re burned to a crisp and missing legs!” Rainbow blurted out, getting her mouth clamped by Rarity’s magic.

“Rainbow Dash!” She turned to me with an apologetic smile, “I’m so sorry about her. She was born without a filter.”

“I prefer the bluntness,” I admit, waving my stump around. “I’ll be fine going forward.”

Rarity just smiled as she used her magic to fix my mane a bit, “Well, darling, we’ll watch out for you. When we find my husband I’ll have him sing to you, that’ll cheer you right up.”

I stared at her, realizing she didn’t know Peter was gone. Looking to Lance, who had heard what was being said, he shook his head. A begging look on his face.

Hiding this from her is going to backfire.

Turning to her, I started to tell her the truth, but her genuinely happy demeanor halted any words that were about to come out.

“… I’d love that, Rarity,” I finally said, disappointed in myself.

She beamed as she turned, “I’m going to make you something to wear. Give you that eye catching look that you deserve!”

As she walked away, Rainbow frowned at me.

“You and Lance both act weird when Peter is brought up,” she narrowed her eyes at my nervous look, then sighed. “He’s gone, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” I say softly, watching her reaction carefully.

But she just shook her head sadly, “that’s going to destroy Rarity. Peter and Jasper are her whole world.”

“Are you going to tell her?” I ask.

Rainbow Dash looked pained, but gave a nod, “I am. After this. She’ll hate us for not telling her, but honestly I prefer that to her losing it out here.”

“That’s my thoughts exactly,” I replied with a frown.

Rainbow lifted off the ground, giving me a grin, “I think I’ll leave you two alone for a moment.”

As she flew away, I raised an eyebrow. Me and who?

Turning, I saw Adry taking a seat across from me.

Oh we’re doing this talk now.

“Hi,” she said awkwardly.

“Hey,” I replied with a forced smile.

We stared at each other, neither of us knowing what to say.

“So…” I said slowly as I tapped my hoof on the table, “what’s your husband like?”

She blinked a few times, then a wide smile broke across her face, “Darkest? He’s an amazing stallion. Loving and caring, and has the most adorable snore when sleeping.”

“Huh,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head, “I’ve never heard him described that way. Usually it’s he’s a massive psycho with violent tendencies. A major prick.” My eyes widened as I looked at her, “that may have come out wrong.”

To my relief, she laughed, “oh no, that’s also spot on. He’s a very rough and tumble stallion, who is dead set on doing everything his way.” A sweet smile touched her lips, “but that’s one of the many reasons I love him. He’s never hurt me, and goes out of his way to make me happy.”

She then leaned back, looking into my eyes, “can you keep a secret?”

“I can,” I reply, my tension in the situation mostly gone.

“I don’t want the others to know, because they’ll treat me differently, but since you’re my daughter from another timeline, I feel you should know.” She rubbed her stomach, “A few days before all this happened, Darkest and I found out I am pregnant.”

“You’re pregnant?!” I yelped, but luckily not loud enough for the others to hear.

She giggled happily as she shushed me, “I am!” She reached across the table and took my hoof in hers, “the funny thing is Darkest and I agreed on the names already for if it’s a colt or a filly. Flynn for a colt,” She gave my hoof a little squeeze, “and Scamp for a filly.”

This somehow brought a tear to my eye.

“I guess we’ll have to change that one, seeing as you already have it.”

I used a wing tip to wipe the tear away, clearing my nose as I did so, “no you can make them anything you like. I’m not your real daughter.”

Adry pulled herself over the table and hugged me tightly. “I know I’m not your real mother, and I could never replace her. But I feel a deep connection to you, a bond. I’d love to consider you my daughter.”

“But I’m older than you,” I laughed as I found myself crying lightly.

“Technicalities,” she replied, squeezing me harder.

I then threw my leg and wings around her, hugging her just as tight as the floodgates opened. All the pain and mental suffering I’d endured pouring out of me as I began to cry messily into her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she said softly as she rubbed my back. “We’re going to be okay.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lance watched Adry and Scamp embrace, the later sobbing freely.

The sight pulled at his heart strings as he had to look away to keep from crying himself. That’s when he saw the one named Mallogory slide into the bench next to him.

“Alright striped horse, what’s your story,” she asked with a wide grin. “I know some of your story, but what I really want to know is your kill count.”

“I don’t keep track of that,” Lance lied, not wanting to admit he remembers the face of everyone he’d killed.

“Boo, what kind of warrior doesn’t keep track,” she said, taking his hat from his head and putting it on her own.

“I’m not a warrior,” Lance retorted, eying her hard, “I only do what is necessary for my friends and family.”

“Sounds like a warrior to me,” she replied, flicking the tip of the hat up dramatically. “Where’s this book I keep hearing about?”

Lance frowned as he pulled out a copy of his book, “knock yourself out.”

“Sweet,” she said as she took it and stood up, placing his hat back on his head.

As she walked away, he shook his head, and muttered, “what the hell does Scamp see in her?”

“What do you mean?” Jero asked as he sat down with Lance.

“Eh, just talking aloud,” Lance replied, changing the subject, “any idea what comes next?”

Jero shrugged, “honestly no. We can try to find the others, but I’m sure Lorenzo or the Watcher will expect that and be ready for us.”

“As much as I want to find the others, we need to think clearly about our next move.” Lance frowned, “I just hope the kids are okay.”

Jero’s eyes widened as he looked at him, realizing he hadn’t been there when they recapped with Scamp.

“Lance, the Watcher has ALL of our kids, not just Spark.”

His eye twitched as he looked to his friend, “seriously?”

At Jero’s nod, Lance cursed, “that complicates things.” He looked back to Adry and Scamp, seeing them both crying now as they seemed to be talking about Scamp’s time in her original dimension.

“We need time to think, to prepare. If Greg survives that drug, then I guess we’ll go from there.”

“Any idea when he plans to try it?” Jero asked, looking at Greg, who was laughing with Moxxi as the two shared a joint.

“He said when he’s ready,” Lance sighed. “No need to rush him right now. This group needs a breather.”

“You’ve calmed down,” Jero observed.

“Yeah,” Lance said with a grin, “I cleared up things with Scamp, so I just feel like myself again.”

An argument drew their attention as Calypso and Doc went back and forth on proper use of their healing abilities. It wasn’t super heated, so Lance didn’t feel the need to interrupt.

“I’m going to come up with a list of tasks for everyone,” Lance announced to Jero. “There’s a few things we can do at least while we wait for our next move.”

“I’ll help,” Jero offered.

Lance smiled as he pulled out a pen and paper.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Gather up, guys,” Lance called out as he jumped up on a table while the others made their way towards him from all edges of the pavilion.

Once they were all gathered up, he announced, “Jero and I have prepared a list of task we need done before we can move forward.”

“What kind of task?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking displeased with being given work to do.

“They vary, but they’re important,” Jero said from the ground beside Lance.

“We’ll be in groups of two and three,” Lance continued, getting a few looks of concern. “Don’t worry, we have communication and tracking devices for all of you.”

This seemed to appease most of them.

Lance and Jero had gone through Omnius’s pocket dimension and found a lot of useful gear and trinkets. Namely the devices they were going to hand out.

“So now I’ll call out the groups and pairs,” Lance said as he cleared his throat, lifting a piece of paper. “Calypso and Doc. Remi, Moxxi, and Rarity.”

As he spoke the groups began to form.

“Rainbow Dash, Beans, and Jero. Greg, Pinkie Pie, and Reinhardt.”

“Fuck yeah!” Greg yelled out. “I get the badass Orc lady!”

Reinhardt laughed loudly and ran towards him, the two slamming their hoof and hand together as they reached each other.

“Oooo! This is going to be so much fun!” Pinkie yelled out as she landed on Reinhardt’s back.

Lance looked back to his list, “Next is Adry, Drax, and myself.” With a barely visible smirk, he finishes the list, “Mallogory and Scamp.”

Glancing towards the mare, he saw she was giving him a stoic stare, not amused at all.

“Those are the groups,” Lance says as he looks back to everyone else. “Jero will hand out your envelopes with instructions, and your communicators. We will all meet back here as we finish. No rushing, take your time.”

As the items were handed out, Lance jumped from the table and joined his group.

ooo000<^>000ooo

That little…

I rolled my eyes as Mallogory and I stepped out of the pavilion together. The others heading off on their own task.

“So what’s our job?” Mallogory asked.

Ripping the envelope open, I pull out a piece of paper with a few tasks listed on it.

“First on the list is to find someone who can build us replacements for our missing limbs,” I said after reading the first listing.

“Awesome! I want to find someone who can build a mechanical arm,” she said in excitement. “Always wanted one of those bad boys, but was not willing to cut my own arm off for one.”

I chuckle at her as I hover beside her, wings flapping just enough to keep me up. “I’ll take anything at this point, I just want to be able to walk and fight easily.” Looking around, I see a map.

Stepping up to it, I scanned it for anything of note. To my delight I saw there was a massive market district in the park. Just a tram ride away.

With this information, we began the long walk to the tram station.

After walking in silence for a bit, she turns to me, “Now that we have a minute, tell me this; are you actually from a magical forest?”

I snorted and laughed at this, remembering how I was always introduced by the announcer. “Not exactly. I come from a dimension with magical creatures though, so close.”

“I knew it’d be some kind of magical, like a child’s story book,” she said, tapping a claw against her bone plated face.

“Why does everyone associate me with a child’s fantasy book?” I ask, just getting a laugh I respond. “Okay, Ms feathered reptile, where are you from? A swamp?”

“Ouch, little pony can snap back,” she replied, stumbling like she’d been hit. With a chuckle she continued, “I grew up in a place called Seijern, which did have a swamp, but I did NOT grow up in it. Fun fact though, my race, the Kejtdra, are naturally just about six inches tall.”

“You look a few inches taller than six,” I say in a teasing tone.

“Haha,” she rolls her eyes. “I’m what’s considered a Wandering Kejtdra. Meaning I said screw staying in my home dimension and left to wander the Plains. Had a few hiccups, but I’m pushing through.” She patted her shoulder stump, “I mean till I joined you. Had barely ever been injured before encountering Leem.”

“Sorry about that,” I say, watching her flick her tail around. “Just so you know, you’re the only person to ever fight me and beat me into submission. Usually it’s the other way around.”

She flexed her one arm, smirking playfully, “what can I say? I’m the peak when it comes to what a warrior should be.”

“Sure, except for the fact you are untrained and only win due to a broken ability,” I point out, but she just shrugs.

“If it works, then who cares?” Then she got a bit more serious, “On a real note; you are the only being to actually fight me and make me actually try. Not counting Leem, since he’s basically just cheating.”

“I’ll admit, that ability is pretty amazing. If you’re still up to it, I’ll give you some real training that’ll turn you into a terrifying fighter.”

“Pretty sure I’m already there,” she said in a confident tone. “But I guess I wouldn’t mind letting you show me some stuff.”

“When there is time, I will,” I promise, giving her a salute.

It was at that moment my stomach growled.

Now that I think about it, it’s been a long minute since I last ate.

“Hungry?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Starving,” I replied, looking around the booths for one that sold food.

“Looking for some flowers or hay?” She asked with a slight mocking tone.

“Nah, fucking meat,” I reply back, catching her off guard.

“Ponies eat meat?”

I laughed, “not normally. I've just always loved the taste, don’t really care for greens to be honest.”

“In that case, I think we’re going to get along just fine,” she then pointed down the rows of booths, pointing out one that had smoke pouring out of the top. “He definitely sells something good.”

We both quickly make our way over to it and are delighted to see a large beast cooking food on multiple grills and stoves, his many arms working fast as he made orders for others.

Mallogory and I took a seat at his booth, mouths watering as we looked over the menu above us.

“I can’t decide,” she said, eyes wide as she scanned the pictures of food.

“So many choices…” I said as I stared lovingly at the overly delicious pictures of food.

“Each item is of the highest quality,” the cook said as he strolled over to us happily. “What can I get you?”

Mallogory looked very conflicted as she looked over the menu frantically.

“One of everything!” I suddenly say, eye wide as I stare at him.

“Ma’am, that’s a lot of food, and expensive. May I recommend-“

“I’ll have the same!” Mallogory yelled, looking just as crazy as me.

“Ladies…” he started, but at our glares, he forced a smile. “One of everything, coming up!”

The two of us looked at the other, a bit stunned looking.

“Can you even put that much away?” She asked, smirking slyly.

“Me? Can you?” I countered, returning her smirk.

“Challenging me?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I am,” I reply, winking at her.

Two plates were thrown in front of us.

Without a word, we dove into our food, both of us being equally as messy and loud as we chewed through the first serving.

As we finished the first plate, another was pushed to us.

We smiled smugly at each other as we dove in again.

Tell me about yourself

Chapter 31

Two piles of plates sat in front of us as we finished off the last serving at the same time.

“Got your ass!” I cheered as I jumped up, looking a bit bloated and wings flapping harder than before to keep me up.

“If by got my ass you mean coming in second, then yes you did!” She yelled as she stood and slammed a foot down on the table, striking a little pose. “Two for two!”

“Bull!” I yelled as I flew my face in front of hers. “I swallowed that last bite as you were just starting to chew!”

“I swallowed that last bite like a fucking duck! Straight down the gullet!” She retorted, getting right back in my face as we stared wide eyed at each other.

“Ladies please,” the tired cook said from the side lines. “There’s no need for this yelling…”

“Who won?!” We both snapped, turning our heads to him.

He looked taken aback, even a bit terrified, “it was hard to tell…” as we glared harder at him, he waved all of his arms in front of himself. “Okay! The horse slammed her plate down a fraction of a second faster!”

“Yes!!” I roared, throwing my hoof into the air. “One for one! We’re fucking tied!”

“A fraction of a second?!” Mallogory bellowed, causing the cook to jump back.

I kicked a plate into the air and smashed it into my face, yelling in victory, “yeah!! A whole fraction of a second!”

“Please don’t break my plates…” the cook said quietly. He slowly pushed an orb towards us. “The bill…”

Before I could slap it, Mallogory put her hand on it, paying for the food. “Now it’s two out of three, I’m back to winning.”

As she ran out of the tent laughing like a maniac, I stared dumbly after her.

“Hey!” I yell as I fly after her. “That wasn’t a contest! We’re still tied!!”

“Not by my count!” Mallogory laughed as I slammed into her, sending both of us tumbling across the dirt.

As we came to a halt, both breathing heavily, we began to laugh. Our strange display was drawing a lot of stares, but we didn’t care.

Mallogory stood up and held her claws out to me, “two outta three.”

I roll my eyes as I allow her to help me up, “you’re terrible at counting if you think it’s anything but a tie.”

“Agree to disagree,” she replied happily.

We then noticed all the eyes on us.

“Oh screw off,” I yell out as we both start walking again.

She made a strange gesture with her claw at the crowd around us.

We waited till we’d walk far enough away from the judgemental stares of the crowd before talking again.

“You’re fun,” she said. “I expected you to eat like a dainty little pony, but you eat like a bottomless pit!”

“I’m just as surprised that you kept up with me. I’m used to being the odd one out when it comes to food.”

“I’ll admit, you’re impressive. But I still think I won,” she chuckled as we walked.

“You can think that, but the third party already ruled me the victor,” I said as I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll be winning the majority of our clashes. You can have this one tiny victory,” she conceded with a sly smile.

“All I heard is you agree I won,” I teased with a smug smile.

She rolled her eyes and pulled out a little pouch from her pocket. Fishing around in it, she pulled out what looked to be bits of iron scraps. She placed them in her mouth and began to chew loudly, the metal crunching in her mouth.

“You eat metal?” I asked in confusion.

“Got too,” was her response as she continued to munch on them. At my continued stare, she chuckled, “Kejtdra have dense metal skeletons, we need to eat iron to keep it maintained.”

“That’s fucking badass,” I reply in a low, impressed tone.

She wore a proud smile as she pointed to her mouth, flashing her teeth, “these fuckers can chew through basically anything.”

I flashed my teeth, the Ego blades popping out of my gums and covering my teeth, “well these babies CAN chew through anything.”

Her eyes widened as she leaned in closer, “do you have Ego blades for teeth?!” At my smug nod she whistled, “that is literally the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Retracting the blades I smile at her.

“Now what’s your Ego?” She asked as we continued walking.

“Oh, I can shut off others' Ego, and I can transfer Ego around without using a soul jar,” I answered, getting a nod of approval.

“Can really screw with someone using that,” she chuckled.

“I know about your Thorn,” I say as I look at her cloth wrapped hand, “but what's your Ego?”

She got a smug look on her face, “Don’t have one.”

“Why not?” I asked in confusion.

“Who needs more power when you already have something as amazing as this?” she said as she flickered, going from being up right to being upside down, doing a one handed handstand. “Eh? Right?”

I rolled my eye at her, “That ability can take you far, sure. But you need to diversify your moves. Doing the same attack over and over again makes you predictable.”

She frowned as she pushed off the ground, performing a spin in the air and landing on her feet. “I stand by my motto of ‘one hit and done’.”

“What happens if you face someone who can counter it?” I ask.

“Simple, I just beat the shit out of them,” she says with a confident and cocky smile.

“That’s… a terrible plan,” I chuckle at her, causing her to fume.

“Well, I still beat you, so you know, bleh!” she stuck her tongue out at me.

I looked at her and stopped flying. “Okay then, how about a little spar? First to make solid contact wins.”

She smiled widely at me, “Really? You’re up for that?”

“Yep,” I said as I landed before her, the two of us squaring up. “I’m going to show you why you need to be a little more serious, and not rely on just a single ability.”

“When I win will you agree that I know better?” she asked as she flexed her claws.

“Sure,” I say back, smiling. “First one to land a hit on either the chest or head wins. You may start us.”

Mallogory rolled her neck as she looked to be limbering up, then she flickered. Even on just two legs, I easily dodged my head around her punch that appeared out of thin air. She flickered again as I deflected her reappearing fist with a wing, and then the next one as she flickered yet again.

I continued to block and weave around her attacks, easily telegraphing her moves. Finally the move came I was waiting for as she flickered and her leg came flying towards my face. Using both wings and my front leg, I caught her leg and sprang forward, slamming her into the ground using her leg as a lever.

With a twist, I threw her leg aside as I fell down into her, slamming my hoof into her chest. Her eyes went wide in shock as the hit connected.

Leaning down, a wide smile on my face, I softly spoke a single word, “Point.”

She groaned in annoyance as she sat up, looking very unhappy with the outcome. “I’m missing an arm, so I’m not at one hundred percent right now.”

I laugh loudly as I wave my two stumps at her and point at my cloudy eye with a wing tip. “You have no room to make excuses, I could legally be considered a cripple right now and I still beat you.”

Her frown slowly faded as she slumped her shoulders, then to my surprise, she smiled, “Fine, I see your point. MAYBE you do know a little more than me when it comes to fighting.”

“Good, the student is learning,” I say with a flip of my mane, giving her an award winning smile.

She just rolled her eyes and began to walk again.

Lifting back into the air, I flew after her, matching her pace.

“So,” she said after a few moments of silence, “I’ve been wondering, I skimmed that book that Lance guy wrote, and I saw how you were acting with that green pony, and I have to know. How are you connected to his book and everyone else?”

“That’s a long story,” I say with a light chuckle.

“We have the time,” she said, gesturing ahead of us. The tram station was still a bit away.

“Hmm,” I thought for a second. “Okay, but it’ll be boring for a bit till I get to the good stuff.”

“Hit me,” she said with a grin.

ooo000<^>000ooo

As we finally neared the tram station, I finished my story, ending right when I was taken to the arena.

“I’m still hung up on all the throat biting,” she laughed. She really enjoyed the retelling of the Queen’s demise, asking a lot of questions about it.

“If it works, it works,” I replied, flashing my teeth at her.

She laughed to herself a few more times as we entered the station and then the train itself. As we took our seats, she finally stopped.

“Now it's your turn,” I said, turning to her. “Why’d you leave your home and become a wanderer?”

A conflicted look fell across her face, “It’s stupid and boring, you don’t want to hear it.”

“I actually do want to hear it, so spill it,” I assure her.

“And it’s not as fun and exciting as your story,” she warned, but I just waved her on. “Fine.”

She turned to face me fully.

“I was raised by a traditional family, and was expected to carry on the family name once I got old enough. But I had a much older brother who liked to travel outside of the dimension and bring back stories for everyone else to enjoy. Obviously, the family looked down on him, but not me.” She looked to be lost in thought for a moment before continuing. “The stories he’d tell us, filled with strange creatures and amazing worlds filled with adventure. It heavily influenced me growing up, causing me to question everything around myself.

“Then one day he never came home, and the family wrote him off as having died. I spent years wondering what happened to him, and eventually I’d had enough of my family and their overbearing attitude. I was finally at an age where I could take care of myself, so I left. It took some time, but I eventually figured out how to leave my home dimension and enter the Plains.”

She held up her hand, looking at it thoughtfully. “As I was preparing to leave forever, a Roaming Scapils appeared before me.” At my questioning look, she explained, “Oh, Scapils are pillars in my world that can unlock one's Thorn. The drawback is that many who use them die, with only a few deemed worthy surviving and gaining their Thorn.”

“A power that only unlocks at the risk of death is a bit much,” I say, not thinking I’d risk my life just for powers… then again I was desperate enough once that I probably would have. I guess it comes down to your circumstances.

“True, but it can be so worth it,” she says as she flickers, changing poses just to show off. She then resumed her position in front of me and cleared her throat, “So now that I had my Thorn unlocked, I was ready to face the world beyond my own. And let me tell you, I’ve rocked this world.”

“Didn’t you get captured and thrown into a gladiatorial arena, made to fight for others' entertainment?” I asked with a smug smirk.

“Two things; one, fuck you. Two, yes, I did,” she gave me a playful shove as she continued, “I’m getting there. Anyways, I traveled around for a few years before I found out my brother had indeed died. Just another body in this endless plain of existence. Finding and killing his killer wasn’t that hard, since it was the police chief of a large town. After that, I didn’t have a purpose. So I just began traveling around, doing whatever I wanted.

“That is till I got tricked by a man in a bar and woke up in a cell in the Dome of the Dead. Hell of a hangover story probably,” she said with a shrug. “Fought in there for a year before I got my Thorn back, then went on a winning streak till I lost to Leem in the tournament.” She smiled at me suddenly, “Then you saved me and here I am, free to do whatever I want again.”

“And you’re wasting it following me?” I ask with a chuckle.

“Eh, you’re not that bad,” she admitted, slugging my shoulder. “Better than that Dome at least.”

“I have to ask now, how old are you?”

“Twenty eight,” she replied. “Kejtdra live up to about a hundred and fifty years, so I’m still pretty damn young in that regard. You?”

“Older than you, I’m thirty two,” I replied.

“Eh, only four years difference, so don’t think you’re hot stuff being older than me,” she replied after giving me another playful shove.

The two of us smiled at each other as the train rocketed down the tracks.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You sure about this one?” Mallogory asked as we stepped into a tent in the middle of the market. “I mean, come on, there can’t be any quality prosthetics in an amusement park.”

I started to respond, but a salamander looking creature slithered into the room, a little hat on its head.

“AH! Customers!” it looked at our missing limbs, seeming overjoyed. “Customers with a need!”

“Hey, question,” Mallogory said as she stepped up to the large salamander, squaring up with him. “Do you sell junk, or is this stuff the real shit?”

“All real, all good quality,” the salamander said happily. “Need for fighting? General purpose? Maintenance work?”

“We need something we can use as normal limbs, no flair,” I said, not wanting an overly complicated body part.

“Keep it simple! Simon loves simple! Come come, sit and enjoy food. I draw for you!” he said as he ushered us to a couple of comfy chairs.

As we sat down, we began to pick up and eat the food before us, which was just simple sandwiches.

“THis is weird,” she commented, mouth full of sandwich.

“I’m getting used to it,” I reply, having decided that I’m just going to roll with the punches when it comes to how this place operates.

We sat there for a while, the salamander occasionally coming to us and looking us over.

“Sandwiches were good at least,” I said as we stared at the empty plate.

“He should have made more,” she commented.

“Drawings done, you will enjoy!” Simon said as he came back to us, holding up two very detailed drawings.

One showed a single arm with information all around it, pointing out every little detail. The arm looked just like Mallogory’s remaining arm, with no extra flair just like we asked.

Mine, however, was similar to Mallogory’s arm. Two legs that started like normal pony legs, but tapered off into a more Griffon style leg. Three claws on either leg that looked like they could retract down, leaving just a paw behind. Like the paw of a griffon..

“These new limps are better than original! They connect to brain, and work like normal body parts! Can even feel! Exciting? Yes!” Simon looked overjoyed as he looked at us, shaking the paper at us. “Feel like you never lost leg! Ego infused, so never be destroyed! You like?”

“I love!” Mallogory squealed as she looked at the drawing in glee.

I wasn’t as excited, since I’d prefer normal pony legs, but I had to admit, Ego infused limbs meant I could do a lot more with them. And the preexisting claws would come in handy.

“How long?” I asked, not caring about the price.

“Instant!” he laughed. “My Ego, can make anything as long as I have schematics!”

“Amazing!” Mallogory exclaimed. “Where do we pay?”

Simon raised his tail, which was holding a familiar orb. “Pay here!”

“You got it!” She said as she slapped the small orb.

I gave it a slap as well, causing Simon to swell with happiness.

“Please, sit down! I’ll begin!”

We sat down and he began to run around us, running his clawed hands over our stumps.

As I was about to tell him to stop, he leaned back, his Ego spreading to us. I felt a strange sensation as his Ego formed around my two legs, spreading down slowly.

Something felt like it was entering my stumps, but it didn’t hurt. Then I felt a strange snap like sensation in my head, causing my vision to blur for a moment.

“Done!” he announced proudly.

The cyan glow faded away from my legs, revealing very sleek and beautiful legs. They connected seamlessly with my flesh, looking like my skin had grown over the top part of the metal.

Moving them was the most natural thing ever, as I didn’t have to put any thought into it, just like my normal legs.

“Wow…” I awed in amazement, not expecting it to end this well.

Mallogory reached over with her new arm and tapped it against one of my legs. I could actually feel her through the metallic leg! Amazing!

Reaching over with my normal leg, I touched the metal, expecting it to be cold. But I found it warm to the touch, a very pleasant surprise as the prosthetics I’d been using were just hunks of cold metal that were uncomfortable to touch.

“You are now my go to guy for limb replacement,” Mallogory said as she shook his hand.

Simon pulled out a little device and placed it in her hand. “This give you my shops location! Use it to find me if services are needed!”

“Sweet!” she said as she pocketed the device. Flexing her new arm, she looked absolutely overjoyed with the results.

I hopped up and bounced in place a few times, loving how natural it was. No more pinching or tight fits!

After a few more pleasantries, we walked out of the tent, wide smiles all around.

“Alright! What’s next?” Mallogory asked with renewed vigor.

Pulling out the paper, I read the next task, “Have fun.”

“What?” She asked in confusion.

“It just says ‘have fun’,” I reply with a frown.

“There’s writing on the back,” she pointed out.

Raising an eyebrow, I turned it over, seeing tiny writing at the bottom.

‘Make your own adventure! Return tomorrow!’

“Why are they telling us to make an adventure happen?” She asked, looking mighty confused.

I frowned, knowing the answer.

Lance just can’t let this one go it seems.

Rat city

Author's Note

There's a video in this chapter that is a crude recreation of a scene. It's only purpose is to show off Scamp's canon voice. Because I apparently just had to do it. XD

Rat city

Chapter 32

“We can try and hunt down a criminal in this amusement park?” Mallogory offered, but I just sighed and shook my head.

“Not challenging enough, plus I’m sure at least fifty percent of these park goers are criminals in some respect,” I said as I leaned back rubbing my face with my new paw.

“Making our own adventure is stupid,” Mallogory huffed as she crossed her arms.

I looked around, trying to come up with a plan but was coming up blank.

“Do we have to stay here? I know of a few places we could check out,” she offered.

“Hm,” I thought for a moment as I pulled out the communications device. “If we leave, then we’ll be unable to easily return, according to Lance. But if we have a connection here, we can always get the new teleport coordinates.”

She beams at this, “Then let’s go!”

“Want to make it interesting?” I ask, smirking at her as she starts to stand up. This caused her to blink at me in confusion, then slowly return my smirk.

“What ya got in mind?”

Leaning back in my chair, adopting a coy smile, I gesture between us, “How about we do an adventure and NOT use any kinds of powers or our weapons?”

Mallogory slowly sat back down, rubbing her chin, “So basically, we just act like normal ordinary people and can’t even touch our Ego weapons?”

“Yep,” I answered, getting a nod of approval from her. “All we can use is whatever items they have in the area we go to. But nothing special. As basic as possible.”

“What’s the point though?” she questioned.

“Training,” I responded, but then winked, “but also, the first one to break and use an ability or Ego weapon is the loser. And will have to henceforth be referred to as Second Place.”

“Ooo,” she rubbed her clawed hands together. “I love it. I’d like to add that the place we go must be random, so neither of us have an advantage.”

“Excellent,” I say as I clap my hooves together once. “So, rules understood?”

“Yes,” she said with a sharp, excited nod.

“Then let’s go get teleported somewhere random!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

It took some walking, and a few tram rides, but we eventually returned to the teleport hub for this area.

We entered the hub and stepped up to the console.

“I got this,” Mallogory said as she stepped up and pressed a few buttons.

“Please say your command aloud,” the soothing female voice said from around us.

“Teleport to a random location, questionably moral citizens, and a low magic setting,” she said in a plain robotic voice. She then gave me a thumbs up as the lights flashed around us.

“Teleport parameters set, searching,” the voice said as the lights continued to flash.

After a minute, it stopped.

“Location Reached. Thank you.”

“Let’s see what we got,” I said as we walked out of the hub and out into a massive city.

It appeared to be very similar to Manehattan, with crowds walking down the streets and cars flying down the streets. The creatures appeared to be bipedal rats, the same height as a normal human.

“Oh, a rodent filled city,” Mallogory said, a touch of disappointment in her voice. “I was hoping for something a little more… exciting.”

“Well, you never know, they could have some crazy adventures here that can challenge us,” I say as we watch a guy help a old lady across the street.

“I asked for citizens with questionable morals, that’s just a guy being a good citizen,” Mallogory said, looking upset.

“Actually,” I say with a smirk, “You said, and I quote; ‘questionably moral citizens’. Pretty sure that’s the opposite of what you wanted.”

“So they’re all basically good?!” she asked with a look of both disbelief and anger.

“Guess we’ll just have to see,” I say as I start walking towards a street leading away from the teleport hub.

“Can’t we just change locations?” she asked, pointing back at the hub.

I turn my head, smirking, “Sure, but that means you give up.”

“You little bitch,” she said as she narrowed her eyes, but she followed after me anyways.

Pulling out the communicator, I key up Lance.

“Lance, Mallogory and I are in a different location for a bit. We’ll need the new teleport coordinates at some point.”

There was a pause before he replied, “Cool, be safe you two.” I could just hear the smugness in his voice, thinking his plan was going exactly as he wanted.

I just rolled my eyes and put the device away and continued forward.

The two of us walked down the street, weaving through the rodent citizens.

“This place is too normal,” she complains.

“When things are this normal on the outside, then it’s got to have some dark shit on the inside,” I assured her, getting her to smile.

“You sure? Because I’m ready to start kicking ass,” she said as she flexed her arms.

Looking around, I started scanning the shops, but everything around us was just restaurants.

“First up, weapons,” I say as I watch the cars going by.

“Hell yes,” she replied with excitement.

Watching the cars go by, I finally saw what I was looking for. Stepping up to the curb, I started waving my hoof at an approaching car.

A yellow taxi pulled up to us.

“Really?” she asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Really,” I replied as I jumped in the back of the taxi, followed by Mallogory.

“Where too?” the cab driver asked, not even looking back at us.

I leaned up on the railing that separated us, “Any gun shops or places that just sell weapons?”

This caused him to turn and look at us, frowning as he did so, “Weapons? Why? Planning something?”

“Nope, just like to stay strapped,” I say with a laugh, but only get a grunt in response.

“I know of one nearby,” he said as he turned back to the front and pulled off of the curb.

As we sat there, the scenery outside flying by, I looked to Mallogory, “So, weapons, then we’ll look around for adventure.”

“Just… look around for it? Seems like a waste of time,” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Unless you know of something better?”

She smirked, “I may have an idea.”

The driver suddenly turned on the radio, blaring very loud music throughout the car.

Rude rat…

We remained silent the rest of the drive, the extremely loud music reverberating around us.

The taxi slowly came to a stop next to a section of buildings, most looking to be clothing stores. But right between a women's clothing store and a childs toy store, was a simple gun shop.

“Here you go, as requested,” the cab driver said in a bored voice as he tapped a button, causing an orb to raise up between us. “Pay first then the doors will unlock.”

I simply paid the price, whatever the total amount of souls it cost, and we stepped out. Without a word, the taxi lurched forward and rejoined traffic.

“What a lovely man, probably has a loving wife and kids at home waiting for him,” Mallogory said, getting a chuckle out of me.

Stepping into the gun store, I was delighted to see it was indeed just a simple no frills gun shop. With basic firearms lining the walls and display cases.

“Oh… this is exactly what I was hoping for!” I said with excitement as I rushed to a display case, looking at all the handguns within.

“These are… fun looking?” she said, not sure how to feel about the basic weapons before her.

A rat man walked out of the back and quickly came to the case before me. “See anything you like, missy?”

I scanned the firearms before me, not seeing any hoof mounted options. Then my eyes widened as I looked at my new prosthetic, flexing my paw. Could I?

“Let me see… that one,” I said as I pointed to a blocky semi-automatic pistol.

“Ah, Block 17. Good reliable gun, used by the police of this fine city,” the rat said as he pulled it out and handed it over to me.

I took the pistol in my left paw, happy to see that I could indeed hold and manipulate the pistol with my new appendage. This just opened up SO many opportunities!

Pulling the slide back with my hoof, I let out a little squeal.

“Liking the feel?” he asked.

Giving the handle a squeeze, I smiled. “I’m not sure.” I looked through the case some more, seeing a few more I wanted to hold. “Let’s try a few more?”

“Sure,” he said as he took the pistol back and pulled out the next one I pointed at.

As I was gushing about the guns, another younger rat was helping Mallogory pick out one for herself.

After handling almost every pistol in the shop, I sat down on my flank, four laying on the table before me.

“I can’t decide,” I mumbled, staring at each one.

“If you want my help,” the rat said, leaning on one arm on the counter, “I always say; choose the one that fits in your hand the best and you are the most comfortable with. Don’t go off looks or all that mess.”

I nod, looking them over again. Finally, I lifted up a silver plated one with black grips. “This one seems to be the best fit for my paw.”

The rat smiled as he put the others away. “Ah, the Ratta 92FS. A great choice, ma’am. First shot is double action while all follow ups are single action. Full metal construction with a seventeen round magazine. This one is a simple 9mm, but I do have a special edition that is a fifteen round 10mm if you’re interested.”

“10mm?” I ask, hearing my favorite caliber from my time working with Echo. “Yes please!”

Handing the gun back, he walked away and returned with a slightly bigger version of the pistol I’d just been holding.

Taking it in my paw, I was extremely pleased to find it fit perfectly.

Raising it, I took great joy in looking down its sights. I’m not used to using a gun like this, but hopefully the concept of hoof mounted will transition over. I’m extremely proficient at point shooting, since that’s the only way to shoot a hoof mounted pistol.

“Now, it’s a bit expensive,” he started, but I waved him off.

“Don’t worry about that. I need as many mags as you have, and ammo,” I said as I continued to manipulate the pistol.

“Of course! May I recommend a belt and pouches?” he asked as he went about grabbing what I requested.

“No, I’m good,” I said, already planning to use my pocket dimension as both a holster and a mag holder. It was the best option for me, seeing as I can’t just grab any of it and still hold the gun, easily at least. Plus, pocket dimensions aren’t against the rules.

I looked over to Mallogory as she held a large revolver in her hand, looking very pleased with whatever the shop employee was telling her.

The employee helping me came back with a box of magazines and plenty of loose ammo.

“I have thirty magazines in stock, and I’ve brought enough ammo to fill them, plus a little extra,” he said as he looked at me playing with the gun.

“Perfect,” I say with a grin as I put the gun next to the other items. “I’m ready to check out.”

“Yes, ma’am!” he said with a happy twitch of his long snout. “This way, please.”

We moved down the counter to an orb, where he entered in all the item prices. Once he was done, he presented it to me.

Not even checking the price, I slapped it, transferring the necessary souls. This seemed to excite him even more as he bowed to me a few times.

“Thank you so much, ma’am!”

“Uh yeah, sure thing, bud,” I replied as I placed the items in my pocket dimension and stepped over to Mallogory, who’d also just bought her own firearm and gear.

She turned to face me, holding open her cloak to show to bandoliers strapped across her chest and even a belt with more bullet holders running along it. Even a holster for her new revolver. The bullets themselves seemed a bit large.

“What’d you get exactly?” I asked, looking at the large revolver on her hip.

“Something called a 45-70 Gov. revolver, and from what I’ve been told, it has way more power than that little thing you bought over there,” she said as she patted the holstered gun.

“It’s not the size that makes a good weapon,” I say with a little smirk, “it’s how you use it.”

She just rolled her eyes, “you say that now, but wait till we see just how much more power I have than you.”

We step out of the shop, leaving the two celebrating rats behind us.

“The commission alone will pay my rent!” one said as they jumped around each other.

Leaving them to their celebration, we step back out onto the street.

“So, you have an idea?” I ask, referring to her earlier comment.

With a little flair, she pointed to herself, “I do, because I’m actually street smart. All we gotta do is find a charity based homeless shelter, and we’ll for sure find some connection to an underground crime ring.”

“Sounds like a stretch,” I say, but I had to admit it sounded about right. We had similar things happen back in Manehattan. Some ‘good doers’ would open a homeless shelter, or something similar, and host ponies in need. But on the side, they were taking all the donations and using the homeless population for their own needs. Usually labor or as mulls.

Awesome to know that’s a common problem that transcends dimensions.

“Trust me,” she replied, winking at me.

“Guess we’ll use another taxi,” I say as we flag down one that was passing.

Once we were inside, this cab driver seemed a bit nicer.

“Where you two heading?”

“Nearest homeless shelter, preferably one run by a charity,” Mallogory stated, getting a sympathetic look from the female rat.

“You poor things,” she said in a sad voice as she pulled the taxi into the street. “It’s not easy for non-rodents to make it in this city. So much racism is running rampant these days. But I’m not racist! I have a lot of non-rodent friends!”

We looked at each other and chuckled quietly.

“It’s okay, I didn’t think you were racist,” I say, trying not to laugh.

“Good, because I’m not!” she assured us as we drove along. “I personally would never date or marry a non-rodent, I want to keep my family line pure. Don’t want it to get tainted.”

Holding in more repressed laughter, we watched as her eyes widened once she realized what she’d said.

“Now I don’t think that makes me a racist! It’s just-”

I began to ignore her as she went off on a defiantly racist rant about how she is not racist.

Questionably moral citizens indeed.

I took the time to start loading my magazines.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Upon stepping out of the taxi, it sped off quickly, leaving us standing before a building in a run down part of the city.

The building had a banner across the doorway that read ‘All Welcome! Saints and Sinners!’.

“I’m for sure the latter,” Mallogory snickered as we looked around the building.

A few rats sat out front, most adults, but a few kids hung around.

“Now that’s just sad. Homeless adults, sure, but homeless kids? That actually pulls at the ol’ heartstrings,” I say, watching three kids play near us.

“I guess, I don’t trust ‘em,” Mallogory said, eyeing them suspiciously.

“Oh trust me, I don’t trust these little shits at all. Still can feel bad for them,” I say as one runs up to us, looking me over with wide eyes. “Hey little guy, how you doing?”

“You’re ugly as fuck, lady. You fall in a grease trap or something?” the kid asked in a smug tone, causing my smile to fall into a frown.

“How sweet,” I deadpanned.

“Get lost, ya little fucker,” Mallogory said as she shooed him away with her claws.

The kid hissed at us and scampered back to his friends, all laughing.

“I take it back, I do NOT feel bad for them at all. I’m happy they’re homeless and I hope they continue to be miserable,” I say, getting a laugh out of Mallogory.

“Now we’re on the same page. Fuck them kids,” she laughed as we looked back to the building. “So, heading in?”

“Of course,” I say as I pull out the communicator. “But first, we should update Lance just in case something weird happens in there.”

“Sure,” was her only response as she walked forward a bit, her back now to me as she looked the building up and down.

Clearing my throat, I raised the communicator up to my face and began to speak, “Lance, we’re checking on a possible crime boss's hideout. If you don’t hear from us in five hours, assume the worst. Sending coordinates.”

“For real, be safe you two. I don’t know if we’d be able to actually help if something goes wrong,” he replied back as I sent our current coordinates for the teleport hub and this building.

“We got this,” I say as I lower the device, preparing to put it back in my pocket dimension.

As I tossed it towards the little portal opening, a little blur shot past. A small tail wrapped around the device and yanked it from the air.

I blinked as I watched one of the kids from the group rush past us, now holding our communicator.

“Did he just…” Mallogry asked as she turned to see what happened.

“Yep,” I replied as we looked at each other in disbelief.

Then we took off sprinting after the kid.

But I had to give it to him, he was a fast little shit! He weaved through the few rodents walking the streets expertly while the two of us just blew through them, sending people to the ground instead of dodging them.

“Help! They’re trying to mug me!” the kid screamed as we rushed after him.

A few people the kid had run by turned to us and tried to get in our way.

Bad day for them as we just plowed through them, breaking a few bones as we did so.

As we left the screaming good samaritans behind, we slowly began to catch up to the kid.

When he noticed us gaining on him, he turned down a different street and then sprinted straight into a building.

Luckily, we were right on his heels and only lost sight of him for a few moments as we slammed into the door he’d slammed in our faces. Flying ahead, I slammed into the door, taking it off its hinges in one hit.

I slammed into the ground on the other side of the door as Mallogory jumped over me and continued after the kid. As I scrambled to my feet, I saw a scared, one eyed male rat smiling at me from a doorway.

“Chasing kids?” he asked in a smug tone.

Ignoring him, I continued after Mallogory and the kid.

Sprinting through the building, I saw them run past a window up ahead. So I did the only thing I could, I spun forward and plowed through that window as well.

Landing on the outside, I was now only a few yards behind Mallogory. Flapping my wings, I flew after them, catching up quickly. I neared the kid, reaching out to grab him.

But just as I reached him, he zipped left down an alleyway, laughing like he was winning.

“Fuck this,” I say as I propel myself hard towards the kid and slam my head into his back, sending him flying into a large trash bin.

He yelped as I landed before him and pulled out my pistol, slapping him across the face as he tried to jump up and run again. “Stay down.”

Mallogory ran up beside me, drawing her own revolver and pointing it at the now bleeding kid. “You… making me run like that!”

“Give me my property back, right now,” I say in a calm and low voice, pistol trained on his little face.

He just smirked up at us as he lay on his back and held up his hands and tail, revealing them to be empty. “Don’t got it, never did have it either!”

“Hey, don’t play that game with us,” Mallogory said as she shook the pistol at him. “Tell us where it is, NOW!”

“Nah, don’t know what you mean, ma’am,” he said in a fake innocent voice.

“You little runt!” Mallogory said as she started to take a step towards him.

“I got this, okay?” I say to her, giving her a wink as she looks at me. This caused her to smirk and nod in response.

I cocked the hammer on my gun and slammed the barrel into his face, causing his eyes to go wide as I drew a bit more blood. “Hey kid, ever hear of good cop bad cop?”

He nodded slowly in response.

“This is going to go like that, except its going to be good cop, I’m going to fucking murder you cop,” I say in a very sinsiter tone, smiling the entire time.

His little eyes widened even more as the smirk finally fell from his face. I moved my finger onto the trigger of the gun.

“Are… you… going to kill me?” he asked as he started to cry real tears of terror.

I just smirked at him, “Yep.”

He let out a scream of horror as he curled up in a ball, “I’m sorry! I just do what I’m told! Please, most people just give up and let us run away! Why are you doing this?!”

“Where is the item you stole from me,” I say darkly, not wavering at all.

“I gave it to my handler!” he yelled in a panic, eyes on the barrel in his face.

“When? Who?” I ask slowly.

“When we got in that building back there! He was standing at the door waiting for me!”

My eyes widened as I realized it had to be the man I saw. “One eyed rat fuck?”

“Yes, him!” the kid screeched, crying loudly now.

I frown as I look at Mallogory, she just shrugged in response.

“Where is his base of operations? Is it the building?”

“He lives at 53009 Fish Tack Ave! Apartment 828!” the kid yelled, giving us his exact address.

“Sweet,” Mallogory said from behind me.

Looking back at the kid, I pull the gun from his face and give him a rough kick. “Get outta here, go to school or something.”

He quickly took the hint and got up, running towards the end of the alleyway. Once he reached it, he turned and flipped us off.

“Fags!” then ran out of sight.

“Oh what lovely children in this city,” Mallogory murmured, then chuckled to herself.

“Just perfect Angel’s,” I reply as I look back to the building we just came from. “How much you want to bet that isn’t the building he was referring to?”

“It definitely is not. It’s probably somewhere else in this damn city,” she replied, putting her gun away.

As we began to walk back the way we came, I smiled up at her.

“What?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Found an adventure.”

She just rolled her eyes and gave me a shove, “Sure, an adventure involving our only form of communication with the others. AND the only way to get back to them.”

“We got this,” I say with confidence.

“Oh, we one hundred percent do,” she agreed, smirking. “So many people are going to die, aren’t they?”

“Only if they play stupid games and get stupid prizes,” I answer.

“Fuck yeah,” she said as we slammed fist together.

The two of us strolled down the side road, heading for the building. Time to catch a rat.

Kill Rat: Volume 1

Chapter 33

The door opened and light poured into the dark apartment, illuminating the little hallway beyond the door and some of the living room beyond. A tall rat with scars and a single eye stepped in, holding a bag of groceries.

Upon entering into the living room, he side stepped into the tiny kitchen and put the bag down. Flipping a light switch, the entire apartment was filled with light as he opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of milk. Turning around to walk further into the room, his eye widened in horror.

“Yo, fucker!” I said from his couch, my gun trained on him.

He took a step back, but Mallogory stepped out of the door leading to the bedroom, holding her own gun on him, “Yeah, don’t move.”

“What is this?!” he asked in a panic, holding the baby bottle of milk. Weird fucker drinking from a bottle, bleh.

“You know what it is,” I say simply, not getting up. “Where is the item that kid stole from us?”

“What are you talking about?!” he asked, feigning ignorance.

Letting out a sigh, I lowered the gun slightly, “Was really trying to avoid this.”

Pulling the trigger, I put a bullet in his thigh. He let out a wail of agony as he collapsed onto the ground, holding the wound.

“Next one is the gut,” Mallogory said, spinning her revolver, “And mine bites harder.”

“Nelson?!” a sudden feminine voice called from the doorway leading to the hallway.

“Daddy?!” came a second, much younger voice.

In ran two other rats, one closer to age to the male rat, and the other clearly a child. The female rat was holding a baby in her arms. They ran to him and fell on him, hugging him and asking him questions.

Mallogory and I looked at each other, eyes wide as we had not expected this. This apartment isn’t even set up for a family! There’s just a single bed!

Not sure what to do next, I just run with it, giving Mallogory a signal to just follow my lead.

“Nice family,” I say in as sinister a voice as I can manage. This caused all of them to look at me in horror as I stood up on my hind legs, gun still in my paw.

Mallogory stepped out, taking on a new persona as she acted the villain, “a nice family that would look so much nicer spread all over the walls and furniture!”

The voice she was using was the most cliché and ridiculous sounding voice ever for a villain, she was even acting a little crazy. Twitching and looking like an addict to add some character to herself.

“Just… please, leave them out of this,” the man asked, his tough side now gone.

“Yeah, no, they’re a part of this now,” I say, aiming my gun at the baby in the woman's arms. “Five seconds before I blow the baby away.”

“Holy shit! What is your problem?!” he yelled, but winched as I pulled the hammer back. “Okay! Just take the gun away from my son!”

“Gladly,” I say as I shift it over to his daughter.

“Fuck!” he yelped as his wife started sobbing. “Your stupid device is with Slinky Tom!”

“Where is this, ‘Slinky Tom’?” I ask calmly.

“Yeah, tell us or I’ll use my claws to skin each one of you alive, starting with the youngest!” Mallogory added unnecessarily, which had the effect she desired as they all began to panic even more.

“His address is in my black book!” he yelled, hugging his family close as his wife held down on his bullet wound.

“Where is this book?” I ask, keeping my gun on them.

“Under the bed, the board with the knot in it, lift it,” he replies, looking to be growing paler by the second.

Mallogory quickly stepped into the room. The sound of the bed being thrown against the wall was heard, followed by the sounds of the floor being ripped up with her claws as she went after all the boards, not just the one he mentioned. She eventually returned to the room holding a little book.

“Prefect,” I say as I start walking towards the door on my hindlegs. “Now I hope it goes without saying that if you’re lying, we’ll find you all, and deal with you each separately.”

“If you’re lying,” Mallogory said as she pointed to the baby, “then I’m eating the baby!”

They all whimpered and cowered away as we walked by. We kept our guns on them till we got to the door, then we took off running down the hallway. Racing to the window at the end of the hall, I shattered it with my metal leg and jumped out, hovering just outside it.

Mallogory climbed out and jumped on my back, I grunted at her extreme weight, with her metal skeleton and all, and flew us to the roofs of the buildings on the other side of the street.

Landing with a heavy thud, she rolled off my back and the two of us stared back at the building we’d just left. Far below, we saw a police car with its lights on pull up and two cops run inside.

“Looks like the neighbors called the cops,” I say, already knowing that would happen when I fired the gun.

“Good thing we got the wings of a flying horse on our side,” she teased as we stepped away from the ledge. She handed the book to me.

I looked through it, seeing lots of names and info next to them. “Well shit, this is a real black book, filled with all kinds of juicy info and names. If I was still a cop, I’d get a promotion for turning this one in.”

“Sweet, we got a lead and then some!” she laughed, pumping her fist.

We began to head for the other ledge, planning to fly across a few more buildings before returning to street level.

“Wait,” she said suddenly, turning to me as we walked. “Did we just become the bad guys of this adventure?”

“What? No,” I reply, rolling my eyes with a chuckle. Then I frown, “I mean, not really.”

“You threatened to shoot a baby,” she offered, looking conflicted.

“And you threatened to eat said baby,” I countered.

“Huh… I did, didn't I?” she said as she scratched the back of her head. “I kinda got lost in the moment.”

“Oh well, they’ll be fine,” I assure her as we reached the ledge and she started to climb onto my back.

“Will they?” She asked.

“Sure,” I say, preparing to take off. “After a few years of therapy for the kid, they’ll be back to normal.”

“Yep, we’re clearly the good guys here,” she remarks with a light hearted chuckle.

“Eh,” I jump into the air and soar to the next set of buildings.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So Slinky Tom works here?” Mallogory asked as we walked towards a car wash with all kinds of cars around it waiting for their turn.

“According to the book, he runs it,” I respond, eyeing all the rats around the building suspiciously. Especially the employees.

“How will we know which one he is?” she asked.

“No idea, I guess look for the most unique looking one. Or ask for the owner,” I offer.

“Think he knows we’re coming?” she questioned as we were nearing the front door.

As if to answer her, the door opened and a well dressed rat stepped out, two suitcases in each of his arms. He was yelling back into the building.

“When you see them, call the cops! I ain’t taking any risk!”

“He knows,” I deadpan as he turns and sees us. He doesn’t react right away, but then he yelps.

“They’re here!”

The entire area came to a halt as every employee looked towards us.

“Now, we’re just here to ask your boss a few questions,” I say, trying to deescalate the scene before it got worse.

They all responded by reaching into their coveralls and pulling out guns of their own.

“Ah, shit,” I say as the two of us dive to the side behind a car as the entire area lights up with gunfire.

“So much for just talking, huh?” Mallogory asked with a chuckle as she pulled her revolver out.

“Well, this means we can kill them in self defense,” I say with a chuckle of my own. “Just, don’t kill Slinky Tom.”

Opening my pocket dimension, I pulled out four grenades I’ve had for a while and handed two to Mallogory.

“Don’t these go against our rules?” she asked with a smirk.

“I’m pretty fucking sure they have fucking grenades here,” I counter in an annoyed voice as we pull the pins and start tossing them over the car.

There was some confused yelling, then four explosions. This caused the gunfire to die down a lot.

We smiled at each other as we jumped up and slid over the car, guns blazing as we gunned down any we saw in the open.

I flew forward, spinning as I went, firing with perfect accuracy at any I saw as a threat.

True to her words, Mallogory’s large revolver blew away anyone she hit with it. So I had to admit, the overpowered nature of her bullets were indeed attractive. Still, prefer my sexy 10mm.

While swapping mags, I saw our boy Slinky Tom jump into the back seat of a car as four others got in with him.

“He’s running for it!” I yelled out, dropping four more rats that ran out to join the fight.

“On it!” Mallogory yelled as she ran to a very nice looking car and pulled the occupants out. “Scamp!”

With a touch of flair, I back flipped over a car, firing as I did so, and propelled myself towards the car Mallogory had procured.

Flying through the open window, I landed in the back seat. She took the driver's seat and gunned it after the fleeing vehicle.

“Oh fuck yes, I’ve always wanted to do a high speed chase in four wheeled vehicles!” Mallogory cheered as she weaved around other cars on the road violently, clearly not knowing how to drive smoothly.

Up ahead, as we slowly caught up, the rats in the car with Slinky Tom began to lean out the window, shooting back at us. Bullets pinged off the hood, a few hitting the glass.

The window spider webbed horribly to the point we couldn’t see out the window clearly.

“Fucking badass!” Mallogory yelled as she swung her claws forward, finishing off the glass and removing it from the frame, allowing us to see once again.

I watched as three rats fired back at us, two leaning out the windows and one firing from the back seat through the back window.

“Want to know what sucks?” I asked, putting a fresh mag into my gun.

“What’s that?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the road as bullets hit all around us.

“Being really good with a gun kind of ruins all the fun of the chase,” I say as I raise my pistol and fire three times in quick succession. The two rats leaning out the window went limp and hung from the side of the car, while the third fell back into the back seat.

“You’re right,” she said with a frown. “Kinda ruins all the fun.”

“Yep,” I sigh as I fire two more times, taking out the back wheels.

The car up ahead swerved hard a few times then spun sideways, then flipped, rolling over itself multiple times before coming to a stop against a building.

“But at least that was cool!” Mallogory said with a wide grin as we pulled up next to the crashed car.

I climbed out the window and flew over, landing on top of the door looking down into the car while it rested on its side. Inside, I saw a few bodies, the driver being crushed to hell by a fire hydrant they’d apparently hit.

Luckily for us, but not him, Slinky Tom was still alive and conscious, trying to get out from under a body that had him pinned.

“Slinky Tom,” I called down to him, getting him to look up at me as I pointed my pistol at him. “You know why I’m here.”

“Aye, you fucking bitch!” he yelled up, blood coming out of his mouth. “And I’ll tell ya, but ya gotta get me outta here first!”

I fired once, hitting the body on top of him, sending blood up into his face, “Nah, I don’t think so. Info first, then I pull you out.”

“Bloody hell!” he yelped, using his one free hand to wipe the blood from his face. “Fine, fine! What do you want to know?”

Firing again, I sent more blood into his face. The bullet must have penetrated this time, because he yelped with panic. “Don’t play coy with me, Slinky Tom.”

“You’re crazy!” he yelled up at me.

Before I could respond, the top of the car right beside his head was peeled open as Mallogory used her claws to rip it open and reached in, grabbing a screaming Slinky Tom.

“No more bullshit, Stinky Tom!” Mallogory yelled, slamming him against the wall roughly.

“It’s SLINKY Tom,” he sneered, but she just slammed him against the wall again. “Okay, I’m a businessman, and you two are clearly very smart ladies. We can make a deal.”

Landing beside them, I propped myself up next to him, placing my gun against his head. “Yep, we can definitely make a deal! What ya got?”

He audibly gulped as he sweated against the barrel of my gun, “Uh…” He cleared his throat loudly as he shook slightly, “as I was saying, we can make a deal! For a little extra Ego-”

“Your life,” I interrupted.

“... Yes, for my life, I’ll tell you what you want to know,” he said through clenched teeth, clearly not pleased.

“Deal, now speak, rat,” Mallogory said as she pressed him against the wall even harder.

“Gah! You’re killing me here!” he complained.

“Yep,” was her only response.

“My device,” I say, egging him on.

He glares my way, looking past my gun, “Yeah, your fucking device. My boss has it now. Items like that are extremely rare and can go for a lot. Not everyday a dimensional communication device falls into your hands.”

“You know what it is then,” I say, getting a nod from him.

“Of course! We’re not idiots, you cunt-”

Mallogory slammed her bone plated face into his head, causing him to look extremely dazed. “Don’t disrespect her.”

We look at each other and smile.

“Eh… God, get a room…” he groaned, blood running from a fresh gash on his forehead.

I slowly break my stare with Mallogory and look back to the rat pinned to the wall, “Who is your boss?”

“Kelman Utop,” he spat out, getting blood on my face.

Wiping the blood with a wing tip, I pull out the book and flip through it. Surprisingly, the name was in the book, along with a few addresses and other random info.

“Good luck finding him though, not even I know!” he says with a laugh.

“02195 Bellmond Park Blvd, suite 74?” I ask, reading off an address.

“How the fuck…” he sees the book and slumps a bit. “He didn’t tell me you got his fucking black book.”

“Yeah, would have been good information to have, huh?” I mock as I put the book away. “Now, to sleep with you.”

Mallogory slammed her fist into his face, attempting to knock him out. But he just wails in pain and grabs his face.

“Oops,” she says as she does it again, but he still remains conscious. “Son of a bitch!”

We both began to beat on him, trying to knock him out, but he just did not go down! He just screamed and yelled for help as we gave him the beat down of a lifetime.

“Why!” I yelled as I slammed a metal hoof into his face. “WON’T!” I spun around and bucked him square in the face. “YOU!” Two more bucks. “SLEEP!”

We finally stepped back from him as he collapsed and started trying to crawl away, looking very disfigured from all the cuts, bumps, blood, and broken bones.

“Okay, this one was his fault. He really should have just went unconscious on the first hit,” Mallogory said in her defense as we watched him drag himself way with one arm doing all the work.

“We probably could have handled that one better,” I say with a sheepish smile as I rubbed the back of my head.

The sounds of distant approaching sirens got our attention.

“Time to go!” I yelled as we sprinted back to our stolen car and jumped in.

As she put the car in reverse, I leaned out the window and yelled to the downed but still moving rat, “Stinky Tom, you never saw us.”

He raised a shaky hand and flipped me off.

“You get the idea,” I say, giving him a finger gun with my mechanical paw.

As we sped away, I leaned back in my chair, looking at my blood covered hoof and paw.

“That was a bit unexpected,” she suddenly said.

I just started laughing at this, followed closely by her.

A few cop cars flew past us, but did not stop.

“Okay, we need to ditch this car, that cop made eye contact with me,” Mallogory said as she turned down a side street as I heard the sound of a car screeching to a halt on the main road.

I let out a groan, knowing what we were about to do again.

Climbing out of the car, I let her get on my back yet again, and I took to the sky. I flew us up to a roof top and sat down, letting her off. We peeked over the ledge to see the cop cars coming back around the corner and pulling up on our car.

They all got out and advanced on it slowly. Once they confirmed we were no longer in it, they spread out, looking for us.

“Sweet, got the cops on our ass now,” Mallogory says, a smirk on her face instead of a frown.

“Shouldn’t have been so good looking, then he wouldn’t have looked over,” I say, giving her a wink.

“Pretty sure it was the destroyed car,” she countered, but gave me a flirtatious look in return.

I held up my paw, “we will return to this topic at a later date, after we avoid the cops.”

“Nice distraction,” she teased as she climbed back onto me and we took off into the sky.

Kill Rat: Volume 2

Chapter 34

“Kelman Utop,” I said aloud as we sat at a dinner across the street from the address in the black book. “Crime Lord, and also a local hero.”

Mallogory chugged her drink and tossed it over her shoulder with a belch, “Even evil pricks can do some good, I guess.”

“Is this guy evil, or is he just evil in our story?” I ask as I finish off another soda and toss the can over my shoulder as well.

She just shrugged as she lifted a plate of food to her face and began to dive into it, “Does it matter? He has a chain of thieves that steal shit, and he has our device. That’s enough for me.”

“You got a point,” I say as I eat an entire burger in three bites.

Turning to me, she shoved some food into her mouth and spoke with a mouth full, “It’s been way past five hours, think Lance is doing anything to help?”

“Probably, knowing him,” I replied with a shrug.

“Ladies,” a male rat in a fancy suit said as he stepped up to our table, looking displeased. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“What? Why?” I ask, chugging another soda and tossing it behind me.

“Because of the mess,” he deadpanned.

“It’s not that bad,” I say as I turn and see two large piles behind our chairs; just cans, glass, plates, and silverware. “Ah, that is a bit bad.”

“Please,” he pressured, gesturing towards the door.

We looked at each other and chuckled sheepishly as we slowly stood up.

“Right, no problem,” I say as I put my hoof on the orb a waiter offered to me, paying our bill.

As we stepped outside, I chuckled. “I think this town is a bad influence on us.”

“Or we’re a bad influence on it,” she offered as we walked across the street to the large building with a statue of a firefighter outside it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ayla waving at me. Looking over, she made a strange gesture pointing up.

What?

She sighed and appeared next to me. “Can’t you see it?”

“See what?” I said aloud, causing Ayla to stop and look at me strangely.

“Eh, Ayla, my Ego weapon is trying to tell me something,” I say, getting a nod of understanding from Mallogory.

“The Ego attached to you and everyone else. Do you see it?” she asked, waving her hoof around us. “I couldn’t see it till we got closer to this area.”

“No,” I replied, seeing nothing around us. Not even Ego… which is actually a bit weird to be honest, as ever being we’ve come across at least has at least some amount of Ego emitting off of themselves.

“My Ego weapon is telling about Ego being attached to us,” Mallogory said, frowning.

“Mine too, but I can’t see it,” I replied, sighing.

She looked around, crossing her arms, “this is getting annoying now.”

Ayla stepped in front of me and lowered her head down to mine, “Let me share my vision with you.”

We touched heads and she phased away, seeming to become a part of me. NOt like fusing, but similar. As soon as she did, the world around me changed slightly; the sky went from being bright and sunny to dark and gloomy, with dark tendrils pouring down from the sky like arms, latching on to everyone in sight. Even the two of us.

“What the fuck?” I asked, confused at the sight.

“Are you seeing this too?” she questioned as she looked around, her eyes glowing slightly.

I looked up, “You mean the dark sky with the tendrils coming down and connecting to everyone?”

She turned to me, smiling, “Things just keep getting more and more interesting.”

“What’s the point of this though?” I asked as Ayla pulled out of me, returning my vision to normal.

“It’s stealing your Ego very very slowly,” she replied, then frowned. “And it’s influencing your actions, lowering your morals and bringing out the worst in you.”

Upon hearing this from both of our Ego weapons, Mallogory and I looked at each other smiling widely at each other.

“Questionably moral citizens!” she cheered, clearly overjoyed with this change in the situation.

“It all comes together!” I replied, the two of us giddy with excitement.

Turning our heads to the massive building before us, we now felt a new sense of purpose.

“We’re the good guys again!” she commented, clapping her hands together loudly.

Not wasting any more time, we gleefully danced over to the front doors of the building, getting strange looks from everyone around us.

Once at the front doors, a security guard stopped us.

“Hold it, employee’s only on the weekends,” he said, stepping between us and the door.

Mallogory started to say something, but I held up a hoof.

“No problem,” I say, pulling her away as we walk away from the front door.

“What’s the problem? We can take his skinny ass!” she said, pointing back to him.

I shook my head, “Now that I know something is affecting our morals, I think we should be more careful at what we do. No need to hurt an innocent security guard just doing his job.”

Behind her, I saw a kid run up to the security guard and ask a question. But the guard turned and tased the kid, causing him to run away screaming.

“Actually, I don’t think these guys are all that innocent,” I say with a frown.

Ayla appeared next to me, smiling widely, “I can block it, since I don’t have to worry about you using me in combat. With your little bet and all.”

“Ayla is saying she can block it, what about yours?” I asked, getting a nod in response.

“Is that breaking the rules?” Mallogory asked, unsure.

I thought about it, then shrugged, “I don’t see how. It’s not US doing anything, just our Ego weapons dealing with a mental attack. Sounds fair?”

She hummed to herself before just shrugging, “I say it’s fair game.”

“Sweet. Ayla, go for it,” I say, getting a wide smile in return as she faded away.

Then, as if a heavy blanket was lifted off of me, everything became clearer. My mind suddenly felt lighter, which I hadn’t even noticed till now.

As the veil was pulled, I sucked on my teeth loudly, “Oh boy, we REALLY went a bit crazy, didn’t we?”

Mallogory stared at me wide eyed, nodding, “Oh yeah. This place is no joke!” But then she went back to smiling, “which means we now have a real evil villain!”

“Fuck yeah!” I say as we clasp hands, giving each other a determined look. “Let’s get this guy!”

Returning to the security guard, he placed his hand on his gun, “Didn’t I tell you no entry?”

“You did,” I say as I approached, then moved in one quick motion, spinning on the ground and bucking him straight in the face.

He slammed into the wall and went limp, unconscious.

“Don’t kill the security guards,” I say as we push through the door. “Just in case they are indeed innocent of all this.”

“What about them?” she asked as we entered a lobby filled with at least fifty well dressed, and armed, rats, all just hanging around doing whatever they wanted.

“Eh…” I started, unsure as they all turned to face us. “Hey guys, just here to see the boss.”

We both slowly walked forward, walking into the middle of the lobby. None of them moved to stop us, just watching us in confusion.

“Yep, no need for violence,” Mallogory said nervously as we slowly made our way through the lobby to the elevators on the other side of the room.

As we neared the elevators, they opened and even more well dressed rats stepped out, these ones looking meaner than the ones around us.

“Kill them,” a voice suddenly boomed over the buildings intercom system.

It all happened very quickly; everyone around us began to draw their weapons, and the two of us sprang away from each other, weapons coming out as well.

The lobby filled with a symphony of gunshots and screams.

I slammed into the nearest rat, flipping over him as I fired away, dropping someone with each shot I took. Using my wings to keep propelling myself around, I slammed into another rat, using them as a launch board as I jumped towards another.

They all followed me with their guns, unable to actually hit me as I sprang around the lobby frantically.

On the other side of the room I heard the booms of Mallogory’s hand cannon as she sliced her way through the crowd.

One of the rats I sprang off of grabbed me as I hit him, holding me in place. A nearby rat pointed his gun at me and fired, but I luckily was fast enough to block the bullet with my metal leg. I responded by putting a hole in his face, then spreading my wings, breaking myself out of the grip of the rat holding me as bullets began to riddle the area around us.

I used him as a meat shield as I dived behind cover, reloading as I did so.

Opening my pocket dimension, I pulled out two more grenades and pulled the pins, giving them a toss towards the rats taking cover behind tables. Two explosions scattered the survivors and my well placed shots finished off those lucky enough to escape the shrapnel.

Jumping out of cover again, I fired away as I slid sideways across the ground. As I slid in behind cover on the other side of the room, I found Mallogory using a rat as a weapon as she swung him into another, sending both into the wall.

She sprang to the cover I was behind and got beside me, reloading her revolver.

“This is fun,” she commented as she closed the revolver and cocked the hammer.

I looked over our cover and saw just five more rats moving around, trying to get ready for us.

“Want to just run for the elevator and kill them as we go?” I ask, getting a smirk in response.

With an excess of flair, we flung ourselves over the wall we were behind and fired away as we sprinted across the room.

The remaining rats were quickly killed as we reached the elevators and jumped in.

“Which floor?” She asked, looking over the well over a hundred buttons lining the wall.

I scanned it quickly, then smiled, “Penthouse, of course!”

As we began to ascend, the elevator music kicked in.

We stood there, the music filling the silence as we moved slower than I'd of liked.

“It’s pleasant at least,” she said, nodding along.

I just shrugged and pointed to my head, where my own music was filling my head. “I prefer my own.”

“Wait, you’re listening to music right now?” she asked, eyes wide as she looked at me.

This caused me to chuckle, “Yep! I have an implant that plays music all the time. I usually change it depending on the situation, but I keep it going at all times.”

She turned to me, looking extremely excited, “I have one too!” Pointing to her head looking more happy than I’ve seen her, “I keep it playing music all the time! But mine changes on its own instead of me having to do it myself, but it’s always playing the perfect song for the moment!”

“You’re kidding me!” I say with equal excitement. “Do you have your own battle theme too?!”

“Yes!” she yelled happily as I stood on my hindlegs and we locked arms as we danced around in a circle. “It really keeps me hyped up!”

“This is amazing!” I cheered as we danced around together. “We need to swap music later!”

“Hell yes!”

The elevator jerked once as we continued to rise up.

We blinked at each other, remembering where we were, then smiled sheepishly.

We were ten floors away from the top.

“Follow my lead,” I said as I jumped up to the roof of the elevator.

Shortly after that, the doors opened, and bullets came flying in through the door, shredding the walls.

“Stop firing, they’re not in there!” a voice called out, causing the gunfire to stop.

“Shit, they must have gotten out on one of the other floors!”

“Check the camera’s!”

As they argued, I pulled the pins on all of the flashbangs, and a single grenade, held in my wings, and tossed them threw the door below us.

Screams were heard, followed by a few bangs and a loud boom.

Mallogory and I dropped down from the roof of the elevator and sprang through the door, firing away at the rats who had set up a barricade in the hallway outside of the elevator.

Jumping over the makeshift barricade, we sprinted down the hallway, eying the door at the end that looked to be the penthouse itself. Armed rats were coming out of doors all around us, but we just dropped any that stepped out.

Bullets flew around us as more appeared behind us. I jumped forward and spun, sliding on my back as I fired behind us, quickly dispatching the ones behind us. Flipping myself over, I resumed my dead sprint behind Mallogory.

Nearing the door, I propelled myself forward with my wings, shooting past Mallogory and blowing through the door. I took the door off the hinge and skidded across the floor on the other side, a few rats opened fire on me.

I rode the door across the ground, blasting away as I did so.

Mallogory burst into the room, revolver blowing away the few I missed.

Everything stopped as the last rat fell, leaving us alone in a large open living room.

“Huh, that was easy,” I say as I stand up, looking around for anyone else.

“So you’ve killed your way to my home,” a voice called out over the speaker system. “Why don’t you put your weapons aside and enter my office, we can talk this out.”

Mallogory looked at me, smirking as she holstered her gun. “He wants to talk civilly.”

Returning her smirk, I put my own gun away and we moved towards the one door that could lead to an office.

Stepping inside, we were met with a lone suave rat standing behind a desk with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out a window at the city below.

“Ladies,” he said, not turning to face us. “You’ve been busy, getting into my business, killing my men,” he turned to face us, revealing what could be considered a handsome face, “and terrorizing children. Tsk tsk.”

“Yeah, well you kind of started it,” I retorted as we walked closer, going to either side of his desk, forming a kind of triangle as we all looked at each other.

He pulled out our communications device and placed it on the desk, “One of my followers started this, and if you’d come to me directly, I would have returned this without a problem.”

“I doubt that,” I say with a sly smile. “We entered the building mostly peacefully, and you ordered everyone to kill us.”

“I did,” he said calmly, putting his hands behind his back again. “Because I thought you were unreasonable, what with all the killing you’ve been doing.”

“Keep your hands where I can see them,” I say in a commanding voice, my old police instincts kicking in.

“I have a bad back, this helps the pain,” he replied just as calmly. With a gesture of a single hand, he pointed to the device and took a step back. “Now, take this thing and get out of my tower.”

Mallogory slowly stepped forward and reached out, grabbing the device.

Before either of us could react, his right hand flashed to his side, Ego exploding from his body, as he fired a gun. Mallogory’s head snapped back as she stumbled back as he turned to me.

But I was already flying towards him, faster than he could react as my Ego grabbed hold of him and I slammed into him. He yelped in fear as I bucked him into the air, then flexed as all of my blades came out.

With a roar of anger I turned into a tornado of death, pulling him in just like I did with Leem. But unlike Leem, this guy couldn’t regenerate. Blood and gore sprayed all over the room as I pulled him into the vortex of death I’d become.

As I came to a stop, I landed on his desk, breathing heavily as I turned to Mallogory with dread. Just to see her sitting there, looking amused as she stared back at me. A little black spot was on her bone shield, which had stopped the bullet completely.

“Looks like I win,” she said as she stood up, touching the mark the bullet left. “Fucking bastard actually caught me off guard.”

Seeing her up and talking brought immense delight to me as I stared at her, breathing very heavily as my adrenaline crashed.

She blinked at me, and then smirked, “What? Seeing me get shot in the face scare you?”

“Yes,” I answered simply, causing her smirk to fall away.

We didn’t say anything else, just looked at each other in silence, both of us covered in gore from my attack.

Blood rained down on us from the ceiling, making little splashing sounds around us.

“What music is playing now?” she asked softly.

A small smile danced onto my lips as the music in my head played softly, “A sappy love song.”

“Same,” was her response as we continued looking at each other.

Then I couldn’t take it any longer and jumped from the table, landing in her arms as we pushed ourselves into an embrace, lips coming together. We squeezed each other as she spun us in a circle, not breaking our kiss.

The blood continued to fall like rain around us, almost like an old romance movie ending.

Back to business

Chapter 35

As the elevator slowly descended, I looked ahead, a goofy smile on my face. Glancing up revealed Mallogory had the same look on her face.

“I’m not much for relationships and shit,” I warned.

She just snickered and slugged my shoulder, “I don’t do all that lovey-dovey shit, so if that’s what you ponies are into, not happening.”

Giving her thigh a punch in response, I waved her off with my wing, “Trust me, I prefer it not to be all lovey-dovey.”

“So, we doing the couple thing?” she asked.

“I guess, if we’re on the same page at least,” I replied, looking up into her beaming face.

“Guess we are then,” was her response as the doors dinged open.

“FREEZE!” a cop screamed as at least a dozen cops stood outside the elevator, pointing their guns at us.

We glanced at each other, grimacing.

“Hands up!”

Not wanting to hurt anyone innocent, we raised our hands, me standing on my hindlegs to get mine up.

They push forward and pull us out of the elevator, slapping handcuffs on us. They moved us towards the front doors, reading us our rights.

Roughly, they put us into two separate cruisers.

I could easily break out of these restraints, but I’ll hold off till I could do so and not hurt anyone else.

The cruiser pulled forward and we began to speed down the road. I remained silent, looking out the window as we drove along.

“Why’d you do it?” the cop up front suddenly asked, glancing in the rear view mirror at me.

Turning to face him, I just grinned, “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me,” he replied.

“That guy, Kelman Utop, was using his Ego to siphon Ego from all of you, and was influencing everyone in this city to lower their morals and do his bidding. I believe that’s the end game at least,” I said, getting a strange look from the cop.

“Kelman Utop is a hero,” the rat cop responded. “When this city was falling apart, he left for the endless Plains and returned with an ability that helped to pull everyone together. It’s thanks to him that we were able to survive the Collapse.”

“Yet he was lying to you all,” I countered, getting a nasty look in return.

The cop huffed, staring at the road ahead. “He was a good rat and you murdered him. Hell, he didn’t even run for mayor once, just wanted to help the city.”

I thought of responding, but seeing the angry look on his face, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

We remained silent till we got to the police station, where he pulled me from the cruiser and led me inside.

Processing was very similar to how it was back home, but here, they were a lot more rough. Or that could just be I killed their ‘hero’.

After being processed, I was pushed into a cell by myself. Not long after they led Mallogory in and shoved her violently into her own cell next to mine. There was no wall between us, just bars.

“Fuckers,” she spat at them as they all stepped out of the room, leaving us as the sole prisoners in the cells.

She huffed as she leaned against the bars, crossing her arms. “They took my gun.”

“Cops do that,” I replied with a chuckle as I opened my pocket dimension, “but I still got mine.” I close it without taking anything out.

“I should of thought of that,” she commented, rolling her eyes. “So,we breaking out or what?”

I nod as I look around the small room, “We will at night, that way we don’t have to worry about too many people being here.”

“Being good guys makes things so much harder,” she groaned. “At least when we were under the influence we got shit done faster.”

This got a chuckle out of me as I sat down on the cot, “Make yourself comfy. It’s just the morning now, got a whole day ahead of ourselves.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

It was only a few hours later when three cops walked in, two detectives and what looked to be the chief.

“You two are popular, we’ve got two detectives from the mayor's office here to speak with you,” the chief said, gesturing to the two detectives, one tall rat female and the other a shorter male.

“Leave us, chief. We’d like to talk to them alone,” the female said roughly.

“Of course, ma’am,” he said as he handed over an envelope. “Here’s the evidence and case report.”

“Thank you,” the short male said as the chief quickly left the room. The camera in the corner of the room seemed to turn off, as the little red light stopped blinking.

The two rats walked up to our cells, pulling two chairs up as they did so.

“I ain’t talking, rats,” Mallogory said gruffly from her back on her cot.

“I wouldn’t expect you too,” the male rat said as a Ego card flashed above him, causing the two of them to emit a bright light.

What I saw both dumbfounded me and made me laugh loudly.

“What have you two been up to?” Lance asked as he sat down, opening up the case files on us.

Bronwyn sat down, an amused look on her face.

I leaned up and looked at them, raising an eyebrow at her, “Nice to see you again, Bronwyn.”

“You too,” she replied, smiling brightly at me. “Got a few new wounds I see.”

Flashing her a toothy grin, I ran a hoof up the side of my burned body, ending right at my ruined eye. “It was a fun situation for all involved.”

“You tortured a child?” Lance asked in a disbelieving tone, eyeing us over the top of the report.

I smiled sheepishly back at him, “Not technically.”

“Then you attacked a family and wounded the father,” he said, then sighed. “And threatened to not only shoot the baby, but also eat it?”

“That last one was me,” Mallogory admitted, getting a scowl from Lance. “But to be fair, there was an evil villain that was influencing everyone to do evil, even the two of us.”

Lance just went back to reading the report.

“When did you get back?” I asked Bronwyn.

“Last night, after you two never responded to Lance’s desperate calls,” she replied, chuckling at him.

“I wasn’t desperate, just worried,” Lance said in a low voice, then looked back at us. “Killed a lot of people.” He flipped the page, “a LOT of people.”

“To be fair, we chose peace and they returned violence,” Mallogory said, shrugging at him. “Gotta defend ourselves.”

“Sure,” was his response as he finished the report, putting it aside. He just stared at us, looking displeased.

“You said make our own adventure,” I said, giving him a sheepish grin.

He blinked at me, and sighed, “Yes, I did. But you two went on a killing spree, and killed someone labeled a hero to this city.”

“You’re kinda just going off the report there, and not what we’re saying,” Mallogory said, getting annoyed as she leaned forward, pressing her face against the bars.

Bronwyn let the scene play out, just smiling at us.

“I doubt the hero of this city would turn out to be evil,” Lance said, ignoring her words. “From what I’ve gathered, he saved this city. And then you two murdered him.”

“That’s enough,” Bronwyn finally said, just as Mallogory and I jumped up, both of us looking pissed. “Lance, I’m going to cut this short and tell you they were right.”

“What?” Lance asked in confusion, turning to face her.

“I know this city, and the rat in charge, not the mayor,” she said, a sly smirk on her face, “he was using his Ego to control the populace and steal their Ego. If Mallogory and Scamp hadn’t been so powerful Ego wise, they’d have fallen under his control as well. Luckily, all it did was influence them.”

“So this wasn’t them?” Lance said, holding up the report.

“It was and it wasn’t,” she answered. “But what I will say is they weren’t bad compared to others I’ve seen come through here. However, somehow, these two tracked down and killed the one responsible. Not even I was able to do that.”

“Shit,” Lance muttered, turning to us. “You’re off the hook, for now.”

“No apology?” I asked, getting a sour look from him.

With a flash of a card, the two of them turned back into their rat disguises. He took a device and handed it to me. “Wait thirty minutes then use this.”

I put it away in my pocket dimension.

Lance stepped up to the door and knocked on it. After a minute, the chief returned, smiling.

“That was fast, need anything?”

“We’re done here,” Bronwyn said.

They were led out of the room, leaving just the two of us again.

“Guys a prick,” Mallogory said with a displeased look on her face.

I just grinned, “he comes off that way sometimes, but honestly he means well. He just doesn’t want me to go down a path I can’t come back from. Like murdering innocents or shit like that.”

“My feelings towards him are… indifferent right now,” she said with a groan, laying back down.

“What did he give you?”

Pulling it out, I chuckled, “Teleport device, it's already preloaded with a location.”

“At least he’s helping us get out and not leaving us here,” she muttered.

ooo000<^>000ooo

After thirty minutes had elapsed, I used the device as Mallogory and I held hands so we’d be teleported together.

We appeared right at the teleport hub, but not the one in the city we were just in. Instead, we were back in Lorenzo’s Fun Park.

“Right on time,” Lance said as he and Bronwyn stepped out of the teleport hub, back in their normal forms.

“Thanks for getting us out,” I say as the two of us hug. “Still mad?”

He flashes a smile, “Well now that I’m sure you two weren’t just killing for the hell of it, I can’t really be that mad about it. I’m just happy you’re safe.”

As we broke the hug, Bronwyn stepped up and held out her hand. I shook it with my metal paw.

“Good to have you back,” she said as she shook my paw.

“You too, I was starting to wonder if you’d ever get back to us,” I said as I pulled out the little tracker she’d placed on me. “Even if you left this little baby behind.”

She just laughed as she took it back, “Sorry about that, I did that when we were all training together. Just in case.” Leaning down, she looked my wounds over closer. “I need the story on these.”

I smirked at her, “You got it.”

Lance began heading into the park, waving for us to follow him.

As we all walked, I took my place next to Mallogory.

“I wish I could say I’m happy to be back here, but this place gives me the creeps,” she said as she looked around at the colorful booths and rides.

“That fire really should have spread to more of the park,” I joked, referring to the fire caused by my ship crash landing.

“We’re not that lucky,” she commented as Bronwyn fell back to meet our pace.

“So, Mallogory is it? I have a few questions for you regarding your home dimension,” she looked a little excited.

“Uh sure, ask away,” Mallogory replied in a slightly confused and uncomfortable tone.

The two of them slowed down, allowing Lance to walk next to me with no one else near us.

“So?” he asked expectantly.

“So what?” I asked in return, raising an eyebrow.

He nudged me as we walked, “How’d it go?”

“Great?” I replied, smiling awkwardly.

“And you two?” he pushed, clearly wanting the details.

“What about us?” I countered, trying to make it clear to drop it.

“You two… together?” he finally asked.

I sighed and looked back at her, watching Bronwyn bombard her with questions as she looked just as awkward as I did.

“... Yeah.”

He let out a little cheer as he pumped his hoof, “I knew that would get you two together!”

“Shut up,” I said with a laugh as I slugged him hard in the shoulder, causing him to stumble and almost fall.

He just kept on smiling, head held high at his little victory.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Once we’d arrived back to the area we were using a home base, which was just a pavilion, everyone came running, expressing a mixture of relief and confusion. A lot of questions were thrown our way, but there was no way we could answer them all.

Luckily, Lance got everyone's attention as he jumped up on a table.

“Alright, guys. Now that we’ve all finally returned after completing our task, we can start moving forward with our plans.”

Jero took up his position on the table next to Lance, but did not say anything.

“The next phase will require us to do two things; Track down Lorenzo, and increase the power levels of those of us who will be fighting,” he announced, getting murmurs from the gathered group. “Bronwyn will focus on tracking Lorenzo while the rest of us will focus on the latter.”

“But, what will we do once we find him?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking unsure.

“Simple,” Lance said with a wide grin. “Kick his ass and make him tell us where the Watcher is. We stand a chance with Scamp and her Ego.”

“I don’t like this,” Greg said aloud, but then smirked as he jumped up with Lance. “But I’m ready. We need to finish this, I’m ready to go home. What about all of you?”

Everyone yelled up in agreement.

“Perfect,” Lance said as he pulled a card out. “I’ve made the perfect card for our training session. Time will not stand still here while we are in it, instead it’ll just be slowed down. That’s because the plan is for us to stay in this new dimension I’ve created till Bronwyn has found Lorenzo. We will not age while here, so don’t worry about losing any time.”

“It shouldn’t take her more than a day or two to track him down,” Jero assured everyone as Bronwyn gave a confident nod. “That’ll give us plenty of time to get everyone trained up on their roles.”

“And,” Lance continued, “It’ll give Greg here time to figure out the best way to use this UAD drug. This all hinges on him.”

“Geez, thanks for the pressure,” Greg chuckled, looking a bit worried with everything hinging on him.

“What about those of us who don't want to train?” Rarity asked, getting a nod from a few of the others.

“Then it’ll be okay, I’ve included plenty of things in this dimension for those of us that just want to focus on anything else than training,” Lance answered, seeming to appease everyone.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” Bronwyn said as she smiled at all of us. “I’m confident I’ll find a trace of him very quickly and I’ll have found him in a day or two.”

I looked to Adry, who looked nervous about the idea of being in another dimension long term, I could see the question she had on her face clear as day.

With a sigh, I spoke up, “Hypothetical question; what if someone who was pregnant went in there, and since we don’t age, does that mean the pregnancy won’t progress?”

Lance and everyone looked at me, eyes wide.

Clearing his throat, looking very nervous, he addressed me, “Are… are you… pregnant, Scamp?”

“Nah, I’m just curious,” I say, chuckling nervously at all the stares.

“Uh…” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t know?”

“Could you add that to it? Just in case someone gets pregnant in there?” I asked, getting a thankful smile from Adry.

“I don’t… think we’ll… Geez, alright, Scamp, I’ll make it so IF someone were to be pregnant, that the pregnancy will halt right where it’s at. Sound good?” He asked, looking very uncomfortable.

“Yep, thank you, Lance. That’ll make me feel so much better,” I said, giving a wink to Adry, who just looked so relieved.

Lance held the card up, causing it to glow as he worked on it. “Anything else you all want me to add?”

At asking this, everyone surged forward, telling him all kinds of things to add to the card.

Adry came over and hugged me tightly, “Thank you, Scamp. I do NOT want to give birth to my baby in a place like this, and if we were in there too long, I’d start showing.”

“Anything for my alternate dimensional mother,” I joked, giving her a few pats on the back as we broke the hug.

As she returned to the group, wanting to add her own opinions to the card, Bronwyn stepped up to me.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you,” she said, looking a bit pained.

I just smiled and waved her off, “don’t worry about it, it worked itself out. Besides,” I said as I looked past her, seeing Mallogory trying to add her thoughts to the card, “if I hadn't gone, I'd have missed out on meeting my new friends.”

“They really are strange,” she chuckled, kneeling to my level. “They compliment you greatly.”

“I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult,” I say with a sly smile.

“Take it as you will,” she teased, hugging me.

As we broke the hug, she tapped her chin, “So, how exactly did you defeat Leem? The others give conflicting reports of the fight.”

“Oh, erased his memories,” I say, getting an impressed nod as a response.

“And it worked?”

“It stopped him from attacking us in that moment, so I’d say it did,” I replied.

“If you face him again, do not attempt the same attack, he always figures out a way to counter anything that remotely threatens him.”

“Thank you,” I say as the others step back as Lance walks forward.

“Enough guys, we don’t need hot tubs or spas!” he yelled, causing everyone to back up.

“But the spas-” Rarity began, but Lance cut her off as the card glowed again.

“Fine, we have spas, but NO MORE! Please, we have plenty in there now. It’s basically better than our old homes at this point!”

I chuckle and slap my hoof down on her shoulder, “Good luck, Bronwyn.”

“You too, Scamp,” she says, glancing at Mallogory. “Don’t have too much time in there.”

“You know?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“Lance told me his plan for you two,” she replied, getting a sigh out of me.

He really is proud of himself on this one.

“Well, I guess it worked out this time around,” I say as I step around her. “Find that prick for us.”

She gave a little salute as she stood up.

Lance threw the card, causing a portal to open. “Everyone in, let’s go!”

As everyone piled in, I lingered in the portal, looking back at Bronwyn.

She gave a little bow, beaming a smile my way.

I gave her a salute in return and passed through the portal. It closed behind me with a loud pop.

End of Act 1

Act 2: Time marches on

Chapter 36

Act 2

One month later(Real time)

Seven months. We’ve been in this fucking dimension for seven fucking months! The plan was a month at the maximum, but it must be taking Bronwyn a lot longer than it was supposed to to find Lorenzo. Or, something has happened to her.

Lance has refused to let us out early, saying to stick to the plan.

Well, sticking to the plan is causing the others to get restless. Myself included.

Hell, if it wasn’t for Mallogory, I’d have already forced him to return us to the real world.

On the plus side, we’d gotten in a LOT of training. Jero finally is making progress on how to use some of his powers, while Lance just keeps figuring out new ways to use his Ego cards.

Mallogory, with a lot of practice, and meditation with Greg, found out she can perform two actions at once. This was a big moment for her, as it opened her eyes to just what she could do with some training.

As for me, I realized I could use my Ego to not only shut off someone's Ego, but also imitate it while I’m attached to them. That was an amazing discovery. Really wish I’d known that way earlier.

I’ve also gotten really adapt at walking and fighting while standing on my hindlegs. A VERY useful skill.

Everyone has also gotten a lot closer, with my friends mixing very well with Lance’s. It was a bit rocky at first, living together and all that. But once everyone got past the first few days, they started opening up to each other.

It’s been great to watch. Sometimes I forget we’re training to fight a reality bending being. The only real reminder is Castor, who remained with Greg at all times in his little fairy form. Every time we all started getting a little too happy while grouped up, he’d be quick to remind us we are going to be facing the Watcher, and must prepare.

Absolute killjoy. Greg, however, loves the guy. Keeps telling us all he’s not that bad once you get to know him.

The others just avoid Castor, for the most part.

Mallogory and I have been spending most of our time training; either together or helping the others. It’s taken some work, but we’ve made a lot of progress as a team.

However, we still don’t have a real plan for fighting the Watcher. Greg still has not touched the UAD drug, saying he’s getting close, but that he needs more time.

I know he’s just avoiding taking it, since it’s more than likely going to kill him. He’s spent all of his time with Pinkie Pie, only training occasionally. But, he was a great help nonetheless, as he always had ideas on how others can improve.

He’s the one who helped me figure out more about my Ego.

Adry has spent most of her time with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, the three of them deciding to stay out of the training. Rainbow Dash would come out and help on occasion, but she seemed tired, more than I thought she would be.

My personal take is the fight with Lorenzo has given a lot of them some form of PTSD. I hear some of them wake up at night, screaming from night terrors. Calypso has her hooves full just helping them all through their trauma. Doc tries to help, but he’s more of a physical healer than a mental health expert.

Lance seemed to be single minded, pushing the group during training and doing his best to keep morale up. His maturity really surprises me sometimes.

But, I really worry about him. I see him sometimes, late at night, just staring off into the distance. It took me some time to realize he was inside his mind, reliving memories with his consciousness and Ego weapon.

Speaking of Ego weapons, Ayla and I have decided we will not fuse to become Scayla unless things are dire. We allowed her out early on, and she immediately began begging Greg to use some kind of spell to split her from myself and Ayla.

Apparently, she can’t do it herself, which I’m thankful for. I no longer trust her.

As things drag on, I really do wonder what is taking Bronwyn so long. If she found Lorenzo, did she just engage him? And if so, did she win?

I really hope it’s just taking longer than we thought.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stepped out of the house that had become mine and Mallogory’s, a cup of coffee in my paw as I stood on my hindlegs. Taking a sip, I gave a nod to Moxxi as she stepped out of her house as well.

“Yo,” she called as she climbed on her little motorcycle she’d built.

“Morning,” I responded as she gunned it and flew down the street, probably heading to the little dinner Greg and Pinkie Pie had set up. Mellow Pie was the name they’d given it, but we all just called it Pie on account it was built to look exactly like a massive pie.

Standing out in front of my house, the morning mist hanging over our homes, I saw Calypso and Doc walking down the street, heading in the same direction as Moxxi.

“Coming to the Pie?” Doc asked as they passed.

“As soon as Mallo is ready,” I assured them, getting a thumbs up in return.

I stayed there for a few more minutes, finishing off my coffee. Eventually, Mallogory stepped out, wearing her baggy T-shirt and sweatpants.

“Ready?” she asked, letting out a yawn.

“Been ready,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her as we both started heading down the street.

Upon arriving at the Pie, we saw we were the last ones to arrive, as usual.

As we stepped in, Greg yelled our way, “Finally! I got your orders already at your booth!”

“Thanks, Greg!” I yelled back as we made our way to our usual booth, where two large plates of food sat waiting for us. Sitting down, we did what we always did; messily and loudly devoured our food. At this point, everyone had gotten used to our way of eating and just ignored us now.

Greg stepped up to our table as we finished the plates and placed down two more, already knowing the routine.

“Greg, you are an amazing person,” Mallogory praised him, giving him a thumbs up as she did so.

He just chuckled and walked back to the kitchen.

While I was finishing off the second plate, Reinhardt slid in beside me, wearing some kind of metal band’s T-shirt and large sunglasses with the words ‘Pit Viper’ across the top of them. Greg was rubbing off on her apparently.

“Hey, guys,” she said with a wide grin, removing the earbuds from her ears. “Any updates?”

I shrugged, knowing she was asking about our progress on the two of us fusing.

“Nope, we’re still workshopping the idea,” Mallogory responded, picking something out of her teeth.

“I’m just saying, if you two can figure out a way to fuse without using Greg’s magic, that’ll be totally bitchin,” she said, mimicking words Greg had taught her.

This brought a smile to my face as I punched her arm, “You’re turning into a frat boy, Reinhardt.”

She just waves me off, laughing as she adjusted her Pit Vipers, “I’m just developing the me I want to be.” With a flick, she pulled out a large blunt and lit it.

“Reinhardt! You know my one rule!” Greg called from the kitchen. “No smoking in the Mellow Pie!”

“On it,” she chuckled as she stood up and walked for the front door, taking a large hit as she did so.

Shaking my head, I went back to finishing off my food.

Lance suddenly stepped up, smiling widely.

I turned to him, about to ask what he needed, then I realized he looked off.

With a sigh, I gave a single wave, “Hey, Break. Controlling Lance today?”

“You could say that,” he replied, his smile just widening even more somehow.

“Any particular reason you’re bothering us?” Mallogory asked in an annoyed voice. Break was definitely her least favorite person to interact with.

“I have a question,” he started, getting a sigh out of both of us.

“Yes?” I asked, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

He snickered as he tried to ask his question. “Are you two… banging yet?!” He began to cackle loudly.

Two plates smashed into his face as we threw them at him at the same time, causing him to stumble back and fall into a table.

“That a yes?” he asked with a wide smirk. His face twisted into a look of horror. “I am so fucking sorry you two, he caught me slacking and took over!”

“I’ve told you, you need to get that little shit under control,” I say with a bit of a growl, clearly not happy with the crude questions of Break.

“I’m trying, he’s just uncontrollable,” he complained as he returned to his table, getting a stern look from Drax and Remi.

Looking back to Mallogory, she just grunted in annoyance.

Moxxi suddenly appeared at our booth, head just high enough to see over the table top.

“But have you?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Mox, shut the fuck up,” I laughed, playfully shoving her.

She held up her hands, snickering as she backed off and returned to her table.

Leaning back, I let out a sigh, rubbing my temple.

Mallogory reached over and gave my hoof a squeeze. Looking at her, she gave me a wink. This calmed me a bit as I reached over with my paw and returned the squeeze.

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a heavy thud, I slammed into the ground, covered in sweat as I coughed and gagged. I forced myself to a standing position, throwing up a bit as I did so.

Mallogory wasn’t doing any better as she retched a few times from a few feet away.

Wiping my mouth I turned to face her, shaking heavily and pale as a ghost.

“Again?” she asked, looking just as bad as I felt.

“I can’t,” I coughed roughly, shaking my head.

She just nodded and stepped over to me. Standing on my hindlegs, we helped each other walk over to a bench and take a seat.

Pulling out her backpack, I dug out our protein bars. As we munched on them, Greg walked towards us, holding two plates in front of himself with magic.

“Hey you two, looking like death as usual,” he joked, placing the plates in our laps.

“Greg arriving just in time, yet again,” Mallogory chuckled weakly as she lifted some food to her mouth and slowly ate.

He smiled happily and looked us over. “So, no progress on fusing?”

“Nope,” I said between mouthfuls. “We’ve tried everything but your magic. And I’d rather just do it on our own. No offense.”

“I get it, don’t worry,” he replied, rubbing his chin. “What about, like, connecting your Ego to her Thorn?”

“What?” we both asked in confusion.

“Well, they’re both connected to your souls, right? So, what if you, I don’t know, like, connect them somehow?” he said, seeming to have trouble forming his thoughts.

“I’ve already tried connecting my Ego to her, didn’t help,” I reply, not grasping his idea fully. “We just tried forcing each other into our minds, but that just caused us to get thrown around mentally.”

He thinks for a moment, “have you tried sticking it into her hole?”

We stopped eating, and stared at him in disgusted shock.

He blinked a few times, then eyes went wide, “Whoa! NO! I meant have you tried putting your Ego into her Stomata! Like using your Ego to mix with hers!”

As he panicked, we slowly started laughing, relieved it had been a misunderstanding. I’d hate to find a reason to dislike Greg at this point.

Stammering, he took his leave, running back towards the Pie.

“Fuck I love that guy,” Mallogory said as she finished off her plate, looking a lot better than she had earlier.

I just smiled as I jumped up, thinking on what he’d said.

“He may have a point though, we’ve tried mixing our Ego and Thorn, but not on a completely personal level.”

“I’m all ears,” she said as she stood up and walked back to our little training ring.

I tapped my chin with my wing as I walked, “Okay, let’s mix a few of our ideas together. I’ll pour Ego directly into your Stomata on your hand, and try to use my ability to shut off Ego on you. That COULD connect us in a different way than before. While doing that, we’ll perform the dance Reinhardt showed us, the one that helps form a connection between the dancers.”

“Ooo, good idea,” she said with a clap of her hands. “Let’s also add in the mental link we just tried.”

“Perfect!” I said, standing on my hindlegs and stepping up to her. “Ready?”

“Hell yeah,” she said as she took my paw and hoof in her hands. Using my metal fingers, I removed the bandage on her right hand, revealing her glowing Stomata, the source of her Thorn.

Ego tendrils poured out of my metal paw and entered the glowing hole in her hand. As I activated my Ego ability to shut off her nonexistent Ego and also try and mimic her Thorn, I felt a strange sensation wash over me. She must have felt it too as she stiffened, letting out a soft gasp.

Slowly, we began to twist and twirl around each other, eyes staying locked as we did so. A warm and pleasant feeling pulse through my body as I felt a growing connection with her. As we got close and pressed our foreheads together, still dancing, I felt the connection deepen even further.

A pressure built inside of me, and kept building, higher, higher, HIGHER!

Then everything came crashing down as I felt like I was being thrown around in a washing machine, causing me to fall away from her and begin gagging into the dirt again.

Just like last time.

We both threw up our freshly eaten food, letting out pained groans.

“That one hurt more than the last one,” she moaned in pain.

Shaking, I turned to face her, still unable to get up, “But, that one felt closer than we’ve ever been before! Just, it felt like something was missing right there at the end.”

“But what?!” she asked, completely exhausted mentally and physically.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

She growled, but then sighed. Composing herself, she looked at me, “Try one more time for the day?”

I grimaced, not sure I wanted to go through all that suffering again, but her pleading eyes were my weakness.

“One more time,” I relented, getting a smile from her. “But what are we changing?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, as that pressure was nearing its peak, it just crashed back down, like we’d missed something important.”

“So, how about next time we do everything we just did, but as the pressure is building, we just go with it. Do whatever feels right?” I offered, getting a grin in return.

“Worth a shot.”

“Just, give me a minute,” I said, needing a little more time to recover from that last attempt.

She nodded in agreement, and we both collapsed back onto the ground.

After about five or so minutes, I felt up to trying again.

We resumed our previous positions, and went through the same steps. I poured my Ego directly into her Stomata, making sure to use more than last time. As I activated my abilities in the same order, we both shook slightly from the feeling that shot through us. A little smile played on our lips as we took each other's hands and began the dance, the pressure and connection increasing quicker than before.

My Ego flared a bit as I got excited at a little wink she gave me, causing a new bond to form between us. As the pressure raised and neared its climax we touched foreheads, forming the mental connection. I stared into her eyes, the pressure now at its peak. Then I leaned forward and kissed her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

An explosion of light filled the area as a loud bang echoed through the area, drawing all attention to the area we’d been in.

I stood there, feeling a bit confused. It took me a moment to realize I was actually standing there.

“Whoa,” I muttered, hearing two voices speaking at once. “Wait…” I raised my hands to see my Ego blades sticking out of them.

“It worked?!” I asked aloud, eyes wide. But, this doesn’t feel like how Scayla feels!

(Oh shit… this is weird!)

I moved around, walking about naturally. That’s when I realized there were wings on my back.

(Are we both controlling this body?!)

(I’m so fucking confused, but I love this!)

Spreading my wings, I take to the sky, rocketing up faster than should be possible.

Performing a spin, I fly back to the ground, landing on both legs perfectly.

(Ooo! Let’s try this!)

Ego tendrils shot out of my body as I flickered, switching positions to me doing a one handed handstand. With another flicker, I was back on my feet.

(Pretty wacky, huh?!)

“Mallogory?” I heard Lance ask as I turned, smiling at him.

“Oh fuck, they did it?!” Greg asked in shock, then smiled coolly, “My advice helped, didn’t it?”

“Oh yeah,” I replied, our two voices mixed into one.

“Is this like Scayla?” Lance asked, “If so, who are you this time?”

“Nope, it's just us,” I say, flickering to a position where I was laying on the ground. “We’re both in here, controlling this body. Fully conscious of our actions.”

“Fucking badass,” Moxxi muttered, taking a hit of her joint.

“Well, you two just became the most broken member of our party,” Lance joked.

“That was the intent,” I chuckle, flickering back to a standing position.

Greg nods in approval, “You now look like the most badass chicken ever.”

“Fuck you, Greg,” I laugh, rolling my eyes.

Author's Note

I feel like the act of fusing may of come off more sexual than I intended. :rainbowlaugh:

Talks at the cliff

Chapter 37

I stepped into our bedroom, ducking under the door frame as I did so. Being close to seven feet tall was an adjustment for half of me, since the other half is used to being 6’3.

With a groan, I stretched my arms above my head, hitting the ceiling. Then I saw myself in the mirror attached to the bathroom door.

A wide grin spread across my face as I flexed, watching the muscles ripple along my body.

(Fucking sexy.)

I raised my claws, watching as I brought out my Ego blades. They seemed to spread over my existing claws, turning my claws into indestructible talons of death.

Looking back to the mirror, I flashed my already razor sharp teeth. My Ego blades did the same thing to my teeth, covering them and making me look extra frightening as the starry metal coated them.

(We look like an apex predator now!)

With a twirl, I struck a pose, flexing my muscles again.

(Aww, tired of me already?)

I laughed out loud as I hugged my arms to myself. As we willed ourselves to split, a weird feeling fell over us.

ooo000<^>000ooo

We stumbled away from each other, a bit confused at first. But as we looked at each other, we broke into giggling messes.

“That was amazing!” I exclaimed as I jumped into her, the two of us embracing.

“We are so overpowered together! With all your technical knowledge and my Thorn, I don’t think anyone stands a chance against us!” She yelled happily as she spun me around in circles.

As we broke our embrace and she sat me down, I gave her leg a playful punch as I walked around her and headed for the door to the hallway.

“Going to check on him again?” she asked as she took off her clothes and began to get into her comfy attire.

I sighed with a little smile, “Yeah, if he’s doing his memory trip again, I’ll be coming back.”

“I await you then,” she said with a wink as she flopped back onto the bed and grabbed her little gaming device, one given to us by Greg after he used the fabricator Lance had set up.

Trotting through the house, I came to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I scanned the few bottles of alcoholic drinks I had. Deciding on a bottle of Everclear 190, I pulled it out and smiled to myself. I’m not much of a drinker, but it's nice to take a few swigs while checking on Lance. It helped calm my nerves and allow me to sleep mostly uninterrupted. The others weren’t the only ones who’d have night terrors.

Stepping outside, I took a test sip from the Everclear, coughing a bit as I did so. Tasted like straight lighter fluid. Shaking it off, I took another swig and walked down the back steps into my dark backyard. Walking across it I came to my fence and leaned on it, staring straight out into the mostly blank, grassy area that led to a cliff that overlooked an ocean.

It didn’t take me long to see Lance at the edge of the cliff, his usual spot. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, other than he seemed to be talking to someone.

Squinting my eyes, I could just barely make out the little fairy form of Castor, floating in front of Lance.

“Hm,” I grunted as I took another swig of my beverage. I debated on whether this counted as checking on him and if I should head back to Mallogory. But at the sight of him seeming upset, and then hearing him yell something loudly. I sigh.

I wait a few more moments before hopping my fence and walking in his direction.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“It’s forbidden, Lance,” Castor said calmly as Lance huffed in frustration. “I could help you create this card, but by doing so, and you using it, you’ll lose all your Ego based abilities and be forbidden from ever leaving your home dimension again once you return to it.”

“I don’t care, it’ll be worth it,” Lance responded, shaking in anger.

“It also can’t be used the way you think it can be; it has many rules and limitations. And if you do actually use it, every single being in existence will know it happened, and will remember everything. The effects are unfathomable,” Castor continued, unwavering in his tone and facial expression.

“But it can be done?” Lance pushed. “How about you let me worry about the drawbacks and negative outcomes.”

Castor blinked at him, a small frown appearing on his little face. “I’ve grown fond of you, Lance. I do not want to see you hurt or punished for using an ability like this.”

“Castor, please,” Lance said, looking at the fairy before him with tired eyes. “Just… please.”

With a deep sigh, he gave a nod.

With a flip of his hoof, a card appeared between them. Castor eyed it sadly as he raised his hand and infused it with a touch of his powers.

Lance smiled in relief as he took the card back, “Thank you, Castor.”

“I must warn you though; when I said it had limitations, it does. You can not use it in the way you intended. It has a ten minute max limit on it, no more.”

“TEN MINUTES?!” Lance screamed out, eyes ablaze with fury.

“I told you, it is impossible to fix the mistakes of the past in the way you intended. I give you this power to use, but it can only be used once. After that, the UAD will know what you have done and they will instantly take your Ego and place a ward on you. The moment you return to your home dimension, you will be locked there till your death.”

Lance growled, “And is my home dimension the earth that God took? Or Equestria?”

“The one true being took your original dimension and made the dimension of Equestria your new home dimension, so once you return there, it’ll be where you’ll stay.”

Lance grumbled, shaking his head. “Well this card is just useless then! I can’t use it to save my family, so this whole thing was just a waste!”

“I am sorry, Lance,” Castor said, glancing to the side and seeing Scamp approaching them. “I take my leave. Just,” he looked at Lance with sad eyes, “try not to have to use that card.”

“Sure,” Lance rolled his eyes and stared out at the ocean before him, clearly upset.

Castor disappeared just as Scamp reached them.

“Everything alright?” she asked as she came up beside him and sat down beside him.

“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “Just talking strategy with Castor.”

“And it didn’t go the way you hoped?” she questioned with a sympathetic look.

“It did not,” he replied, shaking his head.

She offered him a bottle of something, “Want a drink? It tastes like death, but it’ll help.”

He looked at the bottle and took it with his wing. Tilting his head back, he took a very large gulp of the alcohol within, not even gagging. He returned it to her, having drunk at least a fourth of the bottle in one go.

“Shit tastes like rubbing alcohol,” he grumbled, still looking out at the ocean before them.

“Yeah, it does,” she chuckled, taking another drink from it. “Want to talk about it?”

“No,” he said flatly.

She took the hint as she went silent and stared out at the endless ocean before them.

The two of them sat there in silence, occasionally sharing a drink of the bottle. Twenty minutes passed as they stared out at the water.

“How are you and Mallogory?” he suddenly asked as he returned the bottle to her.

“We’re good,” she replied, a smile crawling onto her face.

“It’s really good to see you this happy,” he said, returning her smile a bit, but still looking extremely sad. “You two are really good together.”

“Thanks,” she said as she took another sip. “I just want to get you and your family back together at this point so you can return the favor. I really hate seeing you this down, Lance.”

“Trust me, I feel the same way,” he said with a half hearted chuckle. “Are you two serious yet? Or still figure that out?”

“We think we’re serious,” she replied.

“What do you think? On your end at least?” he asked, pressing a bit like he usually does.

She just chuckled, starting to feel a bit more loosened up thanks to the alcohol starting to do its magic, “Want my honest answer?”

“Of course.”

“She’s the one, Lance,” Scamp said with a gleeful smile on her face.

“I’m happy for you, Scamp,” Lance said, giving her a one hoofed hug.

“You’re an expert on relationships, right?” she asked suddenly, causing him to laugh in response.

“I am definitely the person to ask about relationships,” he joked, but she didn’t seem to realize it was a joke.

“Good, I want to ask about kids,” she started, causing him to go wide eyed.

“Oh shit, Scamp, that’s a-”

“How did Grace and Octavia have their kid?” she asked, seeming very focused as she stared at him. “I mean, did they use magic or something?”

“Uh…” Lance coughed, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Well, it’s really simple… there’s some doctors in our world that can use magic to help couples have a baby. That’s what they did at least… Are you two talking about kids?”

“Yep,” she said, seeming to loosen up a bit too much as she leaned back, taking a larger swig from the bottle. “We’ve spoken on the subject a bit. Seven months living together has really put things into perspective, ya know?”

“Uh… yes?” he said, clearly not sure how to handle this situation. The alcohol was not affecting his body like it did hers, on account of him being part Angel.

“I want a kid, Lance,” she said, smiling up at the fake moon above them. “If a doctor has to use magic to make it happen, then screw it, we’d be down for that.”

“And Mallogory is on board one hundred percent?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s the one who started the conversation,” she chuckled, finishing off the bottle and tossing it over the ledge. “Ever since she brought it up, I’ve been thinking about it. And I’m sure she’s the one I want to spend eternity with.”

“But, she’s not immortal?” Lance carefully said.

“For now,” she said with a wink. “We’ll figure those details out much later.”

Lance sighed, as he was not used to Scamp being this free with information. He felt wrong hearing such intimate details of her personal life. “Scamp, I think you should head on home.”

She laughed, slugging his arm, “Can’t handle me being all open and shit?”

“No, I can not,” he conceded, sighing loudly.

“Oh you poor man,” she chuckled, standing up and swaying a bit. “Ooo, yeah, I may have drank too much. Probably SHOULD get home before I actually transition to being drunk.”

“Be careful,” Lance said as she began to walk away, swaying side to side as she did so. She stumbled a bit, but he watched her till she made it to her fence.

She started to struggle to climb the fence, but seemed unable to figure it out. She also seemed to forget she had wings.

“Mallo!” he heard her yell, sitting on the ground looking defeated. “Mallo!!”

He saw Mallogory run out of the house and jump over the fence. The two of them seemed to be laughing as she picked Scamp up and jumped the fence, heading for the house.

“Those two…” Lance said with a chuckle.

Turning back to the ocean, he pulled out the card Castor had helped create, and frowned.

This card had no use now. He thought about removing it from his deck, but decided to at least hold onto it just in case.

Putting it away, he leaned back, staring straight up at the artificial sky.

“Screw all this shit,” he mumbled, eyes tearing up a bit as his family's faces flashed before his vision.

With a reluctant sigh, he laid back and entered his mind, deciding to head down memory lane yet again.

Author's Note

Decided to write this chapter even though I was drinking. Enjoy, I'll read it in the morning to see how it turned out. :rainbowlaugh:

The Edge of Time

Chapter 38

I groaned as I rolled over in the bed, head pounding painfully.

“I forgot to drink water before bed, didn’t I?” I asked aloud, but got no response.

Rolling over, I fell out of bed and stood up, holding my head with a wing. I stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. I chugged the water, thankful for the feeling of relief it granted my dry mouth and throat.

Stepping out of the bedroom and walking down the hallway, I was greeted with the sight of Mallogory playing her handheld gaming system.

“Morning, drunky,” she teased, causing me to groan as I walked to the cabinet and searched for the magical pills Greg had given us.

“If you’re looking for those hangover pills, then good luck, I lost them the last time we drank together,” she said from the couch, hanging upside down off of it as she played her game.

“Of course,” I grumbled, digging through the cabinets and drawers.

“So, what happened to just a few sips before bed?” she asked with a coy grin.

“I got to talking and lost track of how much I was drinking,” I admitted as the night before slowly came back to me.

Then I went wide eyed as the conversation itself came back to me. “Oh dear fucking Celestia…”

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me as she looked away from her game.

“I told Lance a little too much last night,” I said, grimacing as I held my throbbing head.

“How much is too much?” she asked, looking a bit worried.

“Kinda told him about our talks about kids,” I said, getting a frown from her.

“Great,” she groaned, returning to her game. “Now everyone will be asking about that.”

“I don't think he’ll tell anyone,'' I reassured her as I continued searching. “I mean, I hope not at least.”

“Guess we’ll know when we go to the Pie here soon,” she mumbled.

“Oh fuck yes,” I cheered as I found the pills. Taking one out, I tossed it in my mouth as I put my head under the tap, chugging water directly from it.

“So attractive,” she teased from the couch.

I just chuckled as I pulled my mouth from the tap, feeling the little magical pill immediately start taking effect. Anti-Hangover pills are the fucking best, I swear.

The headache I had slowly receded till I felt like my normal self again.

Looking towards her, I smiled. I picked up a wet cloth with my paw and threw it towards her. It slapped over her face and caused her to panic, flailing about and falling into the floor.

“Scamp!” she yelped, jumping up and fuming as she stared at me.

I just laughed like a maniac as I ran out the front door and took to the air, flying towards the Pie. Mallogory was hot on my tail, keeping up despite me flying high above her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a loud bang, I burst through the doors of the Pie, getting everyone's attention.

“Safe!” I yelled, just as Mallogory flew in behind me and tackled me, sending the two of us rolling further into the dinner.

She got me into a headlock just as we came to a halt, holding tight, “Say sorry!”

“Nah!” I laughed out between gasps. With a twist, I broke her grasp and reversed the headlock onto her. “Now you admit I’m number one!”

“Second place!” she yelled out defiantly.

“You two are hyper as usual,” Calypso said from the table above us, sipping on her coffee.

We looked up and chuckled sheepishly as we broke apart and stood up.

Everyone in the Pie just went about their daily routines, shaking their heads at our antics. Unbelievably, this was somewhat normal for the two of us.

We made our way to our table, finding our food waiting, just like it always is.

Digging into our food, I glanced at Lance. He seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts, just poking at his food.

Frowning, I stood up and walked over to him. “Lance, you good?”

He snapped out of it and turned to me, putting on a smile, “Yep, why?”

“You look troubled,” I replied, standing at the end of his table.

“I am,” he admitted. “But don’t worry, it’s just stuff for me to deal with.”

“Lance,” I started, narrowing my eyes, “what’s going on?”

He let out a sigh, then turned to me, “It’s… complicated.”

“Is this about what I said last night?” I asked carefully.

He blinked, then chuckled nervously, “Oh, no. Trust me, it's not that. Just other things.”

“About what you and Castor spoke about?” I pressed, getting a pained look in response.

“Please, I don’t want to talk about it,” he begged, eyes looking extra sad.

“I’m here for you, remember that,” I said, reaching up and giving his hoof a squeeze.

This seemed to bring him comfort as he patted my hand, “I know you are. This is just something for me to deal with on my own.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” I add as I turn and head back to my table.

“He alright?” Mallogory asked as I returned to my seat.

“No,” I sighed, pushing my plate away, not feeling like finishing it.

This shocked her a bit, but she didn’t push it.

ooo000<^>000ooo
Five days later

With a twist and a twirl, I spun through the air, blades flashing as my Ego flared in all directions. Continuing the spin, I turned into a tornado and slammed into the ground, causing a massive impact as I did so. Using my metal legs to absorb the impact left me completely unhurt.

Standing up straight, I let out a gasp as I tried to catch my breath.

Walking back to my bench, I picked up my bottle of water and chugged half of it, using my wing to lift a towel and wipe the sweat from my face.

Training like this was extremely boring, but necessary.

As I was resting, I saw Lance suddenly stop what he was doing and look around.

Raising an eyebrow, I watched as he looked a bit panicked for a moment, then started laughing loudly. He then took off running for the Pie.

“Huh,” I mumbled, looking around and seeing that everyone else had taken notice of his actions.

As we all watched him disappear into the Pie, we heard a loud speaker suddenly turn on, blaring across the entire area.

“Everyone, report to the Pie! This is urgent!” Lance’s voice called out over the loudspeakers.

“This is new,” Moxxi said as she walked past me, heading in that direction.

Walking that way, I was joined by Mallogory and Remi, the three of us exchanging confused looks.

Once we reached the Pie and stepped in, we saw that Lance was standing on the table in the center of the room, looking excited.

He didn’t speak till he saw that we all had arrived.

“Good news everybody,” he announced, getting weird looks from all of us. “Bronwyn just contacted me. She’s finally located Lorenzo.”

This caused everyone to start talking among themselves.

“So we can finally leave?” I asked aloud.

“Yes,” he said with a wide smile.

“What if…” Rainbow Dash started, looking to Adry and Rarity. “What if some of us don’t want to go out there and face him again?”

Lance frowned a bit at that, seeming unsure how to answer that.

Jero jumped up and whispered into Lance’s ear.

Whatever he said brought a look of relief onto Lance’s face.

“Okay, here’s what we will do,” Lance said, standing tall, “If you want to stay here till this is over, then you may. If you are not up to fighting Lorenzo and the Watcher, that is okay. I will not force any of you to follow us into this fight.”

This calmed most of the group.

“But, to those that come with us, we’re going to head straight from here to Lorenzo. So make sure you are ready.” He watched the group’s mixed reactions before adding, “I’ll be adjusting the time here, so it’ll be in sync with reality. That way you don't end up staying here another seven months.”

I watched as most of the group looked relieved, hugging each other.

“Now, I wish we could host a party or something, but I want to get going, right now,” he said, jumping from the table. “Anyone who’s coming with us, please, follow me.”

As he walked out the door, I saw the majority of the group stay where they were.

I stepped towards them, wanting to say my goodbyes.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Standing by Lance, I saw the last of our group step out of the Pie and make their way over to us.

Lance frowned a bit, but nodded, “I expected this outcome, but I still wish everyone would have come with us.”

I looked at the nine of us that had decided to follow Lance; Calypso, Castor, Greg, Jero, Mallogory, Reinhardt, Remi, and myself.

This didn’t surprise me, as the rest of the group had skills that were more suited for support from the sidelines. Not as useful in a straight on fight, especially against someone like Lorenzo.

“I want you guys to know,” Lance began, looking at each of us, “this could be our final adventure together. Because if we beat Lorenzo, we’ll be on track for the final confrontation with the Watcher. There’ll be no going back after that.”

“We’re ready,” I assured him, giving him a salute.

“These assholes are going to get what’s coming to them, one way or another,” Greg said, looking determined.

“I’ve honestly had enough of all this waiting around, I’m ready to get this fight underway!” Reinhardt yelled, slamming her fist together.

“I have a score to settle with this guy,” Jero said in a low voice, squeezing his fist together.

Remi held up her board, showing us a picture of her holding two heads in her hands, the words ‘Death to assholes!’ across the top of it.

“Let’s just avoid dying,” Calypso said, pushing her dreads out of her face.

Lance just smiled at us as he turned, using a card to open a portal.

We all stepped through it to find ourselves no longer in the amusement park.

“Where the fuck are we?” Greg asked as a cold breeze blew past us, blowing snow right into our faces.

“The end of time,” Bronwyn said from atop a rock near us, bundled up in heavy clothing.

“What’s that mean?” Greg asked, echoing the same question I had at that moment.

Bronwyn jumped off of her rock and landed before us, opening her larger pocket dimension and pulled out an assortment of clothing. “Exactly what I said,'' she replied as she handed out the clothing to the appropriate person. “Put these on, they’re enchanted to block out the cold. I got a pair for everyone.”

“Thanks,” I said as I took what appeared to be a heavy jacket and pants. It was a bitch to put them on while shivering, but as soon as I pulled them on, the cold seemed to pull away from my body. Replaced with a gentle warmth. Pulling the hood up and face mask blocked out the cold entirely.

Looking at everyone else, I saw they’d all done the same, wearing an assortment of parkas and heavy winter styled clothing.

“Good,” Bronwyn said, nodding in approval at all of us. She then cast her hand out over the snowy landscape before us, “this is the edge of time, a place that is normally only accessible by higher beings.” She pulled out a spent Ego Ruby. “But a few of these allowed me to enter. You all just got a free ride.”

“But,” Lance started, looking around in confusion. “How is this the end of time?”

“We’re not on the Eternal Plains anymore,” she said, getting shocked looks from all of us. “This is the space between the end and start of time. At this very moment, none of us technically exist anymore, not till we return to reality.”

Lance looked to Castor and held up a card, “What of this? Useless now?”

Castor sighed, “The powers I bestowed upon that card transcends this place, do not worry.”

“Lance,” Bronwyn said in a low voice. “What have you done to that card?”

He looked sheepish as he put it away, “I’d… rather not talk about it.”

She started to say something, but he held up a hoof and flew to her, whispering into her ear.

“You damned fool,” she said, frowning deeply. “Do not use it. No matter what, do NOT use that card.”

“I don’t plan on it,” he said, looking at the rest of us as we gave him worried looks.

Deciding to not address it further, Bronwyn waved to get our attention. “Lorenzo is here, and I have reason to believe the Watcher may be here as well. I just lack the correct knowledge to track him down, so we still need to deal with Lorenzo.”

“Great,” I say, shaking my head.

“We can handle him,” Mallogory said confidently. She then looked at me, “Should we fuse now?”

“You two can fuse?” Bronwyn asked, getting a nod from us. “Perfect, but hold off on that till we find Lorenzo. This place is not like reality, it’ll be hard to maintain any kind of transformation or fusion in this place after a certain amount of time.”

“Oh, that’s even better,” I deadpan with an annoyed look on my face.

“Where is Lorenzo?” Lance asked.

“Close,” was her response. “And he knows I’m here, and probably knows you’re here as well.”

“Well,” Lance said with a shrug. “Let’s go get him.”

“Fuck yeah!” Greg said as he pulled out a blunt and put it to his mouth, but the strong winds caught it and ripped it from his mouth, sending it flying away into the swirling snow around us. “Oh fuck this place…”

The threats keep coming

Author's Note

Things will be more serious going forward, and more gory. This is a warning, as I feel some of it is pretty bad.

The threats keep coming

Chapter 40

My body flickered as I dodged the onslaught of Ego tendrils as they snapped past me, each one going for the kill. My Ego coated claws sliced through any I couldn’t dodge. I was on the defensive, just trying to find an opening as she advanced on me slowly, keeping up the assault against me.

Focusing, I flickered twice to the side, now free of the onslaught. Using my wings to propel myself, I shot towards Scayla as she adjusted her attacks to my approach. As the Ego tendrils began to fly towards me, I spun in the air and flew over the first few that blew past me.

Flapping hard, I flared all my Ego blades as I began to spin like a drill straight towards her, destroying any Ego tendrils that attempted to hit me.

She roared as she flapped her wings, sending forcefields of magic at me. But I just drilled right through those.

Just as I was inches from her chest with the tip of my attack, she flashed, reappearing behind me as her body flashed as she cast a spell.

Hitting the ground, I spun around, preparing to attempt another attack. But the moment I came to a stop, something came over me as the spell she cast was directly onto me, meaning I couldn’t dodge it without having magic of my own.

“Got you!” she yelled, a sinister smile falling across her face as her tendrils flared and shot straight for me.

“Tsk!” I hissed as I realized I couldn’t move. As the dark tendrils near me, my own Ego shot out and latched on to her just as the tendrils reached me. They disappeared just as they slammed into me, my Ego cutting heads off.

She snorted and stomped on my Ego, breaking the connection. “Smart, but how many times can you get lucky?”

Off to the side, I saw Greg’s horn flash. I then regained control of my body. Standing up, I flexed my arms and wings.

She turned to see the others watching, eyes zeroing in on Greg, “So you want to be included in this fight?! FINE!”

Her Ego shot towards them, but Bronwyn slide between them and sliced away all the tendrils that flew towards them. This only infuriated Scayla more as she turned to Lorenzo.

“Aren’t you going to help as well?!” she yelled, shaking in anger.

He blinked and laughed, “I thought you said you could handle them all alone?”

“I can!” she yelled back, “but I-”

“Then do it,” he replied coldly, crossing his arms.

She growled as she took up a stance so she could see all of us. “Fine then…”

“Scayla,” I said, getting her attention, “You don’t have to listen to him. Hell, you don’t even need to listen to me. You’re free, why don’t you just do what you want to do?”

This seemed to cause her to think, a smile falling onto her face, “I think that’s just what I’ll do, thank you, Scamp.”

I blinked, confused that that worked, “Oh, eh… you’re welc-”

My eyes went wide as a tendril shot through my back and out my chest.

“Gonna kill you, that’s what I want to do,” she said with crazy eyes, a wide grin on her face.

“Shit!” I spat out, red and gold blood spraying out of my mouth. Using my tail, I flicked it up and sliced the tendril, causing it to disappear.

Falling to a knee, I held the gapping wound as she laughed like a maniac.

“You’re too gullible sometimes. I should know, I was inside the brain of yours,” she laughed in a cute fashion.

As I gasped, I saw another Ego tendril slide across the ground and attach to my hand. A cooling sensation washed over me as I felt the wound closing. Following the trail, I saw it lead back to Calypso.

“STOP INTERFERING!” Scayla roared as her body began to glow and a massive beam of energy shot towards the group.

Lance flashed a card, causing a shield to appear in front of them, deflecting the beam right back at her.

With a flash, she teleported next to me, dodging the attack. I reacted, but not fast enough as she slammed her antlers forward, catching me in the face. Luckily, the bone plating on my face was strong enough to withstand the attack, causing my head to just snap back instead of getting gored.

But now that she was close, I sliced out with both claws, flickering as I performed four attacks all at once.

She screamed as she flashed away, appearing a few feet away dripping blood out of her ruined face and chest.

“Bith!” She roared, unable to speak clearly now. “Yoor goung ta paa!”

“Can’t understand you,” I mocked back at her, giving her a wink as my wounds healed thanks to Calypso.

She began to shake in pure anger as the room seemed to start to darken around us.

Then, out of every single shadow in the room poured Ego tendrils, all flying towards me.

“Oh… did not know she could do that!” I yelled as I began to flicker and dodge around the incoming attacks, struggling due to the sheer amount of them.

My body began to get pounded and cut as more and more began to slip through. Calypso’s own Ego could not reach me in all of this, leaving me on my own.

Fighting as hard as I could, I sliced and flickered, but it was a losing battle as the wounds began to mount up.

As if to answer my prayers, an explosion was heard around the area Scayla was. The attack slowed enough for me to regain my composure and flicker away from my position.

Then, everything stopped, even me.

“Goft youuu!” I heard her scream in victory as my eyes went wide.

I felt something start to crawl through my entire body violently, cutting through skin and organs, wrapping around my metal bones. Struggling to look down, I saw I’d been stabbed by a tendril in the thigh.

Shaking heavily, I fought to move, to cut the Ego tendril attached to me before it spread too far. But I couldn’t.

“Nowh, doo vuat ah sey!” she roared, her ruined face seeming to resemble a smile.

“Cut it!” I screamed as my body spun around on its own, facing my friends.

“Oh fuck,” Lance said, eyes wide as he flashed a card, sending a wave of energy towards the tendril attached to me. But my body lurched forward and blocked the attack with my chest, leaving a burned hole on the top of it. Thank everything he didn’t throw something more powerful!

“CUT IT!” I screamed again as I began to panic.

(CUT THIS SHIT OFF OF US!)

“Heal her!” Lance yelled as Bronwyn dashed forward.

Calypso’s Ego snapped forward and attached to me, healing the damage inside of me, and the new hole from Lance’s attack.

Bronwyn danced around in front of me as she tried to get an angle on the Ego tendril, but it kept moving around my body, keeping me between them.

My claws flashed forward violently without warning. She barely blocked it as she kept trying to get around me, but my body kept following her every move.

With a loud clang, my wings shot around and slammed into her sword as she blocked the attack. She had a panicked look on her face, which did not help me at all!

(BREAK THE FUSION!)

Everything seemed to slow as she blocked another attack from me, and a massive pain shot through my body as a second tendril blew through my back and out my chest, slamming straight into Bronwyn’s throat.

Her eyes went wide as she cut the one that pierced her, then stumbled back, collapsing onto her back. Choking violently.

Calypso’s Ego attached to her quickly, but now no one was helping keep me from attacking them!

As my body raised up and lurched towards them, Balgore grabbed my leg and slammed me straight into the ground. He grabbed the Ego tendril and ripped it from my body, causing me to let out a dual voiced wail of agony as Calypso's Ego worked over time to heal my body.

I shook violently as I stood up, looking at Bronwyn. To my relief, she was climbing to her feet as well, coughing up the remaining blood in her throat.

Snapping my head to Scayla, I saw her fuming as she stared straight into my eyes.

My Ego snapped towards Lance, to his surprise, and I latched onto him, taking his Ego abilities. “Sorry, Lance. I need to borrow you for a moment.”

He blinked, looking taken aback, but didn’t protest.

Holding up my hand, a card appeared between my claws. Focusing on it, I created a new card for myself.

“I was against killing you, Scayla,” I started as she narrowed her eyes, jaw hanging loosely. “But after that? Fuck you.”

The card flashed as a pink gleam coated my body.

My Ego shot out and attached to her in all directions, more than she could cut or break before I reached her.

I began to walk towards her, snarling as I looked her directly in the eyes.

Her body flashed as she cast a spell that flew towards me, but it just bounced off of me and flew away harmlessly. With wide eyes, she tried to cast more spells on me, but all seemed to fail. Then she shifted her focus to the Ego attached to her, but for everyone she cut, I replaced it with another.

Finally, she turned to me, eyes wide in a crazy stare.

As I neared, I flashed her wide toothy smile. I then started sprinting straight at her.

With a gurgling roar, she charged straight at me as well. But just as we neared each other, I flickered to the left. She didn’t react fast enough as I sliced down her side, leaving three long cuts along her.

Stumbling forward, she looked back, a shocked look on her face. She fell to her knees, her insides falling out.

Then to my surprise, she began to cry. Loudly. She curled up into a ball as her mane and tail started to dull.

“Damn it,” I cursed. My Ego snapped to Calypso as well. I then sent a Ego tendril to Scayla, slowly healing her wounds.

Everyone started screaming their protest, all but Lance at least. He just looked on with interest.

Scayla blinked a few times as her mouth reformed itself, looking at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing?!”

“Saving you,” I deadpanned, staring at her blankly.

“But, I’m going to kill you!” she yelled, shakily standing up.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” I said, then chuckled despite the situation.

Her lip trembled in anger as she stared at me, then her shoulders relaxed. “Damn it, Scamp… Why are you making this hard?!”

“Because that’s what I do apparently. I’ve been saving instead of killing recently,” I replied, shrugging.

Off to the side, Lance smiled in approval, clearly very proud at that moment.

Scayla snorted hard, but sighed as a small smile formed on her lips, “You know I’m not going back inside of you, right?”

“Don’t expect you too,” I say, returning her smile. “You’re your own being now, you can do whatever you want.”

She looked me over, then laughed, “I don’t know if-”

Everything happened at once. A portal opened next to her, followed by a blade flashing through her. Another opened before me the next instant, a flash of metal flying towards my neck.

I flickered as I dodged the sudden attack, dodging to the side and turning to face Lorenzo, who was just pulling his sword back from his attacks.

“You are just amazing! The reaction time! Beautiful!” he praised from across the room, clapping his hands together.

A gurgling sound came from my left, causing my head to snap over. A grimace fell across my face as I saw Scayla, now without her head.

“You…” I shook, the sight of her body causing me to start breathing harder. “... You bastard…”

“I don’t like when my underlings don’t do what I say,” Lorenzo replied, glancing at Balgore. “You’re next if you don’t return to my side. Right now.”

Balgore spat upon the ground and crossed his arms in defiance.

“Your fight is with me,” I said in a low voice as I began to walk towards him.

He turned to me, blinking, “Is it?”

I did not answer as I propel myself forward so fast, no one in the room even saw me move, not even Bronwyn.

As I appeared before him, my claws dove forward, aiming to impale him through the chest. But, just as my claws reached the cloth over his chest, a portal opened before them.

I grunted in pain as my own claws slammed into my back, digging deep into me.

“WHOA! YES!” he yelled, dancing back a few feet. “That is what I’m talking about! You NEED to work for me!”

Spitting out blood, I stood up straight, towering over him. Instead of answering him, I swung my clawed hand forward. He didn’t move since he was out of my reach. That was till one of Mallogory’s sword appeared in my hand.

His eyes went wide as he deflected the attack with his own sword, but I followed it up with a second attack from my other hand, the other sword appearing in it.

(Fucker didn’t know about these babies!)

Pushing hard, I cut away at his defenses, but his speed was on par with mine. Neither one of us could find an opening to attack the other.

Then, with the expertise of someone who’s been fighting for thousands of eons, he deflected my blades and somehow twisted them out of my hands, sending them clattering away.

His wide crazy eyes beamed at me as he sliced away at me, with my claws now being used to block and deflect his sword.

“YES!” he yelled out as we danced around each other. “You would do amazing things under my guidance!”

Not taking the bait, I kept up the assault, my wings slicing forward when they had the chance.

Again, just showing off how far ahead in combat he was, he somehow got my arms tangled up with his sword, portals appearing around himself to block my wings as he smiled up into my face.

“Say yes, give yourself to me,” he said as his free hand reached up and caressed my bone plated cheek.

My eyes narrowed, but then I smiled at him.

He returned the smile, till a bright flash caught him off guard as he lost his grip on my arms.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mallogory and I split apart, falling to either side of him. His eyes went wide as he tried to collect himself in the seconds that followed.

My Ego attached to him just as he spun and dove for Mallogory’s chest. As the tip reached her, a portal opened over it, causing his blade to penetrate through his back.

I cursed as I realized I missed his heart with the attack.

He yelped and wheeled away, stumbling a bit as he ran away towards the door attached to the room.

“You fucking coward!” I screamed as I slammed into his back, sending him to the ground.

Mallogory jumped for him, but even from the ground he was able to deflect her attack with his blade.

Very roughly I landed on top of him, knocking his sword aside and latched down on his throat with my teeth. I very easily ripped straight through his clothing and through his fleshy neck. He let out a hoarse scream as he grabbed my Ego tendril with his bare hand and snapped it.

A portal opened beneath himself, dropping both of us into it.

“Scamp!” Mallogory screamed as she jumped in after me. A third person followed us in just as it snapped shut.

Lorenzo and I rolled across the ground as I started ripping into him over and over again with my teeth, biting anything I could get my mouth on. At one point, I bit clean through his hand, removing it from his arm.

Without warning, a heavy boot slammed into my side, sending me flying away from the wailing and screaming Lorenzo.

Mallogory caught me midair, lightening the impact I would have felt if I’d hit a wall or something.

“She really got a hold of you there, Boss!” A very familiar voice said as Mallogory put me down and I stared in horror at the sight before us.

“Oh fuck me,” Lance said from behind me. Looks like he had been the one who followed us in.

I trembled as I swallowed the gore in my mouth.

“Hey there, horse, bet you thought you wouldn’t be seeing me again,” Leem laughed as he stepped over the squirming Lorenzo. “Bail, heal the Boss will ya?”

A little crippled man pulled himself out of a box, Ego leaving his body and attaching to Lorenzo’s own, calming him down.

My body just shook more and more violently as I stared at him, his wide toothy smile the cause of my many nights of waking up screaming. The two appendages he’d eaten off began to burn at the memory of him.

“I’m new and improved,” he said, tapping his head. “So sorry to say that little trick won’t work again.”

“Scamp, it’s okay,” Mallogory said, touching my shoulder. “We got this.”

“You don’t, but hope is always a fun thing to rip from someone,” he laughed, squaring up with us. “I’m going to eat your arms and legs first, then we’ll see how I’m feeling after that.”

“Kill them!” Lorenzo choked out, eyes ablaze as he stared at me as I shook violently. “But leave the bitch alive! I want her!”

“With pleasure,” Leem chuckled as he began to stomp towards us.

Together we fight

Chapter 41

As Leem approached us, I couldn’t break myself out of my terrified state. I had always hoped I wouldn’t have to face him ever again, and yet, here he was! And I was singled out, just like the first time we’d fought!

“Scamp,” Mallogory said calmly, touching my face. “We’ll get through this.”

Closing my eyes, ignoring the approaching monster, I took a shaky breath. I could do this. I just have to focus and get through this one more time. One more time, Scamp, you can do this!

My eyes flew open, a forced determined look falling across my face. “Lance, focus on restraining him. Keep trying methods till something works. Mallogory and I will keep him distracted.”

“Whispering up a plan?” he laughed as he neared us. “I’m interested in seeing what you got up your sleeves!”

We all nodded as we jumped into action. Mallogory and I took off towards him as Lance jumped back, cards flaring around himself as he began to work on them.

Leem didn’t even dodge us as I sliced away at his left while Mallogory cut away at his right.

“Really? Just normal attacks?” He said as he didn’t even react to our attacks. His fist flew out and caught me in the face, sending me flying away.

Spinning on Mallogory, he punched through her blades and grabbed her by the face. He yanked her to himself as she fought, taking a deep inhale of her as he did so. He licked his lips as he reared his head back and snapped forward.

But as he came down for her, I appeared behind her, having propelled myself back to them, and caught his jaws with my paw and Ego blades. I yelled out in pain as I struggled to keep his mouth open as Mallogory fought to break free of his grasp.

He just laughed as I did everything I could to keep him from killing her.

“Scamp!” She hissed out as she flickered like crazy, but couldn’t get away, “Just get back!”

“Fucking shut up!” I screamed back as his jaws began to close around her head. Roaring, I pulled as hard as I could, but it was no use. He was just playing with us at this point.

Then his beady eyes went wide as his body flashed green.

Taking advantage of the moment, I screamed as I pulled hard, ripping his head in half. Mallogory broke from his grasp and we sprang back as he grunted and groaned.

“Oh thank God!” Lance yelled out. “I thought none of them were going to work!”

Leem started to growl as his body started to turn a light shade of red. Then he roared as steam exploded from his body as he broke free of whatever Lance had put over him.

He now seemed to have lost all sense of playing around as he sprinted towards us on all fours.

My eyes went wide as I saw he was aiming for Mallogory.

As he jumped forward for her, I jumped forward and knocked her away, getting grabbed instead. “Lance!” I yelled out, eyes wide in panic as Leem looked like a feral beast.

Before anyone could react, he grabbed me by the neck and flank and pulled.

I heard a horrendous tearing sound as he yanked me about then threw me over his shoulders.

Lance and Mallogory screamed my name, but Leem had already started advancing on them.

I tumbled across the ground, letting out screams of pain as I hit the ground over and over again. Finally, I came to a stop.

Staring straight up, I could hear the others fighting, bright flashes filling the room as Lance used his cards as fast as he could make them.

Trying to move sent a large amount of pain through my body, but I had to sit up. Slowly getting my legs behind me, I pushed myself up, eye wide as I realized I was now just a top half. My lower half sat a few feet away.

“Oh that’s not good,” I mumbled, feeling very light headed at the lose of blood and sight before me.

“I told him not to kill her!” Lorenzo yelled from my right as he stood up, stumbling away to another door nearby.

The little crippled man began to try and climb back into his box.

Grinding my teeth in pain, I rolled over, forcing myself to crawl to my lower half. My life seemed to be flickering as I felt like I was going to die at any moment.

Ayla appeared above me, cheering me on.

“Come on, Scamp! Push! COME ON!”

Screaming in pain, I grabbed my lower half and pulled it towards me as I began to try and pull in as much of myself as I could. Once I’d gotten as much as I could possibly get, I sent my Ego to the little man, attaching to him.

He hissed and clawed at my Ego, but I kept attaching it, fighting to live. Using his Ego abilities, I began to slowly heal myself. I shook violently as I watched my insides heal first, then everything else. I held my lower body to myself, hoping this actually reconnected them. Otherwise, it was over.

Looking at the fight, I saw Lance as missing a leg and wing, struggling to keep fighting as Mallogory did her best to dodge his attacks. Luckily, with him going full feral, he was mostly attacking wildly, which allowed her to see his attacks coming.

The crippled man began to pull himself to me, a dagger in his hand.

Shit shit shit shit!

I tried to heal faster, but it was taking its time!

He neared me and took a stab at me, but I caught it in my right leg, the blade impaling my leg. I twisted it and broke it from his grasp. Instead of going after it, he pulled himself up onto me and began to try and choke me.

My back half wasn’t working yet, so I couldn’t move very effectively. One of my wings, however, was able to move. I snapped it up and slammed it into his head, causing him to fall off of me.

Come on! Heal damn it!

My damned back legs still refused to move as the little man came back, going for the knife stuck in my leg. I waved it around, trying to keep it out of his grasp.

But he eventually got it by the hilt and pulled it free. With an angry roar, he raised it and brought it down towards my face.

With a clang, I caught the blade in my teeth, barely saving myself. He grunted as he fought to push the knife further down. I grabbed him with my leg and paw and tried to push him back, but I was very immobile at that moment. He began to slam a fist down onto the knife, trying to beat it down into me.

But I held tight, my jaws stronger than he was.

Then, as if a massive wave of relief washed over me, I kicked my back legs.

Screaming in anger around the blade, I raised up and threw him into the wall next to me. As he tried to get up, I bucked him straight in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Looking back to the fight, I saw Lance was now down, seeming to be unconscious also. Mallogory was on a losing path as he was getting closer to grabbing her.

What can I even do here?!

Ayla appeared next to me, thinking as well.

Then a very dumb idea hit me. “I fucking swear…” I grumble, opening my pocket dimension and pulling out two items.

As Leem began to gain the upper hand on Mallogory, a few bullets slammed into his back.

He spun around, eyes ablaze as he saw me standing on my two hind legs, very shaky, pointing the pistol I’d gotten from the rats at him.

“Come on, fucker, finish me off,” I say, firing again and hitting him in the eye. He roared and began to sprint towards me on all fours.

“Scamp!” Mallogory yelled, sounding completely exhausted as she stumbled after him.

I fired away as he neared, the bullets doing nothing but pissing him off more and more.

“That’s right,” I mumble, my right leg coming out from behind my back. “Just try and kill me.”

As he jumped in the air towards me, I flung the item in my right hoof at him.

A little pokeball slapped him in the face and pulled him in just as he reached me, the wind flying past me as he disappeared, his maw inches from my face.

“Holy shit,” I gasped out as I collapsed, my adrenaline choosing that moment to crash.

“What’d you just do?!” Mallogory asked as she slid up next to me, lifting me up into a tight hug.

“Careful, still hurting,” I say, using my Ego to attach to the crippled man again, attaching my Ego to both of us to heal our wounds.

She laughs happily, crying into me.

“Mallo, please, go to Lance, get his leg and wing,” I say, not wanting to waste time.

She wipes her face as she jumps up and runs to him, gathering up his body parts as she did so.

Once they were held in place, I sent my Ego to him.

After a few minutes, I stood up and walked over, watching him groan as he came too.

“We dead?” he asked, coughing loudly.

“Almost,” I chuckle, holding my paw out to him. He takes it and allows me to lift him up.

“Where’s that fucker at?” Mallogory asked, looking around.

I pointed to the door he’d walked for, “That way. He’s still hurt.”

“Good,” Lance said, flashing a card. A portal opened, and the others stood on the other side, looking shocked.

Bronwyn was the first one through, “What happened? Did you get him?!” Then she saw the massive amount of blood all over the room, most of it Leems, but a lot of mine as well.

“Leem,” I said simply, getting a horrified look from her. “He’s not here anymore. I teleported him to Ominus’s ship.”

“Good thinking, he’ll be trapped there till he figures out the password on the teleporters,” Jero said, looking around. “Uh… who's that?”

I turned to see the little crippled man quickly moving towards a hole in the wall, just big enough for him to climb into.

“Oh, no one,” I say, raising the gun and firing. The bullet snapped the man's head to the side as he went limp, right at the opening to the hole.

“Where’s Lorenzo?” Bronwyn asked, gripping her sword tightly.

“That way,” I said as I started walking towards the door.

Calypso attached her Ego to all of us again, healing up any wounds we still had. Thanks to her, the stiffness in my back legs went away, returning them to normal. Thank all that is good for her and her abilities!

Upon entering the door at the end of the room, we found ourselves in another hallway. A blood trail led to the right, so that’s the way we went.

It did not take us long to find the door it led into. Voices could be heard on the other side. Pressing my ear to the door, I could just make out what was being said.

“-ing you? Why would I help you? You have gone against every order I’ve given you, and your pet has probably already killed him! Do you know what that would mean for me?! He is my ticket, and you just lost him to that ravenous creature you call a pet!”

“I don’t care, you need to help me here! Use your powers! Something!” Lorenzo pleaded, sounding very pathetic.

Not wanting to hear anymore, I kicked the door in, and we all rushed in.

Lorenzo spun around from the massive hologram before him to face us, eyes wide.

“Watcher! See?! He’s alive!” he yelled, pointing to Lance. “So help me!”

We all stared up at the hologram, the being on the other side staring at us with raised eyebrows.

Lance blinked, then pointed, “That’s not the Watcher! The Watcher is a big stone golem fucker!”

The strange being on the hologram blinked a few times, its strange arms touching its face. “Lorenzo, deal with them.” The hologram then disappeared, leaving a damaged and panicking Lorenzo.

My Ego flew towards him, attaching to him.

“Stay,” I say simply as we all fan out around him. “Who was that?”

“The Watcher you idiot!” he yelled as he watched us all move around him.

“No it wasn’t,” Lance responded.

Lorenzo growled and took a step back. “That was his true form, you foolish man! His Virtues form!”

“Alright then,” I say, taking up a position right in front of him. “Let’s make a deal. You tell us what we want to know, and you can walk.”

“Scamp!” Bronwyn hissed, but I held up a hoof.

“Deal?”

He looked around at us, frowning. “Deal.”

“Good, now tell us how to get to the Watcher.”

He sighed, shaking his head, “That’s really not a smart move. You all think just because you beat me that you can beat him? Tsk, delusional, the lot of you.”

“Just answer the question,” I press, eyes narrowing.

“Fine,” he says, holding his side where blood still seeped from. “You can use the teleport pads in this base. Go into the history, and you’ll find his domain.”

“Now tell us, why does he want Lance?”

With a chuckle, he looked at Lance, “If I tell you that, he’ll kill me.”

“Or I’ll kill you right now,” I offered, but he just laughed.

“More scared of the Watcher than you, horsey.”

Bronwyn stepped forward, getting face to face with him.

“Ah, Bron, my eternal stalker. I bet you are happy right now, finally catching me,” Lorenzo jokes, poking her chest with a finger.

She just glared at him. “I should remove your head right now for all the people you’ve killed. All the friends lost to your sadistic hand.”

He only laughs louder in response.

“But we have more pressing matters right now, now answer the question!” she yelled, shoving him hard.

“Sure, anything for you, Bron.” He stood up straight and fixed his coat that barely hung on him. “The Watcher wants to return to his rightful seat in the Ultimate Authority Dimension, and if he can break a Angel from the higher realms and bring them to-”

A massive portal opened behind him and a mechanical hand suddenly shot out and grabbed him. His eyes went wide as he was yanked into the hole, screaming.

THe portal closed before any of us could react.

“What the fuck?!” Lance yelled, jumping forward to where Lorenzo had been. “Was that the Watcher?!”

“It was,” Castor said, flying around Lance.

Lance cursed and kicked the ground, and walked towards a chair to sit down.

“Why was the Watcher removed from the UAD?” I asked, looking at Castor.

He blinked at us, then sighed. “His views and methods go against what the UAD stands for. He was cast out long ago for playing Creator, creating his own worlds and creatures. This something only two beings are allowed to do. The One True Creator, and the Dao. The Dao is over the UAD, while the Creator is over all.” He then looked to Lance, “and with you being an Angel of the Creator, that makes you very valuable to someone like the Watcher.”

“Great,” Lance said, rubbing his face.

“So, if we go to him right now, do we stand a chance?” I asked, looking at him with worry.

“No,” he admits. “But it doesn’t matter, we could prepare for the rest of time, and my answer would be the same.” He points to Greg, “This all hinges on him and the Seed of Knowledge.”

Greg blinked a few times, and frowned. “I really hate this all being on me…”

“The Traveler believed you were the key, and I’ll just have to believe he was right,” Castor said, crossing his arms. “But I don’t like it.”

“What are we up against?” Reinhardt asked, frowning as she twirled her blade.

“Nothing we can fight in normal conventions,” he replied. “The Watcher can bend reality and manipulate dimensions at will. It’s the power of Virtues. I can manipulate reality as well, but not on his level. The best I can do during a fight, with no other help, is defend myself and keep him busy.”

“But,” I began, rubbing my chin, “can he be killed?”

“I do not know,” he admitted.

Lance groaned loudly, “Is there even a point to fighting him if we’re not even sure we can win?”

I frowned, as he had a point. But looking around at everyone, I saw they looked determined. “I say, screw it. If we don’t fight him, he’ll just do something later. Might as well deal with him while we’re all ready, right?”

“Right!” Reinhardt yells, slamming her fist together. Remi gave a thumbs up, looking determined.

Everyone else gave their own cheers of determination, causing Lance to shake his head. “You all don’t have to follow me. Is it really that bad if I just give myself up and let him win? If he wins, he’ll leave you all alone.”

“He can not win,” Castor suddenly yelled, actually appearing to be a bit panicked. “If he wins, the UAD itself will be in danger! If he resumes his previous seat, he’ll push for changes, and with the political state of the UAD at this moment, others will be swayed to his side! All of creation will be in danger!”

“Fuck, you just got to up the stakes like that, don’t you?” Lance said, rubbing his face. “Alright, we can do this. I don’t know how, but with all of us here and the Seed of Knowledge, we can do this.”

“Damn right we can do this,” I reassure him, giving him an award winning smile. “Together.”

He smiles at me, looking a bit relieved that all of this would be over soon. “Together.”

“Now where are these teleporters!” Greg yelled out as everyone fanned out to find them.

Next stop, the Watcher’s domain.

Author's Note

Writing will slow down as I prepare things.

Ill fated battle

Chapter 42

“This is going to end so badly,” Calypso muttered as we all stepped up onto the teleporter.

“We got this,” I said, giving her a wink. “Just going to pop on over and kick his ass, then be home in time for dinner.”

A little smile played on her lips as she slugged my shoulder.

Lance and Jero stepped up last as the teleporter began to buzz.

“Let’s get this fucker!” Greg yelled as we all teleported.

We all reappeared in a dark cave-like room, with a single large door ahead of us.

A strange feeling fell over me as we stood there, like a heavy pressure pushing down on my soul.

“The Watcher’s domain,” Castor muttered as he took on his true form, towering above us. “He awaits us, just beyond that door.”

I looked at Mallogory and nodded as she gave me the same look.

We came together and began our dance, Ego pouring into her Stomata. As we came to the end, we leaned in to kiss.

Then we blew apart, the fusion failing.

Groaning, I sat up, looking confused.

“The Watcher must have put a barrier up to counter fusing after watching you two,” Castor said, looking displeased.

“Great, wished we’d known that,” Mallogory groaned as she stood up and walked over to me, the two of us leaned on each other.

Castor looked at Greg. “It is time, Greg.”

Greg frowned as he pulled the Seed of Knowledge out, “I really don’t like this, bro.”

He started to crush it, but before he could start, Castor stopped him. “We’ve talked about this, you MUST eat it. It is the way it is intended.”

“And I’ve told you I know what I’m doing!” Greg snapped, but Castor remained over him.

“Do it the right way, otherwise you jeopardize us all,” Castor said sternly.

With a groan, Greg nodded, “I think my way is better…” He put the drug into his mouth and began to chew. Gulping loudly, he swallowed it.

“Well?” Lance asked.

Greg blinked, rubbing his stomach. “Uh…. what happens next?”

His eyes went wide and rolled back into his head.

“Is it working?” Reinhardt asked.

Then his head exploded.

We all stared on in shock as his body stumbled and hit the ground.

“... Ominus was wrong,” Castor said, with sadness in his voice.

Lance blinked, then roared, “What the fuck?! It just killed him!”

“That was the risk,” Castor hung his head solemnly. “The Seed is only for UAD, if any other being eats it, they die instantly.”

“FUCK!” Lance screamed in frustration as he walked away, heading for the doors.

“Lance…” I began, but he cut me off.

“No, we’re doing this. The Watcher is going to pay for all this shit!”

We all looked at each other and slowly followed after him.

Balgore hung back a bit, staring down at Greg’s body. He made a sign with his hands and patted him, then he stood and followed us.

“Prepare yourselves,” Castor said from above us. “I will distract him, while all of you figure out how best to beat him.”

“Yep,” Lance yelled up, eyes glued to the door.

With a mighty heave, Castor pushed the doors open, and we walked into the massive room beyond.

“You came,” a voice boomed across the room to us as the Watcher floated above the ground.

As we walked in, the doors slammed shut behind us and disappeared. Lance walked ahead of the group, staring across the room at the Watcher.

“And here we are again, Lance. You and I, staring at one another at the end of a story. Just like last time, you’ve brought more friends to die before you,” the Watcher mocked, seeming to be very sure of himself.

Lance spit onto the ground, cards floating up around him, “This time will be different.”

“We shall see,” the Watcher replied, then looked to Castor. “Ah, ]̸̗̙̰̺̏̉̅́͐͝ͅ[̷̛͕̦͓͙̩̀̈͘̕͜]̵͈̾;̸̖̼̘̹͑͑̄̚'̶̖̜̀̍͗̓͘͝/̷̧̗̮̬̹̿͛͗͒͗͘.̵̠̗̙̭̇͋̂/̴̧̨͈̤̪̰̓̅̾,̵͔͉̞͔̻̅͒̄̒;̵͈̫̩̄̚'̴̼̙̜͎̓̔͜͠;̸͙̲̜͈̒̿͋̔̍-̵̧̛̛̥̩̲͆̎͛͘;̸̟̤̘͉̖̃̐̾̈́̍͂͜'̷̰̰̻͙̱̪̃̂̌͑͝;̶̳̌̓͊̌͊͘͜'̴̡͖̙̎͋̌̄́̈́.̷͈̊͂͝'̶̝͚̱̽͗̈́̄̚'̴̛̘͚̆́̔'̷̻́͠͝f̶͈̳̈́͛͒̈́͆;̷͉͉̹͖̫̄͜'̷̰̭̼̳̋;̶̫̯̰̌͐̾̋̕ͅ'̸̟̽͐͘/̸̧̻͇̭̔͋̈͠.̸̡͇̻̌̌͛̒͆.̷̨̪͖̥̠̭̅̽ it is so good to see you again. How’s your father?”

“Do not speak of him,” Castor said in a low voice.

The Watcher scanned each of us, “Missing one, are we?”

Lance growled, a card flashed as a beam flew towards the Watcher. But all he did was let it hit him, not even reacting.

“This is going to go exactly like last time, I’m afraid,” the Watcher said with a look of false sadness on his face. “I thought you’d have learned your lesson.”

“Lance, calm down,” I said quietly, but the Watcher’s eyes moved to me.

“Ah, a creation of mine! I hoped you’d make it this far so I could see you in the flesh,” he said in a creepily loving voice.

It shook me to my core.

“Castor,” Lance said slowly. “Get him.”

With a flash, Castor and the Watcher appeared before each other in the middle of the room.

“A lowly messenger like yourself dares challenge a Virtue?!” the Watcher bellowed, his voice alone sending wind blasting into our faces.

Castor did not respond as he suddenly grabbed the mechanical arms of the Watcher, and the two began to flash in and out of existence. Every time they reappeared, Castor looked more and more hurt.

“How do we fight something like this?!” Reinhardt asked, looking at her sword with a frown.

“We just do!” Lance yelled as the two dueling beings returned again, this time with Castor flying back and slamming into a wall.

“Go!” Lance yelled as he took to the air, flying for the Watcher as Castor slowly stood back up.

We all moved forward, unsure of what to do. As we neared him, he wheeled on us, looking furious.

“Foolishness!” he bellowed as a beam shot out and hit Remi. She seemed to unravel as we ran, falling to pieces before our eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, I sent my Ego forward and attached it to him.

This was the biggest mistake of my life as I felt my entire being get sucked into him and spat back into me. I collapsed immediately, suddenly very weak. As if my soul had been thrown into a blender!

Lance flashed cards like crazy as all kinds of attacks pelted the Watcher’s strange body.

With a bang, Castor rejoined the fight, the two going back and forth with hits. Doing it old fashioned for a moment before they blinked out of existence again.

While they were gone, Mallogory ran back to me and tried to help me back up. But my legs were to weak to support myself.

A loud whoosh of air was heard as the Watcher reappeared alone, flashing two beams out, causing Calypso and Jero to scream out in horror as they too seemed to fall apart at the seams.

“We’re dying out here!” I hissed, shoving Mallogory off of me. “Go! I’ll be fine!”

She looked conflicted as she slowly stood up and spun, heading for the battle.

Lance threw a shield out over Reinhardt as the Watcher turned for her, but it did nothing as he smashed through it with a metal clawed hand. He sliced straight through her before she could react, killing yet another of our friends.

Castor reappeared, looking wrecked beyond repair, and yelled as he fired a beam from his hand, hitting the Watcher in the back. This actually seemed to hurt him as he let out a wail of some kind and turned, a beam of his own coming out of his face and pushing Castor’s back.

Trying to help, Lance flashed another card, causing the Watcher to flash gold. What ever he did seemed to slow the Watcher.

Bronwyn, using her elastic like Ego, threw herself up towards the Watcher’s back. As she flew by, she sliced through his right wing, shredding a large hole in it.

“Enough!” he bellowed as his beam of energy seemed to grow and quickly over take Castor’s own energy. The Watcher’s beam blew over Castor, and when it cleared, all that was left were the feet of the messenger.

With an angry twirl, the Watcher spun around and flashed a bowl of energy out of his body. It passed over Bronwyn and Balgore. Bronwyn just exploded immediately, while Balgore seemed to weather it, but fell to his knees. Smoke poured up from his body as he yelled in agony.

“Interesting,” the Watcher said as he suddenly snatched up Balgore and put him in some kind of jar. “Welcome to my collection, strange creature.”

As the Watcher turned to put away the Jar, I looked around, horrified to find it was just Lance, Mallogory, and myself left.

Lance was desperately speaking into his cards, trying to make new ones as Mallogory stood by his side, looking unsure of her next move.

Once he was done, the Watcher turned back to us, looking everything over. “What a shame, really. Are you ready to stand down, Lance?”

“No!” He yelled, a few cards flashing as he grew in size to match the Watcher. He transitioned into his Apollyon form and let out a pained roar.

The Watcher just looked on in amusement as he glanced my way. “I warned you, Lance.”

A beam suddenly flew from one of the eyes along his body and hit me.

Mallogory turned to me just as I felt a strange sensation wash over me.

Oh…

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mallogory let out a pained wail as she watched Scamp melt into a puddle of gore.

Lance charged forward as another card flashed, allowing him to move faster than light. He slammed into the Watcher and began to wail on the extremely solid and unmoving body parts of the Watcher. Each hit just clanged loudly, his hooves shattering with each hit.

“This will never hurt me,” the Watcher said calmly as he hit Lance with a arm, sending him flying backwards.

He floated towards him, barely acknowledging the crying Mallogory as he sent a beam to her, turning her into a rocket as she flew into the air and exploded in gore like a bad cartoon skit.

“Lance, are you feeling it? The sensation of losing yet again?” The Watcher said as he sent a beam to Lance, causing him to return to his normal form.

Lance growled as he stood up, flashing a card as a new wave of energy shot forward, hitting the Watcher in the face. But he just kept coming as another beam came out and hit Lance, causing him to fall to his knees as he felt like he’d been thrown into a rock tumbler.

“Stop,” the Watcher commanded.

Even if he wanted to, Lance didn’t have it in him anymore to keep fighting.

So he just stared up at the Watcher as he towered above him.

“Better,” the Watcher said. “This entire event, the entire arc, could have been avoided if you’d just played along. No one else had to suffer. But just like on Equestria, all you do is hurt others.”

“You won’t break me,” Lance coughed out, not giving in.

“Yes I will,” the Watcher replied calmly. “Did you have no plan? Just walking in here and believing you’d win? I expected so much, and this is what you gave me?”

Lance didn’t respond, just stared up at the being above him with hate filled eyes.

“Submit,” the Watcher said simply.

“Fuck you,” Lance said, spitting on the ground between them.

A beam hit him, causing his right leg to melt off of his body. He grimaced and hissed, but he did not back down, just spat again.

“Hm… physical pain does nothing to you. How about… mental,” he said in a sinister voice as a beam hit Lance, causing him to scream in agony as three parts of himself were killed instantly.

“Shall I go further?”

Lance shook as he looked up at the Watcher, bloody tears pouring out of his eyes. His mind was now silent, with Break, Dawn, and Eclipse gone.

“Further,” he spat out.

“Very well,” the Watcher replied as a pony appeared before Lance.

“Lance?!” Twilight yelled, looking both confused and horrified as she reached out for him.

“Twilight?!” Lance gasped out, reaching for her.

A large metal hand came down right in front of him, crushing the purple mare instantly.

He stared straight ahead, eyes appearing dead as the Watcher raised his hand and wiped it off on the ground next to him.

“Dead,” the Watcher said simply. “And she’s been saying this whole time how you would come and save her. What an ending to her story.”

“...” Lance stared at the mess before him, unable to speak.

“Further?” The Watcher mocked, but got no response. “Which of your children is your least favorite?”

“Don’t,” Lance mumbled, eyes still glued in front of himself.

“Dad?!” He heard Fawn say from his side. He didn’t have it in himself to look as he heard another fist slam into the ground.

“Everyone you love is dying, because you refuse to break, Lance,” the Watcher boomed from above him.

“Fine,” Lance said, unable to stop himself as he looked to the side, seeing his daughter. “You want me to give in?”

“Yes.”

“Then make me!” Lance yelled as a card flared up next to him.

“Another card?” The Watcher laughed. “That’s your last one, isn’t it? Better make it a good one.”

Lance’s lips trembled as he closed his eyes, saying a prayer.

“Let’s try this again!” He screamed out as the card flashed.

The Watcher’s eyes went wide, then he smiled, “Bold move! Do you really believe you’ll do it all differently?”

Lance spat onto the ground as all of time came to a grinding halt. Then, with an extremely violent jerk, everything shot backwards.

Author's Note

I'm not good enough to do my original plan, so onward we go.

All for one! Final push!

Author's Note

I could not do exactly what I wanted. But! Enjoy! :rainbowdetermined2:

All for one! Final push!

Chapter 43

I stood in a white void, with nothing around me in all directions.

“So this what it's like being dead,” I mumbled, not impressed. At least my body was back to normal, no metal bits. And I had both eyes.

“It’s not so bad, honey,” a mare said from behind me.

Tears swelled up in my eyes as I spun around, seeing my Mom standing before me.

“Mom!” I screamed as I jumped into her embrace, crying like a foal as she held me tight, stroking my mane.

“Shhh, I gotcha, sweetie. I got you,” she cooed, just holding me as I cried.

“I’m so sorry!” I wailed, snot and tears running down my face. “You died because of me and my stupid obsession with that book!”

“I died because of the evil that existed in our world,” she replied in a soothing voice. “I made my choice when I took that case to represent Lance.”

“So you always believed me?!” I asked, pulling back as I wiped my face.

She smiled as she wiped away some snot with a tissue that appeared in her hoof. “I always did, honey. But for our sake I had to pretend I did not.”

“Because my dad is Darkest Bleak?” I asked, blowing snot into the tissue.

“Yes, my dear,” a voice said from behind me.

Turning, I saw someone who could only be Darkest Bleak standing there.

“Hey, kiddo, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” he said with a little bow.

He kneeled down in front of us, an awkward look on his face. “I know we never got to know each other, but I’ve been watching you from the moment you were born. You are an amazing mare, Scamp.”

I rub my eyes, sniffling, “I don’t think so, I’ve killed so many…”

“I know,” he replied, looking at my Mom.

“Honey, we’ve all done things we’re not proud of. You have killed countless beings, but you didn’t do it for enjoyment,” my Mom said, moving my mane out of my face.

“She seemed to enjoy a lot of them,” Darkest said, getting a glare from my Mom. “What? I’m proud of her! Our daughter is a warrior! Stronger than I ever was, that’s for sure!”

“I regret it all,” I say, looking down. “I killed so many I became numb to it. I don’t like who I’ve become… I’m a terrible pony.”

“Shh! No you are not!” Mom said, shaking me roughly.

“You are a good pony, Scamp! There are always bumps along the path that we walk in life, and while many stray from the path, you stayed true! You never lost yourself, always fighting for what you believed in!”

“And you do not regret it all,” Darkest said, patting my shoulder. “What of Mallogory?”

This brought a sad smile to my lips as I closed my eyes, remembering my time with her.

“... Yeah, I don’t regret her. I would have loved to have spent my life with her.” Tears rolled down my face as I thought of all that we wouldn’t get to do now.

Mom pulled me into a hug, squeezing hard, “she’s amazing, Scamp. You two are perfect together.”

“She was…” I choke out, starting to cry again.

“Shh, it’s okay, honey,” she said, tilting my chin up.

I shook my head, “It’s not okay. I’m dead, she’s probably dead too, and so is everyone else. The Watcher won.”

Darkest chuckled at this, “that’s not the Scamp I’ve been watching. You should know better than to give up.”

“I’m literally dead,” I deadpanned.

“And you’re going to let that break you?” he asked roughly, getting a glare from Mom. “No, she needs this. Scamp, stand up, now.”

Wiping my nose, I slowly stood up, staring up at him as he towered above me.

“Scamp, you are my daughter,” he said bluntly. “And we do not give up in this family. You are strong, and you will buck up and push forward. This Watcher killed you and everyone you love? Then it's time to ante up! Go all in! I want you to give it all you got next time you face him! Do not hold back, fight with your entire soul!”

I sighed at him, “That’s a great speech. But again, I am dead. My story is over.”

“No, it is not!” He bellowed, causing me to wince. He pulled back, taking a deep breath. “Scamp, I know I wasn’t able to be there to be your father. But I’m happy to say that you did not need me. Look at you! You keep pushing forward no matter what happens to you, and you even were able to find love! I am proud to be your father.”

The urge hit me and I lurched forward, hugging him around his large barreled chest. “Thank you, Dad.”

He gasped at this, and wrapped his legs around me tightly, seeming to be holding back tears.

“It’s time,” Mom suddenly said, placing a hoof on my shoulder.

“Not now,” Dad said, holding me tight.

“Darkest,” she cooed, causing him to reluctantly let me go. Mom turned me to face her, wiping more tears and snot from my face.

“We are so proud of you, Scamp. Don’t ever forget that. No matter what happens, you are our daughter, and we will always love you.”

I grabbed both of them and pulled them into another hug, “I love you guys!”

“I love you too, Scamp,” Mom said, nuzzling my cheek.

“I love ya, kiddo,” Dad said as he nuzzled my other cheek.

I felt something start to tug on me, pulling me away from them. “But, I have questions!” I yelled, reaching out for them.

“Go get 'em, Scamp!” Dad cheered after me as I was pulled into a strange darkness.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I let out a panicked scream as I came too on a rocky floor, looking around but not grasping what was going on as I kicked and screamed more, pushing myself backwards.

“Scamp?!” Mallogory screamed out as she suddenly fell on top of me.

“Mallogory?!” I yelled out, finally realizing we were back in the room before the Watcher’s room.

Everyone was here, even Greg!

“What the fuck?!” Greg yelled out, grabbing at his head. “I was dead!”

“Me too!” Reinhard yelped out, looking horrified.

Mallogory squeezed me tightly against her, crying into my neck. “You died! Right in front of me!”

“... I’m sorry,” I said dumbly, getting a bite from her.

“Don’t bite me!” I yelped, then pulled her into a tight hug.

“Lance! You didn’t!” Bronwyn yelled as we all looked over and saw Lance, sitting by himself, looking absolutely defeated.

“I had to, you were all dead… and he started killing my family in front of me…” he said, staring straight ahead.

“Your Ego… it’s gone,” she said solemnly.

“It’s part of the punishment,” Castor said from above us.

“What do you mean? What just happened?” Greg asked, looking between them.

“Lance just used time travel,” Castor began, “real time travel. Not the kind you all would be familiar with in your worlds. All of reality and existence just traveled back in time at once, and everyone knows it just happened. Even the UAD. There are strict rules in place, and time travel that affects all of existence is strictly forbidden. Lance is now back to his base self, and will be locked to his home dimension the moment he returns.”

“It was worth it,” he said slowly, smiling a bit. “You’re all back after all, and so is my family. I’m just going to surrender this time around.”

“No!” Castor yelled. “We can try again! All of creation relies on us!”

“Shut up, Castor,” Lance said coldly. “You’re the reason we walked in there and died like that.”

Greg frowned as he held up the Seed of Knowledge. “This thing killed me when I ate it…”

“Yep, so we’re done. Watcher wins,” Lance says as he stands up, looking to the door.

“No, he doesn’t,” I say suddenly, catching everyone off guard, even myself. “We still have the Seed.”

“Yeah, and it killed me,” Greg pointed out, but I waved him off.

“Because you did it Castor’s way. Let’s risk it all, and let Greg do it his way.”

Lance frowned, “that’s really dumb.” Then he sighed, “but Greg always comes out on top when he’s allowed to do things his way… What do you say, Greg?”

He looked at the Seed, and smirked. “Oh, I got ya. I’m going to smoke this with some weed, and we’ll see what happens.”

“You have to eat it!” Castor yelled, frustrated. “Eating it is the only way!”

“Yeah yeah,” Greg said as he ground up the Seed of Knowledge in a bowl he pulled out of his pocket dimension. He grinded it into a powder, then tossed in some precut buds of marijuana. He grinded them into the powder, mixing the two.

Then like an expert, he lifted it all up with his magic and wrapped it in some paper. Holding the fat blunt before himself, he lit it and took a massive puff of it. Holding the smoke in for a good moment before letting it all out.

“Oh shitttt, that’s fucking tight!” he said, taking a few more hits, draining the blunt down to the stub.

“So?” I asked as he tossed it aside, looking extremely happy and high.

“Oh, I feel it,” he says, then farts. “Ah, no, just gas… OH FUCK!” he went wide eyed as it looked like stars were flying by in the whites of his eyes.

He went slack jawed as he stood stock still, eyes flashing with all kinds of images.

“Is this… normal?” Reinhardt asked as we all looked on in both worry and awe.

“He… did it!” Castor yelled out. “He’s traversing all of time and existence right now! Seeing all possible past and futures! All knowledge is now available to him!”

Greg swayed as his eyes flashed faster and faster.

“The ultimate high…” Balgore said in awe, looking a bit jealous.

We all watched for the next few minutes as he twitched and jerked, his eyes displaying all kinds of images that made no sense.

Finally, it all came to a halt as he suddenly blinked and looked at us.

“So… what’d ya find out?” Reinhardt asked, leaning over everyone.

“I know what we need to do,” he replied, wide eyed. “It’s a slim chance of victory, but it’s the only one I can find that has a happy ending…”

“What do we do?” Lance asked, stepping in front of him.

“We need Pinkie Pie,” he suddenly said as he kicked a glyph, causing a portal to open.

“Wait, why?!” Lance yelled as Greg jumped into the portal. We all stared at the floating portal, confused.

Eventually, Greg and Pinkie Pie jumped out of it.

“Why is she here, Greg? WHY?!” Lance yelled, not wanting to bring any more to this place.

“Trust me,” Greg said simply as he looked around. “Do you all trust and believe in me? I need honest answers.”

“Yes!” Balgore and Reinhardt yelled out, slamming fist together as they did so.

“I do,” I say, smiling at him.

“Same,” Mallogory said next.

“You’re our only hope, so of course,” Castor said, bowing.

“Yes,” Bronwyn replied.

Remi held up her board. ‘Yes!’

Calypso sighed, but nodded, “Unfortunately, I do.”

“Always,” Jero said with a sharp nod.

Lance frowned, looking unsure of his answer. But he groaned and nodded, “I have no choice, so yes.”

“Perfect,” Greg said, his horn glowing. “In we go.”

“What are we doing though?” Lance asked as we all walked to the door.

“Fusing into me,” Greg replied simply. “I will be in control, but I need all of you inside of me lending me your powers and souls.”

“And Pinkie is here because?”

“Fourth wall breaking,” Greg said simply as the doors opened for us as we stepped in yet again.

“Really? You all chose to fight again?” the Watcher called out, laughing.

As we all lined up, Greg took the lead this time, stepping out in front of us.

“Ah, the missing one. Decided to come along this time?” the Watcher mocked, floating towards us.

Greg just clicked his tongue as his horn began to glow brighter. He lifted into the air as his magic spread around each of us.

As I was raised into the air with everyone else, I looked at Greg, grinning.

Good luck, Greg. You have my entire being at your disposal!

ooo000<^>000ooo

The entire group turned into balls of light as they swirled around Greg, coming closer with each rotation. As they touched him, they absorbed his body.

As the last one entered him, he slowly lowered to the ground, a wide grin on his face.

“Trippy,” he said, as he looked himself over. His mane and tail were now longer, and his cutie mark was gone, now just blank. His mane fell into his face, so his horn flashed, causing a bandana to appear on his head to hold his mane back. “Perfect.”

“Well well, this is unexpected,” the Watcher said, looking surprised.

Greg chuckled as he waved his hoof, causing the scenery around them to change to a field in Equestria.

“And now you’re able to bend reality like me? Very interesting,” the Watcher moved towards him.

Looking up to the Watcher, Greg’s relaxed smile faded into a more serious look. “Ready?”

“Ready?” the Watcher asked, laughing loudly. “Are you asking ME if I’m ready?”

In an instant, Greg was in front of the Watcher, right hoof glowing as he slammed it into the face of the giant Virtue. The Watcher was sent flying backwards, crashing through trees and rocks as he tumbled.

Greg laughed, looking at his hoof, “Now that’s power!” He then blinked away, appearing in the air above the Watcher as he lay in a heap on the ground. “You good, bro?”

The Watcher untangled himself and slowly rose to float before Greg.

“You have untold powers, and you use them to PUNCH me?”

“Eeyup!” Greg smirked as the scene changed again to a strange location.

They were now standing on a street, the same height as each other. A small crowd of pixelated people stood around them cheering. Above them floated two life bars with their names over them.

“Really?” The Watcher asked in an unamused voice.

Greg only flipped his mane as he dashed forward, punching the Watcher as he blocked. Jumping in the air, he performed a spinning kick, catching the Watcher on one of his rings. Then without missing a beat, he landed on the ground and jumped back up, slamming his hoof into the underside of the Watcher’s fishbowl shaped head.

The Watcher flew up as his life bar drained a bit, and Greg began to scream as he threw punches towards the Watcher, causing little balls of energy to fly out and pelt the Watcher.

Regaining himself, the Watcher spun in the air and slammed a mechanical arm into Greg’s head, causing him to slam into the ground and bounce up. With his own spin, the Watcher slammed into Greg, sending him flying into an invisible wall.

With a twist, Greg righted himself and began to crouch and move left and right a few times, then punched and kicked the air.

“What are you doing?” the Watcher asked.

Greg only smirked as his body began to glow, “Ah hell yeah!” He dashed forwards and just slammed into the Watcher. Without even attacking him, his touch alone was damaging the Watcher as his health bar dropped. Each time he attacked the flashing pony, he’d take damage.

As his health bar neared zero, the scene changed.

Blinking, Greg looked around, finding himself in a cockpit of some ship. Looking out the window he saw the massive body of the Watcher floating in open space.

“Oh, I see what we’re doing!” he remarked as he jumped into the pilot's seat and began to fly towards the Watcher’s massive body.

As he neared, many smaller Watcher’s began to fly towards him. Flipping the triggers up, he began to unload on the approaching attackers, blowing them to pieces as he approached the massive douchebag ahead.

An arm flew towards him as beams flashed from the many eyes along the Watcher’s body, all aimed for him. He weaved the ship around and through the beams, firing away with his own weapons.

The massive health bar above the Watcher barely moved as he pelted his body with tiny energy balls.

“Well this isn’t fair!” Greg yelled as he was hit and his health dropped down near to zero instantly.

Spinning the ship, he dodged under the sweep of a mechanical arm, still firing away.

“Alright then, my turn!” he yelled through gritted teeth as a swarm of Watcher’s descended on his ship.

Everything changed to a rainy street in a massive city.

The Watcher stood over Greg, wearing some kind of royal cloak.

“Hmmm,” he looked down to Greg, who was wearing a yellow suit with a white cap.

“Want to do the whole ‘to OP to hurt’ thing? Alright, I got you. I saw this universe during my drug trip!” Greg smirked as he stepped towards the Watcher.

The Watcher slammed both fist down on Greg, destroying the ground around them, but the little pony remained unhurt as he pulled his fist back and punched forward. With a pained wheeze, the Watcher flew backwards, a massive hole through the middle of his face.

A single hit!

He hit the ground and crumbled in on himself, twitching.

Greg jumped and landed beside the downed Watcher, “had enough, fuck boy?”

A mechanical arm shot out and grabbed him by the face as the scene changed, with them now standing in an open field.

Breaking free of the arm, Greg jumped back as the Watcher smiled at him.

Music started playing around them as everything darkened till it was just the two of them and a platform between them.

“Ooo, now you’re speaking my language!” Greg yelled to the Watcher as the Virtue threw out a ball, causing Lorenzo to appear between them.

“Lorenzo!” the man yelled, seemingly against his will.

Greg laughed as he threw out a pokeball of his own, causing Scamp to appear before the man.

“Scamp!” she yelled out, looking confused.

“Lorenzo, use Dice!” the Watcher yelled out, followed by Lorenzo stabbing a sword forward.

“Scamp, use Block!” Greg yelled, causing Scamp to raise her hoof claws and block the attack. “Scamp, use Bite!”

“Scamp!” she yelled as she jumped forward and bit into Lorenzo’s neck.

The Watcher watched on with a frown as Scamp absolutely demolished Lorenzo.

“Lorenzo, return!” he yelled, pulling Lorenzo back into a ball. With a flick, he threw out another, “Jaypo, go!”

A strange snake-like horse appeared before them.

“Jaypo!”

“Hm, Scamp return!” Greg yelled as he pulled her back and threw out another ball. “Lance, get em!”

“Girokon!” Lance yelled, looking more annoyed than confused.

“Jaypo, use Enter Mind!”

Jaypo let out a roar and surged forward, entering Lance’s mind.

“Lance, use Break and Dawn!” Greg yelled, followed by Lance looking very focused.

With a flash, Jaypo returned, looking scared for his life, backing away from Lance.

“Girokon!” Lance roared, stomping his hooves in victory.

The Watcher narrowed his eyes, then pulled Jaypo back as Greg did the same to Lance.

Greg smiled as the scene changed to a different one.

He now found himself standing before the Watcher, who now towered above him. Boss music began to play as the Watcher swung his arms down towards Greg.

Rolling to the side, he barely dodged the attack as he sent a bolt of magic flying up at the Watcher, hitting him in the body. The massive health bar above him barely moved at this.

Greg rolled left and right as the Watcher attacked with both his arms and beams in quick fashion, not letting up. Only every few rolls was Greg able to let loose a single magical attack, but it wasn’t going to be enough as the Watcher kept up his assault.

As the Watcher hit Greg with a beam, knocking his health down quickly, he dashed back.

“Stop picking OP boss’s!” Greg yelled as he changed the scene to a new one.

They both now stood in a courtroom, staring across the court at each other as a judge sat at the front of the room.

Greg smirked as the Judge began to speak.

“Watcher, you are accused of murder and general douchebaggery, how do you plead?” the judge yelled out, pointing a gavel at the Watcher.

With a raised eyebrow, he turned to face Greg, “Really?”

“Yep, how do you plead?” Greg asked, smirking as he crossed his arms.

The Watcher just laughed, “Guilty as charged!”

The courtroom exploded in anger as the Judge slammed his gavel down over and over again. “ORDER! ORDER!”

“Having pleaded guilty, I sentence you to life in prison!” The judge yelled.

“Yo, no! Sentence him to death!” Greg yelled, but just got a gavel slam in response.

“Do you want to be held in contempt of court?!”

“Oh fuck this,” Greg groaned as he changed their scene again.

They appeared in a 2D landscape, facing each other again.

Greg navigated a menu as he selected ‘ATTACK’ and picked ‘WEED BLAST’ he shot a stream of marijuana powered energy at the Watcher.

The attack smashed into the Watcher, doing nothing but pissing him off as he retaliated with a beam of his own.

Greg selected ‘DEFENSE’ and picked ‘SHIELD’, causing a wall of magic to form in front of him, barely blocking the attack. As he prepared for his turn, the scene changed yet again.

Before he could react, the Watcher slammed a mechanical hand into Greg, sending him flying back. He slammed into a wall and smashed through it, falling onto the ground on the other side.

As the Watcher blew through the wall as he chased after him, Greg smirked as he stood up and held a massive cannon on his shoulder.

“Get a load of this dubstep cannon, fucker!” He yelled as he pulled the trigger, hitting the Watcher with the beat drops of the future! Roaring in anger and pain, the Watcher held up his arms, blocking the beats as he continued floating towards Greg.

Turning up the volume, the beats dropped even harder as they slammed into the Watcher’s arms, finally breaking through them and slamming into his face.

“Yeah!” Greg yelled as he held the trigger, pelting the Watcher’s face with sick beats.

Then the Watcher broke free and slid sideways, face looking cracked as he glared at Greg with hate filled eyes.

“Enough!”

The scene fell away, being replaced with a rocky field.

Greg stood up straight on his hindlegs, smirking as he stared defiantly at the Watcher.

“Let’s get serious,” the Watcher said, raising his hand and pointing it at Greg.

“Bring it, bro,” Greg said, getting ready to block whatever came his way.

“Soul Break,” the Watcher said calmly as a simple, thin beam shot towards Greg. He raised a powerful shield, but the tiny beam slipped through it and hit him in the forehead.

Then everything inside of him shattered. He screamed in agony as he felt his soul shatter, then Scamps, Lance’s, Remi’s, Reinhardt’s, Castor’s, Jero’s, Balgore’s, Calypso’s, Mallogory’s, and Bronwyn’s. As it tried to shatter Pinkie Pie’s, Greg’s own soul moved in front of it and took the hit, breaking twice.

On the outside, he fell to his knees, looking extremely strained as he fought against the pain of every soul inside of him taking massive damage.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” The Watcher laughed, raising his hand. “Now, let me break you more. Try and dodge this!”

Greg flinched as he felt his entire being begin to be condensed down into a smaller form and get yanked forward.

ooo000<^>000ooo

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a pained yell, Greg flew out of the strange dimension he’d been pulled into and slammed into the ground. He had no idea what that was, but whatever it was, it just tore his soul to pieces when it hit him!

“This is the end,” The Watcher said from across the way, staring at him. “You’re too broken to face me any longer.”

Greg breathed heavily as he struggled to stand back up. Inside of him, he felt the souls of his friends surrounding his own broken and battered soul, comforting it.

“Thanks guys,” he coughed, finding the strength to stand up.

The Watcher seemed to be charging up an attack, smiling widely at Greg as he did so. “Goodbye. I will rip Lance from your corpse!”

Spitting onto the ground, Greg looked up into the sky, looking both angry and frustrated, “YO! Why don’t you stop tormenting me and give me something to beat this fucker with?!”

…

A smile formed on his face as something washed over his body, “Ah, shit, that’ll work. Thanks, bro!”

He stood up fully, smirking at the Watcher as he raised his hoof and braced it with the other, pointing it directly at the Watcher.

Energy started to form on his hoof as his body began to glow brightly.

“Oh, is that a gift from beyond?!” The Watcher asked, recognizing the energy pouring from the small pony. “It does not matter! You don’t know how to use it properly! NOW DIE!”

A massive beam of energy exploded out of his face, flying towards Greg.

Gritting his teeth, he fired his own, just as large, beam of energy. “Story Eraser Cannon!”

The two beams hit each other, coming to a stalemate as they pushed back and forth.

“Impressive, for a mortal!” The Watcher yelled as he began to glow brighter, his energy slowly overtaking Greg’s.

Pushing as hard as he could, his energy began to push back against the Watcher’s, coming back to a stalemate.

“Come on! Make this final showdown worth it!” The Watcher yelled over the whooshing air as the landscape around them began to shatter and fall away.

As the energy began to push towards him, Greg yelled as he put everything he had into it, just barely holding it back.

“I can’t!” he said through his gritted teeth. “FUCK!”

“YES!” the Watcher laughed, watching him struggle.

He dug deeper, taking all of his emotions and strength and threw it forward into his attack, actually starting to push the Watcher’s beam back.

“Ooo! There you go!” he yelled back as he watched Greg struggle to hold his own. “But not enough!”

The beam grew in size and quickly pushed Greg’s all the way back to himself, only a few feet away from him now.

His body and soul strained as he fought against the building pressure, but his horn started to crack as it suddenly exploded. He yelled in pain as blood poured down his face, covering his left eye and obscuring half of his vision.

The beam only drew closer to him as his power began to fade away.

Then, every soul within him gathered around him again, lending themselves to him.

“Guys, no! If I use you, you could die!” he yelled, reluctant to lose his friends.

But they pushed on, pressing into his soul eagerly.

As the beam was inches from his hoof, he cried out, “Okay!”

All of the souls within him attached themselves to his energy, and began to pour themselves into him. The beam began to get pushed back as his own energy began to grow in size and power.

“A last hoorah?” The Watcher laughed, pushing even harder with his own energy.

But Greg’s only grew larger and larger, pushing back against the Watcher’s energy at a steady pace.

“Stop!” The Watcher demanded as he poured all of his power and soul into the attack, pushing back against Greg’s yet again.

“Guys!” Greg yelled as he struggled to keep up the attack, “I’m sorry, but I need everything you got!”

The souls within him seemed to hesitate, as this could erase them from existence if it failed. But, one by one, they began to dedicate all of their being to Greg, allowing him full use of their souls.

With an amazing flash, Greg’s own beam began to over take the Watcher’s beam as they both began to scream. Their attacks grow to their peaks, the world around them exploding and being completely washed away by the energy exploding off of their clash.

Everything fell into a dark void as they floated in nothing as all of reality seemed to collapse around them.

The clashing energy between them pushed back and forth, as they fought for dominance. The dark void around them began to warp, showing glimpses of a world beyond. One both similar and unlike the one they know. Not as colorful, more dull.

“If you do not give up, we will shatter everything!” The Watcher yelled out desperately.

“Good!” Greg screamed, every soul in him giving it all they had. But they needed more!

Searching himself, he found one of the souls had not full committed to him. “Lance!” He called out, desperation in his voice. “Please, just trust in me! PLEASE!”

Lance’s soul held back, seeming to be unable to commit itself fully to Greg.

“Just this once, Lance! For our families! PLEASE, LANCE!” he screamed, not wanting to lose his momentum.

With a flicker, Lance’s soul slammed into Greg’s, fully giving himself to him.

He closed his eyes as he felt Lance’s energy join his own, causing the beam to begin to quickly overtake the Watcher.

“STOP!” he yelled, the void around them shattering more and more.

The energy was now at the Watcher’s hand, just barely being held back.

With a final push, the beam touched his hand and exploded past him, breaking through his own energy beam.

The Watcher let out a wail of agony as parts of his body began to flake away from his body. He fought to do something, anything to break away. To change the scene, to swap to another location. But he was trapped in the beam of energy from the pony that was supposed to be inferior to him!

Greg kept screaming as he pressed the attack, watching the arms flake off of the Watcher first, then his wings. Next were the rings that surrounded his body, which left just his fishbowl shaped head.

He didn’t relent as he continued the assault, the Watcher wailing and begging for mercy as his head began to flake away.

Finally, Greg dropped his hoof, causing the attack to cease. The Watcher, or what remained of him, floated in the empty void, damaged and barely hanging on. His soul was so weak, he couldn’t muster anything other than a few groans.

“Fuck you,” Greg spat out, flicking his hoof as the scene changed back to the Watcher’s domain.

The Watcher’s head hit the ground and rolled towards him, one of his eyes shattered and most of his fishbowl shaped head was gone, like it’d been erased crudely. But he still seemed to be alive, somewhat.

Waving his hoof again, the door to the room returned, opening to reveal the teleport platform beyond.

Coughing loudly as he began to feel faint, he looked up, seeing all the jars that sat at the top of the room. With a simple wave of his hoof, all of them lifted up and shattered. He lowered all of the creatures within to the ground. Using his powers, he sent the majority of the creatures away, sending them to a random location back on the Eternal Plains. The remaining ones turned his way and began sprinting towards him.

A smile spread across his face as he recognized his friends and family.

“Greg!” Twilight yelled, rushing towards him as he stumbled back and fell to the ground.

“Daddy!” he heard his daughter yell as she ran to him holding his infant son.

“We did it,” he said weakly as he jerked his hoof, causing all the souls inside of him to split from him, returning to their normal forms.

It's really over

Chapter 44

I found myself standing in the large room again, the Watcher’s head laying motionless in the middle of the room. His eyes were looking at us, blinking ever so often.

So he IS still alive.

Someone hugged me from behind, wrapping their arms around me and squeezed tightly. I placed my hoof on their arms and leaned back into them, letting out a relieved sigh.

“We did it,” I said softly, exhaustion clear in my voice.

“It’s finally over,” Mallogory said from next to my ear as she held me tightly.

I looked over to see Lance and his family all embracing, the kids and Twilight crying into him as he held them as close as he could get them.

Tears rolled down my face at the sight. Glancing down to my body, seeing my two missing legs and the burns up my side, a smile graced my face as I closed my good eye. “Worth it.”

“Greg! You big idiot!” Pinkie Pie yelled from behind us, causing me and Mallogory to look towards them.

Pinkie Pie was holding her infant son while her daughter sat by Greg’s side, holding his hoof. Greg looked bad, very weak.

“I couldn’t let ya get hurt, babe,” he rasped out, stroking her cheek. “I did what had to be done.”

“You’ve hurt yourself horrible for me! I’d never want that!” She yelled, then buried her face in his neck, sobbing as he patted her back.

Reaching up, I touched my chest, feeling like something was missing. My eyes went wide as I realized I no longer could see Ayla. Trying to use my Ego returned nothing as well.

“I… can’t use my Ego,” I mumbled as I tried to extend my Ego blades, but they too were gone. “And… my Ego weapon is gone…”

Mallogory held her hand out in front of us, still holding onto me, and tried to summon her weapon. But nothing happened. “It’s… all gone.”

“A heavy price to pay,” Castor said from above us, solemn as he stared at the Watcher’s head. “When he broke our souls, he nearly killed us. If it hadn't been for all of your Ego’s and weapons, you’d have perished.”

Mallogory stood up and tried to use her thorn, but she flickered weakly. Appearing to still have access to it, but it was damaged now. Her shoulders slumped as she just stood there, looking forlorn.

I flew up to her, hugging her as I tried to comfort her.

All around us, the couples were reuniting, crying as they came together. Then I saw a young filly walking around, looking lost.

Jero looked over, a pained look flashed across his face as he handed his two infants to Fluttershy and sprinted to the young filly as she walked towards Mallogory and me.

“Uh, have you two seen my moms?” she asked, making our eyes go wide.

“Hey, Mango Loco!” Jero said, sliding up beside her and putting his hands on her shoulders. “Why don’t we walk over her for a moment, okay?”

The young filly, who couldn’t be more than three, frowned but nodded as she allowed herself to be led to the outside of the group.

I watched with a breaking heart as he told her about her parents.

“That’s Grace’s and Octavia’s kid,” Lance said as he and his family walked over to us.

The little filly began to scream and wail as Jero held her close. She cursed more than I thought young filly like that could, but it was still breaking my heart to see.

“Twilight, kids, this is Scamp. She’s the mare who rescued me and made all this possible,” he said, looking both sad and proud at once, eyes trying to not look over to the crying filly and Jero.

“Scamp, thank you so much for bringing Lance back to us,” Twilight said as she walked over and pulled me into a tight hug. I stood there awkward as I half hugged her back.

“Oh, it really wasn’t a big deal,” I said, feeling very nervous and weird.

Twilight leaned back, smiling sweetly at me, then noticed my sheepishness. “Are you alright?”

I blinked at her, letting out an awkward laugh, “Yeah, I’m good… I just, ya know, ate your throat in my timeline.”

She stared wide eyed at me, mouth a gap.

“Uh… to be fair, you were a tyrannical psycho bitch, so it was ya know, warranted?” I looked at Lance as he was facehoofing.

Mallogory was snickering behind me, clearly enjoying the interaction.

“You ate my moms throat in your timeline?” Spark asked, looking at Lance as he facehoofed over and over again.

“It’s a LONG story, Twi,” Lance said from behind her. “She’s being awkward and weird right now, but she means well.”

I force a smile as Twilight raises an eyebrow at me. Then to my relief she laughs and pulls me in for another hug, “You need to work on that, Scamp.”

“Yeah,” I said as I patted her back.

“Dear, I don’t see Peter,” Rarity said as she and a small colt walked up to us.

“Yeah, where’s my dad?!” the colt asked, looking fierce as he looked at each of us.

“Rarity,” Lance began, looking around. He glanced to his kids and began to walk away, “Follow me, you two.”

As he led them away, Twilight gave me another squeeze then took her kids back to some of her friends.

“This whole thing is weird for me,” I admitted, turning to Mallogory. “I know all of them and their stories, but they don't know me.”

“Yeah, stalkers feel like that all the time,” she teased, slugging my arm.

I rolled my eyes as I saw Bronwyn walking away from the group, holding her dull sword as it seemed to be crumbling in her hands.

Lance had gathered up a few others, namely Celestia and Luna, and led them with Rarity far from the group. The kids followed behind.

I definitely do not envy him right now…

Jero was walking back to the group carrying a still crying Mango Loco. He pulled out a key of some kind and opened two portals. He leaned into each, seeming to yell into them. As he stepped away, I saw the others start to pour out. The ones we’d saved, and the ones we’d left behind in the training dimension.

They all quickly rejoined their families, causing another reunion.

“What’s next?” Mallogory asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I looked at everyone, a sense of peace falling over me.

“Whatever we want,” I replied, laying my head on her hand.

ooo000<^>000ooo

As he stepped away from his screaming and crying friends, having just told them the fates of their family members, he walked straight for the Watcher.

The moment he was close enough, the Watcher’s eye flicked to him.

“You must be overjoyed with this outcome,” the Watcher asked in a glitchy voice.

Lance looked back at all of his friends and family, a tired sigh escaping his lips. “Was this all worth it?”

The Watcher looked taken aback by the question, a frown appearing on his face, “you’ve beaten me now. But this victory is small compared to what is to come.”

“Uh-huh,” Lance said as he pulled an item out of his pocket dimension. “So no regrets?”

“None whatsoever,” the Watcher replied. “I’ll be back on top as soon as the UAD allows me back in.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lance said as he tapped the item to the Watcher’s head.

“What are yo-” he started to say, but was pulled into a tiny vial.

Lance sighed as he twisted the top, sealing the Watcher in the vial.

Castor stepped over him, staring at the Watcher in the vial. “Are you sure?”

“I am, just finish the seal please,” he said as he held the vial up.

Castor looked unsure as he waved his hand over the vial, permanently sealing it.

The Watcher within the vial stared out at them, very displeased with this outcome.

“This is a heavy burden, Lance. Binding him to you like this,” Castor warns, watching as Lance put the vial around his neck.

“Yeah, but I got this. He’s not going to be able to go anywhere as long as I’m alive. When the time comes, I’ll deal with him as needed,” Lance said, giving a nod as he walked back to the group, leaving Castor alone.

The entire group gathered up, mourning the ones they’d lost along the way.

Lance frowned as he watched all of his friends cry and hug. They’d won, but at a cost.

Glancing to Bronwyn as she sat on the ground, separated from the group, then looking to Scamp, he realized he’d never be able to pay them all back.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I carefully stepped up to Bronwyn as she sat on the ground, looking defeated.

“Hey, Bronwyn…” I said as I sat down next to her.

“She’s gone, Scamp,” Bronwyn replied, holding pieces of her sword. “I lost my Ego and my companion.”

I just sat there, not sure what to say.

She looked at me and sighed, forcing a smile, “I’m not the only one to lose someone today. Ayla?”

“Gone,” I say, closing my eyes. “We never got to say goodbye to them…”

“It was sudden, but we knew the risk,” she responded, patting my shoulder. She forced herself to stand up and hold her hand out to me. “We need to try and not dwell on it.”

Taking her hand, I let her pull me up. “Just push forward, right?”

“Right,” she replied, still looking to be in pain, but pushed forward.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jero and Castor stepped forward, combining their powers as they opened a portal before the group.

“I have restored your world,” Castor announced, looking back at all of us. “It will pick up right where it ended. The souls that were left in limbo will not realize anything has changed, only those in this room will know the truth.”

Lance stepped forward, looking ready to return.

“This is my goodbye to you all,” Castor suddenly said, getting looks from everyone. “I have been damaged during the fight with the Watcher, and I must return to the UAD. I have a duty to uphold, and I can not abandon it.”

“Thank you, Castor,” Lance says, giving him a nod. “We couldn’t of done it without you and the Seed.”

“I’m going to miss ya, buddy,” Greg said as Pinkie Pie held him up, as he was too weak to walk on his own.

Castor seemed to stiffen as he kneeled down and touched his finger to Greg’s head. “You gave more than any of us, and I wish I could fix the damage done to you. But I can not.”

“It’s cool,” Greg chuckled. “I don’t need magic or any of that shit to enjoy life. Just my family.”

Pinkie let out a soft sob as she nuzzled his cheek.

“I will miss you, Greg,” Castor said as he stood up, stepping aside.

Lance began to head for the portal without another word, followed by everyone else.

Waiting in the back, I watched as everyone slowly filed into the portal, till it was just me, castor, and Bronwyn.

“Coming?” I asked her, but she just smiled sadly.

“No, I still have a job to do.” At my sad look, she smiles, “we’ll see each other again, one day.”

“It better be soon, I need your help getting Mallogory her Sempiternal Body so she can be immortal like me,” I say, watching for her answer.

She frowns a bit, but then smiles, “that can be arranged. I’ll come to you once it's time, sound like a plan?”

“Yes, thank you, Bronwyn,” I walk over and hug her. “Good luck out there.”

“You need the luck,” she chuckles as we break the hug. “You’re the one about to start a family after all.”

I can’t help but get a little red as I slug her arm, “I wish you’d come with us.”

“I know,” she replied, standing up straight and gesturing to the portal, where Mallogory stood waiting. “I’ll see you later, Scamp.”

“Be seeing you, Bronwyn,” I give her a wave as I turn and head for the portal.

As I neared, Mallogory smiled and stepped up beside me. Together, we walked through the portal.

The moment our bodies left the portal, it closed behind us, leaving us in a technicolored world.

“Oh this place is too colorful,” Mallogory complained as we looked around at all of the buildings around us. It kinda looked like Ponyville, but very different. Which means, this could be New Ponyville in Lance’s dimension.

All around us, ponies stared at us and the group that’d come out before us.

Pinkie Pie quickly hopped in front of us, smiling widely. “I know this may seem sudden for you two, but I’m planning a victory party for all of us! It’ll be tonight!”

“Oh, cool, Pinkie,” I responded, smiling sheepishly. “We’ll be there.”

“I know!” She says loudly as she hopped back to her family and helped Greg stand as she led him and her kids away.

Lance looked my way and tipped his stupid cowboy hat at me, giving me a wink.

This brought a smile to my face as I looked around again. We’d really done it, we’d faced the Watcher and won!

My friends all looked very out of place among the ponies around them and the colorful décor, but they didn’t look unhappy as they interacted with anyone who approached them.

Mallogory began to walk towards them, giving me a wave to follow.

With a wide smile, I trotted after her, seeing my friends turn to me.

Despite everything I’ve been through; I’m really one lucky mare.

Celebration

Chapter 45
April 4th, 11 A.B.
(One day after defeating the Watcher)

“You don’t have to do this,” Lance said from behind me.

“I want to,” I respond as I look at myself in the mirror, carefully applying eye shadow to both eyes, even the cloudy one.

“You sure though? You said you'd never do that again,” he said carefully, peaking over my shoulder to look in the mirror.

"I know," I said as I put on black lipstick and started adding edges and lines to my eyeliner, making it look more dramatic and eye catching. "I want to make a good first impression on all of them. All they know we for is being the mare who kicked ass all the way to the Watcher. But I want them to know ME."

"... And this is the YOU you want them to see?" he said in a worried tone.

"Lance, just let me be me, 'kay?" I say over my shoulder, giving him a crooked smile. Looking back to the mirror, I pulled my ponytail holder out and let my mane fall. Shaking it out and using a brush to untangle it, I smirked into the mirror. It'd been a LONG time since I'd just let loose and enjoyed myself.

Lifting up a mane straightener with my wing, I began to straighten my mane.

As he watched, he cringed a bit, "oh God, you're going all in aren't you?"

"Yep," I chuckled as I finished and stood up, stepping over to the clothing rack where my clothes were hanging. With ease I pulled on a tattered jean jacket and black half skirt the only covered my good leg.

"Really going all in," he chuckled as he stepped over and helped get my mane out of the neck of the jacket.

"Thanks," I say as I look at myself in the mirror and smile.

He gives me a shove, "Good luck. I'll be with my wife and kids, just... keep it kid friendly?"

"Sure thing," I replied with a wink.

As he left, I looked myself over once more, my nerves starting to come back to bite me as I thought about what I was about to do. But, with a stomp and flare of my wings, I flashed myself a confident smile.

"Time to go all in, Scamp," I say to myself, "ante up, as Dad said."

Twirling around, I walk for the door, heading for the stage.

ooo000<^>000ooo

"Alrighty everyone!" Pinkie Pie yelled out at the crowd consisting of mainly our friends. "Before we start this party, we have a special treat for all of you!" She threw her hoof back, pointing at me behind the curtains, "Scamp wants to sing for all of us! Isn't that awesome?! I knew she was a really cool flank kicking mare, but a singer as well?! Gosh!" With a twirl, she turned and threw the mic towards me, "Take it away, Scamp!"

I stepped out from behind the curtain and caught the mic with my wing, as my paw and hoof were preoccupied holding a guitar.

"Singing and playing a guitar!" Pinkie cheered as she jumped from the stage and landed in Greg's lap as he sat in his wheelchair.

Gulping, I walked to the center of the stage and put the mic on its stand, fumbling a bit as I went.

"So... eh, I wanted to... sing for you guys?" I sputtered, my nerves killing me now as the lights above me seemed to be melting me.

"You got this, Scamp!" Mallogory yelled from the middle of the room, causing me to smile and relax a bit.

"I'm going to warn you," I began as I stood up on my hind legs and adjusted the strap on the guitar, "I haven't played in a while, and I haven't actually sang in years, so I'm sorry if this is bad."

"Woooooo!" Greg cheered, clapping his hooves in encouragement.

I cracked a smirk at his antics as I cleared my throat. "I'm not much of a song writer, but I threw together a song about friendship and shit..." I looked to Lance as he frowned at me. "Eh, sorry; friendship and stuff."

Shaking my head, I strummed the guitar and began to play it in a steady rhythm. Everyone began to nod along, seeming to enjoy it. I increased the speed and rhythm, then I leaned forward and let loose a scream as I began to sing in my death metal voice.

Singing in a almost demonic voice, I sang about all the hardships we'd gone through because of the Watcher, and about how no matter what happened, we all kept pushing for a win. About the loss of our friends and how much we'd given just to be here right now.

As I sang, guitar riffing heavily and my heavy growling voice roaring through the building, I saw everyone staring back with shocked faces, mouths agape. But I pushed on.

I finished by singing about the final battle, and how Greg ended up being the hero we needed.

With a final strum, I held my hoof high into the air, breathing heavily as I stared out at my friends, all of them looking back in disbelief.

I held my hoof up, unsure of what to do now, as they weren't even reacting.

"OH FUCK YES!" Greg suddenly screamed out, cheering clapping and cheering from his seat. "THAT IS FUCKING AMAZING! YES!!!!"

Then everyone else followed and began to cheer and clap.

Standing there awkwardly, I gave a small bow and rushed off stage, running straight to Mallogory's table and sliding up next to her. The entire time everyone kept clapping and cheering, keeping their eyes on me as I tried to shrink out of sight.

But Mallogory, being my eternal other half and loving to torment me, suddenly grabbed me and lifted me above her head.

"Cheer for her!" she yelled as I squirmed and tried to get away from her. But she held tight as everyone continued to cheer for me.

Finally, with no where else to go, I stopped fighting and started waving at everyone. "Eh... thank you all, for real, we can stop now!"

They eventually did, slowing dying down and returning to their seats, allowing me to die of embarrassment in peace as Mallogory put me back down in my chair.

"Scamp, I did not know such a sound could come out of such a little pony," Rarity said from her chair a few seats away. "I'm just blown away with it! Such an amazing talent!"

"Thanks, Rarity," I muttered to her with a blush, not liking the attention as much as I thought I would.

Mallogory leaned down and whispered into my ear, "so that's where that voice comes from. I thought it was a bedroom only kind of thing."

"Shut up!" I hissed, blushing harder as I threw myself under the table.

"That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie yelled as her face suddenly appeared in front of my while under the table. "I didn't understand half of what you were saying! But it sounded amazingly awesome! Will you teach me how to sing like that? I want my kids to learn to as well!"

"Sure, Pinkie," I said sheepishly as I patted her forehead. "Do me a favor and get the attention off of me? Please?"

She blinked at me, then smiled, "Ah, I gotcha. Leave it to me, Scamp!"

With a twist, she pulled herself out form under the table and jumped up on stage. "Alright! You all ready for this party to start!"

As everyone cheered back, four party cannons went off, shooting confetti out onto the crowd.

"Then lets get to dancing! DJ's!" she screamed as Aaron and Vinyl Scratch began to work the keys on their turntables.

Fast dance music began to pour out of all the speakers around the room, causing those who were interested to jump up and start dancing.

"A little overconfident?" Mallogory asked as she lifted the table cloth and looked at me under the table.

"A bit," I admit as I slowly climb out of my hiding spot and return to my chair.

"Scamp! That was so fucking impressive!" Reinhardt yelled as she moved through the dancers, heading straight for me.

"Oh geez," I cringe as I slowly start to go back under the table, only to be stopped by Mallogory as she smirked at me and waved for Reinhardt to hurry.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lance stepped up to the bar, tapping it twice to get the bar pony's attention. "Two light ciders."

As the bar pony nodded, he looked to his side and saw Zorrow, drinking a hard cider.

"Hey, Zorrow, still upset?"

Zorrow mumbled and took a large swig of his cider.

A bark was heard on the other side of him as Louie leaned forward, standing in the seat as he leaned on the bar, a little dog bowl of cider before him. He growled at Lance and began to lap at the cider vigorously.

"Oh, hey, Lou," Lance said, giving the angry little dog a wave. "So, still upset, but getting better?"

"Lance," Zorrow finally said, staring at his drink. "You killed my financee, and then kidnapped me from the only place I've ever been happy and successful."

Louie began to bark like crazy, jumping up on the bar as he looked at Lance, letting him have it. His barks were filled with anger as he stomped his little paws.

"I'm sorry, Louie, I got no idea what you're barking about," Lance chuckled, then looked to Zorrow. "She was a gold digger, bro. Sure, I wasn't in the right state of mind when I delivered justice upon her, but I stand by it. She was definitely out for your money... you had money right?"

Zorrow hissed as he drank more, "tsk! Yes I had money, and so what if she was only with me because I was successful? At least someone wanted me!"

Lance just patted his back, shaking his head, "you can do better." He grabbed his two ciders and tipped his hat at the two. "Enjoy the party you two."

Louie growled and barked at the bar pony, pointing at his dog bowl.

"You've had enough," the bar pony said as he took a marker and put a purple X on Louie's head. This just caused the little dog to go crazy as he barked and yelped.

Zorrow slammed down his cider and turned to face Lance as he walked away. "I can do better?! There's no one in Equestria that wants anything to do with me!"

"Yo," Moxxi said from his side as she leaned up against the bar, smirking at the furious Zorrow.

"Uh... hey?" he said as he looked at the little Goblin woman.

She looked him over and winked at him, "wanna try something better? Something, bite sized?"

"Lance!" Zorrow yelled as Lance disappeared into the crowd. "This horny Goblin chick is coming on to me!"

Moxxi laughed as she turned, giving her hips a pop. "Damn straight, I'm heading to my room if you're interested."

Zorrow watched her walk away, then looked to Louie, who just shrugged at him. He then grinned at the little dog, "you're right! We only live once!" He then sprinted after the Goblin, "Hey, wait up!"

Louie frowned as he looked around, seeing no one for him. He decided to turn his attention back to the bar pony, resuming his angry barking.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I sat at the bar, sipping something that definitely wasn't strong enough for me, and watched everyone else enjoying themselves.

Pinkie Pie slide up next to me, smiling widely, "I heard you asked for me?"

Nodding, I turn to her as I wipe my mouth, "Yeah, know anyone who can get Mallogory and me a house?"

She exploded with happiness as she jumped around me, "I do! Two seconds!"

The pink mare shot off into the ground and came flying back carrying a very confused Drax. She plopped him down before me and patted his head. "One realtor, as promised!" With a twirl, she jumped back into the crowd.

Drax blinked at me in confusion.

I smiled sheepishly as I held out a pint of cider for him, "Eh... sorry, I didn't ask her to do that."

A relaxed smile appeared on his face as he took a seat next to me and took the drink, "I'm use to her antics at this point."

"So, you're a realtor?" I asked him as we took a drink at the same time.

"Yep, didn't I mention that when we were in the training dimension?" he said, raising an eyebrow at me.

I chuckled as I rubbed the back of my head, "we didn't really get to talk a lot, and when we did group stuff I was kinda lost in thought..."

"No worries," he assured me as he put the drink down. "I'm assuming you need help buying a house?"

I nod in response, "And I've been thinking about something else as well. Can you help with buying or renting buildings for business use?"

He looked at me strangely, cocking his head, "you're wanting to start a business?"

"Kinda, yeah. Mallogory and I have spoken, and we decided we don't want to do any more adventuring right now. So we're going to settle down here for a while."

"Good for you two," he said with a smile. "I can help, but it'll take a bit on the business part. There's no free space at the moment, but new buildings are always being built around here."

"Thank you, I'll get with you tomorrow to talk about homes, sound good?"

He gives me a nod and jumps up, "Sounds like a plan, Scamp! My wife and I will be in the office tomorrow... I'll give you my card later so you know where that is."

As he walked into the crowd, I let out a content sigh as I turned to the bar pony. "Got anything stronger?"

He gave a nod as he walked away.

"Sweet," I mumbled as I adjusted the half skirt I was still wearing.

"Any reason for getting drunk? Outside of celebrating that is," Calypso asked as she sat down in the seat next to me.

I look at her, giving her a small smile, "hey, Cal." I then frowned as I watched for the return of the bar pony. "You know the things I've done. I know this is a party and all, but I'm having trouble relaxing. Just need a little help is all."

"This is a very unhealthy way to deal with trauma," she said in her normal stern tone. "You need to come and talk with me about it, or someone at least."

"I'll be fine, Cally," I mumbled as the bar pony returned with a bottle and shot glass. He sat the glass down and poured some for me, then started to walk away. "Leave the bottle."

He kind of frowned as he nodded and left the bottle.

I drank the shot glass in one go, letting out a satisfied sound as I felt the strong liquor hit my throat.

"Scamp," Calypso said in a stern tone. "Please, for me. Talk to someone."

"I will," I sigh, taking the bottle and taking a swig from it.

She took the bottle and put it on the table. "Please. I do not want you to become an asshole alcoholic like my father!"

I blinked at her, seeing hot tears threatening to pour down her face. Her white fur turning red as she tried not to cry in front of me.

"Okay," I say softly, reaching forward and pushing the bottle away. "I'll come talk with you tomorrow, when I'm fully sober."

She lurched forward and hugged me tightly, "thank you, Scamp! I've lost everyone else, I can't lose you too!"

"Geez, Cally," I say awkwardly as I return her hug, squeezing her tightly. "I'm not going anywhere. Kinda stuck with me."

"Idiot," she mumbled with a smile as she wiped a few tears off of her face. "Just keep your promise, first thing tomorrow. We're going to sit down and talk about your problems."

"Can't wait," I say with a chuckle.

From the side, Doc walked up and kinda just stood there, like he was waiting.

I looked between the two, and smirked, "I knew it."

"Knew what?" she asked, looking over and seeing him waiting. Then she just laughed as she shook her head, "I guess hiding it is kinda childish, isn't it?"

"Yep," I say with a wink.

"Just so you know, it happened out of nowhere, we didn't plan it!" she said, turning red in embarrassment.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me," I say, giving her a playful shove. "Go be happy."

She gave me a quick hug and jumped up, running to Doc as they disappeared into the crowd.

I smiled as I turned back to the bar. The smile, however, slowly faded as I looked at the bottle before me. It taunted me.

A few faces flashed before me, causing me to groan as I stared longingly at the bottle. The only relief I could find from the voices and faces.

My hoof trembled as I reached out for it.

Then Mallogory's hand came over me and snatched it. "Nope! I heard what you told Calypso, and you're sticking to it."

I frowned as I turned to her, but her smiling face was my weakness, causing me to relax. "Thank you, Mallo."

She smiled back and leaned down, giving me a kiss.

Maybe there were two things that gave me relief from the horrors of my past.

For whom the bell tolls

Chapter 47

April 25th, 11 A.B.

Grunting, I lifted the wall up and held it against the supports lining the wall. “Okay, nail it!”

Mallogory moved quickly as she hammered a few nails into the wall, securing it in place. “Okay, you can let it go.”

I let out a relieved grunt as I leaned away from the wall and lifted up a hammer and some nails. “Whew, did we really have to go with heavy duty walls?”

“With the two of us? Yes,” she chuckled as we hammered in the rest of the nails. As we finished, I lifted a charm and held it to the wall, further reinforcing it as a light glow spread over it for a moment.

“I guess that’s fair,” I replied as I looked at the room around us. “Is this big enough for a master bedroom?”

“I’ve told you, it’s big enough,” she laughed, patting my shoulder. Then she looked a bit worried, “wait, should we be letting you do all this lifting?”

I just laugh at her concern and slug her shoulder, “I’m fine, don’t treat me like a delicate flower.”

“What’d the doctor say though?” she pressed with concern. “Did he say you could lift?”

“I’m just a week along at this point,” I chuckle, rolling my eyes. “We’re months away from having to worry about that kind of shit.”

“Okay,” she concedes, “I’m not sure how things like this work. My species just lays the eggs and we move on, only giving them enough care to survive.”

“Yeah, well it’s a little more involved with ponies,” I say, walking out of the room. “Now, what are we doing for dinner tonight?”

She smiles and follows after me, “you know the answer to that!”

“The Mellowed Pie,” I say, licking my lips. “Lead the way, madam!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Hey you two,” Greg said as he wheeled himself over in his wheelchair, a wide smile on his face. “The usual?”

“You know what we like,” I responded as we took our seats at one of the booths. “Any luck on getting better?”

He just laughs as he slaps his back legs, “Nah, I gave up on that. No use feeling sorry for myself. I’m embracing the new me! Being crippled ain’t going to keep me down!”

“That’s the Greg I know and love,” I say with a large smile as I lean over and hug him tightly.

Breaking the hug, he twirls himself around in his chair and flies back to the kitchen, yelling out our order to Pinkie as he went.

“I always feel so guilty when we see him,” Mallogory admitted, a sad look on her face. But a smile slowly pushed it away, “but I’m so happy to see him able to still be himself.”

“He’s Greg,” I say, “ain’t nothing putting him down.”

“Hey guys!” Reinhardt said as she and Remi slid in on either side of the booth with us. “I heard from a little birdie that you two went to see that special doctor last week.”

“We did,” I chuckled, leaning back in the booth.

“And?” she pressed.

Remi held up her board for me to see. It was a drawing of me with a big belly with little hearts floating around me. A big question mark was next to it.

I smirk at them as they leaned towards me. Mallogory was just beaming as she watched their reactions.

“We said screw it and went for it right then and there.”

“Oh fuck yes, Scamp!” Reinhardt cheered as she pulled Mallogory into a one armed headlock. “I’m so fucking excited for you two!”

Remi was bouncing in her seat, clapping her paws in excitement as well. She pulled me into a tight hug, yanking me back and forth happily.

“Thanks, guys!” I yelped as I was thrown around a bit. She finally sat me down as Reinhardt released Mallogory.

“Any idea’s on names?” she asked, but I held up my hoof.

“Whoa there, it’s still super early. Give the two of us time to even comprehend everything,” I say, shaking my head with a massive grin on my face.

“Okay, fair fair,” she said, sitting back, relaxing her mood a bit.

Remi held up a drawing of Mallogory and I in wedding dresses, a question mark next to it as well.

“Eh, no, we’re not really those kinds of people,” Mallogory said, chuckling nervously.

“Yeah, neither of us want to do the whole wedding thing. No dresses or shit like that. If we do the whole legal marriage thing, we’ll just do paper,” I say, getting two frowns in response.

“Come on you two! I may be a warrior, but even I love a good wedding!” Reinhardt says, flexing her muscles through her band T-shirt.

“No wedding,” I state as Greg returns with our food, stacked up on a tray attached to his wheelchair.

“Here you go!” he said as he placed the plates before us. “As for a wedding, you two should do what you want. Not everyone wants a massive celebration to show off how much they love each other.”

“Thanks, Greg,” I say as I pull my food to myself and shove my snout into it, eating noisily.

“No problem, you heathen,” he joked as he wheeled away.

“So for sure no wedding?” she pressed, only to get a deadpan stare from myself and Mallogory. “Right, no wedding. Your loss though.”

As they started to stand up, I smirked, “you two going steady yet?”

“Shut up, pony,” Reinhardt said as she gave me a shove, a smile plastered on her face.

Mallogory and I just laughed at her in response as two two walked away.

But as we ate, Pinkie Pie slowly rose from the edge of our table, a massive smile on her face. “Did I hear, wedding?”

“No!” we both said, but this didn’t deter her as her smile only grew larger.

“We’re not doing one,” I stated defiantly. “There’s no way in hell I’m wearing a dress and standing in front of a crowd to declare my love.”

“Yeah, fuck that noise!” Mallogory said as we high-fived each other.

Pinkie Pie just leaned on the table, looking between us. “I think I hear wedding bells!”

“NO!” we both yelled in response.

ooo000<^>000ooo

June 15th, 11 A.B.

“Fucking Pinkie Pie,” I mumbled as I moved the overly complicated wedding dress around my hips, watching myself in the mirror.

“Could have been worse,” Lance said from behind me as he and Moxxi adjusted my mane. “She could have invited all of Equestria and tried to make this national news.”

“Fuck, I’d rather not think of that possibility,” I mumbled as I scowled at myself. I turned my head to look at my left side, seeing the burns had been completely covered with makeup, making me look normal.

“At least you look smokin’ hot,” Moxxi said in encouragement.

This brought a smile to my face as I looked at her, “Thanks, Mox.”

“I mean, you two didn’t really put up much of a fight,” Lance said as he stepped back to admire his work.

“You don’t fight Pinkie Pie,” I sighed as I looked myself over. I had to admit, I at least looked good in this dress. Rarity really out did herself.

“Besides,” he continues, “I think she’s doing this for you and everyone else. Seeing you two get married will improve the moods of everyone else. These last two months have been harder than expected for some of us.”

I nodded, thinking of Mango Loco, Rarity, and her son Blaze.

“How’s Mango doing?” I asked, looking at Moxxi.

She blinked, then smiled, “she’s settling in. I’m not much of a caregiver, but Zorrow really takes to the whole guardian role pretty well.”

“So, is this still a fling between you two? Or something more?” I pressed.

She just chuckled, “We’re just having fun, no need to label it, right?”

“Right,” I say back, looking back to myself in the mirror.

“I’m just surprised he was the first to volunteer to become her legal guardian,” Lance remarked from my side. “He never really seemed like the responsible type of guy.”

“He’s actually a lot better than you give him credit for, asshole,” Moxxi said, seeming to take offense to what he said.

“... I guess,” he conceded, choosing not to push the issue.

“You all ready?!” Pinkie asked as she threw open the door, wearing an amazingly designed dress of her own.

“Nope,” I replied, but she just rushed in and grabbed me, dragging me after her.

“Good! Mallogory’s already at the altar! Time for your walk up!”

“Oh fuck me…” I mumbled as she dragged me down the hall to the sounds of music.

As we reached a set of doors, she pulled me in front of them and began to frantically readjust my dress for me.

“Did you finally decide on who’s giving you away?!” she asked with a touch of anxiety.

“Eh… no one,” I responded, getting a strained look from her.

“You promised you’d decide before we got to this moment, Scamp!”

I just smiled sheepishly back at her, “if I’m doing this, then I’m doing this my way.”

She frowned hard, but then sprang back to her happy self. “Okay! We can work with this!” With a rushed twirl, she ran for the doors, looking back at me, “you know when to walk out?”

I gave a nod as I took up my position on the rug leading to the door.

“Good!” she said as she pushed open the door enough to walk through and slammed it behind her, leaving me alone in the walkway.

Taking a deep breath, I looked down at myself again, moving my legs around in the dress.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, rubbing my face. As I pulled my hoof away, I saw I’d removed a good amount of makeup with my hoof. “Ah shit!”

Looking around, I saw a mirror near me. The sight that greeted me made me cringe. My left side had a large smudge in it, revealing my burns beneath.

“Great…” I frowned, then narrowed my eyes as I looked at myself in the mirror. “What the fuck am I doing?! This isn’t me!”

Using my wing, I reached over and grabbed a curtain and pulled it to me. I dabbed it in a small fountain of water and began to rub away all of the makeup on my face. It took a little work, but I was able to get it all off, leaving just my normal face staring back at me. My cloudy eye and burns now very noticeable against the white dress.

“There we go,” I say as I return to my spot at the door.

After another minute, the doors opened and Pinkie came back in. She yelped in panic when she saw what I'd done to the makeup.

“Scamp! Why?!”

“If I'm doing this,” I said sternly. “Then, I’m doing it exactly the way I want. Make up is not my style.”

“You and Mallogory are so difficult!” she pouted, but then sighed as she gave me a tired smile, “you two are perfect for one another, that’s for sure.”

I just smirk in response as I heard the song start playing that signifies I’m about to walk out.

“It’s time,” she says, adjusting my dress one more time. “You got makeup all over the neck and chest of this dress, Scamp.”

“Oh well,” I say, smiling brightly at her.

She gives me a quick hug as the music reached its peak. “Go get her.”

With a confident stride, I walk up to the doors as they magically opened, revealing the hall filled with all my friends and their families.

Continuing forward, I walked alone towards the alter, where Mallogory stood in a wedding dress missing it’s sleeves and had a rip down one leg allowing her to move more freely.

I just laughed out loud at seeing her as I walked towards her at a steady pace, all eyes on me.

She returned the laugh as she saw what I’d done to myself.

No one seemed surprised or that taken aback at seeing me with makeup all over my dress, but a few laughed. Which was fine, as I had my eyes glued to Mallogory’s.

As I finally stepped up next to her, turning to face her, I laughed again as I looked her over more closely.

“Didn’t like the dress?”

She smirked and touched my face, “what? Makeup not your thing either?”

I just winked as Celestia cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention.

As she began to speak, I couldn’t help but side eye Mallogory, the biggest smile plastered on either of our faces.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I leaned on the balcony, overlooking the dark streets of New Ponyville as the reception went full swing behind me, a small cup of punch held in my paw.

“There you are,” Beans said as he stepped out onto the balcony with me, two cups in his mandibles.

“You found me,” I chuckled, taking a drink of my punch.

“Aren’t you going to enjoy the party? It is your wedding after all,” he said, posting up beside me.

“Eh,” I replied, shrugging, “I’m all partied out. I just want to be alone for a moment.”

“Oh, I’ll leave you too it,” he said with a click.

“No, Beans, stay, I meant I wanted to be away from all the people for a bit,” I say, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Are you happy?” he suddenly asked.

I looked out over the town, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, I am.”

“Therapy working?” he asked, nodding to my cup.

“Yes,” I say as I hold it up and shake it. “Just normal punch, don’t worry.” I leaned back and patted my belly, “No alcohol for me anyways.”

“And your house?”

“Basically done now,” I reply as I finish off the punch. “We’re fully moved in at this point. I’m just happy to be out of Greg’s spare bedroom.”

“You should have bought a finished house like the rest of us,” he commented. “The Princesses were nice enough to buy and furnish anything we wanted after all.”

“We wanted something special,” I replied as he offered me another cup of punch. “Plus, we’re starting our Dojo up one day soon, so we wanted to not take so much from them.”

“They would have done both without question,” he said with a happy click. “They’ve helped me set up my shop after all! It’ll be up and running in a few weeks.”

“Now that’s great news!” I said as I took a long drink of punch. “If we end up getting a pet, we’ll for sure be coming to you!”

“Thank you, Scamp,” he said happily as we both stared out at the town before us.

“Hm,” he began, looking into the distance, the bright moon easily lighting up the town. “You see that building way out there? The one being built that resembles a mansion?”

I look to where he’s looking and nod, I’ve walked past it a few times as they’ve been building it. “Yeah, I heard some rich guy is moving into it once it’s finished.”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” he said, frowning, “I don’t know how I feel about it. No one knows anything about him, just that he’s suddenly decided to come to New Ponyville and set up shop.”

“Have you seen him yet?” I asked, finishing my drink.

“No one has, he hasn’t even shown himself. He’s apparently done all his communications via telephone and mail. Drax has been working himself to the bone to get everything right for the guy,” Beans said as he made a few unpleasant clicks.

“Guy already sounds like a prick,” I reply with a chuckle. “Any idea when he’ll be moving in?”

“Drax said the mansion will take a few months to build, so it could be a while. Thankfully.”

I nod as I look back at the party, “well other than talking about rich assholes, you want to rejoin the party with me?”

“Gladly,” he said as we both headed for the doors and the dancing ponies beyond it.

Leave me in peace!

Chapter 48

July 2nd, 11 A.B.

“This is perfect,” I say as I stood on a concrete slab with ropes put up around it to signify separate rooms. “Good size for the Training Hall portion of the building, and those little roped areas will be the office and locker rooms, right?”

“Right,” Drax said as he walked around with me, answering my questions as we surveyed the floor layout of the building he was having built for us. “I went off of your designs as best as I could, but we had to add and take away a few things here and there. For example, we will not be able to do a removable roof. I mean we could, but it’d take more time than we have.”

“We’ll make due without it, as long as the roof is high enough away that we can do at least some flying indoors,” I reply as I walk around the slab, checking to make sure the sizes are correct.

“That is doable,” he assures as he looks at his watch and sighs. “I’m sorry, Scamp. We’d have this done sooner if it wasn’t for Vicar Belletor and all his demands.”

“Is that the rich asshole moving into that mansion you guys are building?” I asked with a frown.

He chuckled a bit, “Yeah, that’s him.”

“What’s he like?” I asked, curiosity eating me up as everyone else would not shut up about him and his grand mansion.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I speak to him on the phone sometimes, and he sends some of his own ponies down here sometimes to give us new designs and demands. If it wasn’t for all the bits he was sinking into this, I’d have passed it along to someone else long ago.”

“I don’t know why, but I get a bad feeling when I walk by the mansion you’re building,” I say as I measure the floor again. “Could this be a few feet longer in both directions?”

“Uh, sure, we can add some length to everything,” he said as he made a few notes. Then he looked back to his watch, “I need to get back, you know where to find me if you have any more questions.”

“You got it,” I say as I press my face to the ground, making sure everything was actually smooth.

As he walked away, I heard someone else flying towards me.

“Hey, Scamp!” Spark said as he landed beside me, looking at the concrete floors around us. “Is this the Dojo thing you’re building?”

“Some of it,” I say as I stand up and turn to him, giving him a wide smile. “You planning to join?”

“I don’t know,” he says sheepishly. “My mom is really against me and Fawn learning to fight. Says we should focus on studying and all that.”

“I mean, she’s not wrong,” I reply, much to his dismay. “But, who says you can’t do both? Little training and a little studying.”

“Apparently my mom says so,” he says, chuckling as he shakes his head. “It’s all for studying, or we’ll become lazy bums.”

I can’t help but snicker at this, as it sounds exactly how I imagine Twilight to view the world, “I’ll talk to her, see if I can’t get you two in for a few lessons from time to time.”

“Thank you!” he said in an excited voice. “So what kind of fighting will you be teaching?”

“The kind that’ll teach others to defend themselves and take out their opponents without killing them,” I responded, causing him to frown a bit. “What?”

“I just thought, you know, that if you were teaching it, we’d learn all kinds of cool and bad ass attacks! Like being able to kick the head off of a bad guy in one hit!” he said, jumping up and down as he spoke.

“I think you’ve let your dad fill your heads with too many stories,” I reply, patting his head. “We don’t need to know those kinds of things anymore. Everything is peaceful here. Learning to defend yourself will be enough to carry you through life.”

“But what if another big bad guy comes and attacks us?” he counters.

“Then, we handle it. There’s no need for you kids to have to get involved in stuff like that.”

“But!” he continues, “what if it’s later in life and all of you are too old to help fight? What then?!”

“Kid,” I laugh, giving him a thumbs up. “I’m immortal, so I ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. Everything will be fine.”

“That’s what dad said before the Watcher came,” he mumbled.

I blinked at him, slightly taken aback at his words, but I decided not to say anything. “Even though I’m just teaching defense, there’ll be plenty of ways to adapt it to attacking. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“It’s good enough,” he replies, forcing a smile.

“Oh you’ll like it,” I say as I walk over to one of the ropes and look over the space that will become a storage closet. “This needs to be wider…”

“Um, I do actually have a question,” he said from behind me, causing me to turn and face him.

“What’s up?”

He kicked at the ground as he looked a bit unsure. “My dad doesn’t talk about any of it, but what did you two do while on the Eternal Plains?”

I frowned at him, a few images flashing through my head. “We searched for all of you, you know the story.”

“I know the ‘safe to tell the kids’ version of the story, but I want to know what really happened. Dad isn’t like he used to be. He used to be all goofy and crazy, now he’s all calm and reserved.”

“Spark,” I began slowly, “I can’t tell you what really happened. Not because of what happened, but because it’s not my place. Your parents will tell you when they-”

“They won’t,” he interrupted. “They baby me. I’m ten! I’m not a baby anymore! They told fawn, but that’s because she’s fifteen and ‘old enough to handle it’.”

“I’m sorry, Spark,” I say carefully. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you, if they don’t.”

“Promise?” he asked, staring at me with determined eyes.

I hesitated for a moment, “I promise.”

“Thanks, Scamp!” He yelled as he looked overjoyed.

With a nervous smile, I returned to looking over the area around me.

“Another question?” he suddenly said.

A quiet groan escaped my lips as I turned to him, “yeah?”

“Why is Mr. Bleak avoiding town?”

This caused me to grimace, “ah, that’s a bit of my fault…”

“How?” he asked, cocking his head, “he was at the wedding and he seemed alright there.”

“He was there, yes, for the wedding itself. Not the reception,” I said, thinking back.

Despite him being my father in my timeline, he hasn’t taken to it like Adry has. She’s been nothing but loving and caring with me and Mallogory. But, Darkest Bleak has been a bit reserved, a stark contrast to the version of him I met when I died.

The two of us only spoke briefly, a few days after we came back from fighting the Watcher. It was the most awkward exchange I’ve had so far, and that’s saying something.

He congratulated me on saving Lance and stopping the Watcher, but when he learned I was his daughter in another timeline, he pulled back. Adry had tried to speak with him, but she had no luck as he took his leave after a few choice words.

Words I’d rather not dwell on right now.

“It’s complicated,” I finally finished, seeing Spark stare at me with expecting eyes.

“You two need to get together and talk about it all,” Spark said. I raised an eyebrow, causing him to continue. “Dad told me about some of your past, and who your parents are. I don’t think you two will be happy if you keep avoiding each other.”

“Wise words from a child,” I say, walking over and ruffling up his mane. “Thanks, kiddo.”

He huffed as he fixed his mane, then gave me a wide smile, “my mom is Twilight after all, the smartest pony in Equestria. Only natural I take after her.”

“Okay, gloating makes you look less wise,” I teased as I messed his mane up again, to his annoyance.

“Stop that!” he whined as he jumped back and fixed it again. He lifted into the air, out of my reach, “I just think you two should try and get along, okay?”

“Okay, Spark, for you I’ll speak with him,” I give him a little bow as he laughs happily and flies off.

Then I frown, “at some point at least.”

Finally alone, I turned back to examining my soon to be Dojo. But upon turning around, I found myself face to face with a young colt. Luna’s son, Star Chaser.

“Oh fuck!” I yelped, but then composed myself, “I mean, hey, Star Chaser!”

He frowned at me, fluttering his wings a bit, “Can anyone join your Dojo when its open?”

“Uh…” I stared at him, still caught off guard at the sudden appearance of the young Alicorn. “... Yep! You interested in joining?”

“I am,” he stated matter of factly. “With Father gone, I need to become the head of the castle, and take his place as one of the rulers of Equestria.”

“I’m sure you don’t have to worry about all that right now…” I said as he slowly glared at me. “BUT! If you want, I will teach you just like everyone else.”

“Not good enough, royalty deserves special treatment,” he stated, flipping his mane. “When you’re up and running, myself and my sister will require private lessons.”

“I… will see what I can do,” I say slowly, seeing a smile form on his face.

“Excellent! Till then, Miss Scamp,” he said as he bows and flashes away.

Once I was sure he was gone, I exhaled, “creepy little prick…”

“Rude to say to a child,” I heard behind me, causing me to sigh loudly. Was I ever going to be allowed to be alone?

Turning around however, I saw the one pony I had not expected.

“Mr. Bleak? I’ll be honest, I was not expecting to see you,” I said with genuine surprise.

“I was watching over Spark when he came to speak to you,” he began, but saw the weird look I was giving him. “That does sound weird, but, when he sneaks out of his house, Twilight usually asks me to make sure he’s alright.”

“Fair enough,” I say, squaring up with him.

“I heard the conversation you two had though,” he began, frowning.

“If we’re going to talk about that, then I want you to know, I do NOT forgive you for what you said to me when we first met,” I said with a scowl.

He looked a bit sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head, “I may have said a few things I’ve come to regret, yes.”

“You said, and I quote: ‘she is no daughter of mine!’. Which is true, not your actual daughter. But the next little quote hits a little differently.” I cleared my throat as I imitated his voice, “‘Get that ugly wannabe out of my sight!’”

Mr. Bleak covered his face with a hoof, groaning, “I’d hoped you wouldn’t remember word for word what I’d said.”

“Kinda hard to forget,” I retorted. “I don’t know if there is a way to repair what you’ve broken.”

“And that is fine,” he says, removing his hoof and staring into my eyes. “I want to start over. You don’t have to forget what I said, but I want a second chance. I’ve had time to think about it, and I want you in my life.”

I made a sucking sound with my teeth as I shook my head, “Ooo, is that so? Probably should have thought of that before you…” I stopped myself, seeing his ears flatten. I closed my eyes and counted down from ten slowly. When I opened them, I continued, “you want a second chance?”

He could only nod in response, looking unsure of my next words.

“Fine. I’m not fond of you right now, but I’m willing to try. For the sake of our friends and families, and Adry.”

With a sigh of relief, he nodded, “Yes, I’d do anything for her. I wish I could take back what I said, but finding out I have a kid on the way, then shortly after that finding out I have another kid from a doomed timeline, it was a lot to take in. I didn’t get taken by the Watcher, so I was stuck in limbo with the rest of this forsaken dimension. So everything was very sudden for me.”

“Which is why I’m willing to give you a CHANCE to fix things,” I responded, doing my best not to blow up on him again. The anger was still there, but I was doing my best to keep it down.

“I’ll never replace your real father, but I hope we can at least become close,” he said awkwardly, clearly like me when it came to this kind of stuff.

“We’ll try at least,” I replied, relaxing my shoulders and forcing a smile.

“That’s all I’m asking for,” he said, kicking a rock off of the concrete. “If you’d like, my wife and I can take you and yours to Canterlot for dinner? Maybe some theater afterwards?”

I tapped my chin, then shrugged, “sure, I’ll let Adry know when we’re free.”

This brought a relieved smile to his face as he bowed to me.

“Don’t bow, it's weird,” I chuckled, causing him to blush.

“Ah, yes, it is in this instance, isn’t it?” He stood up and flared his wings. “Well! I need to catch up to Sparky boy, make sure he doesn’t get into any more trouble.”

“Be seeing you,” I say, giving him a salute.

“Salutes are weird too,” he laughed as he shot away.

I rolled my eyes, “Salutes are not weird…”

Looking around, I saw I was finally alone, no one else heading towards me.

I waited a second, giving anyone else time to make themselves known, but no one did.

Happily, I turned my head back to look at the floor design over… and felt myself lurch forward as I tripped and slammed face first into the floor.

“Oh my! Are you okay?!” Luna yelled as she rushed from her throne and used her magic to help me up.

“Are you serious?!” I yelled out, realizing I’d been teleported to the palace. Then I saw Celestia and Luna looking at me with puzzled looks.

“Bad time?” Luna asked sheepishly.

Reluctantly, I sighed and shook my head, “not really, I guess… So, why the sudden teleportation?”

Luna just smiled as she returned to her throne, “no real reason, we just wanted to see how the pregnancy was coming along.”

“It’s ah goin’,” I responded, eye twitching in annoyance at this being the reason for the summons. Then my eye widened and I muttered under my breath, “Oh shit, this is how Lance must have felt…”

“What was that?” Celestia asked, a bit of a smirk on her lips.

“You know what I said,” I said, then chuckled to myself. “Sorry, I’m just not used to how things work here. I’m used to uncaring rulers and a hateful government ruling over everything.”

“It is a bit of an adjustment,” she said with a thoughtful nod. “I know of your world, thanks to Lance sharing his memories with us. But you lived it in a much different way than he did.”

I just gave a shrug back, not sure what to say to that. I don’t really want to talk about my time there, not right now at least.

Sensing my thoughts, she changed the subject. “Now! Back to why we summoned you here, is there anything we can do to help make your pregnancy any more comfortable?”

“Yes actually!” I suddenly said, smiling widely up at them. “Don’t teleport me without warning! That’ll be the best gift you can give me right now!”

“Ah, yes,” Luna laughed nervously, “I believe we can arrange that. Anything else?”

I thought for a moment, but could not think of anything else at that moment. “I got nothing. I’m still in the early stages of all this, so the only things I want right now are to be left alone… did not mean for that to sound so rude.”

“It is okay, Scamp,” Celestia chuckled, horn glowing. “We’ll come to you in the future if we need you, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds awesome,” I reply, giving a thumbs up. “Just give me a warning, would hate for you to see something terrifying and scaring.”

“What possibly could that…” her eyes widened as she saw an image pop up in my mind. “AH! YEP! On you go, Scamp!” Her horn flashed and I found myself back at the slab of concrete.

I couldn’t help but laugh loudly at the situation. This place sure knew how to keep things interesting! In a none deadly way too!

Checking my surroundings, I was sure I was FINALLY alone. Walking over to a table, I picked up a notepad and began to jot down new dimensions and ideas to give to Drax.

Definitely going to need this main floor to be much bigger.

“Oh hi, Scamp!” I heard someone say from above me. Looking up revealed Lance as he slowly flew over head.

“Fuck it!” I suddenly yell, startling him. “I give up! I’ll get this tomorrow!”

“You good?” he asked as he landed next to me, but realized that was a mistake as I reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him to my face.

“Am I good?! I could be good! But you all keep bugging me!” I scream, inches from his face.

He winched a bit, but smiled back at my angry face. “OH! Is this a mood swing brought on by pregnancy?”

“You did not just say that…” I growled as I opened my pocket dimension and pulled out a large mallet.

“Oh shit…” Lance said with wide eyes. “I may have used a poor choice of words there…”

“You think?!” I reply as I hold the mallet above us, eyeing him hard.

“I’m sorry,” he says, trying to calm me down. “Now, just calm down! There’s no need to overact like this!”

“You’re an idiot,” I growled as I let him go and swung the mallet towards him.

“What’d I say?!” he yelped as he was wacked away, flying high into the air and landing in the forest across the street.

I tossed the mallet back into my pocket dimension and huffed. With a bit of attitude, I picked up my notepad again and began to add notes to it.

Therapy works, I guess

Author's Note

I just need to say: Yes, I know ponies have a gestation period of 11 months. But young me, in all his glory, made the canon length in LTD 9 months. So gotta stick to my own stupid lore here.

Therapy works, I guess

Chapter 49

August 23rd, 11 A.B.

“No it’s okay, Drax, we understand,” I say over the phone, frowning as I look at Mallogory. “Yeah, you too, bud.”

Hanging up, she looked at me expectantly, “So? What was that about?”

I let out a sigh and shook my head, “Apparently, it’s going to take a little longer than he thought to finish our Dojo. This asshole ‘Vicar Belletor’ apparently saw a picture of what his mansion was becoming, and wants half of it torn down and rebuilt up. So Drax is pulling the ponies from our building to finish it.”

“Fucking rich assholes,” she muttered as she sat on the couch, playing one of her video games.

“Yep, no matter where I go, there’s always at least one mucking shit up,” I muttered, going back to cooking our dinner.

“I bet this ‘Vicar Belletor’ prick is some old guy with a chip on his shoulder,” she commented, getting a giggle out of me.

“Isn’t that always the stereotype?”

“Stereotypes exist for a reason!” she yelled back, shoving a handful of chips into her mouth.

“Hey!” I yell over the kitchen counter at her, “I’m making food over here, stop snacking!”

“You’re not my mom!” she teases, sticking her tongue out at me.

I started to go after her, but the pot of food made a popping sound, pulling me back, “you’re so lucky this requires my full attention, or I’d be all over you for that comment!”

“That’s exactly what a mom would say,” she retorted, laughing like an immature child as I frowned at her.

“So lucky I’m stuck here…” I muttered, a little smile on my face.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next day

“It’s at least coming along, right?” Mallogory asked as we stood in front of the half finished building that will one day be our Dojo.

“I mean, yes? It technically was supposed to be finished already, but you know the story. Rich assholes,” I say as I step through the hole that will be a doorway at some point.

“Rich assholes,” she repeated back as she followed me in.

We stepped into the middle of the construction, looking at the half finished walls around us.

“So what, another month or so?” she asked, frowning.

“Drax said at this point, late October. They’re putting this on hold till they finish the redesign on that fucking mansion,” I roll my eyes, spitting onto the ground in frustration.

“Don’t do that when there’s actually floors in here,” she said, giving me a little shove.

“I’ll do as I please,” I say, slapping my chest. “I will be Sensei! You will be but a student!”

“Student and part owner,” she corrected, smirking at me.

“But student first!” I countered, returning her smirk. I lowered myself into a fighting stance, wiggling my eyebrows at her. “Unless you want to challenge me right here, right now!”

She laughed as she began to get into a fighting stance, but then she stopped herself, looking at the small bump under me. “Actually, I conceded! You are the Sensei and I am but a student!”

I frowned at her, knowing exactly why she stopped herself, “I’m not fragile, love.”

“Just.. being safe,” she says, looking a bit sheepish as she looks around. “But look at this wall! I like this wall! This is a very nice wall!”

I just roll my eye at her as I walk towards the unfinished office area. Stepping through the doorway, I found myself in a decently large room. Plenty of room for a desk and couch that pulls out into a bed. Perfect for any late nights.

“Hey,” she said from behind me, leaning in the doorway. “I don’t think you’re fragile. I’m just worried about the baby.”

“I know,” I say over my shoulder, still looking the room over. “I’m just not used to being treated so… delicately.”

“Get used to it,” she chuckles. “Got at least six more months to go.”

“Don’t remind me,” I groan, shaking my head. “But it’s actually closer to five months. Due date is around January tenth, remember?”

“I do, trust me,” she says, walking out of the room. “And believe me, once we get this place up and running, I’m going to decorate these walls with some bad ass art!”

Just rolling my eyes in response, I pull out my flip phone, checking to see if I had any missed calls or messages from Drax. I did not, just a single text from Greg asking if I was down to clown. Whatever that meant.

I shot back a quick ‘Sure?’ and put my phone away.

“Who the fuck are you?” I heard from behind me, causing me to quickly make my way to the main room where Mallogory and a lone pony stood.

“Just looking,” the very tired looking pony said as he stood in the doorway, giving off a weird vibe.

“Look at another time,” I say, frowning at him. Something about him seemed… off.

The stallion looked around slowly, his eyes, which had dark bags under them, trailed to me. An eyebrow raised as he looked at me. “Pregnant?”

Mallogory stepped between us, flashing her claws. “Hey, buddy, I don’t know what your problem is. But get the fuck out of here!”

The pony frowned as he looked around some more. “Hm…” he took a step back and turned, about to leave.

“Hey!” I snapped, stepping around Mallogory and stomping towards him. “Tell me right now, what are you really doing here?!”

He turned to me, a bored look on his face. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I will worry about it!” I huffed, glaring at him.

We stared at each other, me glaring and him just blinking at me with tired eyes.

“Hester!” I heard Drax call out as he came running our way. “You left before I gave you the full report!”

Hester sighed and turned to look at the approaching Drax.

Drax came to a stop, blinking in confusion as he saw my furious face. “What’s going on here?”

“You know this guy?!” I snapped, causing him to just become more confused.

“Uh, yes? He’s one of Vicar Belletor’s guys,” he replied as the pony named Hester began to trot away.

“Drax, I do not need a full report. I have exactly what Mr. Belletor asked for,” he said in a tired and creepy voice, walking away.

“The more I hear of this guy, the more I want to just punch him in the face!” Mallogory said from behind me as I huffed heavily as I watched Hester walk away.

“I’m sorry, they’re usually pretty straight forward with what they want…” Drax said, looking a bit upset.

“It’s not your fault,” I finally said, turning to him. “Just tell this asshole next time you talk to him that one of his guys was harassing us.”

“He was harassing you?!” Drax said, eyes wide as he looked after the pony.

“Well, he made a comment about me being pregnant, but it was the way he presented himself,” I said, not wanting to justify why I felt the way I did.

“I’ll mention it,” he assured me, turning to us and looking nervous. “I’m really sorry about that though, I really am!”

“It’s really okay, Drax, no harm done,” Mallogory said as she stepped up beside me

As he left as well, I turned back to Mallogory, both of us frowning.

“What the fuck was that about?” I asked, getting a shrug from her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So I have some weird news,” Drax suddenly said as he sat down with us while we ate our dinner.

I looked up at him with a confused look as I moved over, letting him sit down. “What?”

“I spoke with Vicar Belletor about the incident earlier today, and he revealed something to me,” Drax said, looking a bit unsure.

“Okay? What’d he say?” Mallogory asked, putting her food down to listen.

“Well,” he began, scratching his head. “He told me you are the reason he’s moving here.”

“What?” I asked flatly, raising an eyebrow.

“Apparently when Celestia gave her speech to Equestria about what happened to the giant rock floating above the planet and gave that brief overview of what transpired, Vicar grew interested in the whole story. So he said he’s moving here to be closer to those who experienced it.”

“Creepy old fuck,” I muttered, going back to my food.

“Well, he’s actually about your age I think. Forties at the oldest, from what I can tell,” he said, causing me to frown more.

“Great, just what I wanted,” I groaned.

“I don’t care if he thinks we’re cool or what,” Mallogory said as she picked her food back up. “I’ll fucking rip his rich head off if he does any weird shit around us.”

Drax looked nervous as he got up, “Oh, I don’t think he’ll be a weird guy… like that at least. Sure, he’s a real piece of work and demanding a lot of very specific and strange things, but I think he’s harmless.”

“I’ll judge him myself, if you don’t mind,” I say, flashing him a smile.

He just smiles awkwardly and steps away.

“I swear, if this guy becomes a wannabe lover, I’ll kill him,” Mallogory said, shaking her fist at an unseen threat.

I reached over and patted her hand, “I feel so much safer with my knight in shining armor around.”

She rolled her eyes and put her fist down.

“Don’t worry about it too much, how much trouble could this guy be anyways?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Two days later

“How are the night terrors?” Calypso asked as I got comfortable on the little couch in her home.

“I still have them, just not every night like when we first started all this.

“Excellent,” she said, making a note. “So, are you ready to talk about either of the two memories we’ve touched on, but you keep pushing away?”

“Nope, not today,” I responded, kicking my back leg as I stared at the ceiling.

She frowned at me, “you say ‘not today’ everyday. When will it be the day?”

I let out a deep sigh, crossing my legs, “If I talk about one, will that be enough?”

“We’ll see,” she said as she made a note. “Your choice. Talk or relieve.”

“Talk,” I say quickly, not wanting to see either one of those memories again.

“Which one will we be talking about?”

“POW camp,” I replied, the other one… yeah, not the other one.

“Begin where you feel comfortable,” she said as she sat back, letting me set the pace.

I didn’t speak right away, just stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what there is to say; I was held captive by sadistic Griffins. They…” I suddenly found myself unable to speak as I sat up, feeling very sick suddenly.

“Scamp?” she asked in concern as she leaned forward.

“Oh fuck,” I grumbled as I leaned over the couch and threw up on the ground and down the backside of the couch.

I sit back down, letting out a sigh of relief as she frowned at me. “Sorry, pregnancy and all that junk.”

“Do you want to continue?” she asked, getting up to clean the mess I made.

The thought of continuing made me feel even sicker. “No.”

“We’ll pick up next week,” she said as she walked around the couch. “Oh sweet Celestia! What did you eat?!”

“Food!” I yelled as I jumped off the couch and flew out the door, leaving her behind.

Once outside, I decided to continue flying and took to the air, flying high above the clouds. With a twist, I landed on top of a large cloud, letting out a content sigh as I let the fluffiness take me.

I laid there for I don’t know how long till I heard the sound of someone landing near me.

“Hiding from your problems too?” Rainbow Dash asked as she to plopped down and made a nest in the cloud.

“Could say that,” I responded, staring up at the sky.

“Are these problems pregnancy related? Or marriage?” she asked.

“Neither,” I chuckled, turning over to face her as she sat a few feet away. “Kinda trauma related problems.”

“Ah, therapy problems,” she said with a grimace. “Yeah, I’ve been having those when I talk to Cally down there.”

“Isn’t mental problems super fun?”

“The best,” she replied, causing both of us to laugh a bit.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s got you up here hiding?” she asked, seeming unsure if she should ask that.

I started to say something, but stopped as I looked at her face that held genuine concern.

“I’ve… made a lot of progress in therapy,” I suddenly said, getting a nod from her. “But I have two subjects I can’t talk about without feeling like I’m about to experience them all over again. One worse than the other.”

“Like?” she pressed, looking both concerned and interested.

“I-” I started to tell her about the POW camp, but something strange fell over me as I slumped a bit and laid back. “When I was just out of highschool and traveling the world, I had a one night stand with some random dude.”

“Hell yeah,” she chuckled.

“But I got pregnant,” I continued, causing her ears to fall.

“I didn’t know you had a kid,” she started, but then her eyes went wide at the look I gave her.

“It’s weird, ya know? I didn’t know the guy, and never saw him again, but I got attached to the idea of being a mom.” I laid back and stared up at the sky. “Then I lost the pregnancy. Three months in. Doctors said miscarriage, I say fuck that. It was my fault it happened, I got into a fight over something stupid.”

I grabbed my bump with both hoof and paw, tearing up a bit. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drop that on you.”

She sniffed as she stared up at the sky as well, “It’s alright, we all gotta talk about our past at some point. Just…” she leaned up and looked at me, “I’m sorry, Scamp. I’m not the best at emotional support.”

“It’s okay,” I say to her, a little smile on my face. “I just needed to tell someone out loud about it. I don’t need any support.”

“Oh good,” she muttered, then went wide eyed, “I mean! I’m here for you, Scamp! Anytime you want to talk!”

“Thanks, Dash,” I chuckled, actually feeling better after getting that off my chest. Not even my mom knew about that one…

Viper Claw!

Chapter 50

December 10th, 11 A.B.

“A little longer than expected, but it eventually got there!” I said as we stepped through the doors to our new Dojo, finally completed!

“A whole extra month,” Mallogory grumbled as she walked in holding a large box of supplies. “I’m going to go check out the back, see if they did exactly what I wanted with the furniture.”

I gave a nod as I struggled to drag in my box of stuff, my large belly definitely not helping.

“Need help?” Mallogory called as she watched me struggle.

“No!” I hissed over my shoulder, “I got this, do your own thing!”

She just laughed and walked into the back, leaving me to my own devices.

“Stupid fucking box!” I growled as I began kicking it further into the room. Looking back to the door, I saw the last box just sitting out there, mocking me.

With just as much trouble as the first one, I dragged it in and kicked it to the middle of the room.

Huffing and puffing, I sat down, pulling out a bottle of water and an energy bar Mallogory made for me chalked full of iron. Apparently since the baby will be part pony, part Kejtdra, it’ll more than likely have a metal skeleton, so I gotta eat all this extra iron. Bleh.

Eating the energy bar, making a face at the terrible taste of it, I chugged the water to wash it all down. I miss tasty food…

“Seriously, fuck being pregnant,” I muttered, still catching my breath.

As I sat there, I looked around the room, pleased that the construction workers had listened to my request and set up all the mirrors and training mats, leaving just enough room around the edges to walk without touching a mat.

“Perfect,” I say, deciding it was time to get off my flank and actually start putting up the decor we’d brought.

I picked up the stencil we'd commissioned with our Dojo’s logo and hobbled over to a blank wall set aside for just this moment. I carefully placed it on the wall, my wings struggling a bit as I fluttered around the large circle. Once it was set, I flew back to my stuff and grabbed a special can of spray paint.

After applying the paint, I pulled the stencil back, revealing the Logo and the name of our Dojo. It was a hissing snake's head with two claws on either side of it, like it was somehow wielding them as weapons. The words ‘Viper Claw!’ was above it.

I chuckled at the image, shaking my head. We’d come up with the name because it sounded bad ass, and forgot, somehow, that snakes do not in fact have claws. But we’d already commissioned the stencil so no going back!

Besides, it kinda grows on you the more you look at it.

“Viper Claw, very interesting name for a Dojo,” a suave voice said from behind me.

Turning around I was met with a long legged stallion wearing a suit. He flashed me a smile as two other ponies stood at the door, one very tired looking mare and a gruff looking stallion.

“Sorry, we’re not actually open yet,” I say, looking him up and down. Then I frowned, realizing this could only be one pony.

“Vicar Belletor, at your service,” he said with a toothy grin. “My beautiful mansion just finished construction last week, and I’ve finally come to town. You should feel honored, this was my first stop upon arriving in town.”

“Good for you,” I say, taking him all in.

He had a black mane and tail, with gray fur. He wore a large pair of sunglasses with a little hat on his head. His mane was done up in a bun to top it all off. The clothes hide the cutie mark.

“I just wanted to come and see it for myself,” he suddenly said, walking further into the Dojo and looking at the box of décor.

“See what for yourself? The Dojo?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The competition,” he replied, only confusing me further. At my expression, he laughed, “I’m opening my own Dojo, right here in this town.”

“Why?” I asked, giving him a weird look.

He just chuckled as he used a hoof to open the box, peering inside it, “because I want to, and it’ll be fun. No other reasons are needed, right?” Then he gave me an almost sinister smile, “plus, running your business into the ground will be a great sport.”

“Wow, I knew I’d hate you when we finally met, but you blew my expectations right out of the water,” I said in an unimpressed voice, waving for the door. “You can leave.”

All he does is chuckle a bit as he walks further into the room. “When my man told me you were pregnant, I had to get on that as well. Psalm, show your belly.”

The tired looking mare stood up and stood sideways, revealing a small bump. She appeared to be at least three months pregnant.

“What the fuck?” I asked aloud, turning to him with a cocked eyebrow. “What is your problem? We’ve never met and you’re acting like we’re in a competition or something.”

He just smiled at me for a long moment, not speaking. “Call it an interest to beat the person who defeated the undefeatable.”

“Then go fuck with a guy named Greg, he’s the one who actually stopped the Watcher,” I snapped, losing my temper with him.

A light chuckle escaped his lips. “He’s not who I’m interested in. It’s you, Mrs. Scamp, I am interested in. Just you.” His eyes trailed to my belly, “and your future kid. My Psalm over there will birth me a kid of my own, who will be brought up just to be the opposite of your kid.”

“What. The. Fuck. Is your problem?!” I yelled, stomping towards him.

He just stood there waiting for me to get closer as I reached out to grab him. But as my hoof neared him, he suddenly moved in a way I hadn’t expected and grabbed my hoof, slamming me backwards onto my back and pinning me.

“Sloppy,” he chuckled, applying pressure to my leg. “You’re going to be a teacher?”

“Get the fuck off of her,” Mallogory growled as she stepped into the room, looking ready to kill.

With a wink, he released my hoof and stood up, leaving me on the ground as I struggled to get up again.

“We’ll all be seeing a lot of each other in the coming years,” he said over his shoulder as he and his entourage walked out the doors, leaving us both confused and angry.

“I’m killing him,” Mallogory said as she stomped for the door, but I stopped her.

“Leave it,” I coughed, rolling over and pushing myself up, a bit shaky. “He wants a fight, but we’re not giving it to him. Not right now at least.”

She growled, but quickly came to my side, helping me up. “What did he say exactly?”

I let out another cough, now a bit worried as I had hit the ground pretty hard when he slammed me.

“Scamp? Are you alright? Is the baby okay?!” she asked in a panic.

“Yeah, I think it’s just me who got hurt,” I reassured her, staring at the door they’d walked out of. “He wants to be our rival, I think.”

“Why?”

“... I guess just because,” I sigh, taking a few steps and groaning. That will definitely leave a bruise on my back, and leave me sore for the next few days.

“Who throws a pregnant mare to the ground?!” she growled as she just picked me up and held me as I huffed, not having it in me to fight her this time.

“A real prick, that’s who,” I say as I rub my face. “He’s going to be a problem going forward, that’s for sure.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

One Week Later

“How’d he have a Dojo built in a fucking week?!” Mallogory yelled as we stood across the street from the new Dojo that had just been built. “And it's bigger than ours!”

“He brought in a team from Manehatten,” Drax said from behind us, having been the one who told us about it. “They had this up and running months faster than we could have.”

“So he could of done this and had his stupid mansion finished months ago?!” Mallogory growled, clearly unhappy.

I just shook my head, “he did it that way on purpose, to get in the way of our Dojo being built.”

“This fucking guy,” she hissed, stomping towards the doors leading into the building.

Following her, I looked up at the name on the building; ‘Wolverine Kamae’.

… Our name is cooler.

We burst through the doors, stepping into the large room filled with training mats and many different kinds of training equipment.

“Fuck, this guy went all out,” I muttered, frowning.

“I was wondering how long it’d take you two to stop by,” Vicar said as he walked down some stairs leading to what could be an office.

Mallogory started to say something, but I placed a hoof on her side. Stepping forward, I stared across the mat at him. “I just want to know one thing, and I want a straight answer; what is your problem with us?”

He chuckled, seeming to square up with me. “I told you, you defeated the undefeatable. So I want to do the same to you.”

“And I told you,” I said with a frown. “Greg is the one who beat the Watcher, not me, not anyone else.”

“I think you’re on the wrong train of thought,” he said with a smirk, just confusing me all over again. “Besides, we’re going to get to see who the better Dojo is as time goes on.”

“Bro!” I snapped at him, standing on my hindlegs and pointing a claw right at him, “we’re opening a Dojo for fun! To teach others to defend themselves. NOT to get into a stupid competition with a wannabe rival!”

Again, he just chuckled at me, “Mrs. Scamp, that line of thinking will just get your future students hurt. Here at Wolverine Kamae, we will teach our pupils to excel at combat. To attack no matter what the opponent.” A smirk flashes on his face, his eyes hidden behind his stupid sunglasses, “and if you just teach defense, your students will suffer. Till they join us at least.”

“You’re living in a fantasy world,” I say, spitting onto the mat next to me and turning to leave.

“Hey!” He yells, “do not spit on the mat!”

“Do something about it,” I say over my shoulder.

With a growl, he raised his hoof and slapped it against the ground. All around us stepped out ponies, all dressed in black uniforms. There were at least ten of them.

I frowned and turned back to him, “really? A show of force to threaten us?”

“I’m going to let you two walk out of here, unhurt,” he said in a low voice. “Mainly because beating you here would not be fun or satisfying. So, leave while you can.”

A cocky look flashes on my face, but Mallogory’s hand on my shoulder pulls me back to reality. “We’ll take that offer. Just stay out of my Dojo.”

He returned my cocky smile, “we’ll see.”

We backed out of the building, keeping our eyes on the ten ponies that stood around us.

“By the way,” he called after us. “These are the teachers for this new Dojo, good luck competing with just a single teacher.”

“We’ll manage,” I say back as we step out of the doors, letting them close between us.

“You’re a bit hot headed sometimes,” Mallogory says with a sigh. “Did you have to spit on his mats?”

I just shrug as we walk away from the building. “I did, for me.”

She just chuckled as she patted my back.

Behind us, I could feel their eyes on our backs, but I did not turn around to look at them. I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So, we’re just going to ignore him?” Mallogory asked in shock as I finished looking through the list of new students who’d signed up. I was pleased to see all of our friends' kids' names on the list. Even the two royal shits. That’s not fair, the little filly, Nova, is nothing like her brother, from what I can tell at least.

“Yep, what’s he gonna do? Poach our students?” I said, chuckling to myself as I stepped out of the office. “No, he can try. But he’ll just have to make due with all the leftover kids in this town who join him.”

She watched as I took a fighting stance, “and you’re sure you can start teaching? Right now? When we’re barely a month away from giving birth?”

“Of course, watch!” I say as I try to perform a jump kick that leads into a leg sweep, but all I managed to do was jump into the air and land on my flank.

“Perfect form, love,” she teased, giving me a little clap.

“Shut up, it's just hard to move with this lump on me,” I mumbled as I stood up, my pride hurt more than anything else. “Look, I can get them all started on the basics, normal workouts. All the good stuff will come after I’ve given birth and I am back to one hundred percent.”

“If you say so,” she remarks, walking for the main doors.

“I do say so!” I yell after her, rubbing my sore flank.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next day

I stood in the office, looking out the window at all the colts and fillies walking around the Dojo, just mingling and waiting for something to happen.

“Welp, it’s actually happening,” I say as I watch all of them move about, holding my phone in my paw.

“You got this,” Greg said over the phone. “If you’re nervous, just go out there and lay some Drill Sergeant Scamp on their ass’s! You know what I mean, the crazy mare that tried to whip all of us into shape back in the training dimension.”

I chuckled at the memory, “thanks Greg. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I want all the gory details!” he laughed as he hung up.

Putting the phone aside, I rolled my shoulders and adjusted my headband. The Gi I was wearing was a simple white one with our Logo on its back and a smaller one on the front. I had to cut the sleeves myself, as they don’t actually sell them that way for some reason.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out and looked out at all the new potential students.

“Line up,” I yelled, but none of them seemed to notice, except for Spark, who immediately took up a spot in front of me.

A frown fell onto my face as I inhaled deeply. “SILENCE!” This caught all of their attention as they turned to look at me.

“Alright, I’m going to be fair here. None of you have any discipline or training, so I’ll forgive what just happened here. But when I come out of this office, I expect all of you to be lined up and ready to start the day.”

A young colt raised his hoof. I looked at him, recognizing him as Duke Venture, Aaron’s and Vinyl’s son. “Speak, Duke Venture.” Fuck! He has such a cool name.

“Uh… how do we line up?” he asked, looking unsure of himself.

“Kid, you got a badass name. You need to get that attitude up to match it!” I bark back, causing him to flinch. “Now, to line up, you need to make rows. See the squares on the ground?”

They all looked down at the ground, seeing that the mat was made up of many squares.

“Yes, those. See the one over there? The one with a white star on it? Start there, put one square between each of you. When you get to the end of a mat, make a new row three squares back from the current row. Understood?”

No one moved.

“GO! MOVE!” I bark, causing all of them to run around frantically as they try to make the requested lines. It took them longer than I’d have liked, but they finally got into six mostly neat rows.

“There you go,” I say as I start to walk along the front row, looking them over. “This is Viper Claw, we value a high defense over all else. Because with a great defense, you have a great offense. A good defense lets you observe the situation, and watch for the perfect moment to react to your opponent. Be it in a fight, or in a normal situation.”

I stopped in front of one of the colts, raising an eyebrow at him. He was wearing a hat that said ‘Slut Life’. “Alright guys, first rule: No offensive clothing in my Dojo.” I snatched it from his head and tossed it to the side. “Where’d you even buy a hat like that?”

“The new Hot Topic that Duke’s parents opened,” the little colt said, looking a bit scared.

“The fuck is a Hot Topic?” I asked aloud, looking at Duke Venture.

He blinked, looking a bit intimidated as I stared at him. “Uh… a pop culture clothing store?”

“Sure, sounds right,” I say, resuming my walk of the rows. “Rule number two: There will be no quitting in this Dojo! Quitting is for failures! Are we failures?!”

Not a single one of them said a word.

Growling a bit, I yelled, “I said! Are we failures! Answer me!”

“N-No!” they all half yelled, all seeming a bit unsure of themselves.

“Alright,” I said, rubbing my face as I walked back to the front of the room. “We have a LOT of work. None of you are confident or sure of yourselves. We need to change that. Any questions before we start?”

A filly in the back held up a hoof. I did not know her name, so I looked her over, seeing she had a nose ring. “Nose Ring, speak.”

“Uh… my name is Lilly… but the Wolverine Kamae put out a poster saying they’re offering weapons training. Are you offering that?”

I frowned at this and pointed to the Logo. “You see those badass claws?” At all of them nodding their heads, I smirked at them, “That’s your goal! One day, when I’m sure you’re ready, I’ll teach you all how to wield them.”

“But not today?” an older colt asked from the back.

“No speaking out of term!” I yell. “This Dojo will teach you discipline and how to defend yourself! All of you lack the skills and attitude, but I’m going to fix that! It’s going to take years, but one day all of you will be able to naturally use what I’ve taught you to handle any problem that comes your way!”

At their expectant stares, I sigh. “But no, we will not be touching weapons for a while.”

A fourth of the class stepped back and quickly left.

“Tsk,” I spat onto the ground and stomped a hoof. “Alright then, let's weed ‘em out! If you’re not here to actually learn, then leave now!”

One filly made a run for it.

“If you think I’m scary and intimidating, then you’ve seen nothing yet! If that bothers you, now's your chance!”

About eight more kids ran for the door.

I was now left with half the number of students as I started with.

“Well, that sure weeded out the weak ones,” I said as I stepped forward. “Alright, from here on out, I will expect you all to act like students of Viper Claw! And I will not go easy on any of you!”

Five more kids ran out the door.

“Stop running away!” I roared, causing another to run. “Okay. That’s enough, let’s learn some practice drills. Reform the lines.”

They all looked unsure, but as I puffed up my chest to yell more, they all quickly moved forward, making new rows.

“There we go,” I say as I take up a stance before them. “Alright, I’m going to teach you some simple warm up drills. Stand on your hindlegs so we can begin!”

They all tried to comply, but simply fell all over the place.

I slammed a hoof into my face. This was going to be more work than I initially thought.

First to strike

Chapter 51

December 19th, 11 A.B.

(The next day)

“You ran off over half of your students?” Greg asked as he sat in his wheelchair, watching me and Mallogory eat.

“Yep, but just the weak willed ones,” I assured him as I crammed food into my mouth.

“You know, we have a limited number of youth in this town, right?” he asked, not able to hide the smile on his face.

I shrug, “oh well. They can go join the other Dojo if they want something easier to do.”

“This is why I love you, Scamp,” he chuckled, placing the bill down before us. “I tried to convince Jelly Bean to join, but she’s not interested in fighting. Maybe Dude will join when he’s a little older…”

“I’ll take ‘em,” I chuckled. “What is he, almost two?”

“One and a half,” Greg replied, doing a little wheelie in his chair. “Young enough that our kids can be best bros!”

The thought brought a smile to my face as Mallogory smirked.

“Luckily for us,” she said, thinking to herself. “A lot of you guys have younger kids, so ours won’t be too far behind.”

“Things just worked out, didn’t they?” he asked as he popped another wheelie. He began to try and ride on two wheels back to the kitchen.

“So, have you decided you’ll be focusing more on kid classes?” she asked, picking up the bill.

“I’ll do both, but I have more kids signed up than adults. I had like, what, four not counting you?” I said as I cleaned my mouth with a napkin. “But I don’t know, I had more fun during the kids' class. They were harder to teach, but I guess that’s the fun of it.”

“I want you to do exactly what you want to do,” she said, seeming to know exactly what to say to avoid setting me off. Which just caused me to start laughing as I reached over and slugged her arm.

“You don’t gotta be so careful around me! I won’t bite your head off,” I joked.

“You say that, but you have a short temper, especially while pregnant,” she retorted, watching my reaction.

I shook my hoof at her, “Oh ha ha. When we-”

“Uh, Sensei Scamp?” Spark suddenly said as he appeared next to our booth.

“Oh, you don’t have to call me that outside of the Dojo,” I chuckled, moving over so he could sit with us. “What’s up, Spark?”

“So,” he began, sitting down carefully. “I’ve spoken with the other kids in the class, and they’re all a bit… scared of you.”

“Good,” I replied, smiling brightly.

“And most don’t want to come to class tonight.”

“Not good,” Mallogory said, giving me a sly smirk.

I sighed and turned to Spark. “Well, I can’t really tone myself down anymore than I have been.”

“That was you toned down?!” he asked suddenly, getting a glare from me.

“Go easy on the poor kid,” Mallogory laughed, getting me to pull myself back.

“The kids are saying they won’t come back?” I asked, moving forward.

“Yeah, not unless you calmed down… a lot,” he said carefully.

I chuckle as I pat him on the back a bit roughly, “Spark, one day you’ll learn to NEVER tell a pregnant mare to calm down. But till then, I want you to tell those little shits something.”

“Okay,” he replied slowly.

“Tell them to come to class tonight, I’ll speak to everyone. If they want to go after that, they can, think that'll get them in?”

He nodded, “yeah, I think I can convince them to give it another try.”

“Perfect, get going, pass the word along.”

With a flash of his wings, he quickly jumped up and flew out the front door.

“You know,” Mallogory began, “the way you deal with kids will come in handy when our little angel comes out. Because if they’ll be like any of the kids back home, they’ll be a handful.”

“Let me worry about handling our little shit,” I replied, patting my belly. “I obviously mean little shit in an endearing kind of way.”

“Of course,” she said while rolling her eyes. “Good luck at class tonight.”

“I don’t need luck,” I said as I stood up. “I got a plan.”

“Oh goodie,” she teased as she slapped my flank as she walked by, heading for the counter.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Staring out the window, I saw the kids slowly lining up, just as I’d hoped they would. There’s hope for them yet.

Throwing the door open, I stepped out and stared at all of them. They all stared back nervously.

“I heard a lot of you wish to leave Viper Claw,” I began, walking along the front row. “Now, normally I’d say good riddance, but I’m going to try and be a bit more…” I look a random kid in the eyes, “calm.”

“Now!” I yell, walking to the front of the class. “I know a few of you are a bit scared of me. A little intimidated. So let’s try and fix that. Do any of you have any questions for me?”

A colt raised a hoof.

It was Lightening, Rainbow Dash’s son.

“Speak, Lightening!” I yelled to him.

“Ah, can you see out of that white eye?” he asked, a few others leaning forward with interest.

“No,” I said simply, pointing to it. “Completely blind. Next!”

A younger colt held up his hoof. Flashy Flash, Alexander and Trixie’s son.

“Speak, Flashy Flash!”

“How’d you lose your eye?” he asked innocently.

“Fire attack, scorched my entire left side. Next!”

A filly was next. Rainbow Dash’s daughter, Azure Moon.

“Speak, Azure Moon!”

“Um, how’d you get those cool legs with the claws?” she asked, a few other kids nodding their heads, wanting to know the same thing.

“Hm,” I said, rubbing my chin with a claw to show off. “Lost them in battle. Had them ripped from my body by a creature that refused to die.”

Mango Loco raised her hoof next.

“Speak, Mango Loco!” I yelled, starting to annoy even myself with that.

“I heard Zorrow say you and Lance killed his first wife. Why did you two do that?” she asked in the most innocent voice.

“Eh…” I looked at Spark as he cocked his head. How to say this without making Lance look like a psychopath… “She was a succubus! We had to defeat her to break Zorrow of his curse!”

“Cool,” Duke Venture muttered.

More hooves shot up.

“Okay, if your question has to do with my time on the Eternal Plains, put it down now.”

Every hoof slowly went down.

“Enough questions then, how about a demonstration?”

This seemed to excite all of them, as I knew it would.

“Alright, we have a guest today. Welcome to the mat, Malbatorus!” I yelled as I began to clap, followed by everyone else as a overly handsome pony stepped out of the back, walking to stand before me.

“Go into your dragon form!” one of the kids yelled, causing Malbatorus to chuckle.

“I don’t think Sensei Scamp here would like it if I turned into a dragon in her Dojo,” he said, giving a little wave to the excited kids.

“Yes, do not,” I reaffirmed as I turned to my students. “Alright! Malbatorus has volunteered to help me today to show you what you all can achieve with a little practice and determination.”

Turning to face him, I tightened my headband with my wings. “Square up!”

“I’ll go easy on you, since you’re pregnant,” he said, getting into an awkward fighting stance.

“Don’t,” I say as I lower myself.

He looked unsure, but edged towards me. When he was close enough to strike me, he threw a half hearted punch at my face. I just sat there and let it gently hit me.

“Hit me! Actually try, you pussy!”

“Hey, you said you wouldn’t use hurtful words,” he pouted.

“Malbatorus, come on!” I yelled, stomping towards him a bit.

“Fine!” He yelled as he spun around and bucked towards me a lot harder than I expected.

However, I still dodged his legs and grabbed one, yanking him down and pounced onto his back, yanking two of his legs behind him. “Yield!”

“I yield!” he squealed with panic.

I stood up and helped him up next. He looked to be a bit shaken up at what just happened.

“Go put some ice on it,” I say, turning to my students as he rushed out of the room. To my delight, they all looked very excited now.

“Like that?” I asked, getting a lot of nods. “Good! Because that’s just the basics! Stick with me, and I’ll make sure all of you can do what I do! Maybe even better!”

They let out a cheer and quickly formed up proper lines.

“That’s more like it!” I yelled as I took up my spot before them. “As we tried to do yesterday, one of the most important aspects of Viper Claw is agility! You need to be able to move and fight from any position! Standing on your hind legs is the bare minimum! So let’s start there, everyone up!”

They all carefully raised themselves up to their hindlegs, but were still very shaky and wobbly. Which is fine, as this part takes a while to learn.

“Good job! Let’s start adding in some movement!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I sat in my office, messing with my phone as the kids all left on their own.

A knock at the door got my attention. “Enter!”

Spark stepped in, a large smile on his face.

“Yes, Spark?”

“You did it!” he said happily. “All of them want to stay now! I think we might even get a few of the ones who left back as well!”

“Yeah, I knew that’d work,” I chuckled, putting my phone away. “Thank you, Spark. Sometimes its good to have an outside party help reel you in when you’re getting a little into something.”

“Oh, it was no problem! You’re kind of my personal hero,” he said, kicking at the ground.

“Thanks, kid. But I shouldn’t be any one's hero, trust me,” I say, repressing a frown.

As he started to say something else, another kid ran in behind him. Nose Ring girl.

“Sensei Scamp, there’s a guy here for you,” she said.

“Thanks, Nose Ring,” I said as I stood up and started to walk for the door, but I glanced out the window and stopped. “Spark, round up any kids still here and leave.”

“What? Why?” he asked, looking out the window.

“Just do it,” I said as I fixed my headband.

He looked unsure as he and the filly ran out and began gathering up kids. Once I saw them step out the front door, I stepped out of the office.

“What?”

Vicar smiled as he stood in the middle of the room, another pony with him. “Great kids you got here. Not like the ones I have though. All of yours seems to be the rejects.”

“Is that all you came to say?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “If so, the door is right there.”

“No, I came to test you. Just a little test, nothing big.”

“Get out, Vicar,” I say simply, not planning to entertain him.

“Ollie, do it,” he said as he took a step back.

The olive mare stepped towards me, narrowing her eyes.

“Look, Ollie,” I say to the mare as she squared up with me. “I’m not fighting you. I’m pregnant and tired, ain’t happening.”

“Then this’ll be easy. I challenge you to an official fight, right here! First to pin wins!” she yelled, pointing a hoof at me.

“Eh, no, goodbye,” I said as I waved a hoof at her. But she moved faster than I thought she could as she grabbed my hoof and suddenly threw me over her shoulder, sending me tumbling through the air.

Luckily, I caught myself midair with my wings and landed on my hooves, staring at the crazy mare with a death glare.

“Hey! Didn’t I just say pregnant!”

“You did,” she said as she dashed back to me.

I blocked her first punch and then her second, but her third slammed into my face, knocking me back. Not giving me time to recover, she spun sideways, slamming a hoof into my face as she did so. With an agile twist, she spun again and slammed a hoof right into my chest, causing me to gasp.

Stumbling a bit, I caught myself in time to catch her next kick, grabbing her leg in my claws and throwing her sideways. She slammed into the wall and left a scuffed mark, thanks to the reinforcement magic we'd cast on the walls. As she tried to stand up, I bucked her across the face and grabbed her mane with my back paw, throwing her towards Vicar.

He simply caught her and placed her back on her hooves. “Keep going.”

“We’re done,” I said as the shaky mare tried to advance on me again. “I said!” I yelled as I dashed forward and head butted her, followed by me sweeping her legs out from under her. I then slammed my body down on top of her, twisting her leg back till she screamed in agony. “We’re done!”

“I yield!” she screamed.

I let her go and stood up, staring at Vicar as he smiled back at me. “I knew you’d win that one.”

“Leave!” I bellowed, taking a step towards him.

He just bowed as he spun on a heel and walked for the door, his lackey struggling to follow after him. As he left, I saw all the kids were at the windows, all eyes wide as they stared in at me.

“Great,” I muttered as I waved them off and walked for the office, doing my best to hold it together till I got there.

The moment I closed the door behind me, I stumbled and collapsed to the ground, wheezing in pain as I held my chest.

That bitch broke a few ribs!

“Sensei Scamp, that was-” Spark began, but stopped as he opened the door and saw me on the ground. “Are you okay?!”

“No,” I sputtered out, a bit of blood coming out of my mouth. “Phone.”

As he retrieved my phone, I tried to sit up, but found I couldn’t. How’d she hit me so hard?! Those hits felt like they had some real power behind them!

He handed me my phone as I struggled to open it and hit the number one, set to speed dial Mallogory.

“Heyo!” she said as she picked up.

“Mal,” I coughed out as I lost my voice and began to cough violently as more blood poured out of my mouth.

“Scamp’s hurt!” Spark yelled into the phone.

“WHERE?!” I heard Mallogory yell.

“The Dojo!” Spark yelled back.

“Can’t breath,” I wheezed out, feeling a grinding pain in my chest. One of my ribs must have punctured my lung. “Bring… Doc…”

“She’s asking for Doc!” Spark yelled in a panic.

“Press… four…” I gasped, vision starting to go dark.

He hung up on a panicking Mallogory and pressed four, calling Doc.

“Yes, Scamp?” I heard his tired voice ask.

“Scamp needs help, at her Dojo! Please hurry!” Spark yelled, his own panic taking over.

“I’m coming!” Doc yelled, followed by the sound of his phone hitting the ground and him yelling in the background.

“Help is coming, Scamp!” Spark yelled as I slowly sank closer and closer to the ground. “Just… hang in there!”

“Hanging… in there…” I gasped, doing everything in my power to focus on breathing.

And there we sat, for a painful five minutes before I heard the sounds of Doc barreling into the Dojo and running for the office.

“Oh you stupid idiot! What’d you do this time?!” Calypso yelled as she got ahead of him and threw her medkit down next to me.

“Some guy made a crazy mare attack her! But she kicked her ass!” Spark said from the side.

“Get him out,” Calypso said as she began to prep her tools. “He doesn’t need to see this part.”

Doc pulled him out of the room as she rolled me onto my back.

“Looks like a few broken ribs,” she said as she listened to my breathing. “And one punctured your right lung. You probably already know that though.”

“Mmmm,” I groaned, nodding my head.

“Yeah, this is going to hurt like a bitch. I got to get it out and back into place, then Doc can use his ability to heal it. Ready?”

“No,” I groan as I put my legs out, waiting for the pain to begin.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is getting out of hand! She’s just a few weeks away from giving birth! She can’t be getting into fights right now!” I heard Calypso hiss as I came to the floor.

I blinked up at the ceiling, reaching up and touching my chest were a new healed scar set. Just adding to the collection at this point.

With a groan, I rolled to the side and stood up, seeing they’d made a makeshift bed for me on the floor. Outside the office, I could hear them arguing.

“Well he attacked her, so that means we can report it!” Calypso said.

“No, let’s just kill him!” Mallogory growled, clearly pissed.

“Or,” I said as I stepped out of the office, rubbing my chest, “we let me handle this.”

“No, he attacked you,” Calypso stated.

“Technically, it was an ‘official’ duel,” I said, frowning. “Trust me, let me get this kid out of me, and I’ll handle this all on my own. This asshole wants a rival? Well now he’s got one.”

“That’s a stupid way to handle this!” Calypso retorted, but at my determined look, frowned. “Fine. But if something like this happens again, I’m getting involved.”

“Where’s Spark?” I asked, changing the subject.

“We sent him home,” Doc responded. “And that’s where you should go. You need to rest. All that movement is not good for the baby.”

“Yeah yeah,” I muttered as I walk past them, heading for the door. “Hey you guys,” I say as I turn to face them. “Thank you, for you know, being there for me.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Calypso said, sighing. “Plus, you’d find a way to kill yourself if we weren’t around.”

“Oh for sure,” Mallogory chuckled as she walked after me.

“Let me just lock up, then I’ll rest, I swear,” I say as I pull the key to the Dojo out. They all nod as they follow me out.

As I turn and reach for the light switch, I narrow my eyes. Alright, Vicar Belletor, I’ll give you exactly what you’re asking for.

I flipped the light off and stepped out, locking the door behind me.

The plot thickens

Chapter 52

December 20th, 11 A.B.

“I’d rather we just go down there and kick his ass ourselves,” Mallogory muttered as I put on my Gi in front of our bedroom mirror. “It’d be super easy to do!”

“Normally, I’d agree,” I replied, putting on my headband. “But we’re in Equestria now, a mostly peaceful Equestria. I’d like to avoid killing my opponents from here on out. Plus, I can handle Wolverine Kamae and anything they throw at my Dojo.”

“If they attack you again like they did last night, I’m stepping in,” she said, anger flashing onto her face.

I just chuckle and walk over to give her a kiss. “Don’t worry about me, you know I can handle myself.”

“Almost died last night,” she retorted.

“But I won, didn’t I?” I laughed, heading for the front door. “If it makes you feel any better, if they cross the line, we’ll report them. Deal?”

“If they cross the line, I’ll-” she started, but saw my smiling face. “... Deal.”

“Thank you, Mallo,” I turned and walked out the door.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“As some of you are aware, Wolverine Kamae attacked me in this Dojo last night,” I announced as I walked down the lines of students. “That is a prime example of what I’m wanting to avoid by opening this Dojo. Use last night as an example of what not to do; do not use your new found fighting skills to attack and bully others!”

The kids all nodded in agreement.

“No no, when you agree with a statement I make, yell ‘HAI!’ at the top of your lungs!”

“HAI!” they all screamed.

“Okay, not that loud, just give it a solid amount of effort next time,” I say, rubbing my ear. “Alright! Last night did actually raise the stakes, so you’re all in luck! We’re going to keep focusing on the basic’s, but I’m going to start throwing in actual techniques. Wolverine Kamae is going to be an ongoing problem for our Dojo, and I don’t know what kinds of shit they’ll be pulling as time goes on. So you all need to be ready for anything.”

A few kids yelled ‘HAI’ while the others did it after them. Very out of sync.

“We’re going to work on that,” I said, trying not to show my displeasure on my face. “Alright! Up on your hindlegs!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“When do we start sparing?” Star Chaser asked as I observed a few students doing push ups.

“When I say so,” I remarked, giving him a stern look. “Now get back over there and resume your flexibility training.”

“From what I’ve heard, Wolverine Kamae has already started teaching their students how to fight. They’ve been sparing since day one,” he stated, trying to stare me down.

I turn on him and put my face right into his face, “Star Boy, if you do not like how I’m running this class, you are free to go play with the other Dojo. They’re taking short cuts, while I am building up your bases. Right now, they’ll be stronger than all of you, but as time goes on, you’ll all quickly surpass them by taking the longer and harder route.”

“I think if we threw in some actual fighting, we’d speed up the process,” he replies, not backing down.

A smirk falls onto my face, “okay, you want to spare? Fine.” I turned to the class, “LINE UP! Except you, Star Boy.”

Everyone quickly jumped up and ran to their spots, standing at attention.

“Okay everyone, our local Star wants to skip all the boring stuff and go straight to sparring. So, lets indulge him. Star Boy, pick an opponent.”

He frowned at me and looked everyone over, each one looking away as he looked at them.

“You!” he yelled, pointing a hoof right into my face.

“You stupid or something?” I say despite myself. “No, pick someone on your skill level.”

“None of these idiots are on my level. I’ve been studying at home, using books and training spells,” he said proudly, standing tall.

“Oh, you think those are substitutes for actual training?” I ask as I turn to face him, squaring up with the young Alicorn. “Did you know, being self taught causes you to develop bad habits?”

“I have no bad habits. I am perfection,” he said with the most cocky smile I’ve seen on a child.

“Fuck it, bow to me,” I say as he turns to me and we both bow.

“Begin!” I yell as he suddenly explodes towards me.

He threw a few sloppy punches at me, which I easily blocked. No need to dodge these types of attacks. As I threw his attacks away, he became frustrated and his horn flashed, causing him to go faster.

I raised an eyebrow as he attacked me with reckless abandonment, no skill or technique. Which is exactly what I expected.

Again, his horn flashed and he started throwing attacks faster than I could see. However, he was easy to telegraph so I continued to block and dodge his lame attacks.

As his horn flashed again, I suddenly snapped my paw forward and grabbed his horn, pulling him stragith to the ground. Using my hoof, I pressed it against his chest, pinning him under me.

“Yield!” I snapped at him.

“Never!” he yelled, trying to get away, but unable to as his horn sparked a few times, but did not work anymore.

“You yield,” I say simply, not letting him up. “If this was a real fight, I’d have snapped your horn and rendered you magicless.”

He stopped fighting, huffing up at me with fury in his eyes.

“You need to work on this anger inside of you, Star Chaser. It’s going to lead you down a dark path otherwise,” I say as I slowly release him. The moment my paw left his horn, he flashed away, appearing by the door to the Dojo.

“Screw you!” he yelled, tears in his eyes. “I don’t need this! Come on, Nova!”

But his sister Nova did not move, just stood there awkwardly.

He looked at her, his anger increasing, but instead of saying anymore, he sprinted out the door.

Everyone looked back to me as I stood up, dusting myself off.

“He’ll be back,” I remarked, “everyone needs to be humbled at least once in their life. Otherwise, you will grow into our good friend over at Wolverine Kamae.”

Spark’s hoof shot up.

“Speak, Spark.”

“How’d you turn off his magic?!” he asked, everyone looking to have the same question.

I let out a sigh and held up my mechanical paw, flexing it a bit, “anti-magic enchantments. You can get them put on anything, as long as you know a Unicorn who can cast such magic. Your mom is the one who did mine. However! Things like this are not to be used lightly! Grabbing the horn of a Unicorn should only be used in extreme cases, because if YOU screw up, you could hurt them beyond comprehension.”

This caused all of them to look a bit solemn.

“Good, now, let’s get back to class!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stepped into the bathroom attached to my office and looked at my good leg. It had a few bruises on it from blocking Star Chaser’s attacks. He may have been a child, but once he upped his speed, he started hitting pretty hard.

“Little shit,” I hissed as I pulled out a medkit and began to rub a pad up and down my leg, the little charm inside of it glowing softly as it reduced the swelling and pain in it.

“Sensei Scamp?” I heard Spark say as he entered my office.

“What’s up?” I asked as I stepped out, still rubbing my leg with the charm.

“I don’t think you should have gone so hard on Star Chaser,” he said, ears flat against his head. “He has a massive ego and has always thought of himself as the best. He may not come back.”

“He will,” I reassured him. “For now, we need to focus on those who want to learn. Those who do not will either sort themselves out, or be left behind.”

“But what about no child left behind?” he asked. “You’re supposed to make sure every kid makes it to the end. That’s how the school runs at least.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, “yeah, I don’t run on that philosophy. I’ll help steer you guys onto the right path, but it's going to be up to you to stick to it. You can’t force someone to be a better person, they have to want it for themselves.”

Pulling the pad away, I saw the bruises had disappeared. “Now, if Star Chaser returns, we’ll welcome him with open wings. If not, then oh well.”

“I don’t know, I feel like we should always try and help others succeed, no matter what,” he mumbled.

“Starting to sound like your mom,” I joked. “I got this, kid. Don’t worry about the others, I’ll do enough worrying for the both of us.”

He didn’t look convinced as I took a seat.

“All I’m saying, Sensei Scamp, is that some kids need a little more tolerance than others.”

I chuckled, pulling out my phone and checking my messages, “Spark, you always sound much older than your age. We’re going to make hell of a fighter out of you, that I promise.”

He smiled a bit as he bowed and backed out of the office.

“OH! Spark, question,” I yelled after him.

“Yes, Sensei?” he asked, stopping in the door.

“What does ‘shamboozled’ mean? Greg keeps asking if I’m down to getting shamboozled once my kid is born,'' I asked, reading a text from Greg. “He just laughs when I ask him what he means.”

Spark blinks at me, then chuckles, “he’s asking if you want to get really drunk and high at the same time.”

“Ah,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Should have known. You may leave, Spark.”

As he stepped out, I put the phone down and stared at the poster on the wall that depicted the Dojo’s logo and me standing in front of it. The words ‘Keep pushing forward!” lining the bottom of it.

“Hmmm,” I looked to my desk to see a business card for Wolverine Kamae.

Is indulging them a good idea? Probably not, but I just can’t help myself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Spark flew above the buildings as he made his way home. The sight of the Wolverine Kamae building to his left cased him to take slight detour, just wanting to give it another fly by to see if anything had changed.

As he approached it, he saw a few ponies stepping out of the front doors, mostly young colts and fillies leaving class.

But one caught his eye and caused him to come to a stop in the air.

Star Chaser was walking out, wearing the black uniform of Wolverine Kamae. The tall stallion was walking with him, seeming to be talking with him.

He couldn’t help himself, he flew down and landed in a tree, close enough to hear them.

“-ed for you to join us, young Star Chaser! It is an honor to host one of the future rulers of this fine land in our Dojo,” Vicar said, feeding into Star Chaser’s ego perfectly.

“The honor is all yours! The private lessons you offer are amazing! Nothing like Viper Claw,” Star Chaser said, clearly very overjoyed.

Vicar chuckled and patted his back, “anything for the Prince of Equestria! And thank you for all your insight on Viper Claw, that will be extremely helpful going forward. Now, tomorrow, I plan to introduce you to another of our instructors who specializes in aggressive techniques. Perfect for one such as yourself.”

“Thank you, Sensei Belletor!” Star Chaser exclaimed, giving him a bow and flashing away.

“Pretentious little brat,” Vicar muttered as he turned to walk for the building, but stopped. “Oh, little birdie in the tree, why don’t you grow a pair and come on down here?”

Spark’s eyes widened, but he did not move.

“Spark Greenfield,” Vicar suddenly called out, catching the young pony off guard. “Come on, I just want to talk.”

Reluctantly, he left his hiding spot and flew down to stand before Vicar.

“Ah, the son of Lance, it’s a pleasure to actually meet you,” the tall pony said, his sunglasses catching the glint of a street light.

“You know my dad?” Spark asked, raising an eyebrow.

Vicar just chuckles and waves a hoof to the front door of the Dojo. “Why don’t you come in? I want to show you around the place.”

“No,” Spark says firmly, standing his ground.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Vicar says with a charming smile. “I just want to show you that we have so much more to offer than Viper Claw. Better facilities, larger selection of teachers, and best yet, weapons training!”

“I prefer Viper Claw,” Spark states, causing Vicar’s smile to falter a bit. “It has something your dumb Dojo doesn’t.”

“What’s that?” Vicar asked with a bit of interest.

“Sensei Scamp,” Spark says, smirking up at the now frowning Vicar. “It doesn’t matter how much more money you put into your Dojo, it’ll never be better than Viper Claw.”

“Such wise words from such a young pony,” he says with a touch of disdain. “I’m going to give you this one warning, pony. Do not make an enemy of Wolverine Kamae. I’m offering you a great chance right now, to join the winning side. Don’t be foolish and throw it away because of a false sense of loyalty to Scamp.”

Spark just smiles up at him, giving him a bow, “thank you for the offer. But, I’m going to stick with Sensei Scamp and Viper Claw.”

“Wrong move,” Vicar said in a low voice before smiling widely at him. “Good luck going forward, little pony.”

“You too,” Spark said with a salute as he took to the air and flew for home, letting out a sigh of relief once he was away from the tall stallion.

Vicar watched the young colt fly away, smirking up after him. “This is going to be so much more satisfying than I thought it would be!”

The Equestrian Martial Arts Association

Chapter 53

December 26th, 11 A.B.

“Good!” I yelled out as Spark performed an almost perfect kick and sweep, all from his hindlegs. The others were also making very similar progress, catching on faster than I thought they would.

“Thank you, Sensei!” Spark yelled out as he dripped with sweat as he kept repeating the same technique over and over again, trying to get it perfect.

I nod as I walk around the room, watching them all slowly go from sloppy to decent. Give them another month or two, and they could be ready to actually spar with one another.

“Ten more minutes, and then we’re moving to cardio!” I announced, getting hai’s from everyone as they pushed themselves harder.

A smile graced my face, I couldn’t say it out loud, but I was proud of this little shits. They’d really taken to learning recently. Could have something to do with some of their friends joining Wolverine Kamae, but I’m not sure.

As I stepped around a few colts who were trying to learn how to roll, I saw someone step into the Dojo.

“Welcome to Viper Claw!” I yelled as I weaved through the kids and stepped up in front of the newcomer. “Can I help you?”

The pony before me was a well dressed stallion with a well kept mane. He didn’t look like one of Vicar’s lackeys, so I didn’t come off as hostile right off the bat.

“Are you Sensei Scamp, owner of Viper Claw?” he asked, looking at a clipboard.

“That is me,” I said with a grin on my face.

“I am Long Haul, a representative of the Equestria Martial Arts Association,” he said as I nodded and held out a hoof, offering it for him to shake. He gave it a quick shake before continuing. “Are you aware you were supposed to contact us to register your Dojo before opening?”

My smile faded away at this, “oh, eh, no… I did not know that.”

“Ignorance of the rules is no excuse,” he said as he made a few notes. “Luckily for you, we’re a bit lenient when it comes to things like this. We just need all the paperwork filled out and then your Dojo’s mission statement. We’ll also need you to come to Fillydelphia to demonstrate your Martial Arts knowledge to the council. Then, we’ll give your Dojo an approval or disapproval.”

“That’s fucking dumb,” I say despite myself, but I go wide eyed as he frowned at me. “I mean, no problem! I’ll get right on it!” Then a thought hit me, “by the way, there’s another Dojo here in town, the-”

“Wolverine Kamae, yes, he’s the one who informed us of your unsanctioned Dojo. He did it the proper way and was approved before opening his doors,” Long Haul said as he stepped aside to reveal a large box of paper work. “Start with this, and bring it all with you when you come to Fillydelphia. The address is on the top sheet.”

“Yep, can do,” I said through gritted teeth as I stared at the large box of paper work.

“Till then, I’ll ask that you close your doors to students. Otherwise, we’ll have to take action against your Dojo,” he stated.

I narrowed my eye at him, “look here, you-”

“Sensei Scamp!” Spark yelled from behind me.

Taking a step back, I took a deep breath. “Alright. How long will this take?”

“It depends on you, as soon as you get the paperwork filled out and come to Fillydelphia, the sooner you can open your doors,” he said, frowning at my actions, but not commenting on them.

“Sweet, I’ll have this done in a day or so,” I say calmly, my twitching eye giving away my true feelings at this moment.

He seemed to want to say something, but chose not to as he put a sign up on the door and walked away.

Glancing at the sign, I saw it read ‘CLOSE TILL FURTHER NOTICE!’. “Prick,” I muttered, turning to the kids, who were all staring at me.

Looking at their faces, I relaxed my shoulders a bit. “Alright, here’s the plan. We’re closing for two days. In the meantime, I’m going to teach you all a few techniques I want you to practice over that time. Okay?”

“Hai!” they all shout, getting a smile out of me.

“Perfect! Line up, let’s do this quickly before the suit realizes we’re still training!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I groaned as I sat at my desk in my study, paper work all around me. I’d spent the better part of the last eight hours filling it out as fast as I could, but there was just so much! I had to actually describe ALL of my credentials and experience that makes me capable of teaching Martial Art’s.

This is super fucking stupid!

“How goes it?” Mallogory asked as she leaned into my study.

“It goes,” I sighed as I put aside one of the papers and put another in front of me. “I’ll be done in the morning, and I’ll take a train to Fillydelphia. Then I’ll be back the next day and back to business.”

“That’s a lot to do in just two days… with no sleep,” she warned.

“I’ll sleep on the train ride to and from,” I assured her, writing furiously.

She made a sound of annoyance behind me, causing me to turn to look at her.

“Scamp, we’re supposed to give birth around January ninth! That’s barely two weeks away! You can’t be doing all this fighting and traveling!” she exploded, catching me off guard.

“Mallo,” I said carefully, racking my brain for the perfect response. “I’m going to be okay, the baby is fine. I just need to do this, for me. Please.”

Mallogory let out a ragged sigh and gave a single nod, “fine. But don’t forget you have to look out for not only yourself, but also our kid. Don’t do anything stupid… what am I saying, you’re going to do something stupid.”

She slammed her hand into her face, groaning.

I jumped up and flew to her, wrapping my legs around her chest. “I promise, I will not do anything stupid. Straight there and back, simple as that.”

“With you it’s never simple,” she remarked, but returned the hug, holding me tight.

“Isn’t that like the main draw of being with me?” I asked, snickering a bit.

She just nibbled on my ear in response as we swayed in the doorway, soothing music playing in my head.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Ma’am? Your stop?” I heard someone above me say as they kicked at my back leg.

“Uh?” I asked as I sat up slowly, blinking around in confusion, momentarily forgetting where I was.

“Fillydelphia station, is this your stop?” the Ticketmaster said as he frowned at me.

Looking around, I realized I was the only one still in the train car. “Ah, yes, I kind of sleep hard sometimes…”

“Mhm,” he mumbled as he moved on, leaving me by myself.

Sliding out of my makeshift bed, I quickly repacked all my stuff into my duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder, laying it across my back. Pulling the straps down to secure it in place, I quickly walked for the exit.

Stepping off of the train, I found myself in an overly dull city. Nothing like Manehatten, and definitely nothing like New Ponyville.

Pulling out the slip of paper, I looked around, seeing a few taxi’s waiting by the train station.

With a bit of work, navigating the large crowd while both pregnant and carrying a heavy bag, I made my way to the nearest taxi.

Sliding into the back seat I held up the address for the driver, who just gave a nod and put the car in drive.

As we pulled out into traffic, I pulled my phone out, seeing I had a text from Lance. He was asking how the trip was going. I shot back a simple text saying good, then saw I had a missed call from an unknown number.

Eyeing it suspiciously, I hit it and placed the phone to my ear.

It rang twice before someone picked up.

“How’s Fillydelphia?” a familiar suave voice asked, his smile clear through the phone.

“Vicar,” I simply said back, frowning. “I don’t know what the point of snitching on me was, but it’s not going to shut down my Dojo. This is just an inconvenience, nothing more.”

“The point wasn’t to shut you down,” he chuckled. “I’m trying to help you. There is a tournament coming up at the end of next year, the Equine Championship Tournament. It’s only open to sanctioned Dojo’s, and you wouldn’t have been allowed to join in your current state.”

I laughed a bit at this. “If you think I’d put any of my students in a tournament after only a year of training, you’re sorely mistaken. The point of Viper Claw is to learn to defend oneself, not win tournaments under strict rules.”

“Sounds like you’re just afraid of your students facing a real challenge,” he replied in a snarky tone.

“That’s not going to convince me, just so you know,” I chuckled as I started to hang up.

“Want to make it interesting then?” he suddenly said, a smug tone to his voice.

“Nope,” I said as I hit the off button and blocked his number.

A content smirk fell on my face as I relaxed back and looked out the window.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Ah! Mrs. Scamp! We weren’t expecting to see you for at least a week!” a well dressed pony exclaimed as he walked towards me as I stood at reception.

“Oh, yeah, I kinda work fast,” I chuckled nervously as I held out my hoof for him.

He took my hoof and shook it hard, smiling widely at me. “Not to sound weird, but we all actually have been excited to meet you!”

“You have?” I asked, an anxious smile on my face.

“Yes! Ever since the Princesses made the announcement regarding that whole Watcher event, you and your friends have become kind of local heroes here at the Equestrian Martial Arts Association! We have all the news reports and interviews in our main conference room!”

“I’m… honored?” I said, very caught off guard by this sudden reveal.

I knew I should have turned down that interview with that magazine…

At least Lance didn’t write a book this time.

… I should probably make sure he’s not currently writing a book.

The stallion quickly began to wave for me to follow him, clearly excited.

He led me to a rather large room with a crescent shaped table on one side with all kinds of ponies sitting around it.

Upon stepping into the room, they all stood and stared at me, excited looks on their faces.

“One of the hero’s of Equestria!” a mare exclaimed, looking like a filly meeting her hero despite being decently old herself.

“Did Greg come with you?” one asked expectantly.

As they laid their questions and praise on me, I just kind of awkwardly smiled at them as I stepped into the middle of the room, standing before the long table.

Once they finally stopped pelting me with questions, I cleared my throat.

“I’m sorry, I’m not really up to… talking about any of that,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “I kind of just want to get my Dojo back up and running.”

“Of course! That is why you traveled all the way here!” the one at the center of the table said as he sat down, followed by a few others. “Did you bring the paper work?”

“Yep!” I exclaimed as I walked forward and opened my pocket dimension. I then began to pull out stacks up on stacks of paper, placing it down on their table. Once I finished, I returned to my previous position.

“Excellent!” the head pony laughed as he nodded to the stacks of paper, causing a few other ponies to move forward and start picking it up.

As they worked, he smiled at me. “Now, if you don’t mind, could you explain your Dojo to us? And show us a little bit of what you teach?”

I let out a sigh, as this was the hard part. “Sure…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stood up shakily, sweat dripping down my face as I stared at the table of ponies as they leaned towards each other, speaking quietly about the display of skill I’d just demonstrated.

They’d seemed impressed, also confused as I explained everything and showed off a few techniques I’d come up with.

The way they kept looking at me didn’t help how I was feeling either.

Finally, the head pony looked at me, clearing his throat, “Mrs. Scamp, exactly what style of Martial Arts are you using? Because we do not recognize it as any of the current styles in Equestria.”

“It’s Viper Claw,” I state firmly. “It’s my own style. I created it myself by combining everything I’ve learned into one fighting style.”

“Creating a new Martial Art usually ends in disaster,” one of them said. “Does yours have enough substance to hold up to other, more thought out, styles?”

I took a deep breath, trying not to go off on them. “I stand behind my style with my entire being. It’s been developed over the years through both war and many fights. Without it, I would have died during my first fight on the Eternal Plains.”

“But can it be taught to others?”

“Yes!” I snap loudly, but reel myself in quickly. “Viper Claw is a style you need to see in action. Nothing I do here will be enough to satisfy you or your questions.”

They all seemed to consider this as they went back to talking amongst themselves.

“Okay, Mrs. Scamp, we have a proposal,” the head pony began. “You’ve missed this year's event unfortunately, but that just gives you time to prepare. Every year, we host a nationwide event called ‘Equine Championship Tournament’. It allows all the Dojo’s of this great land to come together and demonstrate their knowledge of the Martial Arts.” He smiles proudly as he continues, “so here’s the proposal; we will allow your Dojo to stay open, as long as you enter the tournament at the end of this next year. We aren’t asking you to win, just impress us. After that, we’ll give your Dojo our seal of approval and recognize Viper Claw as its own unique style.”

An annoyed scowl played across my face, “If I disagree?”

He raised an eyebrow, looking a bit confused, “then we’ll have to close this topic and revisit it after a year. Meaning you’ll have to wait till then before trying to get your Dojo open again.”

“Alright,” I say, rubbing my face. “I’ll agree to these terms.”

“Excellent!” he said as he stood up and walked around the long table, coming up to me and hold out a hoof. “We look forward to seeing what Viper Claw can do!”

“Thank you,” I replied, shaking his hoof roughly. “So I can open it up as soon as I get back?”

“Yes, ma’am!” he exclaimed, a wide smile on his face.

I gave a nod and spun on my hooves, heading for the door, not up to engaging in anymore conversations.

As I exited the building, my phone dinged as I got a text. Pulling it out, I frowned.

From an unknown number; ‘Good work on getting reinstated, be seeing you at the tournament!’.

That can only be from one pony. Prick.

Putting the phone away, I looked around for a taxi, ready to just get home at this point.

Unneeded conflicts

Chapter 54

January 5th 12 A.B.

“Whew, fuck this,” I gasped as I struggled to do a sit up, the baby definitely not liking that course of action. Pushing myself, I did a few more, but only was able to get up halfway before hitting a barrier.

Flopping back on my back, I let out an exhausted gasp as I looked up at the ceiling of the Dojo.

The ding of the door opening got my attention as I rolled over to see who had entered, as the kids' class did not start for another hour.

To my relief, it was just Kelmoon, Drax’s and Dali’s young daughter.

“Well hey Kelmoon, finally coming around to see the Dojo?” I asked as I heaved myself to my hooves.

“Um… yes,” she said in a small voice, not making eye contact with me.

“If you’re going to be a Viper Claw, you’ll need to speak up and make eye contact,” I say, causing her to squeak a bit.

“Oh, I’m sorry… I’ll leave then,” she said softly as she turned for the door.

“Kelmoon,” I say in a kinder voice, getting her to look my way. “Stay. If you want to join, then I’ll help you become Viper Claw material. Not everyone starts from the same starting point.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled, still not looking me in the eye.

“Now tell me, what caused you to decide to come here today?” I asked as I stepped over to an energy drink I had put aside, chugging from it greedily.

“Bullies,” she mumbled so softly I barely heard her.

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I’m getting bullied in school by some other fillies…” she said a bit louder, looking straight at the ground.

“Hm,” I say as I put the drink down and walk over to her, standing above her. “Why are you getting bullied? Because of your size? Timid attitude?”

“Because I look funny,” she mumbled, causing me to frown. She lifted her mane to reveal a small birthmark that covered her entire right cheek, going up to her ear. It was just a little blotch of discolored fur, nothing to gawk at.

“They’re bullying you, because of this?” I asked, getting a little head nod from her. “That’s fucking dumb. I mean, look at me,” I say, pointing to my burns. “Don’t see anyone bullying me. It’s all about how you carry yourself.”

She didn’t look up, just put her mane back over her right side to hide the birthmark.

“Look, stick with Viper Claw and I’ll build up your self confidence to the point they won’t be able to bully you,” I assured her as I stepped over to a large cabinet and pulled out a uniform for her. “Now, consider yourself part of the crew. Let your parents worry about payment.”

She kind of smiles as she takes it and hugs it to her body. “Thank you, Mrs. Scamp.”

“Sensei Scamp,” I corrected her, giving her an award winning smile. “Class starts in an hour if you want to hang around and wait for it. I’m going to go back to my preworkout.”

With a little nod, she began to try and pull on the uniform, the sleeves a bit long for her. She looked up at me, “Um… they’re long. Can I cut them like yours?”

“No,” I reply as I help her roll them up till they fit her better. “Do not cut up your Gi. The sleeveless look must be earned. Till then, just roll them up. You’ll grow into it.”

A little smile appeared on her face as she looked up at me with half her face hidden in her mane.

Giving her a nod, I turned and headed back to my spot in the middle of the mat, flopping back and trying to resume my sit ups. But after only a few attempts, I quickly gave up on that idea.

Rolling over, I began to do push ups, but as usual, they were hindered by my belly. Making it so I couldn’t fully lower myself to the ground.

This pregnancy has made keeping in shape nearly impossible!

As I rotated through workout exercises, Kelmoon just sat there, trying to mimic what I was doing, with varying success.

After I finished the last of my routine, I stood up, groaning as I stretched my back. Looking at Kelmoon, I nod to the little white star on the mat. “Go ahead and stand there while I go to the back, the other kids will be showing up here soon.”

She gave an enthusiastic nod and rushed to the spot, standing at attention.

“Relax, otherwise you’ll pass out,” I chuckle as I disappear into my office.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Alright class!” I yell as I step out of the office, all the students lined up as usual. “Two announcements; first up, we have a new student!” With a wave of my paw, I pointed to the little filly. “Kelmoon! She’s joining us, so welcome her to the family!”

All the kids leaned towards her, giving her words of encouragement, giving her a warm welcome. This brought a smile to my face.

“Second! As you all know, I’m very close to my due date, so I will be having Spark here run the class based on my notes starting in two days. You all will not be learning anything new, just reviewing the basics and your current techniques. When I return, we’ll resume normal classes. Understood?!”

“HAI!” they all shout back.

“Excellent!” I say as I walk along the line, looking them all over. “Today will be a fun day! I’m going to introduce you all to running and jumping from your hindlegs! This will be the main thing I want you to work on while I’m away. It is a core element of Viper Claw!”

I returned to the front, standing on my hindlegs. “Up!”

Everyone stood up, now appearing a bit more adept at it, except for Kelmoon, who fell back. But she’d get there.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Pulling the Dojo’s doors closed, locking them as I went, I gave them a shake to make sure they were locked. Satisfied, I put the keys away and began walking down the street, heading for the Mellowed Pie. I was starving!

Walking down the dark streets, I was pleased to see I was one of the only ones out. I did not have it in me to get sucked into a conversation before eating.

As I walked, I could hear the sounds of kids yelling up around the corner. This brought a frown to my face, as if it was some of my students, they’d want to speak with me. Damn it.

But upon coming around the corner, I saw a group of kids dressed in Wolverine Kamea Gi’s pushing around two of my students.

Duke Venture and Flashy Flash. They were way younger than the group messing with them, by at least five or more years.

“Come on, pussy! Show us what that crazy mare has been teaching you!” One laughed as he shoved Duke Venture hard.

Before I could move, Spark suddenly landed between them, blocking the other kids from reaching the two younger ponies.

“Why are you picking on them?! They’re barely half your age!” Spark yelled. I could feel his fury from way over here. I decided to hold back, see if he could end this on his own without fighting.

“Oh Sparky! I was hoping we’d eventually run into you!” the colt laughed as he bumped chest with Spark.

Spark growled, but did not retaliate, “there is literally no need for this, Blitz!”

Blitz chuckled as he leaned back and bumped his hoof against one of his friends, “he’s scared of us, Butch.”

“He’s always been scared of us,” the one named Butch laughed.

“Let’s just go our separate ways,” Spark said, shaking from apparent anger instead of fear.

“You’re shaking!” Blitz mocked as he suddenly slammed a hoof into Spark’s face. But Spark didn’t go down, nor did he retaliate, just held his ground and stared them down. “Ooo! So scary!”

Blitz grabbed him by the collar of his Gi and started to pull him towards him, but Spark was yanked back hard as I came out of nowhere and slammed a shoulder into the little asshole, sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Hey you little shits!” I yelled, putting myself between the two groups. “What the fuck is your problem?! You learn a few moves at your fancy Dojo and you go out looking for fights?!”

“They started it!” one of the other colts yelled, drawing my glare.

“I highly doubt that! But I’m finishing it!” I yelled, slamming my mechanical paw down, cracking the cobblestone ground.

“What do you think you’re doing to our students?!” I heard a gruff voice yell from behind the colts.

Looking up, I saw two adult ponies quickly moving towards us. They wore the same Gi’s as the kids, and looked to be two of the teachers. I hadn’t met these two yet.

“Your students are out here picking fights,” I say, eyeing the group in front of me.

“From what I saw, you slammed one of our students to the ground,” the mare said in a dangerous voice.

“Obviously you’re missing out on some key story elements,” I retorted, the kids taking a step back as the two adults squared up before me. One on either side of me.

“You think we’re just going to let you bully our pupils?!” the stallion growled.

I looked between them, seeing what was about to happen. “Look, you two, let’s drop this here before it gets out of hoof. I’m dangerously pregnant, and you two don’t need to get hurt. So, sound like a plan?”

The two looked at each other, wide smirks forming on their faces.

Before I could react, a hoof slammed into my face, causing me to stumble back as I took a second hit from the left.

Dashing back, I dodged the next two attacks they threw my way.

These psychos!

As they moved towards me to continue their attacks, I blocked the first attack from the left, and dodged hard left to dodge the next. I grabbed the mare by the face with my paw and slammed her straight down into the ground, then launched myself forward off of her and slammed my back legs into the face of the stallion.

He flew back a few feet, quickly righting himself and dashed back towards me. I bucked my back leg back, catching the mare as she started to rise. I then moved my head out of the way as the stallion tried to make a grab for me. With a sharp jab of my paw, I slammed him in the side, breaking a few ribs for sure.

With a loud gasp, he slammed into the ground as the mare began to move my way again.

Spark suddenly jumped between us, standing on his hindlegs as he performed a jump kick and hit her face. But it had no effect as she roared in anger and made a move for him.

But he was yanked away again as I pulled him out of her range and slammed my head into hers. We both growled viciously at each other as we pushed our heads together, our eyes locked.

She grabbed my face, but I broke her grip by throwing my two legs between hers and pushed them away as I slammed my head into her again.

I then found myself getting tackled as I skidded across the ground a few times, having trouble righting myself as the stallion, wheezing painfully, fell on me, slamming a hoof into my face over and over again.

With a loud bang, his head snapped sideways as Spark slammed into him suddenly, causing him to loosen his grip on me. Taking advantage of the moment, I pulled my back legs up under him and bucked him as hard as I could in the chest, sending him straight into the air.

Twisting hard, I jumped to my hooves, hissing as I felt a strange crunching feeling shoot through my midsection, causing me to grip my belly. That can’t be good.

The crazed mare was sprinting towards me, but Spark was standing between us, seeming to want to stop her from reaching me.

With a groan, I knocked him aside just as the mare plowed right into me. I stayed up though as she pushed me backwards across the ground.

She shifted her body and got a grip on my shoulder and neck. With a roar, she slid under me and threw me over her shoulder, slamming me onto my back hard.

A pained gasp escaped my lips as she fell onto me, getting my leg into a lock as she pulled hard, trying to break my leg.

But to her dismay, I began to pull my hoof away from her, and with a roar of my own, I rolled and lifted her high above me as I slammed her into the ground, causing her to lose her grip on me and bounce off the cobblestone road.

As she tried to get up again, I grabbed her back leg with my paw and began to slam her around, not stopping till she went limp.

The stallion at this point was running back to me, but he was caught off guard as I slammed the now unconscious mare into him, sending both of them through a window on the other side of the street.

I watched for a moment, making sure they were down before turning my attention to the little shits that started this.

“Go!” I screamed, blood spraying out of my mouth.

They quickly took off, running away down the street, just leaving me and my three students.

“Sensei Scamp?” Spark asked as he looked at me with worry.

I winced in pain as I grabbed my stomach, a very uncomfortable tightening feeling caused me to almost double over.

Taking a step, I realized I was soaking wet. Looking down, I was relieved to see it wasn’t blood…. Oh shit!

I reached for my phone, but found it was shattered. “Great.”

“Thank you, Sensei,” Duke Venture said as he and Flashy Flash looked at me with awe.

“No problem, kids,” I grunted, the feeling getting worse with each new cramping feeling. “Now I need a little help. Run to the Mellowed Pie and tell Mallogory where I am and that it’s apparently time. She’ll know what you mean.”

“Yes, Sensei!” the two young ponies yelled as they took off in the direction of the dinner, leaving me and Spark alone.

“Did they hurt you?!” he asked in a panic.

I forced a chuckle as sweat began to pour from my face. “Them? Nah, this is-” I gasped out in pain as I stumbled a bit, going to my knees. “... The baby’s coming.”

“THE BABY’S COMING?!” Spark screamed, starting to jump around in an absolute panic.

“Yes! Now calm yourself!” I yelled, struggling to stay up as I waited for the next contraption. “When Mallogory gets here, I’m going to need you to help us. She’ll do the lifting, you do the talking, can you do that?!”

“I HOPE!” He yelled back.

“You got this, kid,” I say, giving him a thumbs up as I let out a loud gasp of pain. “YEP! Should have listened to the doctors! Physical activity while pregnant was a terrible idea!”

“Are you kidding me?!” Mallogory yelled as she sprinted towards me and slid on her knees up next to me. “Fighting?! AGAIN?!”

“Yeah yeah, hospital please,” I groaned, reaching a hoof towards her.

“You… tsk!” she hissed as she picked me up gently and began to look around in a panic.

“This way!” Spark yelled, waving for her to follow.

As she sprinted down the road, and I let out pained yells, I came to a decision; no more kids! I’m a one and done kinda mare! Screw doing all this again!

Foal time

Chapter 55

Spark paced through all the adults, chewing his lip as he listened to all of them talk in low voices to each other.

“These Wolverine Kamae guys are nothing but thugs!” Calypso whispered to a few others. “This is the second time they’ve attacked her!”

“From the story I got from the kids, they were being bullied by some of the students of that place. Scamp stepped in to stop it and those two thugs attacked her in return!” Rarity scoffed, clearly upset as she shook with anger.

“Thank Celestia she got both of them, I’d hate to think of the outcome otherwise…” Adry remarked as she held her newborn foal, having just given birth two weeks ago.

The doors opened as two New Ponyville Sheriff Deputies stepped into the lobby and walked towards the group.

“Excuse us, but where is the kid who witnessed the attack earlier?” one asked.

Spark quickly made his way over to them, “that’s me!”

“Mind telling us what happened tonight? We got two heavily injured ponies on the way to surgery, and we have another here apparently giving birth. Start from the beginning,” he said, pulling out a notepad.

Spark gave a nod as he collected himself. “I saw two of my friends being bulled by some kids from Wolverine Kamae, and I tried to step in to stop them. But instead they started hitting me, but Sensei Scamp jumped between us and stopped the fight.”

“I have reports saying she hit a child?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh.. yes, she knocked him down with her shoulder. But only because he was about to hit me again!” Spark said, staring at them in slight disbelief.

“Alright, then what?” the Deputy asked.

“Well, two teachers from Wolverine Kamae came at us and were mad about her knocking Blitz down. She tried to calm them down, but they attacked her first! So she defended herself!”

“My report says she swung first,” the Deputy remarked, getting a nod from the other one.

“Yeah, eight ponies agree she swung first,” the other said.

“Are those eight ponies from Wolverine Kamae?” Calypso asked as she stepped up to us.

“I can’t reveal that,” the deputy said, looking back at Spark. “Please, continue young colt.”

“They ganged up on her!” Spark exclaimed, fuming as he stood there. “She was pregnant and they attacked her! They threw her around and slammed into her! If she wasn’t so bad ass, then they’d have really hurt her!”

“How’d the store glass get broken?” he asked sternly.

“She threw them through it,” Spark stated, looking between them. “Are you going to arrest them?”

They looked at each other, then back to everyone staring at them. “As of right now, no one is being arrested. But you’ll be happy to know the two injured ponies and their employer have declined to press charges. So the only thing Mrs. Scamp is on the line for the broken window, which the shop owner is pressing charges for.”

“That’s unfair!” Spark yelled, but was pulled back by Lance.

Twilight stepped forward, “I’ll speak with the shop owner. They may drop the charges if I offer to pay for it.”

“This is basically over unless Scamp presses charges,” the Deputy said as they began to leave. “Have a good day, folks.”

“She will be pressing charges,” Calypso muttered angrily. “I’ll make sure of that.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Some time later that night

The double doors leading into the delivery rooms blew open and Mallogory stepped out with a wide grin on her face.

Everyone in the room instantly jumped up and rushed towards her, flooding her with questions about Scamp and the baby.

Mallogory just let them pelt her with questions as her smile just grew larger and larger.

“SILENCE!” Spark suddenly yelled out, causing everyone to go silent and look at him. “Let her speak.”

Everyone looked back to Mallogory as she rubbed her hands together.

“It’s a girl!” she exclaimed, causing everyone to let out excited cheers.

“A baby girl!” Adry laughed, holding her own daughter close. “They’re going to be little princesses together!”

“Ah hell yeah, Dude’s gonna have a bad ass little playmate now!” Greg said as he held his two kids in his lap, both asleep due to how late it was.

“How’s Scamp?” Spark asked in a worried tone.

“She’s doing good. A bit pissy and grouchy, but otherwise, she’s alright,” Mallogory said, getting sighs of relief from everyone. “The baby was delivered without any complications, which as we all know is a miracle with how she’s been conducting herself recently.”

A few of the adults chuckled at this, nodding in agreement.

“I need someone to take over for a moment, I have to go deal with something… urgent,” Mallogory said, a dark look flashing across her face for a moment. Everyone volunteered, but she pointed to Spark. “I’m sure she’d appreciate your company right now, if you don’t mind.”

Spark blinked, then smiled, “Uh, yeah, I’ll stay with her till you get back.”

“Thanks, Spark,” Mallogory said as she walked through everyone, heading for the doors.

As she left, Spark quickly walked through the double doors and walked down the hallway. He knew what room she was in since they were all told earlier in the night by a nurse.

Upon stepping into the room, he was greeted with the sight of Scamp laid up in bed, looking absolutely wrecked, with her mane a mess and her fur slightly pale.

“Hey, kiddo,” she chuckled weakly as he stepped into the room. “Thanks for everything tonight, ya been a real help.”

“Of course, Sensei Scamp,” he said as he stepped up next to the bed, looking around for the baby.

“Sorry if I act weird, really high on pain meds and hormones right now,” she mumbled, chuckling to herself.

“Where’s the baby?” he asked, excited to see it.

She lazily waved a hoof at the door. “They’re doing their doctor thing with her right now. She’ll be back soon.”

“What’s her name?”

Scamp giggled then looked a bit sad, “we’ve named her Shayla after a dear friend of mine who died to save me.”

“Oh,” Spark replied, a bit taken back by this.

“Yeah, Spark, we lost a lot of friends to the Watcher… And I lost a lot of friends to save your dad…” Scamp said, her eyes glossing over as she lost herself in thought. “I did things I’m not proud of…”

“Sensei Scamp!” Spark yelled, snapping her out of her stupor.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I lost myself there for a moment!” she said, eye wide as she came to her senses. “Wow, I’m so sorry, Spark. You don’t need to hear about any of that.”

“I wish you’d all tell me more,” he muttered. “I’m not a baby anymore.”

“I know you’re not a baby,” Scamp says, getting him to look at her. “I kind of rely on you at the Dojo, Spark. You are a lot like your father, just not as… useless.”

She laughs a bit at this, shaking her head.

“Sorry, not bad mouthing your father, he’s a good man. Just… well you know how he is!”

“Yeah, I know,” Spark chuckled, knowing exactly what she was getting at.

The door to the room opened and a nurse wheeled in a bassinet.

“Look who's back!” she announced as she pushed the bassinet up next to Scamp on the bed.

“Oh my little baby girl!” Scamp exclaimed as the nurse picked up the blanket wrapped bundle and placed it in Scamp’s legs, where she gently began to rock the bundle.

The nurse looked at Spark, raising an eyebrow, but said nothing as she left the room.

“Alright Spark, meet Shayla,” Scamp said as she pulled back the blanket, revealing a cute little face with a bone plated face similar to Mallogory’s, just not the same shape. Two little combs hung down either side of her face plate while a messy dark brown mane sat atop her head. Solid green eyes stared back at him as the newborn laid there calmly, not crying or fussing.

As she pulled the blanket back more, it revealed she had claws similar to Mallogory’s on both her front and back legs, and instead of a mane, a little solid tail with a tuft of hair slithered out of the bottom of the blanket. Her coat was a very light yellow, very pale looking.

He could just make out a bit of scales that seemed to run down the foal's front, starting at the base of her neck and going to the edge of her tail, making it look like she had scaled armor running down her front. And to top it all off, she had wings.

“Whoa…” Spark said, amazed at the strange foal before him. “She looks… so cool!”

“I know right?” Scamp asked, beaming with the proudest smile she’d ever had. “She’s going to grow up and be just like her moms… just hopefully not as crazy.”

Spark reached out to touch her, and her little eyes followed his hoof.

“Actually, probably shouldn’t do that,” Scamp warned as she raised her mechanical leg and put a metal finger near her face. “She’s a little-”

The baby leaned forward and clamped down on her finger with what looked to be razor sharp teeth.

“-Bitey right now,” Scamp said, smiling at her foal as it chewed aggressively on her finger, but was unable to do any damage to it. Probably due to it being Ego infused.

“Noted,” Spark said as she leaned back, smiling at the two.

“Mallo said she’ll grow out of the biting phase eventually, just that we need to keep her away from valuables or anything we want to keep in tact,” Scamp said as she rocked the foal in her arms, causing it to slowly stop chewing on her and go back to looking innocent. “Aww, those innocent eyes are like a little trap, just begging for someone to put an appendage near her little maw.”

Spark chuckled at Scamp, not used to seeing her so loving and caring. He was a bit more used to the rough and tumble Scamp.

She let out a relaxed sigh as she laid back a bit, still holding the foal closely.

“They’re so fucked,” she muttered suddenly, her eyes closed.

“What?” Spark asked, leaning towards her.

“I’m not pregnant anymore,” she said, a devilish look falling across her face, her eyes still closed. “I don’t have to hold back anymore. Next time they play this stupid game with me, I’m going to wreck their shit.”

“Actually, a Sheriff Deputy said you can press charges against them for the attack,” Spark said, a bit excited.

“Nah,” Scamp said, catching him off guard. “I’ll handle this. They made it personal for no reason, so I’m going to return the favor.”

“I think everyone else wants you to press charges,” Spark said slowly, causing her to chuckle.

“Yeah, I knew they would. Let me worry about them, kiddo. In the meantime, the Dojo is under your watch. Make sure the kids keep up their practice, and if those Wolverine Kamae assholes give you any trouble, tell me immediately. I’m trusting you here, Spark.”

“I’ll do my best, Sensei,” Spark assured her.

“I know you will, now call the nurse please,” Scamp said suddenly. “My epidural has not worn off yet and I can’t move my back legs. And I’m sorry to be so crude, but I think the catheter is faulty.” At Spark’s confused expression, she chuckles. “I’m pissing myself, get a nurse, kid.”

“OH!” Spark yelped as he ran for the door, leaving a laughing Scamp behind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The sounds of a door being kicked open filled the Training Hall, followed by the heavy stomps of a heavy person as they made their way through the room and up the stairs.

The door to the office blew open and in walked a fuming Mallogory as she stepped further into the room, glaring death at the pony behind the desk at the end of the long room.

“Ah, Mallogory Beltosh! I knew I’d be seeing you today!” Vicar exclaimed as the angry woman stomped up to his desk and slammed her claws down on his desk.

“You psycho fucker! Twice! You’ve attacked my wife TWICE! WHILE PREGNANT!” she roared, the desk cracking under her weight as she pushed down on it.

“Actually, tonight was just a misunderstanding,” he said with a grin, his sunglasses reflecting her angry face back at herself.

“Bullshit!” she growled as she slammed her fist down on the desk, splitting it in half. “You done fucked with the wrong people, asshole!”

He smiled as he looked at the two halves of his desk, then back to her, “you’re paying for the desk, just so you know.”

She roared and stomped forward as she grabbed him back the collar and raised him up to her level, “get this through your thick head! This is over! If you come near my family again, I will kill you. Scamp may be up to playing this stupid game with you, but not ME!”

Vicar just simply reached up and patted her shoulder, “Mrs. Beltosh, there’s no need for the threats and dramatic show of force. I know you are willing to kill me, the only thing I have to say to that is; can you?”

She narrowed her eyes as she grabbed him by the throat, her claws drawing blood as she squeezed. “I don’t know, can I?!”

“No,” he choked out as his hooves shot up and somehow broke her hold on him as he dropped and swept her legs out from under her. Then he bucked her through the window next to them, sending her flying through it. This all happened in under a second.

She crashed through the window, a shocked look on her face as she righted herself and landed on her feet, staring up at him with a bit of surprise.

“Has your Thorn not fully healed yet?” he asked as he stepped to the shattered window, staring down at her.

“How do you know about that?!” she snarled up at him, as that was one of the few things that has not been revealed to anyone outside of their friends. And none of them would talk about that with any one.

Vicar just laughs at her as he flashes her a knowing smile, “I have my ways. Now, unless you think you can beat me on your own, I think you should leave.”

“You caught me off guard?!” she growled as she prepared to jump back up there. “That won’t happen twice!”

He just laughs in response, “goodbye, Mrs. Beltosh.”

She glared as she watched him step out of sight. Glancing around, she saw no one else was in the area, so she could do what needed to be done.

With a growl, she jumped up there, but he was gone. In his place was one of his lackeys, who just stared at her with hate filled eyes.

“Where is he?!” she screamed at the pony, who just rolled their eyes.

“I think you should go, we’ve called the police for an attempted robbery,” the pony said through gritted teeth. “And unless you want to be the one to blame, you should go, now.”

She screams in anger and points a claw at the pony’s face, “You tell your asshole boss he’s mine if he pulls any more stunts!”

With an angry spin, she walked away, looking back at the pony, noticing something weird about them as they glared at her. But the sounds of a police siren got her moving.

Hide the critters

Chapter 56

January 9th 12 A.B.

I walked through the house on my hindlegs, holding a calm and for now not fussy Shayla as I held a bottle in her mouth. We had to have some special ones made that were indestructible, because she kept eating through the nipples on the bottles.

As I stepped into our room and collapsed onto a chair, I groaned, as I was dreading when she started crawling around. This house would not survive her.

I chuckled at the thought of her going on a little ramage through the house, eating all the metal, then I frowned as I realized that could be a reality we have to face one day.

“Okay! I got as many diapers as they’d allow me to buy!” Mallogory yelled as I heard her burst through the front door. “Scamp?!”

“Bedroom,” I called out to her, rolling my eyes.

She eventually made her way to us, stopping in the doorway to look at us.

“Having fun you two?” she asked with a wide grin.

“Eeyup,” I said in a tired voice. “She is at least,” I said as she let out a happy sound as she gurgled around the bottle nipple.

“Well, she is a baby, so she’s having the time of her life right now,” she said as she walked in and offered to take the baby.

I held Shayla up to her and allowed her to take her for now.

“Take a nap, you need it,” she said as I laid in the chair.

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes for a moment, “I don’t need a nap.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I let out a shocked gasp as I sat up, glancing around and realizing it was now close to night time. It was morning when I sat down!

Getting up quickly, I moved through the house, not finding Mallogory or Shayla. But before I could panic, I pulled out my phone, seeing a text from her saying she and Shayla were at Adry’s to give me a break for the night.

“Aww,” I said, a smile on my face. Then I saw the time. Class will be starting here soon.

A smile graced my face as I looked at my closet to see my Gi hanging up, waiting for me.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Stepping up to the doors to my Dojo, I saw the kids were already lined up, with Spark in front of them.

I held back for a moment, wanting to see how it goes.

Inside, Spark was standing on his hindlegs, leading class in jumping exercises, just as I had instructed.

Watching from the outside, I felt a sense of pride watching all of them working so hard.

Deciding that was enough watching, I stepped up to the door and kicked it open, stepping in with authority.

“Sensei Scamp!” they all yelled as they rushed to me as I stepped through the door.

“Hey guys!” I say, giving them all a wide grin as I walk through them. “Keeping up practice in my absence?”

“Hai!” they all yell, much to my delight.

“Have you recovered from giving birth?” Mango Loco asked.

“Of course!” I announced as I took my spot at the front of class. “LINES!”

They all quickly took up their positions, smiling faces staring back at me.

“Alright! As you can see, I am no longer pregnant. And going forward, my daughter will be with me at classes, so a few rules! No touching her right now, as she is a biter and will remove whatever you put near her! Two; if she is sleeping, no yelling! Three; if she gets in your way, move to another part of the room. She will one day be a member of Viper Claw, so treat her as family!”

“Hai!” they all shouted back.

“Good, now that I’m back, let’s get serious!” I say, flexing my wings, “as I’m sure you all know, Wolverine Kamae has been a lot more active recently. I’ve heard they’ve been bullying a few of you at school?”

A few of them nodded back to me.

“Well, I think it’s time we start learning to defend ourselves a little bit!” I yelled, getting excited looks from the kids. “BUT! If I find out one of you started a fight, then you’re out of Viper Claw! This is for self defense only! Not being little aggressive assholes! But if you do fight, I want you to be safe and come out on top!”

“Hai!”

“Alright, everyone up! Let’s start adding in some sparring!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You know, I knew you’d be here,” Mallogory chuckled as she walked into the office as I sat at my desk eating my dinner. Shayla sat in her arms, looking around in awe.

“Shayla!” I exclaimed, jumping up from my chair and flying over to them, taking my baby girl in my legs and hovering in place as I cooed at her.

Mallogory smiled as she walked over to the couch and sat down. “We had a fun day at Adry’s. Shayla and Roxxy seem to be getting along. At least, Shayla isn’t aggressive towards her, so that’s a plus!”

“That’s mommy’s good girl,” I said as I rocked her back and forth. I then looked to Mallogory, “heading back to work tomorrow?”

“Yep, Greg said I could take all the time I wanted, but with you wanting to do most of the work, I kinda have nothing to do.”

I nuzzle Shayla’s little face, “not my fault I love her so much!”

She just smiles as she watches me, then frowns, “I want you to keep all this rivalry shit away from our daughter.”

“Obviously,” I replied, playing with my daughter by wiggling my metal finger over her face as she reached out for it.

“Scamp,” Mallogory said sternly, causing me to look at her.

“I’m serious. Keep Vicar and his Dojo away from our daughter,” she said with such force, my ears actually flattened themselves against my head.

“Er… sure, I promise, Mallo… is everything okay?”

“I went to Wolverine Kamae the night Shayla was born,” she admitted, causing my eye to go wide. “And that asshole Vicar knew my last name, and that I had a Thorn! Scamp, I’ve never told anyone but you my last name! And that was back when we were on the Eternal Plains!”

“That’s… worrying,” I remarked, not quite sure what it meant for us, but it made him more of a threat than I was giving him credit for. “I’ll keep our daughter out of this mess, don’t worry, Mallo.”

She eyed me hard, but then relaxed as I heard someone walk in behind me.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you were along, Sensei,” Spark said as she started to back up and leave.

“No no, come in, Spark,” I say as I land on my hindlegs, still holding my daughter. “What do you need?”

“Well,” he starts, kicking at the ground, “things are getting pretty bad at school for some of the other kids here. The bullying is picking up, and we’re so far behind them in training, that we can’t really do anything against them.”

“Is that so?” I say as Shayla bites my metal finger with a loud clang. “You know my view on training.”

“Yes, no shortcuts, we’ll get there eventually,” he said as he hung his head.

“Yep, no shortcuts. But we can’t let this bullying continue,” I say as I pace in front of him, my daughter going to town on my finger.

“How?” he asked, raising his head to face me.

“The other kids will take some time to train, but you, Spark, you’re learning very quickly,” I say as I hoof my daughter to Mallogory and open my pocket dimension and pull out my copy of Lance’s book. “Know what this is?”

“Uh… my dad's book? He won’t let me read it though,” he says, eyeing the book with a bit of excitement.

“Hmmm,” I open the book and flip to the desired page. “Let me read you a part that’s always interested me.” I leaned back on my desk, clearing my throat as I began to read directly from the book, “Lance, you are very special in the way your body is made up. Now, Spark's mother is Twilight Sparkle, the most powerful mortal unicorn alive. I can not really explain this, but somehow, Spark has taken some, if not all, of yours and Twilight's traits. He is very unique, a one of a kind. He will grow up to be something special, I can promise you that Lance.”

He looked at me in confusion.

“That was a conversation between Mr. Bleak and your father,” I say as he still looked confused. “Now, I’m still not sure what he meant, but I can say this; you learn shit super fast. I can show you something, and you’ll know how to do it almost instantly.”

“I mean, I guess I’ve always been like that,” he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

“Hmm,” I tap my chin, then smile, “alright, Spark, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to be giving you private lessons after class. I’m going to start teaching you the advanced techniques I have to offer, and we’ll see if we can get you in fighting order. Are you up for it?”

A wide smile crossed his face as he gave me a sharp nod, “Hai, Sensei Scamp!”

“Sweet! That starts today, and I’m not going easy on you!” I yell as he jumps with excitement.

“Scamp, now would be a great time to tell him,” Mallogory suddenly said from the couch as she rocked Shayla.

“Tell me what?” he asked, now looking confused again, but also worried.

I just laugh as I point a hoof at him, “Spark! We have decided we want you to be Shayla’s Godfather! Do you accept!”

He blinked then looked at her, then back to me, giving a sharp nod, “yes, Sensei!”

“No! Answer me, not Sensei Scamp!”

“I accept the role of Godfather, Scamp!” he yelled, followed by all three of us breaking down into a laughing fit.

Then I slam my hoof into my paw, “Alright! Get out on that mat! We’re moving on to some tough shit!”

“Hai!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“He’s a good kid,” Mallogory commented as we watched Spark fly away into the sky, leaving us standing in front of the Dojo.

“Believe me, I know,” I chuckled as we began walking to our house. “So back to work starting tomorrow?”

“Yep! But I’m a phone call away if you need me, you know Greg will let me leave if you need something,” she assured me.

“I’m not helpless,” I say as I slug her arm.

“I know,” she replies as she reaches over and wiggles her metal claw over Shayla’s face.

Over my shoulder, I thought I heard something, but looking revealed nothing but a dark street.

I swear, if that asshole has someone following us…

With a sigh, I return my eyes to the front, keeping my attention on the area around us. Just in case.

ooo000<^>000ooo

April 12th 12 A.B.

“Oh, Shayla no!” I yelped as she clawed at the front door, trying to get it open. “Foal’s are not allowed outside unsupervised!”

She let out a little cry of annoyance as she reached for the door with her little claws.

“No. We’ll go for a walk here soon, but mommy needs to make din din for us,” I said as she flailed a bit and clawed my face a bit. “OUCH! You little…” I sigh and let out a chuckle.

Glancing in the mirror I saw she only gave me a superficial scratch, so no harm done.

“You, little missy, need to control your little deadly claws,” I say, nuzzling her face as she grunted in annoyance.

I placed her down into her bouncer and buckled her in, “Alright, stay here while I get your bottle ready.”

She seemed to glare up at me as I stepped back and into the kitchen.

Working quickly, I mixed the formula into the bottle, adding in the required amount of iron supplement. Shaking the bottle, I moved back to the living room where I left Shayla.

“Alright, sweetie, here’s your… fuck,” I stopped as I saw the bouncer had been knocked over, the restraints chewed through. Then my eyes moved to the window and I saw it had been pushed open a bit. “... SHE’S LOOSE!”

I sprinted out the door, looking around frantically.

“Hey, Scamp,” Jero said as he and Fluttershy walked by my house with their two kids on their backs.

“Fluttershy! Shayla’s loose again! HIDE THE ANIMALS!” I screamed as I took off down the street, yelling for my daughter.

“Oh no! NOT AGAIN!” Fluttershy yelled as she took off running for the forest.

“Come out, sweetie!” I yelled as I shook her bottle, “I have din din!”

As I ran down the street, I heard a can get knocked over behind a fence.

Flapping my wings, I jumped and soared over the fence, landing in the middle of someone's backyard.

“Shayla!” I hissed as I saw her little tail wagging out of a bush. I rushed over and pulled her out of the bush.

She just smiled up at me as she held a dead rat in her mouth.

“Oh thank God, it’s just a rat this time,” I sigh in relief as I turn around and see a cat's collar sitting on the ground, a little blood around it. “Ah shit.”

“Muffin!” a little voice called out as a filly walked out into the backyard. She looked around, only seeing the end of my mane as I jumped over the fence before she saw me.

“You ate Muffin?!” I hissed, holding my daughter out in front of myself. She blinked back at me and burped a bit, a little fur ball hitting me in the face. “You little devil.”

“Muffin! I found your collar! Where are you!” the filly yelled from the other side of the fence.

“You ate Muffin,” I repeated, now more in disbelief. She just smiled innocently back at me.

As quickly as I could, I ran back towards my house, slamming the window from the outside and getting inside, closing the door.

“We need to figure something out,” I muttered as she squirmed around in my grasp, trying to get free.

I put her down on the ground and put the foal backpack on her that had a leash attached to it. I attached it to the banister and put her down. She immediately fell on her side and began chewing on the straps on the backpack.

“Good luck, ya little shit,” I said proudly as I walked to the kitchen, putting the bottle down for now. “Those restraints are a lot tougher than your little teeth, so you’re stuck!”

She growled in annoyance as she kept chewing at the straps.

I went back to the stove where my food was cooking and resumed stirring it.

Once I finished cooking, I made a plate and walked back to the living room, grabbing her bottle as I went.

Shayla was still on the ground, doing her damnedest to chew through the straps that kept her from roaming free.

“Pretty strong, huh?” I asked as I put my food down and picked her up, undoing the straps.

I held the bottle in front of her, and she immediately latched onto it, drinking quickly as she seemed to glare at me.

“You ate a cat, a rat, and are still hungry? You really are my daughter,” I chuckled as she drained the bottle very quickly. As she finished it, she pushed it away and went back to struggling to get away from me again.

“Geez kid, want to watch TV?” I asked as I sat down while holding her and flipped on the TV. Flipping through the channels, nothing hit me as interesting, or Shayla as she kept fighting to be free of my grasp.

Then I flipped to a channel displaying a human show that I hadn’t seen before. Shayla stopped fighting me as she looked at the screen, eyes glued to it.

“Oh! You like this one?” I asked in relief, as this was the first time she’d shown interest in anything outside of hunting tiny creatures.

Looking at the screen, I hit the menu to see the title. “What the fuck is Dragon Ball Z?” I asked aloud, the title kind of familiar, like I’ve heard someone mention it before. I think it was Lance at some point.

These humans using their memories to bring their media to this world, just amazing. And weird with some of the shit, but still amazing.

“Well, whatever works,” I mutter as I begin to eat my food, my daughter’s eyes stuck on the screen as the guy on the screen screamed like a maniac as his hair turned yellow.

“Weird shit,” I muttered, shoving more food into my mouth.

Foalsitter Spark

Chapter 57

June 3rd 12 A.B.

“Strike!” I yelled, followed by the class all throwing a punch with their right hoof. “Strike!” They all threw a left hoof, yelling as they did so.

I kept yelling commands as I watched them perform them perfectly, all while standing on their hindlegs. We’d made a LOT of progress over the last five months, and that’s just with the normal students. Spark has really come into his own! Not ready for anything serious, but I’m confident he could actually defend himself.

Luckily, the shits at Wolverine Kamae have held back on their bullying, thanks to an agreement I made with Vicar. No fighting till the tournament. Honestly, I’m surprised he’s upheld his end of the deal. I haven’t seen him in person since January.

As I yelled commands, I watched my daughter hop around the edge of the mat, sniffing at random objects and jumping on other things as she enjoyed herself.

A little smile played on my face as I watched her.

“Enough!” I finally yell, causing everyone to go back to standing at attention. “Looking good, everyone! Pair up and spar!” I clapped my hooves, causing all of them to bow and begin moving towards one another as they prepared to spar.

I walked towards my daughter as she chewed on a discarded hoof mitt. “Enjoying yourself?”

She hissed at me as she made a run for it, not wanting to be bothered as she played.

Returning to my students, I watched as they all went back and forth, taking turns blocking and attacking.

Spark was the only one who was performing all kinds of movements, moving like an expert as he dodged and weaved his opponents attacks, followed by him catching them off guard and slamming them to the mat.

“Damn, Spark!” Lightening yelped as Spark helped him back up. “Those private lessons are making you a monster to fight!”

“Oh, thanks, Light,” Spark said sheepishly as he resumed his fighting stance.

The other students weren’t on his level yet, but they were catching up. I think we’ll actually be ready for this tournament at this rate!

“Ah shit! Sensei!” I heard a colt yell from behind me. Turning, I saw Shayla had him cornered as she wagged her tail as she growled at him.

“Shayla, what have I told you, no terrorizing my students because you think its funny!” I yelled as I rushed over and caught her as she jumped for the poor colt.

He sighed in relief and ran back to his sparing partner.

Shayla just looked overjoyed with herself as she giggled happily.

“You’re a little monster,” I said as I held her at eye level, my nose touching hers.

She just clamped down on my snout in response, but did not bite down hard enough to hurt me.

“Very cute,” I remarked as I pulled her off of my snout and put her back down. “Now go play, without hurting others.”

With a shake of her tail she lunged forward, tackling one of her stuffed animals and began to roll around with it, biting and clawing at it like a rabid animal.

“Fuck I love her,” I muttered with a smile on my face as I turn and resume watching over the sparring session.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Spark, I got a favor to ask,” I say as I step up to Spark as he packed his bag with his sparing gear.

“Yes, Sensei Scamp!” he said as he jumped up and bowed to me.

“It’s not Dojo related, it’s Godfather relented,” I chuckled as he relaxed a bit. “Mallogory and I are heading out for a date night with Adry and Mr. Bleak. I was wondering if you could watch Shayla.”

He looked over at her as she shredded a poor stuffed bunny. “Um… is that a good idea?”

“Sure, she’s a hoof full,” I say, looking back at her, “but I think you can manage. Just sit her down in front of the TV while you make dinner for you two, let her enjoy some DBZ then put her to bed. Simple night. Doable?”

He thought about it for a moment, then gave a nod, “I can do it.”

“Sweet! Come to my house right after you go home to tell your parents,” I say as I walk towards my daughter and pick her up as she continues to murder the stuffed bunny.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Spark stepped up to Mallogory’s and Scamp’s house and knocked on the door. Almost instantly it opened to reveal a very well dressed Scamp as she adjusted some earrings.

“Right on time!” she said as she ushered in him.

He stepped into the house, which was a mess with destroyed toys and drawings all over the walls.

“Sorry about the mess,” Scamp said as she rushed around, picking up a few things. “Shayla is a messy filly sometimes. Just really enjoys tearing into shit, ya know?”

“Uh… yeah,” Spark said, looking around unsure if this was a good idea or not now. “Where is she?”

“Shayla?” Scamp asked as Mallogory came out of the back, equally as dressed up. “She’s around her somewhere, right, Mallo?”

“Yeah, I saw her earlier crawling around,” she said as she moved for the door quickly. “Thank you SO much, Spark! You’re a lifesaver!”

“Yes, thank you, Spark!” Scamp said, forcing him to shake her hoof. “I owe you for this.”

“Eh… no problem guys…” he said as they quickly left the house, leaving him and Shayla alone. Where ever she was.

“Erm, Shayla, where are you?” he yelled out, expecting to hear something in response, but the house was dead silent.

An eerie feeling fell over him as he walked through the house carefully, looking in each room for her. But he couldn’t find her. Then, as he walked down the dark hallway to the very end where the master bedroom was, he heard something behind him.

Turning around, he barely saw the end of her tail run into the living room.

“Hey, Shayla, it’s me, Spark! You know, your Godfather?” he yelled as he walked back into the living room, but didn’t see her. He walked into the middle of the room, a little scared at this point of being jump scared.

He heard the sounds of scratching, and turned around as he saw her zoom across the wall like a lizard as she ran around the corner of the wall and skittered along the wall down the hallway to her bedroom, the door slamming behind her.

“Oh shit…” he muttered, a bit terrified after seeing that.

Very carefully, he walked down the hall and pushed open her door, finding an absolutely destroyed room filled with shredded toys and a shredded bed. The crib was just a wreck on the floor at this point.

“Geez,” he said softly, stepping into the room. “Shayla, want dinner? I’ll turn on Dragon Ball Z for ya.”

Something moved somewhere in the room, but with the mess he couldn’t pinpoint it. His heart rate increased as he scanned the room carefully.

Then something breathed on his neck, causing him to turn around quickly, only to come face to face with Shayla as she stood on her dresser on her hindlegs, arms held out to her side like she was posing. Her mane had been colored yellow with some kind of spray paint, and she had crazy eyes.

She began screaming like a maniac, tensing up as she did so. It looked like she was reenacting her favorite character from her TV show as she screamed at a head splitting volume.

Spark held his ears as she screamed, then she stopped suddenly as she jumped forward and slammed a back leg into his face, sending him tumbling back into the mess behind him.

He landed roughly as she sprinted towards him, jumping into the air as she screamed a battle cry. Spark could only scream in response as she landed on him.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“The house is still standing, so that’s a good sign,” I said as we walked back towards the house, five hours later.

“I’m sure they got along just fine, after the initial trial by fire,” Mallogory snickered as we stepped up to the front door.

Unlocking the door, I pushed it open and stepped inside. “Have fun you two?”

Spark sat on the couch, covered in paint and glitter, holding his legs to himself as Shayla sat on the floor in front of him, wearing her little Super Saiyan outfit I made her. Somehow she colored her mane yellow, that’ll be wonderful trying to fix later.

DBZ was playing at full blast on the TV as she stared at it in awe, a bowl of oatmeal in front of her with her chewing on the spoon absentmindedly.

“Ah Spark, you used the good silverware. You gotta use the ones labeled ‘Shayla’ otherwise she’ll just eat it,” Mallogory said as she took the spoon from Shayla and went to the kitchen to get one of hers.

“I was not in control…” Spark muttered, looking shell shocked.

“Yeah, she’s a little hoof full, isn’t she?” I laughed, watching my daughter stand up and start screaming just like the character on the TV was doing. “YEP! LITTLE HOOF FULL!”

“You lied to me,” Spark said, rocking back and forth. “You said it wouldn’t be that bad. You said she WASN’T a hoof full…”

“Did I? Oops, sorry, Kid,” I chuckled, sitting down on the messy couch with him as Mallogory returned with a spoon made for Shayla and shoved it into the oatmeal.

Shayla fell back on her flank and began to messily eat the oatmeal as she kept her eyes on the TV.

“She’s a monster…” he muttered, getting a laugh out of us.

“She’s our little monster,” I chuckled, reaching out with my back hoof and rubbing her back.

Shayla turned to us and blinked a few times. “Spark!”

I sat up, eye wide in shock, then I groaned, “You’re fucking kidding me! Her first word is spark?! Not mommy?! That’s bullshit!”

Acting like she knew exactly what she did, she turned back to the TV, going back to a blank stare as she sat there unmoving.

“She’s a little asshole,” Mallogory said with a smile. “So she really is our daughter.”

“She was supposed to say mommy first,” I muttered as I sat back next to the shell-shocked Spark.

The TV show switched to commercial break, causing Shayla to jump up and slither away as she disappeared into the hallway.

“There she goes,” I chuckle as I get up and start cleaning up the food she left behind.

“Nothing good happens during a commercial break…” Spark muttered, like he’d seen some horrors.

“She just likes to play, Spark,” I say as I go to the kitchen and start washing out the bowl. “Just don’t let her out of the house.”

“She got out for an hour at one point…” he said, hugging himself harder.

“She what?!” I screamed as I ran for her bedroom.

“Spark! You weren’t supposed to let her out!” Mallogory said in a panic.

“OH MY FUCK!” I yelped as I entered her room to find at least twenty dead critters all over the floor. Squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, two ducks, and another cat.

Shayla just smiled up at me proudly as she stood in the middle of her trophies, chewing on the leg of a rabbit.

“Oh shit!” Mallogory said from behind me as she saw the mess. “That’s a lot more than usual.”

“Fluttershy is going to kill us,” I say as I reach down and try to take the leg from her, but she growls and fights me for it.

I lift the leg into the air as she holds onto it with her mouth, giving me a death glare. “What do we do here?”

“Restrain her in the living room, I’ll clean this up,” Mallogory said as I began to walk down the hall with her still hanging onto the rabbit's leg.

“Spark, get the little purple sleeping bag over there, and put her in it,” I said carefully, keeping my eyes locked to hers.

“Uh…” he said, looking lost.

“Spark, this is urgent. Your Sensei needs you,” I say as my daughter starts to look around. I give her a little shake, causing her eyes to snap back to me. “Yeah, that’s right, keep those eyes locked on mommy.”

Thankfully, Spark came up behind her and slid the sleeping bag up her and zipped it closed, leaving only her face exposed. I sat her down in front of the TV and held her nose, causing her to let go of the rabbit's leg.

She began to thrash about in the sleeping bag, but the commercial came to an end, the angry man coming back on the screen, causing her to stop fighting and return her attention to the screen.

“Is this… child abuse?” Spark asked as he watched me start cleaning up the living room.

“Spark, one day you’ll have kids and you’ll understand,” I chuckled, putting shredded toys into a trash bag. “And trust me, this is not child abuse. She’s happy right now, aren’t ya, Shayla.”

She grunted in response, a happy glazed over stare on her face as she watched her TV show.

“See? Happy foal,” I laughed as I got another trash bag.

“There’s so many dead creatures in here!” Mallogory yelled from the nursery.

I just kind of smiled at Spark as he looked a bit scared. “You good though?”

“No, I’ll never be good again,” he replied evenly. “This was the scariest night of my life, and I’ve been kidnapped before. TWICE!”

“But you did awesome!” I say, giving him a thumbs up. “Well, other than letting her run rampant around the town for an hour. But other than that, you did good!”

“I don’t think I could do this again,” he admitted as he stepped towards the door.

“Spark!” Shayla screamed, laughing as she did.

“Come on,” I groaned. “Spark is harder to say than mommy! I’d take mama! Come on, sweetie!”

“SPARK!” she squealed, laughing like a little psycho.

“Bullshit,” I muttered, then looked at Spark. “Well, you’re kind of stuck now. Can you really abandon her and never watch her again? Look at that cute little face.”

We both looked at her as she gave us a toothy grin with crazy eyes.

“... I think I’ll manage,” Spark said with a shudder as he took another step for the door.

“All jokes aside, thank you, Spark,” I say, walking over and giving him a quick hug. “I know I tricked you somewhat, but Mallo and I really needed this night out. So, I really do owe you big time, kid.”

“I’ll make sure to collect that when I need it,” he said as he opened the door, giving me a half smile. “I guess if I’m being honest, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Spark!” she yelled from behind us, followed by the most demonic laugh I’ve ever heard.

“I want you to know you have the most terrifying kid I’ve ever seen,” he said, causing me to laugh.

“Trust me, I know, and I love her for it!”

He smiles and turns to leave, taking to the air quickly.

Closing the door, I cross my legs as I look at the little hellion laying on the floor. “Did you have to torture the nice kid?”

She just giggled in response and went back to staring at the TV.

“Of course you did,” I sigh as I walk to the nursery to find Mallogory filling up another bag of animal parts.

“Do you ever wonder if we’re raising a future psychopathic murder?” she asks as she puts another squirrel's head into the bag.

“I mean, have you met her mothers?” I asked, a sly smile on my face.

She chuckles at this. “To be fair, most Kejtdra kids are a bit violent in their younger years, so this is pretty normal. To an extent. We’ll just have to keep steering her in the right direction.”

“That I can do,” I say as I hear the sound of a garbage can being knocked over.

My eye widens as I sprint down the hallway, “Shayla no!”

Last week of school

Chapter 58

June 10th 12 A.B.

“With Summer Vacation starting in ten days, that means your time to sign up for summer programs is coming to a close! Come to the library during free period to sign up for a few before it’s too late!” the office clerk said over the school's P.A. system, sounding way too excited, as usual.

Spark flipped the page in his book, staying focused on his reading while everyone else ran around the classroom laughing and forming groups, talking about what they’re going to do during the summer.

“What about you Spark?!” one of his classmates asked as three of them stopped by his desk. “Next year is our last year of highschool! So this is the last summer for all of us, doing anything special?!”

With a sheepish smile, he looks at the three kids propped up on his desk as they stare at him expectantly. “Well, probably spend time at Viper Claw training for the tournament in December.”

“Boring!” one of them laughed as they moved onto another kid, asking them the same question.

He just shrugged as he went back to reading.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Free period, come to the library guys!” the clerk exclaimed over the intercom as the bell rang for the period to start.

Spark walked down the hallway, ignoring all the kids around him as he headed for the gym, his favorite place to go be alone as the kids in there always ignore him as they play their sports games.

As he walked by a classroom, he saw fifteen colts and fillies sitting on desks laughing loudly, all of them wearing Wolverine Kamea jackets.

He quickly walked by, not wanting to be noticed by them right now. They’d made it most of the school year without clashing, so he didn’t want to ruin it now.

Making his way quickly towards the gym, he pushed open the double doors. A frown appeared on his face as he saw the bleachers were mostly packed, which was new, since most kids went outside during free periods.

The sound of lightning, perfectly timed for that moment, gave him his answer as to why they were here and not outside.

Sighing loudly, he walked to one of the bleachers and climbed up to the middle, finding an empty spot to set up camp to finish enjoying his book.

About five minutes of peace passed as he read and the kids in the gym went about their normal activities.

But the sounds of the doors blowing open loudly got everyone's attention as a colt ran into the middle of the gym in a panic, yelling for help as five colts chased after him. They were all wearing the jackets of Wolverine Kamae, bringing a frown to Spark’s face.

As the colt, who was one of the younger members of Viper Claw named Ezeria, ran for the other side of the gym, another Wolverine Kamae colt jumped from the bleachers and ran out to intercept him, knocking him down as he slammed into him.

The six colts surrounded him, yelling insults at him as they advanced inward on Ezeria as he curled up in a ball on the ground.

“Hey!” Spark yelled suddenly, startling everyone around him as he propelled himself from his seat and landed in the middle of the group, standing over Ezeria. “What are you guys doing?! He’s a middle schooler, you’re highschoolers!”

“Spark,” one of them scowled. “Step back, this little asshole insulted my mother.”

“How?” Spark asked, glaring back at the colt.

“I heard him laugh when I told the guys about my Mom's drinking problem!” he growled, the others agreeing with him.

“I told you, I was laughing at a joke Mango Loco told, not your Mom. I didn’t even hear you guys!” Ezeria exclaimed out from under Spark.

“Shut up!” one of the colts snapped.

“Move Spark, this has nothing to do with your little Dojo, this is between us and that runt,” the lead colt growled.

“Yeah, not going to do that,” Spark said evenly as he flared his wings and stood on his hindlegs.

“Oh no guys! He’s doing the thing!” one of them yelled in fake terror as they all started laughing.

“Back down,” Spark said calmly, heart pounding.

“No,” the lead colt said as one of them dashed towards Spark.

With amazing speed, Spark spun on the approaching kid and slammed a back leg forward, hitting the kid under the jaw and dropping him immediately.

The others all rushed forward at once after seeing this.

Dodging and weaving, he somewhat easily evaded all of their attacks as he danced through them, not attacking as he focused on defense. As he reached the outside of the group, he grabbed one of them by the tail and twisted his body hard, sending the kid flying away as Spark continued his spin and slammed a hoof into another colt's face.

One of them bucked him in the chest, but all he did was stagger back as he blocked another hit from a different kid. He threw an upper cut at one, but they blocked it as he used his wings to dive over the kid and land behind another, slamming his head into his back hard as he sent that kid flying into two others.

The lead colt ran into him and the two began to throw punches and kicks at each other, but neither landed a blow as they both blocked and deflected each other's attacks.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw one sprinting at him, so instead of blocking he grabbed the hoof of the lead colt and jerked him hard to the side, sending him tumbling into the charging colt.

While they where busy trying to get untangled, Spark propelled himself forward and slid under one of the other colts as he tried to move in on Ezeria. With a buck, he sent the kid high into the air.

Twisting his body and rolling hard to the side, he grabbed another kid as he tried to react to Spark’s sporadic movements, and with a roar, threw him upwards as hard as he could. This caused the two kids he’d knocked into the air to collide with a loud thud, causing both of them to fly a bit higher.

“Whoa…” one of the colts muttered as he looked up, not seeing Spark slam into his side and grab hold of him by his mane and tail. With a scream, he too was thrown up after the two now falling colts.

The third one slammed into them, sending all three flying away from each other like a bowling ball hitting pits. As they fell to the ground, he rushed forward and jumped into the air, slamming a knee into the lead colt as he slowly stood, knocking him out as he landed on the other side of them.

The last colt, who was now trapped under the lead colt, looked around in a panic, then went limp, playing dead.

Breathing heavily, Spark looked around, seeing he’d taken out all six of them.

“Holy Celestia, Spark…” Ezeria said in amazement as he sat there on the ground, eyes wide.

Spark just smiled sheepishly as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His eyes and everyone else's in the gym snapped to the double doors where Mr. Bleak stood, a cup of coffee in his hoof as he stared wide eyed at the scene before him.

He looked like he was in shock as he blinked, then he shook his head and took a sip of coffee, “Erm, yes, good coffee.”

The gym doors burst open on the other side of the room as twenty Wolverine Kamae kids ran in, all yelling in anger.

“Enough!” Mr. Bleak roared, causing everyone to come to a stop. “Every single pony not wearing a Martial Arts jacket or not associated with a Dojo, leave now.”

As all the kids got up and quickly left from the bleachers, a few more teachers ran into the gym, having heard there was a fight. All they saw was Spark standing there with six groaning kids around him.

“Oh boy,” Spark muttered, already knowing his Mom would be called for this one.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Fighting in school?!” Twilight yelled as she paced in front of Spark as he sat there, twiddling his hooves. “Scamp promised me you would only partake in your Martial Arts in her Dojo! Not in school! SPARK, you have to think of your future! You can NOT be kicked out of school!”

“I know, Mom,” Spark said softly, looking at his Dad, who stood off to the side with an awkward look on his face. Kara the phoenix was hiding behind him as they watched Twilight yell at the poor kid.

She rubbed her face in annoyance as she paced in front of him, “that’s it. I told you I had a zero tolerance policy for this! No more Viper Claw!”

“No, Mom!” Spark yelled in a panic as he jumped up, eyes wide. “I was defending Ezeria! They were going to hurt him!”

“He’s in Viper Claw too!” She yelled back at him, “he should be able to defend himself! He shouldn’t need you to throw away your future for him!”

“Mom!” Spark yelled, but she cut him off.

“You’re lucky Mr. Bleak is the principal, otherwise you’d be expelled! In school suspension is a blessing to what you could have gotten!”

“Mom please!” He begged loudly, looking to his Dad for support, but Lance just grimaced in response. “Please! Sensei Scamp has helped me so much! I’m able to focus better at school, and I’m not as worried about getting hurt!”

She growled a bit as she stomped around some more, “Spark, you got into a FIGHT! At SCHOOL! I’m not going to let that slide! I do not want you anywhere near Viper Claw anymore!”

“Twilight,” Lance finally said, getting her glare directed to him. “This is the one and only fight he’s been in since he was a young colt, and from what Mr. Bleak told us, the other kids started it. Can’t we cut him some slack?”

“Cutting him some slack is exactly what causes this kind of behavior!” she roared, causing him to flinch away and Kara to fly to another room.

“I’m just saying, Scamp has been a good influence on him, somehow. Do you really want to take that away?”

She paced some more, mumbling to herself. After a Moment, she turned to Spark, “if I find out you got into another fight in school, then that’s it! Do you hear me?!”

“Yes, Mom,” he replied carefully. “Does this mean I can stay in Viper Claw?”

“For now!” she snapped, walking out of the room. “Just be safe!”

With Twilight gone, Lance and Spark let out sighs of relief and looked at each other.

“Six kids?” Lance asked, a proud look on his face.

“Yeah,” Spark said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

“By yourself, with no injuries? Spark, that’s amazing!” Lance said, beaming with pride.

Spark perked up, a wide smile on his face, “Thanks, Dad!”

Lance walked over to the door leading out of his room, glancing back at him, “tell Scamp thank you for me next time you see her.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Come on, ya little fucker!” I growled as I tried to open the plastic case holding my food. I couldn’t seem to get my claw under the stupid lid to pop it open. With an annoyed groan, I slammed it down on my desk. “Screw it, I’ll starve!”

Shayla, who was currently climbing all over the walls of my office, suddenly jumped onto the desk and attacked the plastic container with her teeth. With a crunch and a pop, she ripped the lid free and jumped away with the top in her teeth, leaving the container for me.

“Shit, thanks, sweetie,” I chuckled as I pulled out a spoon and began to eat the contents as Shayla enjoyed her new toy while it lasted.

“Such a cute kid,” I heard a voice say from the doorway.

My head snapped up as I saw Vicar stepping into the room, a wide smile on his face.

I frowned as Shayla rolled onto all fours and growled up at him. “What do you want?”

He smiled at me as the pony named Psalm walked in, holding a squirming foal the same age as Shayla. “Two things, I think it's time you two meet my son, Domitor.”

This caused me to raise an eyebrow, “What? She was at least six months behind me with her pregnancy, how the hell is that kid that big?”

“Magic,” Vicar smirked. “Progressed the pregnancy along so that he was born the same day as your kid. So now they’re on par, as intended. Psalm, let Domitor down, now.”

The tired mare put the colt down and he stood up and pounced towards Shayla, the two squaring up as they growled at each other angrily.

“Bad idea,” I say as I get up and go around my desk, grabbing my daughter as she fights to get at the little colt. “My daughter is dangerous, she’ll shred that kid alive.”

“No she won’t,” Vicar chuckled as he gave the kid a kick, knocking him over, causing me to reach for the little colt. But the little guy just jumped back up and continued to growl at Shayla in my grasp. “Domitor is just as sturdy as her now. Isn't the magic of this land amazing?”

I frowned at him with a bit of anger behind my eye, “you’re kidding me, right? You did NOT pump this kid full of magic just to make them a rival to my daughter!”

“That’s exactly what I did,” Vicar said calmly as he reached out with a leg and dragged the small colt back to the mare. “Take him, now.”

She reached down and picked up the fighting colt as she left the room, leaving Vicar smiling at me.

“You’re sick and twisted,” I growled. “How could you do that to a foal!”

“He’s not hurt,” he laughed, “if anything, he’s better than he’d ever of been otherwise! Pony magic is just amazing!”

“Get out,” I snapped as my daughter hissed at him.

“Not yet, I still have more business with you, Dojo business,” he said, his smile never leaving his face. “Your student Spark just hurt six of my students, in school.”

“What’d your students do to provoke him?” I asked, my glare only intensifying.

“That doesn’t matter, but what does matter is your student broke the deal we made. No violence till the tournament. That deal is now off, I will no longer hold my students back. If they want to use your students as practice dummies, then I’m not going to stand in their way.”

“You act like my students are helpless,” I retort as Shayla fights against me hard, eyes locked on the tall stallion.

“I guess we’ll just find out, won’t we?” he chuckled as he stepped for the doorway. “We’ll have a rematch soon, ‘Sensei’ Scamp.”

I just cocked an eyebrow at him as he left, laughing like an asshole.

Shayla let out a scream of annoyance as she fought even harder against me, but I held on to her. Vicar was mine to deal with, even though my daughter could easily take him in my opinion.

As I heard the door slam shut, I dropped my daughter, allowing her to run through the office door and slam into the front door, screaming like a little psycho as she scratched at the magically reinforced window of the front door.

I let out a yell of my own, the frustration of the situation pissing me off more and more. Who does that to a kid?!

Returning to my desk, I plop down as I rub my face.

Shayla ran back in the room jumping into my lap and burying her head into my neck as she yawned. “Tired yourself out, huh?” I asked, relieved as it usually took her a lot longer to get sleepy.

Holding her with my paw and hoof, I rocked her to sleep as she snuggled into me.

My mind wondered as I sat there rocking my daughter to sleep.

Vicar was willing to do almost anything to one up me. What was his fucking problem?

Newcomers!

Chapter 59

June 11th 12 A.B.

I stared out of the window at all the new kids that wandered around the Dojo, mingling with my current students.

“Oh boy,” I mumbled, seeing all my students trying to line up, but the new kids kept getting in the way.

Stepping out I yell, “Lines!”

My students quickly got in their spots, but the other kids kept talking.

Shayla jumped out of the office and let out a scream that rattled the mirrors on the walls, causing every kid to jump in horror and look towards us.

With a happy little smile she sat on her flank and looked towards me with an expectant stare.

“That’s my girl!” I praised her as I turned back to the kids. “When I yell LINES you line up! Look at my students! Mimic them! MOVE!”

All of the new kids quickly got into sloppy lines behind my students.

“Alright! I know why a lot of you have joined us today. You saw the fight yesterday between Spark and those kids from Wolverine Kamae. You probably thought that was pretty fucking cool, right?”

A lot of them voiced their agreement.

“Well I’m going to burst your bubble! To get to his level will take MONTHS of work and dedication. It’ll be hard, but I promise all of you if you stick with Viper Claw, you’ll be on his level one day!” I yell, getting unsure looks from the kids.

“Any questions?!” I bellow, causing them to flinch back a bit.

One raises their hoof. I didn’t know them, but they had a strange haircut.

“Speak, Hairdo!” I yell, causing the filly in question to frown.

“I checked on Wolverine Kamae yesterday, they promise to have you in fighting form in a week. But you’re telling us it’ll take months.”

I eyed the filly, “here at Viper Claw, we do not take shortcuts! Wolverine Kamae can make that promise because they start combat training day one! But they’re sloppy! You’ve seen how they fared against one of my students! SIX! SIX Wolverine Kamea students lost to ONE Viper Claw student! That alone should speak volumes of the quality of Viper Claw!”

“But, can we use weapons?” another asked suddenly.

Pointing a hoof at the pony, I glare, “No speaking out of term!” Then I groaned loudly, “What is the obsession with training with weapons?! Here at Viper Claw we train the basics first, then we move on to the more advanced techniques. There’s no need to worry about weapons right now! You’re kids, you don’t need to know how to use weapons!”

Almost every single one of the new kids began to walk for the doors.

“STOP!” I bellow, causing all of them to come to a stop. “If you stay, I can promise you will not regret it! I will turn you into an amazing fighter who can handle anything life throws at you! If you leave, Wolverine Kamae will just ruin you! They take nothing but shortcuts, and that’s not how any of this should work!”

“Yeah, but, they got weapons,” a kid yelled, followed by all of the kids leaving.

Two stayed though, taking their place in the lines.

I gave a nod to the two who stayed and began to walk the lines. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. Most of those kids clearly are in love with the idea of being stronger… and weapons apparently. But we don’t need them!”

Shayla let out a scream, jumping up and down.

“Yeah!” I yell, “we are Viper Claw! Quality over quantity!”

“Hai!” they all yelled in unison.

“Pair up! Groups of three” I bellow. “Nose Ring, help get our two new students acquainted with how we do things here!”

“Yes, Sensei!” she yelled as everyone stepped back and began to pair up.

“I want everyone to spar using last week's techniques! Two on one, take turns. GO!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I don’t know if I want to do this,” Jelly Bean muttered as her group of friends ran for the Dojo’s doors.

“You saw the fight yesterday! That was the coolest thing ever!” her friend Yolonda exclaimed.

“Yeah! Plus the Sensei is supposed to be a badass!” Belmah said with an excited smile as they neared the doors.

“I don’t like fighting though…” Jelly Bean mumbled, but her friends didn’t listen as they all ran through the doors, followed by a reluctant Jelly Bean.

“This is not what I was expecting,” Yolonda said as they all looked around.

“I think it looks cool!” Belmah yelled as they saw what appeared to be the Sensei walking towards them.

“Hello, ladies, welcome to Wolverine Kamae!” Vicar said with a wide smile as he waved them in. “Come, let’s get you all set up!”

Then his eyes landed on Jelly Bean, “Ah! Greg’s daughter, Jelly bean! It is wonderful to see you decided to join us!”

“I’m still not sure…” she muttered quietly.

“Nonsense! You’ll love it here!” he exclaimed as he ushered them further into the building as students all around them spared and trained, yelling loudly as they did so.

“Ollie, take those two and get them started. I’m going to help young Jelly Bean here.”

“Yes, sir!” She yelled as she took the two fillies away.

Jelly Bean felt awkward now that her friends were gone.

“What are you interested in learning, Jelly Bean?” He asked, her reflection staring back at her in his sunglasses.

“I dunno,” she admitted, looking away from him. “I don’t like fighting.”

“Don’t you want to be able to defend your dad if someone tries to hurt him?” He suddenly says, causing her to look at him in confusion.

“But my Dad is in a wheelchair now, no one would try and hurt him. And everyone loves him! He’s a hero!” She exclaimed in a passionate voice.

“Exactly,” Vicar said as he stood above her, his smile fading to a look of concern. “What if his enemies come back? Who will protect him then? He’s weak and without magic now, anyone could hurt him now.”

“But…” she said, looking a bit tearful, “Dad’s a hero! He defeated his enemies!”

“But what if he didn’t, what if they return?” He pressed.

“Then Lance and Scamp will save him!” She yelled, tears running down her face.

“What if they can’t?” He counters. “It will come down to you! You need to know how to fend off evil doers who mean to do your family harm!” With a wave of his hoof, he smiles proudly at her, “that is the purpose of Wolverine Kamae! To prepare the youth to take on the threats of the future!”

Jelly Bean wiped her face and looked around, “does it have to be me? My baby brother probably will like fighting more than me.”

“Those who do not wish for conflict are exactly the ones who excel at it,” he says, picking up and holding out a black Gi for her. “Take up the mantle and protect your family.”

She looked very unsure, but she reluctantly reached out and grabbed the Gi.

“Excellent. Put the Gi on and go to Ollie, she will help you and your friends get started.”

Jelly Bean slowly trudged along as she walked towards the olive mare and her two friends.

Vicar just smirked as he turned and headed for his office.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I thought you’d join those pussies over at Viper Claw,” Butch said as he stood over Jelly Bean as she sat on her flank resting after a few exercises.

She didn’t respond to him, just stared at her bottle of water.

“Hey, we’re on the same side, don’t act like an asshole!” He exclaimed in annoyance.

“I don’t want to be here,” she replies softly.

This caused Butch to frown, “then get the fuck out! We don’t want a foal like you here anyway!”

“Butch,” Ollie scowled as she stepped up to them. “We’ve spoken on this; do not bully newcomers. If you feel the need, then challenge them. No words, only actions.”

“Yes, Sensei Ollie,” Butch said with a bow as he glared at the young filly. “I’m not fighting a baby.”

“Then return to your work,” she said as she stepped up next to Jelly Bean.

As he left, Ollie gave the small filly a glare. “Stand up.”

Jelly Bean slowly stood up and turned to face the large mare.

“You’re weak, both in mind and body,” she said sharply, causing Jelly Bean’s head to lower. “But you don’t have to be. You’re actively making the choice to be weak. But if you allow yourself, you’ll be a top contender of this Dojo.”

“How?” She asked as she looked up at the mare. “The thought of hurting others makes me feel sick.”

“That’s a sickness deep inside of you. You are very capable, we just have to unlock the true you. If you’ll allow me, I’ll personally make sure you become someone others fear.”

“Like bad guys?” She asked, looking a little hopeful.

A smile graced the mare's lips, “yeah, like bad guys.” She placed a hoof on the fillies shoulder, “Ms Psalm excels at helping others reach their true potential faster. Do you want to meet her?”

Jelly Bean looked a bit unsure, but gave a nod.

“Follow me then,” she said as she led the young filly towards one of the ground offices.

Upon stepping in, Jelly Bean was met with an angry colt running around destroying the office. His dark coat caused him to blend into the dimly lit office, only his orange mane revealed his whereabouts as he zoomed around.

“Psalm! Control that thing!” Ollie hissed, then collected herself. “Erm, we have another student who needs her potential unlocked.”

The dark colored mare laying on the couch rolled over and stared at them with baggy eyes. “Okay.”

“Step up to her, Jelly Bean,” Ollie said sternly.

Nervously she stepped forward, but before she reached the mare, a tiny gator crawled out from under the couch and blinked at her with its docile eyes.

“Aw, we have a little gator like him at home,” she giggled as she reached out and gave the little guy a few head scratches. He seemed to enjoy it as he tapped his back leg in joy at the head scratches. “You look just like Gummy!”

“Jelly Bean, leave Jerry alone, we have work to do,” Ollie said sternly from behind her.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she gave the baby gator another head pat as she stepped past him and up to the tired mare. “Hi.”

“Yeah,” the mare drawled as she leaned forward and touched her horn to the fillies head. Her horn began to glow brightly as she cast a spell.

Jelly Bean felt something inside of her expand, like she’d just gained access to something she didn’t know she had.

“There,” the mare sighed as she turned over and faced the couch cushions again.

The little colt jumped on her a few times then jumped off, yelling like a monster as he did so. The mare simply did not react.

Backing up, Jelly Bean left the office as Ollie closed the door. The mare smiled down at the little filly.

“Now, we can start making real progress! Come with me,” she said as she led the filly back to the training mats.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Repeat!” I yelled as I restarted the technique from the beginning. The lines up students resumed their previous stances as I slowly performed the technique again as they followed along.

Beside me my daughter also tried to mimic my movements, with little success, but she was trying. Her shredded chew toy hung from her mouth as she tried her hardest to copy me.

Momma’s little warrior!

After running them through it a few times, I came to a stop, standing up straight. “Halt!” Everyone stopped moving and went to full attention. “Good work today! Tomorrow we will work further on this technique, and if you’re all able, add a few more steps. Dismissed!”

As I turned and walked for my office, my daughter sprinted ahead of me and dove through the door. Upon entering I found her attacking the arm of the couch again.

“Shayla, down,” I said sternly as I walked to my desk. She listened, but jumped forward and tackled a duffel bag. Ripping it open she climbed inside of it, her little wannabe evil eyes staring at me from the rip in the bag.

“Terrifying,” I said to her as I sat down and began checking my new computer for any notifications or updates.

“Sensei Scamp,” Spark said as he walked into the room.

“Yes, kiddo?” I asked, not looking up as he walked further into the room. “Oh, watch out.”

“Is she-“ he began but the little heathen let out a war cry as she burst from the bag and landed on his back, grabbing his ears in both claws as she screamed in victory. “Ah, yeah, she is on the hunt again.”

“What’d you need?” I ask, cracking a smile as I worked.

“I was wondering,” he began as Shayla pulled on his ears, trying to make him walk where she wants. He yelped a bit as he let her control where he walked. “If you wanted to come to dinner at my house tonight. Mom and Dad are wanting to catch up apparently.”

I chuckled as I watched my daughter lead him in circles, “sure. Mallogory will be busy, but I’ll be there with Shayla.”

“Great!” He exclaimed as she kicked his side, causing him to start running around the office as she laughed like a maniac. “Okay please help!”

“Shayla, Goku is on!” I yell as I pull up a video on the laptop and turn it to face her. The character on the screen was beating the snot out of a pink dude.

“Goku!” She screamed as she jumped from his back and landed on the desk, eyes now glued to the screen.

“Oh great, her second word is Goku,” I say as I sit back defeated, rubbing my face. “I just want to be acknowledged as momma! Is that so much to ask for, sweetie?!”

She looked at me and pointed at the screen, “Spark Goku!”

“I surrender,” I exhale and sink lower in the chair. “Yeah, Spark, tell them I’ll be there.”

He chuckles as he gives a bow and leaves the office.

Shayla puts her face against the screen as she watched the fighting.

“You can’t possibly be able to see anything that close,” I say, only getting a grunt in response.

“I guess whatever makes you happy,” I chuckle as I pull out my phone to text Greg, only to see a message telling me his daughter joined Wolverine Kamae out of nowhere.

That hurts a bit, as I thought for sure she’d join my Dojo. We get along so well! Why’d she choose them over us?

Groaning, I put the phone down and sat back, watching my daughter enjoy herself.

“At least you’ll never betray me, sweetie,” I say, getting a sweet smile from her as she starts to say something. I leaned forward, excited that this might be the moment.

She belches loudly, followed by her little demonic laughter as she goes back to watching the screen.

“That was cruel,” I mumbled as I sat back, crossing my legs with a huff. She just smiled in absolute joy.

Dinner with the Greenfields'

Chapter 60

“Scamp! It’s so good to see you!” Twilight said as she opened the door for me as I fought to keep Shayla in my grip, the little hellspawn growling and thrashing about as she tried to get free.

“Oh yeah! Good to see you, Twilight!” I said through gritted teeth as my daughter hit me repeatedly in the face with the back of her fist.

“Wow, she’s a lively little filly tonight isn’t she?” She chuckled as she allowed me to step into the house.

I force a laugh as she finally head butts me in the snout, causing me to lose my grip on her. She hit the ground and took off sprinting up the stairs leading to the second floor.

“You don’t have any small animals, do you?” I ask with a sheepish smile.

“Just Kara, but she can handle herself… oh and Louie’s staying here right now,” Twilight said with a smile as she walked through the living room heading for the kitchen.

“Oh,” I say, looking upstairs. “… they should be fine.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Spark sat on his bed video chatting with Starlight, his longtime marefriend who had moved to Manehatten a few years back.

“I heard it was thirty colts,” she teased as she smirked at him as he rolled his eyes.

“It was six, your friends are feeding you lies,” he said back, chuckling as he cracked a soda open and took a drink.

She giggled as she fixed her hot pink mane with white streaks in it, tying it back so it would stop falling in front of her white face. “I don’t know, I think it’s kind of hot to beat thirty colts all on your own.”

“It was thirty six actually,” he says with a smirk as they both giggle at one another.

His door creaked open slightly, causing him to look up, but nobody walked in. “Huh…”

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“My door opened a bit,” he leaned forward and looked at the floor. “Louie? You in here?”

He heard something skittering under his bed, causing his eyes to go wide as he heard Scamp talking down stairs.

“Oh no… but this is my safe space!” he yelped sitting up and pulling his legs to his body as Starlight stared at him with a worried look.

“Eh, Spark?”

“She’s here,” he said as his eyes darted all over his room, jumping at every shadow.

“Who’s there?” Starlight asked, starting to look panicked.

“A demon,” he whispered as he leaned down close to the screen. “Starlight, remember the little filly I told you about? My Sensei’s kid?”

“Yeah? You said she’s a little monster who loves tormenting you,” she said, smirking. “She’s in your room, isn’t she?”

“Yes!” he hissed.

She started to laugh, but the video feed started to glitch, then cut out completely.

“Starlight?!” he whispered as he refreshed the app, only for it to display no internet connection. Looking to the internet modem on his desk, his eyes went wide as he saw the wires leading to the wall had been chewed through. “Oh my Celestia, she’s learning…”

A bark came from the doorway as Louie stuck his little dog head around the corner, looking annoyed as his little computer device dangled from his mouth.

“Louie run!” Spark hissed at him, but Louie just pointed at the modem and growled, wanting to know why the internet went out.

Then he cocked his head as he saw two little eyes staring at him from under the bed.

“Louie, run!” Spark yelled as he saw the little blur of Shayla dash out from under the bed.

As she neared the stunned Louie, Spark landed on top of her with a laundry basket. The little filly went feral as she slammed into the walls around her, screaming bloody murder as she did so.

“Louie, you gotta get out of here! She eats small animals!” Spark yelled, trying to get him to run, but he just raised an eyebrow at him. “Small animals like you!”

Louie’s eyes went wide as a claw cut a hole in the basket and a little wide eye peered out at him, followed by the creepiest laugh he’d ever heard. As she began to tear the hole open, he took off running, yelping like a scared puppy.

“NO!” Spark yelled as she broke out and he tried to grab her tail, but she was too slippery as she slid through his grasp and took off after the fleeing old dog.

“Shayla! NO! Bad lizard pony!” he yelled as he chased after them.

Louie tried to run down the stairs, but she landed in front of him as he was halfway down them, causing him to run back up the stairs. As she gave chase, Spark jumped in front of her and blocked her path.

She narrowed her eyes as she jumped onto the wall and ran along it at top speed. As she neared him, she pounced off of it and slammed into his face, sending him flying back into the wall, smashing through the wood and falling into the bathroom beyond it.

“How are you so strong?!” he yelled as he began to try and drag himself out of the mess of wood and beams.

Meanwhile, Louie was hiding in a pile of laundry, trying to control his breathing. The light in the room was off, which he was thankful for.

Outside of his little pile, he saw the little demon stalk into the room, sniffing at the air with her snout as the light from the hallway poured in around her.

Louie shifted a bit, causing her head to snap towards him, her little eyes seeming to glow in the darkness as a little smile appeared on her face.

A sock fell over his peep hole, causing him to lose sight of her, but when he made another hole to see out of, she was gone. This only caused his breathing to pick up as he knew she knew where he was.

Should he stay? Should he risk it and run? What was the right answer?!

His mind was made up for him as something dived into the pile with him, biting down onto his tail. He let out a high pitched yelp and exploded out of the pile of laundry, sending clothes flying in all directions.

As he ran, he felt her dragging behind him as she held onto his tail.

He barked hysterically as he sprinted down the hall, just as Spark freed himself from all the debris of the wall he’d been thrown through.

“To me, Louie!” he yelled as Louie sprinted straight at him. As the little dog ran between his legs, he reached down and snatched the little ravenous filly, causing her to finally let go of the poor dog's tail.

She screamed with rage as she fought against him, but he did his best to hold her to himself.

Louie stood behind him, barking loudly and pointing to his now bald tail.

“I’m sorry, Louie!” Spark yelled as he fought against the impossibly strong filly. “I thought they’d keep her downstairs when they were here!”

She suddenly let out a war cry and head butted him in the snout, and pushed off of him, kicking him in the jaw hard enough to knock him out.

With a kick, she launched herself off of the collapsing Spark and landed on the wall, attaching herself with her claws. She then twisted her neck to look at the small dog, licking her lips as she stared at him.

Louie whimpered as he began to back up slowly. Then the little filly began to climb along the wall, heading for the roof and flying across it towards him.

Yelping like mad, he ran for Sparks room and pushed the door closed, just as she slammed into it at the ceiling.

He backed up from the door as she screamed in rage on the other side. She than began to slam into the door, causing it to creak with each hit.

Looking around in a panic, he saw Spark’s phone and ran to it, navigating through the menu till he found Lance’s number. Hitting Call, he waited as it rang.

“Everything alright up there, Spark?” Lance asked over the phone.

Louie began to frantically bark into the phone, the door to the room starting to crack.

“I bet, Louie!” Lance laughed. “Just do me a favor, tone it down please.”

Barking more desperately, he tried to portray that they needed help. But Lance just laughed and hung up the phone, just as a large crack shot up the door.

Whimpering loudly, Louie scanned the room for anything that could save him, but anything that looked useful was way out of his reach.

With a final crash, the door split down the middle and the little demon spawn blew through it, landing in the middle of the room with a devilish grin on her little face. Her eyes locked onto Louie immediately.

She stalked towards him as he backed up, till his butt hit the wall. With nowhere left to go, he glared at the evil filly and lowered himself as he began to growl at her as viciously as he could.

“What is going on up here?!” Twilight called out as she saw the destruction in the hallway. “Spark?!”

Then she stepped up to the destroyed door, looking extremely pissed.

“That is enough! You three are playing too rough! Spark is unconscious and you’ve destroyed my house!”

Louie began to bark frantically to her as Shayla turned to face her, still lowered in a pouncing stance.

“Young filly!” Twilight said sternly as she stepped through the split in half door. “I don’t know how things work at your house, but here, in MY HOUSE, we abide by MY rules! You can not destroy everything you see in MY HOUSE!”

Shayla just hissed at her as her tail twitched around. Louie began to inch around her, wanting to get out of the room.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she watched the little filly glare up at her. “Don’t even think about it.”

A sly grin graced the fillies mouth as she took a single step towards Twilight.

Narrowing her eyes, her horn began to glow. “I may not be your mother, but I’m not going to let you bully me or my kids in my own house!”

With a psycho level laugh, she dashed forward as Twilight's horn flashed.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Earlier

“Thanks for inviting me over you two,” I said as I sat down at the dining room table.

“Well it’s been a while since you’ve been over, Scamp,” Lance said as he messed with his computer.

“Lance, no devices at the table!” Twilight said as she levitated out all the food she’d prepared, placing it all down on the table. “I made extra for you, Scamp,” she said with a wide smile as she took her own seat.

“Oh, you didn’t have too!” I exclaimed as I took a fork in my left paw and began to eat like a normal pony, and not like I usually do.

“It was no problem,” she said with a beaming smile. “Lance! Computer off the table!”

He frowned and picked it up and placed it aside. “Well the internet just went out, so I was going to put it down anyway.”

She rolled her eyes at him as they started eating as well.

“So, how's things been between you and this Vicar character,” Twilight asked politely.

I shrug a bit, “I don’t know to be honest. It’s weird, he has like a weird obsession with me, and seems to know a little too much about all of us.”

“I looked into him a bit,” Lance said as he ate. “Very hard to get anything about his past, but what I do know is he’s putting a lot of money into funding all kinds of brand new projects around Equestria. Like helping Manehattan improve their power grids, and helping the school systems around the country with their funding. He’s all over the place, like he’s trying to be seen as the most generous pony alive.”

“Well it’s a sham,” I mutter as loud barking could be heard upstairs. “I should go check on them.”

“No no, let them play,” Twilight chuckled.

“Yeah, Shayla’s kind of playing is why I’m worried,” I said as I started to stand up, but she waved for me to sit back down.

A loud crash was suddenly heard, followed by even more barking.

“Spark’s a big boy, he can handle her. He’s babysat her three times so far, so trust him,” she stated, smiling as she ate.

As the barking stopped, I frowned, “Twilight, Shayla is a… very special little filly. Very very aggressive to others. She gets along with Spark, but he’s not the one I’m worried about. Louie may not be safe up there with her.”

Loud yelps of fear could be heard now, causing Twilight’s smile to falter.

“Lance, what do you think?” she asked as she turned to him.

He looked up from his food, looking like he hadn’t been paying attention. “I think we do what Twilight is saying we do.”

“It’s settled then,” she said with a smile as she went back to eating.

I frowned at Lance as he looked at me, blinking in confusion.

“What are we talking about?”

“Anyway!” Twilight said as the sounds of something being slammed into could be heard from upstairs. “Outside of all of this Dojo nonsense, what are you and Mallogory planning to do over the summer?”

“Well… nothing really,” I admitted as Lance’s phone began to ring.

He pulled it out and raised an eyebrow as he answered it, “Everything alright up there, Spark?”

Loud barking could be heard over the phone and from upstairs.

Lance just chuckled as he rolled his eyes. “I bet, Louie!” He laughed, getting a glare from Twilight. He cleared his throat as he put the phone back to his ear, “Just do me a favor, tone it down please.”

Twilight nodded with a wide smile as Louie continued to bark into the phone. Lance just chuckled and hung up.

“I never know what he’s trying to say,” he said as he went back to eating. The sounds upstairs only getting more aggressive.

“I really should go check on them,” I say, standing up again.

But Twilight sighs and stands up, gesturing for me to sit down. “I’ll go check on them if it’ll make you feel better.”

I nod and sit down, “it would help, thank you.”

Above us, a very loud crash was heard, causing her to start heading for the stairs.

I sighed as I went back to eating as Lance chuckled.

“What?” I asked, looking at him.

“Nothing,” he replied as he put a fork full of food in his mouth. “I’m just enjoying the moment is all.”

I roll my eyes as we hear Twilight start yelling above us.

“Back to Vicar,” Lance said as we listened to all the yelling above us. “Did you know Jelly Bean joined his Dojo today?”

“Yeah, Greg told me,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t get it. She’s such a good filly, why would she join those assholes?”

“Well I’ve spoken to her myself,” he said as it sounded like a warzone above us, with small explosions and stuff being thrown around. The house shook hard a few times, but we didn’t react too much. “She said he’s actually a really nice guy, to his students at least. And Greg said she’s more confident now.”

“More confident? After a single class? That’s not how that works,” I say with a frown as I hear the war cries of Shayla, followed by the house shaking even harder, stuff falling off of the walls around us.

“I couldn’t get anymore out of her, and she’s just so happy now, according to Greg. She’s more talkative too, which if you know Jelly Bean, is a big deal,” he said as a beam of magic blew a chunk of the ceiling away above us. I looked up and saw Shayla’s little legs dangling for a second before she pulled herself back up into the room above and screamed angrily. More explosions followed as I heard Twilight yelling obscenities.

“There’s something up with this guy,” I say as I take another bite. “He’s raising his kid just to rival my daughter.”

“I heard about that,” Lance muttered as the house groaned as it shook again, then everything went quiet.

I blinked, waiting for something else to happen, but everything was quiet.

Then I saw Louie walking very carefully into the living room, walking towards us with wide eyes.

“Hey, Lou!” Lance called, causing him to shake his head quickly, looking scared for his life.

Behind him, I saw Shayla’s little head peak out around the corner at the top of the ceiling.

I smiled and held out my legs to her, “Come to mommy, baby!”

She let out a squeal of delight and jumped from the ceiling and flew directly at me. Roughly, she landed in my grasp and cuddled into me, yawning cutely.

“You can fly and say the name of your favorite character and Spark, but you can’t say mommy?! You’re just messing with me at this point!” I said as I rocked her, Lance laughing behind me.

“Momma,” she said softly, causing my eye to go wide.

“Aww! She said-” Lance started, but my wing shot up, silencing him.

“Shut up, don’t ruin this,” I said as a tear formed in my eye. “This is the second greatest moment of my life…”

“Momma,” she said again as she curled up in my grasp.

“Oh fuck yeah,” I whisper as I hold her close, rocking her back and forth.

Louie looked at us with a dumbfounded look as he backed up and ran for the front door.

Spark walked around the corner a moment later, looking completely dazed as he stumbled into the dinning room and collapsed into a chair, staring at me and Shayla with awe.

“You good, son?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We don’t have a second floor anymore,” he said simply, running a hoof through his mane.

“What?!” Lance yelled as Twilight stumbled into view, looking like she’d gone through a war zone, covered in drywall and paint, her mane a complete mess, with scratches all over her face and legs. “Twi?!”

“That kid is not normal…” she said in an exhausted voice as she returned to her seat and collapsed into it, staring at me and the sleeping Shayla with a dumbstruck stare.

“She’s a one of a kind,” I say with a sheepish smile. They just keep staring at me in disbelief. “I mean, I DID warn you and try to go myself.”

Twilight just slumped further into her chair, groaning, “I can’t feel my horn anymore after that…”

Lance looked between all of us, “well, it can’t be that bad up there, right?”

“Lance, I can’t handle your enthusiasm right now,” Twilight groaned, rubbing her face.

“Dad, it’s bad up there,” Spark said as he also slumped down in his chair. “My room is gone…”

I let out a nervous laugh, “I’ll cover any damages.”

Twilight just turned her attention to me, frowning, “no, I’ll handle it. It was my doing. I should have listened to you, but I wanted you to have a relaxing night where you didn’t have to worry about anything.”

I blink at her and then just laugh loudly, almost waking up Shayla as she groans and squirmed for a moment before going back to sleep. “Twilight,” I say quietly, “you don’t need to worry about things like that, I love every day of my life right now. Shayla and Mallogory keep me going, I don’t need others trying to help me relax. If I want to relax,I just go to the Dojo. But you are amazing for thinking of me and trying to help. I just wish my little hell spawn didn’t cause you guys so much trouble.”

Twilight chuckles, giving me a little nod, “she’s not that bad, I guess. Just a young foal who doesn’t know better. But I will say this; she’s way too skilled and knowledgeable for her age. She acted like a competent mare up there earlier.”

“Yeah, she can be like that,” I chuckled, nuzzling her cheek as she grunted and pushed my face away from hers. “Thanks for putting up with us you guys.”

“Hey, you’re family,” Lance said, reaching over and patting my shoulder. “All of you, and we put up with each other,” he smirks, “I mean, you somehow put up with me during the whole Eternal Plains adventure, and I know I wasn’t in the right state of mind a few times there.”

“Trust me, you weren’t easy to put up with,” I say with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes and sat back, “so! What about desert?”

I smile as Shayla jerks and wakes up, sitting up and looking around with wide eyes.

“Oh no,” Twilight said as the little filly smirked and took to the air. “She’s active!”

School house rocked

Chapter 61

June 19th 12 A.B.

“Tomorrow is the last day of the school year! And your last chance to sign up for the summer programs! You need to hurry, sign ups this year have been lacking!” the clerk said over the P.A. system, sounding a bit desperate. “So please head on down!”

Spark closed his locker, looking up and down the halls as everyone mingled about. Since it was the last two days of school, most classes were letting their students do whatever they wanted, so most kids were just wandering the halls.

However Spark wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, as he’d finished his books, and had no desire to start a new one right now.

“Dude, guess who just asked me out,” Lurka said as he stepped up beside Spark.

“Bezmith?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Bezmith!” Lurka exclaimed, ignoring that Spark guessed correctly. “One of her friends came up to me and asked if I was interested, so I said hell yeah! Almost last day of the year and I get myself a marefriend!”

“I knew you had it in you,” Spark joked as they slugged each other in the shoulders. “Are you still coming to classes over the summer? Viper Claw needs everyone to keep up their training.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll keep coming,” Lurka said as he waved him off. “I’m almost caught up to you at this point! Can’t stop now!”

“Sure you are,” he chuckled, rolling his eyes.

The two of them walked through the halls, avoiding the ponies that were running up and down them, cheering and just having fun.

“This place is turning into a madhouse,” Spark commented as they walked up stairs, heading to the second floor.

“Yo!” Lightning yelled as he and Azure Moon walked up to them as they reached the second floor.

“Hey guys!” Lurka yelled, bumping hooves with the other colt.

“We partying up?” Blaze laughed as he and Lilly joined them as well.

“Sweet, Viper Claw party,” Duke Venture yelled as he also joined up with them.

Spark looked around at their little group and chuckled, “I’m not used to seeing all of us together like this outside of class.”

“Yeah, but it feels cool, right? Like we’re a gang!” Lurka said, striking a pose.

“Let’s not call ourselves a gang,” Lilly said as Kelmoon walked up to them.

She smiled as she approached her friends, her mane still covering most of her face. “Hey everyone! Are we doing something?”

“No, we all just kind of got together out of nowhere,” Spark admitted as they continued walking down the hall together as one large group.

A few other kids from Viper Claw joined up with them as they went, all of them just laughing and chatting.

“How’s it feel?!” they heard a filly yell from down the hallway where a crowd was forming.

“Uh oh, someone's about to fight,” Lurka snickered as they made their way down there.

As they neared the group, they could just make out two fillies in the middle, one on the ground cowering and the other standing above her.

“You like bullying?! Well how's it feel to be the one bullied?!” Jelly Bean screamed as she stood over a crying filly, one of the local bullies named Reea Taffy.

“What's going on,” Spark asked one of the kids at the edge of the group.

“Dude, Jelly Bean snapped! Reea Taffy was making fun of her crippled dad and she just got DECKED!” the kid exclaimed, clearly very excited at what he was seeing.

“Deserves her right,” Blaze remarks, growling a bit.

Jelly Bean kicked her in the gut, causing her to cry out in pain. She kicked her again, yelling in anger.

“Enough!” Spark yelled as he pushed his way through the crowd. “You got her, Jelly Bean, no need to hit her while she’s down.”

“Spark?!” Jelly Bean yelped as she saw him, then frowned. “Don’t defend her! She called my Dad a junkie retard!”

“I get it, she needed to get hit for that,” Spark said, holding up his wings to appease her as he walked towards her. “But you become the bad guy when you beat her when she’s down. Be the bigger pony, Jelly. Walk away.”

“No!” she yelled as she kicked the much older pony again, causing her to cry out.

“Jelly Bean, stop!” Spark said as he got between her and the crying Reea Taffy, grabbing the little fillies hoof before she could do anymore damage.

“You’re defending her!” she screamed, eyes flashing with disbelief and anger.

“No, but I can’t let you go down a path like that! Let the school handle her, she’ll be punished for saying something like that! Mr. Bleak will make sure of it!” Spark assured her as he held tight to her hoof as she fought to get away from him and resume her attacks on the downed filly.

“Get your hoof off her!” Star Chaser boomed as he flew into the area and landed by Spark, pulling his hoof off of Jelly Bean.

“Star Chaser,” Spark said in surprise as four other ponies pushed through the crowd behind him, all wearing Wolverine Kamae apparel.

“She’s beat up a bully, you gonna stop that?” Star Chaser asked, eyes narrowing.

Spark frowned as he yanked his hoof away from the other colt. “No, I’m not going to let her beat on an already down pony, no matter how much of a bitch she is.”

“Hey…” Reea Taffy whimpered from the ground.

Star Chaser stepped forward and bumped chest with Spark, “Stay the hell out of Wolverine Kamae business, Viper Claw trash.”

“Back up, buddy!” Blaze yelled as he and the others pushed their way through the crowd, coming to Spark’s aid.

“Ah, a whole lot of Viper Claw trash,” Star Chaser remarked as more Wolverine Kamae members began to come forward from all angles.

“Jelly Bean,” Spark said carefully, “This isn’t like you, you need-”

“Talk to me, not her, she’s doing exactly as she should,” Star Chaser said, bumping chest with him again.

Jelly Bean glared as she took a step back and stood next to a few other members of Wolverine Kamae.

“You just can’t stand that Wolverine Kamae has helped all of us become better ponies,” Star Chaser sneered.

Spark stared into his eyes, “It’s made all of you bullies.”

This did not sit well with Star Chaser as he growled and grabbed Spark by the shirt. With a twist, he broke free of the sudden grab and pushed the royal colt away.

“You dare touch me?!” He screamed as he slammed into Spark, the two exchanging blows as they hit the wall.

All around them erupted into chaos as Wolverine kamae and Viper Claw members clashed together. Screams echoed down the hall as they all began attacking each other, causing the onlookers to start cheering and whip out their phones to record the whole thing.

Spark broke free of Star Chaser’s attacks long enough to jump to his hindlegs and deliver a kick straight to his snout, this sent the royal colt back as two more colts rushed towards him.

With practiced ease, he sidestepped the first colt and slammed an elbow into the other's face. As the first tried to turn on him, he jumped up and slammed his back hoof down on the kids forehead, dropping him as well.

Star Chaser tackled him from behind and lifted him up, slamming him down on the hard floor. As he jumped up and tried to slam a hoof down on Spark’s face, he rolled hard to the side and jumped up to his hooves, catching the royal colt's jaw with a back leg as he came up.

Another colt charged towards him, but he dropped himself and slid under the colt, lifting him up and throwing the poor colt into the wall next to them.

He sees a Viper Claw member slam into Star Chaser, freeing him up to handle some other members of Wolverine Kamae.

Duke Venture was on the defensive as a colt went to town on him, swinging and bucking crazily as he tried to break through the younger colts defenses.

Just as he seemed to be about to lose, Spark slammed into the colt and grabbed his leg. With a heave, he threw him over his shoulder and slammed him straight down onto the ground, following up with a swift kick to the head.

“Whoa! Thanks, Spark!” Duke Venture yelled as he ran and jumped onto the back of a much larger pony.

Spark turned and saw Star Chaser’s horn flash as he teleported behind the kid he was fighting and buck him into a wall. He didn’t see Spark as he dove over and slammed a shoulder into him. As the royal colt slammed into the wall, Spark followed up his body slam with a jab to the gut, causing Star Chaser to let out a gasp.

With a twirl, Spark grabbed him by the neck and threw him as hard as he could over his shoulder and down onto the ground, knocking the fight out of the royal colt.

But he didn’t have time to think as Blitz bucked him in the side hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground.

“Fucker!” Butch yelled as he came out of nowhere and elbow dropped onto Spark’s face.

Five ponies surrounded him as they kicked the downed Spark, all of them going as hard as they could.

“Get off of him!” Lilly yelled as she and three others slammed into the backs of the colts and began to lay into them. This allowed Spark to recover and jump up, slamming his hoof into the jaw of a colt as he came up. With a roar, he spun and performed a quick three hit combo on another colt, causing them to lose the ability to breath for a moment as they dropped to the floor.

Blitz blocked a hit from Lurka and countered with a hit to the face, sending Lurka backwards as Hardhoof tackled him to the ground.

Spark grabbed Blitz in a headlock and squeezed, causing the larger Blitz to panic, but he could do nothing as Spark held tight and slowly put him to sleep. Once he was out, for the moment, Spark sprang up and kicked Hardhoof off of Lurka.

“Thanks!” he yelled as he returned the favor and jumped onto Hardhoof, wailing on him.

The fighting around him was picking up as it seemed to be spilling down the halls and into classrooms. The screaming of attacking ponies only increased as more joined the fray.

His ear twitched as he spun and barely caught the charging form of Star Chaser as his horn almost impaled him. He held the other colt back, both struggling as they fought for control of the other.

Lilly kicked Star Chaser in the back leg, causing him to fall to his knees. Before she could help further, another filly grabbed her and threw her over her shoulder and into a wall.

With Star Chaser down on his knees, Spark was able to gain control and kicked forward, hitting him in the chest. But before he could throw another kick, another colt slammed into his side, sending him sideways into the wall.

The two jumped on him, pelting him with kicks and hooves as he did his best to block the attacks.

He caught the hoof of the other colt and pulled him forward hard, slamming his head into his. As the colt fell, he dove sideways and kicked the falling colt into Star Chaser.

As he recovered from his dive, he jumped forward using his wings to propel himself and slammed into another colt who was fighting Lightning. This allowed Lightning to gain the upper hand and perform a perfect two hit combo to the other colt's face, followed by him grabbing the dazed colt and throwing him over himself into another.

“Badass!” He yelled as he dove into another fight with three other colts.

Spark jumped into the air suddenly just as Star Chaser tried to grab him. As he flew above the other colt, he kicked down hard, hitting him in the back of the head. Finally, the royal colt collapsed, not looking to be getting up anytime soon.

But even with that small victory, he saw they were fighting a losing battle as more and more Wolverine Kamae rushed in to join the fight. Sure a few other Viper Claw had shown up, but they were outnumbered three to one.

Not to mention all the injured and down ponies, most of them Wolverine Kamae, but a good few Viper Claw were down as well.

Letting out an annoyed grunt, he dove forward towards six approaching colts, dodging and weaving his way through them as he countered their attacks with ease. As he came out the other side of them, they all collapsed.

His eyes darted around as he saw each of his friends were fighting more than one opponent, and there was no way he could help them all.

“EVERYONE FREEZE!” a booming voice called out as a magical aura filled the area, causing everyone to stop moving.

Mr. Bleak and four teachers walked into the frozen crowd, looking furious. The horns of the teachers were glowing as they kept up the aura around the students.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Mr. Bleak roared, causing everyone to avert their eyes.

His eyes rested on Spark, who was standing tall on his hindlegs, unconscious and moaning ponies all around him.

“A disagreement got out of hand,” he said simply, causing Mr. Bleak’s eye to twitch.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“From the top! Tell me what happened!” Mr. Bleak roared as he walked along all the kids as they all sat on the floor in the gym.

“I recorded it!” a kid yelled out. “The whole thing!”

“Give me your phone!” Mr. Bleak yelled, causing the kid to run to him and hand over the phone.

He hit play and watched the video, which started right after Jelly Bean hit Reea Taffy the first time. He watched the whole event unfold as Spark jumped in and tried to de-escalate, followed by Star Chaser coming in to defend his friend. Then the fight that followed.

“Hm,” he scowled as he looked out over the crowd of kids. “From what I can see, this was caused by tensions between your two groups.”

He walked around them, seeming to be deep in thought as he walked.

“I’ve made my decision. Wolverine Kamae and Viper Claw are BANNED from the school grounds starting next year. No Martial Arts of any kind will be allowed to be practiced or used on school grounds. There will be no warnings. If this rule is broken, you are expelled on the spot!”

Everyone let out groans at this, but he held up a hoof. “This drama will not be allowed in school next year. I will not have it! We can not have students attacking each other on such a level as this! Little rumbles on the playground were one thing, but this! This was akin to a prison riot!”

The doors to the gym burst open as a teacher led parents into the gym.

“Your parents are here to collect you,” Mr. Bleak said sternly. “As of this moment, the school year is finished.”

Spark turned and saw his Mom stomp into the room, eyes burning with anger as she scanned the room for him. Unluckily for him, he stuck out like a sore thumb with his strips.

“SPARK GREENFIELD!” She roared as she stomped towards him.

“Oh fuck, bye Spark,” Lurka said as his own Mom grabbed him and yanked him away.

“Hi… Mom…” he said sheepishly as her horn glowed just as angrily as her eyes.

They flashed away and reappeared in the Viper Claw Dojo.

“Scamp!” Twilight screamed.

“Yep! Coming!” Scamp yelled from the office as she suddenly burst out into the Training Hall, a toothbrush in her mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t expect… Spark?! What happened to you?!”

He smiled nervously as she looked at all the cuts and bruises on his face and body.

“You’re Martial Arts did this to him!” Twilight screamed as she stomped up to Scamp and squared up with her.

“Eh, I think my Martial Art’s saved him,” Scamp said, raising an eyebrow. “What exactly happened?”

“The entire school erupted into a massive fight between your Dojo and Vicar’s!” Twilight yelled, fuming as she stared down the other mare.

“But why?” she asked, looking at Spark.

“Um…” he began, looking at his Mom.

“Go on, tell us both!” she snapped.

“... Jelly Bean was taking it too far with retaliating against a bully, and I tried to stop her from going too far. But Star Chaser and Wolverine Kamae came in and turned it into a fight. Everyone else just jumped in to help.” He looked between them, “I swear! I didn’t think it’d get this out of hand! I was just trying to do the right thing!”

Twilight clenched her eyes shut, lips trembling.

“Twilight, from what I’ve heard, it sounds like-” Scamp started, but Twilight cut her off.

“No, what it sounds like is the tension between your two Dojo’s is starting to affect the children. That’s it, Scamp, I’m pulling Spark from your classes.”

“What?! Mom, no!” Spark yelled, but she shot him a glare.

“Twilight, that’s not necessary, Spark loves it here. He’s making great-”

“Stop, my mind is made up. It is done,” she stated, stomping her hoof.

“Mom!” Spark yelled, but her horn flashed, sending him away to his room.

“Scamp, I love and respect you, but keep Viper Claw away from my son,” Twilight said evenly, staring into the eye of the other mare.

Scamp stared back, looking very displeased.

Shayla ran out of the back office, looking around. “Spark?” she ran past Twilight and sniffed the ground where he’d been standing. “Spark?!”

“Twilight,” Scamp said carefully. “Taking him out at this point will only hurt him. Both mentally and physically. Wolverine Kamae won’t just let him be after something like today happened. They’ll-”

“No, I’ve said it, and it is done. He is going to stick to studying and will get into a good college after next year. If I have too, I’ll homeschool him. But he will never touch Martial Art’s again. That is final,” she said, her horn flashing, taking her away as well.

Shayla frowned up at Scamp as her lip trembled, “Spark come back?”

Scamp’s shoulders slumped as she picked up her daughter. “I don’t think so, sweetie. But you’ll still see him when he babysits you.”

Her lip trembles even more as she looks around the room.

With a heavy sigh, Scamp puts her tooth brush back in her mouth and walks back into the office.

Let's review

Chapter 62

June 20th 12 A.B.

I ushered my students into the movie theater as I looked back at the empty dark streets, narrowing my eyes as I looked for anything out of place. Satisfied, I followed behind them, pulling up my hood and adjusting my mask a little better so it hid everything but my right eye.

“Do we all have to wear these hoods and masks?” Ezeria asked, scratching at his hidden face.

“We do, it’s part of class today,” I answered as we walked through the lobby and I pushed the doors open to the actual theater.

“I think it’s cool! We look like ninjas!” Kelmoon said, looking a lot more energetic than usual.

“I can’t believe they let you use the movie theater!” Mango Loco yelled as I led them to the middle seats.

“Yep, I know the owner,” I chuckled as I flew up to the projection booth. Not sure how to actually work this thing.

But after looking it over, I realized they used a tablet to control everything. Nifty! And easy to use!

Snatching said tablet, I flew back down to the kids as they all talked amongst themselves. I frowned as I was missing a few, as their parents had pulled them from my Dojo. Spark was among the missing, which weighed heavily on me.

Tapping away at the tablet, I figured out how to turn everything on and dim the lights.

“What are we watching?!” Duke Venture asked as he stared at me with wide eyes.

“Yeah! We’ve never done a Dojo Field trip before! So it has to be an awesome movie!” Flashy Flash exclaimed as I pulled out my computer and connected it to the tablet.

“No movie,” I said as the screen came on and showed my computer screen. Shayla’s happy face appeared on the screen, startling a few kids. My daughter MAY have given a few of them some form of PTSD… they’ll be fine.

“This is a Martial Art’s related field trip,” I say as I open a folder filled with videos I downloaded earlier. “Aright, eyes forward!” I yell as I walk to the front of the seats, right below the screen.

They all looked at me with their heads and faces covered, all looking very excited.

“I just want to start off by saying I am very proud of all of you! I have spent the entire day going over the video’s that’ve been uploaded to the internet regarding the school fight yesterday.” As I said this, they all looked a bit unsure, as I had yet to even mention the fight, since we didn’t have class last night.

“Don’t look so down!” I yelled, pulling my mask down momentarily to show I was smiling. “You all exceeded my expectations! You fought against overwhelming odds and held your own!”

Clicking a video, the screen filled with a chaotic scene of kids slamming into each other and screaming as they attacked one another.

“Pay attention to Mango Loco in this video,” I say as we see her little form rush between the legs of a larger colt and perform a perfect rising uppercut, jumping up and slamming a hoof into the colt's jaw. She followed it up with a spinning back leg, slamming her back hoof into his head and sending him stumbling back into another fight, knocking down a Wolverine Kamae member.

“I’m so awesome!” She screamed as she jumped up and down in excitement.

I let her have her moment as I pause the screen and point a hoof to it, “She dropped a much larger opponent by using her size and agility! Not only that, but she performed her attacks as fluidly as an expert!”

The kids congratulated her as she sat back down, very happy with herself.

I then began to show a video that displayed each kid fighting, pointing out their strengths and any weaknesses I could see. This got the kids all riled up as they got to see themselves fighting and getting critiqued on how to improve.

Then I got to Kelmoon.

“Now this is some cool shit,” I say as I click the video.

On the screen, we watched as Kelmoon was backed into the wall by four colt’s. As one of them attacked her, she blocked their hoof, only to be hit in the face by another. This sent her to the ground as her mane fell out of her face, her eyes were clenched shut. But before they could approach her, her eyes shot open, ablaze with fury!

She suddenly leapt into the nearest colt and head butted him, then using her momentum swung into the next one. What followed was both impressive and hilarious as she never touched the ground again as she kept jumping from kid to kid; punching, kicking, and even biting a few times.

I stood there watching Kelmoon’s little eye widen as she slowly pulled her mane away from her other eye so she could see the screen better.

Once it was over, I paused the video and pointed a hoof at her. “Kelmoon! You are an amazing fighter! You took down four ponies without even touching the ground once! Then you proceeded to take down two more ponies who were ganging up on one of your friends! And this is after just five months!”

She blushed and pulled her mane back over her right eye.

“You do not need to be so timid and scared!” I yelled, slamming a hoof into my chest. “You are a warrior! Just like the rest of us! Own it! Take control of the shit that is holding you back and stand above those who try to belittle you!”

Kelmoon nodded slowly, looking deep in thought.

“Now!” I yell as I click to a different file, “who wants to watch a movie with a shit ton of blood and over the top violence?!”

The kids all cheer as a movie begins to play.

“HEY!” a stallion yelled from above as he stared down at us from the projection booth. “How’d you all get in here?!”

“Uh…” I said as I stared up at the very angry Stallion.

“Stay right there!” he yelled as he disappeared.

“I thought you said you knew the owner?” Duke Venture asked.

“I lied, now flee!” I yelled as I began to wave for them to follow me as I ran for the exit by the screen.

“STOP!” the stallion yelled as I held the door open for the kids as they all ran out of the theater and into the night. I quickly followed, slamming the door and picking up the two slowest kids as I took to the air, flying away as the stallion blew through the door.

Looking back I saw he was not giving chase.

“Sensei Scamp,” Kelmoon asked as I held onto her and Ezeria as I flew above the town, heading for the Dojo.

“Yeah?”

“Did we just do a breaking and entering?” she asked in an innocent voice.

“Oh big time,” I reply as I laugh loudly.

“Oh,” she says, “we’re criminals now… Cool!”

“Wait no, we’re not criminals!” I say as my eye goes wide, realizing I probably shouldn’t put that in her little head.

“Aw…” the two young kids said, looking dejected that we were not in fact criminals.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jelly Bean stood in line with the others as the Head Sensei walked down the stairs wearing his black and gold Gi, his sunglasses glinting in the overhead lights.

She glanced around quickly, seeing all the teachers lined up all around the students, standing at attention. They didn’t have class last night, so this was the first time the Head Sensei would be talking to them as a whole, and they were all nervous.

Every kid had some kind of bruise or bump on them, with a few looking worse than others.

“A fight at school? Against Viper Claw? A Dojo we outnumber three to one in students. And you did NOT win?” Vicar exclaimed, his usually calm demeanor gone as he now stood before them as a completely different pony. “I’ve seen the videos, and I’ve heard first hand accounts. And I’m not happy. NOT HAPPY AT ALL!”

Everyone winced as he walked along the front roll, looking out over them.

“I have given you all the necessary components to win! I’ve trained you, I’ve unlocked your potential! I’ve even helped you overcome personal problems! Just for you to throw it all away and get beat by a bunch of…” he stopped himself and stepped up to Star Chaser.

“Star Chaser, the pride of Wolverine Kamae, beaten by a much weaker pony,” he lifted his head to look at all the kids again. “All of you, beaten by weaker and younger ponies! HOW?!”

“They fought so weirdly,” Blitz said from down the line.

Vicar sprinted down the line and stopped in front of Blitz, putting his face inches above the colt. “They fought weirdly?! That’s your excuse? I’ve trained you to handle ANY opponent, I do not want to hear excuses!”

“We would of won if we hadn’t been stopped,” Star Chaser said, getting the full fury of Vicar back on him.

“It doesn’t matter. To everyone else, we lost. The ‘if’s’ mean nothing. We lost, and that’s all that matters!” he yelled as he stalked down the row of kids.

“Going forward, we’re doubling all classes. It’s summer vacation, so we’re going to extend class by three hours every day until I think you’ve learned your lesson!”

The kids knew better than to groan or voice their opinions, so they all remained quiet.

“Viper Claw has made fools of us, and it's because all of you are weak,” he spat out as he walked towards the stairs.

“No, we lost because they can fight on their hindlegs!” Jelly Bean yelled out suddenly.

Vicar stopped and turned to her, lowering his sunglasses and giving her an intense star that caused her and everyone around her to whimper. He pushed them back up and continued towards the stairs.

As he disappeared into his office, all the students relaxed.

“Those eyes…” a filly muttered, shaking a bit.

“PAIR UP!” one of the stallion teachers, Lemon Tape, yelled, causing all the kids to rush around and get in pairs.

“Prepare to make up for missing yesterday!” Bombee screamed as she stomped towards a few students.

Jelly Bean couldn’t stop shaking as she squared up with another filly. Those eyes would be in her dreams tonight for sure.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is unfair,” Hardhoof growled as the group of students walked down the street, the street lamps casting shadows all around them. “We were going to win that fight if the adults hadn’t interrupted.”

“Yeah, if that fight had happened anywhere else other school, they’d be fucked,” the colt named Opelate said as he kicked a rock into a wall.

Jelly Bean nodded, just as upset. She’d been in the fighting, and had had trouble beating another filly about her age. All because she could move in ways that Jelly Bean couldn’t. She watched the much older kids around her complain about the treatment they were receiving from the Head Sensei.

“What if,” she suddenly says, getting them to all look back at her. “What if we just declare war on them?”

“This isn’t a fantasy book, kid, we need a real solution,” Blitz said with a frown.

She shook her head at him, glaring, “this is a real solution. Every time we see any Viper Claw, we text everyone and we group up and take them down. Make them regret fighting us yesterday.”

The older kids all look at each other, smiles slowly forming on all their faces.

“That’s actually a good idea, kid!” Hardhoof said, slapping her back.

“From now on, it’s open session on Viper Claw trash!” Star Chaser said as the others yelled their agreement.

Jelly Bean smiled widely at her idea being accepted. It felt good to have friends who actually listened to her for once.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I’m home!” Jelly Bean yelled as she walked into the house.

“It’s late, where have you been, honey?!” Pinkie Pie asked as she rushed over and checked over her. “Not hurt are you?!”

“No, Momma,” Jelly Bean said with a touch of annoyance. “I was out with friends playing.”

“Ooo, good!” her Mom said in relief as she hugged her daughter. “Just let us know next time, please! I was so so worried! Especially after what happened yesterday!”

“It’s cool, Momma, I’m okay,” she said as her Mom fixed her mane for her. “Can I go up to my room?”

“Of course!” she said with a wide grin as she pounced to the kitchen. “I’ll fix you something to eat! I’ll bring it to you!”

“Thanks, Momma,” she replied as she walked up the stairs.

“Jelly Belly,” her Dad called to her as she walked past her parents room.

A wide smile spread across her face as she turned and ran into the room, running up next to the bed where her Dad laid. “Hi, Daddy! I thought you’d be asleep!”

“I stayed up waiting for you, silly,” he chuckled as he struggled to move over and patted the bed next to him.

She hopped up in the bed and snuggled into his side.

“Want to tell me about your day?” he asked, a wide smile on his face as he reached up and adjusted his headscarf that covered his broken horn and mane.

At this, she clammed up a bit.

“Jelly Belly?” he asked, giving her a little shake. “All good?”

“No,” she finally admitted. “I went to Wolverine Kamae tonight.”

“Ah,” he said, a small frown on his face. “Didn’t we all agree to not go back there?”

“Dad, it’s helping me!” she exclaimed, but calmed down as she saw his gentle smile. “I like it there. I have friends who don’t push me around and listen to me.” She laid her head back on him, “and I’m learning how to protect you guys.”

“We don’t need protecting, sweetie,” he assured her as he rubbed her back. “We’re all safe now. All the bad guys are gone. Your daddy and his friends made sure of that.”

“But what if you didn’t get all of them?!” she asked in a desperate voice. “I got to be able to protect us!”

He smiled warmly at her as he pulled her into a hug. “Jelly Bean, you are an amazing daughter. I don’t deserve you. I promise, we got all the bad guys. Every single one of them,” he assured her as he held her tight. A look fell over his face as he realized something, but he didn’t say anything. “We got them all.”

“Can I please just stay in Wolverine Kamae?” she begged. “I don’t want to stop going.”

He let out a sigh as he thought it over. “Your Mother won’t like this.”

“Please…” she begged, her lip trembling.

“... I’ll talk with her,” he promised, causing her to hug him again, tighter this time.

“Thanks, Daddy!”

“Now off you go. Your old man needs to sleep,” he said as he patted her back.

Jelly Bean jumped up and zoomed out of the room, looking extremely happy.

Pinkie Pie stepped up to the door just as she ran out, watching her run for her bedroom.

“She’s in a better mood than when I saw her!” she said with a happy grin as she balanced some food on her head.

Greg just smiled at his wife as he gave a nod. As she walked to their daughters room, he shifted himself down under the covers, grunting as he did so.

He frowned as he looked at the wall and his wheelchair that sat against it. He just hoped his daughter would never need any of this training. The only reason he was letting her even do it was because it made her happy, and her happiness was his biggest weakness.

A smile graced his face as he rolled over.

Lines finally crossed

Chapter 63

June 22nd 12 A.B.

“Stop fighting me,” I grumble as Shayla dashes all around in front of me, the foal leash attached to her backpack snapping as she’d run it taunt, yanking me around as she did so. Every time she’d change directions and sprint at full speed to the other side she’d cause me to stumble as I held on tightly with my teeth to the leash.

As we walked down the street, a mare and her kid gave me a disapproving look.

“Don’t judge me!” I snapped as she ran around my front leg and almost caused me to trip over the leash. “Shayla!”

She laughed like a maniac, causing the two judgmental ponies to shy away quickly.

This continued till we neared the forest path that lead to Adry’s and Mr. Bleaks house, which is when Shayla realized where we were going and began to pull me down the path as fast as she could.

The moment we neared the end of the path I saw Mallogory had beaten me there and was talking with Mr. Bleak.

“Late as usual,” she said as we neared, causing me to roll my eye.

“How about next time you are on Shayla duty, hm? See who’s late then!” I say, sticking my tongue out as Roxxy laughed at us from next to Mr. Bleak’s leg.

Shayla let out a happy laugh as she strained against the leash, trying to get to Roxxy.

“Hang on, sweetie,” I said as I pulled her closer and unstrapped the backpack from her. She jumped forward and bounced in front of Roxxy.

Roxxy jumped up and playfully growled at her, causing Shayla to pounce on her. The two rolled around laughing and ‘fighting’ each other, but not actually hurting one another.

“So cute,” I chuckled as the two fillies rolled away from us, and towards Adry as she worked in her garden.

“Back to what we were talking about,” Mr. Bleak said as he looked back to Mallogory. “Your Thorn still has not fully recovered?”

She held up her hand, showing the dull glow coming from her Stomata, “almost not at all. It’s been over a year and I’m still at the same level of recovery as the day it happened.”

“Can it even be fixed?” He asked, rubbing his chin.

“It should fix itself, without me having to do anything,” she replied, looking a bit worried. “In my dimension on my home planet of Eris, it only takes a few months to heal most damage, and a year at most for anything more severe.”

“Hm,” Mr. Bleak said, seeming to be stuck on how to help.

“On Eris our bodies produce Sucro, which is basically what powers our souls, to put it as simply as I can,” she continued, frowning as she looked at her hand. “It's possible my body isn’t able to produce enough Sucro because of the Watcher’s soul breaking attack. So that’s awesome.”

I grimaced a bit as a pained look flashed across her face, “how can we fix it?”

“Well it could be simple,” she says, looking to me, “we’d just have to go to Eris and wait long enough for my Sucro production to recover enough to get me back to normal. Since Sucro naturally occurs in my dimension, it can accumulate in almost anything, so just being there will be enough to heal me and return my Thorn to full power.”

“Well that settles that then,” I say, the two looking at me, “we’re going to Eris to heal you.”

She blinked at me and let out a laugh, “oh! Scamp my love, no, no. We’re not going to Eris.”

This caught me off guard, “What? Why not?”

“It’s dangerous there for one,” she replied with a smile. “Our moon is a literal dead head that is dangerous to look at because it’ll drive you insane and turn you into a monster if you look at it too long. Not only that, the wilderness around the cities are filled with all kinds of creatures and beings called Rust.”

“I think we can handle that,” I say, waving her off.

“Also, to not stand out we’d have to shrink down to around six inches, which is the normal height of my people and most other denizens. Animals are normal sized, so they’re a massive threat if you’re not careful,” she continued, making me frown a bit at being shrunk down that small. “If you’re still thinking we’d be okay, then you need to understand there are threats that are so dangerous I’d never be able to portray just how bad they are.”

I shake my head at her, “honestly I don’t care. If this is the only way to actually fix your Thorn and soul, then I’m willing to risk it.”

She knelt in front of me and placed one hand on my shoulder and cupped my cheek with the other. “Scamp, I love you, and it means everything to me that you’re so determined to help me get back to normal. But I can’t risk losing you. I’ll get better, eventually. There’s no need to rush and put ourselves in danger.”

I place my paw on her hand as she held my cheek, “you also know I’m stubborn as fuck, and that I’m not letting this go.”

“I know,” she said, giving me a kiss, “but good luck with that. The only way to get back into my home dimension is to have a denizen of it willingly guide you there. And I’m not willing to do that, and never will. As much as I’d love to show you and Shayla off to my family, I can’t risk it.”

“The only way to reach your dimension is with the help of a denizen?” Mr. Bleak asked from behind her.

“Yes,” she said, giving me another peck on the snout as she stood up and faced him. “My home dimension is on lockdown for some reason, it’s hidden from all others and is impossible to find. I can return there pretty simply though; all I need is a device that allows dimensional travel and simply by wanting to go there I’ll just know the right inputs.”

“Now that’s neat,” I muttered. “We’re going.”

“Any more questions, Darkest?” She asked, ignoring me.

He started to say something, but the two wrestling fillies slammed into his leg and broke apart, with Shayla rolling in front of Mallogory.

“I want Thorn!” she suddenly yelled, proving she can play fight and listen to the adults at the same time.

“Well now we have to go,” I say, smirking at her. “You gonna say no to that face?”

Shayla took the hint and jumped into a cute little pose, staring up with her big green eyes, lip pouting as she stared at Mallogory.

Mallogory just smiled as she reached down and picked her up, “you can have a Thorn! Here!” She opened her personal pocket dimension and pulled out a candy bar. “A Thorn!”

“A Thorn!” Shayla screamed as she grabbed it and devoured it instantly. “More!”

She pulled out three more, handing them to her as she ate two and jumped down, running to Roxxy. “Take Thorn!” she exclaimed as she shoved the chocolate into the other fillies mouth.

“That’s a dirty trick,” I frown at her as she winks at me.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that day

Duke Venture and Ezeria stepped out of the Hot Topic, wearing fresh jackets with their favorite band’s logos on them.

“Your parents are so awesome!” Ezeria said as he looked down at his new threads.

“Wait till you see the new stuff they’re working on!” Duke Venture replied, smiling widely. “They’re going to-” he was cut off as he ran into Jelly Bean as she was walking by the store.

“Oh, sorry, Jelly Bean,” he said, a bit nervous as she glared at him, her Wolverine Kamae jacket making her look quite intimidating.

“Hm,” she mumbled as she walked past them and walked into the store.

“Dude, I’m a little worried about her,” Ezeria finally said after they’d walked a little bit away from the store. “She used to be a lot nicer, but after that fight at school, she’s been glaring at me whenever my mom takes me to the Mellowed Pie.”

“Yeah, she’s done the same when I’m there, but it’ll be okay. She’s just upset she joined the wrong Dojo,” Duke Venture chuckled as they continued down the block.

But after a few minutes of walking, four Wolverine Kamae colts stepped out of a store and smiled at them.

“Oh no,” Duke Venture said as they turned to go back the way they’d come, but saw Jelly Bean and ten other Wolverine Kamae smiling at them.

“Uh… hey guys,” Ezeria said with a nervous wave.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Spark opened his window slowly as he looked back to his bed where he’d left a decoy of himself sleeping, just in case anyone peaked in on him. Listening closely, he couldn’t hear anyone out in the hall, so he fully opened the window and hovered out quietly, closing it behind him.

Slowly flapping his wings, he raised up to the roof, waiting till he was above the house to take off as usual.

But as his head reached the edge of the roof, he came to a halt, wide eyed as he and his Dad stared at each other in shock.

Lance blinked at him, a cigar in his hoof and a few bottles of alcohol propped up next to him.

Slowly, Lance raised a wing tip to his mouth, shushing Spark. “I didn’t see shit if you didn’t see shit.”

Spark slowly nodded, “I ain’t seeing anything, Dad.”

“Eeyep,” Lance said with a nod as he laid back on the roof, staring up at the night sky.

Taking the hint, Spark flew off as quickly as he could.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as he flew towards town. “Mom would kill Dad if she knew what he was doing,” he said aloud to himself.

After flying for a bit, he finally landed at the doors to the Dojo. Looking inside, he was relieved to see not everyone had arrived yet. Sensei Scamp wasn’t even out yet.

Pushing the door open, everyone turned to see him, all of their faces lighting up as he stepped in.

“Spark!” a few yelled as they rushed to him as he walked onto the training mats.

“Hey guys!” he said excitedly as he slammed hooves with a few of them.

“Spark?” Sensei Scamp said as she appeared in her office doorway. “Your Mom actually let you come back already?”

He smiled sheepishly as he looked at her, “Eh… she doesn’t know I’m here.”

She frowned at him, but then smiled, “well, as far as I know she told you you could be here. Welcome back!”

A sigh of relief escaped his lips, “Thank you, Sensei!”

“LINES!” she roared, causing everyone to rush to their places. She looked at all the kids, counting heads. “We’re still missing three, so till they get here, jumping jacks! Everyone up!”

Everyone stood to their hindlegs and assumed the correct position.

“Begin!” she yelled, causing everyone to start jumping up and down in place, raising and lowering their legs as they did so.

She watched as they went, counting out every ten jumping jacks they performed.

Suddenly, the front doors burst open and two colts stumbled in.

“Halt!” Sensei Scamp yelled as her eye widened, causing everyone to come to a stop. With out another word she rushed through the students and slid up to the two who entered. “Duke Venture?! Ezeria?! What the fuck happened to you two?!”

Everyone turned to see the two young colts badly beaten and shaking violently.

“Wofine kaym,” Ezeria struggled to talk through his swollen jaw.

“They ganged up on us out of nowhere,” Duke Venture said as he tried his hardest to not cry in front of everyone. “We didn’t even do anything this time, just tried to go home to play video games!”

Sensei Scamp’s eye twitched as she stood up and pointed to the locker rooms, “Go get cleaned up. Nose Ring, go get them a medkit from my office and get that swelling down.”

Lilly bowed, “yes, Sensei!” Then rushed to do as she was told as a few others helped the two colts to the locker rooms.

“Sensei Scamp?” Spark asked as he walked up to her, noticing she was shaking a bit.

“Bastard,” she muttered, then looked at him. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. They’re not going to let the school fight go, and are probably going to keep doing shit like this.”

“What do we do?” Spark asked as the kids all looked to her for guidance.

She looked them all over, growling a bit, “I’m going to handle it. But for now, I want all of you to stay in groups of three at all times. More if possible. Avoid any Wolverine Kamae you see for the foreseeable future.”

“That’s hard, I live in a neighborhood full of them,” Blaze said, looking worried.

“I’m sorry, I’ll see what I can do about this,” Sensei Scamp replied, looking to Spark. “You’re in charge till I return.”

“Where are you going?” he asked as she walked for the door.

“To speak with Wolverine Kamae,” she said, stepping outside and slamming the door.

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a rough kick, I slammed the door open, causing a boom to echo through the Dojo.

“Vicar Belletor! Get your ass out here!” I bellowed as I stomped into the Training Hall, all the students and teachers stopping to watch me.

“Scamp! I knew you’d be here tonight!” Vicar exclaimed as he stepped out of his office on the second floor and stood at the top of the stairs, staring out over the Training Hall.

“Your students attacked two of mine tonight, unprovoked!” I yelled, slamming a hoof down.

“Three of them,” he suddenly said, a smile on his face. “The third one, uh what’s his name?”

“Lurka,” the one named Blitz yelled, causing the colts around him to snicker and slam hooves together.

“Yes, Lurka. He’s currently in the hospital I believe,” he said with a chuckle. Then with an even wider smile, he continued, “before you get any ideas, I’ve already spoken with his parents. They’ve declined to press charges against my students. Since their son started it.”

“Yeah, by being a little pussy,” the colt named Butch laughed, causing me to snap my head to them, causing them to fall silent.

I growled as I turned back to Vicar as he stared down at me with those stupid sunglasses, “these are just children! You’re turning them into monsters!”

“I’m turning them into exactly what they need to be to take on the future,” he replied in a rehearsed way, like he’d practiced that line more than once.

“You need to stop this,” I say as I take a step towards him, but all of the teachers take a few steps towards me in response. All ten of them were here.

“You’re technically trespassing right now,” Vicar says confidently. “Any actions we take will be justified. Tread lightly.”

I glared at him and cast my gaze over the students around me. “You are all good kids! Some of you know me personally! Why are you letting them fill your heads with all this aggression!”

A few looked away from me, but most just stared back defiantly, like I was the enemy here.

“Attacking others for no reason is not the way to handle your anger!” I yelled, causing Vicar to laugh loudly.

“Scamp, you’re not welcome here, leave. Now,” Vicar said in a stern tone.

“Not till we deal with this little vendetta your students have with mine!” I yell, pointing a hoof right at him. “This stops now. Call them off, or I’m going to the authorities!”

This just causes him to laugh loudly, then like a switch was thrown, he becomes serious “Do it! In their eyes, you and your kids are the aggressors! Lurka’s parents have solidified that by making their son apologize to my students for starting the fight! Not to mention the school fight! All the videos make it look like your student Spark started it! You have no leg to stand on, pony!”

I blinked at him as he seemed to be seething with rage, which I was not used to seeing.

“There’s no way anyone thinks the way you do!” I snapped back, causing him to slam a hoof into the wall, causing everyone in the room but me to flinch.

“I’m done! I’ve been playing this stupid Dojo game to have some fun, but you’re making it more of an annoyance! Break her, now!” he roared, as his sunglasses fell off as he threw his head around.

My eye went wide as I made direct eye contact with him. “That’s not p-”

Everything went white as one of the teachers seemed to appear before me and slam a hoof right into my good eye.

Then all hell broke loose as all the teachers jumped for me as I tried to ready myself for the sudden attack.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Where is she?!” Mallogory screamed at the receptionist pony as she slammed her claws down on the desk.

“Ma’am?!” the startled nurse yelped, not knowing who she was asking for.

“Are you looking for Scamp?” a doctor who knew her asked as he was rushing by.

“Yes!” Mallogory yelled as he waved for her to follow. “What happened?!”

“It’s complicated,” the doctor said as they rushed through the double doors and down the hall. “An ambulance was called for her and she was found unresponsive at the scene.”

“But is she okay?!” she screamed as they rushed past all the frantic staff.

“I…” he started. “I can’t say.”

“WHAT?!” she bellowed, causing everyone to flee from the area as they ran down the now mostly empty hall.

“I’m… sorry, I don't have enough details to say otherwise,” he stammered as he came to a stop at a door and pushed it open.

Without another word, Mallogory rushed in and let out a pained yelp as she saw Scamp laid out on the bed, tubes and blood bags attached to her. She looked absolutely horrible, like she’d fallen into a rock tumbler. The only things not damaged on her were her two prosthetics, but everything else was not as lucky.

“Who did this?!” Mallogory screamed, wheeling on the doctor.

“I can’t tell you, the police-” the doctor began but was cut off.

“What do you mean you can’t tell me?!” She roared.

“The police know all the details, they’re still here if you-” he began, but was cut off.

“Get them! Right now!” she growled, causing him to quickly run out of the room.

She turned back to Scamp, feeling both absolute anger and sadness at seeing her beloved companion like this.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Useless!” Mallogory roared as she slammed her hands into the table, shattering it to pieces immediately.

She’d spoken to the police, but they informed her that Scamp was the aggressor and had attacked Vicar in his own Dojo. When she pressed them to look into it, they told her it was a simple and shut case. Video footage revealed the whole thing.

They allowed her to watch the footage, and it showed Scamp kick down the door and rush in and start yelling. You can’t hear what is being said, but you can tell it's passionate by her movements. Then suddenly a teacher walked up to her and Scamp jumped on her with no warning. The footage cuts as they did not want to show her the fight itself.

Something was off about the way Scamp moved in the video, like it wasn’t actually her. But when she voiced this opinion, the police told her the video footage was untampered, even though she was talking about Scamp herself not the footage.

Before they left, they told Mallogory that Scamp was lucky; Vicar Belletor pulled a lot of strings and made sure that Scamp would not be charged for tonight. As long as she stayed away from his Dojo going forward.

This all seemed so weird and suspicious to Mallogory. This isn’t how shit like this is supposed to work! Not at all! It’s like this asshole Vicar has a hoof in everything! Manipulating the game to be played by his rules, and his rules alone.

Doing her best to calm down, she looked back to Scamp, and became enraged all over again.

She was going to go down there and-

“Mrs. Beltosh,” Vicar said from the doorway as he stepped into the room.

“You!” she growled as she stepped towards him, her eyes filled with murder. But before she reached him, one of his unicorn teachers stepped around him and flashed their horn, hitting her with a small beam.

She let out another growl as she stumbled back and fell into the chair behind her.

“There, I don’t want you acting rash before we can talk,” he said as she found herself unable to move. That spell did not feel like a unicorns magic. It felt familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“Now,” he continued, pulling up a chair and taking a seat across from her. “I want this to end right here, right now.”

“Oh it’s going to,” she said with narrowed eyes.

“Take me to your home dimension,” he said simply, catching her completely off guard.

“What?” she asked dumbfounded.

“You heard me. I’m making a deal. Take me to your home dimension, and I’ll leave. Never to come back. You and Scamp here can live happily with your daughter, and it’ll be like I never existed,” he said, sitting back with a triumphant smile.

She glared at him, thinking hard on what he was saying. “You think, after what you did tonight, that I’m going to help you?! I don’t care what you offered me, I’m not doing a damn thing you want!”

“I could kill her,” he said simply as the pony with him stepped up to Scamp, pulling out a needle.

“Whoa whoa, stop,” she said evenly, staring daggers at the smiling pony before her. “Why do you want to go to my home dimension?”

“My own reasons,” he chuckled, not revealing anything. “Just agree to this simple request and this all ends now.”

“Fuck you,” she growled as she flickered, screaming in agony as she forced her Thorn to work, and jumped forward, slamming the pony with the needle into the wall. A simple strike to the face knocked them out as she spun on Vicar. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Ah, I was wondering if that Thorn of yours could be used to bypass paralytic effects,” he chuckled as he stood there, not looking worried at all. “Answer me now; do you accept my deal?”

“You’re not very smart,” she said as she stepped towards him.

“Pity. Psalm dear,” he said as the tired looking mare stepped into the room, her baggy eyes staring at Mallogory.

“You’re going to need more than that,” she growled as she neared Vicar, but the dark mare moved faster than Mallogory thought she could. Jumping up and touching her horn to her forehead.

Before she could react, the pony's horn flashed.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mallogory let out a gasp as she sat up in the hospital chair, looking around as she struggled to remember where she was.

As she saw Scamp, she remembered.

She’d been injured after trying to attack Wolverine Kamae because their students were attacking hers.

She grabbed her head, as she had a splitting headache for some reason.

Scamp suddenly let out a groan, causing Mallogory to jump up and stand over her. But she didn’t wake up, just let out ragged breaths.

With a defeated sigh, Mallogory fell back in her chair, unsure of what to do now. Or what to tell their daughter.

Infiltrate

Chapter 64

June 23rd 12 A.B.

Afternoon

“No!” I yelp as I shift and wake myself up, trying to set up as I awake from a nightmare. But I find myself unable to move too much, like I was restrained.

“Let me out!” I growled, eye shooting open as I fought against whatever was holding me down, panic taking over as I fought as hard as I could.

“Ma’am, calm down!” a mare yelled as she rushed to me, putting something cold and wet on my face. Which only caused me to panic and fight more.

“SCAMP!” I heard the most wonderful voice ever call out as Mallogory appeared over me, looking down with relief filled eyes.

“Mallo,” I said, seizing my thrashing as I stared into her eyes.

“That’s better,” the mare muttered as she ran her hooves over me.

“Where am I?” I asked her as she reached down and stroked my cheek gently.

“The hospital. You were stupid last night and got hurt attacking Wolverine Kamae,” she said, frowning a bit.

“I did?” I asked, thinking hard, but coming up with nothing. “I don’t remember doing that…”

“What is the last thing you remember?” the mare who I now know is a nurse asked.

“Uh…” I began, thinking hard. “I just got home from taking the kids to the movies to talk about the school fight yesterday. I laid down and now I’m here.”

“No, that was three days ago,” Mallogory said with worry as she looked at the nurse.

“She’s suffered some serious head injuries. So short term memory loss is actually not that unexpected. It could have been worse. So much worse,” the nurse said as she swapped my IV’s around a bit. “The Doctor was sure she’d be in a coma for a bit, so her waking up right now is a miracle.”

“Scamp’s a tough mare,” Mallogory said, continuing to stroke my face, bringing great comfort to me.

“I attacked Wolverine Kamae?” I asked, not sure why I’d do that.

“Yes,” she answered as the nurse left the room. “I spoke with Spark to get the full story. Apparently they attacked two of your students and you went after them. And for some reason, you threw reason out the window and attacked them!”

I winced as she snapped at me, but she composed herself. “I’m sorry. I’m just… stressed. I haven’t told Shayla yet, and I don’t know if I can.”

“Don’t, let Doc get here and heal me, then we’ll act like this didn’t happen,” I say, but she just frowned at me.

“We can’t act like this never happened. Doc said you should wait a day or more to make sure everything is in place before he heals you. That way you don’t walk away with permanent damage from this. And,” she leans down, glaring, “this rivalry is over. You’ve proven you can’t keep a calm head with them, so we’re done. Vicar has filed a restraining order against you, meaning you can’t go near his Dojo or him.”

“But-” I began, but she cut me off.

“Just please say you agree, for me. For Shayla,” she says, giving me a sad pleading look.

I slump in bed, only able to nod in agreement. She smiles sadly and sits down next to the bed.

All I could do now was stare at the ceiling, confused. This made no sense. I’d never just attack them like she said I did. I’d go talk to them, but not attack them. I’m not that stupid and hot headed! Aren’t I?

First things first though, I need to get better and see if I can recover my lost memories. I have to see them before I can believe I’d do something like that.

Looking at Mallogory, I frowned. She had her eyes closed and was sitting there, looking upset. But as I stared at her, I could faintly see something trailing up from her head. Like black smoke that was so faint, I couldn’t tell if it was actually there.

Something’s going on here. I can feel it. My instincts are usually right on things like this, and right now they were telling me Mallogory was lying to me. But, she wouldn’t do that…

Unless…

Staring at the barely visible black smoke, I gritted my teeth.

Someone did something to her, and something happened to me. Now I just had to figure this out, and I knew where to start.

Vicar.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next day

“I got you, Sensei Scamp!” Spark exclaimed as he helped me stand up from the wheelchair.

“Stop, Spark,” I said as I stood up on my own, my body stiff and still in intense pain. Doc had, against his own wishes, healed me to full. But since I wasn’t apparently ready to be healed, my brain didn’t heal back to normal. So my memories did not recover like I’d hoped they would. Doc confirmed it was due to slight brain damage and not magical interference.

Other than that, I should be good to go.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re wincing as you walk,” he said in concern.

“Yeah, Doc warned me I’d be in pain still after what he did. I should've waited another day, but we don’t have time for that,” I say as I force myself to walk down the street, leaving the hospital behind.

“What’d Mallogory say about this?” he asked as he followed after me.

“She doesn’t know right now,” I say, causing him to groan. “Did you get Nose Ring like I asked?”

“Yeah, she’s at the Dojo,” he said, frowning at me.

“Prefect,” I mutter, wincing as I pull out my phone and check my text, seeing that Moxxie had indeed done what I’d requested. “It’s all coming together.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Holy fuck, Scamp,” Moxxie exclaimed as she saw me. Even though Doc healed my broken body, he left the bruises and cuts, as he said those should heal on their own since healing too much at once could hurt me. I don’t know how, but he’s the magical Yeti with healing magic, so I’ll just listen to him.

“I know, I look terrible,” I say as I see Nose Ring and Kelmoon standing behind her in the middle of the Dojo.

Kelmoon caught me by surprise, as she had changed her mane style. By a lot. She used to have her mane brushed down to hide her birthmark, but now she’d dyed it purple and shaved the sides down pretty short. The rest of her mane was swept back into a messy mullet style. Her birthmark was now on display as a prominent feature of her face, but her confident smile showed her true feelings.

Honestly, she looked bad ass.

“Yeah, that’s my girl!” I exclaimed, getting a blush out of her as she stood tall.

“Sensei Scamp?” Nose Ring asked, looking confused. “Why did you want me to be here?”

“I need a big favor,” I say, taking the device that Moxxie held and stepping up to her.

“Eh, I can try and help,” she said slowly.

“I need to get into Wolverine Kamae myself and find out what happened, but I can’t just walk in there,” I say, holding up the device. “I had Moxxie go to the Eternal Plains and get this item. Its a body swapper.”

Nose Ring’s eyes widened.

“If you’ll agree to it, I need to swap bodies with you so I can infiltrate them. What do you say?”

She blinked dumbly at me, then grimaced, “I don’t know…”

“Nose Ring,” I say as I kneel in front of her. “It has to be you. You’re the oldest filly, and there’s no way I’m swapping bodies with any of the colts.”

She still looked unsure, causing me to sigh.

“Please. Something bad has happened, I think. And I have to find out what. The only way to do that is to go to the place it happened and talk with the witnesses,” I say, begging her.

“Sensei Scamp…” she says, looking at Spark, then back to me. “Okay.”

“Thank you, Lilly,” I say, causing her to smile. Turning to Moxxie, I smile, “got that pain killing bracelet thing you told me about?”

“Yep,” she said as she tossed it to me. I caught the little bracelet with a rune on it. Sliding it up my leg, the pain in my body fell away instantly.

“Oh that’s amazing… I should wear this all the time,” I mumble, relieved the pain was gone.

“Eh, yeah, there’s a drawback. If you wear it more than twenty four hours it’ll cause you to become addicted to it, so we should only wear it for now,” she warned as she crossed her arms.

I frown, but shrug. I just need this so Nose Ring doesn’t feel all this shitty pain while in my body.

“Fair warning, Nose Ring, being me is weird, so don’t freak out,” I say, causing her smile to waver a bit.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I flicked the nose ring as I walked, frowning a bit. I remember when I was young and all about jewelry like this. Nowadays it seems like it’d just get in the way of everything.

Looking forward, I couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle; I’d forgotten what it was like to have two eyes and four natural legs.

The Wolverine Kamae Dojo was just ahead and I could tell they were open. Ever since the school fight they’ve been holding classes from mid afternoon to late at night.

Upon reaching the door, I took a deep breath, not sure if I’m actually capable of pulling this off. But pushing those doubts aside, I stepped through the door.

The sight that greeted me was not what I expected; some of the walls had large holes in them and a lot of the equipment was smashed. All the teachers were walking around covered in injuries, some more severe than others.

I guess I at least did a real number on all of them.

“Viper Claw!” A student yelled out, causing all their heads to snap to me.

I knew this would happen and I still don’t know how to react. “Eh…”

“Hold the hostilities,” Vicar called out as he walked out of one of the ground floor offices. “I told you all we’d start seeing Viper Claw members showing up after what happened to their Sensei.

“Uh… yeah, that’s why I’m here,” I said slowly, all eyes staring daggers at me. “I want to join your Dojo.”

He laughs loudly at this followed by everyone else.

“Did you Sensei not live up to your expectations?” One of the teachers asked with a sneering laugh.

“Erm, no, I want to be on the winning team,” I say lamely.

“We’ll see,” Vicar said evenly. “Everyone, give her a chance. If she’s Wolverine Kamae material, then she’ll prove it.”

I forced myself to bow with respect towards him.

“Excellent. Ollie, this newcomer is joining your group today. Don’t go easy on her.”

The mare smiled through broken teeth, “on it, sir.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

As we were dismissed to take a break, I was the only one not out of breath. I’ll give Nose Ring this, she’s kept up her cardio outside of class. She’s in almost as good of shape as I am, and that’s just downright impressive.

As I stepped over to a water fountain and took a few large gulps, a few fillies stepped up to me. Shit.

I turned to them, ready for anything.

“I’m so happy you finally joined us, Lilly!” The lead filly said, a wide smile on her face. “We can all be friends again!”

I however did not expect this.

“Oh, er… you know me,” I say, watching their reactions. “Just took me some time to realize I was in the wrong Dojo.”

“You gotta show us how to fight on our hindlegs!” One of them exclaimed, looking excited.

“I can try,” I say as I look around. These fillies might be my best bet. “So… what actually happened here?”

“You mean when that crazy mare was here?” The lead filly asked, getting a nod from me. The filly smiles and leaned forward, whispering, “we’re not supposed to talk about it, but it was the most epic fight I’ve ever seen!”

“Yeah!” Another one whispered, “that other Sensei came in here and demanded we stop attacking them, but our Head Sensei put his hoof down and had the teachers attack her!”

“It was amazing!” A different filly exclaimed in a low tone, “Sensei Scamp was fighting everyone at once and was winning! But then the Head Sensei joined the fight and had one of the other teachers start using some kind of magic that allowed him to teleport! She didn’t stand a chance after that!”

“What do you mean teleport?” I pressed.

“Sensei Bombee, the Earth pony over there, she has an awesome special talent apparently! She can teleport or help others teleport! It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

“Do the other teachers have talents like that?” I asked, causing all of them to beam with wide smiles.

“That’s a lot of specific questions you got there,” one of the teachers, Ulystee, suddenly said from behind the fillies. They immediately walked away, leaving just the two of us. “Come on.”

He led me to Vicar’s office, pointing for me to wait outside it.

I frowned as I stood there. There’s a possibility I’ve already been caught or at least got suspicion cast onto myself more than it already was.

But those fillies said an Earth pony was able to use magic that allowed others to teleport. That sounds like Ego, not pony magic…

“Enter,” Ulystee said as he left the office and went down the stairs.

Stepping in, I was greeted by Vicar as he stood looking out one of his windows overlooking the Training Hall.

“I heard you’re asking questions about the attack on my Dojo,” he said without looking at me.

“Yeah, I’m curious,” I said simply, trying not to have an attitude with him.

“As one would be,” he said, turning to me. “I’m assuming you’ve been told the truth by my students, so I’m not going to hide it. The police believe your old Sensei attacked us, but it was the opposite.”

My eye twitched, which he noticed.

“Ah, that angers you? Are you really here to join us? Or has Scamp sent you as a spy?”

“A spy,” I say suddenly, catching him off guard. “That was her intention at least, but all my friends are here, and your teachers actually work us to do better.”

He looked me over, trying to read me. “Hmmm.”

“Look, believe me or not, that’s just the simple truth,” I state.

“Okay then,” he said, stepping up to me. “Then tell me what she hoped to gain by sending you here?”

“She’s lost her memory of the last few days so she wanted me to find out what actually happened,” I reply, causing him to rub his chin.

“Well, you want to prove yourself?” He asked, getting a nod from me. “Then take this video to her and convince her it’s the true events.”

He produced a flash drive and held it out to me.

“What is the video?” I asked.

He smirked at me, “one of my men can shapeshift. So we did a little reenactment for the police.”

This caused my eyes to widen.

“Deliver this and convince her it’s true, and you’ll be a true Wolverine Kamae member,” he said, a charming smile on his face.

I slowly took it from him, “alright, I will.”

“Good girl. Now get to it,” he said, spiny back to his desk.

Bowing, I quickly left the office and then the Dojo itself. Once outside I took off galloping towards my Dojo.

He just revealed that all to me? What is his game here?!

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Was that really wise? Revealing that to her?” Bombee said as she appeared next to Vicar.

“I have this handled, Ghala. Now stay in your lane,” he growled, taking off his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes.

“Sir,” she replied and flashed away.

Vicar stepped up to his window, his reflection staring back at him. “This form is tiring…”

Pressing a button, the windows dimmed as they became one way mirrors and the door locked.

Pulling out a rune, he spoke a few words and his body flashed as he returned to his normal form.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I frowned as the video ended, as it showed exactly what they said. If they hadn’t revealed the truth to me, I’d have probably believed this. My movements looked off, but it was convincing enough.

Nose Ring and Spark looked at me, wide eyed.

“Okay, things are about to get rough,” I say to them. “Nose Ring, you’re staying in Wolverine Kamae for now.”

“What?!” She yelped.

“It’s the only way,” I say as I tap my head. “We’re going inside my mind later so we can review what happened today so you are convincing when you’re there on your own.”

“But I don’t want to go there!” She exclaimed, looking panicked.

“I know,” I said solemnly. “But I can’t do it myself. Vicar is smart, he’ll probably realize it’s me inside of your body. So it has to be you. This is asking a lot, and you can say no, but I’m begging you.”

She bit her lip, but nodded slowly, “I’ll try.”

I sighed in relief, “thank you.”

Spark also looked unsure as he rubbed his neck, “is this really a good idea?”

“No, but it’s the best I can do. I can go to the police but it’ll be my word against his. Plus memories aren’t accepted as evidence in most cases as it can be manipulated with magic.”

“I don’t like this,” he muttered.

“Me neither,” I say, slapping his back. “But buck up, kid. As long as your Mom doesn’t find out about you helping at the Dojo, and Nose Ring here keeps her cover, everything will be alright.”

“Hmm,” he frowned at me.

“Yeah…” I said back, also frowning.

Making a choice

Chapter 66

June 25th 12 A.B.

Afternoon

{Any more progress?}

Shayla rolled around happily in front of me as I sat on the park bench, watching her enjoy herself.

[Fucking complicated! No matter how we approach it, we hit a motherfucking brick wall!]

{Great.}

With a happy scream, my daughter jumped to all fours and sprinted straight at another colt who was playing in a sandbox minding his own business.

“Shayla,” I called after her, causing her to come to a grinding halt, looking back at me with a pout. “No, leave the other kids in peace.”

She let out an annoyed groan and ran for the playground equipment, climbing up a ladder and disappearing into the structure.

{The fuck do you mean ‘despite everything’?}
<... Back to work!>

I let out a sigh as I watched my daughter climb all over the playground equipment, her screams of joy causing the other kids and parents to look a bit nervous.

“Scamp,” I heard from behind me, followed by Mallogory stepping around the bench I sat on and stand before me.

“Hey, Mallo,” I reply with a nervous smile. I hadn’t seen her since last night, and me not going home to sleep probably didn’t help.

“You didn’t come home, then when I call Adry to check on Shayla, she tells me you picked her up. Without letting me know,” she said evenly, looking straight into my eye.

I stared back at her, feeling a light feeling in my chest. “I laid down for a nap… and kinda just slept through the night… Also, I’ve never had to call and let you know when I was spending time with our daughter before, so I’m sorry.”

“Mhm,” she mumbled, crossing her arms. “Scamp, you need to let me know when you just decide to take our daughter out.”

I felt my bad eye twitch as I felt like I was being scolded by my mom. “Mallo, I’ll let ya know going forward, but it’s really not necessarily to worry about-”

“You have fucking brain damage!” she hissed, then composed herself. “Forgive me if I’m a little worried about you just doing whatever you want, but I don’t fully trust you right now.”

“But last night you said-”

“That was last night. Then you didn’t come home, and then took our daughter without telling me. Your decision making recently has been… worrying,” she said, trying not to yell and cause a scene.

“Mallo…” I said in shock, eye wide as I felt a tug in my chest. She’s supposed to always be on my side, but right now she was treating me like…

“Don’t,” she said in a low voice. “Going forward, if you want to run off with Shayla, ask me. I do not want you-.”

“She’s my fucking daughter too!” I suddenly screamed, jumping up and trembling as I stared up at her wide eyes.

Everyone stopped and looked at us.

Then I realized what’d I just done as Mallogory’s face went from shocked, to angry, then to blank.

“Mallo, I’m-”

“I’m going home. Stay at the Dojo or wherever you were last night, I don’t care,” she said coldly as she turned and walked for the playground equipment, grabbing our daughter and walking for the exit to the park.

The entire time, Shayla looked both upset to be leaving, and confused as she looked back at me as I stood stock still by the bench.

“Momma coming?” I barely heard her ask.

“No,” Mallogory said simply as they got out of earshot.

I shook violently as I stumbled back and fell onto the bench, staring after them with an emotionless stare.

<...>
[...]
<...>
[... shit…]

Everyone around me kept staring, judging.

I growled as I shook harder and then exploded as I accidentally slipped into the raging form similar to Breaking Dawn. The bench under me melted as flames erupted from me as I stood up, glaring at everyone around me.

“What the fuck are you all looking at?!”

They all quickly began to move away, taking their kids.

I let out a massive roar of anger and shot into the sky, destroying the ground and melted bench as I did so.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lilly carefully climbed through the tiny window in the fillies bathroom, entering the Wolverine Kamae Dojo before they were open. She’d left this window unlocked the night before, planning to sneak in and… find something. Anything really at this point.

She crept through the bathroom and came to the door, peeking out and seeing no one walking around. Class wouldn’t start for another four hours, so she was hoping no one else was here. A few of the teachers would be, but she was sure she could avoid them.

Being as quiet as she could, she walked for the stairs that lead up to Vicar’s office, sure that anything useful would be in there.

But as she neared the steps, she heard voices in an office doorway on the ground floor. It was laughter. Vicar’s laughter.

Resisting the urge to eavesdrop, she moved for the stairs. But as she neared the door the laughing was coming from, she heard a bit of conversation.

“That’s priceless! Worth all this trouble she’s put us through!” Vicar laughed in a different tone of voice than she was used to hearing.

Stopping, she put her ear up to the door.

“Restart the video, I want to see the look on her face as her family slips away from her!” Vicar roared, followed by the sounds of a video playing. It sounded like it was Sensei Scamp and her Wife talking. But as she listened, she realized it was not just simple talking. Her eyes widened as she listened.

“She’s my fucking daughter too!” she heard her Sensei’s voice scream, followed by the room exploding in laughter.

“Finally! Part one of this plan is showing some promise!” Vicar cheered.

“I thought those two would be harder to come between, but wow! Having that kid of theirs really weakened them!” one of the other teachers yelled, followed by the sounds of the others agreeing.

“Once we’ve made sure she’s been punished sufficiently, we’ll continue with getting into the Kejtdra’s home dimension,” Vicar announced as the video restarted in the background.

“Yeah, payback first! Then we’ll get you a Thorn, boss!”

Lilly listened closely, but something moved behind her. She spun around to see the tired eyes of Psalm looking right at her.

The mare looked at her, then the door, then back to her. “They’ll kill you if they know you heard any of that.”

“I…” Lilly began, but the mare shook her head.

“Let me save you,” she muttered, her horn glowing as she stepped forward and touched it to her forehead.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lilly gasped as she sat up, staring up at the window to the fillies bathroom. She looked around confused, as she felt like something had happened. But she couldn’t place a hoof on it.

Standing up, she tried the window, but a note sat in it.

‘Leave.’

Her eyes went wide as she realized she’d somehow been caught before she even entered the building. Spinning around, she galloped away, not noticing the mare watching her from a second floor window.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I looked at my shaking hoof as I sat on the cloud overlooking the vast forest below me.

[Yeah, I’ve seen your memories. This shit just hurts you in the long run!]

“Oh shut the fuck up,” I mumbled out loud, opening my pocket dimension and looking into it at bottle of alcohol. “I’m not going to drink it, just looking at it makes me feel like I have control of myself…”

Closing the pocket dimension, I looked out over the forest again, deep in thought.

“Hey, Scamp,” I heard someone say from above me as they landed next to me. “I heard what happened.”

Looking to the stallion beside me, I sighed as I leaned into him. “Lance, everything is… falling apart.”

“Yeah, it tends to do that,” he says, putting a wing around me as we sat there. “Want to talk about it?”

“Fuck, no,” I muttered, using my own wing to wipe a tear from my eye. “The image of her walking away with my daughter like that… it's hurting me, Lance.”

“I know,” he said soothingly. “But it's not over, you two are just fighting. Couples do that.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips. “This felt different. We’ve fought before, but this whole business with Vicar has put a lot of strain on our relationship.”

“Then just drop it all,” Lance offers.

“I…” I thought for a moment. After everything he’s put me through, could I just drop it? Just like that? “I can’t, Lance. It’s not who I am. I can’t leave something like this unfinished.”

“At the cost of losing your family though?” he pressed, causing me to close my eye.

“If I can just get the upper hand for a second, I’ll be able to fix everything. Mallogory will understand once it’s all finished.”

“But what if she doesn't? What if this takes so much a toll on you two that she just leaves?”

“She wouldn’t do that…” I muttered, then the image of her walking away with my daughter flashed before me. “... Oh Celestia… I’m sick, Lance. I just can’t live a normal life. Conflict shows its ugly face, and I latch onto it and don’t stop pursuing it till I’ve won. I can’t fucking help myself!”

“Shh, I know what it’s like,” he reassured as he patted my side. “You’re not sick. You’re just not use to everything being peaceful and safe. I was the same way long ago, after the battle that destroyed Ponyville. I couldn’t relax, thinking I had to be ready to fight at a moments notice. But I’m telling you, Scamp,” he said, laying his head on top of mine, “it feels so much better to just let it all go and just… exist. Losing your family is the worst thing that can happen to you.”

I shook a bit as I wrapped my legs around him, hugging him tightly, “I want to let it go! But every time I think about it, I feel so anxious! Like what if I let it go and he hurts someone I care about?!”

“He won’t,” Lance assured me as he let me squeeze the life out of him. “He’s a prick, that’s for sure, but he’s been doing things by the law. I don’t think he’ll attack you unprovoked, otherwise he’ll look like the bad guy. The best way to deal with him is to ignore him.”

“That’s terrible advice,” I replied, wiping my face with my wing again. “But… I don’t want to lose Mallo and Shayla…”

“Just try to move forward, and see how it goes,” he says, “and if things get worse, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Thank you, Lance,” I say, relaxing very slightly into him.

“Yeah,” he says back, staring out at the forest below.

“How’s my two idiots doing?” he asked after a moment, trying to cheer me up.

I frown, “... they grow on you.”

“Told you,” he chuckled as he pulled me into a tighter hug to rival my own.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nighttime

Taking a deep breath, I stepped up to my door.

[Go in there and kick ass!]

[Shut up, Dawn! Go in there and make this conversation your bitch!]

A light chuckle escapes my lips as I push open the door and step inside.

“Mallo?” I call out, seeing no one in the messy living room.

“Scamp?” I heard her call from the back rooms, followed by her coming out of our bedroom. She walked down the hall and stopped in the living room, frowning at me with crossed arms. “I thought I told you to stay at the Dojo tonight.”

“Yeah,” I say, sweating profusely as I stood there under her intense glare. “I’m done. No more Dojo. No more Vicar. Just us and Shayla.”

She didn’t relax her stare as she held it on me. “Just like that? I don’t believe you. You can’t let ANYTHING go.”

“I know,” I conceded, “I never can let anything go, and I’m having trouble letting this whole Vicar thing go. But I’ll do it, for our family. I just don’t want to lose you!”

Her gaze finally softened. “Scamp, if you don’t want to lose us, you have a strange way of showing it.”

“Please, Mallo,” I almost begged. “I’m going to try, I promise. No more drama or conflict, just us. Please.”

She let out a heavy sigh as she sat down on the couch. “I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but I’m going to need to see this to believe it.”

“Of course, that’s fair,” I say back, trembling with emotions.

Rubbing her face, she nodded, “okay, Scamp. I’m going to put my faith in you that this is over.”

“Thank you, Mallo, I won’t-”

“But that’s it. Like I said last night; screw up and lie to me, then it's done. Consider this you making your choice. You say you’ve chosen family, well now you’re going to prove it.”

I gave a shaky nod, “I will prove it.”

Then she sighed again, “you don’t have to stop the Dojo. I know you enjoy teaching the kids to be better, so as long as you stick to doing JUST that, then that’s okay. But no more rivalry, and no more causing problems.”

“But what if Vicar does something on his own? Even if I don’t react to it-”

“Then let him do whatever he wants, he’s harmless if you don’t feed into his attention seeking behavior. This all started because you gave in and let him get into your head. You should have pressed charges when those two attacked you the night you gave birth, but you insisted you could handle it. So accept this is your fault, and we can move forward as a happy family.”

I closed my eye, breathing heavily. “This was… all my fault,” I said slowly, hurting as I did so.

“Good. Sleep out here tonight, I need the night to myself,” she said, standing up and walking back down the hallway.

“I love you, Mallo,” I called after her as she reached our door.

“Love you too,” she said back, stepping into the room

The way she said that didn’t sit well with me, but I didn’t press it.

[Shitily.]

My nerves were shot, but I couldn’t do anything about that as I stumbled to the couch and sat down, breathing raggedly

Author's Note

This was actually hard to write, emotionally. I can write some dark shit, but this was the first time I've actually had to walk away a few times while writing.

Worst kind of pain

Author's Note

Oh, forgot to mention, a few chapters ago when Lance mentioned his Step-brother, my phone autocorrected his name.

Lance's Step brother is named Jeff. Not Jerry.

Worst kind of pain

Chapter 67

July 3rd 12 A.B.

Nighttime

I walked out of my Dojo, locking the doors, my eye twitching a bit. It’d been a long week since I’d talked with Mallogory about everything, and nothing has changed. She’s still acting distant towards me, and I’ve been getting worse and worse as the days go on.

Vicar at least has kept his distance, so that’s good.

However, my students continued to get attacked every day outside of the Dojo, but there was nothing I could do to help them now. If I tried, I could lose everything.

So that just left me feeling completely helpless and stuck. Fighting back and protecting my students could cost me my wife and daughter.

At least Shayla was going about everything like it was normal. She was the only thing keeping me sane and going right now.

[If it makes you feel better, we got yo back!]
{Yeah, thanks, guys.}

Turning, I start walking aimlessly, not really up to going home yet.

As I walked, a flash happened next to me.

“Trouble at home?” an annoying voice asked.

I kept my eyes forward, not having it in me. “What do you want now?”

Vicar chuckled as he kept pace with me. “To make a deal.”

Sighing, I picked up my pace, but he just followed.

“It’s really simple,” he continued, “convince your wife to take me to her home dimension, and that’s it. Nothing else.”

“No,” I say back. “Vicar, I’m done here. I’m ignoring you going forward. I don’t know why you want to go to her dimension, but honestly, I don’t care. Talk to her yourself.”

“I wouldn’t say no, since your daughter could also help get me there,” he said, causing me to stop and whirl around on him, eye ablaze with anger.

“You stay the fuck away from Shayla!”

He just smiled back at me. “Tsk tsk. Don’t get angry with me, I would hate to see you lose your family after all.”

My eye twitches as I turn around and continue walking away.

“This is the simplest request,” he says, walking next to me still. “Mallogory or your daughter will just have to want to take me there, and then I’m out of your hair.”

“Stop mentioning my daughter,” I grumble, shaking as I try to control myself. “Just ask my wife your fucking self. There’s no need for me to do it for you.”

“I’ve tried,” he admitted. “I suggest we do this the easy way. Don’t make me use your daughter, because you will not like the outcome. That I can promi-”

The area around us exploded as I spun and slammed a burning hoof into his face, sending him flying into a closed store next to us, completely destroying it.

I blinked as the air around me popped and hissed with the heat and energy coming off of me.

“Oh shit…”

[-Super fucking bad for us…]

Vicar slowly stepped out of the burning house as it collapsed around him, a wide smile on his face. “Someone can’t control their anger it seems.”

The sounds of shouting could be heard, causing his smile to widen as he suddenly collapsed.

“What happened?!” a mare screamed as she saw me standing there, still in the raging form.

A large crowd was forming as people rushed out of their homes.

“She attacked me…” Vicar yelped as he pathetically struggled to climb to his hooves, but collapsed.

All eyes snapped.

I stared wide eyed back at the crowd, then to the ponies trying to help Vicar.

“He…” I started, but the words failed me as I fell out of the raging form. “He was threatening my family!”

“Scamp!” I heard the angry voice of Mallogory yell as she pushed her way through the crowd, standing tall above all of the ponies. Her eyes were locked onto me.

“No, wait, Mallo, he-”

“Stop,” she roared, now standing between myself and the ponies helping Vicar slowly stand up, his hoof holding his face dramatically like he was seriously hurt. “You promised.”

“He threatened our daughter!” I yelled, but she just growled, glancing at him.

“How?”

“He said he’d use her to get to your home dimension!” I said desperately, catching a smirk on Vicar’s face as he hid it behind his hoof.

“That makes zero sense,” Mallogory said with a frown, now just looking at me. “Vicar, why do you want to go to my dimension?”

He shakily stood, facing us. “I simply asked her to ask you if you would take me to your home dimension for a visit, but she became hostile.”

“No, that-” I started, but Mallogory’s hand came up, stopping me.

“She attacked me when I kept asking,” he finished, sunglasses flashing as the light hit them.

“I don’t care how this started,” she said flatly, then looked at me. “We’ll talk. Later.”

“But-”

“Not here,” she said simply, turning and leaving through the parting crowd.

“I’ll call the police,” someone offered, but Vicar shook his head.

“No, don’t. I’ll handle the cost of the damage she caused, no need to complicate her life further,” he said, getting nods of approval from the crowd, who still glared my way.

[This fucking guy!]

Backing up under their intense glares, I took my leave.

Walking away, tears fell down my face. I’d fucked up, again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stood in Shayla’s room, watching her sleep in her bed. I’d beaten Mallogory here somehow and sent Spark home, not wanting him here when she got here.

Tears streamed down my face as I stared at her peacefully sleeping.

The front door opened, causing my heart to skip a beat.

Stepping out of the room, I saw Mallogory standing in the hallway, arms crossed. She simply pointed to our room.

Once we were in the room, I stood by the bed while she stood by the door.

“You gave me your word,” she said evenly.

I gulped, “yes, I did. But he threatened to use our daughter to get to your home dimension if you refused.”

“Then walk away and tell me, not attack him on the spot!” She yelled, the room shaking. There was no fear of waking our daughter, as the room was magically sound proofed.

“I’m sorry!” I yelled back, tears now pouring out of my good eye. “When he threatened Shayla I just snapped!”

“You said this was over, and that you’d walk away whenever Vicar came around. You barely made it a week, and the first time he talks to you you lose control of yourself! I put my faith in you and you couldn’t even try to keep your promise!”

“No!” I yelled, stomping my hoof. “I have tried! I have been suffering this past week! You’ve barely spoken to me! Mallo, I LOVE you! I promise, I’m-”

“No more promises,” she said, no longer yelling. “Scamp, you made your choice.”

“I chose you and Shayla! I’ve never changed my choice!” I yelped, my heart pounding in my ears.

“Your actions say otherwise. Shayla can not grow up exposed to shit like this,” she said calmly.

“Wait, Mallo, no-” I started as she turned and walked out of the room.

I stood there for a moment, shaking as scenarios raced through my head.

Following after her, I found her packing Shayla's things into a bag.

“What are you doing?” I asked, voice shaking.

“Going to Adry’s for a bit,” she said simply.

“You don’t have to, I’ll stay elsewhere…” I said, not wanting her to take Shayla from our house.

She stood up and looked at me evenly. “Scamp,” she started, like she had something to say, but stopped herself. “No. We’re going to Adry’s so I know where she is when I’m at work. If you want to see her, you have to do it while at Adry’s. You can not take her anywhere.”

Something in me snapped, causing my legs to go weak as I swayed a bit as she went back to packing.

“Mallo, this isn’t necessary..” I muttered, feeling light headed. “Don’t take Shayla away from me like this.”

She looked at me, glaring, “do not fight in front of her right now. Just step back, and wait till we’re gone.”

“No listen,” I say a bit more desperately than I intended. “We can work through this on our own, there’s no need to involve her.” She didn’t respond as she kept packing. “Mallo, I’m sorry, I know I acted like an idiot by attacking him, but he threatened our daughter!”

“And there were better ways to handle that than just attacking him,” she said back, not stopping her packing as she zipped up the bag.

“I know! I know I screwed up! But please! Don’t take Shayla! Just let her sleep and live in blissful ignorance! Please!”

She leaned down and picked up Shayla, who did not wake up as Mallogory turned to face me.

“We’ll talk later, Scamp. When you’ve calmed down.” With that, she walked past me and into the hall, heading for the front door.

My eye twitched.

[Oh fuck! No no no! Scamp, DO NOT!]

Breathing heavily, my head spinning, I jumped out of the room and rocket past Mallo, landing in front of the front door.

“Do not block me in!” She yelled, waking Shayla.

“Do not take my fucking daughter like this!” I yelled back, eye ablaze with passion and anger.

“Are we doing this?” she said, her gaze lowering dangerously. “Are you fucking serious? We’re fucking doing this?!”

“Yeah,” I growled, squaring up with her as I lowered myself to the ground. Then my eye went wide as I stopped myself.

What am I doing?!

Trembling, I slowly stood up as she fumed above me, more angry than I’ve ever seen her.

“MOVE!” she bellowed.

“Momma?” Shayla asked in a confused voice, looking between us.

“Mallo, please don’t do this,” I begged weakly.

“You’ve made this happen!” She yelled back, causing Shayla to flinch. “Now get the fuck out of the way!”

Slowly, I moved aside, followed by her stomping past me. Stopping in the doorway, she looked at me coldly. “I don’t even know you anymore.”

This hit me harder than anything she’d said before.

“Mallo-”

“Stay, Scamp,” she commanded, walking out the door as Shayla began to scream hysterically.

“No! NO!” she wailed, fighting. “We stay!”

And this broke me as I collapsed to the ground, screaming and crying into the carpet.

ooo000<^>000ooo

After midnight

Spark flew down the street, heading for Scamp’s house. He’d just heard from his parents what had happened after class between Scamp and Vicar, and then what happened between her and Mallogory. He knew she’d gone to Adry’s with Shayla, leaving Scamp alone.

And knowing her, he knew she was not doing so good with something like this happening.

He just wished she'd said something when he was there earlier!

Reaching her house, he landed on the doorsteps and banged on the door.

“Sensei Scamp!” he roared, beating on the door. Trying the knob, he found it opened. Rushing in, he found the house a mess, worse than he’d left it earlier that night. The walls were clawed to hell and the furniture was smashed to bits.

Looking around, he found no sign of Scamp, just a few empty bottles of what appeared to be alcohol.

“Oh no…” he muttered, then flew out the door, heading for the Dojo. Hoping she’d be there at least.

But arriving, he found she was not there either. Which only left a few places.

She wouldn’t go to…

As fast as he could, he flew for Wolverine Kamae. But she wasn’t there either, the doors were all locked and there was no sign of her breaking in.

But she sprayed paint all over the building, leaving a lot of curse words and choice words for Vicar.

So where is she?!

Then he saw a smashed bottle a few feet from the door. Looking around, he saw a spray can up the road. Heading for Vicar’s mansion.

“OH NO!” he yelped, flying as fast as he could in that direction.

Luckily, he found Scamp, stumbling along the street.

“Sensei Scamp!” Spark yelled as he landed in front of her, stopping her. “What are you doing?!”

“She took my kid, Spark,” Scamp muttered, heavily intoxicated. “She took my fucking kid, and it’s Vicar’s fault… I’m killing him. I don’t care anymore, I’ve already lost it all.”

“Wait wait,” Spark said, stopping her as she tried to stumble forward again. “No, don’t kill him! If you kill him, then you’re proving Mallogory right! She’ll never let you see Shayla again!”

“FUCK!” Scamp screamed, throwing her bottle held in her wing against the building next to them. “FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!”

Spark jumped forward, wrapping his legs around her neck, holding onto her as she thrashed and kicked, screaming into the night sky. “Scamp, please!”

She couldn’t help herself, she just kept wailing into the night, screaming in deep agonizing pain.

“I can’t do anything right, Spark!” she yelled, facing a complete mess. “I just wanted to live a happy life with my wife and kid, and I couldn’t even do that right! I just had to interact with the conflict that presented itself to me!”

“It…” he stuttered, holding on as she still fought against him. “I-It’s going to be okay!”

“NO!” she yelled, then went limp as a red light flashed over her, causing her to fall onto him.

“Man, is she loud and annoying,” Poppy, one of the teachers of Wolverine Kamae, said as her horn slowly dimmed, having just hit Scamp with a paralyzing beam.

Spark crawled out from under Scamp and jumped over her, getting between her and Poppy. “Hey! Stay back!”

“Kid, get back in your lane,” Poppy laughed as Lemon Tape stepped out of an alleyway like a creepy villain.

“Don’t want to hurt you too, little guy,” he said, smirking. “Just walk away and let us take her.”

Raising up into a fighting stance, he glared at them.

They laughed, but then something heavy landed between the two.

“I highly suggest you two listen to the young man,” Mr. Bleak said calmly. “Unless you want to tussle with us.”

“Yeah, but please choose to tussle with us,” Starch, Mr. Bleak’s grandson, said as he laid on a roof top above them. “It’s been a minute since I’ve got to beat the snot out of someone.”

The two ponies looked at each other, then started backing up. “Boss said to avoid you two. For now. So consider this your lucky day.”

“Consider it a lucky day then,” Mr. Bleak laughed, eyes locked with Lemon Tape’s.

Once they’d slinked back into the shadows from which they’d come, Mr. Bleak sighed.

“Thank you,” Spark said, shaking as he returned to all fours.

“Get her home, Spark,” Mr. Bleak said as Starch jumped from the roof and took to the sky. “We’ll make sure those two stay away.”

Not needing to be told twice, Spark climbed under Scamp and lifted her up, straining heavily. She was a heavy mare!

But he managed as he slowly stomped away.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Next morning

Spark woke up as he heard the sounds of someone stumbling down the hallway.

“Sensei Scamp?”

“Yeah,” came her gruff response as she entered the living room, looking absolutely haggard.

“Um… remember last night?” he asked carefully.

“Yep,” was her only response as she looked at him with dead eyes.

“I-I…” he began, a bit nervous. “I made you breakfast…”

“Thanks, kid,” she muttered, walking along the wall to the kitchen and seeing the plate of food sitting out for her. She ate it slowly, not looking to have the energy he was used to seeing in her with.

“I-”

“Thank, Spark,” she interrupted, food still in her mouth. “I’m a burden though, so head on home. I’ll… see ya later.”

He frowned at her, “No, it’s okay, Scamp. I’m here to help.”

“You’re a good kid, Spark. But I need to be alone right now,” she said back, staring at her remaining food as she pulled out a bottle of alcohol from her pocket dimension.

“Wait, it’s morning, you can’t drink!” he called out, rushing to her side.

“I’m an adult, I get to make the rules,” she muttered, popping the cap off of the drink. “Besides, I don’t want to think right now. Shit hurts.”

“I know it hurts,” Spark said as she raised the bottle, chugging from it. “B-But, you don’t have to drink it away! We can talk about it!”

“You don’t want to hear what I have to say, kid,” she said in a low voice. “Go on, home. Your parents are probably worried.”

“They’ll understand,” he said, taking the bottle from her slowly.

But she just pulled out another and bit through the cap with her teeth, spitting it aside and drinking from it.

“Sensei Scamp!” he yelped, reaching for the new bottle.

“Spark,” she said calmly. “Please. If you want to help, go check on Shayla. She left here in a bad mood, and I’ve been worried about her.”

He looked at her, then gave a nod, “Okay, but please, stop drinking. Please.”

“Yeah,” she responded, taking another swig of the bottle. “I will after this one.”

Not believing her, he left the house, as he didn’t know what else to do for her without angering her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Those Viper Claw morons!” Star Chaser snarled as they all looked at the barely legible words and curses written across their Dojo’s outer walls.

“This is too far!” Blitz growled.

“Yeah! We haven’t touched their Dojo, and they just come here and do this?!” another yelled, just as angry.

Then, with a little sly smirk, Star Chaser turned to everyone. “Want to get them back?”

“Hell yeah!” they all cheered back.

“Then let’s get serious. Tonight, we put an end to Viper Claw!” Star Chaser yelled, followed by everyone else.

“We’ll need mask’s! And torches!”

“Go get it!”

“Fuck yeah!”

“Bye bye Dojo!”

Jelly Bean, who had been all in a moment ago, now looked unsure as everyone around her started to get riled up, talking about doing things she wasn’t comfortable with.

Things come to a head

Chapter 68

July 4th 12 A.B.

Later that day, afternoon

“Yes, Sensei?” Star Chaser asked as he walked into the office.

“Ah, my star pupil,” Vicar exclaimed as he walked over to the young colt and clapped a hoof down on his shoulder. “I heard of your plans for tonight.”

This caused the royal colts eyes to go wide, “Oh, we aren’t going to-”

“I want to give you something to help,” Vicar suddenly said, catching the colt off guard.

“Like what, Sensei?”

A smirk crossed his face as Psalm entered the office behind the colt, holding a strange item. “Has anyone told you about Ego abilities?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Scamp?” Mr. Bleak called as he and his grandson stepped into the house.

“Ew, this place is a mess,” Starch commented, taking note of the bottles laying around the trashed room. Leaning down, taking a sniff, he frowns. “Ah, she’s been day drinking.”

“Wonderful,” Mr. Bleak sighed as they walked further into the house and down to the bedrooms. Opening the door to the master bedroom, they saw nothing but a destroyed bedframe and mattress. “Hm.”

Turning, they opened the nursery, finding the room a mess, but not destroyed like the rest of the house. There, on the little bed, was a passed out Scamp, a bottle held loosely in her paw.

“Oh, well she’s useless passed out like that,” Starch grumbled as Mr. Bleak walked into the room, pulling out a little glass capsule wrapped in cloth. Breaking the glass, turning the cloth a light pink around the center. Holding the Ammonia Inhalant under her snout, she suddenly jerked away and threw the bottle at them.

Mr. Bleak side stepped it, but his grandson did not as it smashed into his face.

“AH SHIT!” he yelped, falling out of the room as he screamed in pain.

“What the fuck?!” Scamp yelled, looking around then at him. Eye wide and breathing heavily. Then she saw the little capsule in his wing. “Smelling salts?! WHY?!”

“You’re up now,” he laughed, then frowned as he held out a pill for her. “Take this, I can’t have you drunk right now.”

She took it and ate it, glaring at him. As the pill worked its magic, she stood up.

“Why are you two here?” the angry mare asked as she walked for the door, stepping over Starch as he pulled glass from his face.

“Because I’ve been looking into all this Dojo business,” Mr. Bleak said as he followed her, ignoring Starch as well. “Especially Vicar Belletor.”

“I don’t care anymore,” she muttered, opening her fridge, just to find everything inside of it destroyed, like the rest of the house. “Great.”

“You should care,” he said, standing in the walkway to the kitchen. “There’s a mind manipulator among his group.”

This stopped her as she turned to him. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he said as Starch stepped up next to him, wiping a bit of blood from his face.

“And most of this town is under their control,” Starch said solemnly.

“Everyone?!” Scamp yelped, eye wide in shock.

“No, not everyone. Lance’s family is immune, and so is one of the kids in Wolverine Kamae.”

“Who?” she asked, taking a seat as the situation hit her.

“Greg’s daughter, Jelly Bean. I thought she was affected in the beginning, but after watching her, I just realized she was just being misled.”

“Which is the manipulator?” she asked evenly, seeming to think of a plan.

“We thought it was the one named Psalm for a long time, but it turns out it's not her. It’s Ollie,” Starch said, getting a nod from his grandfather.

“Yes. We were going to hold off and figure this out without involving you, but after last night, we don’t have a choice now.”

Scamp frowned, eyeing a bottle near her, “yeah, they turned my wife against me. Hey…” she said, starting to smirk, “if we kill this manipulator, would that fix everything?”

“I mean, yes, it would, but I’d rather we figure out what is happening first before going straight for the kill,” Mr. Bleak said, sighing. “I know you want your family back, but we need to play this smart. It’s better to cut the head off the whole snake, and not just the tail.”

She rubbed her face, but nodded.

Mr. Bleak gave a nod as well. “Now Scamp, we have a plan. But it relies on you not leaving this house till tomorrow.”

“What kind of plan?”

Starch cleared his throat, “the kind that’ll bring this all to a head and expose Vicar for what he is. We just can’t mess with anything else right now, and wait.”

“I want to see my daughter,” she said evenly, getting a grimace from both of them.

“I understand, but you just need to wait. If you go out there, there’s a chance Vicar will try and push you further. If he does, and you react, things will slip away and we will lose this one.”

“Well what are you two about to do?” she asked.

“We’re waiting on a spell to finish. Vicar and his crew are not from Equestria, and they are not in their true forms. Normal magic has not revealed their true forms, but we have a solution for this. Just wait for us, can you do that, Scamp?”

She chewed her lip, but nodded.

The two sighed in relief, as they were sure she’d argue with them.

But as they turned, they didn’t see her reach for a half full bottle of liquor.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Easy plan,” Blitz said, getting nods from everyone around him. “Any questions?”

“Yeah, do we really gotta do the first part?” Jelly Bean asked, getting frowns from everyone else.

“It’s payback!” a kid yelled.

“But, it’s criminal,” she countered.

“Jelly Bean, stop being a baby and get on our level,” Yolonda said, patting her back.

“If it makes you feel better, you can go with the others,” Blitz said, not wanting to argue.

“Okay,” was her only response.

“Good! Any more questions? No? Then get to it!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nighttime

Spark sighed as he walked around the house, Shayla on his back, enjoying the ride as she acted like she was riding her own personal horse.

Walking through Adry’s and Mr. Bleak’s decently large house, he had to admit, it was easier to babysit Shayla here. Lots more room to run around and deal with her antics.

Mr. Bleak was… somewhere, and Adry and Mallogory had left to go relax and talk. Honestly, he hated this whole situation between Mallogory and Scamp, but at least Shayla was still young enough not to fully understand everything.

A knock at the door got his attention as he trotted through the house.

Already knowing who it should be, he moved for the door and opened, allowing Lilly and a few other Viper Claw members to come into the house.

“Thanks for coming guys,” Spark said as he ushered them into the house.

“What’s the occasion?” Duke Venture asked as he walked around, looking at the decor of the house.

“To talk about what’s happening with Sensei, duh,” Kelmoon said, getting a nod from Spark.

“Pretty much. Things are getting a bit too serious, and we didn’t have class tonight so we couldn’t talk about it,” Spark said as he led them into the main room of the house, which was another living room.

As they all found a place to set, he took note of who was all here: Azure Moon, Blaze, Duke Venture, Ezeria, Flashy Flash, Kelmoon, Lilly, Lightning, Lurka, Mango Loco, and Nova. That’s not all the kids of Viper Claw, but they were the ones who were there every night without fail.

“Now that we’re all here,” Spark began, Shayla letting out a cry and pulling on his mane. “Eh, one minute.”

He took her to her room and laid her in the crib next to Roxxy, who had gone to sleep hours ago on her own. Shayla rolled over on her and fell asleep instantly.

Returning to his friends, he took up his spot in front of them again. “Anyways, as we all know, Sensei Scamp and her wife have been having some… trouble.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” Ezeria mumbled.

“And it came to a head last night,” he said grimly, getting solemn looks from everyone else. “So, things aren’t looking good right now.”

“Wolverine Kamae has also gotten more aggressive, so that’s not helping things,” Duke Venture added.

“We’re not going to worry about them right now,” Spark said, pacing in front of them. “This meeting is about our plans going forward. Sensei Scamp will probably be out of commission for a bit.”

“I’m sure she’ll give you the keys so we can keep using the Dojo,” Kelmoon offered.

“Maybe, but she could also be using it as a second home if things get bad enough, so we need to figure out a back up, just in case.”

“The park!” Ezeria yelled, getting a few nods.

“Good good, anything else? Anything less public?” Spark asked, looking around.

A knock at the door got his attention, as they weren’t expecting anyone else.

“I got it!” Ezeria yelled, running past Spark and down the little hallway to the front door.

“We could ask around, someone might let us use their-” Nova began, but the sound of a scream was heard as Ezeria came flying down the hallway and into the living room with the rest of them.

“Ezeria?!” Spark yelped, but as he moved to help him, a few other kids stepped out of the hallway, spreading out as they smirked. They all wore the colors of Wolverine Kamae.

“Hello, Spark,” Star Chaser said as he stood at the head of the group, looking absolutely superior as he and his group stared Spark’s down.

The members of Viper Claw jumped up, all shocked at this sudden intrusion.

“Thanks for grouping up, makes this so much easier,” Star Chaser said as he took a step forward, causing everyone else to step forward as well.

“Star Chaser,” Spark said slowly, eyes wide. “What are you doing?!”

“Finishing this,” he said, pointing a hoof at him. “This time there’s no teachers to break up the fight and save you.”

Seeing no way out, Spark and the others lined up, assuming a fighting stance.

“We don’t need to fight,” Spark offered, not wanting to fight.

“Shut up, Stripes,” Blitz laughed.

“Go,” Star Chaser said loudly, causing everyone to surge forward.

ooo000<^>000ooo

[Bro, she’s too drunk to care right now.]
<... this is so sad…>
[Oh it’s so much worse when you know her background story!]

“Shut up,” I groaned, slamming a hoof into my head to shut the voices up. “Just let me…”

I tripped over myself as I walked into the living room, slamming into the shattered couch face first.

[Fucking hell.]

[Yeah! Lance drinks for fun! This is not fun!]

I groan as I sit up, the room spinning around me. “I’m out of alcohol…”

“To the store I go,” I mumbled, trying to stand up.

[Get this mare some keys!]

Someone slammed into the front door, pounding on it and yelling my name.

“What?” I yell back, falling to the side as I tried to get up.

The door opened, since it was never locked, and a filly ran in.

“Jelly Bean!” I laughed, pushing myself back up.

“Scamp! Wolverine Kamae is burning down your Dojo and attacking some of the kids in Viper Claw, right now!” She screamed, panting as she stood in front of me.

I blinked at her for a moment, then my eye went wide, “They’re burning down my Dojo?!”

Trying to get up again, I just slammed face first into the wall.

“Yes! But they’re planning to really hurt the other kids! Star Chaser got something called Ego from Ms. Psalm, and now he’s all strong and scary!”

“Fuck,” I groaned, rolling over and holding up a claw at her. “One moment.” Using the tip of my wing, I shoved it down my throat and then began to vomit all over the wall and floor next to me.

“Oh… ew…” Jelly Bean mumbled, looking away in disgust.

“Yep,” I coughed, standing up and shakily walking to the kitchen, only to find myself lying on the floor again. “I’m out.”

“But they need you!” Jelly Bean yelled, running to me and trying to help me up.

My mind was too far gone at this moment, I couldn’t even get myself into bed in this state.

[Oh fuck, those kids are fucked!]

“They’ll be fine,” I mumbled, losing consciousness.

“No! The big kids want to put them in the hospital! They’re actually going to hurt them!” she yelled, looking panicked.

“Shit…” I muttered, attempting to get up again, and hitting the fridge.

[... Wait, she’s not in her right mind! Dawn, help me here!]

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Oh fuck! It worked!” Break yelled as he took control of Scamp’s body, pushing her mind back like he’d done with Lance many times in the past.

“Scamp?” Jelly Bean asked in a worried tone.

“Oh! Yeah no, I’m Break! I’m kind of in her head right now!” he laughed, causing her to back up. “Wait, I’m going to help! Take me to the kids!”

{Hey… Give me back my body!}

{I don’t give a fuck, I don’t like not having control of myself!}
[I got this, don’t worry!]
{Just grab a pill and take it so I can not be drunk! Then give me control back!}

Jelly Bean watched as Break walked over to the table, pulled out a magic pill and took it, clearing the alcohol from Scamp’s body. But he did not give control back to her.

“Now, to the kids!”

{You asshole!}

ooo000<^>000ooo

Spark slammed through the wall, flying into the next room and landing on a bed.

Groaning, he jumped up as two kids followed him in as Star Chaser walked towards the hole in the wall, laughing.

“How’d you like this Ego? They said it’s the Protagonist Ego, a transferable Ego that apparently only attaches to those it feels is worthy! And look at me! WORTHY!”

Spark dodged to the left as one of the colts reached him, bucking him across the face and knocking him out. The other colt jumped over his friend and began to exchange blows with Spark, but the striped colt's fighting technique was a bit too unorthodox for him to handle.

With a flurry of hooves, Spark dropped the other kid. Stepping over him, he squared back up with Star Chaser.

Their fight had not been going well for him, as no matter what he did, Star Chaser just got stronger and kept having the upper hand.

Behind him, through the hole in the wall, the other members of Viper Claw were doing their best to handle the onslaught, but they were quickly losing the battle.

“Give up yet?” the royal colt asked in a mocking tone.

Spark spat out some blood, glaring back at him. It didn’t matter if he’d gained some strange power, Spark wasn’t going to just back down, especially when the others needed him.

“There’s the Spark I know,” Star Chaser said as the two approached each other slowly. Star Chaser standing tall and proud, and Spark on his hindlegs, hooves at his side as he glared at his childhood friend.

No more games

Chapter 69

With a loud crash, Spark flew through yet another wall, making that the tenth time that's happened since the fight began. Pushing through the pain, he stood backup, dry wall and debris falling off of him as he did so.

“Get it through your peasant head!” Star Chaser yelled as he slammed through the wall, shaking the house. “It doesn’t matter how good at Martial Arts you are, I’ll always be a step ahead of you!”

“I don’t care,” Spark spat out, squaring back up again, not backing down.

“Don’t make me finish this,” the royal colt laughed, striking a confident pose. “Despite everything, I like you, Spark. If only you’d been born a royal like me, then we could have been real friends.”

Spark gritted his teeth, staring at his friend. He was used to overcoming obstacles and climbing mountains, but staring at Star Chaser standing there with a confident smirk, he felt he’d finally come to a wall. Something he could not overcome on his own.

But he had to try.

Raising back up, resuming a fighting stance, the royal colt could only laugh.

“Alright. Let’s end this,” Star Chaser chuckled as he shot forward and slammed into Spark, catching him around the midsection and knocking the breath out of him. With a triumphant cheer, he raised Spark into the air easily and then slammed him down onto the ground.

With speed that was impossible to keep up with, Star Chaser slammed both of his front hooves into Spark’s face, then with a laugh, slammed a back leg into his side, sending him flying through a hole in the wall. Yelping loudly, Spark crashed through three other kids and hit the ground, rolling to a stop in the middle of the main living room.

Coughing, he slowly stood up again.

“Spark! Just keep on keepin’ on!” Star Chaser mocked as he jumped into the room.

Duke Venture tried to move on him, but without even looking at him, Star Chaser threw his hoof to the side and sent the young colt flying away.

“Star Chaser, stop this!” Nova yelled out, her body covered in bruises and cuts from the fighting.

“Stand back, Sister,” Star Chaser said, ignoring her as he advanced on Spark.

“This isn’t you!” She yelled, getting between the heavily injured Spark and her brother.

He just frowned as he came to a stop. “Move, or face me.”

With a sad look, she raised herself up, ready to stand up to her brother, “I don’t want to do this, Star.”

“Me either,” he replied with a scowl as he seemed to teleport as he dashed towards her, slamming a leg into her and sending her flying away.

“Star Chaser,” Spark spat out, wavering as he tried to resume a fighting posture. “She’s right, there’s something wrong with you right now. You’d never hurt your sister!”

But the royal colt just rolled his eyes and dashed forward, going for a finishing attack.

“Everyone fucking stop! NOW!” a gruff voice suddenly yelled out, causing all the fighting to come to a grinding halt as everyone turned to see Sensei Scamp standing a hole in the wall that led outside.

“Sensei!” Spark yelled, relief flooding his body. Then he looked closer, then frowned, “Break?!”

“Yo!” Break called back as he jumped into the room, staring everyone down. “Alright little shits, this is over! Go home, now!”

Star Chaser looked around, then back to Break. “... No.”

“The fuck you say to me, little shit?” he yelled, glaring at the royal colt, narrowing Scamp’s eye.

But Star Chaser just smiled, squaring up with him. “How about you go home? You’re out of your league here, you drunk.”

Break growled and stomped towards him.

“Break no, he’s got an Ego that makes him the strongest in anything he does!” Spark warned, but as Break’s eye looked to him, Star Chaser disappeared. Reappearing as he slammed a leg into Break’s face and sent him flying away.

“I said, you’re out of your league, peasant!” Star Chaser laughed as he landed on his four hooves, looking very proud of himself.

“Sensei!” Lilly yelled as a kid tackled her.

All the other members of Wolverine Kamae followed their lead and resumed attacking the other members of Viper Claw.

“Now, where were we, Spark?” Star Chaser said in a mocking tone as he turned back to the injured colt.

“That’s it,” Scamp muttered as she, now in control of her body again, walked back into the room, eye locked on the royal colt. “You want to play with the adults? Then let’s go!”

“You need to learn to-” Star Chaser started, but barely had time to react as she propelled herself into him and slammed a knee right into his snout.

He let out a panicked squeal as she caught his leg as he started to fly back and pulled him right back into her, slamming a mechanical elbow into his face. In one smooth motion, she spun her body and slammed a leg into his side, knocking the air out of him as he flew towards a wall.

Everyone watched in amazement as she shot past him and let him fly into her, his face hitting her fist as she threw a hard punch right for him as he approached. As the fist connected, his momentum carried him into it, causing him to flip over himself and slam straight into the ground next to Scamp.

With a grunt, she slammed a leg down on his chest, pinning him down.

“Stay down, kid!” she yelled, looking absolutely fed up with everything.

The royal colt however, did not stay down. His eyes flared open and he grabbed her hoof, and to her surprise, threw her straight up.

Flying up to meet her, he slammed a hoof into her as she raised her legs and blocked his hit. The power of his hit was still more than she expected and she crashed into the ceiling. As he tried to follow up with another hit, she twisted and caught him off guard with a sudden back leg to the face.

Then everything exploded as she swapped into her raging form and flew after the tumbling away royal colt.

But something strange happened as he righted himself and began to engage in a exchange of blows with the mare. The two blocked and dodged each other, neither landing a hit. The flames and energy bursting from Scamp seemed to increase as she began to break through his guard and get a few hits to his body and face.

Star Chaser yelled in anger as he pushed back, somehow starting to break through her guard and start returning hits of his own.

As the kids watched, it was clear Star Chaser was slowly gaining the upper hand, no matter how much stronger Scamp got, he just followed.

A massive boom filled the room, blowing the roof off of the building as Star Chaser slammed a hoof right into Scamp’s chest, sending her flying straight into the ground and sending debris, furniture, and kids everywhere.

She elegantly jumped back up, preparing to jump back for him.

“ENOUGH!” a booming voice echoed through the area, shaking the house and causing everyone to cover their ears.

Princess Luna landed in the middle of the room, staring at everyone with appsolute fury.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” She bellowed, looking right at her son as he flew above them, looking stunned.

“I-I-” he started, but her magic flared and he appeared in front of her.

“Jelly Bean told me what you were doing tonight!” she yelled, causing everyone to shy away from the pair. “You let those teachers at Wolverine Kamae give you Ego?! What were you thinking?!”

“I-I…” he stammered, no longer looking like the confident colt he’d been earlier. “I had to! I deserved it!”

Luna flared her nostrils as she looked at all the kids, “I will handle all of you later!” With a flash of her horn, all of the kids of Wolverine Kamae were restrained in hoof cuffs.

Then she looked to Scamp and the kids of Viper Claw. “Are you all okay?”

“No!” Ezeria called out, laying on a pile of other kids as he was unable to move after getting a severe beating.

She frowned as she looked around, then looked at Scamp. “Scamp, Jelly Bean also said-”

“I know,” she said as she returned to her normal form. “I’ll handle it.”

Luna gave a nod, then looked back to the kids around her. “In the meantime, I’ll get Calypso and Doc here to help these children.” Her eyes then landed on her daughter, who was limping into the room, face covered in tears to show she’d been crying.

“Which of these fools hurt you, my darling!” she bellowed, her anger returning to its max.

Nova winced and didn’t say anything, but her eyes flicked to Star Chaser, who looked terrified.

Luna noticed the pony she glanced at, then began to shake as she spoke in a scarily calm voice, “what have you done?”

Scamp began to inch for the door, clearly not wanting to be here for this part.

“Scamp, go do what you must,” Luna suddenly said, her eyes locked on her son.

“Eh, yep, on it,” Scamp replied, flaring her wings and flying out through the missing roof.

As she flew away, Spark finally decided it was time, and he collapsed forward onto his face, unconscious.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I saw it before I was even near my Dojo; the distant glow of a fire.

[Ah, yep, shits fucked alright.]

Letting out a rough sigh, I picked up my speed.

Landing in front of my Dojo, the darkness around me being washed away in flickering flashes, I stared at the massive flames that covered the entire building.

Falling to my flank, I just watched, as there was not a damn thing I could do at this point.

The building groaned and popped as the flames slowly ate away at it. Not long from now, it’d collapse. Till then, I plan to just watch it.

“Sad how you’ve fallen,” Vicar said as he stepped up next to me, staring at the fire as well. “From the hero who stopped the Watcher, to this, just a lonely and sad mare who can only drink away the pain.”

“Yeah, shit sucks,” I say in a bland tone. “You’ve played a good game against me, Vicar. I’ll give you that. Really beat me down to the lowest point in my life, that’s for sure.”

He chuckled, patting my back, “ready to consider the deal?”

“Nah,” I reply, eyes still locked on the flames. “That’ll never happen.”

“Hm,” he muttered, stepping away from me, walking out of my view on my left side. “I’ve never met someone who loves to lose everything over and over again. Bring her back to the mansion.”

{What can you two see?}

{Ah, that’s who I was hoping for. The Mind Manipulator and the one who can Paralyze.}

“You’re not that smart, Vicar,” I say, standing up and turning to face them as he walked past the two ponies.

“Oh?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“Your overconfidence is a weakness,” I smirked as I locked eyes with him. “I know Ollie can manipulate others.”

A look of shock flashed across his face as the sunglasses caught a glare of light.

“Yep, game’s over,” I say as Poppy’s horn flashed and a beam flew for me. I simply side stepped it and shot towards them.

As I neared them, I exploded as I shifted into my raging form and rocketed right for them.

“Ghala! Get Olivia!” he yelped in a panicked voice.

But I was faster as I flew past the olive mare and landed on the ground, sliding as I spun around and made eye contact with Vicar.

He looked completely taken off guard as he stared at me, then he noticed I was covered in blood, and so was he.

Looking to his side, he saw the now headless body of Ollie stumbling about before collapsing to the ground. Black smoke seemed to pour out of her wounds, raising to the sky slowly.

[...]
<...>

“Point, Scamp,” I said, a smirk on my face as I wiped the blood from my face.

Vicar looked back to me, still shocked.

Poppy tried to fire another beam at me, but I just dodged it and sprang forward, latching onto his face with my sharp teeth and ripped a chunk out of his face.

He screamed in agony as he pushed away from me and took off sprinting away, but he didn't get far as he stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.

I was now standing side to side with Vicar as he and I looked in opposite directions.

“You fucked up, Vicar,” I said calmly, my deep guttural voice seeming to bounce around us. “You messed with my family.”

He didn’t respond right away, just frowned. “Well, this is a nice case of deja vu.”

“We’re not playing anymore. I’m going to kill you and every single one of your men,” I stated.

“Is that so?” he said as he turned his head to me, a smirk on his face. “Sorry, but that won’t be happening today.”

Before he could react, I slammed a hoof into his flank, sending him spinning away from me.

“Good, Dawn,” I say as I shoot straight into the sky, getting out of sight before anyone could trace my trajectory. Then, with speed to rival all others, I rocketed back down towards the specific window Dawn pointed out.

With a massive boom, I crashed through the window and through the entire building, coming out the other side of it holding a now badly beaten Bombee.

A look of shock and surprise was on her face, as it’d all happened in an instant for her. Before she could do anything else, I grabbed her head with my clawed hand and dug them in deep. Then with a roar of my own, I ripped her head from her body, tossing both aside.

Growling, I shot myself backwards, exploding through the building again and coming out on the other side, and continuing till I landed near Vicar as he tried to stand up.

“Make that three points for Scamp,” I sneered, staring him down.

He stood up, looking absolutely enraged as he stared me down. His three most useful pawns were now dead, leaving him stuck with dealing with me with no real back up.

But he just smiled at me. “Good game ender, Scamp. But we’re not done yet.”

As I took a step towards him, he held up his legs. “I surrender.”

“Nope,” I say, glaring at him.

“Everyone freeze!” a voice called out from our left.

Looking over, I frowned as I saw a lone Sheriff's Deputy standing there, his hoof and hoof mounted gun pointed at us.

I look back to Vicar, who just watches me, waiting to see if I’ll do it. But I sigh and shift out of my raging form.

But then the cop turned his gun to Vicar and grabbed his radio, “24-90, I have Vicar Belletor at gunpoint.”

“Ah, looks like Ollie’s Ego has worn off,” Vicar laughed, hooves still up. “They reacted faster than I thought they would though.”

The officer moved forward, keeping his gun on Vicar, “You alright, ma’am?”

I blinked, but gave a nod. “Yeah, just watch him. He’s a tricky bastard.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Officer said as I heard more sirens in the distance coming our way. “He had all of my department under his spell. We tried to arrest him some time back, but he used some kind of mind control magic on us.”

“That was actually Ollie over there,” Vicar said with a smile, nodding his head to the corpse of said pony.

The Officer looked in that direction, and then Vicar suddenly bolted.

“Suspect fleeing, Officer in pursuit!” the Officer yelled as he and I took off after Vicar.

The tall coward ran around the corner of a building.

“Let me go ahead, just in case!” I yelled as I sprinted ahead, rounding the corner.

Just to find Vicar standing there, hooves up again. “I surrender.”

I glared at him, looking around, but seeing nothing out of place. “Why’d you run just to surrender here?!”

He just smiled at me and held out his hooves.

The Officer quickly moved forward and placed hoof cuffs on him, then pushed him to the ground roughly.

As the cop began to read him his rights, patting him down, I looked around again. Something felt… off.

More cops arrived, moving towards us quickly.

“Just know,” Vicar laughed, “I used Ollie to control the other members of Wolverine Kamae, as well as the teachers.”

“I don’t believe you,” I say, shaking my head at him.

But he just smiled at me, looking at the body camera of the Officer.

[That’s game, bitch!]

So that's it then?

Chapter 70

I watched as the police put Vicar into the back of a caged wagon and began to cart him off, leaving me standing there with the other cops walking around me, processing the scene.

I’d given my statement a few times, as there were three dead bodies and two destroyed buildings. Firefighter Pegagus had arrived and used a few rain clouds to put out the fire, leaving my Dojo just a smoldering heap of smoking wood now.

“Scamp!” I heard a familiar voice call, causing me to wince. Turning, I saw Mallogory sprinting towards me.

“Mallo!” I yelped as she neared me. “I had to! They!-”

She swept me off my hooves and pulled me into a tight embrace, “I am so fucking sorry!”

I blinked in confusion, then saw that the black smoke was no longer coming for her head. This caused me to relax and melt into her. “It wasn’t your fault…”

She pulled back and pulled me into a passionate kiss, causing me to fall away into bliss.

“I still said those things to you!” she cried softly as she broke the kiss.

“Shhh,” I said quietly, putting a wing tip to her mouth. “Shut up, love,” I pulled her back into another kiss, just happy and relieved to have her back.

“Ma’am, a few more questions, if you don’t mind,” another Officer asked as he walked up.

“Ah, yep,” I said, leaning back and giving a wink to Mallogory. “Coming.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“What the hell did we just do?” Blitz asked as he and his friends sat around the table in the Wolverine Kamae Dojo, their celebration cut short as it felt like everything had lifted from them, clearing their minds. After that, they’d just sat around for a few minutes in silence, just looking at each other in shock.

“We’re going to jail, guys,” a colt muttered, looking at his hooves. “Oh Celestia…”

“Why did we do that?! Was something making us?!” Hardhoof yelled, jumping up and looking panicked.

They all groaned and whined for a few more minutes, asking the same questions over and over again.

Then, the doors to the Dojo burst open and someone walked in.

“Sensei Kal?!” Butch yelped, seeing the stallion rush in.

“Why are you wearing Sunglasses suddenly? It’s night time?” Blitz asked, confused as he watched the Sensei run for the stairs leading to the Head Sensei’s office.

“Everyone leave, now!” Sensei Kal yelled, startling all of them as they got up and ran for the doors.

With a loud crash, Kal kicked the door open and rushed in, moving for the desk.

“Polmont?!” Psalm yelped as she lay on the couch in the office. Then she sighed and laid back down, “Oh, it’s just you.”

“That little cunt!” Kal roared, digging through the desk and picking up an item, pressing it to his body, causing it to fuse into him. Now with access to his personal pocket dimension, he opened it and reached in.

“She finally beat you?” Psalm muttered, her back to Kal as she lay on the couch. Domitor rolled out from under the couch, forcing the docile gator Jerry to wrestle with him.

“Shut up!” he yelled, then glared at the colt and gator playing. “And get my kid back under control! Things are about to get complicated, and I don’t need him acting like this!”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, rolling over and snatching the young colt and hugging him to her body as she returned to facing the cushions of the couch. The young colt whined and screamed as he fought to get away, but eventually gave in and laid there, glaring up at the ceiling.

“I need to change my base form for a bit. All of ours,” he said, pulling out a few runes.

“Can I be a different species this time?” she asked, showing a bit more interest than normal.

Kal growled. “Sure, what do you want to be?!”

“A cat lady,” Psalm said in a quiet voice.

“... Sure, why not. Cat lady for you, and I guess to make it funny, I’ll be a damned MUTT!” he roared.

“It’d fit you,” she replied, no longer showing an interest in the situation.

He grumbled as he glared at her back, but then he placed the runes down as the other remaining members of his crew rushed into the office.

“Changing base forms?! I want to be-” Lemon Tape began, but was cut off by Kal.

“NO! No one else is getting to choose! We’re all going to be damn cats, and you’re going to deal with it!”

“What about-”

“He’s staying as is, I’ve already fixed him before we even arrived here!”

Glaring at each of them, he flashed into his base form, followed by all of them.

“Excellent, let’s get this over with.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

July 5th 12 A.B.

The next morning

“That’s underwhelming,” I muttered as I held Vicar’s mugshot. His sunglasses were no longer on in this picture, with bland and tired eyes just staring back.

“Eh, maybe so, but with all the shit he’s done, he ain’t coming out of this in a good position,” Greg said, holding his daughter as she slept on him as he wheeled himself around the dinner.

It’d been a long night for everyone, as most hadn’t been able to sleep after having to deal with their kids and each other. The entire town had indeed been under some form of mind manipulation, with all of them coming to their senses at the same time.

But something good came out of it.

I smiled as I looked around at all my friends, who were now no longer giving me side glances.

The best part, however… Mallogory and Shayla.

Snuggling into Mallogory, I let out a happy sigh, our daughter rolling around on the ground with Roxxy.

“I just can’t believe no one noticed,” Lance said, followed by Mr. Bleak chuckling.

“Oh, my boy, I noticed right after the school fight. Something felt off so I investigated,” he then looked at me. “I had a plan, but our good friend Scamp here seemed to have other plans.”

“Yeah, kinda couldn’t just let those kids hurt each other,” I chuckled, rolling my eyes. “But we won, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Hmm, quite,” he said with a nod. “Well, the good news is the spell will be ready today, so we can use it to reveal all of their true forms. Maybe then we can start making sense of all this mess.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I mutter, laying my head under Mallogory’s chin.

Lance smiled at us, “It’s a relief to see you two back to normal.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, smiling at us. This just caused me to blush and pull the blanket over Mallogory’s legs up over my face.

“Ah!” Spark yelled as he suddenly came to in a booth.

“It’s okay, honey!” Twilight yelled as I pulled the blanket down and saw her rushing to his side, comforting him.

“What happened?!” he asked, looking around in shock. Then his eyes landed on me and Mallogory.

I smirked at him and gave him a thumbs up, “We got him kid.”

“... Vicar?” he asked, seeing all the smiling faces of everyone around him. “Oh thank Celestia,” he groaned as he laid back down, letting Twilight tuck him in.

“And someone will owe you an apology once I’m done with him,” Luna said as Star Chaser stood by her, still looking just as terrified as he had been the night before. He hadn’t spoken a word since we’d all arrived at the dinner, which was fine with me.

I’m still not sure how much of his actions were his own and not mind manipulation. Because as far as we can tell, it was not mind control. All they did was block and change a few memories, and implanted a few thoughts to keep everyone playing their game.

The moment I killed Ollie, or Olivia as Vicar had called her, everyone regained control of themselves and their memories. The Sheriff’s Department immediately jumped into action, which was lucky for the one Deputy who was already enroute to the Dojo fire.

Which just left the rest of the teachers at Wolverine Kamae. Surprisingly, none of them ran. They all immediately went to the police and reported they’d been under mind manipulation.

Very likely story.

[They’re definitely just lying to cover their ass’s!]

It didn’t matter to be honest. Even if the police believed that lame story, I’d never let them get away with anything else again. Going forward, I’m done playing ‘nice’ or doing things the ‘right way’. If I see a threat that needs killing, then I’m doing it.

[Hell yes!]

[Shut up, pussy! Let the Maestro of Death do her thing!]

I just rolled my eyes as I watched everyone talk.

Slowly my eyes drifted back to Vicar’s mugshot, causing a frown to appear on my face.

“So is this the end of Viper Claw?” Kelmoon asked as she stepped up to me.

I looked at the little filly as she stood there, her confident face staring back at me expectantly.

A smile graced my face. “Hell no, kid, losing the Dojo didn’t kill Viper Claw. We’re going to resume classes somehow till a new Dojo is built.”

She smiled widely at me and ran off to tell a few others what I’d said.

“Can…” Jelly Bean began, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as Greg wheeled by us.

“Can you join?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. She nods, so I just chuckle, “Of course, Jelly Bean. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Even after everything I did?” she pressed, ears flat.

Rolling my eyes, I just lean forward and ruffle up her mane, “forget about all that. It was Wolverine Kamae influence and peer pressure, you’d never have done those things otherwise.”

This seemed to relax her as she laid back down on Greg as he gave me a thankful smile.

“So the Equine Championship Tournament is still on for us?” Spark asked from his booth, looking across the room at me.

I just gave a sharp nod, “Yep! We’ll need to pick the two best students from Viper Claw to enter, so we’ll figure that out.”

He smiled back at me and gave a little salute with his wing.

ooo000<^>000ooo

October 10th 12 A.B.

3 months later

“Shayla! Stop that!” I yelled as I jumped from the park bench and ran towards my daughter as she ran from kid to kid, grabbing them and flipping them over her shoulder, laughing like a little maniac. “Stop!”

She sprinted off as I ran to each kid, helping them up, following after her.

Mallogory sprinted past me as I helped each kid and jumped for our daughter, catching her before she got to another kid.

“What have we told you?!” Mallogory scowled as she walked back towards me as I helped the last kid up.

“Young filly, I’m not teaching you things like that so you can go and use them on others!” I snapped, just getting a smile in response from my little hellion.

“Face it, Scamp,” Mallogory chuckled, holding the struggling filly, “she’s going to be like us and theres nothing we can do about it.”

“I wasn’t this bad as a kid,” I muttered.

“Oh I was,” she laughed. “I bullied all the other kids when I was young.”

“I’m not surprised,” I said with a smirk as Shayla broke from her grip and ran for the swing sets.

Mallogory nodded, then frowned, “hey!”

I stuck my tongue out at her and flew back to the bench where all of our stuff was set up.

As I landed, I pulled out my phone and began to scroll through a few notifications.

Mallogory plopped down next to me and threw her legs up on the bench, putting her back to my side as we both scrolled through our phones.

“Huh, looks like a new gang of Bronies got taken down in Manehattan,” she said as she read a news article.

“Ah, brings back memories,” I chuckled, swiping by news article after news article. Then one caught my eye. “Well shit.”

“What?”

I read through some of it and rubbed my temple. “The court case is settled already.”

“Wow, that was faster than I expected,” she said, her frown clear in her voice. “Did he get charged?”

“Yep, he plead guilty to all charges and will be in prison for two life sentences.”

She chuckled, “at least they took it all serious. I was worried we’d have to be called as witnesses or something.”

“Things are pretty simple when they plead guilty on day one,” I muttered, not liking the situation. He has to have some kind of endgame here. Just getting arrested? Going to prison? Makes zero sense.

“I’m just surprised all of his teachers, outside of the ones you killed, were just cat people he’d enslaved,” she muttered, still reading.

“I still don’t buy it,” I said, getting her to look back at me.

“You heard Mr. Bleak, he said the revealed true self spell worked and when he used it on all of them, they were just simple cat folk. The spell is foolproof.”

“Fool proof according to him,” I said, looking at the picture of what was apparently Vicar’s true form; just a simple human with nothing remarkable about them. I just don’t buy it.

“Well you’ve looked into them, and all they’ve been doing now is ignoring us and continuing to run Wolverine Kamae. Just now, ya know, not like a cult that teaches the kids to attack others,” she said, returning to her phone. “Just let Mr. Bleak and Starch keep an eye on them, no need to worry yourself. Besides,” she leaned backwards, putting her head in my lap, “you promised you’d focus on your family going forward.”

I just smiled and bopped her on the face with my hoof, causing her to glare at me, “I can do both. I’m not going to let something like last time happen to us again.”

This caused her to look unhappy as the memories returned to her.

“Sorry, babe,” I said, placing a hoof on her forehead and taking her hand in mine.

We just smiled at each other as I heard a kid scream for help. Looking up, I saw Shayla throwing another kid over her shoulder.

“Damn it, Shayla!”

Equine Championship Tournament

Chapter 71

December 9th 12 A.B.

“Thirty minutes till Round One begins,” the announcer said over the P.A.

Spark groaned as he walked around in front of me and Nose Ring as I helped her tie on her gloves.

“Oh… what if... No what if they… no no, what if…” he muttered, running his hoof through his hair.

“Spark,” I say simply, causing him to stop and look at me. “Stop worrying.”

“But, this is serious! All the best Martial Artists are here!” he said, starting to pace again.

“Spark!” I snapped, “You have fought worst. This will be a cakewalk for you.”

He frowned, but stopped pacing at least.

“You don't see Nose Ring here panicking,” I chuckled, finishing with her gloves.

“Actually, I’m terrified,” she admitted.

I slapped her on the shoulder, giving her a nod, “that’s normal! You’re both about to go up against others who have been training for years, while you’ve only had a year of training. Usually pretty hopeless.”

“... Sensei, that doesn’t help at all!” Spark yelped, but I stood up and pulled him over to me as I grabbed each of them by the shoulder.

“But you two are Viper Claw!” I exclaimed, giving them an award winning smile. “Our style is unorthodox and no one knows how to handle us! So no matter what or who you face, you’ll kick their ass! Especially in a match with all these rules where you just gotta tap them to get a point.”

“So we got this?” Nose Ring asked.

“You fucking got this,” I chuckled, pulling them into a group hug. Then I shoved them both back, “Now go wait for me at the staging area. I gotta handle something.”

They both smile confidently back at me and give a bow.

As they walked out of the door, I chuckled. I was proud of those two.

[You need to watch her memories, bro. It’s all there!]

I just laugh, rolling my eyes.

{Well, Dawn, I actually was in a beauty contest as a kid, and I won ‘Best Smile’.}

{Now, you two said you had it figured out?}
[Oh fuck yeah, wanna come in?]
{Go for it.}

ooo000<^>000ooo

I looked around the void of my mind, seeing Break and Dawn standing by my memory bank.

“So, we’re finally good?” I asked, walking up to them.

“We’ve been good for a few weeks, actually,” Dawn admitted, but sighed, “mostly. We have it all back, there’s just five seconds we can’t recover.”

“Just five seconds? That’s amazing! I can live without those five seconds,” I said, very excited to finally be ‘fixed’. Brain damage never heals, but at least the effects will be lessened with their help.

“Yeah but those five fucking seconds are weird,” Break muttered.

“How so?”

“Well,” Dawn began, tapping away at the console, “you seemed to have a massive emotional reaction in those five seconds that sent your body into overdrive. But we can’t figure it out. Those five seconds are just… gone now. Your brain apparently got so overloaded that when you received a final hit to the head, it just… erased that small amount of time.”

I just shrug and reach over them, hitting play. “Might as well see what I can then.”

The scene around us changed to the only recovered memory I haven’t seen yet.

We watched as past me walked up to the doors to Wolverine Kamae and kicked the door open, stepping in.

The scene played out pretty much as it had been described to me by the kids who had been there. Right up till Vicar suddenly lost his cool and started shaking his head around as he became very animated with his movements.

Then he slung his head to the side as he yelled ‘Break her, now!’, causing his sunglasses to fall off. Then the scene seemed to glitch as we skipped to me getting punched in the face.

“What? That is what caused my body to overload? Nothing even happened!” I said, looking around the room as the scene played out. Vicar was walking down the stairs, fuming as he adjusted his mane and sunglasses.

“That’s what we can’t figure out, nothing seems to happen. He just yells for them to break you, then the scene just jumps five seconds ahead.

“Something happened…” I muttered as the scene continued.

After it finished, I hit the play button again. “I need to see this again.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I came out of the memories, frowning. I rewatched that scene multiple times, but I couldn’t figure out what was so traumatic that it broke my brain.

That would just have to be something I work on going forward I guess.

{It’s alright, thank you two for everything.}
[As much as I love ya, Scamp, I can’t wait to get back to Lance after we get back to New Ponyville. I miss taking control of his dumbass.]

[… Yeah, me too. You’re the most badass chick I’ve ever met! Hell , most badass person I’ve ever met!]
{Thank you, guys. You’ve really grown on me, so I’m actually going to miss you.}

Stepping out of the little room we’d been given as a dressing area, I saw I was alone in the hallway. A cheering crowd could be heard down to the left, which is where I needed to be heading.

But as I walked down the hall, a door up ahead opened and Kal, the new Head Sensei of Wolverine Kamae stepped out of a room. I just glared at him as I approached, taking note he was in his pony form and not his cat form.

“Ah! Sensei Scamp, I didn’t know if I’d…”

“Cut the act,” I say as I pass him.

“Are you ever going to let us live down being slaves of Vicar?” he asked, following after me as he adjusted his stupid goggles.

“No, because I know you weren’t ‘slaves of Vicar’, you just didn’t want to go down with him,” I say, getting a frown from him.

“Have we not proven we are not like him? We’ve actually trained our Students to NOT be bullies and attack others. We’re not the same as we were under him,” he said in his defense.

But I remained unconvinced.

“Say whatever you want, I’m still watching you,” I said as I picked up my pace, leaving him behind.

“As long as you give us a chance!” He called after me, but I didn’t acknowledge him further.

Once I stepped out into the main arena of the complex we were in, I saw they were getting ready to start round one.

Nose Ring and Spark stood in the staging area, looking nervous as they watched everyone walk around them.

“You two pumped?” I asked, stepping up to them.

“Yes, Sensei,” they both responded.

“I’m just…” Spark said, looking around at the much more impressive looking competitors, who wore Gi’s covered in logos and awards.

“Don’t focus on them,” I say as I stomp my hoof, causing them both to twist to face me, standing at attention. “Alright, I promised you two that I’d have something for you if you agreed to be the two fighters for Viper Claw.”

They looked excited as I stepped up to Spark.

“I present to you,” I say, grabbing the top of his Gi’s front sleeves, “sleeveless Gi’s!”

With a hard yank, I pulled down hard on his Gi’s sleeves, attempting to rip them off in one movement, but all I achieved was slamming my student face first into the ground. The sleeves were still fully attached to the Gi.

“OOO!” I yelped, pulling him up and dusting him off as he looked at me with a dazed look. “Shit, kid! These Gi’s are really well made!”

“It’s okay, Sensei,” he mumbled, rubbing his snout.

I opened my pocket dimension and pulled out two pre-cut sleeveless Gi’s, with the Logo more prominent on their backs.

“That’s fine,” I said, handing them out to them. “The ripping off your sleeves was just supposed to be symbolic, these are your real presents.”

“Sensei Scamp!” Spark exclaimed, holding out his new Gi, a wide smile on his face.

“You two have earned them,” I said with a wide smile as they quickly changed.

“Competitors!” a voice boomed from above us. “Step up to the mat with your number! Round one begins in two minutes!”

“Alright you two,” I say, giving each a punch to the shoulder, “go out there and hit them with the claws!”

They give a bow and quickly rush to their designated mats. All around them were many other competitors doing the same. The arena was massive, big enough for all fights to happen at once. Which would be needed since there were so many fighters.

I moved to an area where I could watch both of them.

Nose Ring was up against some decently sized stallion, while Spark was against a pony his size.

Fair match ups in my opinion.

As the bell rang, the area exploded into controlled chaos.

Spark didn’t move as his opponent ran at him, only to get kicked in the face as he neared.

“Point!” the Referee for his fight yelled.

On Nose Ring’s side she dove between the legs of her opponent and punched his flank as she came out behind him.

“Point!”

Oh yeah, this was going to be an easy win for them.

They both lined up to continue the fight, as it was first to three wins.

But they had similar results as they easily scored the remaining points against their opponents.

[They got this in the bag!]

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Come on, Spark!” I yelled as he dodged and weaved around his opponents' attacks.

“Get him!” Nose Ring yelled from next to me as we watched the fight. She’d been knocked out of the tournament while facing someone else with a strange fighting style, which is who Spark was currently facing.

We were now in the Semi-finals, and the fight was two to two.

Spark blocked a hit from the pony as he dived to the right, slamming a back leg into their chest as he did so.

“Point!”

“That’s my fucking boy!” I yelled, getting a lot of frowns from those around me.

He rushed down to me, out of breath. “I got ‘em!”

“Yeah you did!” I laughed as I gave him a Replenishment Biscuit, the item passed out to all Sensei’s to make sure their students are at one hundred percent before each fight.

He munched on it, looking excited as we turned to see who his opponent would be.

Now that we were near the end, they’d moved to one fight at a time.

I frowned, as I knew who the winner would be.

And not that much later, I was proven right as Star Chaser won three to zero, which is how he’d won all of his fights today.

“Remember Spark, you don’t have to win,” Nose Ring assured him.

“Nah, get in there and score one point for me,” I say, slapping his back.

Everyone realigned as the final round was announced.

Stepping up to the mats, I gave Spark a nod as he walked out and took his place.

Across the mat, Kal was giving Star Chaser a pep talk.

[Kal isn’t as bad as Vicar, but those fucking goggles are pissing me off!]

[Goggles are OUR thing! Lance wears goggles and makes them look good! This guy just looks like a dork!]

Star Chaser stepped out and took his place.

The Referee made a chopping motion with his hoof, causing the two to start inching towards each other.

Wolverine Kamae had ‘borrowed’ a few of my techniques, namely fighting from the hindlegs. It was annoying, but they didn’t focus on fighting that way, so I could live with it.

Being the more aggressive one, Star Chaser advanced on Spark and opened up with a flurry of attacks, scoring a point right away as he broke through Spark’s guard.

“Point! Wolverine Kamae!”

They reset and started moving towards each other again.

Nearing each other again, Star Chaser pressed forward and laid into Spark’s guard.

“Come on, Spark!” I yelled, just as a hoof connected with his face.

“Point! Wolverine Kamae!”

“Time!” I called out, causing the Ref to hold up his hoof, sending the two kids back to their corners.

“I can’t see his attacks coming, Sensei!” Spark said, looking dejected.

“Stop watching for his attacks,” I say back, using a rag to wipe sweat from his face. “They’re all about aggression over there, while we’re more defensive and countering. Try focusing on attacking and applying pressure.”

“Yes, Sensei,” he says, giving me a bow as he returns to the mat.

As the Ref threw his hoof out, the match continued.

Just as before, the two advanced on each other. The royal colt began his usual attacks, laying into Spark’s defenses, but as he struck out for another point scoring hit, Spark sprang backwards. Performing a backflip, his back hoof caught Star Chaser in the jaw as he flipped backward. With absolute grace, he landed on all fours, facing the royal colt.

“Point! Viper Claw!”

“YES! YES!” I cheered, jumping up and down with excitement.

This seemed to shake Star Chaser to his core as they reset.

Advancing a bit slower now, they walked towards each other. But this time Spark was the one to apply the pressure, punching and kicking at Star Chaser’s blocks till he landed a solid hit on the other colt's chest.

“Point! Viper Claw!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, but I was louder as I screamed in excitement.

“Time!” Kal called out.

“Did you see that?!” Spark asked, looking very proud of himself.

“Hell yes!” I yelled, dabbing at his face with the towel. “But don’t get ahead of yourself. His confidence was shaken, but now he’ll probably be back to his normal self after his Sensei gives him a pep talk. That’s how this shit goes at least.”

“I can do this,” he said, giving me a sharp nod.

“I know you can, now get to it!” I exclaimed as he turned and moved back to his spot.

“Begin!”

The two inched forward, staring each other down. Just as I predicted, Star Chaser no longer looked off guard, now back to his confident self.

As usual, Star Chaser started the fight, leaping forward and slamming a hoof into Spark’s guard. The two began to throw punches and kicks at each other, moving all over the mats as they did so. Neither one was able to get through the other's guard, but it was clear that Star Chaser was starting to get the upper hand.

[It’s that fucking Ego! It’s basically cheating!]

Spark caught one of Star Chaser’s hoof and threw him over himself, slamming the other colt into the ground. But as he tried to bring his hoof down on the downed colt, he rolled away, barely dodging.

Jumping back to his hooves, the royal colt dashed forward, almost landing another hit on Spark as he barely got his legs up in time to catch the hit.

With a roar, Star Chaser slammed a back leg into Spark’s raised legs, sending him sliding back, almost causing him to trip and fall. The royal colt followed after him, hitting his guard with increasingly stronger hits.

“Break out, Spark!” I yelled, watching as he started to falter. Then he was kicked back a bit as he blocked yet another kick, leaving him far enough away to counter attack. “Sweep the leg!”

Star Chaser moved towards him, standing on his hindlegs as he prepared for a final assault on Spark. But the striped colt just stared back with determination as he dove under a punch, falling to the ground and performing a sweeping kick, taking the royal colt off of his hooves.

As he crashed into the ground, Spark rolled and performed an elbow strike to his chest.

“Match point! Viper Claw!”

“That’s my motherfucking boy!” I roared as I rushed forward and picked him up as he climbed to his hooves. I held him high above me as everyone rushed forward, screaming their own forms of congratulations.

“I-I won!” Spark exclaimed, looking more shocked than excited.

“Yeah you did!” I yelled up at him as I spun us around, holding him by his waist as he threw his legs out, cheering for himself.

Below our celebration, I caught the sight of Star Chaser dejected walking towards Kal, who looked displeased, but seemed to be trying to contain his anger.

But right now wasn’t about them, it was about Spark!

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Let me see it again!” Nose Ring exclaimed as she reached out for the trophy again.

“You just held it!” Spark whined, but relented and let her hold it.

I just chuckled as I went over the paper work I’d been given by the Equestria Martial Arts Association.

{Ye, thanks buddy.}

As the two kids celebrated and I went over paperwork, someone opened the door to our train cabin.

Kal stepped in, smiling at us. HIs little gator pet, Jerry, at his feet.

“Yes?” I asked, not even turning to face him.

“I wanted to congratulate you all on your victory,” then he turned to Spark. “And you, for those amazing skills you demonstrated out there.”

“Oh, erm, thank you,” Spark replied nervously.

“Thanks, that it?” I ask, side eyeing him.

“Yes, that would be it,” he said as he stepped back, but the little docile gator remained.

“Hey,” I called after him. “You forgot your pet.”

I looked at Jerry, our eyes meeting. I glared at the little guy as he stared back at me, neither of us blinking as we entered into a staring contest of sorts. Then, unexpectedly, his tongue shot out and licked his eye, proving he was just a dumb gator.

Standing up I pushed him out of our cabin, not liking the blank stare he had on his face. But as I pulled my hoof back after pushing him out, he suddenly snapped at me, catching my hoof in his tiny jaws.

“Ah! You little shit!” I yelp, grabbing him with my mechanical paw and stepping out into the hall.

“Kal!” I yell, getting him to turn around as he was walking down the aisle of the train. “Take your fucking pet with you!”

With a grunt, I threw the little menace at Kal, who just caught him with a hoof and smiled back at me.

“Sorry about that, Scamp.”

“Sure you are,” I growl as I step back into our cabin and slam the door.

“Are you okay, Sensei?” Nose Ring asked as I sat down and looked at my lightly bleeding hoof.

“Yeah, the little shit just got me good apparently,” I grumbled as I opened my pocket dimension and pulled out a bandage, wrapping it around my leg for now. “I fucking hate gators.”

Part 4 Epilogue 1: The new crew

Chapter 72

January 5th 15 A.B.

Three years later

I stepped outside holding another tray of cupcakes, smiling as I watched the kids run around the party, weaving through the adults. Walking over to the main table, I placed the tray down, causing all the kids to rush to me and begin devouring the cupcakes.

“Damn kids, you’re acting like no one feeds you,” I chuckle, watching them take all the cupcakes and run off again, leaving a clean plate.

“Guess we need more snacks,” Lance commented as he walked over.

“That was it,” I replied, turning to him and rolling my eyes. “Little monsters.”

“They’re not that bad,” he laughed, looking around at the party around us. “Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?”

“Yep,” I frowned as I looked at my daughter as she gathered up a few of her friends and took off. “I just can’t believe she’s four already.”

He nodded in understanding as he looked at the banner above us. ‘Happy 4th Birthday, Shayla!’.

“Well you’re lucky,” he began, “you and your family are immortals, so it's not like you’ll have to worry about wasting time.”

“True,” I mumbled, still not use to the idea even after all this time. “Thanks to Bronwyn, Mallogory has her Sempiternal Body now, so I guess the only thing left to do is just live our lives.”

“Pretty boring huh?” he asked, smirking at me.

“It’s deathly boring,” I admitted, then laughed, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way. My wife and kid make everything worth it.”

Lance stepped forward and gave me a tight hug, “I’m so happy for ya, Scamp.”

“Thanks, Lance,” I said, squeezing him extra hard, causing him to let out a gasp.

“Okay, too tight!” he yelped, but I just snickered and squeezed harder. “SCAMP!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Come on, guys!” Shayla called out as she led her little crew of friends away from the party and into town.

“Where are you taking us now?!” Flippy Dew, Cody and Ditzy’s daughter, asked as they ran down the street together.

“Trust me!” was all Shayla yelled back.

“Last time you said that, we all got in trouble for almost burning down our house,” Nightstreak yelled back, looking at his sister Summer Breeze who had the same look as him. They were the fraternal twins of Fluttershy and Shadow Breeze.

“That was different!” Shayla called back, jumping over a fence and continuing forward. “It was your dad's fault! He shouldn’t have left those cool toys out!”

“Those were his Traveler tools, not toys!” Summer Breeze yelled back as they all jumped the fence, following after her.

“Are we going to get in trouble for whatever we’re about to do?” Roxxy asked, looking at Shayla, who was basically her sister.

“Nah!” was the only response she got.

“Whatever we’re doing,” Dude said as he performed a flip over a table they were passing, “I just hope it involves parkour!”

“Can’t we just do something normal for once? Like going to the movies or the park?” Flippy Dew asked, almost tripping over her hooves.

“That’s boring shit!” Shayla yelled as she came to a halt suddenly, causing all of her friends to run into her and bounce off as she held her ground, her claws digging into the cobblestone below them. “We’re here!”

“What? Here?” Summer Breeze asked, frowning.

“Didn’t your moms tell you to let this one go?” Roxxy asked, shaking her head at her sister.

“Yes,” Shayla admitted, but smirked, “but he gave me a melted ice cream sandwich, and refused to refund me or give me another! So this is just justified revenge!”

“This is just going to escalate things…” Flippy Dew muttered as they all crouched down behind a small wall.

“Well he started it, so I’m just returning the favor!” Shayla replied as she peeked over the wall and saw the Ice Cream van coming to a stop at its usual spot.

“What are we going to do?” Dude asked as he pulled out a piece of taffy rope and began to chew on it.

“Just a little payback, then we can go back to the party!” Shayla assured her friends, who just looked at her with uncertainty.

“This never ends well…” Flippy dew mumbled as she rubbed her face.

“We got this,” Shayla said as she held her hand out. “Ready guys?”

“We really need to come with a name for our crew,” Dude said, putting his hoof down on top of hers.

Shayla smirked as the others put their hooves down on hers as well, “Yeah? You’re right, we do need a name.” The sounds of someone screaming for ice cream got her mind back on track. “We’ll figure that out later. For now, we gots a mission to accomplish! Break!”

They all threw their hooves in the air and moved as one as they followed Shayla while she crouch walked around the wall.

“He knows I’m pissed at him, so he can’t see me,” Shayla said as they got closer to the Ice Cream Van.

“What’s the plan?” Dude asked, using his horn to keep shoving taffy into his mouth.

“Same plan as the time we raided the Game’s store,” she replied with a wink.

“Ah, lost filly with a hurt wing,” Roxxy muttered, causing Flippy Dew to groan.

“I hate that bit…” she grumbled, but everyone continued on anyway.

“Go!” Shayla exclaimed as she jumped into the air and flew up above the van, taking her position.

Dude, Nightstreak, and Summer Breeze moved to the back of the van and just stood there, acting like they were looking at the menu.

Roxxy moved into the small crowd of kids who were waiting in line to get their own ice cream.

“Perfect,” Shayla muttered as she saw Flippy Dew standing out of sight, holding her wing in her hooves as she prepared to perform her special talent. With a light pull, she saw her dislocate her wing and let it hang at her side.

Rubbing dirt into her face, the little filly stumbled out of hiding and moved towards the Ice Cream Van, crying loudly.

All the kids turned to see the dirty and hurt filly as she approached.

“Where’s my mommy?!” she wailed, putting on the water works.

“What’s this then?” the Ice Cream Stallion yelled, leaning out and seeing the hurt filly stumbling towards them. “Ah horseapples.”

“Come on,” Shayla muttered as she watched him lean back into his van. “Come on, ya asshole.”

The van shook as he stomped through it and opened the side door, stepping out and moving towards Flippy Dew, who was screaming about her ‘broken’ wing.

“YES!” she hissed as she performed a roll in the air and flew at an angle backwards, and with absolute grace, she flew through the open window on the van. She now stood in there with access to everything she could ever want.

Moving quickly, she rushed to the back of the van and unlocked the two back doors, pushing them open to reveal her three friends looking in at her. She gave them a thumbs up as she rushed to one of the freezers and opened it, lifting out a carton of treats.

As quickly as she could, she began to slide them across the floor to her waiting friends, who picked them up and started stacking them on themselves. Dude used his magic to speed up the process.

Glancing outside, she saw that Roxxy was trying to ‘help’ the Ice Cream Stallion figure out how to help Flippy Dew, but all she was doing was wasting his time as she kept asking stupid questions and making terrible suggestions.

“Going well,” Shayla muttered, opening another freezer and sliding the boxes towards her friends.

“That’s all we can carry!” Dude hissed at her.

“Gotcha!” she whispered back. She began to grab as many as she could in her own claws, wanting to get as many as she could.

“OH! Maybe her mom is around the corner! And we should GET OUT there and find her?” Roxxy’s voice suddenly yelled outside, the meaning clear to Shayla as she moved for the back of the van.

“Oi!” the voice of the Ice Cream Stallion yelled from the front of the truck, just as she was about to step outside.

“Shit,” she muttered, turning to see him glaring at her.

“What do you think… YOU!” he roared, moving towards her quickly. “You’re the little filly who threw her melted ice cream in my face!”

“YEP!” Shayla laughed as she sprang backwards, throwing a box of frozen treats into his face. This didn’t stop him, just distract him for a second, which is all she was trying to do as she threw another box at his hooves. With a yelp, he stepped on the box and lost his balance as the cardboard slid out from under him and caused him to crash into the ground.

“Later, stinky!” she yelled as she jumped out of the van and took to the sky, leaving the scene of the crime.

As she flew away, she saw her friends running below her, all moving as fast as they could.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“What’d I tell ya guys!” Shayla laughed, ripping open another frozen treat and tossing the paper onto the massive pile between them as they all sat in a circle eating their haul. The windows to the little club house they were in was covered, blocking out the sun and only allowing in a small amount of light.

“I mean, he saw you, so he’ll get you in trouble,” Roxxy pointed out, but the reptile-like pony just waved her off. “Your moms will kill you.”

“It was worth it,” she announced, ripping open yet another treat. “Got my revenge, and we all get to eat all this!”

“She is right, this is great!” Dude exclaimed, his face covered in melted chocolate.

Flippy Dew smiled a bit as she carefully ate her treat, trying not to get as messy as the others were, “as long as we all don’t get in trouble, I guess it was worth it.”

“Yeah, I’ll take the full blame,” Shayla chuckled, winking at her friends. “He only saw me, so don’t you guys worry.”

“No, you go down, we all go down,” Nightstreak stated, getting a nod from a few of the others.

She just rolled her eyes and shoved him over, “you sound like your dad. Just let me do my thing and we’ll be golden.”

“Your funeral,” Dude said as he reached for another treat.

The group continued to enjoy their prize, eating as much as they could since it’d all be gone soon due to the heat melting it.

“So, we need a name!” Shayla suddenly exclaimed, standing up as she shoved a ice cream sandwich in her mouth.

“Ooo, I liked the idea of Shadow Force!” Dude said, looking around excitedly, but only saw the others shake their heads.

“Ew, no,” Shayla said as she stuck her tongue out at him. “No stupid or nerdy names.”

“It’s not stupid,” he muttered.

“Valkyries?” Flippy Dew offered, but again, they all didn’t look on board with that one.

“Reapers?” Nightstreak tried, which seemed to set well with some, but they all eventually said no to that one as well.

“What about Phantasm?” Roxxy asked, getting a few looks.

“What does that even mean?” Shayla asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Uh…” her sister looked around, trying to recall the exact meaning. “Eh, it means something you imagined. Um, it also can mean deception, which is kinda what we do. A lot.”

“... I like it,” Shayla conceded, looking around as everyone seemed to also like the name.

“Kinda fits us,” Dude says, smiling as he grabs another treat.

“So, Phantasm?” Shayla asked, getting nods from everyone. “Then hell yeah, it’s settled! From here on out, we’re-”

“SHAYLA BELTOSH!” the very angry voice of Scamp yelled from the ground outside the club house. “GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, RIGHT NOW!”

“... Ah shit,” she muttered, grabbing a blanket and trying to wipe the evidence from her claws and face.

“Oh you’re dead,” Nightstreak chuckled, getting a death glare from the filly.

Getting all the chocolate off of her that she could find, she let out a groan as she jumped through the door and glided down to her mother, who was standing below their tree, fuming.

“Hi, Mama,” she greeted her mother with a forced smile.

“You stole ice cream from an Ice Cream Van?!” she snapped, glaring at her daughter.

“What? No, we-”

“Don’t lie,” her mother said as she reached forward with a wing tip and rubbed it against her cheek, pulling back to reveal a bit of ice cream.

“Oh, THAT Ice Cream Van…” she said sheepishly.

“Yeah, THAT one,” her mother said evenly as she rubbed her face. “It’s your birthday today, and you chose to do something like this?”

“Am I in trouble?” Shayla asked in a worried tone.

“Big fucking time,” her mother said back, looking up at her friends who were watching. They all pulled back as she saw them. “And so are they once I tell their parents.”

“No!” Shayla yelped out, getting a raised eyebrow from her mother. “I mean, they didn’t help me. I did it all myself, they tried to stop me, but you know me, mama.”

“Shayla…” she began, but then a hint of a smile appeared on her face, but it was quickly washed away and replaced with a frown. “You did it by yourself? Then it looks like the punishment will have to match that. No more TV till I say otherwise, and you’re paying for all the stolen ice cream.”

“What?!” the filly yelped, a shocked look on her face. “Not the TV, mama! Spank me, put me to work, do anything! Just please, don’t take-”

“You’ll have to figure out ways to make bits till you earn enough to pay off your debt. I hope you didn’t take a lot, because it’ll take forever on the pennies you’ll likely be making,” her mother said, smirking at her daughter. “We can’t have you out here stealing and being a nuisance like this. You’re a good kid, Shayla. Don’t do shit like this.”

She hung her head and asked in a low voice, “can I please keep coming to Viper Claw classes?”

Her mother looked her over, then sighed, “for now. BUT! Do anything like this again, then I’m removing you from my classes. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Shayla muttered.

“And do you UNDERSTAND me?”

Shayla looked up into her mothers eye and gave a sharp nod, “I understand, mama.”

“Good. Now head back to the party and act like the happy filly you’re supposed to be today,” her mother said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll send your friends after you once I speak with them.”

“Yes, ma’am!” she replied, taking the chance to leave before she could get anymore punishments tacked onto her.

As she ran through the forest, she saw a stallion step out onto the trail up ahead. As she neared, she realized it was the prick from Wolverine Kamae, Kal.

“Young Shayla!” he called as she neared.

“Screw off!” she yelled, sticking to her mothers advice and avoiding him.

He held up a bag and smiled at her, “but I have a Birthday present for you.”

“Don’t want it,” she said as she walked past him.

“It’s money,” he said, getting her to stop. “Enough to pay off all that ice cream you kids stole, and then some.”

“What’s the catch here?” she said, turning to face him as he smiled at her, his eyes hidden behind the goggles.

“Catch? Kid there is no catch, it's a Birthday present. My Dojo gave your parents trouble in the past, so I’m just wanting to try and make amends,” he said, still holding the bag out to her.

Glaring at him, she stepped towards him and snatched the bag from him. Opening it, she found it was indeed filled with bits, more than she’d seen in her young life. Shifting them around proved there was nothing else in the bag.

“Just don’t tell your parents I gave that to you,” he said, holding a hoof to his mouth. “Take a few here and there and slowly pay back that debt so they don’t get suspicious. Then do whatever you want with the rest.”

“Hmmm,” she eyed him up and down. “Thanks.”

“No problem, Shayla,” he chuckled, giving a bow. “If you ever need anything, you can always ask.”

“Yeah, I won’t need anything else from ya,” she said, spinning around and taking off down the trail.

Kal just smiled after her, knowing he’d just planted the seeds for his success.

Author's Note

There will be a few epilogues for part 4 before part 5 begins.

Part 4 Epilogue 2: Camp fire stories

Chapter 73

July 14th 16 A.B.

“Are you sure you got everything,” Scamp asked her daughter as she finished helping pack her bags.

“Yes, mama,” Shayla said with a little sigh as she checked over her bags one last time. “It’s just a single night camping in the woods, we don’t need that much.”

“You say that till you get out there, and realize you forgot something,” Mallogory chuckled from the doorway as she held up some snacks she’d made for her daughter.

“I got this, mom,” Shayla assured her as she put on her saddlebags and picked up the other bag in her claws, lifting off the ground with her wings.

Mallogory just smiled as she stepped forward and put the snacks away in one of her bags. “I know you do.”

“If you need ANYTHING, just text me, I’ll be out there as fast as I can,” Scamp said, checking her daughter's saddlebags again to make sure she had her phone.

“I know,” she said in a bit of annoyance. “I promise, I’ll be okay, plus it's just one night. So don’t worry about me.”

“That’s impossible,” Scamp chucked as she and Mallogory hugged their daughter.

After letting them hug her for a few moments, she began to shrug them off, “okay! I gotta get going!”

“So rude,” Scamp laughed as they released her and let her fly for the door. “I love you, honey.”

“Yeah, love ya both too!” she said quickly as she flew down the hall and out the front door.

“She’s growing up too fast, Mallo,” Scamp muttered as she leaned against her wife.

Mallogory just chuckled and picked her wife up into an embrace. “Well, that may be true. But we have the house to ourselves for once.”

Scamp blinked at her, then smirked as she made eye contact with her wife. “Oh?” Then she cleared her throat as she lowered her voice into her guttural singing voice, “So that’s what we’re doing?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Flying for the meeting point, Shayla barely struggled to carry all of her stuff. Despite just being a small filly, she seemed to have the strength of a full grown stallion. Her parents said it was due to her genetics, being the granddaughter of Mr. Bleak and being part Kejtdra.

She didn’t care why, she just enjoyed being able to do stuff the other kids around her couldn’t do.

As she flew lower to the ground, she saw someone waving for her. Diving to the right, she flew to them and stopped above them, hovering above the ground.

“What do you want, Kal?” she asked, frowning at him.

“I heard you and your friends were going camping?” he asked, smiling up at her.

“And?” she replied, clearly not happy being stopped.

“And I got you something,” he said as he pulled out a box and tossed it up to her. She caught it in her free hand, and gave it a little shake.

“What is it this time?” she asked, eyeing the box a bit eagerly.

He just smirked, “well you’ll be out in the wilderness, so I thought you kids would enjoy some explosives.”

“Stop, these are bombs?!” she asked, her eyes lighting up as she now looked at the box with envy.

“Yep! Pull the pin and throw them! Don’t worry, they’re safe, they are magical and will not detonate as long as a living creature is within the blast radius, so blow some trees up or something.”

She smiled and gave a sharp nod, “oh, you fucking bet we will.”

Now with her new gift, she flew for the forest entrance, her excitement clear in her movements.

Behind Kal, glaring with absolute hate, stood the colt Domitor, hiding a bush. He growled as he watched his father give his rival more attention than he’d ever given him.

He watched where Shayla was heading and decided on his next course of action.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I’m still not sure these are a good idea for us to have,” Flippy Dew said as she watched the others stand around Shayla as she fiddled with one of the little bombs Kal had given her.

“Why would you say that?” Shayla asked as she pulled the pin by accident, causing it to start beeping. “Ah, yeah, that’s probably why.”

“THROW IT!” Nightstreak yelled, trying to run, but tripping over his sister and falling to the ground.

“Relax!” Shayla calls out, holding the bomb in her claws. “He said it won’t go off as long as living creatures are near it.”

“... and you believed him?” Roxxy asked, eyes wide.

“Huh… good point,” Shayla muttered, turning and throwing the beeping bomb at a nearby boulder.

“This raises the question; does the bomb count bugs as living creatures,” Dude said as they all looked in the direction she’d thrown it.

A few seconds of silence passed.

“Huh, I guess-”

The boulder ahead of them disappeared in a sudden explosion, sending tiny pebbles in all directions.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“THAT WAS AMAZING!” Flippy Dew screamed.

“So apparently bugs aren’t considered living creatures, according to these bombs,” Dude said, smiling widely. “Let’s blow some more shit up!”

A beeping was heard behind them as they looked to Shayla as she held up another beeping bomb, “already WAY ahead of you!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Working together, the six ponies gathered up some firewood as the forest around them started to get darker, the sun slowly going down.

“We shouldn’t have put this off till it was almost dark out,” Roxxy commented as she picked up a few sticks.

“What can I say? Those bombs were epic and we made a good choice spending the day playing with them,” Shayla replied, picking up bigger sticks than her sister.

As they worked, Shayla suddenly giggled.

“What are you snickering about?” Roxxy asked, glancing at her sister.

“Nothing,” Shayla said nonchalantly. “Just, I found someone who may give me a badass tattoo if I pay enough.”

“You shouldn’t get a tattoo, you’re too young,” Roxxy scolded, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Nah, never too young! I mean look at my cool ear piercings! I’m getting more of those when my moms finally say yes!”

Roxxy rolled her eyes, “that’s going to look super dumb.”

“You look super dumb,” Shayla said, sticking her tongue out at her.

“Your mom Scamp will KILL you if you come home with a tattoo.”

She only got a shrug in response as Shayla laughed, “she’d get over it. The worst she can do is ground me from shit, or make me do other kinds of work. It’ll be worth it though, because I’ll be the coolest filly at school. And of course, the most badass.”

“Then you grow up and regret everything,” Roxxy deadpanned.

“Shut up and support my dreams,” she replied, snickering as she threw a stick at her sister.

“Your dreams are dumb sometimes,” Roxxy responded, throwing a stick back at her.

“Guess it’s a good thing I’m the leader, huh?” she said smugly as she walked back towards camp.

“Leader? I never voted for you!” she called after her, but Shayla only popped her tail like a whip, laughing loudly.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nighttime

The group sat around the fire as it cast shadows all around them, laughing as they told stories to one another.

“Shayla, tell us about your moms home dimension again!” Summer Breeze asked, getting nods from the other kids.

“Really? Which mom though? They both have cool stories from their home dimensions,” she asked as she messed with the wrapper on one of her snacks.

“Mallogory!” the other filly exclaimed with a wide smile.

“Alright, let me think of one,” she muttered, finally opening her snack and stuffing it into her mouth. “Ah, the Blind Hero, that’s a good one.”

Leaning forward, she waved for all of them to lean closer.

“Long ago, or at least long ago on Eris, there was a little bug guy named Legon the Blind Painter. He was what’s called a Halwen, which is like a Kejtdra, just more insect and not as cool. Plus they can regenerate, which is for pussies according to my mom.”

Everyone giggled at this.

“Legon the Blind was just a simple bug man, and even though he was blind, he spent all his time drawing. He could never see what he was actually drawing, but he still somehow produced some of the best art his village had ever seen. Which may not be that impressive, since ya know, it's a crappy bug village.

“But regardless! He was known to make some of the most wonderful and beautiful paintings, bringing any to tears that saw them. This story probably sounds pretty boring, huh? What can a blind painter do that could be exciting?” She leaned forward, smirking as everyone slowly leaned closer to her, then suddenly, “BOOM! The village is attacked by a mad Helwen by the name of Baptow with a Thorn that lets him always know the next move someone is going to make. So no one could fight him or trick him!

“He took over the village very quickly and became their new master as he had them all do his bidding. This was apparently his agenda; take over a town or village, have some fun, move on to the next one. While in their village, he took a liking to Legon and his paintings. He began to demand he draw things for him. They started simple, like a house or landscape, but eventually he began to ask for strange things. Like drawing the moon, which Legon had never seen, or to draw Baptow himself.

“Every painting brought much joy to Baptow, as he loved the imagination that Legon had despite being blind. But eventually, he grew bored and began to start hurting the villagers, getting ready to move on to the next town. Legon wanted to stop him, but he could do nothing against the other bug.”

Dude whistled, “This Baptow sounds like a real prick.”

“Oh he is a prick,” Shayla said with a nod.

“How does Legon save everyone?” Flippy Dew asked quietly. “I mean, the story is the Blind Hero, so he wins right?”

Shayla just winks and resumes the story.

“One morning Legon woke up as he normally did, and tried to leave his room. But something was in the doorway, blocking his exit. This was strange, as there was no way something could be in front of this door, as he did not own anything of value, especially something shaped like the object before him. He ran his hand over it, curious as to what was before him. But as he ran his hand across the top of it, something stabbed him through the palm of his hand.”

Everyone looked worried, as they didn’t know what Shayla knew.

“What lay before him was a Scarification Pillar, or a Scapil for short. It is the thing on Eris that gives everyone their Thorns. But! Using it could kill you! Not everyone who uses one will survive, as it is literally STABING you in the SOUL!”

“Hardcore,” Roxxy mumbled, nodding along.

“Yeah it is!” Shayla said excitedly. “But if you are worthy, then you get a unique Thorn! And this is what happened to Legon! He now had a Thorn, a very special Thorn. And he knew what he had to do.

“Approaching Baptow, as he did every morning, the other man demanded he paint a picture of him standing above the town, laughing as it burned behind him. Legon agreed, and got to work, painting blindly as Baptow watched. As he finished painting just Baptow himself, he stopped, angering the insect man. ‘What are you doing?! Draw the rest! The burning village!’ he yelled at the blind Legon. ‘No,’ Legon said coolly, taking his brush and standing before the painting. ‘I do not think I will.’ This just angered Baptow further, but as he started to step for Legon, he stopped, eyes wide as his Thorn warned him of what was about to happen.

“‘Don’t do it,’ he said to the blind Legon, who was too far away for him to reach in time. Without a word, Legon slapped his brush against the canvas and dragged it downward, right through the center of the drawing of Baptow. At the same moment, the insect man behind him let out a scream as he was split right down the seam, in the same fashion as the line was drawn on his painting.”

“That’s fucking brutal,” Dude said, eyes wide in awe.

“Even with a Thorn that allowed him to see everyone’s next move, he never saw Legon’s next move till it was too late. After defeating the mad insect Baptow, the village rejoiced, asking how he’d done it. Instead of telling them, he showed them, by painting an almost perfect portrait of the village as it had been before being attacked by Baptow. As soon as his brush left the canvas for the last time, the village around them seemed to change and repair itself, returning to normal.

“Legon the Blind had gained a Thorn that allowed his paintings to become reality. Now you’d think someone would use this to become the ruler of the world, or at least something cool like that, right? Nah, not Legon. He settled down in his village and only used his Thorn for the betterment of those around him. But he was careful not to draw anything too damaging, or out there, as he knew his powers were too great for this world. One wrong stroke of his brush, and it could spell disaster.

“So, one day many years later, he suddenly woke up and left his village, never to be seen again,” she said, poking at the fire to get the flames to rise. “Some say that he’s still around today, wandering and painting the world around him, adding little details here and there to make things better. It is said, if you are in great peril, and if you’re lucky enough, he may paint you, saving you from certain death.”

“Wow, is that true though?” Roxxy asked, causing Shayla to shrug.

“I dunno, my mom loves that story though. She says it's one of her favorite folk stories from her world. Legon the Blind Painter, a hero who never asks for anything and does only good for the world around him. Honestly, I prefer the story about this one guy who-”

A twig crunched behind her, causing her ears to twitch in that direction.

“What is it, Shayla?” Nightstreak asked, as none of them had heard anything.

“Hm,” she mumbled, looking behind her, eyes scanning the darkness around them. “Somethings out there.”

“Like what?!” Flippy Dew asked, huddling down into the ground as she hugged a pillow to herself.

Shayla didn’t answer as she stood up and faced the darkness, eyes slowly moving over the treeline.

“Gotcha!” She suddenly yelled, propelling herself into the bushes.

“Ah shit…” Roxxy mumbled, starting to go after her.

But as the group started to follow, something came flying out of the bushes, like it’d been thrown with great force. With a yelp, the dark blur hit the ground and rolled, coming to a stop right by the fire.

Shayla exploded out of the bushes and landed before the lump on the ground, frowning.

“Domitor, trying to sneak up on us?!” she growled as the other colt slowly climbed to his feet.

“No, I came out here to ruin your camping trip!” he snapped, causing her to raise up on her hindlegs, taking a fighting stance.

“You want to fight? Again? I kicked your ass last time, remember that?” she sneered, a little sly smirk on her face.

“I remember breaking your wing in that fight,” he snapped back. But then composed himself, “I came out here to fight, but that story you told, is it just make believe?”

This question caught her off guard as she slowly lowered herself, still eyeing him suspiciously. “I don’t know, like I said, it's a story my mom told me.”

“My dad is super interested in your mom’s home dimension,” Domitor said, frowning. “It’s all he seems interested in sometimes.”

Shayla looked him over, then pointed to a log. “Take a seat, prick. If you can play nice, we can continue swapping stories.”

He glared at her as he took a seat, “this means nothing in the long run, just so you know! We’re still rivals, I’m just interested in those stories.”

“If you answer my questions, then we got no problem with you staying for the moment, right guys?” she asked, getting nods from her friends. “But you piss me off, I’m breaking your leg.”

“Not if I break all of yours first, bitch!” he sneered, but held up a hoof, composing himself. “May we continue?”

Everyone slowly returned to their seats, putting Domitor by himself on the other side of the fire.

“My questions first, then you can ask whatever you want,” Shayla began, getting a reluctant nod from the colt. “My moms said this guy Vicar was your dad, but you call Kal your dad all the time.”

Domitor growled a bit at this. “It’s… complicated.”

“How?”

He looked away, looking conflicted, then turned back. “Ask me anything that’s not that.”

“Fine,” she said while rolling her eyes. “Fucking pussy…” she muttered under her breath.

“What did you just say?!” he yelled, but she waved him off.

“Forget it. Why does your dad want to go to Eris?”

With a sigh, he settled down a bit, but still had an attitude as he spoke. “I can’t tell you.”

“Yes you can,” Shayla huffed. “Unless you’re too scared of daddy to tell his secrets.”

This set the young colt off as he slammed a hoof into the ground next to him. “Fine! My mom said dad lost his Ego some time ago and wants to get a Thorn so he can continue on with his normal life! Happy?!”

“Nope,” she chuckled, smirking at him.

“Now my turn!” he yelled, gritting his teeth. “Tell another story from that dimension! A cool one, with a hero that fights a big bad guy!”

She smirked, looking at the ponies around her. “Oh? Yeah, I got a story like that. Pretty bloody too.”

“Then speak it!” he demanded.

With an exaggerated movement, she jumped to her feet, striking a pose. “As you wish! This story… is that Jerry?”

Everyone looked at her weirdly as they followed her gaze to the little gator as it dumbly waddled towards them in the darkness.

“Damn it,” Domitor groaned as he got up and picked up the little gator. “He keeps following me everywhere I go for some reason. I can’t get rid of him.”

Shayla made eye contact with the docile little guy, narrowing her eyes at him. “Yeah, I hate that little fucker.”

“Jerry is harmless,” Domitor snapped, sitting back down and placing the gator next to himself. “Now, get on with your story!”

She frowned at the pair as the pony crossed his legs and scowled at her, while the little gator just sat there, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

“Right,” she mumbled, then struck her pose again. “As I was saying! This next story takes place…”

Author's Note

If this chapter appeared for a moment, it's because I hit publish by accident.

Part 4 Epilogue 3: Blasphemy

Chapter 74

July 15th 16 A.B.

Morning

Domitor flew into his dark bedroom through the window, kicking the window close behind him as he walked towards his bed, exhausted. He’d accidently stayed up all night listening to dumb stories, and only left when they all decided to head back. Of course, he flew ahead, since he was not going to spend any more time with them than he had too.

As he neared his bed, he reached over to his desk with his wing and flicked on a lamp. The sight of his father sitting on his bed, leaned forward with a stern look on his face. His goggles were off, making it impossible for the young colt to be able to hold eye contact with his fathers intense glare.

“Making friends?” his father asked simply.

“N-No! I went out to s-screw with them, but then I w-was able to get some info out of them. S-Stories from that dimension you like,” he stammered, looking everywhere but his father.

“Ah, you were just gathering information for me,” he said flatly, still staring daggers at his son. “So that’s why you revealed things about me to them.”

The colt's eyes went wide as his father stood up, towering above him. “No no no, please I’m sorry, it just slipped out, I-”

“You little dunce, you are my SON, and you betray me?!” he roared, his words causing Domitor to fall back on his flank, pushing himself away as his father advanced on him.

“I didn’t betray you! I misspoke, I-”

But he didn’t have time to speak as his father grabbed him by the mane and raised a hoof.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Shayla waved goodbye to her friends as she split from them, wanting to go to the Mellowed Pie before heading home.

Bopping her head to the music coming through her headphones, she almost didn’t notice the pony walking towards her. But as she twisted her head, she raised an eyebrow.

It was Domitor. He had his head down and was walking pretty fast towards him, which caused her to stop and pull down her headphones.

He came to a stop a few feet away from her, breathing heavily.

“Uh… yo, Domitor… you good?” she asked, feeling a bit of sympathy towards him after just spending the entire night before talking and laughing.

“... Your fault…” he muttered, not looking at her.

“What?” she asked, frowning at him.

Then he looked up at her, his face covered in swollen bruises, blood, and tears. “Everything is your fault!”

“Whoa! What the hell happened to-” she began, taking a step towards him, but without warning he launched forward and punched her hard in the face, causing her to stagger back.

She blinked at him as he squared up with her, staring at her with hate filled eyes.

“You little bitch,” she growled, narrowing her eyes as she launched herself into him.

The two engaged in a very rough and heated fight, reigniting the rivalry in a new way. Now worse than before.

ooo000<^>000ooo

March 26th 17 A.B.

“This was a really stupid idea,” Roxxy mumbled as they all walked along the cliff edge, the heavy winds making it impossible to safely fly. The only thing ensuring their safety were the ropes around each of them.

“Nah, we got this,” Shayla replied as she stood at the front of the group, everyone’s ropes were attached to her, as she was the only one who was able to keep her grip due to her claws. If anyone fell, she’d also have the strength to pull them back up.

“How do we even know if this will work?” Dude yelled over the winds.

“We don’t!” she laughed back, then looked at the pack on her back where a little bundle lay curled up. “But we have to do this!”

“But why?! It’s not like-”

“We HAVE to do this!” she repeated, pushing ahead.

After a long slow climb they finally reached the end of the trail that ran along the side of the mountain, revealing a staircase that led straight up to the top of the mountain.

“See? Making good progress!” she yelled back, pulling them after her as she began to ascend the stairs.

“Oh good! More climbing…” Nightstreak whined, but was pulled along anyway.

“What if this isn’t real? What then?” Flippy Dew asked, looking at the wrapped up bundle on Shayla’s back.

“Then we try something else!” she stated.

“We’ve been trying all kinds of things for the last few months, I don’t think he has much more time left in him,” Nightstreak replied, getting a glare from the younger filly.

“It doesn’t matter. I promised him I’d try my hardest, and that’s what I’m going to do,” she said as she continued upward.

The climb was long and hard, as the stairs seemed to get steeper and steeper as they went. But finally, after what could have been hours, they reached the summit of the mountain. What lay before them was a simple looking statue with a few benches around it.

“That’s a bit underwhelming,” Dude muttered, but was yanked forward as Shayla pulled them all towards it.

“So what is this exactly? Something religious?” Summer Breeze asked, looking at the hand carved statue, shuttering as it looked like it was looking right at her.

“It’s a human religion thing,” Shayla said, removing the ropes from herself and walking forward. “From what I found out, there was a cult of humans here in Equestria that no longer wanted to be here, so they tried to contact their God to get sent somewhere else.”

“Did it work?” Flippy Dew asked, watching as Shayla removed the pack from her back and wiped snow from a bench, laying the bundle down on it.

“Well, do you see them around here?” she asked, unwrapping the bundle to reveal an old dog, who just looked around with tired eyes. He tried to stand, but he just collapsed back onto the blankets. “Hang in there, Louie,” she whispered to him, getting a weak nod from him.

“How do we use this?” Dude asked, kicking the foot of the statue, which appeared to depict a man nailed to a lowercase ‘t’.

Already having an answer to this, Shayla pulled out a thick book and held it up. “With this! I stole it from Spark’s dad’s study.”

“What book is that?”

She looked at it, flipping it around to show the front; ‘Holy Bible: Angelic Edition’. “Apparently,” she started, flipping through it, “this book was given to Spark’s dad by this God of theirs. So it’s got to work if we use it here.”

“I feel like stealing something like that is really bad,” Flippy Dew said, looking very nervous.

“It’ll be fine,” she chuckled, waving her concerns off. “So! Gather around!”

Everyone reluctantly moved up and took their places in a circle around the statue.

“Now what?” Dude asked, looking at Shayla as she flipped through the book.

“Now I read!” she responded. In a very dramatic voice, she began to read random passages from the book, yelling them at the statue.

But no matter how many she read, or how she yelled them, nothing happened.

“I command thee! SHOW THYSELF!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to mimic the way the book was written.

“It’s not doing anything,” Nightstreak said grimly. “This trip was a bust.”

“Wait,” she said, glaring up at the statue as it seemed to look back at her. “Let me think.”

“Try praying?” Flippy Dew offered.

“Praying? That’s stupid,” Shayla scoffed, then smiled. “Ah! I got this!”

Stepping forward, she kicked the statue, “oi! Come on out here you pussy!”

“Whoa! Let’s not call a God a pussy,” Dude yelped as everyone stared at her in horror.

But she ignored them.

“Come on! You turned Louie here into a dog that could not fix himself! That’s a dick move, you asshole!” she yelled, holding eye contact with the statue.

“Shayla!” Flippy Dew hissed, trembling as she watched her friend go off the rails.

“If you don’t talk to us,” she said, holding up the Bible and holding it open. “Then I’ll start ripping out pages!”

Everyone watched anxiously as she shook the book up at the statue, hoping she was just making a idle threat.

Then the sound of a page being ripped caused everyone to scream and rush for her.

“STOP!”

“You’re going to get us smited!”

She jumped above her friends and ripped out another page, throwing them at the statue.

“Get out here, coward! Stop acting all high and mighty!”

Then everything went white around them as the mountain faded away, replaced by a white void.

“That’s more like it!” she screamed, landing in front of her friends, who all looked absolutely terrified.

“My Child,” a voice boomed around them. “Do you understand the actions of which you have taken?”

“Yeah, you made me rip a few pages out of a book. That wouldn’t have happened if ya would have just shown yourself earlier,” she stated, standing tall as she glared upward into the void.

“Shayla!” Roxxy hissed at her, but she was ignored as Shayla tossed the book up and down in her claws.

“Now, if you don’t want me to rip this book up some more, then fix my friend over there,” she said with a cocky smile.

“A threat will not achieve what you demand,” the voice replied simply.

“Hey bitch!” she yelled, pointing a hoof up into the nothingness. “Don’t you fuck with me!” With a rip, she tore out another page, causing her friends to collapse onto the ground in dread. “See? You made me tear out another page.”

“Oh my… we’re going to die here,” Summer Breeze whined, burying her face in her hooves.

A large being of light appeared before them. Its features could not be seen, as it just appeared to be a solid mass of light.

“You do not grasp what you are doing. Your ignorance blinds you,” the mass of light said as Shayla squared up with it.

“Oh I know what I’m doing; I’m making you fix your fuck up and return Louie his younger self and give him a longer life span. Don’t make me force you to do it,” she yelled, waving the Bible at the light.

“My Child-”

“I aint your fucking child,” she said in a sassy voice as she flew up a bit, glaring at the light. “I want a simple yes or no. Are you going to fix Louie?”

“You are a very presumptuous filly, Shayla Beltosh,” the light said calmly to her.

“I get it from my moms,” she stated, smirking at the mass of light. “Now fix him!”

“I do not change my plans, my Child. Everything is as it should be,” the light said, followed by the Bible flying up and slapping against the area where its head should be.

“Shayla NOOO!” Roxxy yelled up at her sister, everyone diving to the ground in fear.

Shayla herself just hovered there, staring daggers at the mass of light as the Bible slowly fell towards the ground.

“You threw my Holy Scripture at my face,” the light said in a calm voice.

“Eeyep, I did. Do something about it,” she sneered back, sticking her tongue out as she reached into her saddlebags.

“Young naïve Shayla, I-”

The voice was interrupted as a soda can flew up and hit it in the face.

“I got plenty more, asshole,” she growled, holding up another can.

“...”

Everyone stared up, unable to breath as they waited for their enviable deaths.

“You are a true wild card, My Child,” the voice said, causing her to start to throw the can in her hand. “I will answer your prayer.”

“I never prayed, dumbass,” she said with a scowl, then threw the can, hitting the light in the chest area.

“You are a precipitate and bold filly, Shayla. If you are not careful, your future will not go as you believe it will,” the mass of light warned.

“Is that a threat?!” she yelled, digging into her bag for something else to throw.

“Good luck, my Children,” the voice said as she pulled out an empty bottle and started to throw it. But as soon as she threw it, the white void faded away as buildings began to appear around them. The bottle soared through the air and smashed against a building, causing her to growl.

“AH!!! That cowardly bitch! He sent us back to New Ponyville!” she screamed, throwing a tantrum in the air.

“Shayla!” Roxxy suddenly called out, getting her to turn to face her friends.

What she saw brought a smile to her face.

Louie was up and moving on his own, looking like a very young dog now.

“Louie! He fixed you!” Shayla yelled as she flew down and landed before the now very happy dog.

“He did!” Louie exclaimed, catching everyone off guard, even himself. “Oh! I can speak! YES!”

“But you’re still a dog,” Roxxy pointed out.

“I don’t care!” the little dog laughed, “I can TALK! That’s all I’ve ever wanted! I can finally tell you all about my backstory and all my thoughts!”

Shayla blinked at the excited dog as he rambled on.

“Wow! I just don’t know where to start! OH! I should probably start at the beginning!” He sat down on his butt and waved his paws in front of himself. “My story begins at the start, when I was born! It was a peaceful day that day, except for my parents screaming in joy at seeing me for the first time. If I remember the story correctly, they-”

“Dude, do it,” Shayla said, interpreting the little dog.

“On it!” Dude yelled, his horn flashing and sending the little dog away. “To Spark’s house he goes!”

“Oh thank all that is good, I love that little guy, but I didn’t realize he’d talk so much,” Shayla muttered, getting a few laughs from her friends.

Then Roxxy gasped as she pointed at Shayla's flank. "CUTIE MARK! YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!!"

"What?!" Shayla screamed, lifting her wings and looking at her flank, a wide grin on her face as she saw she did indeed get her cutie mark.

It was what appeared to be a playing card, the Joker card, with a blacked out snake head wearing a jesters hat.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "What's it mean?!"

"I dunno," Dude replied, shrugging as they all gathered around her to look at it. "But it's super cool looking!"

"Doesn't your mom have a playing card on her cutie mark, too?" Nightstreak asked, getting a excited nod from Shayla.

"Yep! This is so fucking cool!" She stared at her flank, enjoying the sight of her new cutie mark. Then, as if a switch was flipped, she turned to her friends, smiling even larger than before. “Now, who wants to go find another quest to go on?!”

Their happy smiles faded as they stared at their friend as she looked at them with an expectant smile.

“But.. we just finished one!” Dude complained.

“Yep! Which means we can do another! Now that I have a cutie mark, we need to get you all yours!” Shayla yelled, turning and marching further into town.

Her friends looked at each other and sighed, but they followed after her, as they always did.

“Onward, Phantasm Troupe!” Shayla yelled loudly, smiling proudly.

Author's Note

Had to unpublish, forgot a scene.

Part 4 Epilogue 4: The Champion and The Abused

Chapter 75

December 9th 12 A.B.

Three hours after Equine Championship Tournament

Star Chaser stood before his Sensei, a sneer on his face as he waited to be scowled for losing the tournament.

Kal just stared at him, his goggles reflecting the royal colt back at himself.

“I have trained you personally,” the stallion finally said, walking around the royal colt. “I even gave you an Ego that is sought after by all, an Ego that allows you to become unstoppable. And you still found a way to lose.”

Not wanting to accept the blame, he glared at his Sensei, “I only lost because-”

“Shut up,” Kal snapped, stalking around him. “The Protagonist Ego allows you to always come out on top, but ONLY IF YOU USE IT!”

“... I-I was using it,” Star Chaser stammered, losing his confidence as Kal ripped off his goggles and stared intensely into his eyes.

“NO, you have NOT been using it. The only time you’ve used it so far was that night everything fell apart! Since then, you’ve just been letting it go to waste!”

“But, I thought I was using it! I mean I won the fights all three to nothing till I fought Spark!” he protested, his brain reeling as he tried to figure out what to say next.

But Kal just shook his head, “I don’t think you actually know how to use your Ego. You’ve just been fighting and letting it activate on its own. You’re supposed to be the one in control, not the Ego!”

Doing his best to compose himself, he took a breath and exhaled loudly. “Okay, Sensei. Then show me how to use my Ego.”

“Should I?” Kal asked, standing over the royal colt, eyes portraying an emotion that Star Chaser couldn’t understand. “Bow to me, dedicate yourself to me, and I’ll turn you into the most fearsome creature to exist.”

This did not sit well with Star Chaser, but after watching Spark beat him and get all the praise, he was feeling a bit sour. “I bow to no one, but I will stand by you,” he stated, holding the gaze of Kal.

A grin slid onto the stallion's face as he slammed a hoof down on his shoulder. “That’s why I like you, Star Chaser.” He then turned and opened his pocket dimension, pulling out a few items. “You were resistant to Ollie’s mind manipulation, yet you still listened and did as you were told.”

“Because I’m the best,” he said back, getting a raised eyebrow in response.

“If you are to dedicate yourself to me, then we’re going to bond. Then, I will reveal the truth to you,” Kal stated, holding a strange device between them. “Just know, bonding with me will take your useless pony magic away from you. Because what you will get in return will be so much more valuable: Absolute control of your Ego.”

“Do it,” was all Star Chaser said as he stood tall before his Sensei.

“That’s my boy,” Kal said with an almost sinister smile as he hit the button, causing thread to shoot out of the device and attach to both of them. Their souls were pulled from their bodies and smashed together, becoming one. Then with a flash, they flew back into their bodies.

“Wow,” he muttered, watching as Kal put the device away and smiled down at him.

“You are now one of us, kid,” he said, his body flashing as he took on his real base form. “Now, let’s get started.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

September 14th 21 A.B.

“Plus four,” the gruff stallion said as he put a card down on the pile in the middle of the table.

The stallion on his left grunted and pulled four cards from the deck, then slapped down a green five.

The stallion to his left put down a green three and smirked, “Uno.”

“Shut up, Markus, you have two cards there, not one,” another stallion growled, watching as the stallion in question frowned and realized he had two cards left, not one.

“Plus four,” the next one said.

“Plus four.”

“Plus four.”

“Plus four.”

Markus blinked and slammed a hoof down on the table, “Hey! That’s not how this game works, you can’t just keep stacking plus fours and passing it along!”

“Yeah it is! I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid, that’s how we’ve always done it!”

“The official rules-”

“Fuck the official rules!”

“GUYS!” a stallion not at the table snapped, as he sat on a couch watching TV. “Shut the fuck up, you’re upsetting our guest.”

All of the ponies in the room looked over to the three tied up ponies who sat huddled up in a corner.

“So what?” one of the stallions at the table asked, spitting some tobacco into a cup, “Let them be upset.”

“I don’t care what they think, as long as they rich parents pay the ransom, then I’ll be a happy man.”

“If they don’t, then oh well,” one said, winking at them, causing the three ponies to shrink further into their corner.

“Stop harassing them, we need them to listen to us, not fight us,” the one on the couch growled.

“Why are you all doing this?” one of the mares asked suddenly, leaning away from her two fellow hostages. “If you’d of asked, my parents would have-”

“Stop Daisy, these are bronies, they don’t care about logic,” another of the hostages said, glaring at the stallions in the room as they smiled at them.

“How about you three just shut up and face that corner?” a stallion called out, getting a few laughs from the others.

The phone on the table in front of the couch began to ring, causing the one in front of it to smile widely, “Sounds like we might finally have a catch!”

Clearing his throat, he used his magic to lift the phone and hit the answer button. “Yes?”

No response came as he held the phone to his ear. So he hung up, mumbling. But as soon as he hung up, the phone began to ring again.

“Finally come to your senses?” he said with a cocky laugh as he answered, but again, no one responded.

This time, the caller ended the call and called back immediately.

“What the fuck are they doing?!” one of the stallions asked in annoyance.

The stallion holding the phone growled as he answered it, “Stop playing around! If you don’t speak right now, I will start hurting the mares!”

“I would advise against that,” a voice said as they hung up on him again, only to call back immediately.

With a snort of frustration, the stallion dropped the phone and began walking towards the mares as it rang behind him.

“Screw it! We’re removing something from them and sending it to the parents!” he yelled, causing the three mares to start screaming.

Suddenly, with no warning, the wall behind the card players exploded inward as a pony crashed through it. Everyone jumped up and rushed away from the pony as they stood up, smiling at them all.

“Found you,” he said, eyes twitching to the ringing phone. With a flick of his wrist, he hit the end call button on his own hoof mounted phone, standing up tall before the very confused stallions.

“Who the fuck are you?!” the one who had been using the phone yelled out, pointing a hoof mounted pistol at the new arrival.

“Champion,” the stallion said with a wide grin as he placed a hoof on his chest. “Hero of Equestria.”

“Oh, it’s just that one guy with all the connections and money, the one who is pretending to be Superman or some shit,” one of the stallions said, getting a few of the others to laugh as they all raised their guns on the costumed stallion before them.

“I will say this once: let them-” Champion started to say, but was cut off by the leader.

“Dumb move, wannabe Superman,” he said as he looked to one of his men. “Get the hostages ready to go, we’re moving after we deal with him.”

The stallion nodded and ran over to the three mares, dragging them to their hooves.

Champion frowned at being ignored, so he took a step forward, “Do not-”

They all opened fire at once, firing small arms and a few rifles at him. A rocket launcher was even fired at him, pissing everyone off as the room filled with smoke. They continued to fire for a few more seconds till the smoke got too thick to see through.

“Jason you retard! Why’d you use the fucking RPG?!” one of them yelled, slapping the offender upside the head.

“Because I never get to use the RPG!” the one named Jason yelled back, wacking his friend with the weapon.

“Come on, let’s get moving,” the leader said as he stepped forward. But a purple glow began to emit from the area where the hole was.

“What is-” one began, but a laser like beam flashed across the room as it cut through four of the stallions immediately, cutting them in half at varying angles.

“Holy shit!” the leader yelped as the sound of two wings flaring could be heard, and the entire room was cleared of smoke as two powerful wings flapped hard.

As the smoke cleared, they saw the stallion was still standing there, not a scratch on him as his eyes glowed purple. “Always straight to shooting me,” he said with a smirk. “WHich is good, because now everything I do can be justified as self defense.”

“Oh fuck this,” the leader said as he turned and went to fire again. But a beam hit his hoof and melted it all the way to the elbow. He stumbled back in shock as he looked at his melting stump.

With a chuckle, Champion started to move towards them, but the sound of his phone ringing got his attention. With a groan, he hit accept and held it up to his ear. “Yes, sir?”

“Star Chaser, why aren’t you in my office like I asked?” came Kal’s voice, causing Champion to frown.

“I’m dealing with something, sir. I’ll be there soon,” he assured him, watching as the stallions before him slowly inched towards the exit. But he held up his hoof and shook it at them, his eyes still glowing purple.

“Are you playing superhero again?” Kal asked, a tone of annoyance in his voice. “I didn’t help you achieve your ultimate form just so you could go play childish games! I did it so you can be a formable pawn in MY game. Where are you right now?”

“... Manehattan, sir,” he replied, his eye twitching.

“That’ll take you five minutes to fly from, so I expect you by then,” Kal said as he hung up, not giving Champion time to respond.

With a sigh, he looked at the stallions, who all looked scared as their leader continued to roll around screaming on the ground.

“Looks like we’re cutting this short,” he said as his eyes began to glow brighter. “So…”

The beam flew from his eyes and swept over all of the stallions before him, cutting them down as they tried to flee for the door.

Once they were dead, he rubbed his eyes and waved a hoof at the pile of bodies. “Ladies, you’re free to go.”

He didn’t hear anyone moving, so he looked up, scanning the bodies. “Ah, oops,” he muttered, seeing the three mares were cut to pieces with the stallions. “Oh well.”

With a massive boom, he launched himself into the air and rocketed across the sky at a speed that parted the clouds. The building from which he’d launched himself from collapsed in the background, as he had been on the eighteenth floor and the force of his take off was too much for the building to handle.

In only four minutes, he arrived in New Ponyville and landed right outside the mansion.

Grunting in annoyance, he approached the front door, but he could already hear Kal talking on the other side of the building, thanks to his Ego enhanced hearing.

“Star Chaser, grab the packages at the front door,” Kal said from his office, knowing Champion could hear him.

He kicked the boxes through the front door as he walked by them, grumbling to himself as he did so.

Upon stepping into the house, he sensed Domitor staring at him from the top of the stairs.

The young colt stared at him, looking like he wanted to ask a question, but Champion just glared up at him and walked through a door. He found the kid to be nothing more than an annoyance.

As he entered Kal’s office, the stallion turned and looked at him, “Now that you’re finally here, Star Chaser-”

“Champion,” he interrupted, glaring at the other stallion. “I’ve told you I go by Champion now.”

“And I told you I don’t play make believe,” Kal said back in a mocking tone. “Star Chaser, I need you to go to the Eternal Plains again and kill another target.”

“Who this time?” Champion asked, eye twitching with irritation at his own request being ignored, again.

Kal chuckled and tossed a packet over to him. “Just another little enemy of mine. Kill them and bring me their head as proof, you know the drill.”

He nodded as he looked through the packet, then looked back at his boss. “When are we going to actually deal with the problems here?”

“In time,” Kal said back, smiling to himself. “I have a plan in motion as we speak. Just do as you’re told and leave the rest to me.”

Champion eyed his boss, “I think we should-” he stopped himself as he heard Kal’s heart start to beat faster, indicating his rising anger. “Nevermind, I’m on it.”

“Good boy,” Kal said, his heart rate returning to normal. “Hop to it.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Good job tonight, Shayla,” Scamp said as she tossed a towel to her daughter.

Shayla smiled at the praise as she caught the towel and began to wipe the sweat from her face. “Thanks, mama.”

As her daughter dried off, Scamp walked over to the trophy case, smiling at all the first place trophies her Dojo had won over the years. Most of them were actually won by her daughter in the last three years.

Most impressive was the World Martial Arts Championship she’d just won the month before. It was the only tournament that was open to all species of the world, and is considered the hardest to win. No age restrictions either, so she was fighting against full grown adults.

Scamp turned to her daughter, a proud smile on her face.

Shayla looked at her mother and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing,” Scamp chuckled, walking over and ruffling her mane. “Just admiring my little badass.”

“Mama,” she whined, stepping away from her mother and fixing her mane.

As she fixed her mane, her mother frowned as she saw the tattoo on the front of her chest on top of one of her scales. “I still hate that you got that thing.”

“It’s cool, mama,” she said back, tossing the towel aside.

“But why that one? I thought Goku or Vegeta was your favorite?” Scamp asked, causing her daughter to smile brightly.

“They were when I was younger, but this guy right here,” she said, patting the tattoo, “is my spirit animal. Perfect Cell, the coolest character in all of media.”

“If you say so, sweetie,” Scamp chuckled, heading for her office. “I’m still not sure how you even raised enough money to buy that, to be honest.”

Shayla smiled sheepishly, as she did not want to admit she asked Kal to pay for it. Her mother had a deep hatred for the guy, and Shayla could easily see why. The guy was a creep and an asshole, but he at least was easy to manipulate and get free shit out of.

She stepped up to the mirror and flexed her muscles, smirking at herself. “One sexy mofo right there.”

With a little twirl, she spun around and then dove forward, rolling and coming to a stop right in front of a chair that held all of her personal belongings. She flipped on her Pit Viper’s, courtesy of Reinhardt, and picked up her band, using it to put her mane back up in a ponytail.

Rolling backwards, she returned to her position before the mirror and gave herself finger guns.

“When you’re done admiring yourself, I need help cleaning the Dojo,” Scamp called to her as she brought out some cleaning supplies.

Shayla let out an annoyed groan, but didn’t protest as she walked over to help her mother.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor watched as Champion left the building, his cape flowing behind him. While he thought he was cool, especially with the costume and powers, he hated that his father treated him more like a son than he did him.

Growling a bit, he turned and walked for his room, but stopped when he saw his mother laying on a couch in the hallway, just staring up at the ceiling.

She never did anything outside of what his father asked her to do. When he tried asking her why, she just responded with ‘depression’ and shut down when he tried to ask her further questions. At least she tried to show compassion towards him, unlike his father.

Walking past her, he grunted at her, and she just glanced at him, not responding in any way.

Continuing down the hall towards his room, he saw some of the others in their rooms, doing various activities. Some work out in some way or another, and others perform their hobbies.

In his honest opinion, he hated all of them. Parents included… well maybe not so much hate for his mother, but she still didn’t stop his father when he’d get mad. Well, she tried once, a long time ago, but he took her away for a few weeks. And when she came back, she’d barely look at him.

Finally making it to his room he stepped in and closed the door. Walking over to his computer, he prepared to perform one of his only joys in life; drawing. Which is how he got his cutie mark, a paintbrush and a digital pen crossed to form an X.

His father had been very annoyed when he’d learned what his special talent was, but thankfully didn’t stop him. Probably because he just didn’t care enough to do so.

Domitor just sighed as he grabbed his drawing tablet and took the digital pen in his wing tip. He then began to absentmindedly draw a picture of himself dressed as some kind of comic book protagonist.

He let out a happy sigh as he continued to draw, watching the picture slowly coming together.

Then he heard the horrible sound of his father’s distinctive hoof steps as he approached his room. Quickly, he turned off the tablet and flew from his chair, landing in his bed just as the door opened.

“Did you forget something,” Kal asked, eyes locked on his son, who was pretending to read a comic book.

He looked up, eyes wide as he tried desperately to recall if he’d forgotten to do anything his father had asked.

“... No, father,” he finally said, hoping that was the right answer.

“Good, I thought you’d forgotten to lead class tonight at the Dojo,” Kal said, his tone implying he was very unhappy.

“Oh…” Domitor muttered, then he shrank into the bed as he realized he had indeed forgotten he’d been asked to do that. “I-I for-”

“I know,” Kal said, walking in and opening his pocket dimension. “I’ve been to lax with you. You’re starting to think you can do whatever you want.”

“Dad, wait, I’m-”

“Careful with what you say next,” Kal said in a dangerous tone as he started throwing Domitor’s possessions into the pocket dimension. As he picked up the drawing tablet and computer, the colt began to tremble with suppressed anger. But he knew better than to voice his opinion.

“Going forward, no more of this ‘recreational’ nonsense. I want you practicing your techniques and exercises as much as possible. Shayla has been winning championships while all you’ve been doing is FUCKING OFF!” he exploded out of nowhere, throwing the chair at his terrified son.

Domitor yelped as he was struck in the side, and flipped out of bed, whimpering as he grabbed his side. He may be very durable thanks to his father employing all kinds of magic and runes on him, but his father was still strong enough to hurt him.

“Get to the Dojo. NOW!” Kal bellowed, stomping out of the room, leaving nothing but furniture and clothes for the poor colt.

Coughing loudly, the now injured colt forced himself to stand up and staggered into the hallway, heading for the stairs.

As he passed his mother, she looked at him with sad eyes, but said nothing since Kal was still in the area.

With a sneer, he stomped past his mother, hissing in pain with each step, and descended the stairs.

Upon stepping outside the mansion, he tried to take to the air, but his wing wouldn’t do as he wanted, as it appeared to have been damaged by the chair.

Rage replaced his sadness and he took off running, heading for the Dojo. He hated everyone. They were all against him. All of them.

Champion’s and Shayla’s faces flashed in his mind, causing him to yell in frustration. His father never mistreated them the way he did him. His own SON! He even talks to Champion like he was his son!

Maybe if he did something great enough, his father would actually love him…

Author's Note

That's it for the Epilogues.

Finally a winner

Chapter 1

March 4th 24 A.B.

The wind whipped past me as I stood there on my hindlegs, my right hand hovering over the gun in my holster. Across from me stood my opponent, a blank look on their face as we stared each other down, waiting for the signal.

I narrowed my eyes, licking my lips as my right hand twitched in anticipation.

A loud ding filled the air as the timer between us went off.

We both reacted the instant it went off. My hand snatched my gun from its holster and began to lift and tilt it towards my opponent, but my opponent was faster as their gun went off, causing my head to snap back.

Stumbling back I fell to the ground, staring straight up at the sky.

My opponent approached me and stood over me, smirking.

“You’re getting faster at least,” my mother said as she held a hoof out to me.

I roll my eyes and take her hoof, allowing her to help me up, “one day I’m going to wipe that smug look right off your face, mama.”

She just smiled at me as she stood in front of me. “I know you will, honey.” Then with a little shove, she started walking back towards the path that led back to town. “But till then, enjoy losing to your mother.”

As she walked away from me, I smirked as I reached down and picked up two practice swords, and threw one at her.

Without looking back, her clawed back leg shot up and caught the wooden sword.

“We’re not done yet,” I said in a determined voice.

With a chuckle, she turned to face me, her eyebrow raised. “You really up to another loss already, sweetheart?”

“You bet,” I say back, picking up another sword and twirling both of them in my hands.

My mother just grinned as she passed the sword to her front paw and stood up on her hindlegs. “Well, let’s make this fast. Your mom is making her special tonight, and I’m starving.”

I winked at her as I dashed towards her, both swords held out to my sides.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor watched the mother and daughter spar, watching as their training swords flashed and clashed, with neither one of them seeming to have the advantage over the other.

As they fought, he watched from across the clearing, hidden in the trees. He had his own training sword, and was trying to mimic the way they were fighting. He didn’t have hands like they did, but he made up for it by using a special grip on his sword, allowing him to hold it in his hooves like they do.

He weaved around fake attacks, swinging his sword like an expert. He’d spar, but none of the others at his Dojo wanted to fight with him unless they were made to. Apparently, he was ‘too aggressive’ and ‘not fun to fight’.

Jerry the gator sat on a log, watching dumbly as the young stallion fought off invisible opponents.

The dark stallion weaved around an unseen attack and stepped on a wet spot on the ground, yelping as he suddenly tripped and fell to the ground.

He didn’t get up as he just stared up at the sky above him, no emotions playing on his face.

“This sucks, Jerry,” he finally said aloud, the sounds of the mother and daughter fighting echoing in the distance. “I’m not saying you're a bad friend, but it’d be nice to have at least one other person out there that liked me.”

Jerry just blinked back, one eye at a time.

“Yeah, self pity looks bad on me,” Domitor muttered, getting back up and resuming a fighting stance. His eyes tracked a leaf as it fell from the tree above him, and with practiced ease, he sliced it out of the air. “You think my father will-”

He stopped as he looked at Jerry, seeing the little guy licking his eye.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said with a heavy sigh. “He’s too busy loving Champion and pampering Shayla to even talk to me.”

With a growl, he went back to slicing at the air, attacking fake opponents with aggressive strikes.

“Domitor,” a voice said from above him as Champion floated down in front of him, a scowl on his face. “Your father told you to clean the Dojo.”

Domitor’s eye twitched, which Champion noticed, “I know. But I saw Shayla and her mother heading for the woods to train, so I followed to-”

“Kal told you to stop pursuing her. That’s no longer the plan, so stand down,” Champion said harshly. Then, just to add salt to the wound, he smiled, “Besides, Kal has given up on you being worth anything. You’re just lucky your mother wants you to stick around.”

“Why are you such an asshole to me,” Domitor asked, turning to face the costumed stallion. “I looked up to you once, but all you do is-”

“Shut it, kid,” Champion interrupted him, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation. “Get back to the Dojo, do as you’re told, and stay in your lane. Leave those two alone and let the adults handle this.”

“I am an adult,” Domitor muttered, which only caused Champion to chuckle as he lifted into the air and flew away.

Looking back to Jerry, he saw the little gator was staring at him with crossed eyes.

“One day, I’ll make them pay,” he said in a low tone, looking at the two sparring in the clearing. “All of them.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Not a fair fight,” I mumbled as I stood alone in the clearing, cleaning up the mess we created during our sparring match. Rubbing the side of my neck, where she’d landed the finishing blow, I growled.

To date, my own mother was the only one who could kick my ass. But that’ll change once I get a little more training!

Once I finished piling up all the broken tree branches and training swords, I moved to my stuff that I’d left by a tree.

“Shayla!” I heard a familiar voice yell from behind me, causing me to smirk.

“I knew someone was watching us,” I remarked as I turned around to see Domitor standing in the middle of the clearing, looking a bit worked up, as usual. Seems every time he decides to fight me, he’s always emotional. Must need to work himself up just to face me. I get it, I’m intimidating.

He stood up on his hindlegs and brandished a wooden training sword.

“Really? Come on,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Face me!” he yelled, his voice sounding a bit hoarse.

I wave him off, turning back to my stuff and resuming to pack it all back into my saddlebags. “Nah, not feeling it today. Come back when you’re ready.”

My ear twitched as I heard him move behind me. In one quick motion I shot my hands out and grabbed two training swords and spun around, catching his sword between mine. With a growl, he jumped back, keeping his sword pointed at me.

“You think you’re all that?!” He yelled, his sword shaking in his grip. “You’re not! You’re just a big bully! Just like everyone else!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at his overly emotional outburst.

But he didn’t respond anymore as he dashed for me, his sword coming in at an awkward angle. Unluckily for him, I was extremely flexible and able to move my body and swords in just an awkward angle, blocking his attack. Then just to show off, I deflected him to the side and slammed a knee right into his throat, causing him to yelp and fly to the ground behind me.

“Domitor, come on, these fights are embarrassing,” I said as I turned to face him as he forced himself to stand back up, coughing. “We’re not kids anymore. And we’re not even on the same level anymore.”

Turning back to me, he rubbed his throat, still looking determined. “We are on the same level. My father is the only reason I’ve not been able to actually stand up to you. But I’m done with that crap! So come on, fight me for real!”

“For real?” I ask, shaking my head. “I’m not going to actually hurt you, dumbass. No matter how much you deserve it.”

“Then prepare to get hurt yourself,” he growled as he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. His body slowly relaxed as the tension seemed to leave him, causing him to look calmer than I’ve ever seen him.

“Come on, man, just-” I began to say, but my eyes went wide as I sensed something strange from him as he stood up fully and glared at me.

Before I could react properly, he exploded towards me, with nothing but his hooves. I didn’t have time to do anything other than raise the two training swords and cross them to block his incoming punch. With wide eyes, I watched as his hoof just shattered through the two wooden swords and continued towards my face.

Everything went white as his hoof struck my face, sending me flying backwards.

Just as I righted myself, I threw my right leg up just in time to deflect his next attack as he continued after me. As I deflected his hoof, I threw my own punch right over his next incoming attack, slamming into his face just before he reached mine. A perfect cross-counter.

Yet, he didn’t stop his attack and continued it right into my face yet again, snapping my head back violently from the force of the hit. But that didn’t stop me from slamming a knee up into his groin.

He yelped in pain, but continued with another punch to my gut, causing me to double over as he somehow hit me hard enough to completely wind me. With more speed than I thought he had, he jumped and spun his body, slamming a knee into my jaw and sending me straight into the ground.

What the fuck was going on here?!

I gritted my teeth as I pushed myself up and twisted my body, slamming a back foot into his face as he tried to pounce on me, catching him right under the jaw. I immediately followed this up with a punch to the gut as I twisted into him. He somehow found a way to slam a hoof into the side of my face, but I returned the favor as I wrapped my tail around his back leg and yanked him straight into the ground.

Unexpectedly, as he bounced off of the ground, he shot a hoof forward and caught me in the throat way harder than he should have been able to from that position.

I felt something strange happen as I suddenly found it hard to breathe. Staggering back, holding a hand to my throat, I began to panic a bit as I realized I wasn’t getting any air into my lungs anymore.

But he didn’t back down as he righted himself and jumped for me, eyes ablaze with hatred.

Not able to react properly, he was able to land a hard kick to my unguarded face, sending me flying across the meadow and into a large tree.

I pawed at my throat as I struggled to get air into my body, but it was like my airway was blocked.

He stomped towards me, but as he neared me, something flashed across his face as he saw me struggling to breathe. A conflicted look appeared on his face.

‘I’m dying!’ I thought to myself, eyes watering heavily as everything started to go dark.

Holding a hand up in front of myself, I flicked a claw out and tried my hardest to do what I needed to do. But I wasn’t able to as the strength left me.

Just as I was starting to lose it, someone grabbed my hand and gripped the claw. They then shoved my other hand away from my throat and I felt a sharp pain as they used my claw to make a cut. Then something was pushed into the new cut, and with great relief, I took a small breath.

Breathing hard, my vision slowly came back as I realized Domitor was standing over me, holding my claw in his hoof as he glared at me. Reaching up, I realized he’d stuck a straw or something into the cut he’d made in my windpipe, which was how I was breathing.

But I couldn't speak as he tossed my hand aside and stood up, a harsh conflicted look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, then stepped back.

I struggled to stand, holding a hand over my throat, keeping the straw in place as I struggled to breath through it. I could only stare at him in confusion and anger.

“I win though,” he stated, turning and walking away.

A ragged sound bubbled up from my throat as I tried to tell him off, but I wasn’t able to speak at all. He walked away, glancing back a few times as I stumbled after him, my eyes ablaze with fury.

I wasn’t done yet! He got a lucky hit in, that’s all!

“I’m sorry, I lost control of myself,” he mumbled, only pissing me off more as I continued after him. He suddenly galloped over to my stuff and grabbed my phone. It looked like he was texting someone, which caused me to start rushing towards him, ignoring the grinding feeling in my throat.

As I neared, he dropped my phone and jumped into the air, out of my reach. “Calypso is on her way,” he stated, looking down on me. “We’re done, Shayla.”

With that, he flew away, leaving me there glaring after him with absolute hate. He thinks he’s won?! I win since he’s running! COWARD!

ooo000<^>000ooo

“How did you perform an Emergency Tracheostomy on yourself like this?!” Calypso exclaimed as she laid me on my back, looking me over. “And why did you use this straw?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO A EMERGENCY TRACHEOSTOMY?!”

I just rolled my eyes at her as her husband Doc the Yeti stood behind her, looking worried.

“Your mothers are going to kill you,” Calypso said with a frown as she waved Doc over and pulled the straw from my throat. I started to panic as I lost the ability to breath, but Doc placed his hands on me as they glowed. Slowly, I felt my throat repairing itself, then I finally took a breath on my own.

As he finished, I let out a sigh of relief as I sat up, rubbing my throat.

“What happened?!” she snapped at me.

Frowning, I turned to her, seeing her angry eyes glaring at me. I did not want to admit that I ‘lost’ a fight. “I hurt myself training,” I muttered, getting a groan out of her.

“I’m going to talk to Scamp about this, we can’t have you out here getting hurt like this! This injury could have killed you!” she yelled, but I just ignored her and stood up, moving towards my stuff.

“Don’t ignore me,” Calypso growled. “I’m responsible for keeping you all alive, and sometimes, you make that job very stressful and impossible!”

“Well sorry, I’ll try and be more careful in the future,” I grumbled, flipping on my Pit Viper’s and putting on my saddlebags.

“Where are you going?!” she demanded.

“Food,” was all I said as I began to walk away, still rubbing my throat.

“I swear, just like her damn mother,” I heard her say as she and Doc began to speak quietly.

But I just kept walking, trying to process what exactly just happened.

I’ve fought Domitor many times in the past, and every time I’ve come out on top. He’s always fast to act and easily predictable, usually yelling at me the entire time. This time though, he seemed focused, like he was being serious.

I just made the mistake of not taking him seriously, which is the ONLY reason he got that cheap shot in and hurt me. If I’d been treating him like a real opponent, I’d have won that easily… Wait, was he trying to kill me?

Stopping, I frowned as I rubbed the small cut over my scaled throat.

No, if he was trying to kill me, he wouldn’t of saved me… what the fuck is his problem?

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You halfwit!” Kal roared as he slammed a hoof into his son's face, sending him straight to the ground as he towered over him. “Do you realize what you’ve done?!”

“I did what you wanted me to do! You raised me to fight her!” Domitor yelled up at his father, trying to stand, but was hit again.

“I did not raise you! You just live here thanks to your damn mother! I told you to stay away from Shayla! I’ve told you over and over again to stop, yet you keep it up!” Kal screamed as he grabbed his son’s front leg in both of his hooves, flipping him onto his front and using his leg to hold him down.

“But I won! I beat her! She-”

“If you just ruined all my work, I will KILL you, cretin! I’ve put up with you this long because you had some use keeping her entertained, but today you’ve finally crossed a line!” he yelled as he began to apply pressure to his son's leg.

“Dad, wait wait wait!” Domitor yelled in panic, eyes going wide as he felt his leg muscles straining.

“Do not call me that. You’re no son of mine after today!” Kal said in a cold voice as he calmly snapped his son's leg at the elbow, erecting a scream of agony from him. He shoved his broken leg aside and stood up, staring down at his son as he curled up in the fetal position.

“Clean yourself up and go to your room. I’m going to see if you’ve ruined everything,” he said as he moved towards the door to his office, stopping in the doorway. “If she resents me, I will come back and finish this.”

Domitor cried into the carpet as he held his leg, the bone exposed as it stuck through his flesh.

“Star Chaser, get him to his room, now,” Kal ordered, finally leaving the room.

“Yes, sir,” Champion said as he stood up from his seat where he’d been the whole time, watching the entire interaction.

“Come on, peasant,” Champion said as he roughly yanked Domitor to his hooves and dragged him out of the office and down the hall, ignoring his yelps and screams of pain. As they reached his room, he tossed him in and slammed the doors, leaving him alone.

Struggling to get up, he moved to his window and propped himself up against it, staring out at the town below.

He didn’t get it; he’d finally won against Shayla, which is what everyone kept ridiculing him for. Everyone said he’d never beat her, and yet when he finally did, he gets treated like this. It made no sense to him!

His father was supposed to finally praise him and say he was proud of him! To accept him as his son and they could finally start acting like he does with Champion!

Holding back further tears, he opens the window and climbs out of it, taking to the air as he decided to head for the clinic to get his leg fixed.

But as he flew forward, a massive amount of wind blew past him as Champion suddenly appeared before him.

“Already disobeying orders?” he asked, a wide grin on his face.

“I’m just going to the clinic,” Domitor said through clenched teeth.

“Did Kal say you could?” the royal cunt asked, smiling at him. “No, he said stay in your room, so get back in there!”

With a look of happiness, Champion zoomed forward and slammed his head into Domitor’s chest, sending him flying backwards. He crashed through his window and landed on the floor of his room, now covered in cuts and having trouble breathing.

“Next time you disobey Kal, I’m breaking all of your limbs,” Champion said in a sinister voice as he floated away from the window.

Domitor, now hurt even more, just laid there, deciding the best thing to do was just wait for his fathers return and hope he allowed him to get healed.

Everything is coming together

Chapter 2

Sucking loudly, I drained the soda from the cup, using a straw as my throat was still extremely sore. The first thing I did once I got back to town was to come to the Mellowed Pie and get a fountain drink, since going home meant I’d have to talk to my moms about what just happened.

I’m not sure if I’ll tell them the truth or not, since they’ll over react and do something stupid. Plus, I can handle this one. Domitor screwed up catching me off guard like that. Next time, I’m coming at him with everything I got.

“Hello, Shayla,” Kal said as he appeared before my booth, smiling widely at me.

“What?” I grunted out as he was one of the few ponies I did not want to see right now.

“My son told me what he did,” he said, seeming to judge my reaction.

“Yeah? He tell you it was a fluke? He caught me off guard,” I growled, slamming my drink down on the table.

“Of course,” he said as he slid into my booth. “I mean, you are a championship winning mare! And him? Just a waste of space.”

“You could say that again,” I agreed, taking the top off my cup and pouring some ice into my mouth.

He smiled as he leaned back, placing an item on the table. “I just wanted to come and apologize for him. This here is an item that-”

“Don’t want it,” I interrupted, pushing it back to him. “Want to make up for it? Then fuck off.”

His smile wavered, but he didn’t push it as he stood up and gave me a bow. But as he turned to leave, I sighed as I thought of something.

“Want to make up for this?” I asked, getting him to turn to me and grin.

“Of course,” he said with an eager look on his face.

“Get me a way to go to another dimension, like the Eternal Plains or something, and I’ll consider us square,” I said carefully, watching his reaction.

A strange look flashed across his face as his grin widened. “Ah, that I could probably do. If you can wait, I can come up with something.”

“As long as you do it, then take your time,” I say back, leaning back and chewing on some more ice.

He didn't say anything else, just bowed and left, looking to have a little excitement in the way he walked.

Weirdo.

But I smiled as I chewed on my ice, I’d finally got him by the balls! I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to try and manipulate him into taking me to another dimension, since no one else would.

So I guess I owe Domitor for once, since his little fuck up just put his father in a lose lose situation with me.

“Game set match,” I mumbled as I smirked to myself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Kal stepped into his son's room, frowning as he found him curled up on the floor amid a pile of broken glass.

“Get up,” he said roughly, causing his son to stand up slowly. “You did good.”

Domitor’s head snapped up in shock as he looked at his father, “I-I did?”

He gave a sharp nod as he stood in the doorway, Champion standing behind him. “She’s asked for me to take her to another dimension, so thanks to you, our plans have been pushed forward a great deal.”

This brought a smile to Domitor’s tired face as he relaxed despite the pain. “Does that mean you’re proud of me… dad?”

“Don’t call me that,” Kal said coldly, a glare appearing on his face. “Don’t mistake this praise for me forgiving what you did. While the outcome was better than expected, you still messed with my plans. For that, you’re done. Next slip up, and Star Chaser here will be free to deal with you as he sees fit.”

Champion smirked from behind him, his eyes glowing purple for a moment.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered, his smile fading away.

“Head to the clinic, tell them you fell or something. Get that leg fixed and get back here, I want you out of the way as I get everything ready.”

“Yes, sir,” Domitor replied, trying not to react negatively.

“Good,” was all he said as he and Champion walked away from the door.

His heart pounded painfully as he stood there, conflicted on how to feel. His father praised him, but then put him back down. It’s like nothing changed at all…

The pain in his leg brought him back to reality as he looked down at it, grimacing at the color it was changing too. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he limped to the window and took to the air.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Flying upside down just above the ground, I typed away at my phone, texting the group chat for Phantasm Troupe about what just happened with Domitor and Kal.

They were mostly worried about me almost dying, but I kept steering the conversation back to us all getting a chance to finally do some dimensional travel.

As I flew upside down, I saw Domitor flying above me, heading for the clinic.

He looked down at me, frowning as I smirked back up at him. Yet he didn’t stop, but I did notice his leg was broken, since I could clearly see the bone.

How the hell did he hurt himself this time?

I just rolled my eyes and continued on my way, heading for Spark’s house.

It didn’t take me long to get there, but upon beating on the door and no one answering, I realized he must not be home. Which sucked, because that meant he was either at work or his parents house.

Reluctantly, I flew to his parents house, since it was closer than his job.

Approaching the front door, I heard the sound of him laughing inside. Oh great, I get to see his mom again… yay.

Knocking on the door, his dad answered, smiling widely as he saw me.

“We were just talking about you, Shayla!” he laughed, opening the door for me.

Smiling awkwardly, I stepped inside and flipped my Pit Viper’s up. “Spark’s here?”

“Yep, he just got off work,” Lance chuckled, leading me towards the kitchen where Spark, his wife Starlight, and his mom sat laughing.

I smiled happily as I saw Spark in his Sheriff’s Deputy uniform. “What up, Spark!”

“Shayla!” he exclaimed, hopping up and stepping up to me, giving me a large hug. “How you been?”

“You know me! Kicking ass and shit like that!” I chuckled, breaking the hug and slugging his shoulder.

Then he frowned as he tilted my chin up. “What cut you?”

“Nothing, just fell during training is all,” I said, waving his concern off.

He narrowed his eyes at me, as he always somehow knew when I was lying. But he didn’t press it as a smile returned to his face, “Well anyways, what brings you around?”

“Can we talk in private?” I asked, looking at his parents and wife who were now all at the dining room table, watching us.

“Sure thing,” he said, turning to them and nodding to them. “Be right back.”

He led me upstairs to his old room, which was mostly filled with boxes now as his parents were using it as a storage room.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked, sitting down in a chair.

I didn’t take a seat as I started pacing around the room, opening boxes and absent mindedly going through them. “So, I did it.”

“Did what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Found a way to travel between dimensions,” I said casually, causing him to groan.

“I’m not even going to ask how you figured that one out,” he muttered, rubbing his face. “Okay, what’s your plan then?”

“I dunno,” I admitted, moving to another box. “I’ve kinda wanted to go to the Eternal Plains with my friends and just explore it. Maybe get a cool Ego weapon if I could manage it.”

“I’m assuming your mom's don’t know about this?” he asked, getting a snort laugh out of me.

“What do you think?” I said with a sly smile.

“Scamp will tear what ever dimension you go to apart to find you if you don’t tell her about this,” he warned.

I just shook my head, moving to another box, “if I tell her, she’ll stop me from leaving. She thinks I’m helpless and can’t take care of myself.”

“Now that I know is not true,” he said as he leaned forward, “she’s told me you are just as capable as she is, you’re just lacking the life experience to go out on your own like that.”

This brought a frown to my face, “how do I get life experience if I’m not allowed to actually go out and GET that experience?”

“Simple,” he chuckled, “go out and explore this world first, live your life a bit. Then you’ll be ready to head out and explore more dangerous places.”

“That’s not my style,” I grumbled, flipping another box open, “I can handle myself just fine.”

“Then what really happened to your throat?” he asked evenly, staring into my eyes.

“... I lost to Domitor, okay?” I admitted, the words feeling wrong as they left my mouth and causing my nose to scrunch up.

“And he did that to you?” he asked, his smile fading into a sneer.

I looked at him, seeing him about ready to get up and play police stallion Spark again. “He did it to save me,” I mumbled through gritted teeth.

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“He accidently hit me too hard and had to use my claw to cut a hole for me to breathe through,” I said as casually as I could.

Spark just sat there, a range of emotions playing out on his face, “you two…. I don’t even know how to respond to that, Shayla. Part of me wants to ask if you both are okay, but the other half wants to go arrest him for assault.”

“Don’t be a lame ass,” I remarked, sticking my tongue out at him. “Just do what I’m doing and let it go.”

This didn’t seem to set well with Spark, but he didn’t look like he’d go after Domitor right away. So that’s a plus for me. I’d handle that little shit in my own way later.

Then my eyes went wide as I dug down into a box and found something I hadn’t expected to see. “Wow… is this…” I said, pulling out a little vial.

“Oh that’s where Dad threw him,” Spark laughed as the little face in the vial scowled up at me.

“I’ve heard about him, but no one would let me see him,” I said, putting my face right up to the vial. “Can he talk?”

“Yeah, if he wants to,” Spark replied. “But he hasn’t said a word since I was a kid. Dad just keeps him in weird places to mess with him. Then he lost him and just moved on. I guess you solved that mystery.”

I tapped at the glass with a claw, causing the little face inside to roll its eyes in annoyance.

“This is so cool,” I said with a wide smile. “Come on, Watcher guy, say something cool!”

But he didn’t say anything cool. He didn’t say anything at all in fact.

I shook the vial violently, “Come on!”

“Maybe don’t shake him like a fish in a bag,” Spark said, getting up and walking over to me.

“Would your Dad care if I took him home?” I asked as I shook the vial again.

“He most definitely would care,” Spark said as he took the vial from me and put it back in the box. “Now, come on, let’s get back out there.”

“Fine,” I groaned as he led me out of the room. But without his knowledge, I snaked my tail into the box and grabbed the little vial, and hid it under a wing.

My friends will love to see this!

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So what’s this epically cool thing you want to show us?” Dude asked as we sat in our clubhouse, which was starting to get too small for all of us as we had outgrew it a few years ago.

“Oh nothing,” I said as I stood in the middle of my friends. “Just… THE WATCHER!” I yelled, holding up the vial with the Watcher’s face in it.

“OH FUCK!” Nightstreak yelped, falling backwards into the wall.

“Shayla! You stole the Watcher from Lance?!” Roxxy exclaimed, a panicked look on her face.

“Be careful!” Flippy Dew screamed. “Don’t let him get out! He’ll kill us all!”

I just laughed as I grabbed the rope tied to the vial, “don’t worry guys, this thing has some kind of spell on it or something, it’s indestructible, see?” I then began to slam it onto the ground as hard as I could, causing everyone to scream in horror and tackle me, fighting for control of the vial.

“PLease! Think of us before doing shit like this!” Roxxy screamed as she held my hand in her hooves.

Still laughing, I stood up and shook all of them off of me, holding the vial above my head. “Did it break though? Nope!”

“Can we take him back to Lance?” Summer Breeze asked nervously.

“Eventually,” I said with a smile as I held the vial to my face and forced the Watcher to look into my eyes. “But only after he talks to me.”

“Oh great,” Nightstreak groaned. “She’s being stubborn again.”

“Yo, Watcher guy,” Dude said, stepping up to me and looking at the little face in the vial. “Trust me, being with Lance is better than being with her. She’s crazy and unhinged.”

I smiled at him, “Thank yo-” Then what he said hit me, “fuck you, Dude.”

He just smirked at me and tapped his horn against the vial, “I do not envy this guy.”

“Oh ha ha,” I said with a roll of my eyes as I tied the rope around my neck, letting the little vial hang freely from my neck. “Once he speaks, then back to Lance,” I said, holding the vial up to me again. “And he will speak.”

The Watcher just blinked at me.

So I shook the vial violently, and kept shaking it as I looked at my friends, “So, any thoughts on where we’ll all go first?”

Flippy Dew watched me nervously as I kept shaking the vial, “uh… so I’ve actually always wanted to go see my dad’s home world.”

“That’s gone,” Roxxy pointed out. “You know, the whole Rapture thing the adults talk about sometimes.”

“Oh yeah,” she muttered, looking dejected.

“But!” I exclaim, trying to cheer her up, “we can go to an alternate version of his home dimension! It won’t be the same, but it’ll be close enough.”

This seemed to cheer her up as she nodded thankfully at me.

“I wanna go somewhere where there’s cool weapons and battles,” Nightstreak said, smiling as he seemed to be lost in thought.

“Let’s please avoid violent worlds,” Roxxy asked, but I waved her off.

“No world is off limits! Anywhere we want!”

“Please stop shaking the vial,” Roxxy said with a frown.

“Nah,” I smirked, shaking it harder. “Any more suggestions?”

“I want to go to the Eternal Plains first! I want an Ego!” Summer Breeze said with an excited smile, getting nods of agreement from the rest of us.

“Then I say we do the Eternal Plains first!” I yell, getting cheers.

“Yay! Now stop shaking him!” Roxxy yelled, looking very anxious as I just kept on shaking the Watcher.

Finally, I stopped and looked at him as he rolled around in his vial, looking very sick. “Speak now?”

Still, he said nothing. “Suit yourself,” I muttered, going back to shaking him.

“Oh come on,” Roxxy groaned.

“When are we going?” Dude asked curiously.

I just shrugged. “Whenever Kal gets off his lazy ass and does it. I’ll give him a few days, and then I’ll confront him.”

As my friends all began to talk amongst themselves excitedly, I rubbed my throat, a strange feeling coming over me as I suddenly remembered the feeling of dying. I shuddered, but composed myself. I’m too cool and badass to let shit like that affect me.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“We have an unexpected problem,” Kal said with a frown as he stood in his office, Champion standing behind him.

“Whatever it is, I’ll handle it,” he said confidently.

Kal turned to him, frowning. “This problem is a bit more complicated than the usual I have you deal with. An old enemy of mine, one of the more… troublesome ones, have tracked me down. He’s currently already in this dimension looking for me.”

“Point me at him then,” Champion remarked, a sly smile on his face.

“This opponent will be the strongest one you’ve faced, Star Chaser,” Kal stated, stepping up to his desk. “This guy has been a thorn in my side for a very long time. I’ve done my best to avoid dealing with him, but now that I have you and that Ego, we can finally try and deal with him.”

“What’s so special about this guy?”

“His Ego,” Kal replied calmly. “He also has a Wandering Ego. An original one at that. Unaltered and pure, unlike yours.”

“What do you mean?” Champion asked, not liking the way he said that. His Ego WAS the best Ego, there could not be any others out there that could rival his.

“Riley, explain this to him,” Kal said as Riley, who went by Tiff while in this dimension, stepped into the room.

Champion frowned at her, as she was a know it all that he really did not like.

“Gladly,” Riley said as she stepped up in front of the costumed stallion. “Your Ego, the Protagonist Ego is a Wandering Ego that’s been around for a very long time. But it’s been mutated and fused many times in its lifetime.”

Before he could ask a question, she held up a hoof to silence him.

“Hold all questions,” she said in a tone that made him want to melt her face right then and there. “Wandering Ego’s are special, as they seem to have minds of their own, and pick and choose who they bond with. When their host dies, they simply take on their Runic form till a new worthy host touches them. Now normally, you have to be chosen, but if you already have a Wandering Ego, you can actually force a Wandering Ego in its Runic form to bond with you. Doing this will ‘kill’ the Ego, but it’ll fuse with your current Ego.

“This is what your Ego, the Protagonist Ego, has gone through. It’s absorbed countless other Wandering Ego’s, which is why it’s so powerful. However, this guy who’s arrived here has an original unmolested Wandering Ego. Which is very rare.” She then looked at Kal, “This is Loric, correct?”

“Yes,” was his simple answer.

“Ah, Soul Enhancement. If you kill Loric and take his Ego and fuse it with your own, you’ll be unstoppable! His Ego allows him to enhance almost every aspect of himself, and he’s a master at it. Defeating him will not be as simple as just hitting him with a few flashy moves.”

“But it can be done,” Kal said, lifting up an item and passing it to Champion. “This is an item that mimic’s another’s Ego once. I went through a lot of trouble to obtain this one, as the Ego within it can shut off the Ego of another as long as it's attached to them. Use this wisely, as you only get one use out of it.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Champion said as he took the item. “Where is this Loric guy?”

“Close,” Kal said, frowning. “Closer than I’d like in fact. He won’t be hard to spot, he’s a human who looks like a lazy bum.”

“They call him the Strongest Slacker on the Eternal Plains,” Riley pointed out. “His backstory is actually pretty interesting, as he used to-”

“We don’t need a history lesson on a dead man,” Champion interrupted her, getting a growl out of her. “Guy that looks like a bum, on it.”

“Kill him, fuse with his Ego, then we’ll move forward with the original plan,” Kal said, pointing to the door. “Do not take too long.”

“Sir!” Champion said, moving for the door and smirking. The idea of getting stronger was very appealing to him, arousing even.

“Can he actually beat him?” he heard Riley say from the office as he stepped out the front door of the mansion.

“If he plays it smart, he will,” Kal said. “Don’t disappoint me, Star Chaser,” he added, clearly knowing Champion could still hear them.

He snorted as he lifted into the air and took off at an incredible speed. He wouldn’t fail this, as no matter how strong this guy was, he’d easily defeat him and rip his Ego from his corpse.

A mothers wrath

Chapter 3

Stepping up to my front door while spinning the Watcher’s vial around, I stop, hearing my parents talking on the other side of the door.

“Tsk,” I take the little vial and put it away in my saddlebags, not wanting them to see it.

Working myself up, I pushed the door open and walked inside confidently, acting like everything was normal.

Inside, I was greeted with the sight of my two mothers sitting on the couch, talking. They turned to me, both looking very displeased.

“Hey guys,” I say while giving a little wave, heading for my room quickly.

“Stop,” my mother said, causing me to stop in the middle of the living room.

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice giving me away as it wavered.

“Calypso called,” she said, grossing her legs. “Hurt while training? As in, hurt to the point you needed to cut a hole in your throat to breathe?”

“Yeah, crazy huh?” I replied with a forced laugh. “I fell on-”

“No bullshit, Shayla,” she said as she rubbed her good eye.

“It’s not bullshit, I just fell-”

My mom stood up, looking furious as she stood above me, “What really happened? Who hurt you?!”

I stared at them as they glared at me, obviously not buying the story I was trying to feed them. “Eh…”

“Young mare,” my mother warned, holding up a hoof. “You are not a kid anymore, you’re old enough to move out, so don’t treat us like idiots. Tell us what happened. Now.”

“Erm,” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head. “Don’t be mad, ‘kay?”

“Oh for fuck sakes,” my mom said as she fell back onto the couch.

“I…” I started, looking at my mother, staring into her eye. “... I tried to perform your Vortex technique. But I screwed up while trying to do the tornado and crashed into some rocks.”

They both glared at me, reading my body language as I smiled nervously back at them.

“Hmmm,” my mother glared harder at me. “No. You got hurt in a fight.”

My eyes went wide as I stuttered, “H-How do you-”

“You’re not good at hiding things from your mothers,” she said, frowning at me. “Plus you just told on yourself.”

I could only blink at them as they both just stared back at me with exhausted looks on their faces.

“What happened?” my mom asked, placing a hand on my mother to calm her.

“... I lost to Domitor,” I mumbled, causing them to look a bit surprised.

“And he cut your throat?!” my mother bellowed, shooting straight up and looking about ready to kill.

“No… well yes,” I stuttered. “He hit me too hard by accident and had to do it to save me.”

“I’ll be right back,” her mother growled as she moved for the door.

“Mama, no, it’s alright! I’ll handle it!” I yelled, trying to stop her.

“I’ve put up with you two fighting because it’s mostly been harmless. A few broken bones is one thing, but almost killing you?! No. Mallo, keep her here,” she said, stepping out the door and slamming it shut.

“What’s she going to do?!” I asked in a panic, turning to my mom.

She just grimaced at me as she walked over and lifted my chin, looking at the cut, “what she needs to do. Now come on, we’re going to your room to wait for her.”

“But I had plans today!” I yell, not wanting to be confined to my room.

“And you can get to them, after this is resolved,” she stated firmly, crossing her arms.

I stared at her, but she wasn’t budging, so I just sighed and nodded. “Fine.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp stomped down the street, her anger only rising with each step. She’d put up with Vicar’s son messing with her daughter over the years because they’d just been normal rivals. But almost killing her daughter is a step over the line, and she was putting an end to this. Today.

Kal may just be his step dad, but he’s taken over the father role for Domitor, so that makes anything his son does his responsibility.

As she walked, she heard a few booms above her head as she saw a black dot zooming all over the sky, changing directions at random. She rolled her eyes as she watched the costumed wannabe hero fly all over the sky. It looked like he was looking for something, but she could honestly care less.

Probably just showing off again.

“Hey, Sensei Scamp,” Azure Moon, Rainbow Dash’s twenty two year old daughter, said as she walked up next to the angry Scamp. “You alright?”

“I am not today,” Scamp replied, still walking forward. “Kal’s kid hurt my daughter, so I’m going to handle it right now.”

“Is Shayla okay?” Azure asked, looking up as the costumed stallion exploded over their heads again.

“She’s fine, she’s a tough mare,” she said back, gritting her teeth. “But she’s reckless and cocky. I’ve tried training it out of her, but I’ve screwed up as a mother. I’ve made her into someone who’s used to winning, so she acts like she’ll always win.”

“I mean, is that really a bad thing?” Azure questioned, cocking her head as they walked.

Scamp gave a sharp nod, “yeah, it is a bad thing. If you think all you can do is win, then you won’t take everything serious, and that’s how you get hurt. It happened to me, it happened to her mom, and it’ll happen to her.” She let out a ragged sigh, “I just hope when it happens, it’s in a safe environment and not in the real world.”

“Shayla can handle herself, and when she does eventually lose and get humbled, she’ll handle it with grace,” Azure tried to assure her.

Before she could respond, there was yet another boom above them, followed by Champion floating down in front of them.

“Ladies,” he said, a large smile on his face.

Scamp just rolled her eyes and ignored him, walking around him as Azure did the same, trying to avoid making eye contact.

Champion’s eye twitched, but he didn’t react the way he felt. Instead, he floated after them, getting back in front of the two mares. “I’m actually here to ask a work related question,” he said, giving a wink to Azure, “a ‘saving all of Equestria’ kind of question.”

“What do you want?” Scamp asked with a scowl.

“You two seen a human walking around? Looks homeless?” he asked, his eyes scanning each of them.

“Nope,” Scamp said back simply, continuing on her way.

Azure tried to follow, but he glided up between her and Scamp. “Oh, Azure Moon, I’ve brought you something.”

She smiled awkwardly as he pulled out a very expensive looking pendant and held it out to her.

“I saw it at the Royal Jewel Expo in Canterlot last week, and I just knew I had to get it for you,” he said, holding it closer to her, wanting her to take it.

“Er, thank you, Star Chaser, but I’m good. I don’t really like jewelry,” she said back, not wanting to accept anymore of his gifts.

His smile faltered, but he just put it away and smiled back at her, “I should have known! You’re a rough and tumble kind of mare, not one of those prim and proper mares in Canterlot.”

“Thanks, I think,” she muttered back.

“Of course!” he exclaimed, floating closer to her. “I was also wondering, after I finish saving Equestria today, if you’d want to go out to dinner?”

She looked extremely uncomfortable, looking past him at Scamp for help.

“Star Chaser, get moving,” Scamp said roughly from behind him. “We have business to attend to and you’re getting in our way.”

The corner of Champion’s smile twitched as he turned to face the older Mare. She glared back at him, pointing to the sky.

“Go on, fly,” she said firmly.

He took a deep breath and smiled confidently. “No you are right, I do not have time for this! I need to get back to stopping this new evil and save Equestria!”

“Yep, so hop to it,” she deadpanned.

Without another word, he jumped into the air and shot away, causing a shockwave to rock the area around them.

Scamp didn’t say anything, just shook her head and went back to walking. As Azure caught up to her, she glanced at her, “is he still harassing you?”

“I wouldn’t call it harassing,” she muttered, shaking her head, “he just… doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“That’s harassing,” Scamp stated.

“Well he hasn’t done anything, just won’t stop trying to ask me out on dates. I keep telling him no, but he’s obsessed with me or something.”

“Have you tried ignoring him?”

“I have, but that’s when he got really into me,” she groaned. “What should I do?”

“Normally, I’d say kick his ass,” Scamp started, rubbing her face, “but he’s a superpowered prick now, so that’s not a good idea. Honestly, just put your hoof down and make your feelings clear. If he doesn’t listen, then talk to his mother. She’s the only one who can keep him in line.”

“Thank you, Sensei,” Azure said with a thankful smile. “What are you planning to do about Domitor hurting your daughter?”

Scamp looked ahead, the mansion just now coming into view. “I’m talking to his asshole of a father.”

“Ew,” Azure said, making a face. “Have fun with that.”

“Good luck with your love struck stallion problem,” she replied, getting a chuckle out of the other mare.

“Yeah, I’ll need the luck,” she said, taking her leave and walking away down a different street.

Now alone, Scamp picked up her pace and headed straight for the mansions front door.

Upon reaching it, she slammed her paw into it, shaking the whole door.

It didn’t take long for someone to open the door. It was Lemon Tape, a cup of something hot in his hoof.

“Ah, Scamp, finally taking me up on my offer for love?” he said in a terrible rendition of a seductive tone.

“Can it, idiot,” Scamp said, holding up a claw and pointing it at him. “I’m here for you boss.”

He just winked and stepped aside. “Give it time, I’ll wear you down eventually.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” she said, stepping in and shoving him hard out of her way.

His only reaction was to laugh as she stomped towards Kal’s study. After walking down a few hallways, she came to his door.

She didn’t bother to knock this time as she bucked the door open and walked in, her eye instantly locking onto Kal as he sat at his desk reading something.

“Yes, Scamp?” he asked, putting it down and giving her a wide smile.

“You know why I’m here,” she said simply, stepping up to his desk and lifting herself up on it, slamming her hooves down on it.

“Because my good for nothing son hurt your daughter,” he said back, getting a nod from her. “Yes, I’ve heard. He told me, and I punished him.”

“Not good enough,” Scamp said, narrowing her eye at him. “This is over, Kal. I’ve put up with you and your son’s antics over the years, but today, you’ve both stepped over the line.”

“I did not tell my son to hurt your daughter,” he said back calmly. “He acted on his own accord.”

“You’re his fucking FATHER!” she bellowed, slamming a hoof down hard on the desk. “Don’t push blame solely onto him! You’re the real problem here, kids take after their parents!”

Kal jumped up and slammed his hooves down on the desk as well, getting his face a foot away from Scamp’s, “I have done everything in my power to change his path! He was brought into this world to rival your daughter, and I have done everything I can to change that! But he’s stubborn!”

“This ends here, Kal!” she screamed back, slamming her head forward and butting heads with him. “Get your son under control, and keep him away from Shayla. If I so much as hear of a little scrape between the two, or even just a few crossed words, then I’m coming back here with the police!” she slammed her head into his again as he pushed back against her. “Your son is a menace, just like his father before him. Get him in line, before I do it myself!”

Kal growled at her, but gave a sharp nod. “For you, Scamp, I’ll make sure this NEVER happens again.”

She reached up and shoved him back with her paw, sneering at him. “You better, for all of your sake.”

With a final slam of her hoof, cracking the desk a bit, she spun around and left the office, leaving Kal standing there fuming.

Once she slammed the door, and the sounds of her hooves could be heard leaving the hallway, Hester and Ulystee suddenly appeared next to his desk. Ulystee had his hoof on Hester, who had the ability to turn himself and anyone touching him invisible.

“Are you really just going to let her leave like that?” Hester asked.

“We really need to just kill her already, before she screws anything else up,” Ulystee stated, frowning.

Kal adjusted his goggles and shook his head, looking displeased. “No, killing her is too good for her. If I wanted to kill her, I’d have done it without any of these theatrics, back when she was pregnant and not able to react properly. No, I want her to suffer.”

“We need to proceed with caution at least. Her daughter is the only one who can get us into that dimension. If she decides not to take us, then this all falls apart,” Hester said as he stood at attention behind Kal.

“After I lost my Ego,” Kal said, staring out the window, “I gave up hope of achieving my goals. But as we learned, if I can get into this special dimension, I can get a power that equals an Ego.” He turned to face his two men, “we’re going to keep going forward with this plan. Scamp will get hers in due time, but right now, she’s not my concern. We need to get ready to leave, and we need to stall Shayla for as long as we can without her losing interest in helping us.”

“What of Domitor?” Ulystee asked carefully.

“Tsk,” Kal grumbled, shaking his head. “Should have got rid of him after that night we lost to Scamp. But his mother begged me to keep him around. If she wasn’t so useful to me, I’d just dispose of him.”

They both watched as he turned and looked out the window. “You two focus on your task, I’ll handle the rest.”

The two nodded and walked for the door, leaving Kal alone in his office. Outside his window, he’d catch glimpses of Champion zooming through the sky, looking for Loric.

He frowned, as this all now hinged on him beating Loric, since he was one of the few who could stop them at this point. But, he was confident with the item he gave Champion, that he’d come out on top. If not… then he’d have to take drastic measures.

The clash of titans begins

Chapter 4

Flippy Dew grunted as she pushed the cart up the hill, her hooves scraping against the ground a few times as she lost her footing randomly. But she pushed through it and struggled to keep going. Yet, she slipped again and this time lost her grip on the cart, causing it to roll all the way back to the start of the hill.

She let out a frustrated scream and galloped down after it, barely catching up to it to prevent it from falling over. Grunting, she looked back to the top of the hill, realizing she’d have to start all over again.

Reluctantly, she got behind the cart and started pushing again.

“Hey, little horse, I have a question,” a voice called out to her, causing her to stop pushing the cart and look around. Her eyes went wide in shock as she saw a human walking towards her.

She was used to seeing Bronies in their human forms, but they almost never took on their original forms, so to see one just walking around as a human was a bit strange.

“Uh… yeah?” she asked as the human stepped up to her, a relaxed smile on his face as he kept his hands in his pockets.

“You see an evil guy walking around here? Probably has an evil lair or something? Maybe even an evil overlord?” he asked, chewing on a piece of wood sticking out of his mouth, like a little stick or something.

“... No?” she replied, her face giving away her confusion.

“Ah, yeah, that’s what everyone keeps telling me,” he chuckled, starting to walk away, but then turned to face her. “Need help?”

She blinked at him, then shrugged, “I mean, I guess I could use some help. I need to get this to my mothers workplace, but I can’t get it over this hill.”

“I got ya,” he said simply, walking over and grabbing the handle. He then causally began to walk up the hill, dragging it behind him.

“Uh,” she muttered, surprised he was having no problem walking up the hill with the heavy cart.

Once they reached the top, he dropped the handle and turned to face her, smiling lazily.

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a little head nod.

“No problem,” he replied, turning to leave again.

But as he started to walk away, a boom was heard overhead as Champion appeared out of nowhere and slammed into the ground in front of the man, standing tall as he glared at him.

“You good, guy dressed like a vampire?” the man asked, raising an eyebrow at the overly dramatic entrance of Champion.

The costumed stallion looked around at all the ponies in the area who were watching them, then looked right at the man. “I am Champion, Hero of Equestria!”

The man chuckled, holding up a hand, “Whoa there, no need to be so hostile and loud.” He then put his hand back in his pocket. “I take it you’re this dimension’s guardian? I can see the Ego just gushing out of your body. You need to get control of that, you’ll be a lot more powerful if ya do.”

This put a frown on Champion’s face as he squared up with the man. “You dare invade our world? To hurt these innocent ponies?!”

“Calm down,” the man laughed, still looking relaxed. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m hunting a dangerous being right now, and I know he’s hiding somewhere in this dimension.” He took a step towards the stallion, holding out a hand. “I am Loric.”

Without responding, Champion flickered forward, his hoof going for a strike on the man's chest. But as his hoof made contact, it seemed to faze through the man as he suddenly appeared to the right of his previous position.

This caused Flippy Dew’s eyes to go wide, as she didn’t even see either of them move.

“Why are you attacking me?” Loric asked in a confused tone as Champion just spun on him and attempted to attack him again, but his hoof connected with just the after image of the man as he appeared to the side again. “I’m not your enemy, horse man.”

“Yes you are!” Champion roared, throwing punch after punch at the man, only to hit open air as the man easily dodged him. “You are a threat to all these good ponies!”

“Get him, Champion!” someone yelled, followed by most of the crowd cheering him on.

All except Flippy Dew, who was seeing this fight in a different light thanks to meeting the man beforehand, and her experience with Champion in the past. She watched as Champion got faster and faster, to the point all she was seeing was flickering images of the two as they danced around each other.

Then Loric appeared a couple yards away from Champion, holding up a hand. “Stop. I’m not going to fight you, there’s no need.”

But Champion didn’t listen as he seemed to be concentrating his breathing. “I’ll give you this; you’re fast.”

“Thank you,” Loric replied, his calm smile still on his face.

“But I’m faster,” Champion replied as he appeared before the man in an instant and went for an attack. Just as before, his hoof connected with just air as the man appeared next to him, but a boom filled the air as he suddenly flickered, his hoof now connecting with the man's face.

Loric slid backwards, destroying the ground beneath his feet as he stayed upright, not seeming that affected by the hit. “Wow!” He yelled out, reaching up and grabbing his jaw, working it as he smiled back at Champion. “Okay, I did not expect that!”

This caused Champion to smirk as he stood there, his cape blowing in the wind.

Then the mans face fell into a frown as he looked at Champion, seeming to scan him in a more serious manner. “Oh… you’re not a hero, are you?”

Champion’s eyes darted around the area as everyone kept cheering for him.

“You’re working for him,” Loric said in a cold tone as he began to look less calm and relaxed, and more serious and dangerous.

“Finally going to fight back?” Champion asked as he seemed to start to get more powerful as well.

“Sure am,” Loric said as he and Champion disappeared, only reappearing for a split second ever so often as one of them landed a hit. They seemed to be all over the place, in the sky and on the ground. It was impossible to keep track of them as they flickered in and out of view.

Massive explosions filled the air as each hit caused a lot of damage to anything that was unfortunate enough to be near it.

Flippy Dew watched in amazement as the fighting only got more and more intense, to the point she couldn't even see it anymore, just hear it as they fought all around them.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I paced around my room, grumbling to myself as my Mom sat on my bed, playing on her phone. Checking the clock revealed it’d been well over an hour since she left, so she should be back by now! I have shit to do!

“Can I just, go?” I asked, looking at my mom.

“Not till your Mother gets back,” she replied, not even looking up at me.

Before I could protest, I heard the front door open and shut, causing me to let out a happy sigh.

After a moment, my mother stepped into the room, a frown on her face.

“So, how’d it go?” my mom asked from the bed.

She looked at us, shaking her head. “I handled it.”

“What’s that mean though?!” I asked nervously, afraid she’d done something stupid.

With a sigh, she turned to me, “Shayla, going forward you and Domitor are to avoid each other. No more fighting, hear me?”

This brought a scowl to my face. Not because I wanted to keep fighting Domitor, but because she was the one trying to make that decision for me.

“I am an adult now, Mama! You can’t just decide what I can and can’t do!”

This definitely was the wrong thing to say as she went from looking tired and exhausted to furious, her eye burning with anger.

“Scamp,” my mom said calmly from behind me, which caused my mother to stop herself and take a deep breath.

“You may be a YOUNG adult now,” she said carefully, watching her tone as she spoke, “but you will always be our daughter, and we will do anything to keep you safe.”

“And while under our roof, you will listen to us,” my mom added from behind me.

“Then I guess I should move out, right?” I asked, going to the extreme to get a reaction out of them.

“I guess you could,” my mom said from behind me.

“Yeah, you could move out,” my mother said calmly, her shoulders slumping. “Have no one over you, doing your own thing. Sounds like a dream, huh?”

I just frown at her, as this was not the reaction I wanted.

My mother stepped into the room, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “Sweetie, I’m just looking out for you the best way I know how too.”

“By controlling what I do?” I counter.

“No, by helping you make decisions you’re not mature enough to make on your own. This rivalry with Domitor has run its course. You’ve won all fights till this one, consider this over. He got his one win, no matter if he deserved it or not. The mature thing for you to do is take a step back and be the bigger pony.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I grumbled, sitting down and crossing my legs. “You’ve won pretty much all your fights.”

She and my mom just started laughing at this.

“I most certainly have not won all my fights,” she remarked, wiping a tear from her eye. “Honey, I got to where I am today because I lost a few fights. The ones I lost are the ones that shaped me into who I am today. It’s how I fell in love with your mom after all.”

I knew the story, they fought, my mom beat my mother in a fight, and they formed a connection based on that. Lovely story, but that’s not me! I don’t lose fights.

“Shayla, just do us this one favor, to make us feel better,” my mom said as she stood up from my bed and stepped over to us, kneeling down beside us, “just step away from this one fight. You have nothing to prove, you’re already one of the strongest mares around. No need to go out and prove that further.”

Grumbling, I nodded in agreement. “Fine.”

“Thank you,” my mother said, pulling me into a hug as my mom threw her arms around us, joining the hug.

“Yeah yeah,” I mumbled, wiggling out of the hug. “Can I go now?”

“You’re free to leave,” my mother chuckled, followed by me quickly walking around her. But then the whole house shook as something exploded nearby.

“What was that?!” my mom asked in a panicked voice.

“That numbskull ‘Champion’ is fighting a new ‘threat’ to Equestria apparently,” my mother said, rolling her eye. “Just ignore him, as usual.”

‘This again?’ I thought as I walked through the house and out the front door. I looked to the sky and could just barely make out two dots dashing all over the sky above my house. They were clashing together, causing all kinds of shockwaves and energy to explode around them, then they’d break apart and zoom away from each other. Only to slam right back into each other and do it all over again.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen Champion fight this hard before, but oh well, he’ll figure himself out.

Ignoring the fighting above me, I moved away from my house and headed for Roxxy’s house.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Four hours later

Domitor sat at his window, looking out as he watched the ongoing fight happening high in the sky. He was having a hard time tracking their movements through his telescope, but from what he could see, it looked like they were evenly matched, and just getting stronger and stronger.

They’d had to move their fight to the sky exclusively as when they were close to the ground, they were destroying too much with their constant clashing.

This the level that Domitor wanted to be on, so strong that NO ONE could hurt him again. But as he watched the two titans fight, he knew he’d never make it to that level on his own. This kind of fighting was beyond normal conventions.

Finally taking his attention from the fighting, he moved back to his desk, reaching under it and hitting a small lever, causing his desk top to pop up, revealing a hidden compartment right under the surface. Lifting it up, he pulled out a few pens and pencils, and one of his drawing notebooks.

His father had forbidden him from ever drawing again, as it angered him for some reason, yet he couldn’t stop himself as he took his drawing supplies over to the window and sat down.

Propping himself up, he looked out at the distant fight, not able to see it anymore with just his naked eyes. Thinking to himself, he raised a pencil up and began to draw.

After some time, he sat it back, revealing a sketch of him standing tall with ponies around him cheering, little hearts coming up from the admiring crowd.

He smiled a bit to himself as he flipped the page and began to draw another image.

Outside the window, down on the street, he saw Shayla and a few of her friends run out of a building, all looking to be laughing as they took off for the forest outside of town.

His smile faded as he kept drawing, his drawing taking on a new life as he scratched away at the pad with his pencil. Once he’d finished, he looked at it, a sad look on his face.

The picture was a sketch of him with a few faceless ponies around him, all of them hugging him with a happy look on his face. He just stared at the picture, entranced by it.

But looking at the picture only reminded him of his current situation, so with an angry growl, he ripped the page from the book and shredded it to pieces in front of himself.

No longer being in the mood to draw, he walked back over to his desk and shoved it all back into the hiding spot and slammed it shut.

With nothing else to do, since he couldn’t leave his room, he took up his spot in the middle of his room and took on a fighting stance. An invisible opponent in front of him.

Screams of rage filled the second floor as he fought against his ‘opponent’, going all out.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next morning

A massive explosion high above my house woke me up, causing me to grumble as I forced myself to sit up. They were still fighting!

I barely got any sleep last night, as every time I slipped into sleep, they seemed to get closer to my house, waking me up again.

Stepping out of my room, I found both my parents already awake and in the kitchen, looking way more rested than I did.

“Did you two get any sleep last night?” I asked, taking my seat at the table.

“Yep,” my mother laughed, making breakfast for us.

My mom was sitting at the table with me, drinking her coffee as she read something on her phone. “You should of taken our offer of sleeping in our room, honey. Sound proofing makes a big difference.”

“I hate your bed,” I mumble, laying my head on the table. “Besides, I’m too old to sleep in my parents bed.”

“Could have made a bed on the floor,” my mother chuckled as she placed a plate down in front of me and patted my head with her hoof.

I hadn’t thought of that… too late now.

“I still think it’s weird you two have sound proofing on your walls,” I comment, picking up some food and shoving it into my mouth.

“Trust me, you don’t need to know,” my mother says, putting down two iron milkshakes for me and my mom.

“What, you two fucking loud?” I ask, smirking at them as I try to make them uncomfortable.

“Yep, your mother over there is VERY LOUD!” my mom laughed, causing my mother to frown at her.

“Mallo! ZIP IT!” she yelled, throwing food at my laughing mom.

“Gross,” I muttered, turning my focus to just my food and drink.

“Don’t make dirty comments if you can’t handle the same being thrown back at you,” my mom laughed, reaching over and ruffling up my mane.

“Meh!” I groaned, moving away and fixing my mane.

“So,” my mother said as she took her own seat at the table, her own food in front of herself, “got plans for today?”

“Just hang out with my friends,” I reply, going back to shoveling food into my mouth.

“Any plans on looking at jobs?” she pressed, getting a groan out of me.

“Mama, I told you, I don’t want to get a job. I want to be an adventurer like you and mom were!”

My mother rolled her eyes, “sweetie, I didn’t start out doing things like that. I went through the military and then the police force before I went out and did any kind of adventure.”

“You took a few years off after highschool to travel the world,” I countered, getting her to shrug.

“Okay, you got me there. But I had a reason…” she stopped herself, a smile forming on her face. “Alright, I see your point. All I ask is to think about it, okay?”

“Can do,” I say back, happy the conversation was over.

“What about college?” my mom asked, causing me to let out an exasperated sigh.

“Oh my God, please don’t go on that subject again! Neither of you went to college, so I don’t have to go either!”

“Things are different here than they were for either of us,” my mom said, looking at my mother and taking her paw in her hand.

This didn’t appease me as I rolled my eyes and shoved my empty plate away. “Look, no college for me. I hated school, and the last thing I want to do is do more of it! You know how hard it was for me to sit and just concentrate on shit!”

“Yeah, you get that from me,” my mother said, picking at her food. “I learned better by doing, not by sitting in a classroom.”

“So you understand what I mean then?” I say, looking at her.

“Eeyep,” she replied, glancing up at me. “You don’t need to go to college. It’s not necessary to have a good life.”

“Thank you,” I say, a bit surprised she’d agreed with me on that.

“Now, I think college would do her some good,” my mom said, frowning at my mother.

“Mallo, let’s not have this fight again, please,” my mother said, looking extremely tired.

My mom shook her head and went back to eating. I’d be worried about them, but they were still holding hands, their claws rubbing against each other slowly.

Love is gross.

“Well, I’m out of here,” I say, downing the last of my iron milkshake and moving for the front door.

“Just be careful, those two idiots above us have only gotten more intense since last night,” my mother warned.

I just held up a hand, giving her a thumbs up as I kept walking for the door.

Anarchy reigns again

Chapter 5

“This is getting… out of hand,” Lance muttered as he and his son sat on their roof, watching the explosions in the sky caused by the fighting.

“Have you talked with the princesses about this?” Spark asked, frowning.

“I did, but they said the best thing to do was sit back and just let Champion handle this one,” he said, shaking his head. “Honestly, this guy he’s fighting seems to be way too powerful.”

Without warning, the biggest boom of the fight happened, causing the trees to wave violently and buildings to vibrate and groan. Looking through his binoculars, Lance saw that the man had landed a full on hit on Champion, sending him rocketing into the sky.

“Hm… that can’t be good,” Lance muttered, getting his son to look at him in confusion.

“What do you-” he started to say, but then he saw something that made his eyes go wide.

The moon, which was still barely in the sky, suddenly split, straight down the middle.

“... did that man just punch Star Chaser into the moon?!” Spark yelped, jumping to his hooves.

“He sure as hell did,” Lance said solemnly.

“What kind of man is he fighting?!”

“Nothing normal, that’s for sure…” Lance said, rubbing his face. “Luna’s gonna be pissed at this one.” Then his eyes went wide as he looked back to the moon with his binoculars, seeing Champion rocketing back to the planet at an incredible speed. But that’s not what was causing him to panic. The moon, which used to have an image of an angry female Draconequus’s face on it, was now blank.

“Oh fuck,” he said as he lowered the binoculars and looked at his son. “We need to get to Canterlot, now!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“That’s just fucking cool,” I said in awe as I saw the moon was now split in half. This guy Champion is fighting must be super fucking strong to do something like that! Like a Dragon Ball Z character! Oh hell yeah!

I threw a few punches at the air in front of me, getting a bit hyped thinking about the fight above me devolving into a DBZ style fight.

The town around me was quiet, as it was still early enough in the morning that most people were still asleep.

As I walked, I heard the sound of something slamming into the ground like a lightning bolt behind me. Spinning around, I found myself staring at a very strange sight.

Someone who looked a lot like Discord was slowly standing up, looking very confused and dazed. But unlike Discord, this was a female. Huh, she kinda looks like the image on the moon…

Oh.

“Well this sure is an interesting development!” the creature exclaimed, standing up straight and stretching its back. Then a large telescope appeared before them as they looked up at the fight above us. “Hm… those two are scarily strong, that’s for sure.”

Then it laughed, “is that Frederic’s boy? Star Chaser? Oh that IS interesting!”

I took a step back, causing the creature to look at me and raise an eyebrow. “What the fuck are you?!”

“Eh,” I started to say, but I just stared at the strange character before me. My parents had told me the image on the moon was of an old friend of the bronies who had been the cause of a lot of trouble for them. But they never went into details, just gave the basics.

The Draconequus suddenly appeared next to me and snapped her fingers, causing me to flip into the air and land on a chair that appeared out of nowhere. They spun me around, seeming to be looking me over. “Yeah, I don’t know what you are. But you look very badass, I’ll admit that.”

As I started to speak, they stopped spinning me and grabbed my hand, forcing me to shake their hand.

“The names Annabel, but you can call me Anarchy, Queen of lust and chaos!” she exclaimed, shaking my hand aggressively.

“Eh… Shayla Beltosh,” I said back, unsure of how to treat this creature.

“And where did you come from? Because I’ve never seen something like you before!” she said as she snapped her fingers, causing me to fall onto the ground as the chair disappeared.

“My moms?” was the only thing I could say, as I didn’t exactly know how to answer her. “I’m part pony, part Kejtdra.”

“The fuck is a ‘Kejtdra’?” she asked, scrunching up her nose.

“Uh…. I don’t know how to answer that,” I replied, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Where’s Discord?” she asked with a wide smile on her face, and started using an oversized magnifying glass to look around us.

“He, uh,” I started, trying to remember where he actually was, since I've only met him twice. “Eh, I think he took Spike and Malbatorus on a guys trip.”

“I see,” she said with a glare, flicking out a claw and using it to clean her ear. “Any clue when they’ll be back?”

“No?” I said back, not liking the way her mood kept switching.

“What about Lance?” she asked suddenly, a crazy look now on her face. “I want to visit an old friend and… catch up.”

Okay, now I’m sure I don't want to reveal anything else to her.

“No idea,” I said carefully.

“Someone's a liar,” she said in a sing-song voice, slithering around me and coming up in front of me, holding the Watcher’s vial. “And who are you?”

“Hey, give that back!” I yelled, eyes going wide. I lunged for her, but she just laughed as she snapped her fingers, causing me to fly past her, now in a straightjacket.

“You’re a strange little guy,” she said, dangling the Watcher in front of her face. “There’s something weird about you, I just can’t place a talon on it.”

“Be careful with that!” I yelled, flexing my body and using my claws to shred my way out of the stupid piece of clothing.

“Why? Is he dangerous?” she asked, a mischievous smile on her face.

“Yes!” I yelled, dashing towards her and making a grab for it, but she just chuckled as she glided backwards, snapping her fingers. I fell to the ground, now in a box with just my head sticking out. “Hey!”

“You’re a feisty little thing!” she laughed, then held a hand up next to the vial. “So, if I, I don’t know, let him out, that’d be bad?”

“Very bad!” I yelled, struggling to tear my way out of the box.

“Uh oh,” she said with a smirk, snapping her finger. “He’s out!”

I winched, turning away, not wanting to see what happened next. But after a few moments of nothing happening, I turned back to see her holding the vial, a confused look on her face as the Watcher just blinked at her from the vial.

“What the?!” she growled, snapping her finger over and over again, but nothing changed. “What kind of stupid magic is on this thing?!”

Not taking any more chances, and seeing she was distracted, I propelled myself at her and snatched the vial from her. I landed on the ground behind her and squared up, glaring at her.

She just frowned at me, her face no longer looking easy going or friendly. “Okay, enough distractions. Where is Lance?”

“Dunno who that is,” I responded, narrowing my eyes.

“Lying little lizard pony thing,” she growled, snapping her finger and causing the sky to go dark with thunderclouds.

I darted my eyes around us, trying to figure out how to handle her. I’m used to fighting others physically, but this creature has powers like Discord. And I can confidently say… I don’t think I can fight this one alone.

“Once more, Lance or any of his friends,” she said, holding her hand up, ready to snap.

How to handle this?

“Why do you want to know where they are?” I asked, trying to buy time for me to think of something.

“Payback,” she said evenly, then snapped her finger causing the buildings around us to sag and reform into statues of each of the bronies. “They take things too seriously, and they punish me for a few harmless pranks.”

“From what I know, they weren’t exactly harmless,” I say back, watching as the statues around us start to laugh creepily, the dark clouds above making everything look very sinister.

She smiled at me, a smile that caused my fur to raise as I felt like she was a predator, and I was the prey. “Careful, little mutant, you don’t want to see me when I’m… upset.”

The statues around us began to laugh so hard that tears began to fall from their eyes. Oh, bloody tears, how original.

Then her ears twitched as she looked into the distance, snapping her finger and returning everything to normal. “How annoying.”

And just like that, she side stepped into a portal and disappeared, just as Celestia and Luna appeared right where she’d been standing.

“Drat, we missed her!” Luna yelled, her horn flaring as she swept it over the area.

Celestia turned and stared at me, looking extremely worried. “Are you alright, Shayla?”

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, standing up and hiding the Watcher’s Vial under a wing. “The Bitch in the Moon is loose.”

“We are aware,” Luna said, looking up and seeing her son was still fighting the other man. “And my son is busy right now, so we’ll have to handle this one on our own.”

“Great, I’ll go get-” I started, but they cut me off.

“No, Shayla, this will be dangerous. Go get your mothers for us, and tell them to meet us at the Mellowed Pie. We’re going to have to gather everyone and handle this correctly this time,” Celestia said, flashing away before I could reply.

I looked at Luna, who was staring at the moon with an angry and sad look on her face. “Such a tragedy…” Then she looked at me, “I know sitting out adventures is hard, but this one is not for the in experienced.”

A scowl appeared on my face, but she just bowed and flashed away. Taking out my phone, I sent a text to my mother, letting her know the Princesses needed her at the Mellowed Pie. I wasn’t going back home just to tell her that.

Then an idea entered my mind as I texted the group chat for Phantasm Troupe.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You know, on the scale of one to terrible, this idea is easily at the top of the shit list,” Dude said, rubbing his face as we all stood in our clubhouse.

“I know right?” I said with an excited smile. “This is the worst idea ever, which is why we gotta do it!”

“Shayla,” Roxxy said calmly, getting my attention. “Let’s let the Princesses and the bronies handle this one. This is their fight, not ours. This Anarchy is a horrible being, one of the worst this world has seen, according to my dad at least.”

“But if WE defeat her, everyone will finally take us seriously!” I point out.

Nightstreak shook his head, “none of us care if anyone takes us seriously. Let the professionals handle this one.”

I frowned as I looked at each of my friends.

“I’d rather not fight her…” Flippy Dew muttered, rubbing her shoulder nervously.

“Me neither,” Summer Breeze added.

I took a deep breath and stood tall in the middle of my friends. “Guys, we can do this. We need to do this. When college starts, everything will change. We may be split up for a long long time!”

“While that could be true,” Roxxy said, standing up and putting a hoof on my shoulder, “that doesn’t mean we have to go face a crazy Draconequus. There’s plenty of other adventures we can go on that aren’t this dangerous.”

Reaching up, I put a hand on her hoof and looked at everyone, “look, guys, you’ve all got your shit figured out. You all know what you want to do. Well, this is what I want to do with my life. I want to fight the impossible, face down foes that are out of my reach. I want to do it with all of you, but I won’t make any of you come with me.”

“Wait, you’re going no matter what?” Dude asked, getting a nod from me.

“Well shit, guess I’m going to face Anarchy,” he groaned, sitting down hard.

“Come on, guys, we shouldn’t do this,” Roxxy said, looking at everyone.

“I don’t want you to go alone,” Flippy Dew mumbled. “I’m going too.”

“Count us in, I guess,” Nightstreak said, getting a nod from his sister.

“Oh we’re all just big idiots who follow an even bigger idiot,” Roxxy whined, rubbing her face.

I leaned forward, giving her puppy dog eyes.

She blinked at me and shoved my face away, “Stop that! I’m going, okay?!”

“Alright!” I exclaimed, jumping into the air above everyone, slamming into the ceiling.

“But what’s the plan?” Dude asked.

“Plan is simple,” I state, flying down and striking a pose. “We’re going to go find her and gang up on her! She’ll either kill us all or like our determination!”

“Wait, our plan is to go fight her, lose, and hope she likes us?” Nightstreak yelped.

I just laugh, shaking my head, “Of course not! We’re going to go and fight so damn hard, that we overwhelm her! Or we lose and she likes us or some shit. I’m still workshopping the idea.”

“Oh great,” Roxxy muttered, “when I was making the list of all the ways we could all die, I never thought to put ‘killed by insane Draconequus’.”

“We got this,” I laughed, putting her into a headlock and ruffling up her mane.

She didn’t fight me, just sat there, groaning. “Why do we follow you again?”

“Because you love me!” I laugh, letting her go and jumping for the door, kicking it open. “Now come on, Phantasm Troupe! We gots a bitch to fry!”

Queen of Lust

Chapter 6

“How are we going to handle her this time?” Greg asked, leaning forward in his wheelchair, “none of us, except Lance, are like we used to be. Last time it took all of us just to bring her down, and that was with Frederic and Peter helping us.”

“We’re going to use the elements,” Twilight stated, but Celestia shook her head.

“I’m afraid those are in the possession of Anarchy.”

“How did she already get them?!” Lance yelled, standing up and stomping a hoof.

“Chaos magic is… complicated and impossible to predict. She went after them while we were teleporting in to stop her in New Ponyville. We’re going to have to deal with her on a more personal level,” Celestia said grimly.

“Don’t think we could just talk to her?” Rainbow Dash offered, but only got sad looks in response. “Didn’t think so…”

“We need Discord,” Jero stated as he went through a small computer that once belonged to Ominus.

“We’re trying to locate him right now,” Luna assured him. “But till we reach him, we need to act. The longer Anarchy is free, the stronger she’ll get.”

“Let’s just kill her,” Scamp offered. “No need playing around it. Sometimes the only way to fix a problem is to put it down, permanently.”

“I’m certainly open to it,” Lance muttered, sitting back down by his wife.

“We don’t need to kill her,” Spark interjected. “In the past we tried talking with her, and when that didn’t work we banished her. Maybe this time around, we can try and reason with her. Being up there on the moon for about twenty years must have done something to her, so maybe she’ll listen this time.”

“That’s wishful thinking, son,” Lance said as he patted his shoulder.

“We’ll consider all options,” Celestia announced.

“Any idea when Champion will finish with that guy up there?” Zorrow asked as he and Moxxi stood next to each other.

“It’s hard to say,” Luna replied with a grimace. “They have been fighting far longer than I’d thought possible, so all we can do is deal with this problem and hope he finishes soon.”

“Great,” Scamp muttered, clearly not happy with the situation.

Jero stood up suddenly, smiling, “I may actually have an idea.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I’m still not fully behind this idea,” Roxxy said as we all walked down the street together.

I just gave her a large smile and slugged her shoulder. “This’ll be worth it, trust me.”

Above us, the battle between the two titans raged on, not seeming to slow down at all.

“How are we even going to find her?” Nightstreak asked.

“Simple,” I reply, pointing to the forest. “We go to the house she and Discord shared.”

“How… do you even know where that is?” Roxxy asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“You know me, I love to explore,” I say back, getting a few groans from the group. “I found it a few years ago, but it was really run down.”

“I don’t think she’d stay in a run down house then,” Dude said, but I just kept walking.

“I think she would, so let's go there first.”

“If I die today,” Flippy Dew said as she frowned at me, “I’m haunting you.”

“Deal,” I laugh, picking up my pace to almost a full gallop as they all tried to keep up.

I led them through the forest, dodging trees and jumping ditches.

After a good amount of running, we came upon a cabin surrounded by bushes and trees, which completely hid it from view from above.

“That’s their old home?” Nightstreak asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep,” I say, walking confidently towards the front door. “The inside is pretty bland, since Discord took all of their things when he moved out.”

“I don’t think she’s here, Shayla,” Roxxy said as we approached the front door, with everything looking untouched, vines and bushes covering the exterior of the building.

I frown, as I was starting to think she was right.

Reaching the door, I gave it a hard shove, forcing it open. I squeezed in through the barely open door, followed by my friends.

A wide smile appeared on my face at what I saw.

“... Fucking damn it,” Dude muttered as we now found ourselves in a completely different location, one that resembled nothing but appsolute chaos.

“Found her,” I say, giving them a wink.

“Great, now what? Walk in and say hello?” Roxxy asked, looking very worried.

“Yep!” I exclaim, jumping forward and cupping my hands to my mouth, “Yo! Annabel the crazy bitch! Get out here!”

“Oh come on!” Roxxy yelped, grabbing my tail and pulling me back.

“Think before you act, Shayla!” Summer Breeze groaned, helping drag me back to the front door.

“Well well well,” a sultry voice said from all around us as the front door disappeared. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again, lizard mare. And you brought friends!”

“Yeah, so why don’t you stop hiding like a pussy and come out here!” I yelled, causing my friends to all facehoof.

Not too far away from us, on a floating couch, appeared the female Draconequus, wearing a very suggestive outfit.

“My, such strong and confident words from one such as yourself,” she cooed, eyeing me with those predatorial eyes of hers.

“What? You coming on to me?” I say back, giving her a confident smirk.

This just caused her to laugh as she slithered over the back of the couch and appeared next to me. “So, you all come here to admire me? Or stop me?”

“Stop you,” I say, giving her a wink.

“And how do you plan to do that? Hm?” she asked, slithering around me.

“Like this,” I say as I put two claws in my mouth and whistle loudly.

Without warning, my five friends jumped forward and grabbed hold of her, which just caused her to roll her eyes.

I flexed hard, breaking out of her snake-like embrace and slammed a fist right into her face.

“Oh, ouch,” she said in a dramatic and bored voice as she disappeared and reappeared near us. “Your grand plan is to attack me physically? That’s rather boring.”

“What? You don’t think you can fight me fairly?” I asked, standing on my hindlegs and getting into a fighting stance as my friends all did the same.

She sighed and snapped her fingers, causing all of us to get tied up with rope. “I’m not in the mood to play games like that. I’m just waiting for Lance and company to arrive so the real fun can begin.”

We all struggled against the ropes, but I found myself unable to break out of them or even cut them.

“Way to go, Shayla,” Dude groaned, “I knew we should have come up with a better plan.”

Anarchy looked between each of us, tapping her chin, “hm… All of you but the lizard girl give off a familiar aura…”

Then, she smiled widely as she snapped her fingers, causing images of our parents to appear before us.

“Oh! You’re the kids of the Bronies!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. “This changes things!”

“What do you mean?” I ask, still struggling against my restraints.

“Silence you, I don’t know who your parents are, so you mean nothing to me,” she said, snapping her fingers. The scenery around me changed as I suddenly found myself high in the sky, still tied up. It appeared I was still in her weird alternate dimension as well.

My eyes went wide as I started to fall. “Ah shit!”

I started to fall towards the ground, picking up speed as I went.

“Come the fuck on!” I yelled, fighting against the restraints as hard as I could. All I could achieve was getting my wings free, which would have to be enough.

Flapping hard, I awkwardly slowed my descent, but I wasn’t able to completely stop as I slammed straight into the ground.

“And dead!” I heard her voice cheer from afar.

The ropes around me disappeared, allowing me to stretch out my limbs. Groaning loudly, I forced myself up and looked around.

Nothing around me made sense, as there were lewd statues all around me mixed in with the scenery. I frowned at the overly erotic displays. Queen of Lust indeed…

Coughing loudly, I force myself up, holding my chest. Definitely something broken in there, but that fall could have been a lot worse. Having metal bones and a tough body definitely saved me there.

Walking forward, breathing a tad bit raggedy, I started heading for the only structure I could see in this endless expanse of erotic chaos. The building ahead looked to be a simple home, which could easily just be a trap.

In the distance, I could hear her laughing and the sounds of my friends screaming. This may have been a mistake…

Gritting my teeth, I continued forward, reaching the front door and slamming my head into it, knocking it off its hinges.

Stepping inside, I found myself in a museum of sorts. Or maybe a hall of memories would be a better word for it, as everything looked to be images and statues of Anarchy’s past.

Walking further in, I found myself looking at a particular display. It was a small TV playing what looked to be Lance and the Bronies in female bodies running from a massive crowd.

“Huh…” I mumbled, moving to another display, this one showing Lance and co. running from a crowd of mares. She watched as a younger Zorrow got tackled by Pinkie Pie and his friends trying to help him.

They all ran except Lance, who kept trying to save him.

“Run man, save yourself,” Zorrow yelled, followed by Lance turning and running away without any hesitation.

“Thanks dude, I so owe you!" Lance yelled over his shoulder.

Zorrow looked extremely panicked and take aback by this, "What the fuck! I didn't fucking mean it! Get back here and save me!"

But his friends kept running away.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at this as I moved to another screen, this one showing Lance walking down the street with Twilight under him, holding on to him as a blanket covered them.

“What?” I muttered, not getting this one.

Moving on, I found myself looking at a video of Anarchy and Discord…

NOPE!

I jumped away from that screen, rubbing my eyes as I tried in vain to remove the horrible images from my mind. That’s going to be a core memory for sure. Meeeh!

Having my fill of videos, I moved through the hall, averting my eyes from anything that even vaguely looked sexual in nature. A door lay ahead of me, so I quickly moved for it, wanting to be out of this hall of pornagraphic material.

Jumping through the door, my eyes went wide as I found myself in a room filled with hyper realistic versions of all the Bronies. All nude.

“COME ON!” I screamed, looking around and seeing another door down the way. Closing my eyes, I sprinted at full speed towards the door and slammed into it. I rolled across the floor as I crashed through it, going head over tail.

As I came to a stop, I sat up, dreading opening my eyes. Reluctantly, I opened them, finding myself in a large bedroom. It was extremely messy, with items all over the room, and stains everywhere.

“Gross,” I muttered, standing up and looking around. This must be her bedroom.

A few things caught my eye, namely a box that was tossed onto the bed. But before I went near that, I saw something else that caught my interest.

On her dresser were a few pictures. I fully expected them to be erotic in nature, but upon stepping up to them, I found they were pictures of her as a human, and not in Equestria.

“These look like…” I muttered, looking closely at a few of them. “The Earth Dimension.”

I’ve seen a few of the memories of the Bronies when they’d copy them onto disk and show them off at parties, so it was easy to recognize the location the pictures were taken in.

One of the pictures showed Annabel standing with a few other human females, all laughing. Another showed her hugging some older guy, who looked to be her father.

But a few of the pictures were turned over, so I lifted them up to see them.

The next one I saw showed a close up of her as a very young teen, her makeup running down her face. Flipping up the next one, I saw it wasn’t a picture, but a newspaper clipping.

“Local’s in fear as Lakeside Stalker strikes again,” I read aloud, looking at the picture under the head, which showed a few paramedics tending to a shocked looking Annabel as she seemed to stare into the void. She looked way to skinny as she sat there. I read the rest of the article, a sick feeling filling my gut as I read one line in particular.

‘This marks the first time a victim has been rescued alive. She was found chained to a shipping container, barely alive. The Lakeside Stalker appeared to have-’

I couldn’t read anymore as I put it down and lifted the last picture frame. This one showed a slightly older Annabel as she stood among a few smiling people, but her face had a blank stare on it, almost appearing to be dead inside.

“Fuck,” I muttered, putting it back down and seeing a folder with her name on it. I really did not want to open it, but I felt I needed to.

Opening it revealed they were just documents. I do not want to read this shit.

But a few words stood out to me, prompting me to actually try and read it. The papers appeared to be from some kind of psychiatric hospital, listing details about her stay and diagnosis.

“Hypersexuality Disorder?” I read aloud, frowning. I had no idea what that meant, but it had sexual in it, so it made sense to me for her to have it. What with all the shit I just had to see out there.

Continuing to read the papers, I found out she’d been placed in this treatment facility for a few years, showing no sign that the treatments were working. It looks like she was there all the way up to the Rapture, as it said her next evaluation for release was in the year 2014. And I know the Rapture happened around the end of 2012.

“Huh,” I mumbled, placing the documents back down. “I feel like giving her all that power may have been a very bad idea…”

There was one last item on the dresser, hidden beneath a few papers. Lifting it up, I raised an eyebrow. It was a diary.

Opening it up, it looked to start in the year 2011. Most of the entries were just her fantasies, all sexual in nature it appeared. But there were a few normal passages sprinkled through it. Most just lamenting that she hated feeling the way she did all the time, and wishing she’d stop hurting others, but couldn’t control herself unless she was on her meds.

Getting to the entries after the Rapture, they changed to more upbeat entries. Her first entry she talked about how amazing it was to be in Equestria, and how she could finally stop being mentally screwed up. But the very next passage, she went back to her old ways, as she mentioned her meds wore off.

She then goes into detail on how she was using her new chaos magic to screw with others as she slowly tried to turn this world into her own personal fantasy. The last entry just talks about how her friends are turning on her and she hates herself for not being able to control herself, but she then says she’s taking them all down with her if they try and stop her.

Well luckily for everyone, I know she was stopped and put into the moon. Till now that is.

I put the diary back down, looking over the dresser, but nothing else stood out to me. Now that I’d seen everything the dresser had to offer, I moved to the bed, where the decorative box sat.

It didn’t look that impressive, as it was just a simple wooden box. So I flipped a few switches and opened the box. My eyes went wide at what I saw.

This box may be bland looking, but its contents were anything but bland.

The Elements of Harmony.

“Ah shit, that’s cool,” I muttered, reaching out and rubbing my claw across one of them.

They lit up at my touch and one of them raised into the air and began to glow in front of me.

“Eh…” I took a step back as it suddenly shot at me, slamming into my chest and attaching itself around my neck.

I blinked a few times in confusion. “Wut?” Looking down, I frowned. “Oh no, no no no, I’m not playing this stupid game!”

Grabbing it with my hands, I tried to pry it off of my body, but it held firm, like it was now apart of me. “No! I am not doing this!” I yelled, pulling hard.

Falling to the ground, I rolled around, fighting with the necklace to get it off, but it was stubborn and held tight.

After a few minutes, I gave it and lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Fine, I’m a stupid bearer of an element, happy?” I said between ragged breaths, the pain in my chest still present.

As if to answer me, it glowed a few times.

“Fine, which one did I get?” I said, rolling to a mirror and standing up.

It was a gold necklace with a red ruby that was in the shape of a hissing snake with a jester hat, just like my cutie mark. “Oh great, Loyalty.”

I rubbed my face, groaning. “Now what? It’s not like I alone can…” I began, but then looked at the other Elements, each of them glowing like they were ready for something.

“Oh… you got to be kidding me,” I said in an exasperated voice.

The past shapes us

Author's Note

I guess I need to do a trigger warning: Talks of Rape.

The past shapes us

Chapter 7

Moving carefully, I made my way back to where I believed my friends were. I didn’t have a solid plan yet, but I didn’t know if I had the time to just sit around and think up one.

Up ahead, I could see the form of Anarchy as she laid on a throne that was suspended in the air, seeming to be waiting for someone. Probably Lance and the others.

Floating above her were my friends, all encased in what looked to be crystals. Great, that makes things complicated. Going to have to do this on my own it seems.

Getting closer to her, I crouched down and looked up at her as she laid back, dropping grapes into her mouth one at a time.

The Element of Loyalty began to vibrate against my chest, like it was trying to get my attention.

“What?!” I hissed, sitting down and looking down at it. It kept vibrating, pulsing lightly as it did so. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do!”

As if it was annoyed, it vibrated even harder and flashed faster. I frowned at it and shook it hard, “you’re going to have to be more clear here! I’m not a super smart mare!”

It stopped glowing and vibrating, seeming to give up. Then it began to glow brightly as an image flashed in my mind.

“... Oh, that’s what you’re trying to tell me? How the fuck was I supposed to get that from vibrating and glowing?!” I hissed, shaking it hard again. It just vibrated hard for a second. “Yeah, I got it! Geez.”

Now having an idea of what to do, I stood up and stretched, then made sure my saddlebags were attached properly. With a groan, I stepped out of my hiding spot and walked towards the Queen of Lust and Chaos.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed upon seeing me, a wide grin appearing on her face. “You’re alive?!”

“Unfortunately, I am,” I said with a smirk as I stopped walking, squaring up with her as she laid on her throne.

Then she noticed the Element, “Ah, found my home did you? Enjoy the museum?”

“Shit was gross,” I commented, shaking my head.

She just laughed, sliding off of her throne and slithering through the air till she was standing in front of me. “What do you plan to do? Use the Elements to banish me? Turn me to stone? Destroy me?”

I scowl, as I did not like the idea I’d been given, not my usual style. “No, I’m going to use them to help you.”

“Ha!” she laughed, the world around us shaking and starting to melt. “Help me? That’s a new one. Tell me, why do I need help?”

“I saw your room, the pictures and newspaper clippings,” I said, causing her eyes to twitch.

“Going through others personal things? Aren’t you a… naughty lizard pony,” she said, looking to become a bit unhinged.

I bit my lip as I followed the directions of the Element, knowing I probably didn’t stand a chance against her chaos magic on my own. “Well you kinda dropped me right by your house, so that’s your fault,” I said, which did not help the situation. “I read your diary-”

Her tail wiped out and slapped me across the face, hard. But I didn’t let it throw me away as I held my ground. Slowly, I turned my face back to her as she fumed above me, smoke seeming to pour off of her body.

“I don’t know what it’s like to go through anything like that, but-” I began, but her eyes flared with anger as she raised her hand, about to snap her fingers. “Wait! Just fucking wait you crazy bitch!” I roared, catching her a bit off guard.

“Look,” I began, glaring up at her, “I can’t be all nice and shit, and I can’t approach this situation with the grace it deserves. So fuck you, I’m going to be blunt and you’re going to listen to me!” She just blinked at me, not seeming to know how to react to me. “So put your fucking hand down and listen!”

Slowly, she lowered her hand and crossed her arms. “Go on then.”

Taking a breath, I planted my feet and prepared to get hit again. “You got raped, and that fucked you up. Got your brain all fucked up and made you take it out on others. I don’t get it, but I ain’t judging you there. What I will judge you for is that you are hurting people, like my friends! And you tried to kill me!”

I stomped up to her and flew up, putting my face right in hers, “have you stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, the reason you’re still like this is because you are actively avoiding fixing it? We’re in fucking Equestria, where magic fixes almost anything! You don’t have to be like this!”

“Wise words from a stupid reptile brained pony,” she said with a growl, clearly angered by my words. She raised her hand and prepared to snap her fingers.

Ah shit, this backfired… Screw listening to the Elements, I’m doing this my way!

Moving as fast as I possibly could, I shot forward, taking her hand in my hands, wrapping my claws around her thumb and fingers.

“What are you-” she started, but with barely any effort, I ripped her thumb off of her hand. As she started to scream, I twisted all of her other fingers backwards, breaking them.

Before she could react, I spun my body, slamming a fist into her face and flying down to her other hand. She tried to pull it from my grasp as she tried to snap her fingers. But I just grabbed her whole hand in mine and held tight, preventing her from moving her fingers.

“Don’t!” she screamed, but I just twisted, breaking her wrist. With a roar of agony, she tried to pull her fist from me, but I held tight and twisted harder, completely destroying her wrist and hand.

The large Draconequus screamed in absolute agony as I dropped to the ground and grabbed her legs, and with a heavy heave, I lifted her up and slammed her backwards, slamming her face first into the ground.

Breathing hard and rapidly, I jumped into the air, performing a front flip and slammed down on her back, causing her to go rigid.

“Fuck!” I yelled, jumping off of her and holding my chest, the pain only getting worse.

“You psychopath!” She screamed, dragging herself up and holding up her ruined appendages, “What the hell?! You guys are supposed to not be violent like this! You broke my hands!”

“Yeah, I did,” I coughed out, turning to face her as I held my chest. “Because you weren’t listening. I can see why they sent you to the moon.”

She growled as she flashed, her hands reforming themselves slowly.

“Wait, but I-”

“I don’t have to snap my fingers to do magic on myself, retard!” she screamed, standing up fully, now back to normal.

“Uh…” I said, smiling sheepishly up at her. “I may have overreacted when I broke your hands, for that, I apologize.”

“Kinda late for that,” she said in a calm voice as she raised her hand.

The Element around my neck began to glow again, vibrating against my chest. Shut up, I know I screwed up by not listening to you.

She snapped her fingers, causing me to close my eyes, waiting for whatever she did to take effect. But after a few seconds, nothing happened. Opening them, I saw her looking at me in annoyance.

“Damn it!” she growled, snapping her fingers over and over again, “Celestia put that damn spell on the Elements! That fucking bitch!”

“Oh… that’s convenient,” I said with a relieved sigh. Then I smiled sheepishly, “I guess I didn’t have to break your hands…”

She just glared at me as she stomped up to me and grabbed the Element. She tried to yank it off my body, but it wouldn’t budge. “Fucking gay magic!”

“So, ready to listen to me?” I asked, but she just stepped back and punched me in the face, hard.

I stumbled back a few feet, vision spinning as I came to a stop, blinking at her. “I’m going to-” I started to yell, but the Element vibrated again. “Grrr, fine. Doing this your way.”

“Are you talking to the Element?” she asked, stomping towards me again. “They don’t speak, dumbass.”

“They do in their own way,” I countered, reaching into my saddle bags and taking out the five gems within it. “Now step back! Or I’ll Elements of Harmony your ass!”

This caused her to stop as she eyed me suspiciously, then took a few steps back. “Wait… can you use them all by yourself?”

“Eeyep!” I yelled, bluffing out my ass.

I couldn’t tell if she believed me, but she didn’t make a move towards me, just crossed her arms.

“Good,” I said, flying up above her head and looking down on her. “Are you going to let me help you?”

“I don’t need help, especially from the likes of you,” she said evenly, grumbling to herself.

“You do need help. According to your diary, you were the happiest when you were on your meds, but the moment they wore off you went right back to acting like this. And now you got unlimited power, and its just making you worse.”

“No, it’s making me the best me I can be,” she countered, throwing her hands out wide. “I’m the motherfucking Queen of Lust and Chaos, bitch! Ain’t no one above me!”

“But are you happy?” I asked, following the guidance of the Element around my neck.

“I’m very happy,” she said with a smirk, flying up to meet me, slithering around me again. “Sweet talking isn’t going to win me over, lizard girl. Know what will though?”

“What?” I ask, watching her carefully.

“A good fuck,” she said with a wink.

I just roll my eye and elbow her in the snout, but she just frowns and flashes away, appearing in front of me.

“You’re no fun,” she grumbled.

“I ain’t fucking ya, crazy bitch,” I spat out, glaring hard at her. “You’ve done plenty of that in your life, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, you’d think that, wouldn’t you!” she suddenly screamed, coming unhinged out of nowhere. “I’m the Queen of Lust! And I’ve only had sex with TWO people! TWO! FUCKING TWO!” She flew towards me, slamming her face into mine, our eyes closed as we stared each other down. “Discord was the best thing in my life, and they took him from me! He made me forget about my rapist! Made me forget those months in that shipping container!”

The area around us shifted into a forest, a dirty shipping container down below, hidden in camo netting.

I had no response to this, as this all kind of came out of nowhere.

“You think I’m happy?! You think anyone in my situation can be happy?! The only time I’m happy is when I’m making other people suffer like I did, or when I’m with Discord! And he’s gone now, which just leaves hurting others!”

“But,” I started, searching my mind for the best way to respond. “You don’t have to be this way… we have ways to help you here. There’s a doctor back in town who specializes in mental shit. She can help you, if you let her.”

“Impossible,” she snapped back, slithering around me and squeezing tight. “I can’t be helped at this point. I’m too far gone, that’s evident by my friends abandoning me and banishing me to the moon.”

I coughed loudly as she compressed my chest, but I chose not to fight back, yet.

“I want to help you,” I choked out, trying my best not to react just yet to her squeezing me.

“Bullshit, you just want to win,” she hissed, applying more pressure.

“Yeah, I do!” I yelped out, the pain starting to grow. “But I also want to help you get better! I’ve never gone through what you have, but my mom has gone through some horrible shit! So I can sympathize with you!”

Finally, she stopped squeezing, but continued to glare into my eyes. “Okay, lizard pony, how do you think you’ll help me?”

“You’ll have to trust me,” I coughed out. “If I tell you, the half of you that likes this will stop me.”

She seemed to consider this as she let me go suddenly, dropping me towards the ground. My wings flared out and caught me. Hovering there, I coughed violently a few times, my chest feeling absolutely terrible.

“Fine, you have one minute. If it looks like you’re about to betray me, I will kill you,” she said, her face a mix of emotions. Then, in a much quieter voice she adds, “please, don’t betray me.”

“Yeah, I won’t,” I groan, then point to my friends. “I need them out for this to work.”

With suspicious eyes, she raised her hand and snapped her finger, causing the crystals around my friends to disappear. They all started to fall, but caught themselves. Except Dude, who started to fall to the ground, but used magic to catch himself.

I waved them over, and as they neared, I held up the Elements. “Okay, let me get you guys up to speed, we need-”

“We heard,” Roxxy said, catching me off guard. “We were in crystal, but we could still hear and see everything.”

“You’re hardcore, as always,” Dude said, giving me a nod of approval.

“Thanks,” I chuckle, then look back to the Elements. “So, we need to figure out who gets what.”

“Are we even able to wield them?” Nightstreak asked.

“One way to find out!” I yelled, tossing the Elements at my friends. As they flew towards them, they began to glow and shot towards each of them.

“Ouch!” Dude yelped as one slammed into his chest; Element of Magic.

“Oh shit! I’m worthy!” Nightstreak exclaimed as one wrapped itself around his neck; Element of Laughter.

Flippy Dew let out a panicked scream as hers attached itself to her; Element of Kindness.

“Of fucking course,” Roxxy grumbled as the Element of Honesty picked her out.

Summer Breeze smiled a bit as hers reached her; Element of Generosity.

“Huh… Honestly didn’t think that’d work,” I admitted, looking at my friends sporting their new Elements.

“So does this mean we’re the new Bearers of the Elements?” Nightstreak asked, smiling awkwardly.

I shrug, “I guess it-”

“Tick tock,” Anarchy said from behind my friends, looking impatient.

“Right!” I exclaimed, flying over to Dude and whispering into his ear. His eyes went wide as I leaned back. “Doable?”

“Uh… sure?” he said, glancing at the Draconequus behind him.

Carefully, we flew over and surrounded her.

She growled and looked right at me. “If you try and-”

“Shut up, I’m not going to betray you. We’re going to help you, I promise,” I snapped back, trying to sound reassuring.

This didn’t help her, but she didn’t try to stop us.

Dude looked unsure as his horn began to glow, causing all of our Elements to start to glow. Slowly, a rainbow spread out from his element and spread to all of ours, forming a circle around Anarchy.

Her face began to waver as she seemed to be losing her nerve.

Just as she started to raise her hand to snap her fingers, a rainbow shot out and slammed into her, wrapping around her. She screamed and fought against it, her eyes looking at me with hatred as she appeared to believe I betrayed her.

The rainbows completely wrapped around her and raised up higher into the sky. The area around us began to fade away, being replaced by the Everfree Forest and the cabin. A scream was heard from within the rainbow cocoon, then a bright flash that caused all of us to turn away.

Looking back, I saw the rainbow cocoon was slowly lowering itself back to the ground. Slowly, we followed after it, landing on the ground around it as the rainbows began to unwrap.

Once they fully pulled away, they revealed just a simple mare, who heavily resembled Anarchy, just in an Earth pony form now. She lay on the ground, not moving.

“Eh… is she… dead?” Summer Breeze asked, looking at her cautiously.

Flippy Dew took a step forward, leaning closer and frowning, “I think she’s dead.”

“I’m not dead,” the mare groaned, sitting up and looking herself over. “... You turned me into a pony?”

“I mean,” I started, raising an eyebrow, “we used the Elements to remove your Chaos magic. I guess it also turned you into a pony.”

“You took my chaos magic?!” she exclaimed, trying to cast a spell or something, but nothing happened. She closed her eyes and began to shake violently.

Then she looked right at me. I waited for her to let me have it, saying I betrayed her, or just be mad in general.

“Thank you…” she finally said in a small voice. A look of relief came over her face as she hugged herself. “I can’t hurt others if I don’t have that magic…”

I stepped over to her and kneeled down, holding a hoof out to her, “you good now? The mental shit gone?”

“No, it’s still there,” she admitted as she took my hand. “But you’ll help with that, right?”

“I will,” I confirmed, giving a hard nod as I pulled her to her hooves.

She looked around at all my friends, looking a bit sheepish as she reached up and played with her mane. “So… I’m sorry for, you know, inflicting chaos on you and shit.”

“Not frogi-” Dude started to say, but Flippy Dew slugged him in the shoulder hard. “Erm, I mean, all's forgiven.”

“As long as you actually let others help you,” I add, getting a nod out of her.

“I can promise to try, but you need to know, doctors back on Earth had no luck helping me,” she warned, but I waved her off and slapped a hand down on her shoulder.

“Trust me, we’ll get you fixed up, Calypso is an amazing doctor and therapist. She helped my mom after all.”

Annabel smiled at me, then her eyes went wide as she lowered herself to the ground in fear. “Oh no…”

“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrow in confusion.

“Shayla?!”

“What are you all doing here?!”

My eyes also went wide as I turned around and saw the Princesses, Lance, my parents, and all the other adults.

“Oh… hey everyone,” I said with a little wave, smiling awkwardly.

The crowd just stared at us, confusion on all their faces.

“I’m assuming Anarchy wasn’t here?” Lance asked, looking around. Then his eyes landed on the mare behind me. “Shit!”

“Get back, Shayla!” Jero screamed, jumping forward and pointing a strange device at the cowering mare.

“Stop!” I screamed, jumping between him and Annabel.

“Shayla, move your ass!” My mom yelled. “That’s Anarchy!”

“I know!” I yelled back, flaring my wings wide. “We helped her!”

“Are those the…” Lance said, finally taking note of the Elements around our necks.

“Yes! We used the Elements to take her powers! But she gave them up willingly!” I yelled, fibbing a bit on that last part. They don’t need to know the full truth here.

“Step aside, we still have to deal with her!” Jero yelled, the device still in his hands. “We’re going to trap her in this rune so she can’t hurt anyone else.”

“Stop you fucking idiots!” I roared back, my friends running up and forming a wall between Annabel and the others. “She’s been hiding something from all of you! The real reason she’s acted the way she did in the past.”

“There’s no excuse that could cover what she’s done,” Lance stated, not looking to want to negotiate.

My mother looked between us and the crowd around her. She growled and stepped forward, stomping towards me.

I shrank back a bit, ready for her to lay into me. But instead, she stepped up to me and got next to me, turning to face the others.

“My daughter may not be the smartest mare,” she said, getting a frown out of me. “But her heart is always in the right place. I say we listen to her and then decide on what to do.”

“Thanks, Mama,” I said, a tear threatening to fall out of my eye.

She just gave me a smile and a nod.

“I guess…” Lance said, frowning as he looked at us. “... we can hear her out.”

Jero lowered the device, not looking convinced.

“I think this’ll be easier if we can all view my memories,” I say, looking at Celestia.

The large Alicorn smiled at me and gave a nod. “If you believe this is the correct path, then I will help.”

I smile at her and give a nod. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

My mother chuckled and slugged my shoulder as the Princess walked into the middle of the group.

“Does everyone agree with this course of action?” She asked, scanning the gathered ponies. Everyone looked reluctant but they all gave a nod of agreement.

Celestia’s horn began to glow as she cast a spell, causing everyone to be pulled into my mind.

New Hero's

Chapter 8

Four hours after defeat of Anarchy

Champion broke contact with the monster of a man, flying backwards and stared the man down. His costume was shredded, just hanging off of him at this point, and his body looked battered and bruised.

Loric floated ahead of him, looking just as bad, with his clothes shredded and body just as beaten as the stallions.

The two have barely spoken a word to each other the entire time they’d been fighting, putting all they had into the fight. This marked the first time they’d actually stopped fighting.

“You are incredible,” Loric said, his serious look fading back to his naturally relaxed look. “Too bad you chose the wrong person to work for.”

Champion spat into the air between them, “yeah, I know I’m incredible.”

This caused Loric to laugh, shaking his head, “a bit of a narcissist. Can’t even return a complement.”

“You haven’t earned a compliment from me,” Champion sneered, pulling out a piece of food from his pocket dimension and eating it. His body flashed as he returned to a fully rested state, back to one hundred percent.

“Aww, I didn’t know we were allowed to use things like that,” Loric chuckled, wagging a finger at Champion. “I may have complimented you too soon.”

A growl was heard from Champion as he looked into his pocket dimension, seeing the item Kal had given him. He’d refused to use it, as he knew he didn’t need it. But this guy was pissing him off. If he uses it, he’s just using it to end this fight sooner rather than later, not because he can’t handle Loric.

“You’re annoying,” Champion grumbled, flipping the little item around his hoof. It resembled a dagger in shape, but felt too light to be used as one.

The man laughed at this, shrugging his shoulders, “so, we using weapons now?” He held up his fist, causing two Cyan gauntlets to appear on his hands. “I guess it's time to end this.”

“I guess it is,” Champion said as the pair began to float towards each other. As they neared each other, they disappeared, only to reappear for a second as Loric blocked a punch from the stallion and returned one of his own, having it blocked as well.

They repeated this a few times, flashing around the sky, pressing their attacks against their opponents' guard. However, the scale began to tip towards Loric as he began to actually start breaking through Champion's guard, his Ego Gauntlets increasing his attack power to incredible levels.

Champion let out a frustrated growl as he blocked an attack and raised his eyes to stare into the calm stare of the man. A smirk flashed on his face as he twirled the dagger-like item and activated it.

Ego tendrils shot out of the device and snagged onto multiple points on the man's body. His eyes went wide, as this seemed to actually catch him off guard.

With his Ego turned off, he began to fall.

But Champion had other plans for the man as his eyes glowed purple and fired a beam right for the man. The beam pierced through the man's chest, causing him to gasp in pain for the first time during the fight.

Raising his gauntlets, he deflected the beams back at the stallion, catching him in the face.

“GAH!” he yelled in pain, stopping his attack and grabbing his face. He opened his pocket dimension and pulled out a mirror, holding it up to see the damage. The entire right side of his face was scorched, his ear and face bubbling from the beam. He still had his eye, but his MANE!

“YOU PEASANT!” He roared, looking back to the man. But he was gone now, no longer in view. “You coward! Come back here and die!”

He took off, determined to find the man and make him pay for ruining his beautiful face.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Are you sure about this?” Annabel asked me as I came out of Doc’s office and back into the waiting room where she and my friends sat.

“I am,” I assure her as I give my chest a few hard hits, testing to make sure my ribs were fully healed. “You heard my mother, she told you Calypso helped her face her past trauma and got her to where she is today. She’ll do the same for you.”

“I’m just not buying it,” she mumbled, hugging herself in her seat. “I’ve been to all kinds of Doctors, but they all just throw meds at me. I don’t think I can do this.”

“Well that’s not her style,” I say, walking over and holding out a hand to her. “So? Trust me?”

She looked at my hand, a conflicted look on her face. After a moment, she reached out and took my hand, “I do.”

“Perfect, come on.” I pull her up to her hooves and lead her to Calypso’s office. Pushing the door open, we find the mare was already there, waiting in her chair with a notepad in her hooves.

Calypso looked up at us and gave a warm smile, “ah, Annabel, I was starting to wonder if I’d have to come out there and get you myself.”

“She just needed a little help,” I say, leading her to the couch and helping her lay down. She immediately went back to hugging herself as she pulled her legs and tail into herself.

“Don’t worry,” Calypso said in a sweet voice. “We’re not going to go to hard today, we’re just going to get to know each other. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure,” she said with a weak smile.

“First up, can you tell me your full name and age?”

Annabel bit her lip as she thought for a moment, “huh… does my time on the moon count?”

“Were you conscious the whole time you were up there? Did your body age?” Calypso asked, writing a few notes down.

“Uh… no to both questions,” she muttered, frowning.

“Then just your age when it happened.”

“Erm, I’m Annabel Fletcher. I was twenty two when I got banished to the moon, which was about five years after the Rapture,” she said as she started playing with her mane.

“You’re a lot younger than I thought you’d be,” I commented, getting Calypso to frown at me.

“Shayla, thank you for helping her, but this will go better if its just the two of us.”

“No, I want her here,” Annabel said, starting to look anxious.

“Trust me, the things we’ll be going over, you may not be able to be fully open if a friend is present,” Calypso warned.

Reluctantly, she nodded in response.

I frowned, but I took the hint and backed out of the room, giving her a thumbs up as I closed the door.

“So we good?” Dude asked as he and the others walked over to me.

“I think so,” I replied, smiling at them. I waved for them to follow me and we walked out of the clinic, then I turned to them. “We did it guys! We stopped our first real threat!”

“I mean, did we though? We kinda cheated with these,” Nightstreak said, tapping the Element around his neck.

Waving him off, I slap my Element, “it's not cheating if we win.”

“I don’t think that’s how that works,” he said back, but I just struck a pose and smiled at them.

“Picture for the newspaper?” someone said from behind me.

Spinning around, I found myself face to face with a stallion wearing a Press hat.

“What?” I asked, cocking my head.

“Picture for the paper!” he repeated, jiggling a camera at us. “We’re running a story tomorrow about the new Bearer’s of the Elements and how they saved us all from the Bitch in the Moon!”

“You probably should change that name,” Dude chuckled. “Kinda deeming now that she’s like she is now.”

“No can do! It’s been the Bitch in the Moon for the last twenty years, so that’s how ponies will recognize her,” he said as he jiggled the camera at us again. “So? Picture?”

I look at my friends and shrug. “Sure, just make the story good, ‘kay?”

“That I can promise!” he exclaims, waving for us to group up.

We all got together, looking at him.

“Come on! You’re Hero’s now! Pose!”

Roxxy and I put our legs over each other as the others posed up around us.

“Perfect!”

I smirked as I gave Roxxy bunny ears, just as he snapped the picture.

Front row: Dude, Shayla, Roxxy, Summer Breeze.
Back row: Flippy Dew and Nightstreak.

“Excellent! Look at the front page of the newspaper tomorrow!” he said as he quickly took his leave, running off into town.

“Hero's,” I said aloud, a wide grin on my face.

“Oh crap, that’s going to go to her head,” Nightstreak groaned.

“Oh no…” Flippy Dew muttered, rubbing her shoulder nervously. “We’re going to have to do more stuff like that, aren’t we?”

“You know it!” I yell as I jump forward and start strutting down the road. But before I could get in the groove, something slammed into the ground ahead of me. I stumbled back, startled as a very beaten and battered Champion stood there, breathing hard as he glared at us.

“Oh shit, man! What happened to your face?!” Dude exclaimed as we all stared at him.

The right side of his face looked gross, worse than the burns on my mother, that’s for sure. Then again that could just be because these ones are fresh. Even his ear was ruined, and he was missing some mane on that side of his head.

“Have you brats seen a man around here?! Looks worse than I do!” he yelled, stomping towards us.

“Nah bro, just you,” I said, causing him to stomp up to me and get face to face with me.

“You lying to me?!” he screamed, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

“Why the fuck would I lie about that?” I snapped back, pushing my face into his face.

He pushed back, our foreheads connected as he growled fiercely at me. “If you’re lying to me, and you know where-”

“Get ahold of yourself, asshole!” I growl back, pushing back against him, but I was unable to move him as I only achieved pushing myself back a bit. “We’ve been dealing with our own shit while you’ve been up there getting your ass kicked.”

His eyes began to glow, but I held my ground, staring into his eyes as they increased in brightness, the purple harsh light flashing around my face.

“Do it, I fucking dare you,” I said in a low voice.

He sneered and snapped his head to the side, firing a purple beam straight up into the sky. As he finished his little tantrum, he turned back to me with a look of absolute rage and hatred, “call me if you see him.”

“I won’t,” I said back, flipping him off. “Now fuck off.”

This only enraged him further, but instead of saying anything else, he just exploded into the sky, rocketing away faster than anyone could keep track of.

The force of him suddenly taking off like that sent me flying backwards violently. Just as I was about to slam into a building someone caught me.

“Gotcha!” Flippy Dew yelled, holding tight to me as she struggled to slow us down with her wings. Thanks to her efforts we only bumped into the building instead of crashing through it.

“Whew!” I yelled out as she placed me back on the ground. “Thanks, Flip, that coulda been bad.”

She smiled at me happily.

“You fucking idiot!” Roxxy screamed as she and the others ran towards us. “Stop provoking that psychopath! One day he’ll-“

“He ain’t gonna do a thing to me,” I assured her, smiling confidently at her. “He knows better, his mom and mine would kill him.”

She just groaned and rubbed her face.

“So!” I yell as I reach out and ruffle up Flippy Dew’s mane, “let’s get a move on!”

“To where?” Summer Breeze asked.

Walking through them, I flared my wings, “clubhouse! Gotta add today’s win to our achievement board!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

As we flew towards the clubhouse, I saw the door was ajar. Damn it guys!

“Okay, who forgot to close the door?” I asked, frowning at them.

“Dude was the last one out!” Nightstreak called out.

“Snitch!” Dude exclaimed, the sighed, “but I closed it. I remember slamming it shut and making a stupid joke about to.”

“He did,” Flippy Dew confirmed.

“Well, it’s open now,” I grumbled as I landed at the door and pushed it open. “You guys need to-“

I lost my train of thought as I saw blood all over the floor, leading to the other side of the room where we piled up our bean bag chairs. There lay a human with bandages on his chest.

“Oh… yo,” he said weakly, giving me a peace sign.

“Guys, we have a problem,” I said over my shoulder, keeping my eyes locked on the man.

“What kind of… oh you gotta be kidding me,” Roxxy groaned as she and the others squeezed in past me.

“Sorry for the blood, kinda was in a hurry,” the man said, placing a hand over the bloody bandages.

“Let me handle this,” I said, flexing my muscles and taking a step towards him.

“Wait!” Flippy Dew suddenly yelled out, jumping past me and standing between us.

“Why? He’s a bad guy,” I stated, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t think he is!” She said, looking at him.

“But he was invading our world,” Dude said in an unsure voice.

“Actually no, I was just looking for an old nemesis of mine and that horse man attacked me,” the man stated.

“He’s telling the truth! He helped me push my cart up a hill before Champion showed up,” Flippy Dew said as she carefully walked over to him.

“Hmmm,” I mumbled, then shrugged. I walked over and stood next to Flippy Dew as she reached into her bags and pulled out some water.

“Oh thanks,” he said as he took it and drank half of it in one go.

“Why did Champion attack you?” I questioned, wanting to make sense of everything.

“He’s working for the guy I’m after,” he replied as he took a sip from the water.

“Kal?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s the name he’s using here?” He asked, then chuckled a bit. “Yeah, Kal. That guy I was fighting has some real issues.”

“Yeah, believe me, I know,” I say with a smirk. “Guys an asshole.”

He laughed then began to cough, spitting blood all over the two of us.

“Eh, sorry,” he muttered, holding his chest.

“Uh… you good?” I asked, using a wing to wipe my face.

He looked me right in the eye and grinned, “I’m going to be straight with you, I’m not doing so good.”

“How bad is it?” Flippy Dew asked in a worried tone.

“I'm dying.”

Rosmarinus

Loric

Chapter 9

With a frustrated grunt, Champion scanned the area below with both his eyes and ears, looking for any sign of the man. But he seemed to have disappeared off the face of Equestria, which is possible since he could travel between dimensions.

Below he saw a group of ponies laughing at a restaurant, so he banked towards them and slammed into the ground right next to them.

“It’s Champion!” Someone screamed, followed by everyone jumping up and trotting towards him.

“Did you get the villain?” One asked excitedly.

He looked at them, frowning.

They all recoiled at the sight of his burned face.

“You got hurt defending us?!” A mare called out, turning the looks of shock into looks of envy.

“I did,” he announced in his Hero voice, “but he escaped. Have any of you seen him?”

The crowd all replied no, causing his eye to twitch.

“Then return to your food, citizens,” he said turning to take off but seeing someone that brought a smile to his face.

With a boom, he zoomed straight towards them, coming to a stop leaning on a market stall right next to them.

“Hey, Moon, seen a villain about?” He asked in as smooth of a tone as he could manage.

Azure Moon sighed and turned to face him, “no, I have no-“ Her eyes went wide at the sight of him, battle damaged and burned.

He smirked at her, flexing his muscles, “yeah, I got a bit roughed up. My foe seems to be just as strong as me, but nothing I can’t handle.”

She blinked at him, then frowned, “well to answer your question; no I haven’t seen any villains.” She then turned back to rearranging the items at her stall, making it clear she was ignoring him now.

Champion smiled brightly at her as he stood up tall, “that is okay. Any plans tonight?”

A deep sigh escaped lips as she shook her head slowly and looked at him, “I do. My Brother and I are taking our Mom out for dinner.”

“I can come,” he insisted, his smile only growing bigger.

“It’s family only,” she deadpanned.

“I’m basically family,” he pressed, winking at her.

“Immediate family only,” she replied, annoyance in her voice.

“Then I’ll be there,” he laughed, flexing again.

“You stay away from my family dinner tonight!” She suddenly snapped, losing her patience with him.

He just stared back at her, his smile wavering on his face. “Having a bad day? Yeah me too, I’ll see you later,” he said in a chillingly calm voice as he gave a bow and shot into the sky.

She growled and turned back to her shop, no longer in a good mood.

Champion flew away from the town and flew far out into the forest. He kept flying till he was far enough away from any city.

Coming to a stop, he hovered there in the air, his breathing getting heavier and more ragged the longer he floated there. Then with a massive roar, his eyes blared to life, followed by a purple beam exploding from his eyes and destroying the forest below him.

He didn’t stop as he began to throw a super powered tantrum, destroying both the forest and the mountains around him.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You’re dying?” I asked, looking him over. “Sure you’re bleeding, but you’re acting like you're fine.”

Loric just chuckled, “that would be thanks to my Ego. I’m keeping myself alive right now by manually regulating my body. But that won’t keep me alive for long.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Nightstreak muttered from behind me.

“Can we help you?” I asked, a sullen look on my face.

“Unless you have someone with an overpowered healing Ego, then probably not,” he said back, coughing again.

“We have Doc, he doesn’t have an Ego, but he has a healing ability that-“

“It has to be an Ego based one for a wound like this,” he interrupted, giving me a thumbs up. “But thank you.”

“But we can’t just let you die!” Flippy Dew exclaimed.

He just shrugged, “people die, it happens.” He began to cough again, this time worse than the times before. Once he finished, he sat back, looking grim. “There is something you can do for me.”

“We can do it,” Flippy Dew said firmly.

This brought a smile to his face, “you little horses are way too nice.” He grunted as he shifted and waved his hand in front of himself. A little pocket dimension tried to open, but it kept fizzling away. “I’m too injured to form a connection with my pocket dimension, so I can’t retrieve my dimensional key. So I need one of you to lend me some of your soul so I can open it.”

“Okay!” Flippy Dew said as she held out her hoof to him.

“No,” I said simply as I reached out and put her hoof down. “I’ll do it.”

She frowned at me as I raised my leg and placed my hand on his.

“Thank you,” he said as he took my hand and began to focus.

I felt a chill run through my body, like something was being pulled from me.

Loric raised his hand and swiped a finger, causing the pocket dimension to appear before him. Carefully, he reached in and pulled out a decorative dagger, with roses etched into its blade and handle. The red of the roses really popped against the metal of the blade.

“That’s a dimensional key?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Jero’s Traveler Key was just a simple key, so this one being a knife was strange.

“Yep, this one is a special one only given to Enforcers,” he said, letting go of my hand.

“You’re an Enforcer?” I asked, causing him to raise an eyebrow and nod. “My parents are friends with an Enforcer.”

“Who?!” He asked, looking a bit excited and shocked.

“Bronwyn Pendragon,” I answered, causing him to smile.

“She’s still alive, amazing,” he said, starting to look more relaxed despite the situation. “Well that changes things.”

I cocked my head at him, “changes things how?”

He placed a hand on his chest, smiling weakly at us, “I need you to give my Ego to Bronwyn.”

“Give it to her?” Roxxy asked from behind us.

“Yes, give it to her. I have what’s called a Wandering Ego, and it can be passed between hosts.” He coughed again, covering his chest and hand in blood. “Mine is very particular about who it attaches to, and is an original Ego. It has not been fused with any others, which has caused it to remain pure.”

“Okay, but how do we save you?” I ask, my usually hard expression slowly filling with worry.

“There is no helping me, kid,” he said with a weak chuckle. “That horse guy hit me with an attack while my Ego was down, so he’s damaged both my body and soul. I’m done for.”

“There has to be something we can do!” Flippy Dew whined, but he just gave her a thumbs up.

“I appreciate it, but we don’t have time to be wishful. I’m going to remove my Ego and give it to you guys. I’m trusting you to get it to Bronwyn. Do not let anyone else get their hands on it, especially the guy I was fighting.”

“You can count on us,” I said firmly.

“Good,” he coughed, raising a hand. “Once I remove this, I’ll be on a death clock. Won’t have long to live,” he said as he raised the dagger with his other hand. “I’m going to go to a special dimension, to die in peace. You guys don’t need to see me die.”

Flippy Dew sniffled a bit.

I just gave a solemn nod in response.

He gritted his teeth as he held his hand up, grunting as a small item began to slowly form in his hand. Cyan flashes could be seen as it grew in size till it was the size of a baseball, covered in images of roses.

“Oh, I’d forgotten what real pain felt like,” he grunted out, his hand shaking as he held it towards us.

Flippy Dew took it and held it close.

“I believe in you, guys,” he coughed, raising the dagger.

I reached over and took the little cyan colored ball from Flippy Dew, “we won’t let yo-“

The ball suddenly started to glow and sank into my hand. A very warm feeling washed over my body as I felt light headed for a moment.

“What just happened?” I asked in shock.

Loric just stared at me with wide eyes, “that’s… very unexpected.”

I flexed my hand, but felt nothing really different about myself other than a comforting warmth that enveloped my entire body.

“Well, no peaceful death while laying by my friends graves for me,” he said, forcing a smile. “Looks like my picky Ego has chosen you. So that changes things, again.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about any of this as I was still trying to process what just happened. “I have an Ego?”

“Mhm,” he groaned, “Soul Enhancement. For me it let me change and manipulate my body and soul, so it’ll probably be the same for you. I wish I had time to go over all this.” He began to cough violently, blood now leaking through his bandages, “but I don’t have time. It takes a long time for it to be very useful to you, because you’ll need to master it piece by piece.”

All I could do was nod dumbly, trying to take in everything he was saying.

“Now I need to get you six into the Enforcer’s Order Hall,” he said as he fumbled with the dagger, laying it down next to himself. “But it’s only accessible to Enforcer’s, so I need your help again.”

He held his hand out to me. Reaching out and taking it, I found he was now ice cold. His tan skin was also slowly losing its color, making him look very sickly.

I felt another pull, but this one was much weaker than the first time. Slowly, he opened his pocket dimension and reached in, this time pulling out two items; another dagger, this one royal blue with Cyan lines covering it, and a decently sized crescent shaped object. It was a brilliant orange with purple cloth hanging off of it, making it look very ritualistic.

“Okay, I’m going to bestow the title of Enforcer upon you six,” he announced, coughing up a bit more blood.

“Wait, we’re becoming Enforcer’s?!” I asked in amazement.

“First we become the new Bearers of the Elements, now this?” Nightstreak said from behind me, clearly not sure how to feel about any of this.

“It’s not as impressive as it once was,” Loric said weakly. “You’ll have access to everything an Enforcer would, which is not a lot nowadays since the UAD took away the Central Dimension.” He raised the crescent shaped object and waved for us to get closer.

I stepped forward willingly, but the others were a bit more reluctant. But seeing me waiting, they all slowly got up around me.

With a wheezing voice, Loric began to speak in a language that did not sound natural at all. As he spoke the object began to glow, casting a beam of light down on all six of us.

The light got brighter as I felt my skin begin to tingle, followed by a feeling of release inside my head. Like something had been added and opened up.

The light snapped away as he fell on his back, breathing harder.

I looked myself over, but nothing had changed. At least as far as I could tell. But when I looked at Loric, I saw a little symbol floating above him.

“Whoa! What are those things above your head?” Dude asked, then looked at all of us. “Oh we all got them!”

“Mark of the Enforcer,” he groaned out. “If you’re an Enforcer, you can identify others by the mark floating above them.”

I looked closer, seeing that the symbol was a triangle with a fist holding a snake by the neck in the middle of it. The snake itself was wrapped around the wrist of the fist.

“I’m running out of time here,” he mumbled, holding the new dagger up. “The Enforcer Order Hall is a personal dimension for us Enforcers. It has everything we need, and even personal living spaces for anyone with the Mark of the Enforcer. Sadly, I’ve been the only one with access to it since the UAD returned, so I haven’t been able to use it to regroup wit-“

He suddenly stopped speaking and went limp.

“Oh fuck!” Dude yelped, jumping back.

Not knowing what to do, I just jumped forward and placed both of my hands on his chest, shaking him hard.

“Come on, bro, you can’t die yet! We still don’t know anything!” I yelled, shaking him, but it seemed to have no effect.

“Gah!” He gasped out as he came to, eyes wide in panic.

“Oh thank all that is good,” Flippy Dew said in a shaky voice.

“We’re on borrowed time here,” he said in a broken voice. With a look of complete agony, he raised the dagger and made a stabbing motion, hitting nothing but air and dragging it downward.

As he did so, a portal began to open where he stabbed. Once he finished, a large portal lay open right next to him. Beyond it was what appeared to be a large room with a table close to the portal entrance.

“Help please,” he gasped, holding a hand out to us.

Flippy Dew and I moved forward and got under his shoulders, lifting him up gently and hovered through the portal, our wings fluttering hard to keep his limp body up.

Once inside, he pointed to a couch covered in clothes and blankets. “Lay me there.”

Complying, we carried him over to the couch and laid him on it. Flippy Dew went the extra mile and made sure he was comfortable.

“Okay,” he muttered, reaching into a pile of clothing and pulled out a small remote controller. “I don’t have it in me to explain everything,” he pressed a button on the controller, causing a bell to ring somewhere in the distance.

The sounds of running could be heard from one of the passages. “What do ye require, sir Loric?!” a voice with a heavy accent called out as a stout man ran into the room wearing a butler like outfit. He was short and very muscular, with a large braided beard. When he saw all of us, he seemed to jump with joy and began to sprint even faster towards us.

He jumped into the air and landed on his knees, sliding towards us and falling into a low bow as he came to a stop in front of our group. “By tha God's! I never thought we wou' get more Enforcer's!”

“Uh…” I said, looking between the prostrating man and Loric.

“He is Luzzumi Broadfury, the keeper of the Enforcer’s Order Hall, and a trusted friend of all Enforcer’s,” Loric said, a touch of sadness in his voice.

Luz raised himself, standing up before us, a wide smile on his face. Then he saw Loric and his face dropped into a panicked state as he rushed through us and started looking him over, “Loric! What happened ta ye?!”

“Bad fight,” he said with a forced chuckle. Then he pointed at me, “she’s now the host of my Ego.” He then reached up and put a hand on Luzzumi’s shoulder, “Bronwyn is confirmed alive.”

“Tha lass be alive? That means tha others cou' be alive too!” the short bearded man exclaimed, squeezing Loric’s hand.

“My thoughts exac-” he was interrupted by a fit of coughing. As he finished, he looked worse than before. “I’m out of time. Luz, you have to-”

“I will take care o' them, me friend,” Luzzumi said as he wiped a tear from his face. He stood up and bowed to Loric, more tears falling from his face, “It was me pleasure ta serve ye all these resets, Loric. Ta tha end an' back, I will see ye in tha after."

“To the end and back,” Loric muttered, giving him a thumbs up. “Good life forward, my friend.”

Luzzumi stood up and slammed a fist into his chest, then spun around and stalked away dutifully. “Come along, new enforcer's! We have much ta discuss!”

“What about, Loric?” Flippy Dew asked, looking conflicted.

“I’m choosing to die here, on my couch,” Loric groaned, waving us away.

“Go on guys, follow Luzzumi, I’ll catch up,” I said, waving for them to go.

They started to protest, but I gave them a serious look, causing them to nod and follow after the short man.

“You don’t want to see me die,” he muttered, no longer able to move.

“Where do you want to go,” I said, taking his Dimensional Dagger from where it lay next to him.

“What?” he asked, his eyes clenched shut in pain.

“You mentioned you wanted to die on your friends graves, how do I take you there?”

He laughed, which only caused him to cough violently, “You don’t-”

“Shut up,” I said, taking his hand and placing the dagger in his hand, using my hand to keep his fist closed around it. “How do I do this?”

Loric opened his eyes and stared at me for a long moment before letting out a ragged sigh, “raise my hand and make a stabbing motion, then drag it down. I’ll do the mental part.”

Doing as he said, I raise his hand and stab the dagger forward. As I dragged it down, a portal began to open, revealing the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen in my life.

“Alright then,” I said as I let go of his hand and stood up on my hindlegs. Bending down I picked him up with my front legs, cradling him the best I could. Carefully, I walked through the portal, afraid it’d close behind me. But it remained open as I walked forward into the beautiful mountainside.

All around us were flowers of all kinds, blooming at their fullest. We stood on what appeared to be the side of a mountain, with fields of flowers all around us. Not too far from us was a single tree, with what looked to be twelve graves in front of it.

Walking forward, the mountains around us seemed to shine in the sunlight, making everything look like a fantasy world. To be honest, this might just be a fantasy world. It was perfect in all senses of the word.

“Lay me on that grave,” he said, weakly raising his hand to point to one in the middle.

I stepped over to it and laid him down gently on it, laying him so he was resting up against the headstone.

Once he was situated I sat down next to him, staring out at the mountain range before us.

“What a place to die in,” I muttered, getting a light grunt from him.

“Thank you,” he said in a soft voice.

I wasn’t sure how to respond, as all this emotional crap wasn’t my strong suit. “Of course.”

“These are all my friends,” he muttered, patting the dirt of the grave he sat on. “This one, she was special to me. Taken by a monster of man.”

“I’m sorry,” I said lamely back to him as he looked to be at peace.

He forced himself to raise his hand, pointing to the sky, “there are three other Enforcer’s alive, as far as I know. Please, find them…”

“I will try,” I promised him, putting my hand on his.

“Bronwyn, Kayliee, and Wyntir. Please, tell them I died here, with our friends,” he pleaded, his hand falling to his side.

“I will,” I said, giving his hand a squeeze.

“You’re a good person,” he grumbled quietly. “I see why my Ego chose you… you’re just like me when I was younger…”

“What? Cool and badass?” I asked, trying to inject humor into the situation.

“Cocky and arrogant,” he said with a laugh that devolved into a harsh coughing fit.

I couldn’t help but laugh, a few tears actually starting to threaten to fall from my eyes. A quick swipe of my hand pushed them back.

“What’s your name?” he asked suddenly, making me realize none of us ever officially greeted each other.

“Shayla Beltosh,” I answered, bringing a smile to his face.

“Shayla, I want you to have my key,” he said, nodding to his Dimensional Dagger covered in etched images of roses. “Luzzumi will tell you all how it works…”

“Thank you, Loric,” I said in a quivering voice as it threatened to break. But I forced myself to hold it together.

“And my room, the password is…” he began, patting the grave below him. “Rosmarinus.”

I could only nod in response, squeezing his hand again.

“You can have anything in there,” he said, his body slumping further as he kept his eyes on the scenery before us.

Slowly, I started to stand up. But his hand gripped mine suddenly.

“Please… I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but could you stay with me? Till the end?” he asked very weakly, his breathing starting to become steady and calm.

I bit my lip, but gave a nod as I sat back down and leaned against him, both of us staring out at the mountain range before us.

“Thank you… Shayla Beltosh…”

Ego and you

Author's Note

This was the HARDEST chapter I've ever written. Mainly because I kept having to go back and redo everything. But I got it to where I finally want it to be.

Also, sorry if Luzzumi is hard to understand. I'm hoping his accent isn't to hard to read, since he'll be doing a lot of talking this chapter. If it helps, read his dialogue in a Scottish accent.

I apologize if some dialogue seems a bit... ugh. This chapter caused sever burnout on me just to get it finished. But no worries, I'll be back to 100% for the next chapter.

Ego and you

Chapter 10

I stepped back through the portal, wiping my face with a wing tip.

“Is he-” Flippy Dew began to ask, but upon seeing my face, she knew the answer. She gave a sad nod and turned, heading towards the others as they sat around the table in the middle of the room.

Glancing back, I got one last glimpse of the beautiful realm, the tree and the graves. The portal snapped shut with a pop, revealing the couch covered in Loric’s things.

Taking a shaky breath, I compose myself and walk towards my friends.

“Thank ye, lass,” Luzzumi said, giving me a nod.

I just gave a nod back and pulled out a seat, plopping myself between Roxxy and Summer Breeze.

“Now that yer all here, we can begin,” he said, raising his hand and causing a projection to appear above us, displaying the symbol of the Enforcer’s. “Welcome new Enforcer’s. We usually have a large celebration when we bring in new members, but this isn’t like tha old days. We also don’t usually get this many at once. Questions?”

“Yeah, do we get Ego’s and cool weapons?” Dude asked, getting straight to the point.

Luzzumi just chuckled, shaking his head, “that’s always tha first question. Aye, ye get all that, an' more. We have access ta a lot more here than anyone else, even a few forgotten techniques.” He then looked at me, “you an' I will need ta talk aboot your inherited ego after this be done, ye hear?”

“Yep,” I replied, still not fully present yet.

A few images appeared above us. “First, we will talk aboot options available ta all ye. Being an enforcer, ye have a must wider selection o' choices than those nae in tha know.”

“Like what?” Nightstreak asked, leaning back in his chair and kicking his hooves up.

The images rearranged themselves. There were three of them: A sword, a skeleton covered in metal attachments, and a figure of a man standing with a ghost-like spirit floating behind him.

“You be able ta split your soul in half ta gain access ta powerful objects. Most people chose tha Ego weapon, as it be tha simplest an' be immediately tha strongest o' tha three choices. Ta get stronger with an Ego weapon, ye simply have ta kill or absorb Ego, an' tha weapon itself gets stronger. Eight out o' ten Enforcer’s will choose this option,” he said as the image of the sword spun around.

“The way my parents talked about their weapons, they were the most amazing things they’d ever seen. Even had their own personalities,” I said aloud, but my friends knew all this already. We’d all obsessed over our parents' time on the Eternal Plains.

“Aye, all three options have their own personalities, they just act differently based on which option ye go with,” he said with a nod. The next image started spinning, the one with the man and the spirit. “Ego Spirit be tha second most popular choice. Instead o' a weapon, ye gain a Spirit that fights for ye. They will always be there, ready ta defend ye an' react ta threats, even if ye don’t see it coming. Tha downside be that other Ego users can see your Spirit, an' if they deal direct damage ta your Spirit, it’ll return ta ye an' take a few moments ta return. This isn’t that big o' a drawback, as tha stronger ye an' your Spirit get, tha more o' a threat you’ll become. Getting stronger be just as simple as using an Ego Weapon, except yer Spirit will only get stronger if they be tha ones ta deal tha killing blow. You’ll never be alone on tha battlefield with an Ego Spirit. Two out o' ten Enforcer’s will choose this option.”

Most of my friends didn’t seem interested in that option, but I saw at least one of them light up at the idea.

“Next up be me personal favorite, an' tha one i’m currently using,” Luzzumi said with a smile as he stroked his beard. The image of the skeleton with metal on it began to spin. “Egonetics, tha most unique o' tha three options, but also tha least popular choice. Just like with Ego Weapon’s, you’ll have ta collect tha correct kind o' metal that speaks ta ye. But unlike with weapons, you’ll have ta collect a lot o' it, more if ye plan ta upgrade. Egonetics uses tha metal ta attach ta every bone, muscle, an' nerve in your body. This will increase every aspect o' yourself; speed, strength, durability, brain power, reflexes, etc. Tha downside be that most people can only handle one upgrade on top o' tha normal benefits. Increasing tha effects o' tha Egonetics itself be also harder, as ye have ta both absorb Ego an' also strengthen your soul through other means.

“Another downside be that ye lose out on having a way ta naturally gather Ego, meaning you’ll have ta find other means ta do so. This reason alone makes Egonetics inferior ta tha other two options, but if ye be able ta increase tha power o' tha Egonetics, an' handle more than one upgrade, 'en tha potential be endless. Zero out o' ten Enforcers will choose this option.” He then looked right at me, “in me opinion, Egonetics will complement your current Ego. Ye may be able ta handle more than one upgrade, possibly a few.”

I frowned, as I’d wanted to get a badass weapon. But the more I thought about it, getting something that enhances my already badass abilities did sound very appealing.

“So we get to pick?” Summer Breeze asked, smiling up at the pictures. “That’s so cool.”

“Aye. 'afore ye pick though, I suggest ye let me unlock your Ego’s so ye can make a well informed decision,” he said, getting excited looks from my friends. “There be three kinds o' Ego: Skill, Personal, an' Class. Skill Ego be tha most common form o' Ego, where that’s mostly all ye see out in tha world. This be a wide variety o' abilities an' powers. An easy example o' a skill Ego wou' be Lady Bronwyn; her Ego be elastic. She’s able ta attach her Ego ta anything an' pull it any way she sees fit.”

“Bronwyn actually lost her Ego,” I point out, getting a shocked look on his face. But instead of asking questions, he continues his lecture.

“Personal Ego be a unique one, as it focuses on only affecting tha host. It be rare ta see someone with a Personal type Ego, as ye won’t know they have one till ye face them. These types o' Ego be very dangerous, as they can range from simply just increasing your current attributes, ta even allowing ye ta never die.” He then looked at me, “Loric had a Personal Ego, so now do ye, Ms. Beltosh.”

Not seeing much of a reaction out of me, he continues on. “The last type, Class Ego, be a strange one. Sometimes, if you’ve spent a significant amount o' time training a certain way, or with a certain weapon, 'afore getting your Ego unlocked, there’s a chance it’ll focus around your training. An example o' this wou' be if ye spent all your life using a longsword, there’s a chance your Ego will come with abilities that complement your use o' a longsword. I’ve only known a few who have gained this type o' Ego.

“The type o' Ego ye get be entirely based on ye, your soul, an' your life experiences. Sometimes they don't’ make sense at first, but over time, it’ll all come together,” he said, stepping back and waving in front of himself. “Now come on, new Enforcer’s, line up!”

They didn’t need to be told twice as they all rushed forward, forming a line in front of him. I just stayed in my seat, since this part had already happened to me.

Dude was first, of course, jumping from hoof to hoof.

Luzzumi held out his hand and a cyan glow spread from his hand down onto Dude, who just got more excited. Once the glow disappeared, Luzzumi then held up his other hand, causing a few symbols to appear in front of Dude.

“Hmm,” he said, reading the symbols. “Trading Cards. You’re able ta turn things ye witness into cards for later use. This includes people, abilities, objects, an' so on. Tha card will make an exact copy o' anything it creates, for a limited time. Ye need ta use excess Ego ta create a card, an' tha creation can only be as strong as tha amount o' Ego used ta create it. This has many kinds o' applications in both combat an' everyday life.”

“Huh… kinda cool, I guess,” Dude muttered, looking a bit disappointed as he walked back to his seat. “I wanted a cool superpower ability…”

Roxxy stepped forward next, looking confident as the muscular stout man held his hand out to her. Once he finished unlocking her Ego, he raised his other hand and read the symbols that appeared before her.

“Betting. Interesting. Ye be able ta make bets with others where each side wagers anything they want, an' tha winner o' tha bet gets tha pot. Tha more excess Ego ye have, tha larger tha bet ye be able ta make with someone. Theoretically, ye can use this ta take someone else's Ego if they wager it an' ye win whatever bet was made.”

She shrugged, not showing how she felt about the Ego.. As she returned to her seat, Flippy Dew stepped forward carefully, looking very nervous.

He did the same process to her.

“Hmm, Forcefields. Ye can create a forcefield made o' Ego. Its strength be based on how much Ego ye put into it. There doesn’t seem ta be a limit ta its shape or application, outside o' being 'ithin your sight an' available Ego.”

Flippy Dew smiled happily and flew to her chair. At least someone is happy with their Ego, since the other two are still looking upset.

Summer Breeze was next, wincing a bit as he held his glowing hand above her.

“Calm, lass,” he said in a calm voice as he finished, reading her symbols. “Regeneration Manipulation. Ye have tha ability ta control regeneration, which can be used ta both heal others, or make current wounds worse. This Ego be tha control o' cells, so tha possibilities be endless, only limited ta your excess Ego an' knowledge o' tha body ye be working on. You’re going ta need ta brush up on medical knowledge for this Ego ta reach its true potential.”

“So I can heal and help others?” she asked, a smile on her face. At his nod, she looked completely overjoyed, bouncing in place.

As she went to her seat, Nightstreak jumped forward, ready for his turn.

Luzzumi held his hand up, going through the process. “Absolute Counter. This Ego only works if ye consciously activate it tha moment ye be aboot ta take damage. If timed correctly, what ever attack that was coming your way will instead damage tha attacker. This Ego be very dangerous, as ye can only use it if ye be aboot ta take damage, nae your weapon. An' if ye fail an' mistime tha counter, you’ll take tha damage instead. Ye can also apply excess Ego ta tha counter an' increase tha power o' tha attack ye counter, hitting your opponent with double damage, or even more. This be an Ego ye will have ta put work into 'afore even trying ta use it in real combat.”

“I can live with that,” Nightstreak said, smiling as he moved to his seat.

The table was a mix of self pity, sulking, and happiness.

Luzzumi stepped back in front of the table, looking at everyones mixed reactions. “Do nae worry, just because ye got an ego that seems useless, doesn’t mean it be. Ego’s be only as useful as ye allow them ta be. Be inventive, think outside tha box. Because i be telling ye this right now, everyone o' your Ego’s be useful an' amazing. Especially if ye be all grouped up an' working together.”

This seemed to help the ones who were upset at least buck up, but it’d probably take practicing with their Ego before their moods improved. I mean I get it, we can’t all have an amazing Ego like I do.

“Now, time ta choose how ta use your soul,” Luzzumi said, waving his hand over the table, causing three sets of six pictures to appear. “Take tha picture o' tha option ye want ta use, an' I’ll help get ye started.”

Everyone seemed to know what they wanted, all going for the Ego Weapon’s pictures. However, Flippy Dew and Summer Breeze grabbed one of the Ego Spirit pictures, smiling happily as they sat down hugging the pictures.

I held back, still unsure. Looking at Luzzumi, I saw he was looking at me expectantly.

On the one hand, I can get a badass Ego Weapon, like my parents. But I could also get Egonetics and try mixing my Ego with them to become an absolute badass myself… Huh, that kinda sells that idea!

I reached forward with my tail and took a picture for Egonetics.

“Excellent choices!” Luzzumi said proudly, snapping his fingers caused three lights to come on over three different pathways. “All o' ye that chose a Ego Weapon, go down tha far left path. Use one o' tha consoles ta find tha metal that speaks ta ye. As for ye two, Ms. Dew and Ms. Breeze, go down tha middle path an' I’ll follow along shortly ta help get ye started. Tha process for Ego Spirits be a bit different compared ta tha other two options.”

As they all quickly ran off, he turned to me, smiling. “Good choice, Ms. Beltosh!”

“Just Shayla,” I replied, waving him off.

“Okay, Shayla,” he chuckled, pointing to the far right path. “Head that way an' use tha console ta pick out your metal. I’ll be there shortly.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I scowled at the console, still swiping through all kinds of metals. So far, none of them have ‘spoken’ to me, whatever that means.

“Found tha one yet?” Luzzumi said as he walked into the room with me.

“Nope,” I grunted, swiping faster.

“Try connecting your Ego ta tha console,” he said, getting a frown from me. “Ah, sorry lass, I just had tha same problem with tha others. I forgot ye all aren’t knowledgeable on Central Dimension tech.”

He stepped up and pointed to a little port on the side of the machine. “Place your hand there, it’ll do tha rest.”

With an annoyed grunt, I place my hand on the port. I saw a bit of Ego run down my leg and into the machine. The screen before me began to scroll quickly, going so fast the screen was just a blur. After a moment, it came to a stop, a single picture of metal highlighted.

“Perfect,” a voice suddenly said in my mind. I recoiled in shock, as it sounded like it was right inside my mind.

“Did ye hear a voice speak ta ye?” he asked, a knowing smile on his face.

“That’s fucking weird!” I exclaimed, my eyes wide.

“Did it sound like ye?” he questioned, leaning towards me expectantly.

“No, not at all,” I replied. The voice in my head sounded like a much older woman’s voice, deep and husky.

“I figured that’d happen,” he said, chuckling as he touched the screen, selecting the metal for me. “Normally, tha Soulbind takes on a form similar ta tha host. But if tha host has a wandering Ego, it’ll more than likely take over tha Soulbind.”

“So what’s that mean for me?”

“Well, tha soul o' tha Wandering Ego be that o' tha original owner, Rosmarinus. So that’s who ye just heard.”

“Wait, Loric said his special someone was Rosmarinus, and that’s the grave we sat at…” I said, many questions running through my mind.

“Yes, Loric inherited his Wandering Ego from Rosmarinus after she was killed. He’d been performing tha duties o' an Enforcer for two resets wi'out even having an Ego. He was a… very special man.”

I grimaced as I was brought back to the mountainside. Shaking my head, I look next to the machine to see there was a pile of metal there. It was purple in color, with little blue specks dotting it.

“Ye ready?” he asked, getting a nod from me.

Stepping up to the metal, he picked up a few large chunks and held them up. “So this be simple, Shayla. I’m going ta use me abilities ta fuse this with ye an' your Ego. This metal will become a part o' ye an' will cover your skeleton in a thin coat o' Ego metal. It’ll seep into tha bones an' attach itself ta your nerves an' joints.”

“Is it painful?” I asked, to which he smiled sheepishly.

“Aye, it hurts. A lot. But tha long term benefits be worth it,” he said, trying to reassure me.

I just sighed and shook my head, “no pain no gain.”

“That’s tha spirit!” he laughed. “Tha basic benefits you’ll see right away will be increases ta all o' your attributes. Just a simple fifty percent increase.”

“Wow! It’ll double everything?!” I asked, getting very excited at the idea.

He just blinked at me. “Eh, nae, that’s nae how percentages work. Let me make this simpler. It’ll apply a 1.50x modifier ta your attributes.”

“Oh… that’s not as cool,” I mumbled.

“You will increase that modifier as you train and get stronger. And of course with any upgrades you’re able to handle,” he said as he moved closer. “Ready?”

I looked at him, rethinking this whole thing. This seems like it’ll take a lot of work to make useful…

“Yeah, do it,” I said after a moment, deciding to do as my mother always says and take no shortcuts to getting stronger.

He pressed the metal to my body and began to mutter to himself. His hands began to glow cyan as the metal began to melt into me.

“That doesn’t hurt that bad…” I commented, only feeling a slight burning sensation. Then my eyes went wide as I felt every bone in my body scream in agony.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Groaning loudly, I opened my eyes, finding myself laying on the ground. My body felt strange, like something was inside of me holding every part of me.

“What happened?” I asked aloud, forcing myself to sit up, rubbing my face.

“Ye passed out,” Luzzumi said as he washed his hands in a sink. “Don’t worry, that’s very normal for anyone having Egonetics added ta their body an' soul.”

Looking myself over, I saw nothing different about me. But looking closer, I saw a little port on each of my front legs, right at the wrist. Reaching down to my left wrist, I pulled out some kind of connector attached to a wire that ran into my wrist. “What the…?”

“Another benefit o’ Egonetics,” he said, pulling his suit sleeve down and revealing his own port. “You be able ta interface an' connect ta any device an' piece o' technology in existence. That little connector will morph ta fit any kind o' connection port, so nae need ta worry aboot finding tha exact port ta jack into. Right now, only tha soulbind inside o' your Egonetics can interact with anything ye connect ta, but if ye upgrade your optic nerve, 'en you’ll be able ta as well.”

He tapped behind his ear, revealing he had another port right there. “Careful with tha one on your head, that one connects directly ta your brain an' soul. Only use that one ta connect with others ye trust.”

Standing up, I found I felt a bit better. As in, my vision was slightly better, and my body moved just a bit more gracefully. “So, you keep talking about upgrades. What are my options?”

He chuckled as he waved his hand, causing a small screen to appear beside him, with a long list of scrolling words. “There are plenty of upgrades available, just most can only handle one. I think we can squeeze a few into you, once you start mastering Soul Enhancement. But as of right now, we can’t add any upgrades to you. We have to let your body and soul adjust to the Egonetics. Has Rosmarinus spoken to you yet?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“I prefer just Rosemary,” a voice said from inside my head as a woman suddenly appeared next to Luzzumi. She wore simple clothing with a skirt and a bulky jacket with a high collar. She even wore combat boots and striped stockings. “Hello, Shayla.”

“Whoa…” I said, blinking at her.

Luzzumi looked at me and to where I was looking, smiling, “before ye ask, only ye can perceive her. She’s a caring person, even if she doesn’t seem that way all tha time.”

“Thank you, for staying with Loric in his final moments,” she said, a pained look on her face. “That meant a lot to him. And me.”

“Ummm, yeah, it was no problem,” I said lamely, smiling awkwardly.

“Ye also don’t have ta speak out loud for her ta hear ye,” he laughed, followed by her chuckling as well.

“We will talk later, Shayla. For now, I need to get accustomed to being inside of you. It’s very different in you than it was with Loric.”

I just gave a nod as she faded away.

“This is trippy,” I said, flexing my body a bit.

“'afore we return ta tha others, I need ta give ye a quick rundown on your Ego,” he said as he adjusted his suit. “Soul Enhancement be a very unique Ego, as it performs many roles, while most other Ego’s only perform one. Nae only can ye use it ta get stronger, but ye can use it ta create your very own abilities. O' course, this takes time ta learn, as ye first have ta learn how ta manipulate your own soul first. Once ye do, you’ll be able ta do almost anything ye want with your Ego. This Ego made Loric tha strongest member o' tha Enforcer’s, only rivaled by our leader, Wyntir. With me guidance, I believe one day you’ll be able ta rival both o' them.”

“When you say create my own abilities, what do you mean exactly?” I asked, a feeling of excitement rising from within me.

“Exactly that. Say ye wanted ta fire a blast o' Ego out o' your hands, ye cou' do that. Or ye wanted ta create an ability that once activated made your next attack become empowered with your Ego, striking your opponent with a devastating attack. Honestly, this be tha fun part o' Soul Enhancement, just making new abilities ta use. But tha most important thing ta do be train an' get stronger. With your Ego, training now has extra benefits. One o' tha big ones be now you’ll never get weaker. As in, ye can only get stronger now. Taking time aff from training will nae longer hurt ye. Your body an' soul can only go up from here. Another nice one be that from now on, you’ll get all tha benefits from each training session, so you’ll get stronger faster.”

Now this was very appealing to me! I’m already used to working out and training everyday, so now having it to where I get the maximum amount of benefits from each session is amazing!

“I’ll guide you along the way,” Rosemary said from within my mind. “I’ll teach you a few of Loric’s training methods.”

“Thank you, Luzzumi,” I said with a smile. “Now, about weapons…”

He just laughed and waved for me to follow him. “Don’t worry about those. I’m sure Loric left you something to use. If not, we have plenty in the armory.”

“Armory?!” I exclaimed, a very excited look on my face.

“Aye!” he said back. “We have a little of everything here!”

“I love this place…” I whispered to myself.

“Loric left his things to you,” Rosemary said calmly. “That means he left my swords to you. They’re two katana’s, both covered in rose designs and with a rose for a pommel. I named them ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’.”

‘You really like roses,’ I thought to her as Luzzumi waved for me to follow him back to the main room.

“They are special to me,” was her response. “My swords are Ego infused, so they’re indestructible to a fault. Take care of them, I’ve had them since the Election process back before I became an Enforcer.”

‘The Election process?’ I thought, raising an eyebrow.

“We have a lot to go over it seems,” she replied. “This is not the time nor place for that discussion.”

I just shrug and continue down the hallway.

Royal decent

Chapter 11

With a loud crash, Champion flung open the doors to his Father’s old workshop, stomping in and going towards a pile of boxes that held his late Father’s personal things.

Digging through the boxes, throwing them aside as he went, he let out a growl of frustration.

“Who’s in here?!“ a voice called out as some stepped into the room. “Oh! Star Chaser, it’s just you.”

He turned to his mother, anger still plastered across his face.

“Star! Your face!” Luna yelled, rushing to her sons side and lifting his chin with her hoof.

“I’m fine, I just need to find Father’s mask. The one he wore to social events, that made you always call him handsome,” he asked, turning from her and going back to searching the boxes.

“Why would you need that?” She asked, a sad look on her face as her son ignored her.

“To hide this!” He yelled, not even looking at her as he pointed at his burned face.

“Our good friend Doc could attempt to-“

“I am not letting that thing touch me!”

Luna scowled at her son, but held her tongue, as she knew how he’d get when he was upset.

“Ah, there it is,” he exclaimed as he lifted the slim mask. “Fit for a king.”

“Star, I’m worried about you,” she finally said, her concern for him no longer able to be concealed.

“Don’t, I am perfect,” he said with a sly grin as he slide the mask on over his snout, hiding the hideous burns from view. “And now, we must talk.”

She sighed and shook her head, already knowing what he wanted to speak about. “You are not ready.”

“With Father gone, it is time I take his place, and for you and Aunt Celestia to step down as Rulers,” he said firmly.

“One day,” she said calmly, “you will be ready for the responsibilities that come with being King, but that day is not today, nor any day in the near future. Star, my Midnight Comet, you are not ready.”

“I am!” He roared, not able to control his emotions.

“Clearly you are not,” she retorted. “A ruler must keep themselves in check at all times, and not have emotional outbursts.”

He stared her down, but she didn’t back down.

“I am ready,” he said coldly. “You’ll eventually be able to see that.”

“Prove to me you’re ready, then we will discuss this in a more office capacity,” she said, giving her son a hug. He did not return it, just stood there stock still.

She leaned back, giving him a sad look as she turned and took her leave.

Once she was gone, he stomped over to a mirror and looked himself over. The mask did indeed hide the burns, and made him look rather dashing.

“Perfection,” he muttered, smiling to himself. The mask didn’t cover his eyes or mouth, so his chiseled chin still stuck out, making him look oh so handsome. “Turn me down now.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stepped through the portal I’d created and smirked, that really was easy! Behind me, my friends slowly filed out, all of them smiling just as widely as me.

The portal closed, leaving us now alone in our clubhouse.

With a twirl, I turned to face my friends, taking in their new items. I was the only one without a weapon, as I’d forgone going through Loric’s things. I didn’t have it in me right now, besides, my claws are enough to carry me.

“Now what?” Nightstreak asked, messing with his new Ego gauntlets.

Smirking, I held up the two Dimensional Daggers, the one from Loric and the other one the key to the Order Hall, “we can do whatever we want now! We have a real Dimensional Dagger!”

Roxxy just frowned at me, her Ego Scythe balanced over her shoulder, “I think we should take a step back and think about this.”

“What’s there to think about?” I asked, not seeing a problem.

“For one,” Dude began, his own Ego Saber, which was more of a laser sword than anything since it was just a hilt till he turned it on, hanging at his side, “we all just got our Ego’s and weapons, so going on an adventure right now would be stupid.”

“We need to get comfortable with our stuff first,” Summer Breeze stated, her new Shield attached to her left leg.

“Plus I’m not ready for another adventure just yet…” Flippy Dew muttered, fidgeting with her new Whip, which was able to move in accordance with her mind., “we just did two back to back, and watching Loric… I just want to go home.”

I looked at my friends, seeing their pleading eyes. My eyes lingered to Flippy Dew, who had tears in her eyes. “Yeah,” I said with a heavy sigh, “we’ll take a break.”

“Thank you, Shay,” Flippy Dew said as she walked over and hugged me, then walked for the door.

“Go home and get some rest,” I announced to them. “I’ll text you all when I think we’re good to go.”

“Let me get some training in first,” Nightstreak said, slamming his gauntlets together. “I feel like I’ll be unstoppable if I can figure out my Ego!”

“Yes, everyone go get some solo training in,” I said as they all headed for the door. “We’ll meet up later for some group training.”

Roxxy stopped as she was the last one out, she turned and looked me over. “Shay, you’re good, right?”

I blinked at her, then gave her my signature confident smile, “of course I’m good!”

“You sure?” She pressed.

“Go home, you dumbass,” I laughed, waving her off.

She narrowed her eyes, but gave a nod and left me alone in the clubhouse.

Once I heard her take off, I sat down hard and sighed, lifting my Pit Viper’s to rub my eyes.

“You know it helps to talk to friends about your problems?” Rosemary said as she materialized in a bean bag chair near me.

“No need, I’m good,” I replied, shaking my head at her.

“You know I can see your thoughts? Your feelings?” She said calmly, “I know what happened with Loric has affected you.”

“No,” I said, standing up and walking for the door. “I’ve just never seen someone die. Let me sleep it off and I’ll be back to normal.”

“I’m always here to talk when you’re ready,” she said as I threw open the door and stepped out, slamming it behind me.

Huffing loudly, I jumped from the porch and glided down to the ground, deciding to walk to clear my head.

As I walked down the path that led back to New Ponyville, I went over everything that's happened in my head.

Honestly a lot has happened since this morning. We stopped an evil chaos being from going on a rampage, became the new Bearers of the Elements, became Enforcers, got our Ego and items, and gained the ability to travel to dimensions. Wow, an eventful day.

The sun was setting, so at least the day was almost over.

“Ah, Shayla,” I heard the all too familiar and annoying voice of Kal say as he leaned against a tree, cleaning his hoof with a file.

I just ignored him as I walked towards him.

Taking note of my silence, he looked at me, raising an eyebrow, “you’ll be happy to know I’m almost ready to take you to another dimension.”

I couldn’t help but snort laugh as I continued past him, “don’t worry about it. I got my own way to travel around now.”

“What?!” He yelped, seeming to be taken off guard by my words.

Smirking, I raise my Dimensional Dagger, “got my own key now.”

A solemn look fell over his face as he saw the rose covered dagger. “… do you know how to use it?”

“I got the basics,” I say with a wink. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m no longer helping you with your plan to get to my mom’s home world.” At his grimace, I stuck my tongue out at him, “yeah, I know about you wanting to get a Thorn. You’ll need to figure something else out.”

As I turned to leave, I heard him growl and stomp his hoof. “Wait.”

But I didn’t wait, I just started walking away.

“What do you want? I’ll compensate you greatly if you help me,” he said in a almost desperate and begging tone.

A sly smile appeared on my face, he was so easy to manipulate. “Hmmmmmm,” I hummed, spinning around to face him. “I don’t know, what could you possibly have that I’d want?”

He did not look happy as he looked at me, “if you take me to where I want to go, I’ll provide you with a full list of other dimensions and their coordinates. That’ll give you and your friends a massive jump forward, allowing you all to go anywhere you want without having to go there first.”

“Hmmm,” I hummed in a condescending tone, “what else ya got?”

“Shayla, be wary of this one,” Rosemary warned as she appeared next to him, looking him over.

‘I got this,’ I thought back to her, causing her to frown.

His eye twitched as he opened a pocket dimension and pulled out a strange item. “I’ll also give you this. It has six great Soul’s inside of it, once for each of your friends. Using one grants you access to their skills and technical knowledge.”

“So,” I began, looking at the item, “you’ll give me all that, AND a shit ton of money, just to go to my mom’s home dimension?”

At the mention of giving me money, he rolled his eyes, “yes. Do we have a deal?”

I wink at him, “yep. Hit me up when you’re ready. Also deliver all my new shit to my clubhouse, not my house.”

He bowed, causing me to laugh, “of course. I will contact you shortly.”

Without another word, I snapped around and continued on my way.

“You should not help him,” Rosemary said as she appeared next to me. “He is the one Loric was hunting.”

“No, the guy Loric was hunting is that guy's boss. He’s currently in prison,” I said, already having everything figured out.

“Prison?” She asked, rubbing her chin.

“Yeah, my parents beat him and got him locked away in a high security prison up in the far north. This guy Kal is a push over compared to his boss, I’ve been taking advantage of him since I was a kid.”

“If that is true, then the next time Bronwyn is here, connect with her so I may speak to her. If he’s trapped here, she can deal with him,” she said, fading away slowly.

“Can do,” I said aloud, a little pep in my step as I continued along the path.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that night

“You didn’t have to do this!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as her kids led her to their table.

“You deserve it, mom,” Lightning said proudly as they reached the table and sat down.

“We know you hate fancy things, but this is supposed to be the best Brony run restaurant in Canterlot. The food is supposedly amazing,” Azure Moon said with a wide smile. “Plus we had too, it’s yours and Dad’s anniversary week.”

This brought a sad smile to the older mare's face, “I don’t deserve you two.”

“Oh hush, look at the menu and get whatever you want, we’re paying,” Azure Moon laughed, lifting her own menu.

“I wonder if this is any good,” Lightning said aloud as he tapped a picture of what appeared to be a burger. “The ‘can’t believe it’s not meat rodeo supreme burger’.”

“With a name like that, you gotta get it, son,” Rainbow Dash said, reaching over to playfully shove him.

“Know what, I’m-“

“Azure Moon! A pleasure to see you here!” A voice called out from across the restaurant.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” she groaned, placing a hoof over her face in annoyance.

Champion glided up to their table and landed before them, smiling confidently. But everyone at the table just glared at him, already knowing the full story between him and Azure Moon.

“Didn’t I say to stay away from my family's dinner?” She asked harshly, trying not to cause a scene.

“And I was! But we just so happened to come to the same place!” He said with a very loud laugh.

The ponies around them were talking excitedly among themselves, taking a few pictures of him as he stood there posed up.

“I highly doubt that this is a coincidence,” she growled.

“Star Chaser, I’m going to ask nicely,” Rainbow Dash said evenly as she scowled at him. “My daughter asked you not to be here, so go. Now.”

“With all due respect, Mrs. Dash,” he said with a large smile, “this is a public space. And I came here to eat, which is what I shall do.”

He then reached over to another table and grabbed a chair. He brought it over to their table and sat down with them.

“Leave,” Azure Moon growled, staring daggers at him.

“I’m paying for dinner tonight, so just enjoy yourselves,” he said with a charming smile.

“Okay, I’m not going to be nice,” Lightning said as he stood up and stepped up to Champion. “Get the fuck away from our table.”

“Or what?” Champion asked as he turned his head to him, his eyes wide as they flashed purple.

“Lightning, please sit down,” Azure Moon said calmly.

Her brother grumbled, but complied as he returned to his seat.

“Star Chaser,” she began, getting his attention as he smiled at her. “I’m putting an end to this. Right now.”

He just stared at her, still smiling.

“I do not like you, and I never will. And the more you try to convince me to get with you, the more I dislike you. But after tonight, coming here after I told you to stay away, you’ve crossed a line. You have become the only person I can say I HATE. Now, stand up, and leave. And NEVER speak to me again. Or I will bring your mother and sister into this.”

As she spoke his smile slowly fell into an emotionless blank stare. Once she finished, he just kept staring at her.

“You’re making a mistake. I am the next ruler of Equestria, I can provide you with-“

“I do not care!” She suddenly screamed, losing her composure as she sprang to her hooves, sending her chair flying backwards into another table. “You can become the ruler of the world, and I’d still hate you! I hate you, do you not get that?! You make me feel scared for my life when you are around! For my family's lives! I will NEVER be with you! And there is nothing that will change that!”

He just kept up his emotionless stare as she screamed at him. He glanced around, seeing that everyone was looking at their table. Turning his eyes back to her as she stood there panting and huffing, face red with anger, he stood up.

“You’re emotional right now, so you’re not thinking clearly. That is unbecoming of my future Queen.”

“Get the fuck out!” She roared, stepping forward and punching him straight in the face.

He didn’t react, nor did his head even move when she hit him, just kept his eyes locked to hers. “We will speak later, Azure Moon.”

With that, he spun around and left the fuming mare.

Once he stepped outside he looked up into the sky as it poured rain down on him.

“That was rough my guy,” someone said from behind him.

His wide eyes snapped to the stallion that had walked out after him.

“I don’t know the story there, but it gets better,” the stallion said, stepping out into the rain with Champion. “You just gotta let her go and-“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as his head suddenly exploded as Champion fired a purple beam right through him. The body stumbled then collapsed.

“Hmmm,” Champion looked around, using his super hearing and sight to confirm no one saw what he’d done.

He grabbed the stallion by the leg and flung him straight into the sky, and with an angry roar fired a wide beam up after him, disintegrating the body instantly.

Now the only evidence was a bit of blood and chunks of meat and bone. He pulled out an item and tossed it to the mess. With a hot flash, the gore was gone, leaving a bow clean street and wall.

He then looked back to the restaurant and growled, “we’ll see.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next morning

I stepped out of my room, still yawning as I made my way to the kitchen. The night before I’d just come home and went straight to bed, and didn't even talk to my parents.

Nearing the kitchen I could smell breakfast cooking, making my mouth water.

“There’s our Hero,” my mother said brightly as I stepped into the room and made my way to the table where my mom sat, playing one of her handheld games.

I just smile in response as I sit down and wait for my food.

“You need to comb your mane, honey,” my mom commented, reaching over and ruffling up my already messy mane. “

And you need a shower, greasy little shit,” my mother joked as she stepped over to the table and placed down two plates for us.

“I’ll take one in a minute,” I mumbled as I began to devour my food.

“You’re acting like we don’t feed you,” she said as she placed down another plate as I finished the first.

“Just starving,” I grumbled as I pulled the second plate over and dived into it as well.

“So what’d you guys do afterwards yesterday?” My mom asked as she continued to play her game as she ate.

A grin slide onto my face, as I wasn’t sure if I should tell them yet. I’ll have to tell them eventually, but I’m afraid if I do they’ll over react.

“Just hung out at the clubhouse,” I said, deciding to hold off on telling them for now. If my friends told their parents, then I’ll go ahead and tell them. Till then, ignorance is bliss.

“I recommend against hiding this information from your parents,” Rosemary said as she sat on the counter.

‘Trust me, I know the best way to handle my parents,’ I thought as I kept eating.

“I’m sorry if we’ve treated you too much like a kid recently,” my mother said as she sat down with her own plate of food. “It’s just hard, you’re our little hellion, and we love you to death.”

“But you’ve shown us up, that’s for sure,” my mom chuckled, “you and your friends stopped Anarchy, and somehow got her on the road to recovery. I’d of just killed her, but you do your own thing.”

“Thanks, guys,” I say with an awkward smile, as I’m not very good at taking compliments. “She didn’t need to die, she just needed help.” I pushed my empty plate away, “besides, I don’t have to kill anyone to solve my problems.”

“I hope you never have to kill someone,” my mother said in a solemn tone. “It changes you forever.”

I frown at her, as I did not like it when she got all serious like this. “It’s okay, Mama, I can handle my business without ever having to kill someone.”

“I hope so, sweetie,” she said, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. Then a weird look came over her face as she turned my hand over, exposing the port in my wrist. “What is this?!”

“Uh…” I said as I stared dumbly at my wrist as she held onto it.

“Should of just been up front with them,” Rosemary said with a sly grin as she faded away.

“Uh?” My mother mimicked back at me, “what have you done this time, Shayla? What body modification did you just have to have?”

The urge to argue with her began to rise within me, but I struggled to respond calmly. “It’s nothing, just something a friend gave me.”

“That does not answer my question,” she said as she narrowed her eyes. Then she let out a sigh and let my wrist go, leaning back. “Just don’t lie to me, that’s all I’m asking.”

“I’d rather not say then…” I muttered, looking away from her.

“Are you in trouble?” She asked carefully.

“No.”

“Should we be worried?”

“You always worry.”

“Because we love you.”

“I’m okay, I promise.”

“This little thing on your wrist isn’t dangerous is it?”

“No.”

“Will you at least tell us in the future when you do things like this?”

“Sure.”

She reached over and gave my hand another squeeze, getting me to look her in the face. “We love you, and we’ll always support you. Just don’t block us out of your life.”

I force a smile as I hold eye contact with her, “I’m not going to block you two out, I promise.”

My mother sat back, a small smile on her face, “you can tell us anything, okay? We’ll try to listen instead of getting angry.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I stood up. “I’m going to take a shower now, ‘kay?”

She just nodded as she started picking at her food.

I left the kitchen and moved for the bathroom, but as I entered, I barely heard them start to speak.

“She’s up to something, Scamp.”

“I know… but she’s a mare now, we need to try and let her do her own thing.”

“To an extent.”

“I trust her to make the right decisions, Mallo.”

A tiny smile slid onto my face, but it was quickly washed away by a frown. Why can’t I just be open with anyone? Especially my parents…

A gift for a sad creature

Chapter 12

“We need to speed things along,” Kal said as he stood on the second floor balcony overlooking everyone else as they stood on the ground floor. “Shayla has a Dimensional Dagger, and is starting to deviate from my plans. Star Chaser,” he said, looking at the costumed stallion, “have you located Loric?”

“No,” he said back simply. “I’ve searched everywhere.”

“Apparently not everywhere,” Kal growled, “the Dimensional Dagger in Shayla’s possession belongs to him.”

“I knew she was lying!” He snapped, but Kal waved his hoof at him.

“Stop, let it go,” he said firmly. “As of right now she’s agreed to a deal where she will still take us, but we need to hurry up. She’s a stupid mare and will get distracted eventually and start doing her own thing.”

He began to pace, “we can assume Loric died due to his wounds, since there is no other reason he’d part with his key. Which means Shayla and her friends must have his Wandering Ego hidden away somewhere.”

“Are we going to go steal it?” Lemon Tape asked.

“Eventually, but for now we need to focus on getting her to keep up her end of the deal. That’s what’s most important right now,” Kal said as he looked to Champion again, “you will be staying here. I’ve learned new information about the dimension we are going to, and you are too powerful for that world. The God in charge of it is a brat and hates outsiders. Luckily, he is not omniscient by choice, so we’ll go undetected. However he’s not incompetent so he’d very easily notice your presence.”

Champion frowned at this, “then what am I going to do?!”

“Whatever you want,” Kal said with a glare. “Once I leave this place, I don’t care what happens to it. You will be in charge until we return to retrieve you.”

This did not sit well with Champion, but he didn’t protest further.

“Domitor,” he suddenly said, causing the stallion in question to jump a bit. “You are coming with us.”

He stared up wide eyed, “um… thank you!”

“Thank your mother,” he spat back, looking at everyone else. “Get back to work!”

Everyone quickly took their leave, going back to what they’d been doing before the meeting had been called.

“You’re free to roam, Domitor,” Kal called out. “But if you screw up one more thing…”

He let the threat hang in the air, as he did not have to say it. Domitor gave a bow up to his father and quickly moved for the exit before he changed his mind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I bobbed my head to the music playing in my headphones, doing a few dance moves randomly as I walked down the street. As I trotted down the street, Rosemary kept appearing ahead of me, leaning against buildings or sitting on ledges, watching me with a raised eyebrow.

As the music hit one of my favorite parts I sprang forward and performed a spinning back kick, landing on all fours and continuing like nothing happened.

She laughed at me, so I gave her two finger guns and a wink. “Gotta enjoy life, mofo!” I yelled, causing everyone in the area to look at me. I, however, could have cared less about their judging stares and kept up with my shenanigans.

And then my good mood was ruined as I saw the one pony I didn’t want to see today walk around the corner of a building up ahead of me.

Frowning, I pulled the headphones off of my head and glared at him. “Domitor.”

When he noticed me, he returned my glare. “Shayla.”

“Bet you’ve felt pretty great after winning our last fight with that cheap shot?” I said, coming to a stop a few feet away from him.

“Cheap shot?” he asked, scoffing. “I landed a clean hit on you, then saved your life. You should just accept that and move on.”

“Nah, I can’t accept losing, especially when you cheated.”

“Cheated?!” he snapped, walking up to me and slamming his face into mine. “I won, fair and square! Why can’t you just be a mature mare and accept that?!”

“Because a little bitch like you could never beat me fairly,” I retorted as I pushed against him, knocking him back a few steps.

“Well if you’re gonna be like that, then yeah, I won and you lost, because when it comes down to it, I’m the better fighter!” he spat back, growling a bit.

“Oh?! OH?!” I yelled as we began to circle around each other, holding our glares on each other. “The better fighter?! You wanna go again?! Fight me when I’m not tired after training?!”

“Yeah! I could fight you in any state and still win! Not my fault a little fatigue affected you so much!”

“You try fighting someone who attacks you without warning and you’re super fucking tired!”

“Excuses excuses! A real warrior would accept the loss and move on! Get better from it!”

“Screw you, little punk ass bitch boy! The only real warrior here is me!”

We stopped circling each other as we slammed foreheads together again, growling at each other.

“You a warrior? HA! You look more like a wannabe Hot Topic model than anything else!”

“At least my parents love me!”

His eyes flared in anger as he took a step back. “Fuck you, Shayla.”

“Yeah, fuck you too, Domitor!” I said, slamming a hoof into the cobblestone road and shattering it.

Instead of continuing the fight, he turned and headed down the street.

“Yeah, walk away!” I yelled after him, spinning around and walking in a different direction.

“Hot headed as well?” Rosemary said from atop a fence ahead of me. “You really are a younger version of Loric.”

“Stop comparing me to him,” I growled, stomping past her. “I barely knew him, so these comparisons are starting to get on my nerves.”

“I can see your thoughts and feelings, remember? I know the short interaction you had with him affected you deeply.”

“You don’t know shit about me,” I muttered, flaring my wings and flying straight into the sky. I’m going to go train or some shit.

“If you want to change the subject, we need to start going over how to get stronger with your Ego. It’s not like other Ego’s,” she said as she floated in the air just in front of me as I flew forward.

“Later,” I snapped, “I’m not in the mood right now.”

“Very well,” she said as she faded away.

Fucking Domitor, ruining my good mood like that…

ooo000<^>000ooo

“That’s enough for today, Dad,” Spark said as he flew down to the ground and landed next to their things.

“Tired already, son?” Lance laughed as he landed next to his son and grabbing a water bottle.

Spark just chuckled as he lifted a towel and began to dry himself off, “no, but I have a date night with Starlight tonight. She said she has some news for me.”

“Ah, she’s finally telling you,” Lance chuckled, getting a raised eyebrow from his son. “Eh… forget it. I’m not ruining it for you.”

“Well now I’m just worried,” Spark said with a frown.

“Don’t be,” Lance replied, ruffling his son’s mane up. “Anyways! Good work out there today, Spark.”

“You too, old man,” Spark said with a wink.

“I may be old, but I have the body of a thirty year old,” Lance laughed, flexing a bit to show off his muscles.

“Why are you training anyways, Dad?” Spark asked as he began to put on his uniform.

Lance just shrugged, “Dunno, just hate not doing anything. Plus, since I can’t leave this dimension, I might as well get strong enough to keep defending it.”

“We have Champion for that,” Spark said, his grimace giving away his true feelings on the costumed stallion.

“Yeah, but Star Chaser isn’t really someone I’d call a ‘hero’,” Lance said as he looked around. “Probably shouldn’t bad mouth him, since he has that super hearing crap.”

“Yeah,” Spark agreed, “but thank you, Dad. Training with you has been great.”

Lance smirked and flashed in and out of his Apollyon form, “same here, kiddo. You don’t have any kind of powers or transformations and you can already outperform me at my best. Just imagine what’ll happen if you ever decide to go out and get an Ego or something similar.”

“I told you,” Spark said, finishing up gathering his things. “I don’t want to leave this dimension, and I don’t want to face unstoppable forces. I just want to stay here and be with my friends and family.”

“But you could become so damn strong, son!” Lance pushed.

Spark just shrugged, “maybe, but what’s the point of getting stronger? We don’t have any threats left on this planet, and any that do show up will get crushed by the others here that like to do things like that.”

“So with all this potential, you’re okay just being a normal cop?”

“Yep, it’s what I enjoy doing. I get to help others and fix problems. And with all my training, I’m able to take down suspects without hurting them, even when they’re trying to kill me or my partner. I’m happy where I’m at right now.”

With a sigh, Lance smiled at his son, “as long as you’re happy, then that’s all that matters to me.”

Smiling, Spark turned and began to walk for the path that led out of the forest, “same time tomorrow?”

“You know it,” Lance said as he sat down and cracked open a soda.

As he watched his son leave the clearing, he let out a sigh. He really hoped his son would be able to live the life he desires and deserves. But, knowing his own luck and how shit always seems to follow after him, he wasn’t so sure he’d get that chance.

At least they had Star Chaser and the new Bearers of the Elements to deal with problems.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later, nighttime

Domitor stomped into his room, still upset after his interaction with Shayla, even though it’s been hours since then. He’d spent the whole day sulking around and trying to improve his mood, but nothing helped. Shayla’s final jab really hit hard, and it’s only worse since she doesn’t even know the full story.

Grumbling, he moved to his desk and flipped open the hidden compartment and pulled out his drawing supplies. Leaning back in his chair he held his drawing pad in his lap, trying to think of something to draw. Anything to get his mind clear.

But all he managed to do was draw a few random lines on the page, not even able to do art right now.

He growled as he finally drew a crude image of Shayla’s face, glaring at it as his mind raced.

She has everything he doesn’t have; a loving family, friends that support her, the love and admiration of all the others in this town, and even his own father supports her in his own way. Yet she acts like a brat and trots around like she owns the world.

He hated her. Especially after today.

With viscous slices, he drew through her face with his pen, scratching the image out of existence.

Sitting there, staring at the ruined page, he teared up a bit.

Nothing ever goes his way.

And that’s how he sat till he fell asleep, just staring at the scribbles on the page, hating himself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Something caused Domitor to jerk awake as he sat up in the chair, looking around in a panic. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something woke him up, something strange.

Looking around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but the air around him felt off. Like there was something there that he couldn’t see.

Deciding he didn’t like the feeling in his room, he stood up and headed for his door, wanting to go sleep in the living room. But upon reaching his door, he found it was stuck. The knob would not turn at all, nor would the door budge.

“Come on…” he muttered, assuming his father had cast a charm on the door again to keep him locked in his room. What had he done this time to anger his father? Maybe he heard of the interaction with Shayla…

Turning around, he was taken by complete surprise at what he saw. His window was no longer showing the lights of the town below, but a white void with rocks floating around.

“...” he stepped forward and leaned his head into the window, frowning as he realized this was more like a portal than a window now.

Looking around, he didn’t know what to do. Entering into this portal-like entrance probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But the floating rocks ahead seemed to form a pathway, which seemed to beckon to him.

Against his better judgment he climbed up into the window and onto the rocks beyond. Carefully, he began to walk forward, keeping his eyes on the world around him. There wasn’t anything of note around him, just distant floating rocks and whiteness.

As he neared a stone doorway, a man suddenly appeared before him, wearing dark clothing.

Domitor jumped back in shock, staring wide eyed up at the strange man.

“Domitor Pompeo, what a sad little creature you are,” the man said in a tame voice.

“What?” Domitor asked, staring the man in the face. “Pompeo? My last name is Belletor, like my father.”

The man just smiled back knowingly. “So misinformed you are. You don’t even know the truth about your father.”

He growled, now angry with this mysterious man. How dare he! His father may be harsh and abusive, but he’s never lied to him…

The man held both hands out to his sides, gliding backwards, “Domitor, a creature born to rival another, but only to be cast aside the moment he wasn’t needed.”

Stepping through the doorway, the man disappeared, only to reappear right next to him, leaning against a rock.

“And now you’re just an annoyance to all those around you. Your rival has even surpassed you, and you don’t even know it yet.”

“What is the point of this?!” Domitor snapped, stepping towards the man. “To mock me? Make me feel worse?!”

“A woman in your world formed a connection with me,” the man began, whisking away. He reappeared in the air above the young stallion. “Thanks to her, I’ve become aware of your world. And by extension, you. Out of all creatures of your world, you’re the only one worth looking into. The future ahead of you…”

Domitor just stared up at him, still not sure of the point of this interaction.

“I have an offer for you, Domitor,” the man said, waving his hand, “everyone looks down upon you, and despite your efforts, you’ll never be worth anything to any of them.”

“Thanks,” Domitor growled.

“How much would you give to be seen as an equal? To stand next to those who stand above you?” the man asked. “To make them pay.”

“Everything,” Domitor answered, staring up at the man with a serious look.

“Then accept my gift,” the man said as he waved his hand again, causing a burning sensation to form on Domitor’s left leg.

He winced and raised his leg as he watched a strange black symbol begin to form on it, burning away the fur. Once it finished, he felt a connection form inside of him, like something was now a part of him.

“With my mark you gain access to the void. Come along,” he said as a few rocks flew down to form a path, followed by him disappearing.

Not sure what to make of any of this, he walked forward, following the path. But he eventually came to a gap. Trying to use his wings proved useless, as he couldn't seem to lift off.

“Use the mark,” a voice said from all around him. “Far Reach. Fling a tendril ahead of yourself and it’ll pull you to that location.”

Still not really sure of what was happening, he raised his hoof and pointed it to the rock ahead of himself. Simply wanting to be over there caused a dark tendril to shoot forward and grab the rock, and then pulled him through the air, right over the gap and onto the spot he’d connected the tendril too.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed, the ability catching him off guard.

Ahead of him he saw a recreation of his home, the mansion. This brought down the good mood he’d found himself in immediately.

The front door flew open, seeming to invite him in.

He reluctantly walked towards the mansion and stepped inside. Upon stepping through the doorway, he found himself surrounded by the frozen forms of his father and all his followers.

A cold sweat broke out across his back as he saw the stern look of his father and the smug look of Champion.

“A lone child, brought up by maniacs,” the man said as he walked out of a doorway, stepping up between his father and Champion. “Told he was a failure his whole life; beaten and abused. Most would have turned into monsters.”

He whisked away, reappearing on the second floor balcony. “But you, you’ve persisted against all odds. Where most would've broken down and succumbed to the pressure, you’ve thrived. No matter the abuse you’ve faced, you’ve kept moving forward.”

As he disappeared, a door on the bottom floor opened.

Domitor slowly walked through the crowd, cowering a bit as he walked between the forms of his father and the insane stallion.

When he stepped through the next door he found himself in Shayla’s house, a place he’d never been to. He found himself staring at the frozen forms of her and her parents laughing and eating breakfast together.

“Shayla Beltosh, the woman you were supposed to surpass,” the man said, standing on the table between all of them. “Yet the day you finally achieve that goal, you were punished. Hurt more than you’ve ever been hurt before. You blame her for everything.”

Domitor could only frown at the happy faces of the ponies before him, as this was exactly what he’d always wanted.

“She has the life you desire most, and there’s nothing you can do to gain that life,” he said, floating off of the table. “That is, if you continue down the path you’re currently on. Following your father will only cause you untold pain and suffering. You must forge your own path in life, if this is what you desire,” he said, casting a hand over the happy family. “But going against your father? The monster of life itself? A man you don’t even know the truth about? Can you do it? Doing so will cost you everything.”

The stallion did not have an answer to any of these questions, as going against his father was not something he’d ever thought about doing. And still, he didn’t think he’d want to do that. All he wants is his-

“Fathers love,” the man suddenly said, catching Domitor off guard. “All you want is the love of your father. An seemingly impossible desire to achieve. Your father is an unloving creature. But yet, you still desire his love and affection.”

“He’ll love me, if I can help him achieve his dreams,” Domitor says confidently, causing the man to shake his head.

“Telling you the truth of the matter will ruin the fun, I’m afraid,” the man said, fading away as another door opened up.

Wanting to be away from the happy scene before him, the stallion moved quickly to the door, stepping through it to find himself in a strange forest. Everything looked strange, the plants, the sky, everything.

Looking up, he saw that the moon was literally a giant smiling green skull with red teeth.

“On a strange world,” the mysterious man said, stepping into view ahead of him in a clearing. “You will have a choice to make.” He raised both of his hands, causing two figures to appear on either side of him.

A silhouette of a creature that could only be Shayla, and a silhouette of a humanoid on the other side. “A choice that will affect you for the rest of your life. One choice will be easy, and the other hard. One will be attractive to you, while the other will go against everything you’ve been raised to believe. Which will you pick?” the man asked, crossing his arms. “This is why I’m interested in you, this one moment in your life. I’m interested in seeing how this’ll play out.”

“What will the choices be?” Domitor asked, but the man just smiled as he waved a hand.

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a jerk, Domitor jumped up and landed on his hooves, finding himself in his room again. Blinking in confusion, he let out a sigh. His dreams were starting to get weirder…

Then he saw his left leg and saw the black symbol burned into his skin.

“Oh…” he muttered, eyes wide. That was all real?!

He raised his hoof and shot a tendril out at his bed, grabbing a pillow and pulling it to himself. Catching it easily, he smiled. This power wasn’t all powerful, but he knew it’d come in handy.

“Thanks, strange guy,” he muttered, not sure if the mysterious man actually could hear him or not.

Looking at the tattoo, he felt he shouldn’t walk around with it clearly in view. He didn’t know how he’d explain it to anyone, and really didn’t want to have to tell his father about it. At least, not yet.

Walking over to a cabinet, he pulled out some cloth wraps and wrapped the dark cloth around his leg, hiding the tattoo from view.

Now that he was sure no one could see it, he walked out of his room, intending to head out into the forest to play around with this new power.

Two hours till go time

Chapter 13

Stepping into the clearing my mother I use for training, I threw my bags to the side and moved towards the middle.

“Are you ready for me to explain how to increase the strength of your Ego?” Rosemary asked as she laid on the ground ahead of me.

“Knock yourself out,” I said with a sigh.

“Alright then!” she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and walked towards me. “Want me to keep it simple?”

“Sure,” I grumbled, feeling slightly attacked. I’m not smart but I’m not dumb.

“Do this,” she said, holding up her hand and extending a finger.

I mimic her with my right hand, pointing a claw forward.

“Now this,” she said, dragging her finger down sharply.

Upon swiping my finger down a menu appeared in front of me. I took a step back in surprise, but it followed after me.

“What is this?!” I asked, eyes scanning all the words on the menu before me.

“Soul Enhancement works very differently than other Ego’s. It’s a one of a kind,” she said as she walked up and stood next to the menu.

Taking a moment to actually look at the menu revealed it was just stats, all set to one. “Okay, so these are my stats?” I asked, getting a nod from her. “Then why is everything at one? I should be a lot stronger than that.”

“That’s normal,” she assured me, “both Loric and I started out the same way. However, notice the little plus signs with ones and zeros? That’s from your Egonetics. So strengthening your Egonetic’s also increases your Soul Enhancement, and by extension, your whole body and soul. It’s the perfect combo, which is why I chose it. Yet, Loric was stubborn and chose an Ego weapon.”

“Okay,” I said as I read over the stats. “What’s all this mean?”

“Well, this keeps track of everything you do. As you train and perform tasks, you’ll level up, which grants you skill points to increase your attributes,” she said, tapping at the LEVEL area. “Every level grants three points, and every ten levels grants six. Completing a task, or quest as it likes to call them, will grant you bonus skill points. The number varies based on the quest.”

“This sounds too much like one of my mom’s video games,” I say with a frown, getting a smile out of her.

“Pretty much,” she chuckled. “You have a daily training quest, which grants you three skill points upon completion. So you have a steady source of skill points.”

“What kinda quest are we talking about?”

“The daily one is simple, it’s just a list of exercises you need to complete. It’ll change daily, so it won’t get boring. There’s no penalty for missing a daily quest, but you shouldn’t since it’s free skill points. Also, normally training on your own will grant skill points as well, but much much slower.”

“Okay, sounds simple. Do daily quests, train, and repeat.”

“There are also normal quests that your Ego will randomly give you. They vary, and use a ranking system to mark them as either easy or difficult. E rank being easy, and S rank being the hardest.” She then tapped at the words EXCESS EGO, “now, you don’t have a way to absorb Ego from defeated enemies right now, but that’s okay. This stat only increases your Egonetics. To increase your Ego Power, all you have to do is defeat opponents and their Soul will be captured by your Ego. This is not the same as killing someone and taking their Ego, as this involves taking all of the excess Ego as well.

“If you kill them now, you’ll just take their Soul, and nothing else. The only benefit this has over Ego weapons and taking all of their Ego is that you actually absorb their power into yourself. So you can become strong very quickly if you are lucky.”

“What if I don’t want to kill anyone, how do I get stronger?” I asked, causing her to sigh.

“It’s still possible, but will take a lot longer,” she said, tapping the LEVEL stat again. “So, leveling up is quite simple; defeat opponents, complete quests, and by just doing things in general. This doesn’t show you how close you are to leveling up, so it’s always a guessing game.”

“Alright, so far I’m hating it,” I said, shaking my head. “I didn’t know I was going to have to do all this shit…”

“It’s not that bad,” she said, trying to reassure me. “Once you start gaining skill points, you’ll start to really enjoy yourself. Trust me, this is a lot more fun than just normal training and fighting.”

“I guess,” I mumbled.

“Well here, let’s do the first daily quest!” she exclaimed, holding up a hand and doing a sideways swipe.

Rolling my eyes, I mimicked her, swiping away the Stats Menu and bringing up one that was labeled QUEST. I had two waiting for me; Daily quest and one labeled ‘Rank E: To Eris!’.

“Look at you, already have a quest ready for you!” she said excitedly.

“Yay me,” I deadpanned as I tapped the Daily quest, revealing a list of objectives. “Five mile run, fly twelve miles, one hundred push ups, one hundred pull ups, one hundred squats, and one hundred sit ups? That’s all super easy shit.”

“It’s not usually supposed to be hard, just a daily quest that you have to do. I suggest always doing them in the morning, it’s a great start to your day!” She said, her excitement making me sigh. Unlike her, I saw this as dumb and annoying.

Looking at the list, I shrugged. Might as well just do it all, since it was so easy.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Upon finishing the five mile run, which I’d saved for last, I received a notification in front of myself, stating I’d completed the Daily quest and received three skill points.

“So exciting!” Rosemary said happily as she appeared next to me. “Your first skill increase! What are you going to pick?!”

“Uh…” I mumbled, bringing up the Stats Menu, seeing that all the attributes now had little plus signs next to them. “What’s the benefit of each of them?”

She smiled widely as she stood up, pointing at each one, “Strength is simple, it just increases your physical strength. Stamina affects your fatigue rate and natural endurance, it gives a slight bonus to your Defense stat as well. Perception helps you notice things in the world around you, it should be increased along with Reflexes as it goes hand in hand with it. Reflexes itself revolves around how fast you are to react to situations.

“Brain Power mostly just covers your memory and how fast you are able to process new information. I recommend increasing this one at least somewhat, as it’s very useful. Now Defense is simple, as increasing it raises your toughness and resistances to other Ego attacks. It even can increase resistance to other things, but its effectiveness varies. Willpower helps to defend you against mental attacks, and helps combat against Ego’s that posses others. It’s only other use is that it gives a slight bonus to Soul’s you absorb and can increase your Ego Power faster.

“The Ego stat is simple; increasing it increases the overall power of any ability you create with Soul Enhancement, and it even affects Ego Power. This one is very important, but it’s okay to neglect it in the beginning. The last one, Finesse, can help you with accuracy when it comes attacking, both with melee and ranged. This one can have dimension returns, so be careful not to put too many points into it. It also affects Defense slightly. Questions?”

I blinked at her, as I hadn’t expected to get a lecture out of that question. “Eh…”

“It’s a lot to take in,” she admitted. “May I suggest which one to raise first?”

“Nah, I got it,” I said after a moment, reaching up and tapping two points into Perception and one into Reflexes.

“Ah, going down the agile attacker route?” she asked with a wide grin.

“I just want to be faster,” I said with a shrug.

“Well, whatever you think is best,” she said, giving me a little bow. “Anything else?”

Sitting down and pulling out a water bottle, I nodded, “yeah actually.”

“Ask away then,” she said excitedly.

“Is this actually you? Like, is what I’m talking to you, the Rosemary that Loric knew, or are you just like, I don’t know, a replica of her?”

She laughed a bit, sitting down in front of me, “it’s the real me. It’s strange, as my Wandering Ego was created when I got my Ego, so it’s me all the way. And since neither Loric or I have ever added another Wandering Ego to Soul Enhancement, I’ve been able to retain my mind and soul.”

“Isn’t it bad though?” I asked, getting her to raise an eyebrow. “I mean, you’re trapped inside of me. Wouldn’t you rather be free? Or something?”

Rosemary just smiled at me, “in the beginning, I hated it, but being bound to Loric kept me going. Then after he received that fatal injury, I told him I was done. I wanted to die with him, to let me fade away with him. But he convinced me to go to Bronwyn, saying he couldn’t lose me like that. Well, that was the plan till you grabbed my physical Ego form and I felt something inside of you that reminded me of Loric. And now here we are.”

“You’re going to regret bounding with me, trust me,” I chuckled, wiping my face.

“I won’t,” she said with a smile. “Despite everything you are, I’m growing more and more fond of you.”

“So you’re dumb like me,” I asked, causing her to roll her eyes. “I guess we will get along in that case.”

“Can I offer some advice?” she asked, getting a careful nod from me. “In the time I’ve been with you, you’ve made a LOT of mistakes. And most of them could be avoided if you fix how you handle others.”

I scowled at her, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

She held up a hand, “calm down, you’re about to fly off the handle, again. Take your parents for example; they trust you and you’re hiding everything from them.”

“Because they won't understand and will try and stop me,” I grumbled, standing up.

“Are you sure? Your mother, Scamp, sounds like she can be reasonable. If you explain it carefully, she’ll understand.”

“I ain’t risking it,” I said, moving away from her. I wasn’t here to get lectured about my attitude and how I conduct myself.

“This course of action will only hurt you in the future,” she warned, but I just waved her off, flipping my Pit Vipers down and heading for the clearing where all my stuff was.

Welp, there goes my somewhat good mood. Again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“More,” I muttered as Greg rolled up to my booth, seeing the eight empty plates and the many cans of soda piled up on my table.

“Everything alright, Shay-Shay?” he asked as he took a few of the plates from the table. “You usually only eat like this when you’re upset.”

“Just hungry,” I said as I grabbed a fresh soda and popped it open, chugging it all in one go.

“Want me to get Dude? He’s probably somewhere around here,” he asked, looking around.

“Yeah, if you can find him,” I said, laying my head down on the table. “More food, please.”

“On it, kiddo,” he said, wheeling away from my booth.

“I’m sorry if I… stepped over a line,” Rosemary said from her seat across the table.

I raised my head to look at her. She had a regretful look on her face, causing me to feel bad for how I reacted to her advice earlier. “It’s… alright. You’re probably right to be honest, I might need to… work on my approach to others.”

She smiled at me, “that’s wonderful! The first step to getting better is-”

“Hello, Shayla!” Kal said as he suddenly appeared, sliding into my booth and right through Rosemary, causing her to disappear.

I growled at him, as that was one of the rare moments I felt like opening up to someone. “What do you want?!” I snapped, catching him off guard.

“... I’m sorry, is this a bad time?” he asked, smiling awkwardly.

“Yep,” I said as I opened another soda, glaring at him.

“Ah, I apologize then,” he said as he slid out of the booth. “I’m just here to tell you we are ready to go.”

“Are you?” I asked, frowning. Then a little menu popped up next to him. It read ‘Quest Updated: Prepare to head to Eris!’. Great, thanks Ego. “Fine, when do you want to go?”

A wide smile flashed onto his face, “two hours from now. Meet me at my mansion.”

“‘Kay,” I said with a thumbs up.

He started to leave, but then spun around, “one more thing; you’ll have to leave your Dimensional Key here.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “why?”

“Because if you take them into this dimension, there’s a chance they’ll be taken from you by the God of this world. Only my method is safe for us,” he said, holding up a strange device.

‘Is that true?’ I thought to Rosemary.

“I wouldn’t trust him,” she said, leaning on the booth next to him. “However, yes, there are a rare few dimensions out there that can only be accessed in special ways. And bringing Dimensional Daggers into them could be disastrous. But I still wouldn’t trust him.”

‘Valid point,’ I thought, glaring at him.

“I’ll bring it anyways,” I said, giving him a sly smirk.

He frowned, but said no more as he gave a bow and left.

“Thank you, for listening to me,” she said, jumping over the booth and returning to her seat.

“Said I’d try to get better,” I said, offering a smile. “Guess I’ll start by listening to you.”

“Good first step,” she said with a wink.

I continued to smile at her as I saw Dude walking towards me, a few plates of food held around him in his magic.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Star Chaser,” Kal said loudly as he stepped into his mansion. It didn’t take long for a boom to be heard and Champion to arrive at his side.

“Sir?” the costumed stallion asked.

“I have a job for you,” Kal said as he moved towards his office.

“Say it and it’s done,” he said confidently.

Kal stopped at the door, turning his head to Champion. “Shayla will try to take her Dimensional Dagger with her to Eris. I need you to snatch it and plant it on one of her friends.”

“Plant it on one of her friends?” Champion asked, frowning. “Why not just keep it?”

“The dagger she has is an Enforcer’s Dimensional Dagger. If someone steals it from the owner, it’ll return to them after three seconds. So we need to leave it with one of her friends, since it’ll recognize them,” Kal said as he pushed open his door. “So, can you do it?”

“I only need a second,” Champion said confidently.

“Good. Wait till we’re about to leave, then take it,” Kal said as he walked into the room. “We have two hours, go make sure she doesn’t do anything… stupid.”

“Yes, sir,” Champion said as he bowed and walked for the front door.

Kal closed his door and smiled. It was all going as he knew it would.

Author's Note

Made a quick video showcasing a few chapters and their themes.

I suggest watching all of Lance’s at 16:05

To Eris!

Chapter 14

I checked over my bags one last time, making sure I had everything I thought I’d need. There wasn’t much, since I didn’t plan to be gone more than a few hours, so there was no need to go all out.

Mostly, I was just bringing the basics; snacks, a few iron supplements, Dimensional Dagger, Cellphone, two water bottles, one water bottle with iron supplements, and the Watcher’s Vial.

The bare minimum, which would be plenty. Honestly probably don’t even need any of this stuff, but my mother has taught me to always be prepared.

I slipped the bags onto my flank and strapped them down.

Once I was ready I opened my door and carefully trotted down the hallway, hoping I could avoid my parent’s. The last thing I wanted to do was explain myself to them.

Luckily I found them passed out on the couch together, a movie’s credits playing on the TV. Perfect.

Moving silently, I slithered through the room and out the front door, closing it with my tail. Now that I was home free I took to the sky.

I had one quick stop before I went to the mansion.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor stood in his room, staring at his things he had laid out. He didn’t have much, so he packed light. Just a single short bladed sword with a handle that attached to his hoof, binoculars, and drawing supplies.

He’d packed more, but his father had cleared his room out so much that he didn’t really much of anything anymore. But he’d gotten used to it, plus it helped him stay focused, which is what his father always wanted.

Once everything was packed away, and sword attached to his side, he moved for his door and headed for the main lobby of the mansion.

Everyone who was going with them was there and waiting. Half of the group was staying here, and half was going with them. Only Hester, Lemon Tape, Ulystee, Ponpuffle, and Kal were going. While Psalm, Tiff, and Champion were staying.

Jerry quickly scampered across the floor and climbed up his leg, finding his place on Domitor’s back.

Looks like Jerry was coming along as well.

He wished his mother was coming with them, but his father made it clear she wasn’t to come with them. The reason why wasn’t clear to Domitor, as his father usually drags her around everywhere due to her Ego.

At least Jerry would be there, seeing as he was somehow the closest thing he had to a friend.

“Final checks,” Kal announced, seeming very eager to get things underway. “She’ll be here shortly.”

Everyone but Domitor opened their pocket dimensions and began to shuffle through them.

“Before we go through the Q&A with whatever guardian is watching over the dimension, I want everyone to apply their charms against omniscient. I don’t want our cover blown before my goals are achieved,” he said as he stared at each of them in turn.

Domitor felt singled out as his father held his gaze on him, eyes slowly narrowing. So he held up his charm and tapped it to his head, casting it on himself..

Kal gave a sharp nod and walked over to Champion and began to speak with him in a low tone.

Looking around at everyone, Domitor felt nervous. He’d never gotten along with any of them, yet he was about to embark on an adventure into a hostile dimension with them. Would they finally start treating him with some form of respect? Was he finally going to be accepted into their ranks as one of them?

“Don’t screw us over, Domitor,” Lemon Tape suddenly said, almost like he could sense the hope in the young stallion. “I’d hate to have to put you down.”

“I’ll try not to…” Domitor muttered, getting a laugh out of the cruel stallion.

He backed up and stood at the edge of the group, not feeling like socializing with any of them anymore.

Jerry shifted on his back and gave the back of his head a nudge, almost in a reassuring way.

“Thanks, Jerry,” he muttered, watching everyone laugh amongst themselves.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is incredibly stupid and irresponsible,” Roxxy protested as she and my friends stood around me.

“You need to bring us with you,” Flippy Dew insisted.

“Yeah, going alone is… exactly what you shouldn’t do!” Nightstreak added.

“Guys,” I said with a laugh and waving my hand at them, “you’re thinking to hard on this. It’s a simple go in, drop him off, explore a bit, then come home. Easy peasy.”

Dude scoffed, “nothing is ever easy with you, Shayla! At least take Roxxy with you.”

“Nah,” I responded, much to their annoyance. “There’s no point. I don’t plan to stay there long, and once I get back I want us to finally go to the Eternal Plains.”

“Shayla,” Summer Breeze groaned.

“What?” I asked, giving them my signature smile, “I got this. Stop worrying about me so much.”

Roxxy sat down on the ground and rubbed her face, “when will you learn to listen to your friends?”

I wink at her, “when I stop being right all the time.”

“Oh sweet fuck,” Dude grumbled, also falling to his flank. “Why’d we choose her as the leader?”

“Because I’m the most badass and charming member of Phantasm Troupe,” I replied, giving my mane a little toss.

My friends just grimaced at me, clearly not a fan of my choice to go in alone. But there was no point in taking them, I didn’t plan to stay there long.

Staring at my friends, I gave them a reassuring smile. “Trust me, I got this.”

This caused the rest of them to sit down, shaking their heads at me.

Rosemary appeared behind them, looking them over. “I think you should bring one of them along at least. Having a friend with you makes everything easier.”

‘I don’t want to put them at risk,’ I admitted to her. I’d never say that to them, since I didn’t want them to worry.

“Still…” she muttered, then raised an eyebrow. “Are those two a couple?”

I blinked at her and looked at who she was staring at, a smirk forming on my face. ‘Yeah, but they aren’t ‘official’ and think no one notices. Stupid love birds.’

“Interesting,” she commented, fading away.

“What are you smirking at?” Nightstreak asked as I was staring at him. I just kept smirking at them, an eyebrow raising slightly.

“Okay you’re starting to creep even me out,” Dude said as he stood next to Nightstreak.

Finally, I stuck my tongue out at them and went back to my normal self. “Anyways! Just hang around, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Shayla, please take Roxxy or someone,” Flippy Dew begged.

But I just gave her finger guns, flipped down my Pit Vipers and flipped backwards into the air, zooming off towards the mansion.

“She’s an idiot,” I heard Roxxy groan as I flew away.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Ah, the guest of honor!” Kal exclaimed happily as I pushed open the doors to find him and a few of his cronies standing there, looking ready to go.

I narrowed my eyes, his wide smile making me feel a bit uneasy. “Let’s get this shit over with. I have things I need to do today.”

“Of course, this won’t take long!” he assured me, waving for me to come forward.

As I walked forward, I swear I saw Champion vibrate, like he seemed to move slightly. But I couldn’t be sure, probably just him being weird, as usual.

“So what do I need to do to get…” I started, but stopped when I saw Domitor in the corner, sulking as he glared at me. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

“He’s coming with us,” Kal said, then quickly added as I started to growl, “but he won’t be coming back here, so you won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

This at least satisfied me, as not seeing him again sounded wonderful to me. “Fine, just keep him away from me.”

“Consider it done,” Kal said, waving his hoof at Domitor, who sneered, but nodded.

“Good,” I said, looking back to Kal. “What do I need to do?”

He pulled out a Dimensional Key with a strange design on it and held it out to me, “it’s simple. Take this key and make an unlocking motion while thinking about the place you want to go. Can you do that?”

“That’s child's play,” I said as I snatched the key from him. “So what? Just think about going to Eris and it’ll just take us there?”

“Yes,” he confirmed as he gave me a little charm. “However, it is rumored we’ll be stopped by the guardian of that dimension. So cast this on yourself so they won’t be able to affect your mind or memory, and just be honest with them and we’ll be fine.”

“So just tell them I’m taking you there to get a Thorn?” I said with a raised eyebrow, tapping the charm against my head, causing it to disappear. “Will they like that?”

He just nodded, “yes. Let me do most of the talking.”

“Fine by me,” I said as I looked at the key. “I guess here we go.”

“Here we go,” Kal said, his body shaking in excitement.

I raised the key and stabbed it forward, making an unlocking motion while thinking about the Eris my mom had told me about. At first, nothing happened, causing Kal to start sweating. Then, with an explosion of hot air, a portal ripped open in front of us violently. A strange and ominous feeling swept over me, causing me to take a step back.

“Well, without delay,” Kal said as he waved for me to walk in. “You have to go first or it’ll reject us.”

Frowning, I stepped forward, stepping through the portal and into a colorful void. The others filed in behind me, the portal snapping shut right behind us.

“Uh…” I muttered, looking around. “Is this the right place?”

“It is,” Kal assured. “Just wait.”

Before I could ask what we were waiting for, a strange being appeared before me, as in, right in front of my face.

“Hmm, whatcha little creatures up too? Tryin’ to sneak into our little dimension?” the thing said as I jumped back, taking it all in. It was a very colorful looking scarecrow creature with a wide smiling face plastered on it.

“Erm…” I started, but found myself at a loss for words as the masked scarecrow stared mostly at me. At least, I think it was staring at me.

The scarecrow slid closer to me, looking me over. “A Kejtdra mixed with a pony? Who’s your parent’s, hon?”

I looked to Kal, who nodded for me to answer. “Um… Scamp and Mallogory Beltosh.”

“Ah! Little Mallo found her way out there in the wide open world, and even found herself a mate! How wonderful!” The scarecrow exclaimed, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

“My mom never told me about you… and she told me alot about Eris,” I commented, getting a giggle out of the scarecrow.

“Well of course she wouldn’t remember me, that’s the way this works, hon,” she said, then looked to the others. “And y’all? What’s your story?”

“We’re the companions of Ms. Beltosh there,” Kal said in his charming voice. “She’s bringing us along to visit her world.”

The scarecrow looked back to me, seeming to judge me. “Why, hon?”

“He lost his Ego,” I said, being truthful and pointing to Kal. “And wants to get a Thorn to replace it.”

This answer caused an eyebrow to raise on the scarecrow. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Kal confirmed, then gestured to one of his followers. “I do have an offering though.”

“Hon, I don’t take offerings,” she laughed, her clothes rippling in an unfelt wind.

“This is Ponpuffle,” Kal continued anyways, “her talent is recording and memorizing the world around her. She is known as a Loremaster on the Eternal Plains, and has an untold amount of stories to tell.”

This seemed to pique the scarecrow's interest, “a Loremaster? I’ve never heard of such a thing! How varied are the stories you have, Miss Loremaster?”

The mare in question stepped forward and replied in a monotone voice, “I have all kinds of stories stored in my mind. It would take years to tell even a fraction of them.”

“My offer is to leave her with you till we’re ready to leave, so she can swap stories with you,” Kal said, smiling happily at the scarecrow.

“Hmmm,” the scarecrow muttered, seeming to consider this. “It’ll take a week for enough Sucro to accumulate in your bodies to gain a Thorn, are you willing to stay here that long, Miss Loremaster?”

“I’m willing to stay as long as you have stories to tell,” Ponpuffle replied calmly.

“Then welcome to our little dimension!” the scarecrow exclaimed. “Don’t do anything extraordinary though, hate to see the Bossman kick you out.”

“Thank you, Miss…” Kal began, bowing to the scarecrow.

“Vivi,” it said happily. “But you won’t remember any of this interaction once you leave this place.”

“Ah, well then it was a pleasure, Ms. Vivi,” he said, bowing lower.

Vivi just giggled as she bounced over to Ponpuffle, “you and I will engage in a nice little conversation, and if you grace me with some thrilling stories, I’ll even let you keep your memories of this interaction.”

“Wonderful,” the mare said with a lazy smile. “Shall we?”

“We shall!” Vivi exclaimed as she flashed, causing all of us to start to fade away.

A few moments later, we found ourselves in a forest of some kind. But not a normal forest, more like we had shrunk down and were now among grass and other kinds of ground debris. Above us sat a bright sun, glaring down on us.

“Alright, gather around,” Kal said, followed by everyone walking up to him. “Not you two,” he said, as I and Domitor began to walk towards him. “You’re already in your base forms.”

I raised an eyebrow, assuming he and the others were about to turn back into their cat forms.

Kal pulled out an item and threw it on the ground between all of them. With a flash, all of them changed from their ponies forms and into completely different ones.

This shocked me a bit, as they were not in their cat forms, but were all humans, except for the one known as Hester, who appeared to be some kind of slender demon creature.

With a sigh of relief, Kal stood there, fixing his clothes, “it has been so LONG since I’ve been in my normal skin!”

“I don’t know, I kinda enjoyed the pony body,” Lemon Tape laughed, flexing his arms and muscles. He looked just as creepy in his human form as he did as a pony. No wonder my mother hates his guts.

With a flip, Kal put on his hat and pulled it down low, his intense and insane eyes locked on me. The others turned to face me, smirking.

I did not like the looks I was getting from him and his little group.

“Wait a minute…” Rosemary muttered as she appeared between us, looking a bit startled as she examined them. “Oh no…”

“Domitor, put Jerry down,” Kal said as he held the little item up again.

Domitor looked a bit unsure as he lifted the small gator off of his back and placed it on the ground. It then ran right at me and stopped a few feet ahead of me, staring at me with wide eyes.

Creepy little fuck…

"Shayla, run," Rosemary said carefully, eyes locked on Kal.

With a smirk, Kal tossed the device near Jerry, causing him to flash and grow into his normal form.

My eyes went wide, as something inside of me clicked.

“Oh my God!” Rosemary yelled, falling back and scooting away quickly, even though she couldn't be seen.

I stared up at the creature before me, my eyes wide as I took a step back.

“Hello, daughter of Scamp,” the creature said with a wide toothy grin.

“Oh fuck…” I gasped out, unable to properly react as I stumbled and fell on my ass.

The others laughed, except Domitor, who looked just as shocked as me.

"Leem?!" Rosemary screamed.

Author's Note

The obvious betrayal

Chapter 15

Quest Complete! 2 skill points awarded!

My mind was completely reeling as I stared up in shock at the massive reptile creature above me, his eyes locked onto mine. Behind him I could hear Rosemary screaming for me to run, but I couldn’t move.

She appeared next to me, waving a hand in front of my face, “Move! Shayla GO!”

“Don’t move,” Kal laughed as he walked over to us and patted Leem’s shoulder. “Not now.”

“I can wait,” Leem said with a sinister smirk.

“Kal, why can’t-” Lemon Tape began to say, but Kal sliced his hand through the air.

“Drop the aliases, Lenrick,” he snapped.

“Sorry, Lorenzo,” Lenrick said as he looked at me, a grin on his face. “Why can’t we just do her in now? Quick stab and go?”

“Because where’s the fun in that?” he asked, stepping over and crouching down to me.

I narrowed my eyes as he stared at me with those insane eyes, “What the fuck is this?!”

But he just kept smiling at me, which pissed me off further. I climbed to all fours and sneered at him, “I said, what the-”

“Shut up,” he said in a way that caused me to lose the will to continue my sentence. “That’s better,” he said, standing up and reaching into his pocket dimension, leaving his hand in it as he looked at me. “I’ve put up with you for quite a while, letting you think you were manipulating me.” He pulled out what looked to be a camera and tossed it to Lenrick.

The other man smiled as he turned it on me, filming us.

“Shayla, you need to move,” Rosemary said from right next to my head.

I took a step back, but his stare intensified, “DO NOT MOVE!”

The intensity in his voice seemed to stun lock me.

“Now look at the camera,” he said in a sinister tone.

I did not do as he asked, keeping my glare on him as he reached back into his pocket dimension, leaving his hand in there again.

“Father, what are we-” Domitor began to say, but a glare from Lorenzo stopped him and caused him to back up a few feet.

“Now,” Lorenzo said, waving for Lenrick to move around for a better angle, “do one thing for me.”

“Fuck off,” I growled, getting ready to book it, just as soon as my legs stopped shaking.

“Yeah, just like that,” Lenrick muttered, keeping the camera on me, an aroused look on his face.

“Just one thing,” Lorenzo said with a wide smile as he began to pull his hand out of his pocket dimension. “Tell mommy Scamp you love her.”

“You’re a fucking-”

Four gunshots filled the air as I stumbled back, eyes wide. My head hurt as the last one had snapped my head back roughly. But I stayed up as I saw Rosemary screaming something, waving her hands for me to run.

So, I did. I spun around and took off running, my legs shaking and causing me to stumble. So I flared my wings and took to the air, only for a fifth gunshot to be heard. My right wing went limp as I crashed right back into the ground, my hearing still not fully back yet.

Something rushed through me, getting me to push myself back up and take off running as fast as I could.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Cut filming,” Lorenzo growled as he raised the gun and shot again, snapping the fleeing mare’s wing at the base.

To his annoyance he saw her get back up and keep running.

He growled as he turned and pointed after her, “Lenrick, go after her and finish her.” Then he turned to Domitor, “Want to be one of us? Then go help kill her, now!”

Domitor was at a loss after seeing the events that had just unfolded, but at his father ordering him to go after her, he knew he’d have to do so. The promise of finally being accepted to tempting to give up.

“Gladly!” Lenrick laughed, taking off after the fleeing mare.

Domitor was a bit slower to give chase, but at his father’s glare, he gave a nod and ran after Lenrick.

“Did her skull just deflect a Ego bullet?” Rendrik , formerly Ulystee, asked with a frown.

“It did,” Lorenzo said with a scowl. “She’s got Ego inside of her. Which means she more than likely has Loric’s Wandering Ego in her as well.”

“I can go kill her,” Leem said, seeming very eager.

“No, you will be allowed to kill Scamp and her wife, but only after we show them footage of us murdering their brat,” Lorenzo said, pulling out a belt and holster setup and putting it on. “I want that pest to suffer for all she put me through,” he growled, rubbing his throat at the memory.

Leem licked his lips, frowning, “I prefer the simpler just kill them method, I’m not a fan of all this theatrics.”

“You will do as I say,” Lorenzo warned. “This will be much more satisfying for both of us.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Keep going, come on!” Rosemary yelled to me as I kept pushing myself to move forward, taking as many turns and paths as I could. I could hear someone chasing me, but I couldn’t look back for fear of tripping.

“Go right!” she yelled from ahead, waving her hands for a path on the right.

Listening to her I swerved right, galloping down a path and into a ditch.

“Left!”

I sprang left, running down the ditch as fast as I could.

“Up this log!” she exclaimed as she stood on a log.

Doing as I was told, I ran up the log and found myself near a clearing.

“Left, stay at the edge of the clearing!”

My lungs wanted to give up, but I pushed myself to keep running, my head and ears pounding painfully.

“Up ahead, there’s some kind of hole in the ground!” she yelled, pointing to a spot on the ground.

With everything I had left I ran and jumped forward, landed into a hole filled with dead foliage.

“Cover yourself, come on!”

I groaned in pain as I struggled to pull the foliage over myself, completely covering myself.

“Now quiet! They’re coming,” she said, standing above me and staring in the direction we’d been running from.

After a few moments of silence, I heard the sounds of two others chasing after me. Luckily, they ran right past my hiding spot, heading further down.

“Who was it,” I croaked out, not meaning to talk out loud.

“Shh!” she hissed, watching them leave. “It was the one named Lenrick and Domitor.”

“Pricks,” I groaned, curling up into a ball as the pain finally started to push me over the edge.

“Okay, don’t give up and pass out, Shayla,” Rosemary said as she laid down on the edge of the hole and stared down at me, seeming to examine me. “Just as I feared, he used a firearm with Ego bullets.”

“Great,” I coughed out.

“Left lung is punctured,” she said with a grimace. “One bullet went through your neck but missed everything, thankfully, and two others are lodged in you right now. They seemed to have hit your Ego enforced bones, one hit your lung and the other is right next to your heart. The other seems to have dented your face plate, right above your right eye, but no real damage done.”

“My wing?”

“The bullet dislocated it, so it’ll be an easy fix,” she reassured me.

I began to cough violently, spitting up a good amount of blood. Great, I’m going to die.

“You’re not going to die,” she said as she looked at me with panicked eyes. “We just have to try and close the wounds with your Ego.”

“I can’t use my Ego,” I grumbled, everything starting to feel faint. My body was starting to not hurt as much as well. That really can’t be good for me.

“I know, but I’m going to try and show you how to close a wound!” she said in a almost desperate voice.

“Go for it,” I muttered weakly. “Ya got… a minute before I take a nap.”

“Okay, focus on your left lung!”

I tried to do as she asked, but I couldn’t quite focus on it. My mind kept reeling with all the events that had just happened.

“Focus, Shayla!”

“I have ADHD!” I yelled out, causing her to try and shush me again. “I can’t focus right now!”

“Shayla, please, be-” her head snapped up. “Someone's coming.”

“Oh well,” I muttered, letting myself slump in my hole.

“Don’t give up, damn it!” she yelled as someone appeared over her, staring down at me.

The foliage was swept away from me, followed by me using everything I had left in me to lurch upward, my claws ready to strike. But all I achieved was springing upward and collapsing at the mouth of the hole.

“What in the world are you?!” someone exclaimed.

With the last of my energy, I raised my head to the blurry figure and raised my hand, shakily flipping them off. Then everything felt like it was floating away from me as I went limp.

Huh… dying feels just like I remember it…

ooo000<^>000ooo

“We lost her!” Lenrick hissed, slamming a fist into a stone next to him, cracking it down the middle.

Domitor stood silently behind the man, awkwardly watching him.

“You distracted me, you brat,” he growled, throwing the blame right onto Domitor’s shoulders.

“I… did not,” the stallion said slowly, watching as the man turned to face him, a sword appearing at his side.

“If we do not find her, Lorenzo will kill both of us.”

“My father won’t-”

“Shut up, kid. We’re not playing ponies anymore, this is the real world. This isn’t a game anymore. Lorenzo is-” he was interrupted by some kind of creature slamming into him, tackling him to the ground.

Domitor jumped back in horror as the muscled creature roared and tried to get at the man beneath it. The creature looked like a male Kejtdra, like Mallogory, but had red fangs and crazy eyes. Its body looked wrong, with bulging muscles and sagging skin.

It’s mouth snapped down at Lenrick as he used his sheathed sword to hold the creature back, but just barely.

Another one came around the rock behind them, and began to stalk towards Domitor.

He stared at the sight before him, his eyes wide as this was the first time he’d ever faced a real threat.

The creature moving towards him roared and flexed its body, causing broken bones to extend out of its body, forming blades.

As it stalked towards him, watching his movements, the young stallion composed himself. His eyes locked with the creatures and his hoof shot to his side and gripped the blade, attaching it to his hoof.

Now ready to attack, the creature lunged towards him.

Domitor flicked his hoof to the left and shot his tendril into the ground, dodging out of the way just as it reached him. Then in one fluid motion, he attached the tendril to the back of the creature and shot over, slamming the blade into its neck. He snapped his hoof over and attached it to the other creature attacking Lenrick.

Pulling himself towards the struggling pair, he twisted his blade hard, cutting the head from the creature he was on and zoomed towards the next one. He flung past it, his blade flashing across its head, splitting it down the middle at the ears.

He hit the ground and slid across it on all fours, turning to face Lenrick as he held up the now dead creature.

Lenrick stared at him with wide eyes as he shoved the creature off of himself and stood up. “What was that, kid?!”

Domitor just blinked at him, smiling sheepishly, “I uh… I’ve been training… a lot…”

“Shit, that was impressive!” Lenrick said as he walked over and slapped his back. “Keep that up and I might actually start to like you!”

This brought a smile to Domitor’s face as Lenrick looked around, frowning.

“We still need to find her, otherwise we’re both dead,” he said, waving for Domitor to follow him. “Come on, kid, let’s get this bitch.”

A feeling of warmth ran through his body, as this marks the first time any of them had not talked down to him. “Coming!” he yelled as he ran after the man.

ooo000<^>000ooo

A few hours later

“Ah shit,” I moaned as I rolled over onto my side, followed by a rough coughing fit as I felt a bit of pressure on my lungs.

“Shayla, do not panic,” Rosemary said from next to me. “You were saved by an old Kejtdra who was able to stop the bleeding and repair some of the damage with what I think was a Thorn.”

Looking around, I found that I was in some kind of bedroom, a very nice and tidy bedroom at that. There wasn’t much to speak of, just a few portraits on the walls and a chair in the corner. Next to me was a medical tray covered in my honey colored blood. Nice.

Sitting up, I winced, feeling a stinging pain in my chest. But I pushed through it as I climbed out of bed and trotted towards the door, holding a hand to my chest as I walked. Upon pushing the door open, I found myself in a nice looking living room.

“You shouldn’t be up,” someone said from across the room.

Glancing over I saw that it was indeed an older male Kejtdra, a rifle of some kind laying across his lap.

“What’s the gun for?” I asked cautiously, getting ready to dash away if needed.

“Precautions,” he replied, gesturing to a chair on the other side of a coffee table form him. “Take a seat.”

“Think I’ll stand,” I replied evenly.

“Suit yourself,” he said as he adjusted the rifle so it was easier to raise and fire. “Mind telling me what I just witnessed?”

“What’d you see?” I asked carefully.

“You and those other creatures appearing out of nowhere and then one of them gunned you down like a rabid animal,” he said, revealing he knew of what happened to me.

“That’s basically it,” I said with a shrug. “I got tricked and betrayed, nothing much to it.”

“What are you?” he asked next, moving right along with the questions.

“Erm,” I muttered, not actually sure how to answer that. “Part pony part Kejtdra?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

I scowled at him, narrowing my eyes, “What is this, old man? Twenty questions?”

“Just making sure I didn’t save a monster,” he deadpanned, keeping the gun level with the floor under me. “So you’re telling me you’re a hybrid? Of a pony and a Kejtdra? How’d your parents make that happen?”

“They did the deed?” I said crudely, then rolled my eyes. “I dunno, they used magic or some shit. Why’s it matter?”

He eyed me hard, then laughed, lowering the gun, “lady, I wouldn’t tell anyone that. Hybrid’s are rare here, and require literal divine intervention to happen. If you tell the wrong person you were made with magic, they’ll probably do something rash with you. Lot of religious folk around here.”

“Duly noted,” I said with a frown. “Why’d you even save me?”

“Believe it or not, because it’s the right thing to do,” he said, placing the rifle down next to him and sitting back. “Lucky you. You'd've died within a few minutes if I hadn't shown up when I did.”

“I guess thank you,” I muttered, walking over and finally taking the seat ahead of him.

“Now, mind telling me what you’re doing here? Because I can clearly tell you’re not from around here,” he said, leaning back and cupping his hands over his stomach.

“Like I said, got tricked,” I repeated, leaning back and propping my head up with a hand. “I was supposed to bring some people here and then do whatever I want, then head home. But now I’m trapped here.”

“I see,” he said, looking me over. “What about that body of yours? I could barely make any cuts in you to get to those bullets.”

“Got Ego covering my bones and nerves,” I said casually, getting a raised eyebrow from him. “You know, Ego? The Soul? Gives you all kinds of cool powers and shit?”

“Lady,” he said, chuckling, “I do not know what you’re talking about. What you’re describing sounds like a Thorn, but those are very rare.”

“This isn’t a Thorn,” I said with a touch of annoyance. “I got something called Egonetics, and it makes my body super tough, at least my nerves and bones. At least till I get some sweet upgrades.”

“I’m barely understanding a word you’re saying now, lady,” he laughed. “But okay, you have something in you that’s hard to cut through, got that. That explains why I couldn’t just cut down to the bullets and had to dig around so much.”

“Thanks by the way, for saving me,” I forced out, not used to thanking others.

He just waved me off, “it was the decent thing to do.” Then he leaned forward, smiling. “Now, what of that name of yours?”

I wasn’t sure if I should tell him my name, felt wrong since I didn’t know him.

“I believe we can trust him,” Rosemary said from my side.

“Shayla Beltosh,” I answered, getting a nod from him.

“Beltosh, that’s a vaguely familiar name,” he said, looking to search his mind. “Ah, yes, they own the little firearms workshop over in Frokinko, the city inside that giant tree you can see in the distance.”

Looking out the window to my right, I indeed saw a massive tree far in the distance. I forgot we were shrunk down here.

“Wait,” I said, looking back to him, “My mom’s family is there?”

“If it’s the same Beltosh’s, then yep. I’m actually heading into the city tomorrow if you want to tag along,” he said with a warm smile.

“Nah, I’ll fly there,” I said as I flexed my wings.

“I’d advise against that,” he said, pointing to a painting on the wall. It depicted a massive bird attacking a train car with a few Kejtdra shooting at it. “We got massive avians that fly around and will snatch anything out of the sky they see.”

“That’s dumb,” I grumbled, pulling my wings back into myself.

“Besides, you need to rest a night. The wounds you have will need two more sessions with my Thorn before you’re back to normal,” he said, holding up his right hand to reveal a glowing hole in it, just like my mom’s.

“You have a Thorn?”

He chuckled and nodded, “I do. It’s not an amazing one, but it gets the job done. I’m able to heal most wounds, but nowadays it takes a few sessions before I can fix the problem.”

“Fine,” I said reluctantly, sitting down. “I’ll wait around till tomorrow, but only because I need to get healed.”

“Of course,” he said as he stood up. “You hungry?”

“Starving! What you got?” I asked, mouth starting to water.

My actions seemed to amuse him as he moved for the doorway to a kitchen. “By the way,” he said as he reached the door, glancing back at me, “name’s Raffy Gerges by the by.”

“Raffy’s a funny name,” I commented, getting a smile out of him.

“Guess it is,” he said, moving into the kitchen. “Hope you like meat.”

“Love it!” I yelled after him.

Now that I was alone, I sat back, rubbing my chest as I examined it more closely. I had three bullet wounds that were now just scars, two on the chest and one on my neck.

I was so lucky back there…

“Incredibly lucky,” Rosemary said as she flopped down on a couch. “It’s my fault.”

“Nah, it’s my fault, I didn’t approach this situation very well,” I admitted, sighing loudly.

“No, I recognized Lorenzo the moment he swapped his forms, but I was too shocked to react properly. Then seeing Leem again…” she said, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Is Leem the one who…”

“Yeah, it was both him and Lorenzo. Lorenzo is the one who really killed me, but Leem is the one who ate half of me…”

“Geez,” I muttered, shuddering at the thought. “My mother spoke a bit about Leem… but they were sure he and Lorenzo were dealt with.”

“Apparently not,” she deadpanned.

“Yeah, apparently not,” I mumbled, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

Now what?

New Quest! 'Rank C: Travel to Frokinko!'

... thanks, Ego.

Author's Note

Going to post this again, since the old video seemed to have messed up when I first uploaded it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZczNAtiUm38&ab_channel=DJDisrupt

Skip to 16:05 if you just want to watch something funny.

I used to be an Adventurer like you

Chapter 16

Domitor and Lenrick continued down the road they’d found, heading for what appeared to be a massive tree in the distance. It was almost night time, with that weird skull moon thing starting to peak over the mountains in the distance.

“We need to find shelter for the night,” Lenrick said, a dark look on his face. “Lorenzo has done a lot of research on this dimension, and at night those things we fought are much more active. Plus other threats.”

“Okay,” the stallion said, looking around. “How will we find shelter?”

Lenrick chuckled, pointing to a dirt path up ahead that had a few warnings posted on it. “Simple, we walk up to someone's house and ‘ask’ to stay the night.”

“Ah,” Domitor said, nodding slowly.

The pair made their way down the pathway, which led to a large house with rocks surrounding it, pressed up against the outside of the building on all sides. Only the front was visible as they approached.

“Quaint little house,” Lenrick chuckled.

As they approached the front porch, a large mean looking Kejtdra male stepped out, a large rifle held in his claws.

“Stop right there!” he bellowed, pointing the gun right at the pair, causing them to come to a stop.

“All yours kid,” Lenrick said with a smirk.

Domitor frowned, but cleared his throat, “Um, we-”

“Did you not read the MANY signs?! Trespassers will be shot on sight!” he yelled, pointing the gun at Domitor.

“We did, but it’s almost night time and-”

“And? And nothing! Should have thought of that before traveling this late!” he then narrowed his eyes, “what are you two supposed to be?”

“My good sir,” Lenrick said, taking a few steps forward.

“Stop!” the Kejtdra yelled, but Lenrick kept slowly walking forward.

“We only require a single nights rest, surely you can-”

The angry Kejtdra fired his gun, sending a small ball of energy into the ground right in front of Lenrick.

“That was a warning!” he yelled. “Leave, now!”

“That bullet traveled pretty slow compared to what I’m use to,” Lenrick said with a smirk as his hand grabbed the hilt of his sword.

“Don’t do it,” the Kejtdra warned, raising the gun to level it with the man.

But Lenrick just kept walking forward. Another gunshot rang out as he fired a shot for Lenrick’s chest. In one quick motion, his sword flashed and deflected the pink ball of energy, and he dashed forward.

The Kejtdra began to fire quickly, clearly panicking as Lenrick closed the distance, dodging and deflecting any shots that came at him.

As he neared, he sprang into the air and landed next to the Kejtdra, crouching down next to him with his sword now embedded into the ground behind the rifle wielding man.

The large Kejtdra stood there, wide eyed as he let out a cough and fell to the ground, coming apart at the chest from where Lenrick’s sword sliced through him.

“They always die so easily,” Lenrick commented as he stood up and wiped his sword off on the dead Kejtdra’s shirt. “Come on, Dom, let’s clear the house.”

Domitor walked up, frowning at the dead man. “Did we have to kill him?”

“If it makes you feel better,” Lenrick chuckled, “then it was self defense. He fired first, so I acted appropriately.”

“I guess so,” he muttered.

With a grunt, the man kicked the door open and stepped inside, “Now, let’s check out our new digs.”

The two stepped into the house, taking everything in.

“Uh oh, our friend out there had a family,” Lenrick said, nodding to a portrait by the front door of a solemn looking family, with the parents and three kids. “You take the upstairs, I’ll clear the first floor.”

“What do I do if I find them?” Domitor asked hesitantly.

“What do you think, kid?” he laughed, walking for what looked to be a messy living room.

Reluctantly, he walked upstairs, his sword shaking a bit in his hoof as he walked on his hindlegs.

The first two rooms yielded no results, thankfully, which just left three more doors to check. The next one was a bathroom with nothing of interest inside. As he approached the next door and put his hoof on it, a pink ball blew through it, barely missing him.

He yelped in a panic and shoved through the door, rushing in to find a female Kejtdra standing there with a pistol in her hands. In one motion, he sliced the pistol from her hand just as she fired again, the pink bullet flying past his left cheek.

“Stop!” he hissed in a quiet voice. “I’m not going to hurt you!”

“Lies you monster!” she yelled back, backing up to stand next to her children. One of them handed her a second pistol and she leveled it with him.

“Wait wait wait!” he said, flipping his sword and putting it back in its sheath on his slide. “See? I’m not going to-”

“You murdered my husband!” she hissed, her finger starting to pull the trigger.

“My friend did, but I didn’t!” he pressed, trying desperately to defuse the situation.

But she didn’t let up as she pulled the trigger.

With a flick of his hoof he pulled himself across the room, just as the bullet zipped through the air where his head had just been.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I swear!” he said in a low voice. “Just take your kids and-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Lenrick suddenly appeared in the room, his blade flashing like mad as everyone screamed. But after a few seconds, everything fell quiet.

“Dom,” he said as he slowly stood up amid the carnage, “I get you haven’t killed anyone yet. But you need to get over that, right now.”

“I-”

“If you’re going to be one of us, you can’t hesitate or try to spare anyone who has a weapon on you,” Lenrick said, wiping some golden blood from his face and sword. “Next time I may not be here to save you.”

“I’m sorry,” Domitor grumbled, lowering his head.

“Yeah, you got a lot to learn, kid,” Lenrick said as he walked for the door. “Now come on, I found something that looks like alcohol, ever drank before?”

“Erm, no?”

“Perfect!” Lenrick laughed loudly, giving Domitor a rough shove. “Let’s see your tolerance for a good time then!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next morning

“I hate this shit already,” I mumbled as I performed my daily quest, doing push ups in the dirt outside Raffy’s house.

“It’s worth it,” Rosemary said as she sat on my back as I went up and down. “Besides, at least you only have to run today, no flying.”

“I hate running,” I grumbled as I finished the required number of push ups and rolled over onto my back to do sit ups.

She just laughed as she watched me work out, “you complain as much as Loric.”

“Didn’t I ask you to stop comparing me to him?” I asked with a touch of annoyance.

“So you talk to yourself as well?” Raffy asked as he stood in his doorway, holding a cup of something hot in his claws.

“I have another soul inside of me,” I replied casually, causing him to chuckle. “She bugs me all the time. Keeps me on track too I guess.”

“You’re just full of surprises.”

I smirk as I keep up my work out, “trust me, you’ve seen nothing yet.”

Once I finished my sit ups, that just left a five mile run. Yay.

“Do you work out like this every morning?” he asked, stepping outside and walking over to a large vehicle with large wheels.

“Every morning, every day,” I replied, getting ready for a long jog around the property.

“Ah youth,” he said back as he put his cup down on the large truck and grunted as he climbed up to check on the engine.

I looked over at him as he struggled to open up parts of the truck to get at the engine. “Uh, need help?”

“No, I do not,” he said in a voice that insisted he did not want my help.

Ignoring him, I flew over and began to open all the hinges on the truck and pulled back the hood to reveal the engine.

He grumbled as he began to lean into the engine, “Thanks, lady.”

“No problem, old man,” I said with a wink as I flew back to my original spot and took off running, wanting to get this over with.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Daily Quest complete! 3 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 8 unspent skill points.

“Finally,” I groaned, coming to a stop right next to Raffy’s truck as he continued to work on it.

“I’d suggest spending your skill points, Shayla,” Rosemary said, causing me to roll my eyes.

I brought up the menu and looked at my attributes, trying to decide on which was the best way to spend them. Thinking back to what happened the day before, I decided to try and combat that.

Four points went into Perception, two into Brain Power, and two into Reflexes.

After hitting complete, I didn’t feel much different.

“Trust me, you are getting stronger, it just doesn’t seem like it since you’re only increasing your stats a little at a time,” she assured me.

I shrugged and walked over to Raffy. “So, what’s the plan here?”

He glanced back at me, covered in grease, “we’re going to town and I’ll drop you off at the Beltosh’s workshop.”

“Seems simple,” I commented, getting a laugh out of him. “It seems that way, doesn’t it?” Then he frowned as he looked me over, “however, you walking around on all fours makes you stand out. Makes you look like a feral Rust.”

“A Rust?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Raffy chuckled as he jumped down and turned to me, using a cloth to wipe his hands, “you have a lot to learn about this world, Ms. Beltosh.” He waved for me to follow him as he headed for the house, “simply put, a Rust is a corrupted person or creature. Nasty beast that’ll kill you for no other reason than to simply satisfy their bloodlust.”

“Sounds lovely,” I replied as we stepped into the house.

“Oh it is,” he chuckled, going to a sink to wash off the grim. “Now, we have one problem to address before we leave.”

“What problem?”

“We can’t have you walking around on all fours for one,” he said as he leaned against the counter. “Are you able to walk on two legs?”

“That’s child’s play,” I remarked as I stood up straight.

“Oh perfect! I thought we'd have to do something creative to fix that problem,” he laughed as he finished cleaning the grease off of himself. “Alright, I’m going to give you some of my clothes so you’ll fit in. Luckily, your head looks Kejtdra enough that you’ll pass for one as long as you keep a hood up.”

“I got to wear old people's clothing?” I asked with a frown, causing him to smirk.

“Nothing wrong with my clothing,” he remarked playfully.

“You’re wearing a dress suit with coveralls over it,” I deadpanned. “That makes no sense.”

He glanced down at himself and patted his clothes, “I think I look unique and snazzy.”

“Sure, unique for sure,” I chuckled as he waved me off and walked to his room, hunched over as he moved.

“You’ll be happy to know I used to be an adventurer,” he said as he disappeared into his room.

I just stood there in the kitchen doorway, waiting for him to return. He wasn’t gone long, and when he stepped out of his room he was holding a few bundled up clothes and some belts.

Raffy placed them on the couch and sat down in his chair, smiling at me as I stepped up to examine the clothing.

“Uh…” I muttered, seeing the clothing definitely did not match his current fancy look. “What kind of adventurer were you?”

He just laughed, slapping a knee, “a damn good one!” After laughing a bit more, he leaned back, folding his hands over his stomach, “I used to be a gunslinger, kid. Fastest shot this side of the planet.”

“Why’d you stop?” I asked, lifting up a jacket and examining it. It had a symbol on the back; just a simple laughing Kejtdra face with two revolvers crossed behind it.

“Old age,” he said sadly. “Got to the point I can’t draw and fire my gun without my hand shaking.”

“Shit sucks,” I said in sympathy as I began to put the clothes on.

“It sure does,” he muttered, sitting there looking to be lost in thought.

Once I’d got all the clothing on, I stepped over to the only mirror in the room, checking myself out. And I had to admit, I looked good. Like really good!

I had a black bulletproof vest on over my chest, with a wicked cool jacket on over it with a high collar that reached up to my ears. Under the vest was a second lighter jacket that had a hood attached to it, which hung out behind my head and over the high collar. The pants themselves were loose fitting at the top, but the lower part of the legs were held tight to my legs with straps that needed a bit of adjusting to fit properly.

A set of belts wrapped around my waist, with plenty of attachment points for any kind of gear I could think of. Two empty holster’s sat on either side of my waist, as he hadn’t provided anything to go with them. The only downside was my wings were hidden under the clothing.

“Can we cut holes for my wings?” I asked, getting a shrug from him.

“We could, but wings are not normal here. You’ll stick out like a sore claw if you have wings sticking out your back,” he reasoned.

“I guess you’re right,” I muttered, giving myself a spin. I left the jacket unzipped, choosing to show off the bodyarmor for the cool factor. “This outfit does not fit you at all. This is straight up a rebel’s outfit.”

“I was fun in my youth,” he chuckled, then he gestured to my empty holsters. “Sorry for not providing pistols, I sold mine a long time ago.”

“It’s alright,” I replied, raising my claws and clenching them into fist, “I’m better with my hands anyways.”

“And you’re able to fight while standing up?” He asked, “because from here on out you’ll have to stand up on two legs, otherwise you’ll blow your cover.”

“What happens if I blow my cover?”

“People will treat you harshly, and some might even attempt to do you harm. We’re at a… strange time in our history right now. Lots of mistrust going around at the moment.”

“Noted,” I said with a frown as I flipped the hood up. “Well luckily for both of us, I’ve spent most of my life learning to fight on my hindlegs.”

With a grunt, he pulled himself up. “Well, Ms. Beltosh, you ready to get your adventure underway?”

I smirked as I gave him a finger gun, “you know it, old man.”

He reached down and picked up a pair of cloth wrappings. “Almost forgot, wrap these around the hair on your tail. It’s a dead give away.”

This wiped my smirk from my face as I took the wrappings and whipped my tail up to myself, “this is just dumb.”

As he walked for the front door, I wrapped my tail tightly, making sure all the hair was hidden from view. I ran the wrappings up my tail a bit, making sure they were tight and secure. Once I was sure they weren’t coming loose, I followed after Raffy.

“Come on,” he called out from the driver seat of his large truck. “We got a few hours' drive ahead of us.”

I sprinted over to the passenger side and pulled myself up into the truck's cabin, taking my seat and throwing my legs up and reclaimed back like I owned the place.

“Comfortable?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Very,” I replied, putting my hands behind my head.

He rolled his eyes and turned the truck on and put it in reverse, backing down his driveway carefully.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“A city that is built into a massive tree?” Henbeck, formerly Hester, commented as the group stood before a gate that blocked their path into the city before them.

“I love mega cities,” Lorenzo said with a wide grin, “anything can happen.”

Leem licked his lips as he stared up at the city. “Walking all night was worth it for sure. I can smell something… tasty.”

“Henbeck, you’ll use your invisibility to get us through that checkpoint, then you and Leem will remain invisible. Can’t have him scaring everyone away,” Lorenzo ordered, getting nods from everyone.

“We have a week to kill, so let’s do some time killing,” he said with a sinister grin as Hester reached out with his Ego and attached it to everyone, turning them invisible.

Roadblock

Chapter 17

“Get up, Dom,” Lenrick said as he kicked at Domitor as he laid on the couch.

The stallion groaned as he sat up, his head pounding as he swept a few bottles off of himself.

“You really smashed those last night,” Lenrick laughed as he tossed a water bottle at Domitor.

He wasn’t fully aware yet, so the bottle just smashed into his face and fell into his lap. “Ouch…” he mumbled as he grabbed it and bit it open, drinking all of it in one go.

“You must have some mad demons in that head of yours to drink that much,” the man joked, holding up a pair of keys. “I found some kind of vehicle out in a side garage, so our trip just got a lot easier.”

Domitor groaned as he sat up, his head still hurting, “I don’t actually remember last night…”

“Nothing to remember,” Lenrick replied. “You hogged all the drinks and passed out.”

“Sorry,” he muttered.

Lenrick just laughed and stepped over, slapping his back. “You’re alright, kid.”

This brought a smile to Domitor’s face as Lenrick walked for the front door.

The pair walked outside and over to a detached garage that stood by itself by the rocks around the house. With a heave, the man threw open the doors, revealing a bulky vehicle with tires that were a bit bigger than Domitor thought they needed to be.

“What about the… bodies?” he asked as Lenrick jumped into the drivers seat.

“What about them?” he asked, seeming more interested in the vehicle than answering the stallions' questions.

“Should we bury them?”

Lenrick just chuckled, shaking his head, “you have a LOT to learn about rolling with this crew, kid. Jump in, nature will sort them out.”

Reluctantly he jumped into the passenger's seat as Lenrick turned the key, causing the truck to roar to life.

“Oh now that’s good,” he exclaimed as he revved the engine a bit. He shifted the gear and the truck lurched forward violently. As they pulled out of the driveway he opened his pocket dimension and pulled out a beer from another dimension.

“Should you be drinking? I feel like that does not go with driving,” Domitor commented, but Lenrick’s only response was to crack it open and begin to drink from the can.

“Trust me, this makes operating machinery so much more fun,” he assured the young stallion as they shot out onto the road and began to barrel down it at increasingly alarming speed.

“Oh geez…” Domitor muttered as he buckled himself in, eyes locked forward at the road ahead.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Breakfast is ready!” Scamp called out for the tenth time as she stood at the end of the hallway, waiting for their daughter to join them.

“Either she’s dead to the world, or she’s not here,” Mallogory said as she sipped her coffee and played her little game.

Scamp stomped down to her room and flung the door open, “Shayla Beltosh!”

But the room was empty, her bed unmade as usual. Her eye narrowed as she stomped back down the hallway to the kitchen. “Did she come home last night?”

“Yes?” Mallogory replied in an unsure tone, looking up from her game.

“Yeah, no, she didn’t,” Scamp growled as she pulled out her phone.

“She’s probably at one of her friends' houses again,” Mallogory said, trying to calm her down.

“And when she does she always tells us,” Scamp countered as she sent out a few texts, asking if her daughter was at any of her friends' houses.

“Love, she’s an adult, we don’t need to watch her every move anymore.”

Scamp frowned as she started getting a few texts back saying no, she was not at any of her friends' houses. “I know, but I feel like something is wrong.”

“Your instincts are usually spot on…” Mallogory admitted, sighing as she put her game down. “What’s the plan?”

With a twitch of her eye, she moved for the front door, “I’m going to go and speak with her little friends. One of them will know where she’s at.”

“I’ll head to a few of her favorite places,” Mallogory said as she stood up and followed after her wife.

Scamp grumbled to herself as she stepped outside, flaring her wings. This was one of the rare times she hoped her instincts were wrong and her daughter was just playing hooky with one of her friends.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Azure Moon waved goodbye to the mother and her daughter as they walked away from her stall after buying a few items.

She sat back on her stool and chuckled as she went back to eating her breakfast and reading her book. It was a slow morning, but she preferred it that way, gave her time to relax before the lunch rush.

“Brought you breakfast,” a voice said from in front of her as a very fancy plate of food was placed down on top of her food.

Grumbling, she raised her head and glared at the stallion before her, “can’t you take a hint, Star Chaser?”

Champion just laughed, flipping his mane back with a charming smile. “I just wanted to make up for the dinner date, since I never got to pay for it like I promised.”

“Oh my Celetstia,” she groaned, pulling out her phone and writing out a text as he smiled at her.

“I had the royal chiefs make this for you, so it is top of the line quality,” he assured her, waiting for her to try it. But she kept writing out her text. He couldn’t see the words, but he could tell she was just writing one long text.

“If you’d like,” he continued, “I can take you to Rainbow Falls. It’s very beautiful this time of the year.”

She still did not respond to him, causing his eye to twitch as he adjusted his mask and cleared his throat.

“Oh my!” He exclaimed in a fake enthusiastic voice as he grabbed one of the little charms she sold. “This is marvelous, did you make it yourself?”

No response came from the mare as she typed away at her phone.

“Know what? I’ll buy your entire stock!” he exclaimed grandly as he opened a pocket dimension and pulled out a few bags of bits and tossed them down on the table. “That should free you up for the day, hm?”

Azure Moon growled a bit, and he could hear her heart rate increase as her blood pressure started to raise even further.

“My Moon, tell me what you desire and I will make it happen!” he declared loudly.

Finally, she hit send on her text and stared at him with very angry eyes.

He started to say something, but she held up her hoof. “Don’t speak, just sit here in silence for a moment.”

“But I want to-”

“Zip it!” she snapped, “you want to do something for me? Then just wait a moment.”

His eye twitched again, but he decided to listen to her and just stand there, the two locking eyes. A smile formed on his face as she held his gaze.

“Star Chaser!” Luna bellowed as she appeared right behind him.

“Mother?” he asked as he spun around, very confused as to why she was here, and yelling.

“You’re stalking and harassing Azure Moon?!” she screamed in her Royal Canterlot voice.

Champion turned to Azure Moon with a look of betrayal, “you called my mother?”

“Leave me alone!” she roared, slamming a ‘CLOSED’ sign down and stomping away from her stall.

He took a step after her.

“STAR CHASER!” Luna roared as she flashed her horn, causing both of them to appear in her chambers.

With a growl, he turned to face his mother, eye twitching non-stop now, “mother, you do not know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” she said in her normal voice. “I’m saving you from yourself! Azure Moon is terrified for her life because of you!”

“She has no reason to be!” he roared back at her, squaring up with her.

She just stared at him with sad eyes, “what happened to my son? The little colt who was rambunctious but had a heart of gold?”

“I’m still him,” he growled, glaring at her. “I’m just better now, perfect in all ways.”

This caused her to sigh, as she knew she wouldn’t get through to him this way. “Going forward, you are forbidden from interacting with Azure Moon or her family.”

“You can’t control my life like that, mother,” he said evenly.

“You’re right, your mother can’t control your life like that,” she agreed as she stood up tall and firm, “but the Princess of Equestria can. I, Princess Luna, hereby forbid you from having any further contact with Azure Moon or her family. Do you understand me?”

His eyes began to glow purple, but she held her ground, not backing down to his idle threats. With a sneer, he snapped his eyes shut, “fine. I understand.”

“Good,” she said, using her magic to open her door. “Leave me. Return when you are ready to start acting like the heir to the throne and not a ruffian off the streets.”

“Yes, Princess,” he said with a scowl as he walked out of the room and slammed the door.

Once he was gone, she cast a spell on the room, muffling the sound. Then she fell to her knees, tears on her face as she let out a sob.

She raised her eyes to a large portrait of herself, her kids, and her husband, all standing together and smiling. “Oh Frederic… this is nearly impossible without you by my side…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I continued to use my claw to pick at my teeth as we flew down the road at a steady pace. We’d talked for a bit, or at least I mostly talked. It’s a habit of mine, but it’s his fault for asking a loaded question that caused me to go on a long winded explanation of my friends and family.

Right now though, we were just being silent, which was perfectly fine with me.

But as I sat there, I could hear a sound slowly getting louder. It sounded like… music?

“You hear that?” I asked, causing him to look over at me.

“Hear what?”

“I dunno, sounds like music,” I said as I looked around as the sound grew louder.

“Ah, you’re starting to hear the Amber Breeze,” he said with a chuckle.

The name sounded familiar to me, and upon thinking about it, I realized my mom had indeed told me about it. Apparently this world played music inside of everyone’s heads. I honestly don’t know how that works, but I always thought it was a cool concept.

“What music are you hearing?” he asked.

Focusing on it, I realized it was a song I think I’d heard before, but I couldn’t place it. But it had a badass guitar riff to it.

“Rock music?” I replied, causing him to shrug.

“Rock music? Sounds weird, kid.”

“Oh yeah? What about you?”

“Soothing flute music,” he said with a smile.

“And you said mine was weird?”

He started to reply, but stopped as his face fell into a grimace. “Ah shoot. I was hoping they wouldn’t be out today…”

“Who?” I ask as I lean up and look out the front window, seeing a few cars up ahead, parked across the road as a makeshift roadblock while a few Kejtdra stood in front of them. I could clearly tell they were all armed in some way or another.

“Local gang from the lower levels of Frokinko,” he said as he began to slow down as we approached them.

“What do we do?” I asked, slightly nervous.

“I’ll handle it, they just want us to pay a toll,” he replied in a reassuring tone. “This is actually very common in this area. And besides, they usually only want a few Fazoles.”

“Fazoles?”

“Our currency, kid,” he answered as he opened a compartment in the truck and pulled out a small sack. “I keep some tucked away for just this occasion. So just sit back and let me handle this.”

“You got it,” I said, watching as we came to a stop a few feet away from the makeshift roadblock.

“Out of the truck, old timer,” someone on his side of the truck yelled out.

“Of course,” he said as he opened his door and climbed out, grunting as he did.

I stayed where I was, looking around nervously at all the Kejtdra around us. They were all males, and looking mean as fuck to boot.

“Heading to Frokinko?” one of them with a gruff voice asked.

“Yes, just a market run is all,” Raffy replied, not sounding nervous at all.

“Got the toll?”

Raffy chuckled as I heard the sounds of coins jiggling, “right here, son.”

“Right,” the gruff voice said as it sounded like he snatched the coin bag from him and shook it. “Sounds kinda light.”

“That’s the normal amount you all ask for,” Raffy protested.

The truck jerked as something landed on my door. I jumped and turned my head to see a nasty looking Kejtdra staring in at me, a large smile on his face.

“Hey! He’s got a woman with him this time!” the one staring at me yelled.

“Oh?” the gruff voice laughed. “Who’s your friend, old timer? You’re always alone when I see you.”

“It’s my niece,” Raffy answered, sounding very confident in his words.

“Niece?” the gruff voice asked as the truck shook again as a very rough looking Ketjdra climbed up on the driver's side to peer in at me.

I glared back at him, resisting the urge to say something snide in response to his wide smile.

“Change of plans, old timer,” the large Ketjdra said as he jumped off of the truck and landed on the ground. “Tolls increased. Leave the girl and you can pick her up on the way back from the city.”

“Ain’t happening,” Raffy stated.

“Either you agree willingly,” the voice said as I heard Raffy grunt. “Or we do this my way. I suggest you think carefully before answering again.”

A growl escaped my lips as I unbuckled myself.

“You want more Fazoles? I’ll fish out some more,” Raffy said in a voice that sounded a bit strained.

“Wrong answer, old timer.”

“Hey!” I yelled out as I began to move across the seats, but the Kejtdra at the window reached in and grabbed me by the arm. Without any hesitation, I spun around and slammed my fist into his faceplate, snapping his head back and causing him to fall off of the truck.

Now free of his grasp, I climbed across the seats and jumped out the driver's side door, landing between Raffy and the rough looking Kejtdra.

“Coming out willingly to save grandpa?” he asked with a toothy grin. “Smart move, princess.”

I looked around, seeing they were all looking at us, sly smirks on all of their faces.

“Shayla, don’t,” Rosemary warned from atop the truck.

New Quest! ‘Rank A: ‘Roadblock!’

“Get back in the truck,” Raffy groaned from behind me.

“No, walk your pretty little self over to my truck,” the Kejtdra commanded as he reached out to me.

New music began to play in my head. Perfect fit.

As his hand reached my shoulder, I grabbed hold of it and yanked himself into me, slamming a knee into his gut. The sudden attack caught him off guard as he started to double over. But as he fell I slammed a fist into his head, causing it to bounce off of the side of the truck.

Once he was on the ground, I turned to face the now stunned Kejtdra around us.

They didn’t remain stunned for long as they began to yell and raise their weapons.

I dashed forward as time seemed to slow as I examined each of them in turn, picking out the weakest to the strongest based on appearance alone.

Like a freight train I slammed into the skinniest one, sending him flying back into one of the cars, leaving a decent dent in it. Using my built up momentum I sprang to the right and slammed a fist into another's face, sending him skidding back as I spun my body sideways, catching another in the face with a back leg. In that same spin I grabbed the gun from one I was kicking and slammed it into my right hand.

I rolled across the ground and fired two shots into the leg of the largest Kejtdra in the area. As he roared in pain, the others finally got a bead on me and began to fire all at once on my current position. Just as before, time seemed to slow as I took everything in and dived to the right, getting behind some cover as pink balls of energy slammed into everything around me.

Looking around, I saw that I was near one of the trucks. Perfect, just avoid getting shot.

Preparing myself, I sprinted forward, the bullets whizzing all around me as I jumped behind the truck. A Kejtdra ran around suddenly and pointed his gun at me.

My eyes went wide as he fired, but I was ready and dodged it at the last second, I then lunged forward and knocked the gun out of his hand, followed by a perfect uppercut to his chin.

He yelped and collapsed, but wasn’t out of the fight yet. But the moment I pointed my gun down at his face he stopped moving.

“Got a deal for you,” I said as pink bullets pelted the truck behind me. “Wanna live? Step out there and tell them you got me.”

“What?!” he asked in surprise.

“You heard me, tell them you knocked me out,” I said, my glare causing him to frown. “Or I shot ya here.”

“Fine,” he groaned as he stood up, my gun still on him.

“Guys!” He yelled, still looking at me. “Guys, I got her! She’s unconscious!”

The bullets stopped as I heard they all yelling for confirmation.

“Go on,” I said, waving the gun to the right.

Reluctantly, he walked out around the truck and stood there, staring off at the others.

“You really get her?” someone yelled.

“Yep,” he yelled back as he glanced at me. “Got her.”

“Way to go, Helmta!”

Rosemary appeared on top of the truck, looking in their direction. “They’re coming this way.”

‘Grouped up?’

“Of course, looking pretty proud of themselves.”

‘Nice, tell me when they’re close enough,’ I thought to her as I rolled my neck and swapped the pistol to my left hand.

After a moment, she gave me a thumbs up.

With that I shot forward and around the truck, slamming the gun into the back of the Kejtdra I’d forced to lie for me. The ones ahead were not prepared for me as all their guns were down.

As I sprinted across the ground at them, time seeming to crawl, I fired away with my pistol, hitting as many of their guns as I could.

They all began to yelp and howler at the sudden attack, but it was too late as I dived into the midst of them, turning into a ball of fury as I hit anything I could and broke as much as I could get my hands on. I even bite a few of them.

As I fought through the group, I grabbed a skinnier Kejtdra and swung him around, knocking a few others down as they advanced on me. I let him fly into another as I dashed to the side, slamming the pistol into one's face, following that up with a kick as I spun and fired into the knee of another.

Something hit me in the side, but I kept fighting, not relenting as I dropped them one at a time.

You see, the thing about being surrounded just means you have a lot of targets, while they have to all focus on you. So as long as I kept moving around sporadically and randomly, they couldn’t group up on me.

Despite my efforts, I was on the losing end of this fight, as some of the ones I’d previously dropped were starting to get back up.

“You need to start killing them!” Rosemary exclaimed as one grabbed me from behind.

“No!” I yelled as I jumped up and kicked both back legs into another's face as they approached from the front. I then came down hard with my legs and threw my body forward, sending the one holding me flying over myself. Once he landed on the ground, I jumped up and slammed a foot into his face.

“Shayla!” I heard Raffy yell.

I dodged a lung from one of the Kejtdra as I threw two punches into another's chest, causing him to back off as I broke something.

Looking towards Raffy, I saw he was in his truck and hand pushed through the two other trucks blocking the road.

But as I began to fight my way towards him, I saw the original gruff Kejtdra stomping towards me, a sword of some kind in his hand.

Shit.

Slamming an elbow into another's face, I sprang back as he sliced the air where I’d just been standing.

“Shayla duck!” Rosemary screamed.

Without thinking I immediately dropped to the ground as something massive flew over me.

Screams filled the air as the sounds of grinding metal could be heard. Jumping to my feet I saw that a rather large creature was ripping through the Kejtdra, easily cutting them down as almost none of them had weapons at this point.

“That’s a Rust!” Raffy yelled, causing me to turn and sprint for his truck.

I jumped into the back as he slammed his foot on the pedal, causing us to speed away from the carnage. Looking back I saw that the creature was focusing its attacks on the Kejtdra around it, and it was clear who was winning this exchange.

Raffy opened the back window and waved for me to come through it.

Carefully, I climbed through the small window and got into the cabin of the truck, returning to my seat.

“What was that?!” he snapped, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

“Nothing, I just did what needed to be done,” I said, grunting as I shifted around.

“No, that was stupid. Idiotic. Suicidal even!” he yelled, clearly very upset with what I’d done. “If that Rust hadn't been drawn to all that fighting, you’d’ve died back there!”

“But I didn’t,” I countered, giving him a shaky thumbs up as my adrenaline crashed.

He looked at me and sighed. “You’ve been stabbed, kid.”

“I have?” I said as I looked at my side, seeing a knife still sticking out of me. “Huh, whaddya know,” I said as I pulled it out, causing blood to start to pour out.

“Idiot,” he grumbled as he reached over and placed a hand on my wound. His hand started to glow as he slowly healed my injury. “I told you to stay in the truck.”

“They were hurting you,” I said as I winced in pain as the wound closed.

“Nothing I couldn't handle,” he muttered.

“Just be grateful, I saved our ass’s,” I mumbled, causing him to sigh.

“I’ll admit, those were some impressive moves. I’ve never seen someone fight a group with just their fist before, especially a fully armed group like that.”

“Eh, you can thank my mother,” I chuckled, feeling some relief as the pain slowly went away. “She specialized in group fighting and wanted to make sure I could handle myself.”

“Just try and listen to me in the future, yeah?” he begged.

I smiled at him and gave a thumbs up. “You got it.”

He shook his head with a small smile as he held his hand to my wound and focused on driving.

‘So,’ I thought to Rosemary as she appeared between us. ‘Did I just slow down time back there?’

“No,” she laughed, shaking her head. “You’ve unlocked some of your Ego though. You were able to increase your senses and process the world around you faster. That was just a taste of what you can do though, as you were only able to do that in bursts.”

‘Those bursts were pretty badass though,’ I thought as a smile formed on my face. ‘I was moving so fast they couldn’t even keep up with me!’

Rosemary gave me a wink, “yep! Just wait till you actually master that ability. That’s when the real fun will begin.”

Quest Complete! 7 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 10 unspent skill points.

‘Oh shit, seven skill points and a level up?’

“Yep, that was a Rank A Quest. The Rank S quest award twelve though,” she said, smiling at my wide eyes. “Rank S+ give a whooping twenty five, just so you know.”

‘Shit…’ I smiled as I opened my menu, causing Raffy to raise an eyebrow at me since he couldn’t see any of it.

Thinking about it, I placed five into Strength, two to Brain Power, and three to Reflexes. Hitting accept, I brought up my Stats window to examine it.

Nice.

“You’re one weird lady,” Raffy chuckled, having watched me poke at the air in front of myself for a bit.

“Eh, you get used to it,” I said with a grin as I closed the menu and sat back, wanting to rest a bit after what I’d just gone through.

Strangely formed friendship

Chapter 18

Eye twitching.

Heart rate steadily rising and lowering at an alarming rate.

Flashes of furious purple that come and go.

Champion stood on the mountain top as he stared down at the two cities below. New Ponyville and Canterlot, both easily within view for him and his super sight.

He shook violently at random, each time vibrating the mountain below his hooves.

Try as he might, he could not calm his nerves or mind.

He felt… betrayed. By his mother, and by his future Queen. The two he trusted and loved most.

His upper lip twitched as he pulled off his mask, staring straight up into the bright sky above.

“Why?” he asked aloud, eyes narrowing as he shifted into his Royal Canterlot voice, “Why?!”

No response came, not that he expected one.

Growling, he sat down hard, shaking the mountain again. He lowered his gaze back on the towns below, his eyes focusing on New Ponyville as his entire head twitched to the side. His eyes glossed over as he lost himself in thought, just staring at the town with dead eyes.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Gate 16?” Domitor said as they drove towards a rather large wall with what looked to be a checkpoint at the base. He looked around as they drove down the road towards the checkpoint, seeing that the ground was completely barren all around the wall. The massive tree sat beyond the wall, and now that they were close he could see what looked like buildings built into the sides of the tree. “Whoa…”

Lenrick just chuckled as he watched the young stallion look up at the tree in awe. “Kid, I got to take you on a trip to some of my favorite locations. Because if that impresses you, then you haven’t seen nothing yet.”

“Will you?” Domitor asked, turning to the man with a smile.

He glanced over to the stallion and grinned, “yeah. We finish up this shit, I’m taking you to Chaz la’ Beltone. The most amazing place in all the dimensions.”

“What is it like?!” Domitor asked in an excited voice.

With a laugh he reached over and shook his shoulder, “if I tell ya, it’ll ruin it. You just gotta see it.”

“Thank you, Lenrick,” he said, smiling happily as he sat back in his seat.

Lenrick looked at him and sighed, “Dom, I’m sorry for treating you the way I did all those years.”

This caught Domitor off guard as he looked at him with wide eyes.

“We run our crew a certain way,” he continued, gripping the wheel tightly. “Lorenzo runs a tight ship, and you have to do things his way. But that’s no excuse, kid. I’ve been a real monster to you, and I’m sure the others will apologize once they get to know you.”

“What about my father?” he asked, lips trembling in anticipation.

“Lorenzo…” Lenrick muttered, glancing back to Domitor. “I’ll talk with him.”

Domitor let out a choked laugh as he tried not to overreact. “Thank you, Lenrick!”

“Don’t mention it, kid,” he chuckled. “You belong on our crew, and I know he’ll think the same way after I tell him how you’ve handled yourself.”

This brought absolute joy to Domitor as he sat there, mind racing with thoughts. “Lenrick…” he said after a moment.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Are we friends?”

This caused Lenrick to jerk a bit as he looked over at the hopeful face of Domitor. He didn’t respond right away as he stared at the young stallion, who was starting to slowly deflate.

“Yeah, kid,” he said with a smile. “We’re friends.”

A tear threatened to fall out of his eye as he turned and looked out the window, watching the barren scenery fly by. “Cool…”

“Cool,” Lenrick chuckled, slowing down as they approached the checkpoint.

“Follow my lead,” Lenrick said as he reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out what looked to be some gore and a Kejtdra’s faceplate. It took Domitor a moment to realize it was the faceplate of the Kejtdra who’d tried to shoot them as they approached the house last night.

Lenrick pulled out a charm and placed it on the gore and activated it. A light wrapped around him as he took on the form of the Kejtdra man, looking exactly like him.

He smiled at Domitor’s shocked face, turning his attention back to the checkpoint ahead.

A Ketjdra wearing a uniform stepped out of a guardhouse and walked into the road holding up a ‘STOP’ sign.

Obliging, Lenrick came to a stop right in front of the Ketjdra.

The uniformed male walked up to his window and climbed up, raising an eyebrow as he saw the two of them staring back at him.

“What are you supposed to be?” the man asked, looking at Domitor.

“Just my kid, someone cast a Thorn or something on him, so I’m coming into the city to see if I can find a cure,” Lenrick said, his voice sounding exactly like the Kejtdra he was mimicking.

“Damn Thorn users,” the man muttered, pulling out a device and scanning them. “Well you two are clear. Get in there, Hausod. I’ll tell my wife to send your wife a gift basket.”

This caused Lenrick to look a bit nervous, “Ah! Thank you, pal!”

The man chuckled and reached in, holding up his hand. “We still on for poker this weekend?”

“You bet!” Lenrick replied, taking his hand and giving it a solid shake.

He then looked at Domitor, “Is this Bel’lata, or Pulo?”

“Pulo,” Lenrick said back, looking even more nervous.

“Hang in there, Polly,” the man said, giving a nod to Domitor. “Someone in there can reverse this so you don’t always look that repulsive.”

Domitor frowned but gave a nod.

“Now hurry along you two, before my boss asks why I’m taking so long,” he said as he jumped off of the truck and waved to the guardhouse.

The gate ahead slowly opened. Lenrick gave a wave to the man as he pulled forward and drove through the checkpoint.

Once they were clear and driving towards a large city at the base of the tree, Lenrick began to laugh loudly.

“Oh fuck me! What are the odds he knew the guy I was pretending to be?!” he exclaimed as the disguise he was wearing flickered and faded away, returning him to his normal self. “That is some amazingly terrible luck, huh kid?”

“Yeah,” Domitor replied, smiling as he looked at the laughing Lenrick. “Some terrible luck for sure.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Thank you, sir,” Raffy said as he took back his I.D. from the border agent.

“Enjoy your shopping, Raffy,” the Kejtdra replied, giving him a smile and a nod.

“I always do, Uzztoh,” he said as he gave him a little wave and pulled through the checkpoint, passing under the massive sign that read ‘Gate 4’.

“That was simple,” I commented as I looked out the back window as we drove away from the checkpoint.

Quest Complete! 4 skill points awarded!

“I come here once a week, so they’re used to seeing me. Plus they like me, so telling them you were my niece was enough for them to not check your nonexistent I.D.,” he said with a smile as he drove down the road carefully, the base of the tree not that far from us.

There was a massive city around its base, and according to Raffy there was even more inside of the tree itself, going up the trunk and even down into the roots. A true mega city.

“So I’m going to take you to the Beltosh workshop as I promised, and I’ll be on my way,” he said, looking out the window, a frown on his face.

“Oh,” I said, realizing our time together was coming to an end. “Thank you, Raffy. I don’t know where I’d be right now if it wasn’t for you.”

“You’d be dead, twice over,” he replied, then sighed. “Just be careful out there, Shayla. This world is very dangerous, and if you’re not willing to kill anyone, then it’s even more dangerous.”

“I’ll be alright,” I said back, giving him my signature smile. “I can handle myself.”

“I was like you when I was younger,” he said with a frown, “I was the leader of the Laughing Drake’s, and they trusted me, the cocky asshole, with their lives.” He let out a sigh as he raised his sleeve, revealing a list of names burned into his arm.

I didn’t know how to respond to this as I stared at the names on his arm.

“Life hits hard sometimes, Shayla,” he said in a low tone. “And it hits those who think they’re on top the hardest. I thought we were unstoppable, and I led the Laughing Drake’s like we were. And now I’m here while they’re not.”

I let his words sink in, looking straight ahead as we began to enter the city proper.

“If anything, kid, take this one piece of advice,” he said, glancing at me, “put your friends first, and take note of their limitations. Don’t push forward if it means putting them in danger.”

“Sometimes you gotta take risks,” I countered.

He sighed, shaking his head, “while true, that will lead to the death of those you love. I may be old and bitter, but at least heed my warning and think about it.”

“I mean, I’ll think about it,” I replied, giving a small smile. “But I don’t plan to put my friends in danger. That’s why I’m here and they’re not.”

“Now, I’m not saying leave them out and do it all yourself,” he said as he rubbed his face. “There’s a balance, and you will need to find it on your own. I just hope you find it before you lose anyone.”

“I won’t lose anyone,” I said with a determined look. “That I know for a fact.”

“I hope, Shayla,” he sighed as he brought the truck to a sudden stop. “We’re here.”

“Already?” I asked, thinking it’d take longer to reach them. I actually wanted to keep talking to him.

“Yep, as luck would have it they’re on the way to the market for me,” he said, giving me a small smile. “Good luck out there. Just try and apply what you learned from me to your life, I promise it’ll help.”

“I’ll try,” I promised, feeling awkward as I didn’t know how to break contact with him. I honestly didn’t want to get out of the truck without him.

“You alright?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Yeah,” I muttered, looking out the window at the little shop before me. The words ‘Beltosh Armaments & Repairs’ were painted across the front of the building.

“Then on with ya,” he laughed, giving me a light shove. “Go on and continue your adventure.”

I frowned as I looked back at him. Somehow he’d grown on me to the point I’d actually miss him if I never saw him again. I wanted to say that to him, but I didn’t know how to voice those kinds of thoughts. So I did the best I could.

“Listen for me on the radio,” I said with a smirk as I flung open the door and jumped out. I turned around and grabbed the door, giving him a thumbs up.

He chuckled as he shook his head. “I’m gonna miss your attitude, kid,” he said as I closed the door.

The truck lurched forward as he began to drive away.

“I’m going to miss you too, Raffy,” I muttered, wishing I'd said that to him.

Once he turned a corner and was out of sight, I took a deep breath and turned around, staring at the workshop before me. It looked a bit run down, like it wasn’t even open. And I’d assume it was abandoned if it wasn’t for the blinking ‘OPEN’ sign on the door.

Walking over to the door I gave it a shove, causing it to open and ring a bell, announcing my arrival.

“Liles, customer!” someone yelled from within the building.

“I heard the dang bell, Liz!” someone else yelled, even further back in the building.

Hesitantly, I stepped into the dusty building, taking note of the rows of shelves covered in merchandise that lined the store's floor. In the back was what appeared to be a counter with a large register on it.

Honestly, I expected more with the way my mom talked about her family. She never told me what they did, but she said they were doing very well for themselves. This looked like they were barely surviving, with all the dust and dim lighting.

Near the back of the store an old male Kejtdra stepped out of a door and walked up to the counter. He eyed me with suspicion as I just stood there dumbly.

“Buying or browsing?” he asked, tapping his claw against the table.

“Uh.. neither?” I said, causing him to grunt and stand up straight.

“Did the Cakehurst send ya?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

“The what?” I asked in complete confusion.

He sighed and shook his head, “that answers that then.” He then looked me over, “so not a customer and not with the Cakehurst. What are you doing here then? Selling shit? We ain’t buying.”

“No, nothing like that,” I said as I walked towards him.

His eyes drifted to my legs, a look of repulsion came onto his face. “What is wrong with your legs? They’re all backwards.”

“Uh…” I muttered, not really sure how to answer that. “Do you know a Mallogory Beltosh?”

His eyes went wide at my sudden question as he looked me over more carefully. “Why do you ask?”

“She’s my mom,” I said, getting straight to the point.

“What?!” he yelped as a female stepped through the door, a half repaired pistol and some kind of tool in her hands.

“Mallogory’s daughter?!” she exclaimed, eyes wide.

“Uh… yeah,” I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head.

“Prove it,” the man said with disbelief on his face.

“How?” I asked as I stood at the end of the aisle by the counter, looking between the two of them.

“What is the Beltosh creed?” he asked, causing me to frown. My mom told me once, but it’s not like I could remember all that.

“How the fuck am I supposed to remember all that?” I asked, throwing up my hands, “I just remember it was long winded and full of stupid self righteous bullshit. She told me once and I thought it was the stupidist shit I’d ever heard before.”

“Yep, that’s Mallo’s daughter alright,” the woman commented, causing me to scowl at her. “Oh yeah, she’s got Mallo’s glare and attitude, that’s for sure.”

“Where is Mallogory right now?” the man asked.

“Why do you want to know?” I snapped back, suddenly losing my patience with them.

Instead of getting mad at my attitude, he just smiled, “I haven’t seen my daughter in over twenty years, so of course I’d want to know where she is.”

At hearing this, I looked between them, seeing them in a new light. “Wait, you’re her parents?”

“And apparently your grandparents,” the woman chuckled, putting down her items and walking over to stand before me. “Who’s your father?”

“Yeah, who?” the man asked as he walked around the counter. “I’m surprised she actually found another Kejtdra out there.”

“Um, I actually have two mom’s,” I replied, causing both of their eyes to go wide. “And my mother isn’t a Kejtdra,” I said as I pulled back my hood, revealing my mane and ears. “She’s a pony.”

This shocked them as they looked at me completely flabbergasted.

“I do not know what a pony is… but how?!” he asked, eyes locked to my ears. “Did the Gods provide their blessing?”

I started to answer truthfully, but remembered Raffy’s warnings. “Eh… I guess so? I don’t know the details to be honest.”

“This is a lot to take in,” the woman said as she stepped to the counter and leaned on it, her old face looking very conflicted.

“Where’s Mallogory?” he asked again, not looking as taking back as his wife.

“She’s still in my home dimension,” I answered, getting a sigh out of him.

“Ah, I’d hoped she’d’ve come with you,” he said with a dejected look on his face.

“Eh…” I awkwardly held out my hand to him. “Shayla Beltosh.”

He looked at my hand, then smiled as he took it. “Liles Beltosh, and this is my wife, and your grandmother, Liz Beltosh.”

I smiled at them as I shook his hand hard.

“Quiet a grip you got there,” he chuckled as he broke the handshake.

“Is there anyone else?” I asked, looking around. “Mom said the Beltosh family was fairly large.”

“You’re looking at the last two Beltosh’s alive on Eris,” Liz said with a sad sigh.

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We lost most of the family during a recent conflict that plagued the planet,” she answered, shrugging. “Liles and I only survived because we were here setting up this new shop and not in our home town with the rest of the family.”

“She’s glossing over it,” Liles said as he crossed his arms, looking up at the ceiling, lost in thought. “Some crazy guy named Rozilius wanted to be immortal or something and caused all the Rust in the world to go crazy. Then some Halwen got in a fight with him and that somehow led to a divine serpent covering the entire planet in its body.”

“Honestly, if it wasn’t for the complete annihilation of our family, I’d say it was one of the best days of my life, seeing that beautiful creature wrapping around the sky,” Liz said with a look of awe.

“I’m going to need the full story here,” I said, looking between them.

Liles nods at me, “of course. I love talking about that day, but I’d like to talk with you more first. You up to that?”

I sighed, as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play a game of twenty questions. “Sure, I guess.”

“Wonderful! Liz, put up the closed sign and get some snacks!” Liles exclaimed as he walked around the counter and headed for the door that led to the back.

“Get your own snacks,” Liz grumbled as she hobbled over to the front door and switched the signs.

“Coming?” he asked from the doorway as Liz hobbled right past me.

I just stood there dumbly again, smiling nervously. “Yep, coming…”

These guys may be my family, but that didn’t stop me from dreading talking about myself. Normally, that’s all I’d want to do, but not when it comes to my grandparents.

I wonder what my parents would say right now if they knew I was here with them?

We're a duo only

Author's Note

Forgot a single line of text in the last chapter. I've gone back and added it.

Just a simple Quest Completion that awarded her 4 points.

We're a duo only

Chapter 19

“No more,” Dude said, waving Roxxy off as she stood before him smiling widely.

“Come on! You can bet your magic, I’ll give it back!” she said excitedly, pacing around the garage they were in.

“No!” he yelped, grabbing his horn. “What if you don’t give it back?”

“I’ve given everything else back, haven’t I?” she said, giving him a pleading smile.

He groaned, then nodded, “fine. I bet my magic I can beat you at heads or tails.”

“Bad move, bro,” Nightstreak laughed as he grunted as he laid on the bench press, struggling a bit as he had the max amount of weight on the bar.

“Heads or tails?” she asked, holding up a coin.

“Tails,” he said with a sigh.

She flipped it and caught it, slamming it onto her hoof. A wide smile on her face. “Heads.”

“Of course,” he mumbled as he watched a stream of magic pour out of his horn and into her.

“Ooo!” she said, dancing around. “How do I use it?!”

“I dunno,” he said with a smirk. “Not like I know how to use magic after all.”

“Okay now you’re just being mean,” she complained as she glared at his smug look.

Summer Breeze groaned from her desk as she looked up at everyone, “why’d you all get cool and fun Ego’s, and I got one I have to study for?!”

“Because you’re the smartest one in the group,” Nightstreak grunted as he kept pumping iron.

A little spark of magic happened in front of Roxxy. “Oh yes! I’m figuring it out!”

Dude rolled his eyes and walked over to Nightstreak as he stood behind him, spotting him as he started to struggle to raise the bar. “What have you figured out so far, Summer?”

“I can heal scratches and simple things,” she replied, shaking her head. “I have to figure out how a body works before I can do anything useful though.”

“Looks like you’re going to be a Doctor like Aunt Twilight said you would be,” Nightstreak said as he started to shake, the bar no longer moving upward. “Ah crap!”

“Gotcha,” Dude said as he grabbed the bar and helped lift it back up and racked it.

“Shit, thanks,” he said as he sat up and leaned forward, breathing heavily.

“You’re pushing yourself, bud,” Dude said as he walked around him and picked up a towel. With a pop, he slapped it against Nightstreaks face.

“Gotta get these muscles up to spec,” he laughed, flexing his decently large muscles as he summoned his Ego guantlets. “That way I can live up to my Ego.”

Dude rolled his eyes again as he walked over to Roxxy as she struggled to cast a spell of any kind. “Magic back please.”

“Not yet!” she said, face straining as she tried to force magic to happen.

“Roxxy,” he said evenly, causing her to sigh.

“Fine, but I get to try again later,” she conceded as she pulled out her coin. “I bet your magic that I’ll get heads,” she said as he nodded in agreement. She flipped the coin, heads, “Shit.” She flipped it again, heads again. Three more times, all heads. “Come on!”

She kept trying as Dude watched in growing horror, believing he’d never get his magic back.

Finally, she landed a tails, “finally!” A trail of magic floated from her head back to Dude’s horn, causing him to sigh in relief.

“Hey guys, I figured something else out!” Flippy Dew yelled as everyone looked at her. She rubbed her hooves together and threw them out, causing two bowl shaped forcefields to appear before her. She jumped up into one and began to laugh as they began to move, closing up like a shell. “I can move them!”

“Well that’s fucking cool,” Nightstreak said with a smile.

“It sure is cool,” a voice said from behind them, causing all of them to go stiff. Slowly, they all turned to the door that led into the rest of the house, seeing Scamp standing there, glaring.

“Erm, hey, Sensei Scamp,” Nightstreak said with a weak wave. “What brings you to my house?”

“Shayla,” she stated calmly, causing all of them to look nervous. “Your faces say it all. Where is she?”

“Umm,” Roxxy began slowly.

“Do not lie to me,” Scamp warned, stepping into the garage with them. She then glared as she looked at Flippy Dew as she sat suspended in the air.

Flippy Dew smiled awkwardly as she got rid of the forcefields and landed on the ground.

She then looked to Nightstreak, staring directly at his Ego gauntlets. He blinked then sent them away, hoping she hadn’t noticed, even though she was looking right at him.

“... Where did you guys get Ego?” she asked, her eye twitching as she started to put things together.

“Uh…” Roxxy tried to think of an answer, but like everyone else, she had nothing.

“Uh?” Scamp mimicked back. “Okay, we’re going to do this simply. Viper Claw, line up!”

They all rushed forward, lining up before her, all looking a bit scared.

She began to walk along the line, staring at each of them. “Tell me exactly what happened? Where did you get your Ego’s and weapons?”

“Remember the guy Champion was fighting?” Nightstreak said, getting a nod from Scamp. “Um, that was a guy called Loric who was an Enforcer.”

This caused her to stumble a bit, as she hadn't expected that. Bronwyn has been searching everywhere for her friends, and now she’s hearing one of them was actually here. “Where is he?”

“Uh…” Roxxy mumbled, looking uncomfortable. “Dead.”

“Dead?” Scamp asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Champion wounded him and he died,” Dude added lamely.

“He made us Enforcer’s before he died and we went to the Enforcer’s personal dimension,” Flippy Dew said, causing Scamp to rub her face in frustration. “That’s where we met a short butler who gave us our Ego’s and Ego weapons.”

“Is my daughter there right now?” Scamp asked, sounding completely done with this situation already.

No one said a word.

Scamp stopped pacing and glared at them, their silence not setting well with her. “Where is she?”

They all looked at each other, seeming to try to convince someone to tell her.

“SPEAK!” Scamp yelled in her authoritative voice.

“She took Kal and his guys to Eris!” Flippy Dew yelped, falling out of the line and putting a forcefield around herself as she fell to the ground in the fetal position.

“What?” Scamp asked in a dangerously calm voice. “When?”

“Yesterday,” Roxxy mumbled, cowering a bit as Scamp started to shake.

“I found her Order Hall Dagger and Enforcer Dagger in my bags this morning,” Summer Breeze added, getting a few shocked looks from the others. “I didn’t want to worry anyone…”

Everyone looked to Scamp as she was trying to calm down, taking deep breaths. “Okay. My daughter took Kal and his cronies to Eris. When did she say she’d be back?”

“... a few hours,” Nightstreak admitted.

“When were you going to tell someone?” Scamp asked, a bit of anger in her voice despite her efforts to remain calm.

“... later?” Dude offered.

“Later,” Scamp mumbled, turning and slamming a hoof into a heavy bag, ripping it in half from the force of her hit. Everyone recoiled in fear as she stood there, sheathing in anger. She took a shaky breath and turned back to them, “let me get this straight. You all met Loric before he died, he made you Enforcers, then you got Ego’s from some butler in a personal dimension, then my daughter came back and took Kal to Eris, and was only supposed to be gone a few hours but has not returned in a full day.”

“And her daggers were in my bags…” Summer Breeze added quietly.

Scamp sat down hard on her flank and groaned loudly.

“Sensei Scamp,” Nightstreak began, causing her eye to snap to him. “It’s my fault that-”

“Don’t do the ‘it’s all my fault’ stick,” she deadpanned as she stood up and walked over to Summer Breeze and held out her paw. “Give me both of the Dagger’s.”

Without hesitation she ran over to her bags and pulled out the two daggers in question and ran them back to Scamp, laying them in her paw.

“You use them by-” she started, but Scamp waved her off.

“I know how to use them, I’ve gone on a few adventure’s with Bronwyn over the years,” she said, turning for the door. “You guys just hang out here. I’m going to get my daughter.”

“We can help,” Flippy Dew said as she stood up.

“Nope,” was all Scamp said as she closed the door, leaving them all standing there.

Nightstreak let out a loud sigh, “Shayla is going to kill us…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I let out a loud laugh as I sat between Liles and Liz on the couch as we flipped through a large photo album. They’d just recounted a story of when my mom tried to build her own gun but it ended up with her somehow falling down a set of stairs. The picture they used as reference showed a very young version of my mom sitting at the bottom of some stairs with weapon parts all around her with the most pathetic crying face I’d ever seen.

“She was always such a handful,” Liz laughed, flipping the page to reveal a few more pictures. “This one,” she said as she started to crack up again, pointing to one with my mom in a beautiful dress that was covered in mud, a pissed off look on her face. “This was when she went on her first date but the poor guy made a comment about her dress, so she ended up wrestling him into submission. Which only achieved him running away and her dress being ruined.”

“That thing was so expensive,” Liles laughed, wiping a tear from his face, “we made her wear that dress as it was to a few events just to teach her a lesson.”

“Did it work?” I asked, grinning at the picture.

“Of course not!” he exclaimed, causing Liz to snort laugh.

“She was the most stubborn of our children,” she said, placing a finger on the picture of her. “I really wish you’d bought some photos of her…”

“I’m sorry,” I said as I patted her knee.

“Actually, we can show her to them,” Rosemary said as she laid on the couch head behind us.

‘How?’ I thought to her.

“You Egonetic’s,” she said, appearing before me and pointing to the two ports on both of my wrists. “You can connect those to them and I can control what happens.”

‘What do you mean you control what happens?’

“You can do a lot with those little connection cables! We can connect to basically anything, and I can do almost anything you can think of once connected! For example, I can show them images and memories of your parents.”

‘Let’s do it,’ I thought with a smile as I leaned back, the two of them turning their heads to look at me.

“Okay, so don’t freak out,” I said, causing them to raise their eyebrows. “I can show you both my parents, but you’ll have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Liz asked.

“That’s a bit worrying,” Liles muttered with a growing frown.

“Just trust me, okay?” I said as I pulled out both connection cables from my wrist, holding the cables in each hand.

“What are those?!” Liz asked, starting to scoot away from me.

“Wait,” I said as I held them up. “I have something in me that allows me to share my memories with others,” I said, simplifying it for them.

“Oh?” Liles asked, now more intrigued than worried.

“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “I can let you see some memories of my parents.”

Liz slowly moved back to my side, “I do want to see Mallogory and her mate…”

“I say do it!” Liles said as he leaned towards me. “What do we do here?”

“Stick it anywhere on them,” Rosemary instructed. “The connections will reform to fit the current need.”

“Hold out your arms,” I said, followed by them both pulling back their sleeves and holding their arms out to me. Carefully, I pushed the ends of the cables to their arms, watching as it formed into a strange shape and slid into their skin.

“Oh!” Liz exclaimed as she looked at the little cable connected to her arm.

Rosemary smiled as she faded away, “here we go!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Do we even have a plan anymore?” Domitor asked as he and Lenrick walked down the street, the Kejtdra around them giving them a wide berth, seeming very suspicious of them.

“Sure we do,” Lenrick chuckled as he walked along at a leisure pace, hands in his pockets. “We’re going to find a nice club and I’m going to sample the locals,” he said as he eyed a female Kejtdra near them, who quickly moved out of view once she realized he was staring at her.

“What about finding Shayla?” Domitor questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Listen, Dom,” Lenrick said, leaning down as they walked and patting his shoulder, “she’s gone. We lost her, and Lorenzo is going to be pissed.”

“Oh…” Domitor mumbled, lowering his head.

“So we’re going to enjoy ourselves and then tell him we tried our best, that way he’ll just punish us lightly. Trust me, Dom, I know how to handle Lorenzo, as long as he’s not in a mood when we see him.”

“He’s always in a mood,” Domitor commented, getting a laugh out of the man.

He stood up straight and threw his head back, still laughing, “do not let him ever hear you say that, kid! WHEW!”

Seeing Lenrick laugh along with him, and not at him, was an amazing change of pace. He just hoped the others would accept him as well.

As they went back to walking in silence, he saw a short female Kejtdra stumbling through the crowd ahead of them, walking against the flow of traffic as she bumped into other Kejtdra’s, laughing and apologizing as she did so.

Her oversized purple jacket shifted all around her as she stumbled along, the puffy arms of the jacket making her look like she had massive arms as well. But she appeared to be a normal sized, if not skinny, Kejtdra with longer combs than most of the other’s he’d seen. To top it off she had on a pair of tight pants with oversized shoes that looked to be mostly untied, the tops flared open.

When she neared them, she stumbled towards Domitor and bumped into his side, “Sorry, pal!”

He felt something that caused his eyes to narrow as he spun on her and grabbed her hand in his hoof, seeing she was holding a few of his drawing pens.

She blinked at him in complete surprise as he held her hand tightly in his hoof. “Did you just pickpocket me?”

Lenrick laughed loudly at this, but didn’t interfere.

The short Kejtdra suddenly smiled and stared back at him. “You know, I thought you looked weird as I was stumbling towards ya. I just thought you were his pet or somethin’.”

“Nope,” Domitor said as he reached up and took back his drawing pens with his other hoof. Once he had them he threw her hand to the side and returned his things to his bag.

“What are ya?” She asked with an intrigued smile.

Domitor frowned as he turned his attention back to her, “I’m not going to speak to the kid who just pickpocketed me.”

“I ain’t a damn kid, bucko,” she sneered, striking a suggestive pose. “Full grown woman right here!”

“Cool, you can go now,” Domitor said coldly, but she just kept smiling at him.

Lenrick just sat back and watched the show, rubbing his chin as he smirked at the two.

“Oh come on! You’re the first person to actually catch me in the act,” she said, opening up her large coat to reveal she had all kinds of small trinkets and items stuffed into the many pockets. “Don’t run me off just like that!”

He grunted as he took a step away from her, “Lenrick, help me here.”

“Nah, I like her,” he laughed, getting a look of disbelief from Domitor.

“Sweet,” she said, giving him a thumbs up. “Now what are you two?!”

“I’m a human, and that little guy before you is a pegasus, and a little badass to boot,” Lenrick said, giving Domitor a wink.

“Stop that,” Domitor said, not liking where this was going.

“No idea what either of those things are,” she admitted, putting her hands in her jacket’s pockets. “But if you’re able to sense me stealing from ya, then you must be some kinda special guy. My Thorn allows me to move around unseen and undetected. Yet here we are.”

“Oh you have a Thorn?” Lenrick asked, now very interested in her.

“Yup!” she said as she held up her hand and pulled the glove off of it, revealing a small hole. “Got it when I was a kid. Do you have a Thorn?” She asked, staring at Domitor with expectant eyes.

“Nope,” he replied simply.

This caused her already wide eyes to widen even further, “that’s amazing… no Thorn and you caught me!” She stood up straight and wiped a sleeve across her nose. “So, room for one more in this little party of yours?”

“We’re a duo only,” Domitor deadpanned.

“Always room for one more!” Lenrick exclaimed, overriding the annoyed stallion.

“Oh hell yeah!” she said as she pumped her fist into the air.

“Oh come on!” Domitor complained, but Lenrick just leaned down and smiled at him as he spoke in a low tone.

“Trust me, we need a guide if we’re going to have any kind of fun here. Besides, you might be able to score with this one, she’s exuding interest towards you.”

“Gross,” Domitor grumbled as he looked at her, seeing her give him two finger guns. He turned back to Lenrick, “I don’t like this.”

“Too bad!” Lenrick smirked as he stood up and looked at the short Kejtdra. “First question for our new member; where can I fuck a Kejtdra?”

The short woman snorted as she rolled her eyes, “male or female?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he replied, getting a nod of approval from her.

“Well, then I know just the place!”

“They got alcohol there too?” he asked.

“What do you think?” She replied with a wink.

“Score,” he muttered.

Domitor grumbled to himself, staring at the short Kejtdra.

She took a step towards him and took one of her hands out of her pockets and reached out to him. “Names Floria.”

He frowned at her, but Lenrick gave him a slight kick in the flank, so he raised a hoof and shook her hand. “Domitor.”

Somehow her smile widened as she gave his hoof a squeeze, so he squeezed back even harder. “Ooo, I like you for sure. I can feel those muscles!”

“Geez,” he groaned, letting go of her hand.

Lenrick waited for her to ask his name, but she kept her attention on Domitor.

“Do you have years of training or something?” she asked curiously.

“Yep,” he replied simply.

“Can you do cool tricks?” she asked, looking excited. When he rolled his eyes, she squealed, “That means yes! You just don’t want to admit it!”

“Are you sure you’re a ‘full grown woman’?” he asked in annoyance.

“As of last year, yes,” she said, smirking at him. “So about those tricks.”

“Name’s Lenrick,” Lenrick suddenly interjected. “And you said you knew where I could get my fuck on?”

Floria stood up straight and put her hand back in her pocket. “Sure do. Wanting to get to that?”

“Very much so,” he said, waving for them to continue on.

“Alright, but you two gotta open up a bit as we walk,” she said, starting to walk forward with Lenrick. When she saw Domitor wasn’t moving, she waved for him to follow, “well come on!”

“This is dumb,” he mumbled, reluctantly following after them as they all began to walk down the street.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Yes!” Lenrick exclaimed as they entered into the brightly lit club, which wasn’t that active since it was day time. But that just meant more for him as he saw a few employees walking around. “Good things really do happen to horrible people!”

Domitor groaned as he saw the half naked Kejtdra walking around. But to be fair, he wasn’t even sure what naked meant for them, as he had no idea what their anatomy was even like. Which he was starting to count as one of his few blessings.

“Go crazy,” Floria said as she stood by the door, watching the two of them.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Lenrick said as he walked towards two of the scantily dressed employee’s, one male and one female, and put his arm over them. After a short talk, they walked for the back where some private rooms appeared to be.

As for Domitor, he walked over to a booth by itself and sat down, crossing his arms.

A female Kejtdra walked over immediately, “services?”

“No,” he said bluntly, causing her to turn and wave for a male Kejtdra to take her place.

“Services?” the male Kejtdra asked as he stepped up next, smiling widely.

“Nope,” he said just as bluntly, laying his head back on the seat.

Once they walked away, Floria, who was still at the door, raised an eyebrow. She moved to his booth and slid in front of him.

“What? Not interested in sexing it up today?” she asked, a smirk on her face.

“I’m not interested in that kinda stuff,” he said, his legs crossed as he glared at her. “Places like this are just gross.”

She sighed, her happy go lucky facade seeming to waver as she leaned back, putting her hands behind her head. “Yeah, I get that. Your friend though, he’s bit of a creep.”

“Don’t say that about Lenrick,” Domitor snapped, scowling at her.

Floria just blinked at him in confusion, then shrugged, “okay, sorry.”

He looked away from her, making it clear he didn’t want to speak further with her.

She tapped the table in front of herself as her right foot bounced, “So…”

With a sigh, he looked at her.

“You know any good jokes?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“What about funny stories, got any?”

“Zero.”

“Eh, want to play twenty questions?”

“No.”

“Okay, want to play any kind of game?”

“No.”

“Uh… do you draw a lot?”

“Sure.”

“Oh! Like what? How good are you at drawing?” She asked, finally getting a positive answer out of him other than a negative one.

This caused him to roll his eyes as he pulled out his drawing notebook and slide it across the table to her. “Don’t damage it.”

She smiled widely as she took the notebook and opened it up, flipping through the drawings. “Oh… damn, I wasn’t expecting…”

“Yeah, hit me with your best insult,” he grumbled, sitting back and rubbing his face.

“These are amazing!” she exclaimed, flipping the book around to show him one of his drawings. It was one of him covered in badass armor and weapons. “The details! How long did this take?!”

He smiled sheepishly, not used to others actually showing an interest in his art. Let alone complementing it. “That one? Erm… an hour?”

“One hour?!” She asked, flipping to a blank page and slid it back to him. “Draw me! Please!”

This caught him off guard even more as he shakily took the pad and a pen in his wing tip. “You sure? I’ve never drawn someone like this…”

“Just get my best angle,” she joked as she jumped up on the table and struck a pose, both of her hands in her pockets as she stared straight up. “Make me look all cool and shit!”

Leaning back, he began to draw, his pen gliding and tapping away at the notebook. It didn’t take him long before he had a sketch of her drawn. “Got it.”

“Whoa?! Already?” She asked as she jumped down into the booth again, holding out a hand. “Lemme see!”

“Don’t laugh,” he said as he handed it over to her. He’d drawn her as she was, but he’d added a few details to her to make her look more badass.

Her shoulders slumped as she examined the drawing, which caused him to frown as he thought she didn’t like it.

“How did you do this so quickly?” she asked, her voice giving away nothing.

“Practice,” he muttered.

She grinned and looked at him, “this is the best picture I’ve ever seen of myself.”

“It is?” he asked, eyes going wide.

“Sure is! Most camera’s make me look ugly and like a kid, but you captured my matured self in all its glory!” she exclaimed as she kept looking at the picture.

The compliment and praise for the drawing brought a wide smile to his face as he leaned forward, “if you want, I can do a fully detailed and colored one. It’ll just take longer.”

“Yes please!” she said, handing it back to him. “And while you do that, I’ll draw you!”

“You’re an artist too?!” He asked happily.

“Nope! I suck, but I want to return the favor!” she laughed, causing him to laugh as well.

He pulled out another notepad, one he hadn’t used yet, and passed it to her, along with some pens and pencils. “Okay, deal. I’ll draw you in full detail in exchange for a drawing of me.”

“You got it, dude!” she said, snatching up the supplies and beginning to draw away at the page.

Domitor relaxed in the seat as he began to draw as well.

For once, things were going his way. He might have just made a new friend as well!

Spark’s unlucky day

Chapter 20

Spark groaned as he stepped into the Beltosh household, seeing that they were both waiting for him in the living room. For some reason Roxxy was also here.

“What’s the problem?” He asked as they stared at him.

“Shayla,” Scamp deadpanned as he rubbed his face.

“What’d she do this time?” He asked, assuming she’d got in trouble and they needed him to work his police magic to get her out of it, again.

With a deep sigh, Scamp waved for them to swap places. Raising an eyebrow he walked over and sat down on the couch with the others as Scamp stepped up in front of them.

“So what happened exactly?” Mallogory asked, as Scamp wanted to wait for all of them to be together before she told them the bad news.

“Our beloved and oh so smart Shayla has made the amazing decision to take Kal and his cronies to Eris as of yesterday,” Scamp said in a way to calm voice, causing both of them to jump up.

“Shayla’s on Eris?!” Mallogory yelled, extreme worry and anger flashing across her face.

“With Kal?!” Spark yelped, getting a sharp nod from Scamp.

“Of all people, huh?” She asked with a frown.

“Well we’re going to get her!” Mallogory stated as she stood there, clenching her fist.

“That’s the plan,” she replied, then looked at Spark. “You’re coming with us.”

He didn’t look pleased with this, but for Shayla he’d do anything. “Okay.”

“But I’m going to need a favor,” she said with a small smile.

“Oh boy,” he murmured.

“I don’t have any special powers and Mallogory isn’t back to full yet. So Roxxy here is going to help us get you an Ego.”

“Please no,” he groaned, sitting down hard on the couch. “I’m happy being normal, I have a kid on the way, I don’t want to be all juiced up on an Ego as well.”

“Spark,” Scamp began as she stepped over to him. “Please, I know I’m asking a lot, but out of everyone here, you’re the only one who’s actually capable of handling shit like this. Shayla needs us, I can feel it. Something’s gone wrong and she needs us.”

Spark placed both hooves on his face and exhaled loudly. This went against everything he wanted out of life, he’d even promised his wife he’d stay out of things like this. But Shayla may be in trouble…

“When was she supposed to be back?” He asked, still holding his hooves to his face.

“Yesterday,” she answered, getting a whine out of him.

“Damn it,” he cursed. “Okay how do we do this?”

A relieved smile fell onto her face as she stood up and waved for Roxxy.

Stepping up to him, she sighed and held up her coin, “okay, make a bet with me. Pick heads or tails and if you win I’ll temporarily give you my Enforcer status, till I ask for it back.”

“What?” He asked in complete confusion as he looked at her.

“It’s my Ego,” she sighed, “I can use it to take things from others if I win a bet. So heads or tails?”

“Tails?” He said slowly, still confused.

She threw the coin up and caught it, lifting her hoof to reveal tails, “lucky you, first try.”

As she spoke a small line of energy flew from her head and into his. He didn’t feel any different though.

“What’d that do?” He asked.

“You can enter the Enforcer’s Order Hall now,” she replied in an even tone. “There’s a guy there, Luzzumi, who’s waiting for you. I already filled him in on all this. He’ll get you your Ego.”

He just blinked at her as he looked at everyone, “uh… this is a lot to take in.”

“I know,” Scamp admitted. “But it’s super simple. Go in, get Ego, come out, we save Shayla.”

“It’s never simple,” he mumbled as he looked at Roxxy. “Now what?”

“Use my Order Hall Dagger, just stab the air and drag it down. It’ll open a portal for you,” she said as she handed him her dagger.

He frowned as he took it, then he looked at the other two, “I guess I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you, Spark,” Mallogory said as Scamp gave a smile.

With a quick stab, he drug the dagger downwards, causing a portal to appear before him. Reluctantly he stepped through it to find himself in a large room with a table in the middle. There was also a very messy couch for some reason.

“Ah ye must be Spark!” An overly cheerful and gruff voice said from behind him.

Turning around he saw a short and stout man with a large beard, a large smile on his face.

“Uh, hello,” Spark said with a weak wave.

“Luzzumi’s tha name,” he laughed, giving a bow. “I understand that you’ll be tha one helping save Lady Shayla?”

Spark couldn’t help but chuckle at this, “ain’t a thing lady like about her. But yeah, I’m helping.”

A loud bellowing laugh escaped Luzzumi as he grabbed his gut and leaned back, howling with laughter. “She bea bit rough an’ rowdy!”

The stallion just waited for the laughing to die down before continuing.

“So an Ego?” He asked once the stout man stopped laughing.

“O’ course!” He exclaimed happily as he stepped up. “I’ll have this done in just a moment, ‘em we’ll get your weapon!”

“Great,” Spark muttered.

Luzzumi held up his hand and focused on him.

Waiting patiently, he watched the man’s face slowly scrunch up.

“Everything okay?” He asked as the man grunted a few times.

“I can’t unlock your Ego, there’s a lock on it,” he said, still straining himself.

“What’s that mean?”

But he didn’t get an answer as sweat began to form on the man’s brow. Then his eyes went wide as he stepped back.

“This be…” he then bowed quickly. “I’m sorry ta intrude, me Lord!”

This confused Spark greatly, but before he could ask any questions, the world around him suddenly shifted to a white void.

“Uh…” he mumbled, looking around at the whiteness around him. “Luzzumi?”

“Spark, child of Lance, child of mine,” a loud voice suddenly boomed from all around him.

“What?” Was the only response Spark had for this strange moment.

A large being made of light appeared before him, towering above him.

As he stared at him it slowly dawned on him, remembering stories from his father, “you’re God?”

“Yes, my child,” the voice said calmly.

“Did I just die?” Spark asked with a grimace. “Sudden heart attack? Brain aneurysm?”

“No, Spark. You are very much alive. This moment has been in the making since you were conceived.”

Spark looked around, trying to make sense of what exactly was happening.

“You are very special, my child.”

“Yeah, that’s what people keep telling me,” he replied with a frown. “I don’t know why though. I’m just an average guy wanting to live his life.”

“The challenges you have faced were tests, to test your will and resolve. You have remained constant and morally good through it all.”

“Okay?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “Not to be rude or blunt, but this doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Others have sensed your potential,” the being of light continued, “they have only caught glimpses of it; the power yet granted to you. You are destined for great things, Spark. Great evils are on the rise in a realm far above your own. And you, my child, will be pivotal in stopping the collapse of everything.”

“Can’t you just snap a finger and stop whatever it is?” He offered.

“I do not interfere with my creation in that way. I only guide and provide assistance, but I will never act directly.”

A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head, “okay, what do I have to do?”

“As of now, not a thing, my child. You have other problems to deal with before the time of the collapse is upon you.”

Spark did not like the sound of that, “that’s a bit ominous.”

“I will allow you access to your full potential,” the being continued, “and I will grant you access to your new form. Do not use it as your father uses his. Only when you know you need it.”

“Full potential? New form?” He asked, sounding very frustrated. “Can you please explain some of this to me?”

“In your base form, as you are now, you will be able to tap into your new form to a limited extent.”

“That… doesn’t help me understand this at all.”

“Bow so I may bestow my blessing unto you,” the being said, seeming to ignore him.

Deciding to listen, he bowed before the being of light.

Suddenly, a flash of very strong and deep energy washed over him, filling him a feeling of peace and love.

“Rise, Archangel Spark,” the voice boomed.

“You made me an angel?!” He exclaimed as he rose, a massive frown on his face. “Don’t I have to die first?”

“Unlike your father before you, there are restrictions,” the being continued without answering him. “Your Archangel form may only be used against those that will be a part of the collapse. While in your normal form, you may access a portion of the powers. Holy Instincts alone will carry you far, my child.”

Taking it all in, he just continued to frown. This was EXACTLY the kind of thing he wanted to avoid.

“Answer one question, please,” he said up to the being of light.

“Yes, my child?”

“Why is my dad so special? You granted him his Angel powers and he’s done so much with them. But he’s always wondered why him?”

The being was silent for a moment before speaking, “Lance is not the special one. It has always been you who was the special one, Spark. Lance became a Guardian Angel to protect you till you were ready for this moment.”

This did not sit well with him as he growled a bit, “my dad is special! He’s an amazing man who has gone through hell for his family!”

“And he has earned his place in Heaven,” the being responded calmly. “You are destined for greatness, my child. You only have to seize it yourself.”

The void began to fade away around him.

“Hold up, I have more questions!” He yelled as he reappeared before the still bowing Luzzumi.

“So ya met tha One Who Sits Above All?” The stout man asked as he stood up smiling.

“I guess so,” Spark muttered. “So let’s do this Ego thing so I can go.”

“That be nae possible with ye,” he responded, getting a groan out of the stallion. “Your soul be locked, so I can’t access it. Did ye get any kind o' blessing?”

“Something called Holy Instinct on top of being an Archangel,” Spark answered with a look of displeasure.

“Ya be an Archangel now?!” Luzzumi exclaimed, a look of awe on his face. “Do ye know what this means?!”

“No normal life for me?”

“Yes!” Luzzumi laughed, “ye must be destined for something great ta be granted those powers!”

“As I’ve heard,” he said, rubbing his face. “I’m free to go?”

“Sure be!” The short man replied as he bowed. “Me only advice with holy instinct be ta focus. It works better that way, but will do just fine if it has ta activate on its own.”

“What is Holy Instinct,” Spark asked as he raised the dagger.

“It heightens all o' your senses when activated! Even raises your speed an' reaction time as a bonus! When nae activated it will automatically cause ye ta dodge basic attacks. Honestly, very few Ego’s measure up ta it in terms o' defensive use.”

“At least it’s not a violent ability,” he conceded as he ripped open a portal and gave a wave to Luzzumi.

“Good luck, Archangel!”

“Ugh,” he groaned as he jumped through and landed back with the others.

As the portal closed, Roxxy stepped forward. “I want my Enforcer Status back.”

Just as before, a small line of magic moved between the two, returning to Roxxy.

“So, how’d it go?” Scamp asked eagerly.

Spark just shook his head, “apparently I can’t get an Ego or anything like that.” The two women deflated upon hearing this. “But I got pulled against my will to meet God and now I’m an Archangel.”

This caused them to recoil in shock.

“Like Lance?!” Scamp asked with a wide eye.

“Apparently a step above him if I remember the Hierarchy of Angels,” he replied. “Bet he’ll be super happy to hear this.”

“So do you get powers with that title?” Scamp asked with a hopeful smile.

“Yep, so we’re good to go,” he said, not able to not smile at her.

“Perfect!” She exclaimed, looking absolutely relieved.

“Just let me go tell my wife and job, okay? I can’t just up and leave without warning.”

She gave a nod as she stepped aside, allowing him to walk past her. “Meet us here when you’re ready to go, okay?”

“You got it,” he said over his shoulder, stepping through the door and closing it behind him. He exhaled loudly as he flared his wings.

This is definitely not what he signed up for.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Floria

“Almost done?” Floria asked as she watched him continue drawing as she sat there finished with hers.

“Close,” he muttered, focusing on shading in a few details.

She glanced around, seeing the staff were starting to set up for the night crowd.

“Finished,” he said as he placed the notepad face down on the table.

“Finally!” She exclaimed with an excited smile as she pushed her own drawing to him.

He pushed his drawing to her as he lifted hers. The image before him caused his eyebrows to raise.

It was a crudely drawn version of him standing on his hindlegs with a six pack and large muscles, a heroic look on his face as he pointed a sword to the sky. Right next to him was a crudely drawn version of herself, hunched over with an excited expression as she gave him two thumbs up.

“What do you think?” She asked eagerly, waiting for his reaction before she looked at his drawing.

“It’s…” he started, looking it over again. “It’s very interesting, that’s for sure… I don’t have muscles like that though.”

She just winked at him, “I drew the energy you give off, not your physical self.”

“Oh,” he said, now able to chuckle at the over the top image of himself. “Why’d you draw yourself like that?”

“Because it’s funny,” she giggled as she lifted his drawing of her. “Now let’s see me…”

He watched as her smile fell into an open mouth look of awe as she stared at the drawing.

“Well?” He asked expectantly, excited to finally get to show off his art to someone.

“Holy cheese apples,” she muttered, eyes tracing the image of herself. “It looks like a actual photo!”

“Yeah, it’s a hyper realistic drawing,” he said proudly.

“I don’t even understand how you did this!” She exclaimed, a wide smile over taking her face. “I look amazing! Way better than the real life me!”

“It’s not that good,” he said sheepishly.

“Shut up,” she said as a jelly-like substance surrounded the picture and caused it to shrink and disappear. “That picture is amazing, don’t put yourself down. You need to be proud of that, own it!”

He smiled at her, then looked around her. “Wait…what just happened to the picture?”

“You mean my Vacuole?” She asked, but at seeing his confused look she grinned. “You know, my personal inventory? Don’t you have one?”

“Like a pocket dimension? I don’t have anything like that,” he admitted.

“That’s weird… everyone has one here,” she muttered, chewing on her claw tip as she looked lost in thought.

“I’m not from here,” Domitor said, deciding there was no reason to hide that fact from her. “Lenrick and I are from a world outside of this one.”

This caused her to roll her eyes, “sure you are. Just because I’ve never seen creatures like you two doesn’t mean I’ll believe you are from another world.”

He just shrugged at her, “I mean you don’t need to believe me. Just thought I should be honest with you.”

She eyed him hard, reading his expression, then she smiled. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Just like that? Why?”

“You got honest eyes,” she said with a smirk. “So I’m going to believe you.”

Before he could react, Lenrick slammed his hands down on the table, scaring both of them.

“This place is amazing!” He said in an excited voice. “Kejtdra are so durable! I don’t have to be careful at all!”

Floria’s smile wavered as they looked at him. He was standing there in nothing but a bedsheet.

“Are we leaving?” Domitor asked, wanting to get out of this place.

“You kidding?! I’m just getting started! You two should grab one or two Kejtdra and have some fun!”

“I’m good,” Domitor replied.

“Well get comfortable, kid, because we’ll be here a while!”

Before Domitor could protest, Lenrick spun around and basically sprinted back to the back rooms.

“Creep,” Floria muttered, getting a frown out of Domitor.

“He’s not a creep, he’s just… weird is all,” Domitor said, trying to defend his friend.

“Weird for sure,” she said, her mood seeming to be soured. “Why are you hanging around him? You two are so different.”

“He’s my friend,” Domitor said as he leaned back in the booth.

“Is that the only reason?” She pressed.

“I guess we also work together,” he admitted. “We’re here with my father, who is our boss.”

“Ooo, family business stuff,” she chuckled as she leaned forward, fidgeting with the left side of her faceplate, where it looked like it’d been broken off at some point. “Sounds exciting!”

“It is actually!” He said with a wide smile as he leaned forward again, propping himself up on the table between them. “Can I admit something to you?”

“Do it,” she said with a grin.

“Don’t laugh, but Lenrick is my only friend.”

“Ooo, that’s just sad,” she said with a shake of her head. “That’s all you got for a friend?”

“He’s not that bad,” he said, defending his friend again.

“Tsk,” she rolled her eyes then leaned closer to him. “Let’s fix that right now then! I will be your friend.”

“You will?” He asked, chuckling at her eager face. “You sure?”

Floria gave him a reassuring smile as she nodded, “very sure. Who knows, we might end up being more than friends. Wink wink.”

He blinked at her then laughed a bit, “oh I’m sorry, I’m not actually sure I’m capable of handling a relationship.”

“Is that your nice way of saying I’m ugly?” She asked with a smirk.

His eyes went wide as he waved his hooves in front of himself, “no no! It’s nothing with you! I’ve just-“ he stopped himself, as he wasn’t sure if he could open up like this to someone else. No one had ever shown him any kind of support, so he didn’t want to run her off already.

“You just what?” She pressed, still smirking at him.

A frown appeared on his face as he stared at her, “it’s nothing.”

This caused her to drop her smirk and look a bit more concerned as she seemed to sense something was wrong here. “It’s not nothing. You good?”

Letting out an exhausted sigh he shrugged, brushing his mane back with a hoof, “I don’t know. I’ve never been able to talk about my feelings before so I don’t even know where to start. Or how to.”

Floria stared at him, trying to read him. “Everyone has baggage, Domitor. Me, you, probably even Lenrick. If you want, I’ll share some of yours.”

This at least brought a small smile to his face, “thanks. But I wouldn’t wish some of this on anyone.” He flexed his leg a bit, the memory of his father breaking it flashing through him.

She took notice of his pained expression, “want to change the subject?”

“Please.”

Her smirk returned to her face as she straightened up and pointed a claw at him. “Alright then! Tell me your current mission your father gave you and I’ll see what I can do to help!”

Seeing her look so determined and ready for anything caused him to chuckle. “Well we’re supposed to be hunting down this woman for my father, but we lost her way back in the forest.”

“Oh she’s gone then,” she said with a shrug. “Unless she came to this city, but even then, you’d never find her.”

“Yeah, we figured as much,” he admitted. “That’s why Lenrick has decided we’ll just kill time and play around a bit, so my father thinks we were looking for her.”

“Smart but risky move,” she said as she stroked her chin. “Why is he after this woman?”

“Long story,” he said with a sigh.

“We got the time,” she replied, leaning back and putting her hands behind her head.

“Well,” he began, getting comfortable. “Her name is Shayla Beltosh for one, and for two, her parents and my father have beef. Before I was born, according to Lenrick, my father’s old boss wanted him to deal with a problem, which ended up being Shayla’s pony mother. My father tried to handle her, but she had help and over powered him.”

“So far so good,” she commented with a chuckle.

“Yeah, well my father failed at the climax and his boss stripped him of his powers and put him in something called a Soul Jar to keep him as a part of some kind of collection. But then Shayla’s parents defeated his boss and released him and all the others in the collection.

“My father then went on to follow them to their home dimension because he knew one of her parents could get him to Eris to get a Thorn, which he needs in order to continue pushing towards his goals. He set up a rival company to theirs and tried to get them to agree to take him to this dimension. But they refused and got into a fight with him that killed a few of his men.”

“Honestly, it sounds like your father might be the bad guy of this story,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

He just shrugged at this, “he probably is, but he’s still my father. He raised me to be strong and capable, even if he…” he trailed off, not willing to go into any of that yet.

“So,” she said, sensing he was troubled, “what happened next?”

With a sigh he continued, “he swapped bodies with a subordinate and let the other guy get locked away in prison so he could try doing another plan.”

“Diabolical.”

He chuckled a bit at this, “that’s my dad. According to Lenrick, my father decided to focus on their daughter next, knowing he could convince her to bring him to Eris. Which to be honest makes my whole life make sense. Now I know why he always showed her more love and attention than he ever showed me.”

A sad look fell across her face as she began to fidget with her broken faceplate again.

“I mean,” he continued, mind racing, “that has to be why he always mistreated me growing up. Why he ignored me and beat me, because he had to focus on her. It wasn’t because he hated me or wanted to hurt me, it was because of her! She was the reason he hurt me!”

She just sat there, letting him vent as he slammed a hoof down hard on the table.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense! Why else would a father treat their son like trash?!” He grabbed his leg and held it close to him as memories ran through his head. “That’s why we’re after Shayla. My father got what he wanted and she’s going to oppose him. And I can’t let anyone stand between my father and his goals. Because he’s finally going to love me after all this is over.”

“Whoa, that’s some serious baggage,” she said evenly, still fidgeting with her faceplate.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” he huffed as he sat back and shook his head. “Guess you’re gonna head out now?”

Floria just rolled her eyes, “nah, think I’ll stick around.”

“If you’re hanging around to fuck me, then just go,” he said rather harshly.

“Rude much?” She asked with a chuckle. “I think you just need a friend who’ll stick by your side. That can be me, if you’ll let me.”

He stared at her, trying to see the trick here, but her reassuring eyes calmed him a bit. “I’d like that…”

“Good, cause you’re stuck with me now!” She laughed loudly as she slammed her fist on the table. “Bar keep, two shots of whatever has strawberry in it!”

The bartender across the room gave a thumbs up as he began to work on some drinks.

Then she looked back at him, “besides, friends can always become more than friends.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” he said with a grin.

A scantily dressed waitress placed two shots down between them.

“Yes!” Floria laughed as she drank the whole thing in one go, but then made a face and then spat it all back out onto the table. “That strawberry flavor is none existent!”

She jumped up on the table and pointed an accusatory claw at the bartender, “you’re a criminal! Serving crude like that to customers!”

“Hey, don’t like it? Go down the street, they’ll more than happily serve your picky ass!” He yelled back to her from behind the bar.

“Picky ass?!” She exclaimed, jumping off of the table and walking towards him. “Them’s fighting words!”

The bartender raised a rifle and glared at her. “You wanna die in a stripclub?!”

“It’s been my number one dream since I was a hatchling!” She yelled back as she pulled up her sleeves.

“One more step and I’m fearing for my life!” He yelled, pointing the gun at her.

“You don’t got the balls!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms out wide as she continued towards him.

The bartender fired his rifle at her.

At the same instant a tentacle grabbed her back and ripped her backwards just as a pink bullet flew through the air she’d just previously occupied.

Floria flew through the air and landed in the hooves of Domitor as he stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

She had the same look as she blinked in surprise at him, then ran her hands down her chest, “Holy Tintinnabulation! He actually had the balls to shoot!”

“Out, banned for life!” The bartender roared as employees rushed to push them out of the club.

They Were thrown out of the front doors and landed in the dirt.

“Hey!” Floria yelled as she jumped up, squaring up with a few of the employees. “Don’t gotta be so rough! He’s the one who shot at me!”

“Just don’t come back, ya hear?” One said as they all returned inside.

“Fuck off,” she yelled after them as she made a crude jerking off motion with her right hand and cast her hand at them.

Domitor sat up rubbing his head, as he’d landed directly on it.

With a huff she turned to him and held a hand out to him, a smirk on her face, “I thought you didn’t have a Thorn?”

“It’s not a Thorn,” he said as she pulled him up. “It’s a totally different kind of power. Lets me do all kinds of things with it.”

“Whatever it is, it’s super cool!” Then she stood up straight and put her hands in her pockets, adopting a more serious tone. “For real though, thanks for saving me. I get a bit out of control sometimes.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, looking at her broken faceplate. “Is that how that got broken?”

She smirked and shrugged. “Sure, I guess you could say that.”

He could sense there was something left unsaid in the way she said that, but chose to not press it.

“So what now?” He asked, not sure what they could do while waiting for Lenrick.

But she had an idea as she pointed behind him, “ever been to a fun palace?”

“A what?” He asked, turning and seeing what looked to be a building that looked like an amusement park billboard.

“A Fun Palace!” She laughed, grabbing his hoof and dragging him towards it. “It’s supposed to be for just kids, but screw it! They got wall to wall trampolines and all kinds of games!”

He blinked in confusion as she dragged him towards it. “Wait! This is right across the street from a seedy stripclub?!”

“Yeah!” She exclaimed gleefully. “Isn’t that awesome!”

“It’s so wrong on so many levels!” He replied back, causing her to laugh loudly.

“Just let loose! Come bounce with me!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle as he rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

She squealed in delight as they reached the doors and she kicked them open, dragging him in behind her.

“Out of the way little shits!” She yelled as she pushed through what looked to be some kids' birthday party. As they reached the counter she pulled him up next to her and smiled at the employee before them as she put an arm around his neck. “Two please.”

“Oh not you again,” the employee groaned as they retrieved two wrist bands.

“Should I be worried?” Domitor asked as he watched the interaction.

“Nah!” Floria laughed.

“Very,” replied the employee.

“Wonderful,” he muttered as she dragged him further into the building.

Author's Note

I’ve decided to go with Spark’s original intention.

You live like this?

Chapter 21

“Thank you, Shayla,” Liz said as we came out of my memories, a happy look on her face.

“She looks happy,” Liles commented as he stood up, stretching his back. “Way happier than she was here.”

Liz stood up as well, moving to the kitchen, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m famished after that little trip down memory lane.”

“Make me something too,” Liles called after her, but she waved him off as she disappeared through the door. “She’ll make me something,” he chuckled, looking back at me as I sat there on the couch. “Hungry?”

“I could eat,” I replied as I stood up.

“Liz! Shayla wants something too!” he yelled towards the kitchen.

“Yeah!” she called back.

“Want to see the workshop?” he asked with a wide smile.

I just shrugged and stood up, “sure.”

He led me down a hallway to a dirty garage that was in absolute chaos, with spilled boxes of weapons parts everywhere. There’s no way anyone could navigate this mess.

“What do you think?” he asked with a wide smile.

“It’s…” I started, glancing around, “a mess.”

He laughed and nodded, “yeah, but I know where every item in this shop is, and that’s what counts.” With that he stepped over to a workbench with a disassembled gun on it and began to tinker with it.

Stepping up next to him, I watched him work.

“So,” I finally began after a minute, “do you guys know how i can get back to my home dimension?”

Liles turned and blinked at me a few times, seeming to rack his brain for an answer. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I don’t.”

“How’d my mom leave?”

“We don’t know, she never talked to us after she left. We only knew she left the dimension like her brother because a family friend had helped her at some point.”

“Where’s this family friend?” I asked, realizing this person would probably know.

“Dead,” he answered with a sigh. “Died during all the fighting.”

“Oh,” I said, lowering my head. Now what?

He reached over and patted my shoulder, “hey, cheer up! This is Frokinko, one of the largest cities on Eris! If someone could help you, they’d be here.”

“Okay, but this place is massive, where would I even start?”

“At the base of the tree, near Elevator eighty nine, there’s a large district called the Social District, it’s the only place where the rich folk come down and mingle with us poor folk. If anyone knows, they’d be there.”

New Quest! ‘Rank E: Go to the Social District.’

“How do I get there?” I asked, seeing Rosemary walk around the room examining things.

Liles chuckled, “getting there is easy, but actually getting in is hard. You need to get a VIP access card, or be invited in by someone already inside.” Sensing I was about to ask a question, he continued, “I’ll be honest with you, Shayla, getting a VIP access card is hard. They’re only given to merchants and people the rich folk like. The Social District may be the mingling point for the rich and poor, but it’s still fully controlled by the higher ups, so they keep out the… undesirables.”

“Don’t you guys have one? Or can get one, you’re store owners,” I offered, gesturing to the workshop around us.

“Shay, I don’t know if you’ve seen our shop, but we’re not exactly doing that well. Especially not good enough for a VIP access card,” he said with a frown. “The only way I can think of getting one is to either steal one or earn one through hard work.”

“Stealing is easy,” I said with a sly smirk.

“Maybe where you’re from, but an item like that would be kept in someone's Vacuole, and the only way to get it from there is to kill them or find someone able to reach into others Vacuole’s and steal it. Honestly, neither option is pleasant for the victim.”

“How do I earn one then?” I asked with a frown.

He just sighed at this, shaking his head, “not in a way you’d be comfortable with. It usually requires you to do some unsavory things for some rich pricks, and I highly suggest you avoid getting into debt with any of them.”

“Well, is there any other way you can think of? I need to get home…”

“Shayla,” he began, but saw the puppy dog eyes I was giving him. “I’ll look into it.”

New Quest! ‘Rank A: Gain Access to the Social District!”

Well this isn’t going to be as simple as I’d hoped it would be.

“We should get out there and do some looking of our own,” Rosemary suggested as she walked back over to me. “There’s no point just sitting around here and waiting for something to happen.”

I nod at her, as those were my thoughts exactly. “Thanks, I’m going to head out and check out the nearby city.”

“We may be safe in the city with the tree blocking out most of the night sky, but the Frokinko Lowercity is extremely dangerous after dark. The authorities don’t even police the Lowercity at night anymore, so it’s a free for all out there. So stay here till morning, for us. We’d worry too much if you were out there this late,” he warned as he looked at me with pleading eyes.

Letting out a groan, I shrug, “I guess. Where am I sleeping then?”

“We have a spare bedroom upstairs,” he said with a smile. “I’m sure Liz will set it up for you if you ask.”

“Stop volunteering me for things, you old man,” Liz said as she stepped into the workshop with three plates in her hands. She handed one to me and Liles, then sat down on a stool. “But I’ll help you get settled in, Shayla.”

“Thanks,” I said as I took the sandwich from the plate and took a bite. Shit, that’s got a weird but amazing taste to it! Fruity meat flavor.

“Don’t mention it,” she chuckled as she ate her own food.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Ready?” Scamp asked as Spark walked through the front door.

He had nothing on him but his saddlebags, “yep. Starlight is pissed, but she knows Shayla needs our help so she’s not going to stop me.”

“For real, thank you, Spark,” Mallogory said with a thankful smile on her face.

Spark just smiled at her and waved her off, “you guys are my family. I’d do anything for you all.”

Scamp walked over and gave him a quick hug before looking at Mallogory. “Let’s go get our daughter.”

With a nod, Mallogory raised the dagger and opened a portal, but before stepping through it, she looked at Scamp. “Bronwyn has not responded yet?”

Checking a communicator device, she just shook her head, “no. She must be busy or something. We’ll have to go without her.”

“I’d rather she be with us,” she said as she stepped through the portal, followed by the other two.

They found themselves in a very colorful void with nothing around them.

“Uh, Mallo? Is this the right place?” Scamp asked in confusion, looking around with a sour look on her face.

“It’s not,” she answered, just as confused. “I don’t know where we are…”

Without warning a strange being appeared in the middle of the three, a happy expression on its mask-like face.

“Oh shit!” Scamp yelped, dashing back and getting into a fighting stance, followed by the others.

But the colorful being didn’t react to them, just giggled and looked at Mallogory. “Ah, little Mallo returns home! I bet you had some fun out there, huh?”

Mallogory just blinked at her in confusion, “How do you know my name?”

The thing, which looked like a scarecrow, just smiled at her. “We’ve met before, but I wiped those memories from you, hon.”

“What is this?” Scamp asked, glaring at the scarecrow, looking ready to attack.

The colorful scarecrow turned to her and gave a little twirl. “Both parents? I’m assuming you’re both looking for little Shayla?”

“Where is she?!” Scamp yelled, not liking that this thing knew their daughter.

“She’s safe,” it assures them with a gleeful giggle.

“Where is she?!” Scamp repeated, taking a few steps towards the scarecrow..

Before she reached it, it spun around and disappeared, reappearing next to Spark. “You’re a strange one, hon. What’s this power I sense in you?”

Spark just smiled awkwardly, side stepping away from the colorful thing, not answering it.

This caused the thing to laugh, seeming to roll its eyes, “I’m not going to hurt ya’ll. I’m just making sure of your intentions. No need for this hostility.”

“Then start talking, where is our daughter?” Mallogory asked, cracking her knuckles.

“Frokinko, babe,” the scarecrow replied casually, causing Mallogory to frown. “It’s worse than you remember, hon. You’ve missed a lot since you’ve been gone.”

“Send us to Frokinko then,” Scamp demanded, but only got a giggle in response.

“I’m going to enjoy following your adventures,” the scarecrow remarked, then gestured to the dagger in Mallogory’s hand. “You’re not going to remember this, but this dimension is going into lockdown very soon. The Bossman is in one of his moods and is paranoid, so he’s turning off dimensional travel as a precaution. No idea when he’ll turn it back on though. So that won’t be of any use to you for a long while.”

“I don’t care, I just want to get to our daughter,” Scamp said, spitting onto the ground.

The scarecrow laughed at her actions, “I like you, hon. To bad you all won’t remember me, Vivi.”

In an instant the other two disappeared, leaving just Scamp and Vivi.

“Oh, you’re a very weird one, hon,” Vivi said, sliding up in front of Scamp. “I can’t erase your memories.”

“Good,” Scamp said with narrowed eyes.

“Now normally, I’d just send you away and not let you enter,” she started, causing a sneer to slowly appear on Scamp’s face. “But I want to see where this’ll go. So, good luck finding Shayla!”

Before she could respond, Scamp found herself suddenly standing in a dark forest of towering grass and rocks, with the other two looking around.

“There you are!” Mallogory said as she turned to face her wife. “We were worried you didn’t make it through the portal in time.”

“No, that scarecrow thing just held me up,” she said, getting confused looks from them. “Ah right, you don’t remember that apparently.”

“What?” Spark asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not important,” Scamp said, waving their concern off. “We need to go to Frokinko, that’s where Shayla is.”

“What? How do you know that?” Mallogory asked with a look of disbelief.

“Okay look, we got stopped by something I guess is the guardian of this dimension and they told us where Shayla was, but it then wiped your memories,” Scamp said, clearly not happy having to explain everything.

“But not yours?” Spark asked.

“Nope, apparently it couldn’t for whatever reason. Can we get going?”

Mallogory looked around and sighed, “we can, but I don’t even know where we are.” She then looked at Scamp and pointed up. “Fly up real quick and see if you can see a massive tree anywhere near us. And by massive, I mean massive.”

With a salute Scamp took to the air and flew up high above the tall grass, looking around the area. It was dark, but the moonlight above gave enough light to see a few large trees all around them in the distance. But one stuck out the most, as it towered above all else, even mountains. It was far away, its sheer size the only reason she could even see it. To make it worse, it was on the other side of what looked like an ocean. The only good news was that the landmass they were on was connected to the one the tree was on, and there seemed to be what looked like railroads lining the land.

Behind her, she saw what looked to be a massive and impressive city. It wasn’t that far away, just a few hours walk.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of the moon above her, causing her to look up and frown at the skull-like moon above them.

From what Mallogory said it hurts to look at, and you definitely shouldn’t keep looking at it. But just staring at it didn’t seem to bother Scamp, so she just stared at it with a raised eyebrow.

“Ugly thing,” she muttered, shuttering a bit as it looked like its gaze shifted to her.

Deciding to move on, she flew back down to her two companions and landed before them.

“So?” Mallgory asked expectantly.

“Yeah, I saw the tree. But it’s very far away. Like it’d take me a few days of flying just to get too,” Scamp said with a frown.

“Great, did you see any towns?”

Scamp gave a nod and pointed behind herself, “yeah, a big one right over there, it’s near the ocean.”

With a quick glance around, Mallogory gave a nod. “Okay, well we need to get moving. I don’t want to have to deal with any Rust or other unsavory things right now.”

“That moon is creepy,” Spark muttered, looking away from the moon he’d just been staring at and rubbing his nose, which was bleeding a bit.

“Yeah, don’t even look at it, Spark,” Mallogory warned. “It’s dangerous to look at.”

“Wait, I just stared at it, am I going to be okay?!” he asked with a touch of panic.

She just chuckled at him as she began to walk in the direction of the city Scamp had pointed out, “you’ll be fine. Just looking at it for a bit will just cause headaches, nose bleeds, feeling sick, and if you’re unlucky, mania. But you look fine, so don’t worry about it. Just avoid looking at it in the future.”

“Can do,” he said, following after her as Scamp took up the rear.

Scamp growled a bit as she thought to herself. That scarecrow could have put them closer to that tree. What kind of game was it playing? Acting caring but then doing something like this?

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Okay okay, we’re going,” Domitor said as he and Floria were pushed out the front doors and into the dark streets.

Floria just laughed as they were pushed outside, turning and giving them a bow. “Thank you for your hospitality!”

The man who had done most of the pushing just growled at them and slammed the doors to the Fun Palace.

Once they were alone, she turned to Domitor, giving him a happy smirk. “Have fun?”

He blinked at her then grined, “I did, till you got in a fight with the birthday boy.”

“What? He was being a brat, saying the big trampoline was reserved for just his friends. I had to put him in his place!” she protested, still smirking as she put her hands in her pockets.

“He was a child for one,” Domitor replied, chuckling at her shrug. “And two, it was his birthday. Coulda just let him have his day.”

“Nah, that’s not as fun,” she said with a wide smile that quickly faded as she looked past him, seeing Lenrick walking towards them.

“There you two are, I was starting to wonder if you’d run off to fuck or something,” he said crudely, winking at Floria. She just frowned back at him and turned her gaze to Domitor.

“Finally done?” Domitor asked, turning to face his friend.

“Oh yeah,” the man laughed with a wide smile. “This place is amazing, that’s for sure.” Then he let out a very loud yawn as he stretched his arms up, “now, we need to find a place to sleep, because these Kejtdra sure take a lot of you. You can just keep on pumping and they’ll-”

“That’s enough info,” Domitor interrupted, causing the man to laugh again. “I guess we can find an alley way or something.”

“Seriously?” Floria asked, rolling her eyes. “I’m right here and you’re talking about sleeping in an alleyway?”

“Why? Do you have a place of your own?” Lenrick asked, smirking at her.

She looked at him and raised her hand, flipping him off, “yep, sure do, creepy fuck.”

This only caused him to howl with laughter as he slapped his knee, “I like you even more now! You know how to pick ‘em, Dom!”

“Geez,” Domitor groaned, shaking his head with a frown.

Returning her hand to her pocket she spun around and began walking down the street at a leisure pace. “Well, come on you two.”

Lenrick leaned down and whispered into Domitor’s ear, “hey kid, are you interested in her at all?”

“No,” Domitor groaned, hating having to answer this question over and over again.

“Good, mind if I fuck her tonight?” he asked, a wide grin on his face.

“I don’t think she’s up for that,” Domitor replied.

This didn’t remove the man’s gleeful look, “they always come around, kid. Thanks for the permission.”

“I didn’t give you permission, I think she has to be the one to give that,” Domitor said, his eye twitching a bit for some reason.

But Lenrick just laughed and slapped his back as he stood up and followed after her.

This interaction didn’t sit well with Domitor, but he wasn’t sure how to react to it, or how to process it. So he just pushed it to the back of his mind and followed after his two friends.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Don’t judge the mess,” Floria said as they walked down the hallway, walking past other apartment doors. She came to a stop in front of one that had spray painted designs all over it, mostly angry smiling faces with their tongues sticking out.

She pushed the door open and walked in, throwing her arms out wide. “Welcome to my little slice of paradise!”

Domitor frowned as he stepped into the apartment, stepping over a lot of soda cans, bottles, and food cartons. The apartment was a complete mess, with trash piled up in the corners and all kinds of junk scattered across the floor.

“Damn girl, you live like this?” Lenrick exclaimed, kicking a pile of clothes and trash over.

“Yeah, I gots issues,” she laughed, moving to the couch, which had clothes and trash on it as well. She knocked it all off and waved for them to sit down.

“I did not expect this…” Domitor muttered as he and Lenrick walked over and sat down on the couch as she moved back to the kitchen.

“Hungry?” She asked, opening a fridge, which Domitor could see was basically empty.

“I’m good,” they both said at the same time, causing her to roll her eyes.

Lenrick leaned down and whispered to Domitor again, “this bitch is crazy. She said she has issues, and I wholeheartedly agree with her.”

“Be nice,” Domitor whispered, watching her go through her food, sniffing at it and frowning at it, dumping it into the sink.

“Well, I’m still going to try and score,” Lenrick said, causing Domitor to sigh.

“Okay, so I don’t actually have any edible food, so I can head out and grab some,” she said as she walked back over to them.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lenrick said as he opened his pocket dimension and pulled out a bag. “I’ll cover dinner tonight.” He tossed the bag to her, causing her to raise an eyebrow as she opened it and revealed all kinds of foods within it.

“Oh wow… I’ve never seen food like this before,” she said in awe, shifting through the packaged food items.

The man leaned back and smirked at her reaction, “yep, I guess that’d be considered exotic food for someone like you. It’s all instant, so just squeeze and shake it, and it’ll cook in a minute.”

She threw the bag down on the messy coffee table in front of the couch and began pulling out all kinds of foods, squeezing and shaking them all as she went. Each package began to smoke a bit as it cooked the contents.

“Well don’t eat it all,” Lenrick said as he leaned forward and grabbed a few packages for himself.

“Thanks, Lenrick,” Domitor said as he too took some food for himself.

“I got you guys,” Lenrick said, giving a wink to Floria.

She just sighed and ripped open a package once it stopped smoking, dumping the food into her mouth. “WOW!” she exclaimed with wide eyes as she dumped the rest into her mouth greedily. “This tastes so much better than takeout!”

“I’d hope so,” Lenrick laughed, using his fingers to shovel food into his own mouth. “This shit is hard to come by nowadays. The dimension they come from was destroyed by my boss.”

This didn’t seem to set well with Floria, but she held her tongue, as she had something else she wanted to ask and didn’t want to anger him yet. “So, that little pocket dimension you have, got anything cool inside it?”

“Why, want something?” he asked, a wide smile on his face as he looked at her.

She rolled her eyes, opening another package and eating the contents. “Not if you’re going to be creepy about it.”

“Fine,” he conceded, raising a hand.

“Do you have any cool books?” she asked carefully.

“Books?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, then started laughing. “I don’t carry books around with me! What are you? Some kinda nerd?”

A small sigh escaped her lips as she finished off her food and moved to the next one. “Just wondering is all.”

Domitor bumped his elbow against Lenrick, shaking his head at him.

Rolling his eyes, Lenrick opened the pocket dimension, “Okay, I’m sorry, that was rude of me, I guess. Want me to make it up to you?”

“You can try,” she replied, not even looking at him anymore.

“If you’re going to roll with us, I guess you need a real weapon,” he said, grabbing the edges of his pocket dimension and pulling them open wider as he reached in and pulled out a little device and tossed it onto the table before them. “Go ahead and pick something out.”

Floria looked at the device with a suspicious look as she grabbed it and looked at it. The screen seemed to display all kinds of weapons and their descriptions. “Oh… what?”

“Cool, huh?” he asked, smirking slyly at her reaction as she began to scroll through it.

She didn’t respond as she stared in awe at the device, scrolling slowly as she read each entry.

Lenrick bumped Domitor to get his attention. When he looked at his friend, the man made a vulgar gesture with his hands then pointed to the entranced Kejtdra woman.

This only made Domitor feel weird, as he didn’t like the way his friend was acting towards his other friend.

“Please stop that,” Domitor said in a low tone, causing the man to raise an eyebrow, then shrug.

“Sure, buddy.”

“This one,” she suddenly said, tossing the device back to Lenrick, who caught it and flipped it to face himself.

“What? This one? It’s way too big for you,” he said, shaking his head.

“Nah, its perfect,” she said confidently, putting her hands behind her head.

“It’s like over half your size though,” he countered, but she just shrugged. A smile appeared on his face, “so the lady likes them big?”

She made a finger gun gesture at him, smirking as she did so.

“Alright then,” he laughed, reaching into his pocket dimension and pulled out a rather large weapon, causing Domitor’s eyes to widen.

This thing was intimidating to look at. It didn’t have a stock like a normal rifle, but it had an enclosed space around the handle, allowing the user to spin it around their hand if they wanted to for whatever reason. The gun itself was large, with six power cells running down both sides of it. It was a bit bulky, and heavy looking. The barrel itself stuck a few inches out of the handguard, and looked pretty large, making it look like either a shotgun or cannon.

“Good ol’ Ego Blaster. This thing is unbonded, so you’re lucky, since it’ll bond with you perfectly. Just know, this thing packs a punch, and if you fire it at full power it’ll throw you all over the place,” he said, giving it a twirl and tossing it to her.

She caught it and smiled widely, taking it by the grip and spinning it, surprising Lenrick.

“That thing is heavy, and you’re just tossing it around like I would,” he said in awe, watching her get a feel for the gun.

“Yep, I’m pretty strong for my size,” she remarked, racking the slide and looking into the chamber. “Got the ammo for this thing?”

Without answer, he reached into pocket dimension and pulled out a weird device that had a few large shotgun style shells sticking out of it. “Sure do. This is a replicator, and makes an infinite amount of whatever you put in it. This bullet,” he said, pointing to one of the shells, “is a one of a kind. It’s an Ego Shell created by some guy, and he put his entire Soul into it, so now it’s got all kinds of properties to it. Downside is there is only one, hence why it’s in this Replicator. Do not take the original out of this thing, or it’ll fall apart.”

He tossed it to her and she caught it, smiling at the device she now held. A jelly like substance covered it, causing it to disappear into her Vacuole. She then flipped the gun over and began to slap her hand against the chamber, seeming to load shells into it as she pulled them from her Vacuole.

With a loud rack, she pumped the Ego Blaster, putting a round in the chamber. “Oh this is badass,” she said with a wide smile as she continued to flip the gun around her hand, enjoying herself.

“Careful, damn it,” Lenrick said in annoyance as the gun’s barrel spun in his direction the most.

She stopped, and sat down, the Ego Blaster disappearing into her Vacuole as well. Without a word of thanks, she went back to eating.

“If you pull the trigger, it’ll fire normally,” he said, shaking his head at her. “If you hold down the trigger, you can charge up a more powerful shot. But it’ll throw your tiny self all over the place.”

“I got it,” she said, finishing her food.

Domitor finished his food as well, a bit happy his two friends seemed to be getting along at least somewhat.

“So, where we sleeping tonight?” Lenrick asked suddenly, staring at her.

“You’re sleeping out here,” she said to Lenrick, nodding her head to the couch.

This brought a frown to his face, but he didn’t protest.

“And me?” Domitor asked, looking at the floor as he started to consider just going back out and finding an alleyway instead. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping down there on the dirty floor.

“I got a special place for you,” she laughed as she stood up and walked over to a pile of clothes and pulled out a blanket and pillow. With a grunt, she tossed them at Lenrick, who caught them and shook his head.

“I have my own, thank you,” he said, pulling his own blankets and pillows out of his pocket dimension.

She walked past the couch and opened a door that lead into another room. “Come on, Dom.”

Reluctantly, he stood up and followed her, finding himself in her bed room.

Just like the living room and kitchen, it was a mess. However there was no food in this room. Just all kinds of other junk and personal supplies.

Floria stepped over to the bed and cleared off some of her clothes and stuff. She then patted the bed, waving for him to come over.

“I… don’t feel comfortable sleeping in the same bed,” he said carefully, causing her to roll her eyes.

“We’re not sleeping in the same bed, dumb dumb,” she said as she grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and tossed it onto a couch that sat across from the bed. “I’m sleeping on the couch, and you’re in the bed.”

“And I’m not taking your bed from you,” he added, shaking his head.

“Shut up and let me be nice,” she grunted, moving to the couch and setting it up to sleep on.

He didn’t like this, as he felt like burden all of a sudden. “I’m okay sleeping on the couch.”

“So am I, so bleh!” she said, walking past him and out into the living room. “You done for the night, Lenrick?”

“I guess so,” was his response as she returned back into the bedroom and closed the door.

“I don’t know about you, Dom,” she said, her jacket disappearing as she put it away in her Vacuole, along with her shoes and pants. “But I’m beat. See you in the morning.”

Domitor looked away from her, as she only had on underwear, and frowned. “Couldn’t you’ve waited to get undressed when I wasn’t looking?”

“I don’t care,” she laughed, jumping on the couch and pulling up a blanket. “So are you a loud sleeper?”

“A what” he asked, moving to the bed and leaning down to sniff it, hoping it didn’t smell bad. Luckily, it didn’t smell as bad as he had thought it would, so he removed his bags and carefully climbed into bed.

“You know, snoring and all that shit? Do you sleep walk?” she asked, putting her hands behind her head.

“No?” he replied, staring up at the light above them, as it was still on.

“Good, because I’d hate to have to smother you to keep you quiet,” she said casually. After a moment she laughed, “I’m joking, by the way.”

“I figured,” he replied.

She raised her hand and threw a shoe at the wall, hitting the light switch and turning it off.

“Classy,” Domitor muttered, rolling over onto his side as he tried to get comfortable.

He had to admit, this was probably the most interesting place he’s ever had to sleep. And he’d just been in the house of a dead family the night before.

The past meets the present

Chapter 22

“This city is shaped like a royal crown?” Spark asked as the trio crested a hill, finally able to see the city before them.

“Ah, that’s Isse, the Capital of Hijern,” Mallogory said, frowning. “That means we are indeed very far from Frokinko. At least four days by train.”

Scamp looked the crown-shaped city over, shaking her head. The design was completely ridiculous, like they were trying to show off how powerful they thought they were.

“Anything we should know about this place?” Scamp asked as they continued forward.

“Yeah, don’t piss anyone off. They don’t mess around in the Capital City,” she warned, keeping her eye out for anything dangerous as they walked through the dark scenery.

“Feel like that’s directed at me,” Scamp said with a sly grin as her wife turned and gave her a wink.

“Just don’t be a hot head, love,” she chuckled as she reached over and gave her chin a little scratch.

Scamp side stepped over and bumped her flank against Mallogory’s leg. “Careful with those claws, sexy.”

“Guys, I’m still here,” Spark said from behind them, causing them both to laugh.

The two women just leaned into each other as Scamp stood up on her hindlegs, throwing a hoof around her wife’s lower back. They continued walking at a casual pace, speaking in low tones to one another.

Spark shook his head with a smile, letting them have their moment.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Back up,” the guard said, glaring at them as he stood in front of the gate, his fancy uniform making him look like a real piece of shit in Scamp’s opinion.

The trio stopped before him as he looked them over, then looked at Mallogory. “What are those things?”

“Those?” she asked with a smirk as she looked at Scamp and Spark. “They’re just my exotic pets. Bought them off of a government guy some time back.”

The guard nodded with a chuckle, “they sure are ugly looking. Especially the burned one.”

Scamp’s eyes narrowed, but Mallogory’s hand came down on her head, giving her a pat. “Watch your words, guard boy. Do you know who you’re speaking to?”

“No?” he began, now looking a tad bit unsure of himself.

“Yes, exactly. How about you watch your tone before you have to find out,” she said in a practiced ‘high and mighty’ tone.

“No, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am,” he said, standing up straight, deciding to play it safe.

“Now, point us towards the train station,” she said in an authoritative voice.

The guard turned to the right and pointed through the gate at a street beyond. “That street will take you to the train station. Should I call anyone for you?”

“No, we’ve got it from here,” she said, walking through the gate with the other two following close behind her.

“Strange creatures, those are,” the guard commented, but was ignored by all of them.

Scamp smirked as she quickly caught up to Mallogory and raised an eyebrow up at her. “Really? You used your dominant bedroom voice?”

“Worked, didn’t it?” she asked, sticking her tongue out at her.

The two began to get handsy again, rubbing against each other.

“Guys, please, wait till you’re out of sight,” Spark begged, but they ignored him. So he just averted his eyes, looking at the over the top buildings around them. Luckily no one else was out, so their trip to the train station was spent walking in silence, except for the two of them whispering to each other.

Upon arriving at the train station, the trio was pleased to see that a train was currently there.

“For once, some real luck,” Spark said, moving to catch up with them as they finally stopped leaning into each other.

“Alright, same game, different audience,” Mallogory said as she stepped ahead of them and pointed to a spot by some benches. “You two wait there and I’ll get the tickets.”

“Do we even have money?” Spark asked, but Mallogory just laughed as a few items appeared in her hands. “I still have some money I had from before I left here.”

“You kept all that?” Spark asked, getting a laugh out of Scamp.

“My beloved wife is a bit of a hoarder,” she said, followed by Mallogory flipping her off and walking to the building that housed the ticketbooth.

Spark smiled at the interaction, “you two are still just as fun as always.”

“Yeah,” Scamp chuckled, turning to him. “We just do whatever we want, and that somehow makes the other happy.”

“And you both still look like you’re in your thirties, so it just makes the interactions so much funnier to watch.”

She struck a pose with a wide smirk, “looking good for forty six, huh?”

“Looking VERY good for forty six,” Mallogory laughed as she returned to them.

“Thanks, babe,” Scamp laughed as she and Spark walked over to her. “Got them tickets?”

“I do indeed, got us a cabin, since we’re going to be on this stupid thing for four days,” she said, looking just as displeased as the other two at a four day train ride.

“Bleh,” Scamp muttered as she shook her head. “Guess it could be worse.”

“I mean, we could have been on the other side of the planet, so count yourself lucky,” Mallogory said, waving for them to follow.

“This is going to be the most boring four days of my life,” Scamp muttered as they neared the train.

“Don’t jinx us,” Spark said with a chuckle.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Champion stared up at the night sky, eyes locked on the split moon. He had not moved in hours, as he was still on the mountain side, thinking.

He’d probably be there for a long time after as well, as he didn’t know what to do now. He just wanted to be alone to think, sort things out.

“This isn’t right,” he muttered to himself. “This isn’t how the story is supposed to go. I’m the protagonist after all…”

“So narcissistic, yet so true,” a voice said from behind him, causing him to grow as he stood up and turned to face the unwelcome intruder.

A beautiful female unicorn stood before him with a calm smile on her face. She looked unremarkable, with a simple spell book as a cutie mark and dark red fur. Her mane and tail were white.

“Leave,” he said, willing to give her a chance to walk away alive.

“Star Chaser,” she said calmly, a smile on her face. “Or do you actually prefer Champion?”

“It’s Champion,” he growled, eyes starting to glow purple. “My patience is running thin right now. Go.”

“I have a deal for you,” she said, ignoring his glowing eyes.

“I’m not interested in a deal with an old mare,” he said, no longer caring as his eyes flashed and a beam blew through the mare. Yet, she didn’t move or seem affected as the beams just phased right through her, leaving her unharmed.

“Are you done?” she asked in amusement, brushing off her chest as a show of disrespect.

“What do you want?” he growled, not pleased she was still alive.

“Like I said, a deal,” she said, walking over to him and stopping a few feet from him.

“And what kind of deal are we talking about?”

“The kind that benefits you more than it does me,” she said with a large grin.

“I’m listening,” he said as he waved for her to continue.

“Good boy,” she laughed, her horn flashing as a few statues appeared behind her.

He looked at them with a raised eyebrow, then to her. “What is this?”

“I will provide a way for you to get everything you want, and all I ask in return is all the Holy Energy in all the Bronies. Namely Lance’s.”

“And how do they factor into this?” he asked, pointing a hoof at the statues. “I don’t need help to achieve my dreams.”

“You do if you want to remain the good guy in the eyes of the people,” she countered, then her horn flashed again as an item appeared before him. “I also will give you this, it’ll help you with your little… love problem.”

He eyed the item, then her, “what is this exactly? Who are you?”

“A friend,” she replied evenly. “I’ve tried gaining what I want by helping others, giving them what they desire most in exchange for their Holy Energy. But only a few took this deal, like that dragon Brony. Now no one is taking my deals, so I’m changing my tactics.”

“Why are you after the Holy Energy? The last one to try that was Nightmare, and we all know how that went,” he said back, standing above her with narrowed eyes.

“I have my own reasons,” she said, smiling up at him. “I’m offering you the chance to take everything you want, and still be seen as the hero. How’s that sound?”

He huffed, but the thought did entice him as he looked out at the scenery before him, and the two cities. “What is this plan of yours?”

This caused her to smirk as she turned to face the statues. “Simple. I’ve already spoken with each of them, and they’re all in agreement with this plan, they just need someone from the Royal Family to break them out of their stone prisons, and we can begin.”

“Let’s say I agree with this plan of yours. How does this help me at all?” he asked, stepping around her to stare at the statues before him, knowing them well.

“They’ve all agreed to listen to you and only you, and once you gain control, all they ask is to be allowed to do what they desire most,” the mare said from behind him.

“I’m still not convinced.”

She sighed, sounding a bit annoyed. “If you must know, they will be attacking everyone down there, and then you will come in and save them. And if the Princesses somehow disappeared in that time, then no one would suspect you.”

“You’re telling me to kill my own mother and aunt?” he asked, glaring at her.

“The thought hasn’t crossed your mind?” she asked with a knowing smile.

“Of course it has,” he growled, eye twitching. “But to actually do it…”

“You can rule, with your Queen at your side,” she said, seeming to slither around to his left side. “It’s what you desire most. It’s what you deserve.”

“You are right about that at least,” he said, looking at each statue again. “So I accept this deal and all you want is to take everyone’s Holy Energy?”

“That’s all,” she confirmed with a wide smile.

“Can that one even be controlled?” He asked, pointing to one in particular.

“Him? No, of course not. But he has his own reasons for going along with this plan. He’s very respectful of you though, which I can confirm are his true feelings. All of them in fact respect you, and want to willingly help you.”

This caused him to smirk, “okay. Last thing. Are they willing to not play around this time? They each lost because they were not violent enough.”

“Trust me,” she said with an evil look on her face. “I’m personally going to grant each one of them a boon. They’ll be formidable foes indeed.”

“And who are you to be granting boons like that?” He asked, glancing at her.

“Me? I’m unimportant,” she said with a chuckle. But at his continued stare, she bowed. “I am known as the sorceress Lilith.”

“Okay, Lilith, I’ll play along with your game. But don’t think your magic tricks can keep you safe from me if you betray me.”

“Betraying you is not in my best interest,” she admitted, laughing. “This will be a mutual agreement, with me acting as more of an advisor than a partner.”

“And that item, how does it help me get Azure Moon to be my Queen?” He asked as he looked at the little orb floating next to her.

“Simple, it just makes your desires manifest and will force her to be yours.”

He frowned, “ I want her, not a mind controlled version of her.”

“Oh it’ll be here,” she assured with an evil look on her face. “This’ll just make her want to obey you. She’ll be herself and all yours.”

“Perfect,” he said with a smirk. “Alright then, Lilith, we have a deal.”

The area around them darkened as her eyes flared as a crazy smile overtook her face. “Excellent! Release them from their prisons of stone and metal!”

Champion turned to the statues, all stone except for one that was made of metal. His father and his friends were responsible for each of them being locked away, so he knew the correct way to get them out.

“Release!” He roared in his Royal Canterot voice, shaking the whole mountain.

All four statues began to shake as lights began to weep through the cracks. With a shattering sound, the four beings broke from their prisons and fell forward onto the ground.

“Finally!” A Pegasus yelled as he stood up, rubbing his neck and flexing his wings. “They froze me in such a stupid pose! And it hurts!”

“Stop whining,” another growled as it stood up, standing taller than the others. It flexed its claws and smirked.

“Out of all of us, you are the least useful,” a tall pony said with a calm yet smug sneer on his face.

“Hey!” The Pegasus yelled but was cut off by a glare from the other two.

“Ah, we finally meet,” the last one said as he walked over to stand before Champion. “It’s good to finally meet someone in the family who isn’t useless.”

Champion stared at the beefy and bulky male before him, a smirk sliding onto his face. His father did not do this guy justice in his descriptions.

“Yes, it’s good to finally meet you, Grandfather.”

Observing

Chapter 23

The next morning

Daily Quest complete! 3 skill points awarded!
You have 7 unspent points!

I let out a sigh as I finished the last set of push ups, having saved them for last.

Now that I’d finally finished up the morning routine, I walked over and picked up my jacket, as it was the only thing I wasn’t wearing. As I put it on I stepped out of my room and walked down the hall and into the living room.

“We’re just now getting a final count on the number of victims from last night's gruesome attacks,” a female reporter said from the radio across the room. “Seventy three… yes, it is confirmed that seventy three Kejtdra were found dead inside Hailmon Park this morning, all with various wounds. Authorities on scene believe it was done by some kind of feral animal, or possibly a Rust. But we are here to assure you that there are NO Rust inside the city. This is the work of a rogue animal, as the wounds are a clear indicator of that.”

“This place sure is dangerous it seems,” I said aloud as I walked past the radio and out the front door, the sun beaming down on me. Looking around, I saw that the streets were mostly empty, but there were still plenty of people walking around, probably going to work or something. I don’t know what people do here.

I shoved my hands into my pockets as I strolled down the street, with everyone just ignoring me. Which is good, that means I’m blending in. My legs may be backwards in comparison to theirs, but apparently that’s only noticeable if you’re paying attention.

So I don’t actually have a real plan. I’m just going to head to the downtown section of this city and see what I can figure out. Got to start somewhere, right?

Checking my pockets real quick, I confirmed I still had the money Liles and Liz gave me. Apparently enough to get by out here, but I don’t understand the currency that well yet.

“I do, it’s pretty simple, Shayla,” Rosemary said as she laid on a trashcan up ahead. “I’ll tell you if you’re being dumb with money.”

“Thanks,” I said as I rolled my eyes. I’m not smart, but I’m not that dumb.

She didn’t answer as she rolled off the trashcan and disappeared from sight.

Continuing down the street, I took notice of a few stores that appeared to actually be open and running. There were not many, as every building I passed was mostly just run down and abandoned looking.

“A Rust in the city?” she heard someone say as she walked past a building with a few open windows.

“It’s clearly a new kind of monster, you hear about the range of wounds?”

I didn’t stop to listen to them as I continued down the street. Clearly what I heard on the radio is not normal for this place.

Keeping my head up and on a swivel, as I did not trust anyone here, I continued down the street, following the few signs I could see that guided me towards downtown.

After what felt like an hour of walking, I found myself in a part of the city that actually looked alive, with every building looking to be occupied and open, and crowds of Kejtdra walking around.

Okay, now what?

“Try there,” Rosemary said, pointing over to a sign, then fading away as she appeared under it.

Moving closer, I saw she was looking at a sign that read ‘Big Olives Auction: Rare and unique items for sale! Right near the Social District, all welcome!’

“Why an auction? We do not have the money for something like that,” I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Rare and unique items attract some very interesting people,” she said with a smile. “We could potentially find someone who can guide us to gaining access to the Social District.”

“Good point,” I said with a nod, turning to follow the sign. At least it was a start.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor woke up with a start, looking around in a slight panic as he had forgotten where he was. But it didn’t take him long to remember he was in Floria’s apartment, and not back home.

Looking to the couch, he saw that she was still there, snoring loudly. How had he slept through that?

Grunting a bit, he climbed out of the bed and walked for the door, but tripped over some trash and fell face first onto the ground. Pushing himself back up, now with a sore snout, he glanced at her, seeing she’d slept through all the noise.

“Huh,” he muttered, stepping through the door and into the living room.

“Hey, bud,” Lenrick said from the couch.

Domitor smiled as he turned to him, but the scowl on the other man's face confused him. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you think of Floria?” he asked suddenly, arms crossed.

“She’s weird and messy, and possibly a psychopath,” Domitor said, not sure where this was going. “But she’s honestly not a bad person from what I can tell, she’s just got issues.”

“You got that right, she has issues,” he grumbled. “She came out here last night to get some food, in her underwear, that’s clearly a sign asking for sex, right?”

“No?” Domitor said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

“It is,” he assured him, throwing his arms out wide. “And when I tried to come onto her, she laughed and went back to bed. If it wasn’t for you being in there, she’d regret that shit.”

This did not sit well with Domitor at all, as he felt there was something implied here, something he did not like to think about. “But, you’re just venting right now, right? You wouldn’t actually do something like that to her, right?”

Lenrick looked at him, frowning, “kid, its best we change the subject. How’d you sleep? Good?”

“I…” he started, blinking at his friend in confusion and worry. “... Yeah, I slept good.”

“Awesome, at least one of us did,” he said, getting up and revealing he was nude. “I’m going back to that club.”

“You are?” Domitor asked with an upset look on his face. “But what about me?”

“I don’t know, figure something out,” he said as he pulled on his pants. But when he looked at Domitor and saw his sad face, he sighed and pulled out a device for him. “Here, press this and I’ll come running, okay?”

“Okay,” Domitor muttered, taking the device. “Please don’t stay there long. I want to explore some more with you today.”

Lenrick sighed, then raised his hand, giving the stallion a thumbs up, “for you, kid, I’ll do a quickie. I just gotta relieve this fucking tension that little bitch in there created.”

“Please don’t call her a bitch,” Domitor asked, causing the man to roll his eyes.

“Fine. I hope you get something out of her at least,” he said, moving for the front door as he pulled on his jacket.

Domitor didn’t say anything as the man walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him.

With a conflicted feeling deep inside of him, he sat down on the couch and stared at the floor.

“The guys an asshole, don’t let him get to you,” Floria said from her doorway, fully dressed.

“He’s just…” he began, then sighed. “I don’t know.”

She looked at him, a frown on her face, “are you okay?”

“I will be,” he answered solemnly.

A smile broke across her face as she dashed forward and grabbed his hoof, hauling him up, “you need to cheer up and get your mind in a happier place. And I know just how to do that! Come on!”

He groaned as she pulled him through her apartment and out into the hallway.

“Where are we going?” he asked as she locked the door behind her.

“A place,” she answered cryptically, winking at him.

“Is it going to annoy me?” he asked with a frown.

“I dunno, guess we’ll find out!” she giggled, putting her key away and grabbing his hoof again. With a squeal of delight she pulled him down the hallway, heading in the opposite direction Lenrick would have gone.

As they walked out the back door, Floria came to a halt, causing Domitor to run into her back.

Before he could ask why, he heard someone chuckle.

“Trying to sneak out the back?” A man asked.

Floria grunted, letting go of Domitor’s hoof and crossing her arms, “not trying to avoid you or any of his guys. Just didn’t want to deal with someone else.”

“Sure,” the large Kejtdra replied as he pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on and stepped up to her, towering above her. “He needs to see you.”

“Tell him I’ll be there in a few hours,” she said with a sneer.

“He’s not happy about you not stopping by to drop off your haul,” the Kejtdra said with a smirk. “It’s almost like you were trying to steal it.”

“Obviously not, I’m not dumb,” she said. “Now move, I have somewhere to be.”

He just laughed, reaching out and grabbing her by the coat. “No, you’re coming with me and talking to the boss.” With a hard yank, he jerked her towards him.

With a whoosh, Domitor zipped next to them and slammed a hoof right into the arm of the man, causing him to yelp in shock and pain as his arm was forced away from Floria.

“She said she’ll come by later,” he said forcibly, squaring up with the man as he held his arm.

“Domitor, no,” Floria said, stepping between him and the large man.

“I should kill that thing!” the Kejtdra roared, his arm very obviously broken as he stood up holding it.

“No, you’re not,” she said with a glare. “I’m going to see your boss, and I’m bringing him with me. Why don’t you go get that arm checked out.”

“Bitch,” he growled, seeming to be held back by something else other than himself as he turned and walked away.

Once he was gone, she turned to Domitor with a sad smile on her face. “Thanks for that, Dom. But please, don’t interfere in my business again. Okay?”

This confused him, as he thought he was helping, but her words and the look on her face said otherwise. So he gave a nod, “okay. I’m sorry.”

She gave a nod and turned, putting her hands in her pockets. “Come on, guess we should make a pit stop before I take you to my special place.”

“Are you in danger?” he asked as he followed her.

“Everyone is in some kind of danger in this city,” she said with a forced laugh.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This next item up for bid is a lovely vase from the-”

“This is boring as fuck,” I groaned from my seat in the back of the room. We’d been here an hour, and nothing interesting had happened, and I’ve seen no one who looked even remotely like they could help me. Just a bunch of poor and dirty Kejtdra. Definitely not anyone who could show me how to get a VIP access card.

“Looks can be deceiving, Shayla,” Rosemary said from in front of me where she sat on top of some large guy's head. “There are seven Kejtdra in here that I can see who might be able to help you. You just have to look past their outward appearance and watch their actions.”

‘Watch their actions? Now you’re sounding like my mother,’ I thought with a frown, but I decided to listen to her as I scanned the room yet again. Just like the last few times, I didn’t see anyone who stuck out.

As I watched everyone, I saw at least one person do something odd. A Kejtdra in a messy suit in the back was giving nods and little hand gestures to no one around him.

“Good, Shayla,” Rosemary said with a smile. “Keep going.”

Following his motions and occasional gaze, I saw another Kejtdra across the room who was watching him, giving small nods as well. That Kejtdra was then looking elsewhere and making a few gestures.

‘What are they doing?’ I asked, confused by what I was seeing. Rosemary didn’t offer me any help, just smiled at me.

“You got this, just focus,” she said, looking a bit proud.

Sighing, I moved my gaze to follow the second guy's motions, but whoever he was looking at was behind the stage.

Seeing Rosemary’s expectant stare, I rolled my eyes and casually got up and walked along the seated Kejtdra in the row I was currently in. Once I was at the end of the row, I could now see who the Kejtdra was gesturing to. Almost hidden behind the stage, and only noticeable if you were looking for them, was a Kejtdra who was looking out at the crowd and the Auctioneer.

They weren’t doing much, other than watching the one Kejtdra giving him hand signals, and it looked like he was talking to someone.

I moved closer, acting as casual as I could as I kept my eyes on the stage and the Kejtdra who was hidden behind it. Carefully, I walked past the Kejtdra who was giving the hand signals. He stopped when I approached, acting like he wasn’t watching me as I stepped past him.

Doing my best to ignore him, I walked over to a trash can and acted like I threw something into it, then just leaned against the wall.

“You need to work on your subterfuge, Shayla,” Rosemary warned with a shake of her head. “You’re being obvious.”

‘I’m fine,’ I assured her, seeing that the Kejtdra had gone back to making hand signals to the man behind the stage.

From my new spot I could see a shadow moving around in the back, touching items and causing them to disappear as a jelly-like substance covered them. Then my eyes landed on four prone Kejtdra that looked like guards.

Ah, think I just stumbled upon some kind of criminal activity.

“Don’t move, don’t react, just take four steps to your left,” a voice suddenly said from next to me on my right.

Glancing over, I saw a new Kejtdra was next to me, his suit cleaner than the other ones.

“Or what?” I asked with a smirk.

“Or this,” he said as grabbed my arm suddenly, causing my entire body to seize up for a second as a strong electrical force shot through me. It wasn’t enough to drop me, but it was definitely enough to get my attention. “Now move.”

Reluctantly I side stepped to my left and was pushed by the man through a door, now no longer in the crowded room. We were now in a side hallway it seems.

“You a cop? Special Unit? Royal Guard?” someone asked as the man behind me blocked the doorway.

Looking to my right I saw four well dressed Kejtdra standing there, all looking very intimidating.

“Uh, no to all that,” I said, squaring up with them and side stepping away from the man.

“Then why are you watching us so closely?” the main Kejtdra asked.

Rosemary appeared before us, frowning. “Be honest, this isn’t ideal, but it’s what we were looking for.”

“I need help getting a VIP access card, and I had a feeling someone doing criminal activity of any kind might know something,” I said bluntly, getting a few eye raises.

“You’re just some kid, why do you need a VIP access card?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“I’m not a fucking kid,” I snapped, getting a few snickers in response. “Can you all help, or have I wasted my time?”

“You’re acting like you’re the one in charge here, or that you have a say in any of this,” the man said with a chuckle. “You’re the one who’s snooping around our business, and you have the balls to ask us for something?”

“Yeah,” I said as I glared at all of them. “So we doing this? Or am I out of here?”

He stared at me, seeming to weigh his options. “You know what, kid, I like you. Got guts. So here’s what we’ll do; I’ll ask the boss if he wants to see you, and if so then we’ll do a meeting. But if you end up being a cop or a Gloomer…” he let that hang in the air.

“The fuck is a Gloomer?” I asked despite myself.

The man just smiled at me, “exactly what a cop would ask. Gloomer, the hired muscles of the rich pricks from above.”

“I ain’t that either then,” I replied evenly.

“We’ll see,” he said, nodding to the man next to me.

He reached for me but time seemed to slow as I dodged his hand, slamming my own closed fist into his throat. With a yelp he collapsed onto the ground, coughing as he held his throat.

“Bad move, kid,” the guy said, shaking his head. “You want our help, and you attack us?”

“I’m not playing this your way,” I said back to him, squaring up with the four Kejtdra. “I’m not here to fight, so let’s just keep this civil.”

“You want something from us? Then you play by our rules,” he said with a smile.

I looked between them and then down to the still coughing man next to me. “Fine. But I’m not being restrained if that’s what you were trying to do.”

The man just shrugged, waving the coughing Kejtdra next to me off. “Okay, missy. Follow my man here, he’ll take you to a meeting spot. The boss will decide if he’ll do business with you or not from there.”

“Works for me,” I said, watching as one of them walked towards me and carefully walked around me, waving for me to follow.

I gave the others a quick glare before following after the Kejtdra.

“Keep your guard up, Shayla, I don’t trust them,” Rosemary warned.

‘I don’t trust them either,’ I thought to her, giving her a nod.

We walked outside the building and the man began walking down the street, heading away from the auction house and away from the gates of the Social District.

New Quest! ‘Rank E: Meet the Boss!’

ooo000<^>000ooo

“That’s the new plan?” the Pegasus asked with a frown as he looked up at Champion as he floated above them. “But this is not the plan Lilith came up with.”

“Lilith is not the boss here,” Champion said in a cold voice. “That would be me. She gave me the idea, but she is not the one in charge here. Her plan is simple minded.”

“Are you sure of this?” the tall stallion asked, a sly grin on his face. “I’m all for this new plan. The old one was… boring.”

“This is how things will go, and you all will do as you’re told. Any problems with that?” Champion asked, eyeing each one of them.

“None at all,” the stallion said with a bow.

“This new plan is more up my alley, so I am ready for it,” the griffon laughed, not bowing as he smirked at his grandson.

“I guess as long as I get to have some fun, I’m down for it,” the Pegasus conceded, bowing as well.

The final one laughed loudly, standing tall as he refused to bow as well, “you are nothing like your father. You are better fit to rule than he ever was.”

“I know,” Champion agreed, smirking at them. “Everyone clear on this plan?”

They all give a nod.

“Perfection,” he said, pointing to the two towns in the distance. “Then go.”

As they all began to walk forward, a sinister smile appeared on his face.

“And remember, no one is off limits.”

The Boss

Chapter 24

“Just let me do all the talking,” Floria said with a wide smile as she and Domitor walked down the long hallway with heavily armed Kejtdra leaning out of all the doors, watching them with bored expressions.

“Gladly,” Domitor muttered as she laughed and put her hands behind her head, walking confidently down the hall, eyes locked on the door at the end.

Once they reached it she threw it open violently and stepped in, throwing her hands out wide, “Rig! I heard you thought I skipped town with your haul?”

Stepping in behind her, Domitor found himself in an overly decorated room, which did not fit the rest of the building at all. As the rest of the building looked a bit run down,this room was covered floor to ceiling in art and valuables.

A massive desk sat at the other end of the room with a very fit and refined looking male Kejtdra standing before it. He had a displeased look on his face as he stared at them, his white blazer open at the top as its collar flared up dramatically.

“Prove my informant wrong,” he said simply, hands behind his back as he stared at her coldly.

With a laugh she flung open her jacket, revealing all the items she’d stolen the day before. “Got it all right here!”

“And the ONE item I requested?” he asked, looking unimpressed.

“Eh,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “I got distracted…”

“By this thing?” he asked, gesturing to Domitor.

“I’ll get it though! I finally know how to do it, this guy right here has a cool power that isn’t a Thorn!” she said, sounding a bit desperate suddenly.

“Show me,” the man asked, staring at Domitor with a cold indifference.

“Go on, show him,” she said as she looked at him with an almost pleading look.

Domitor didn’t like this, not one bit. But her pleading look swayed him as he sighed and shot a tendril forward and zipped across the room, appearing by the large desk.

This brought an amused smile to the man's face as he turned to look at the stallion who now stood near him. “Now that’s intriguing. Tell me your name.”

“Domitor,” he said, getting a glare out of the man.

“Full name,” the man demanded.

“Domitor… Pompeo,” he said, choosing to use his father’s real last name and not the fake one he used in Equestria.

“Well, Mr. Pompeo, what is this power of yours if not a Thorn?” he asked, standing up straight before him with eyes filled with interest and greed.

“I’m not actually sure,” he said, getting a raised eyebrow from the man. “It was gifted to me by a dark mysterious man in some kind of void dimension.”

“A gift from a God? You’re claiming to have a gift from the Gods?” he asked, looking very amused. “No matter. True or not, that is an interesting and useful ability you have.”

“Thank you,” Domitor said, glancing to Floria, who was looking very nervous.

“Are you going to be helping our young Ms. Feit over there?”

Domitor stared back at him, unsure of how to answer this. He didn’t even know what she was supposed to be doing, as she hadn't been as open with him as he thought she had. “Depends on what it is I guess.”

“Good,” the man said as he turned and walked around his desk. “She’ll inform you of what must be done. I expect results by the end of the week.” As he sat down, he smiled at her, crossing his hands in front of his face as he leaned forward. “Right, Floria?”

“Yes,” she said simply, shoving her hands into her pockets.

A sinister looking smile formed on his face as he gave a single nod, “Go.”

“Come on, Dom,” Floria said, waving for him to follow her.

He cast one last glance at the well dressed Kejtdra before walking after her, his eyes never leaving him.

“Floria, one last thing,” the man said, causing them both to turn just as they reached the door. A large shadow loomed up behind him, a wide smile on its face as the man and this shadow stared at them. “Don’t break your contract. I’d hate for you to face… consequences.”

“I ain’t breaking my stinking contract,” she said defiantly as she grabbed Domitor by the leg and dragged him out of the room. The door slammed shut on its own.

“What was-” he started, but she jerked him hard to follow.

“Not in here,” she said calmly as they walked past all the guards again.

After making their way through the building and back out into the street, she turned away from him, hands shoved back into her pockets.

“So what am I mixed up in?” he asked as he stared at her back.

“I’m sorry, Dom. I’m a fuck up,” she said in a low voice. “I should’ve dealt with this last night before going to bed.”

“What is this thing he’s wanting you to get?”

She let out a sigh and turned around, “there’s a Government official here in the city from the Capitol, and he’s supposed to be picking up a prototype weapon from the labs up in the top of the tree. But I missed my chance to nab it yesterday when they were moving between sections.”

“So he wants you to grab this prototype weapon?” Domitor asked, getting a nod in response. “And you missed your chance already? So what are we supposed to do?”

A cool smile appeared on her face as she leaned back a bit, “well, we’ll have one more chance to grab it. It’ll be when he’s leaving the city, but he’ll be under heavy guard by his personal Gloomers.”

“Gloomers?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, heavily armed fuckers who kill on sight, and are above the law in all ways,” she said, her smile not faltering.

“And we have to somehow get in there, take this item, and get out without hurting them?” Domitor asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’d say that’s impossible.”

“Who said we’re not hurting them?” she asked with a laugh. “These guys are the worst of the worst. I’ve personally seen them kill a group of kids because they were in the way of a convoy. I say they get no sympathy.”

Domitor frowned, as he still wasn’t set on killing someone, even if they’re apparently evil and deserve it. “When is he leaving the city?”

“Two days from now,” she replied back, tilting her head to the side as she smirked at him. “You down, Domitor?”

He stared at her for a long moment before sighing and giving a nod, “I guess so.”

“Awesome sauce,” she exclaimed, turning and walking away down the street.

“Now tell me what that shadow thing was behind that guy,” he said as he caught up to her.

“Ah, yeah that,” she said, her smile wavering a bit. “Rig back there has a Thorn called Contract, and he’s able to make contracts with others for basically anything. And that shadow thing? That’s the Enforcer of the Contract. It makes sure everyone under contract performs as they’re supposed to, and will punish them with the terms of the contract if they don’t follow it. And if you break it, it just kills you.”

“And you’re under contract with him?” Domitor asked with a grimace.

“Yep,” she said, her smile twitching as she tried to maintain it. “I needed food and a place to live, so I signed a contract with him. He makes sure my rent is paid and I do as I’m told. It’s not really that bad of a deal, to be honest. Others have it worse.”

“When’s your contract over?” he asked, not liking the idea of this contract ability.

She just laughed a bit, “don’t worry about that. Right now, we have nothing to do. So I say we go check out that place I was trying to take you to earlier.”

He didn’t like she wasn’t being open with him, but again, he realized sometimes people may want to keep certain things hidden.

“Let’s go then,” he said, causing her smile to return in earnest.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Where’s this boss of yours?” I asked as I sat at the table inside the pavilion, the park around us was mostly empty, as this seemed to be a seedy part of town. But to be honest, all I’ve seen of this place is seedy areas, so I guess I’ll have to use another word to describe shitty places like this.

“He’s been informed of your desire to speak with him, so we’ll know his answer shortly,” the angry looking Kejtdra said as he leaned on the pavilion's railings, mostly ignoring me.

“I’m not waiting forever,” I said in an annoyed tone.

“Alright, leave whenever you want,” he replied back, just pissing me off more.

Instead of continuing to argue with him, I just leaned onto the table and rubbed my face. An hour here just waiting, nothing happening. This was killing my ADHD.

“So, you are the one who almost disrupted an operation and then demanded a meeting with me?” a smooth and suave voice said as I heard someone walking up behind me.

Turning around I was greeted by a Kejtdra in a weird getup, a charming smile plastered on his face. The little golden jewelry on his tail caught my eye as particularly weird. He was flanked by two emotionless guards, both looking very unimpressive.

“Don’t judge them by their looks,” Rosemary said, appearing next to one and pointing to his wrapped hand. “They have Thorn’s, so their threat level is unknown.”

“You this boss they all keep talking about?” I ask, standing up and staring defiantly at his little posse.

“That I am,” he said with a laugh as he stepped forward and held a hand out to me. “Rig Fanden. King of the Undercity.”

Quest complete! 2 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 12 unspent points!

“Self appointed or did you actually earn that title?” I asked with a smirk.

He just continued to smile at me as I took his hand and shook it hard. “You’re a cocky one.”

“I get that from my mother,” I retorted back.

“Where’d you get the ancient Laughing Drake’s jacket?” he asked, a bit of interest on his face.

“Some old guy gave it to me,” I admitted, not thinking I’d need to lie about that.

“Very interesting…” he said as he gestured to the table, “take a seat.”

I just smirked back at him. “Think I’ll stand.”

“Suit yourself,” he said as he sat down and leaned on the table. “A VIP access card? That’s what you’re after?”

“Yep, that's something you can do?” I asked as I crossed my arms, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Holding up his hand, a gold plated card appeared in his hand. “A trivial request.” As I eyed it hard, he pulled it back into his Vacuole.

“What do you want for it?” I asked, getting straight to the point.

A wide smile formed on his face as a large piece of paper appeared on the table in front of himself. “Let’s make a deal, hm? You do a little something for me, and I give you the VIP access card.”

“Depends on what you want me to do,” I said, watching him closely.

“Just a simple job,” he said as words began to slowly burn themselves into the paper before him. “Are you good with technology?”

I rolled my eyes and tapped my wrist, “yep. Need me to delete your internet history or something?”

He laughed, despite clearly not getting the joke, “funny, yes. No, I need someone to break into a certain place and retrieve some data for me. Are you capable of this as well?”

That sounds way too easy, there has to be a catch. “Why not send one of your men to do it? This sounds like the simplest job ever.”

“It is simple,” he agreed, smiling at me. “But I can’t be connected to this job at all. If you’re caught, we never met. I require your complete discretion.”

Letting out a sigh I just shrug and step forward. “So I do this, and you give me the VIP access card? No strings attached?”

“Preciously,” he said with a wide smile as he pushed the paper towards me as it continued to burn words into itself. “Just sign this contract.”

“Why?” I ask, glaring at the paper as it gave me a very uncomfortable feeling.

“To ensure you follow my guidelines,” he said as the words finally stopped appearing on the paper. “Just a simple precaution.”

Rosemary appeared over the paper and read it quickly, frowning. “This says that if you disclose your involvement with this guy to anyone, you’ll die on the spot.”

“What kind of contract is this? If I mention this job to anyone, I just die?” I asked, sneering at him.

He blinked in confusion, as I hadn’t even bent over to read it. “How’d you…” then his eyes flashed a strange amber color as he turned his head right to Rosemary. “Ah, that’s very interesting.”

Rosemary stared at him with a worried look as she took a step back, his eyes following her. “Oh he can see me…”

“And hear you,” he said with a sly smile. “So you have a little spirit following you around? Interesting…”

Without a word, Rosemary disappeared, no longer feeling comfortable being here with this guy being able to see and hear her.

“What’s your game here?” he asked as he turned his gaze back to me.

“I’ve told you, I need that VIP access card,” I repeated, glaring at him. “My ‘spirit’ as you called it is just a part of me. So don’t even worry about that.”

“I think I’ll be the one to choose what I worry about,” he chuckled, shoving the paper back to me. “The only way you’re getting this card is if you sign this, with your FULL NAME and do as I ask.”

I eye the paper, thinking about it. To be honest, this job seemed to be super simple, and all I had to do was not tell anyone who I was working for. I’ve done harder things in the past.

“Fine, deal,” I said as I leaned over, taking a quill fountain pen that had appeared out of nowhere, and signed the contract with my full name. The moment I added my name to the paper, it glowed bright red as a shadow flew up behind him and took the contract, shoving it into its mouth and smirking at me.

Quest accepted! ‘Rank C: Data thief!’

“Ah, Shayla Beltosh,” he said, somehow now knowing my name without having to see the paper. “I look forward to seeing how you handle yourself. I may have more work for you if this goes well.”

“I only need the one job,” I replied as he stood up and stepped back, placing a packet on the table and pushing it towards me.

“I’ll be seeing you, Ms. Beltosh,” he said with a half bow as he spun around and walked away with his two guards.

The guy who had brought me here also walked after them, not even saying a word to me.

Once they were gone, I reached down and grabbed the packet. There wasn’t much in it, just a few pictures and a piece of paper describing what I needed to do. As I thought, this was simple.

Break into some facility, steal the data from some kind of database, then GTFO back to him. Really? I feel like I’m just cheating him out of this VIP access card at this point. Oh well, his own fault for under utilizing me.

Shrugging, I shoved the paperwork into a pocket and began walking for the exit to the park. As I strolled along, my stomach made its hunger known to me.

“Great,” I muttered, glancing around the streets ahead. We’d left the heavily populated area, so there wasn’t much open around here. But I did spot some kind of dinner up ahead. Nothing special about it, from what I could tell, which works for me. I just need some food.

The sign above the building read ‘Belf Street Dinner’.

Picking up my pace, I locked my gaze on the food menu I could just barely make out from all the way over here.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So where exactly are we going?” Domitor asked as they continued down the street, their destination still very unclear to him.

“It’s a secret,” Floria laughed, skipping ahead of him with her hands still in her pockets. “But you’ll love it, trust me.”

“You keep saying that, but the further we walk the more worried i get,” he remarked, a frown on his face. “You know we need to have a talk right? If you’re going to be traveling with us, you need to be more open.”

“Sure,” she said, still acting carefree.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I,” she chuckled, turning as she continued to walk backwards. “Stop worrying so much, Dommy.”

“Don’t call me Dommy,” he muttered, not liking that nickname at all.

“That one is over the line?” she asked with a smirk, still walking backwards.

“A little bit, yeah,” he said, trying to maintain his hard glare. But her happy and cheerful look broke him as he started to laugh. “Geez, fine, call me whatever you want.”

“You got it, dude,” she said with a thumbs up, jumping a bit as she spun back around and continued forward.

“But really, how far are we?” he asked, looking at the buildings around them.

“We still got a bit of walking, but it’s so worth it, trust me,” she assured him, giving him another thumbs up by holding her hand high above her head.

“I hope it is,” he said with a small grin.

“Hungry?” she asked as they turned onto a street next to a large park.

“I could eat,” he said as they continued to walk down this new street.

She chuckled and picked up her pace. “Then this place up here has the best roasted meat. No idea where it comes from, but it MELTS in your mouth. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!” With that she picked up her pace and ran towards a small dinner on the corner of a street.

As she approached the front door, she slammed into someone, knocking them down.

“Sorry, mate,” she laughed, pulling the person back up and patting them down.

“Watch yourself, kid!” the woman yelled, causing Domitor’s eyes to go wide as he neared them.

“Sorry sorry,” Floria said as she laughed some more and walked into the dinner.

The woman grabbed her collar and popped it back up and turned to continue out the door. Then stopped as she saw Domitor a few feet away.

“No fucking way…” she said, eyes wide.

His eye twitched as he took a step back, blading his hooves back as he prepared himself. “Shayla.”

“Domitor,” Shayla said with a sneer as she rolled her shoulders, preparing herself as well.

He grabbed the little device Lenrick gave him and pressed the button, hoping he’ll be here quickly. Tossing it back in his bag, he scraped his hoof at the ground.

“We really doing this?” she asked as she stepped forward, the doorway behind her.

“Yep,” he said.

“Domitor you coming, or are you just…” Floria said as she returned to the door, but stopped when she saw the two squaring up with each other. She looked confused as she looked at them, then her eyes went wide. “Wait, is this the chica you were talking about?”

“It is,” Domitor said as Shayla glanced over her shoulder, seeing the other woman had returned.

“Oh well shit then, guess we’re fighting first,” Floria laughed as she zipped her jacket all the way up and stepped out behind Shayla, a cocky look on her face.

Shayla glared at her as she took a step to the side, putting both of them in front of herself. “Two on one? Perfect, you need all the help you can get, Domitor.”

“Hey, stop the smack talk and let’s do this,” Floria exclaimed, slamming her fist into her other hand.

This caused Shayla to just chuckle as she bladed her foot back, raising her hands into a fighting stance. “Well, come on then.”

Battle for Equestria: The opening moments

Chapter 26

Just keep moving. Don’t stop, stopping means you think about what just happened. Just keep running.

“Shayla,” Rosemary said from within my head.

“Nope!” I yelped, not wanting to talk about it.

“Just stop running, you need to process what just happened.”

“Stop it, Rosemary! I don’t want to think about it!” I yelled, getting a lot of looks as I sprinted through the crowded streets, not having a real destination.

“You’re going to have to eventually,” she said in a soothing voice, but I didn’t want to hear it. I can live my life without ever having to think about what just happened again.

But eventually I did stop running, coming to a stop in the middle of a market district of some kind.

“We need to-”

“No,” I said, looking around and seeing what I needed right now. I quickly moved towards the building I had my eyes set on. The building in question towered above all the others in the area, which was perfect for me.

Stepping up to the building I grabbed hold of it with my claws and began to climb upward, scaling the side of the building. I kept going till I reached the top, pulling myself onto the roof. Now that I was far above the busy streets, and not a single soul in sight, I finally felt safe.

Rosemary appeared next to me as I walked over to a ledge and leaned on it, staring out at the almost endless city before us. Neither of us spoke a word, just stared out at the scenery before us.

That… was horrible. I’ve never felt like that before…

I grabbed my chest as I felt a tightness forming, causing me to feel a bit panicked again. But a few deep breaths calmed the rising panic as my left hand began to shake. I grabbed it, trying to get it to stop.

“Come on, Shayla, get it together,” I muttered, growling at myself. Nothing even happened! Why can’t I just get past it and move on?! All he did was…

I let out a ragged breath as I realized I couldn’t even recall it without panicking.

Am I.. broken now?

Fuck, I’m supposed to be the badass with an attitude, not the mare who shakes at a simple memory.

“All he did was try and… FUCK!” I yelled loudly, just wanting to get past this stupid shit. But I couldn’t.

“Some memories take time to heal,” Rosemary said in a soothing tone. “Trying to force it like you are will not achieve anything.”

“What should I do then?” I asked her, my shoulders slumping.

“What is that thing your mother always says?” she says with a smile.

“Keep moving forward,” I said aloud, taking a deep breath.

Thinking about my parents helped calm me down. Helping me focus on my breathing and getting myself calmed down

“Yeah, that’s all I can do, huh?” I sighed, a small smile on my face. “Shit, this is going to suck.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Come on, we can’t stay here,” Floria said as she forced Domitor to stand up. All around them people were starting to come into the area, probably drawn by all the screaming and the gunshot.

He let her lift him up and push him in the direction away from the forming crowd. She ran over to the body and put his sword away in her Vacuole, knowing he’d want to keep that. She spat onto the body before running back to him and pushing him along.

“Did I let that go on too long?” He asked, sounding extremely guilty that he didn’t stop that sooner.

“No, you stopped it as fast as you could,” she assured him, guiding him down the streets as she kept an eye out for any threats that could pop up. “He didn’t actually touch her.”

“What happened to you back there?” he asked in a daze, blinking at her. “You looked panicked.”

A look fell across her face as her hand raised up to her broken faceplate and began to fidget with it. “Nothin’, I just lost my nerve.”

He did not believe her, but he also knew she didn’t want to talk about it, so he went back to being quiet.

After a few moments of silence he sighed, “we need to go after Shayla.”

“Why?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“After what just happened…. I just don’t think she’ll be in a good mind set.”

Floria nodded at him, a grimace on her face. “Yeah, she’s not going to be in a good headspace after that. Which is why we should give her time to cool down. I’m pretty sure we’re the last people she’ll want to see after that.”

“I guess so,” he said, wincing at the pain in his face.

This caused her to laugh as she felt her own pain in her body. “She really whooped our ass’s, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, she tends to do that,” Domitor said with a forced chuckle, wincing at the pain.

“We need a doctor before we try going after her again. If she choses violence, then we’d be screwed,” she said, guiding them down a different path. “Luckily I know a guy.”

“Oh good,” he said. “I’m just going to take a nap till then,” he said as he suddenly collapsed, everything catching up with him at once.

“Oi, you idiot,” she groaned, grabbing his legs and dragging him after herself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Can this train go any faster?!” Scamp groaned as she paced around their cabin, chewing at her lip as her nerves ate her alive from the inside out.

“Just sit down, love,” Mallogory said as she played her portable game, reclined back in the la-z-boy style chair.

“I can’t,” she said, continuing her pacing. “I have this feeling something bad is happening and it’s driving me insane!”

“Nothing bad is happening, our daughter is fine,” Mallogory said in a reassuring voice, getting up and grabbing her wife, forcing her to stop pacing. “And if something was wrong, she can handle herself, you made sure of that.”

This seemed to calm her a bit as she gave a reluctant nod.

“Shayla is a capable mare who’ll kick anyone’s ass who comes near her, so you just have to trust her to do what needs to be done and not worry yourself sick. Okay, love?” she said, rubbing her thumb against Scamp’s cheek.

“You’re right,” she conceded, stepping forward and into Mallogory’s warm embrace. “Why are you so good at this stuff?”

“Because I’m just that amazing,” she teased, lifting the mare up and jumping backwards into the bed. “Now relax, read a book or something.”

“I’ll try,” Scamp mumbled, laying on Mallogory’s chest as she went back to playing her little video game.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Luna’s eyes shot open as she heard a sound in her room, causing her to sit up. The window to her room, which was normally sealed shut, was now wide open, allowing the daylight into her normally dark room.

Using her magic, she slammed it shut and latched it, not sure how it’d opened.

“Mother,” a voice said a few inches from the back of her head.

She let out a yelp as she teleported across the room, heart racing. But then she saw it was just her son, a solemn look on his face as he stood next to her bed.

“Star Chaser, don’t scare me like that!” she snapped, clearly not happy with the intrusion and the fright he gave her.

“It’s Champion, mother,” he said calmly.

She just sighed, adopting a tired smile. “Okay, my star. What’s wrong? You never wake me up.”

“We need to talk about my rule,” he said as he stayed where he was at.

This caused Luna to frown, as this was not worth revisiting. “I told you to return to me after you’ve learned what it’ll take to be a Ruler of Equestria.”

“You misunderstand,” he said in an eerily calm voice. “We’re talking about how things are going to be now. I am the new Ruler of Equestria, and I’m asking you to step down nicely.”

“Star Chaser, I don’t have time for this,” she said, using her magic to open the door to her room. “If you want to speak more about one day becoming the Ruler of Equestria, then I’ll be available later today.”

He just chuckled and began to take slow steps towards her. “You’re not grasping the situation, mother. Either step down peacefully, or I will make you.”

At this threat, she glares at him. “Do not use idle threats against me. Do not let your anger and greed for power dictate your whole life, Star Chaser.”

“It is CHAMPION!” he roared, as he got face to face with her.

“Do not yell at your mother!” she roared back in her normal voice. “That’s it, we’re done here! Leave me, Star Chaser!”

“Make me,” he said in a cold voice, just a few inches from his mothers face.

Her horn began to glow, but suddenly she sighed and stopped, looking at her son with hurt eyes. “What’s happened to us, Star Chaser? We used to never act like this towards each other.”

This seemed to anger him, as he’d wanted her to make this easy and attack him first. Now he just felt a deep hurt within himself.

“Just do as I ask, mother,” he said in a cold yet shaky voice.

“I will not, Star Chaser,” she stated, smiling at him as she reached up and touched his face. “Just wait. I promise the time will come.”

He closed his eyes as he leaned forward, placing his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, mother.”

“It’s okay, my Star,” she said as a tear ran down her face. “Your anger just takes over sometimes, like it use to do with me. I promise, I’ll be by your side no matter what, doing my best to keep you on the right path.”

“No, I’m not sorry for that,” he said, reaching up and placing a hoof on her face as he held her gaze.

“Azure Moon,” she said with a small sigh. “You don’t need to apologize to me. It is she who is the one hurt by-”

“Stop,” he said, gritting his teeth as tears ran down his face. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what else is there to be sorry for, my Star?” she asked, placing both hooves on his cheeks.

A pained look flashed across his face as she felt a sudden jolt in her head. She blinked as she stumbled back a bit, seeing he was holding her horn.

“Star Chaser…” she muttered in a daze, the pain not setting in as she stared at him in shock.

“I love you, mother,” he said as he grabbed either side of her face and his eyes flared to life. Two beams flew out of his eyes and into hers. She didn’t scream or fight him as she grabbed ahold of him, jerking as he kept up the beams. Once he stopped, he let her go, letting her body fall to the ground.

He stared at her and then let out a heavy ragged breath as he stumbled backwards into the bed, starting to hyperventilate. He grabbed his head and stared at the floor with wide eyes.

“Luna? I felt something strange just now, are you okay?” Celestia said as she stepped into the still dark room, not seeing anything at first. “Star Chaser?”

His head snapped up at her, his bloodshot crazy eyes clearly visible even in the darkness. This caused Celestia to take a step back despite herself. “Are you okay, Star Chaser? Where is-” her eyes went wide as she finally realized what the dark lump on the ground was.

“Luna?!” she wailed as her horn began to flare to life. “What have you-”

But a sonic boom was heard as Champion shot forward, coming to a stop right in the doorway, the room behind him now covered in gore. He himself was also covered in blood as he ran a shaky hoof through his mane, the blood getting everywhere.

“Prince Star Chaser?!” four guards exclaimed as they stood at the end of the hallway.

He frowned as he exploded towards them as well, sending blood and gore everywhere as he appeared on the other side of them. Looking back, he saw there was nothing left of them but some crumbled metal.

With a deep sigh, he began to walk down the hallway, having only one more loose end to tie off.

Upon arriving at the desired door, he flung it open and stepped inside. But there was no one there. He growled as he scanned the room, seeing a note on the desk. Stepping over to it, a scowl appeared on his face as he read it.

‘Don’t panic, with Balgore. Will be back in a few days, week at the most. Love you guys! ~Love Nova’.

“That little…” he sneered, slamming his hoof down on the desk. He’d just deal with her when she returned. Till then, he had work to do.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I hope this is enough,” Flippy Dew muttered as she and Roxxy walked down the street, each one carrying saddlebags filled with snacks they’d baked on their own.

“If I know Dude, this won’t be enough,” Roxxy chuckled as she reached over and patted the other mares back. “Don’t worry though, we have enough.”

“I hope,” she said with a sweet smile.

A sudden explosion in the distance got their attention.

“What was that?” Flippy Dew asked nervously.

“That came from Spark’s parents house, I think,” Roxxy said, taking a step in that direction.

But a few screams from behind them drew her attention again as she saw something dive into the ground, followed by a building a few streets over exploding.

“Are we under attack?!” Flippy Dew yelped, eyes wide as they saw another building explode.

“Come on!” Roxxy yelled, throwing off her saddlebags as she ran towards the explosions.

“Ooo, horseapples!” Flippy Dew yelled as she threw her bags off and ran after her friend.

The pair came up on a scene out of a war movie as they saw ponies staggering around, trying to get away from the fires that were spreading to all the surrounding buildings.

Without warning another building exploded, sending debris flying at a group of ponies who were trying to pull others out of some rubble. Just as the flying rocks and splinters slammed into them, a massive forcefield appeared before them, saving them.

“Good work, Dew!” Roxxy exclaimed as her friend strained to put up more forcefields around others in the area.

“What is this? Is this that ‘Ego’ I’ve heard so much about?” A massive dark griffon laughed as he flew down and landed before the two mares. “What are you, wannabe heroes?”

The two stared up at him, recognizing him as the father of the late Prince Frederic.

“Ah fuck,” Roxxy muttered as she held out her hoof, causing her Ego Scythe to appear.

“You think that will help you here?” he laughed as Flippy Dew’s Ego spirit suddenly appeared and slammed a hoof right into Richard’s face, sending him flying backwards into a building.

This left the two mares stunned, as they hadn’t expected that to happen.

“Fuckin’ A, Dew,” Roxxy said, giving her friend a nod of approval.

“I don’t know what you just did,” the angry Griffon said as he floated up above the buildings, smiling at them. “But I’m very interested in you two now. So come on, ladies! Let’s dance!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“No one home?” Dude asked as he and Nightstreak sat in the Pegasus's room.

“Nah man, they’re all off in town today,” Nightstreak assured him as he reached over and brushed some of his mane out of his eyes. “We’re alone.”

Dude smiled as he pushed the muscled up stallion backwards, climbing on top of him and grinning down at him. The two began to make out, getting a little handsy as things got heated.

But a sudden explosion nearby shook the house, and caused Dude to lose his footing and fall off the bed.

“What the fuck?!” Nightstreak growled as he rolled over and opened the blinds on his window just as another explosion rocked the entire house, this one much closer.

Standing up, the two looked at each other in concern. The sound of even more explosions got them moving as they rushed for the front door, finding themselves in the middle of a warzone.

“What’s going on here?!” Nightstreak called out to a pony as they ran towards them.

“The villains! They’re back! THEY’RE BACK!” he screamed, rushing past them as more and more ponies began to run from the burning buildings as more explosions were heard.

As they ran, a large creature suddenly slammed into the ground amid the crowd, laughing loudly as it began to swipe its large claws through the many fleeing ponies, turning them into piles of gore with each swipe.

“Is that the…”

“Fucking Nightmare?” Nightstreak said with a frown as his Ego Gauntlets appeared on his hooves. “Yep. That’s the fucking Nightmare.”

“And we have to fight it?” Dude groaned as he pulled out his Ego Saber, bringing it to life as the Ego laser extended out of the hilt.

“I mean, we could run away too. No one would blame us,” Nightstreak said, glancing at his lover.

“Fuck,” Dude groaned, shaking his head as he watched the Nightmare slaughter all the ponies around it. “Let’s just fucking get him.”

Nightstreak gave a nod as they both took off sprinting for the large creature. As they neared it, Dude pulled out a card and threw it up, causing forcefields to appear all around the Nightmare, saving the remaining ponies. He had two more forcefield cards he’d gotten from copying Flippy Dew’s Ego, so he’d have to make them count.

“Annoyances,” the Nightmare remarked as it turned to face them, taking on a new form. This one was smaller, but much more terrifying as it looked like a monster straight out of a horror movie.

“Don’t die, bro,” Nightstreak said as he split from his partner and ran for the right side.

“Don’ you fucking die you idiot!” Dude yelled as he ran to the left.

The Nightmare just chuckled in amusement as it prepared to face the two new challengers.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Hang in there, please!” Summer Breeze yelled to the heavily bleeding pony before her, a large piece of wood sticking out of his chest. She was doing her best to save his life, but she wasn’t sure what parts of him were wounded, as the more she healed, the less effective she felt.

After a few more moments, he went limp, the life leaving his eyes.

She let out a sob as she quickly moved to the next injured pony, her blood covered hooves working at removing their shirt as she began to fill them with her Ego, searching out their injuries and doing her best to fix them.

“Boom boom POW!” she heard a strangely familiar voice yell out, laughing like a maniac. “You’re dead, babe!”

Working faster, she finished healing the pony before her, who pushed themselves up and took off running. But before they could get to safety, a striped pony suddenly appeared before them, a massive grin on his face.

“Hello hello! Didn’t I already kill you?” he laughed as his mouth suddenly unhinged and he took a massive bite out of the side of the pony before him, removing half of their head in one go.

He laughed like a psycho as he saw Summer Breeze standing there, her eyes twitching in anger as she stared him down.

“Oh look at you, all brave and shit!” he laughed as he sprang forward, his Demonic form seeming to wither with pleasure as he reached her, his unhinged jaws and rows of sharp teeth snapping towards her.

With a roar of her own she slammed her shield into his mouth, preventing him from biting her. It may not be an Ego weapon, but it was Ego infused, so it’d hold up to some serious abuse.

Just as he began to try and dislodge the shield from his mouth, her Ego Spirit appeared next to her and jumped into the Demonic Pegasus, tackling him to the ground and pounding away at him.

“What is this thing?!” he yelled, apparently being able to see the spirit despite not having an Ego.

“Jun,” someone said from above as they landed next to her.

“Starch!” she said in relief, happy to not be alone.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said with a smile as he rolled his neck, getting ready.

Jun roared as he sliced through the Ego Spirit, causing it to disappear. He climbed to his hooves and flared his bat like wings as he glared at them.

“I’m going to eat every inch of you two,” he said in a cold and sinister voice.

“Well come get a taste of me then,” Starch laughed, waving a hoof at him, gesturing for him to bring it on.

With a deep growl, the Demonic Jun jumped towards them.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mr. Bleak flew down the forest path, running for the sounds of explosions coming from New Ponyville. He was panicking, as he knew his wife and daughter were there right at that moment.

“Brother,” a voice called out as someone appeared right in front of him along the path.

He flapped his wings hard, coming to a stop not far from the figure. His eyes wide.

“Val?!”

“Darkest,” the other stallion said with a wide grin. “So good to see you again. I heard you have a kid. Again.”

Mr. Bleak’s eye twitched as he squared up with his brother. “I don’t know why you’re back, but are we really going to do this dance again?”

“We are,” Val said as red energy began to crackle around his body. “I have a little surprise this time around though.”

His eyes widened as he sensed something off about his brother, something dark and evil. An evil that did not belong in Equestria.

“This is where we end this, brother,” Val remarked as he began to stroll towards Mr. Bleak.

A determined look fell over Mr. Bleak’s face as he began to advance on his brother as well, cyan energy began to raise from his body.

“Oh? I see I’m not the only one with a little surprise,” Val laughed.

“Yeah, I have a little surprise for you alright,” Mr. Bleak growled, his Ego flaring as he glared his brother down.

“I wonder what this little Ego of yours does,” Val said with a smile as the two neared each other.

Without further words, the two exploded towards each other.

Battle for Equestria: Devastation

Chapter 27

“Come on, move your ass’s!” Reinhardt yelled as she waved as many ponies out of the area as she could, the fighting happening all over town causing untold damage and deaths. She growled, as she wanted to get out there and help, but she couldn’t just leave all these defenseless bystanders to fend for themselves.

So against her warrior instincts she stayed and did her best to assist her friends with evacuating the ponies to safety.

“Do we know what is going on yet?” Moxxi asked as she used her mechanical arms, which she usually only wore for construction jobs, to lift a massive amount of debris off of a few trapped ponies.

“I have no idea!” Reinhardt yelled as Calypso and Doc moved through the wounded, helping as many as they could.

Zorrow growled as he rushed over to an injured colt and dragged him away from a burning building as a stray magical ball flew over their heads and hit another building, obliterating it instantly. “It’s those assholes that Lance and the others fought all those years ago!”

“You mean the pushovers that only were threats because of Lance’s pussy no kill rule?” Reinhardt asked as she moved to help a few other ponies.

“Yep,” he said as he looked towards the Everfree forest in the distance, seeing most of the fleeing ponies were heading that way. Down there he saw his adopted daughter helping direct ponies on where to go. Focusing, he ran to his wife and climbed under a collapsed roof she was holding up.

He shoved an injured mare out of the rubble, coughing as the smoke threatened to choke him out.

“We need to help,” Reinhardt yelled, not liking being regulated to support.

“How? You see that shit over there? They’re fighting with Ego and some crazy kind of powers!” Seth yelled as he struggled to stop the bleeding on a stallion's chest. “Calypso!”

“I’m trying!” she screamed as she had other injured ponies she was trying to save. Doc was working as fast as he could, but he was just one yeti, he couldn’t get to them all fast enough.

There was a loud bang as something came rocketing towards them.

“Incoming!” Reinhardt yelled as something slammed into the ground a few yards away from Moxxi.

Loud coughing was heard as Roxxy stumbled up and out of the crater, holding her throat as she collapsed.

“DOC!” Moxxi screamed as she rushed to the downed mare’s side.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Earlier

With a yelp of shock, Flippy Dew barely got her shield up as a crackling ball of energy flew towards her, crashing into the forcefield. The power of the attack shattered her shield immediately, sending her flying backwards as her Ego Spirit flew past her and slammed into Richard, attacking with reckless abandonment.

“This thing is a pest!” the dark Griffon yelled as he sliced a claw across it, sending it back to its owner.

His left ear twitched as he spun around and caught the blade of Roxxy’s Scythe as she swung it for his back, aiming for one of his wings. With a laugh he yanked her towards himself, going to grab her. Instead she just unsummoned her Scythe as she flipped her body over his outstretched arm. With a calm demeanor she brought her Scythe back out and sliced it across his back.

Richard roared in pain as he twisted faster than she could react and threw a ball of red energy at her. A forcefield surrounded her, saving her from the initial blast, but didn’t stop her from being thrown high into the air.

Flexing his wings, he laughed, as she’d only removed a few feathers and left a shallow cut along his back. “That was a good move, kid. But maybe next time add a bit of reach!”

His eyes flickered to the left as the Ego Spirit came flying for him, but he simply dodged left and sliced it with his claws. A sinister smile formed on his face as he looked at Flippy Dew. He raised his hand and shook a finger at her, “that little friend of yours isn’t that useful. Nor smart.”

She didn’t respond as her Spirit went in for another attack.

“Tsk, be more original!” Richard roared as he went to slice the Ego Spirit again, but just as his talons reached the Spirit, a forcefield appeared right in front of his claws, blocking his attack. “Clever,” he muttered as a hoof slammed into his face, hard enough to snap his head back.

Which is the only reason he saw Roxxy flying straight down at him, her Scythe held at the ready.

He allowed the Ego Spirit to land a few more hits as the mare neared him. Then in one fluid motion he sliced his wings across the Spirit before him, causing it to fade away. With a laugh he suddenly dodged back just as the mare sliced her weapon through the air where his head had just been.

“Nice try,” he said in a calm voice as he shot his crackling fist forward, smashing through the forcefield that appeared before him and crashed his fist right into the mare’s side.

The force of the hit blew all of the fight out of her as she rocketed towards Flippy Dew, who flew up and caught her friend just in time.

“These are the challengers I was promised?” Richard asked as he hovered high above them. He held his hands out as they began to glow red with crackling energy. “How disappointing.”

With a gleeful yell, he began to send balls of energy flying in all directions, aiming for the buildings below.

Gritting her teeth, Flippy Dew focused as best she could, sending out as many Forcefields as she could. She caught a lot of them, but way too many got past her, hitting the town below.

“You’re failures,” Richard stated, a wide grin on his face.

“Let me go, Dew,” Roxxy grunted, getting out of her friend's grasp and hovering next to her.

“What do we do?” Flippy Dew asked. “He’s way above us at this point as far as power goes.”

“Yeah, I know,” the battered mare said, glaring up at the Griffon as he prepared another volley of attacks. “Just focus on stopping those blasts, and I’ll handle him.”

“On it,” she said, preparing herself.

With that, Roxxy flew up towards the dark Griffon, Scythe at the ready.

“Ever heard the definition of insanity?!” Richard yelled as he began to send even more balls of crackling energy in all directions. Shields shot up all around him, catching most of them.

Laughing, he slammed his hands together, sending a volley straight at Roxxy as she flew towards him. But she stayed her course, shields appearing ahead of her as she kept her eyes locked on his.

Finally she reached him, spinning her body as she prepared to slice him in half.

With a yell, she swung her Scythe around, coming straight for his body as shields kept popping up to protect her. Moments from contact, a glowing hand grabbed her blade, stopping it in its tracks.

She came to a sudden stop as all of her momentum disappeared as he caught her Scythe.

A smug smile graced his face as he yanked her towards him, catching her by her shoulders. “Insanity is doing the same damn thing, over and over again, and expecting different results!”

“Don’t lecture me,” she growled, spitting into his face.

“Ah, pleasant,” he said as a shield appeared between them, but he just rolled his eyes as he raised a thumb and pressed the talon against her neck. Her eyes went wide as he drove it deep, blood spurting out. “Be seeing you,” he said with a smirk as he tossed her up and crashed a crackling fist through the shield that appeared and then into her, sending her rocketing away.

“Roxxy!” Flippy Dew screamed, flying after her. But the dark form of Richard shot in front of her, blocking her path.

“You can’t leave yet,” he said, sticking his thumb into his mouth and cleaning the blood from it. “You gotta kill me, to avenge your friend.”

“You monster,” she hissed as she shook in anger, her Ego Spirit shooting towards him.

He just laughed, nodding his head. “You got that right, kid!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I don’t think this is a fair fight,” Dude exclaimed as he sprinted away from the Nightmare as it roared with laughter, dark tendrils chasing after him.

“Just keep fighting!” Nightstreak yelled as he did his best to dodge all the incoming attacks, using his Gauntlets to punch away any tendrils that he couldn’t dodge.

The Nightmare just kept on laughing, walking towards them as more and more tendrils shot out of his body, most going after them, but the others shooting into buildings, killing all the ponies they came across.

“Where is this mare I’ve heard so much about,” he asked as the two stallions struggled to fight against his onslaught of attacks. “You two are growing bored.”

“Which mare?!” Dude yelled, flipping to the side as he dodged a large tendril, using his Ego Saber to slice another that flew for him. “We got a lot of mares in this town, dumbass!”

“The one called Scamp. She’s supposed to have some of me in her, and I want to see that for myself!” Nightmare exclaimed as he suddenly stopped attacking with his tentacles and shifted into a new form, this one resembling a gorilla straight out of a nightmare.

“Not here, that’s for sure,” Nightstreak said as he rolled his shoulder and sprinted towards the large gorilla.

With a roar, the Nightmare slammed both fist into his chest and came down on all fours, then sprinted towards the charging stallion.

As they neared each other, the Nightmare jumped forward, slinging his fist backwards. Taking a gamble, Nightstreak kept his guard down as he prepared to attempt to use his Ego to counter the attack.

Just as the massive fist of the large gorilla reached him, he activated his Ego. But the sound of a massive bang signaled he’d been too early at activating it as he was sent flying backwards.

“Nightstreak!” Dude yelled as he cast a card, causing a shield to appear around the stallion as he flew through the air and slammed into a building, completely destroying it.

“What was that?” the Nightmare roared with laughter, shaking his fist with glee. “He just stood there and took it! I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

Dude sprinted towards the destroyed building, hoping his shield was still active as the remnants of the building began to collapse in on itself.

As he ran, he saw a large rock come flying for him. He didn’t have time to react as it neared him, but just as he thought he was about to die, he suddenly fell through the ground and crashed down next to another pony.

“You alright, Dude?” Alexander asked as he adjusted the Portal Gauntlets on his hooves.

“Nightstreak, he’s-” Dude began, getting back up.

“I got him,” Alexander said, nodding to the unconscious stallion next to him. “He’s alive. Trixie, can you get him to Doc?”

“Of course,” she said as she used her magic to lift the unconscious Nightstreak. “Just don’t do anything stupid, idiot.”

A smile fell across Alexander’s face as he gave a nod to her, “No promises.”

Once they were gone, he looked back to the Nightmare, who was currently attacking a building, reaching in and grabbing ponies.

“We need to finish this guy off and get to helping the others,” he said, nodding to Jero, who was in his human form, as he stepped up with him.

“Dude, I don’t know where you got an Ego, but good work so far distracting him,” Jero said, giving a nod to the younger Stallion. “Up to helping us some more?”

Dude looked after Trixie and Nightstreak, a conflicted look on his face. After a moment, he turned back to them and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get this asshole.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Watch it!” Starch yelled out to Summer Breeze as she raised her shield just in time to block a kick from the Demonic Jun. She yelped as she was thrown backwards again, her Ego Spirit taking her place as it grabbed Jun’s leg and tried to restrain him.

“Is this all you got?!” Jun laughed as he flexed his massive muscles, getting rid of the Ego Spirit with a simple flex of his muscles. A flurry of strikes landed on his face as Starch moved agilely around him, dodging the slower attacks of the large Demonic stallion before him.

“Come on! Impress me at least a little bit before I kill you!” he laughed in a sinister voice.

“Okay, pal, I’ll impress you,” Starch said as his body suddenly began to glow a light cyan.

Jun’s eyes went wide, “Ego?!”

“Eeyep!” he laughed as he split into four clones of himself. “Get a load of this!” The four Starch’s sprang forward, pelting Jun with attacks. The Demonic stallion roared as he sliced his wings forward, beheading two Starch’s as four more appeared.

“This is cheating!” Jun screamed as he went on a rampage, slicing through the Starch’s as fast as he could, but they kept replacing themselves, continuing their attacks on his body. The number of Starch’s never succeeded six, but that was plenty to annoy and harass the Demonic stallion.

Summer Breeze watched in awe as Starch’s six clones kept up their attack on him, amazed that he had an Ego. Breaking out of her trance, she nodded up to her Ego Spirit. It nodded back to her as it flew into the air and began to draw energy into itself.

“What’s wrong Lance wannabe?” one of the Starch clones said as Jun bit through them.

“Can’t handle all this sexy?” another said with a laugh as Jun’s horns rammed into its face.

Jun roared in anger as he kept ripping through the clones, but they just kept coming back. He’d killed all of them over and over again, but he had yet to do anything to stop them from coming back.

Just as he was at his peak of anger, something crashed into his back, causing him to slam into the ground below himself. The ground around them exploded as a crater suddenly formed as the force of the impact was so great. The Starch clones had jumped back at the last second, saving themselves.

The Ego Spirit stood up on the back of the now downed Jun, looking up to Summer Breeze with a smile.

“Nice,” she said, giving it a nod.

“That’s enough,” Jun growled as his wings snapped through the Ego Spirit, causing it to disappear. “I told them I could kill all of you without my new abilities, but screw that shit.”

“What are you mumbling about down there,” a Starch clone asked with a smirk.

“Fuck all of you,” Jun growled as his body began to crackle with red energy. “FUCK ALL OF YOU!”

A shock wave exploded from his body, sweeping over the entire area around them.

All of the Starch clones flickered and collapsed, leaving just one standing. “Uh…”

Summer Breeze’s own Ego Spirit flickered and faded away, not coming back out. Even her Ego seemed to stop working.

“Ah shit,” Starch muttered as Jun turned on them, rage emitting from his body as he flew up towards them.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Earlier

The two brothers broke away from each other, having exchanged a few blows. Neither had used their respective powers yet, seeming to wait for the other to go first.

“Are you teasing me, Darkest?” Val asked with a smile as began to pace around his brother.

“I could say the same thing to you, Valentine,” Mr. Bleak said with a smile, using his brother's full name for the first time in eons.

“You are teasing me,” Val chuckled, as if they were having a casual conversation. “You know I hate to be called that.”

“It’s your name,” his brother said with a smirk. Then he became serious as he looked his brother over, seeing the red crackling energy that emitted from his body. “That’s not Ego, or any power I’ve seen before.”

“It’s a little gift from a certain benefactor,” he said simply, the energy seeming to increase for a moment as he smiled at his brother.

“Why don’t you use it? Show me up for once?” Mr. Bleak asked as they both stopped circling each other.

“Darkest,” Val began calmly. “I’d say I’ll miss you, but we both know that’d be a lie.”

“Likewise,” Mr. Bleak replied evenly, holding out his hoof as the shadows around them flew towards his outstretched hoof, forming a large sword.

“Ah, some kind of Shadow Manipulation Ego?” Val asked, chuckling as he shook his head. “So fitting for one such as yourself.” He began to walk towards his brother, a wide smile on his face. “Do I have a surprise for you then!”

The two launched towards each other as Mr. Bleak swung his sword made of shadow’s at his brother, watching his movements closely. Instead of dodging the attack, Val swung his glowing hoof into the blade, causing it to seemingly get sucked into his hoof and disappear.

Mr. Bleak’s eyes went wide as he dodged around the sudden strike of his brother as a straight blade of shadow flew from Val’s hoof, the blade barely missing his face as it clipped through his mane.

Breaking contact, Mr. Bleak flew backwards, shadows flying into him as he created two different swords this time. He landed on the ground, facing his brother.

Val stood up, letting out a laugh as he examined the blade he’d produced. “Like that, brother?”

“I see you can absorb others Ego and use it,” Mr. Bleak observed, but his brother just laughed in response.

“That’s very simple minded of you, Darkest,” he said as he turned to fully face his brother. “I don’t like spoiling things for others. But I have an excellent two in one ability.”

Mr. Bleak frowned, as when Val had stolen his Shadow Weapon, he’d felt something wrong with the powers that imitated from the other stallion.

“That power of yours, it’s similar to Ego… but it’s not Ego exactly.”

“Bingo,” Val exclaimed with a smirk. “Guess I can spoil that for you. It’s Anti-Ego.”

This did not mean anything to Mr. Bleak, as he wasn’t an expert on any of this Ego mess.

“I see you’re confused,” Val mocked, placing a hoof to his chest. “Oh, I guess your brother must explain EVERYTHING to you yet again. That silly Ego that all of you like to use is simple and barbaric, while this power, this Anti-Ego, is the true embodiment of the Soul! While you’re playing with a simple Ego that gives you nothing but a bit of power, I’m able to have multiple powers at once!”

“You just love to talk, don’t you, Valentine?” Mr. Bleak mocked calmly, smiling at the reaction of his brother.

“No more games then, I suppose,” Val muttered as red energy exploded from his body. “How about I show you a little power I borrowed from our good friend Champion.”

“Well come on then,” Mr. Bleak said as Val suddenly disappeared from in front of him. Before he could react, a hoof slammed into his face, sending him crashing through the trees behind himself.

He quickly caught himself and landed on the ground on all fours, sliding across the ground still.

That attack had caught him off guard completely, as he still did not fully understand these powers his brother now had.

“Oh this’ll be over sooner than I’d hoped,” Val said as he strolled through the path of destruction he’d created with Mr. Bleak’s body.

But Mr. Bleak just stood up and smiled at his approaching brother. “Your mistake is thinking my Ego is ‘simple’.”

“You make weapons out of shadows, that’s as simple as it gets,” Val laughed as the energy seemed to jump from his body, popping as it hit the ground or the trees.

“You think so?” Mr. Bleak said as the area around them started to get darker. “My Ego is not Shadow Manipulation.”

Val’s eyes went wide as Mr. Bleak disappeared. He stopped, trying to sense his brother, but it was like he was just gone.

Then a hoof materialized in front of him as it grabbed his horn and ripped it off, causing him to roar in pain and fly backwards, sending a wave of energy exploding from his body.

Mr. Bleak reappeared leaning against a tree, picking his teeth with his brother's horn. “Yeah, my Ego is Darkness Manipulation, a lot more versatile than your simple mind was able to conceive.”

“It’s just a party trick in comparison to what I have,” Val growled as he held up his hoof, the darkness around him seeming to be sucked into his body. “Let’s get serious, shall we?”

“Let’s,” Mr. Bleak said, tossing away the horn and fading away into the darkness around himself.

Battle for Equestria: Uneven power scales

Author's Note

I changed the names of the other two chapters.

Battle for Equestria: Uneven power scales

Chapter 28

“Bloody hell!” Starch exclaimed as he stumbled back, barely dodging the snapping jaws of Jun.

“What’s wrong? Can’t fight without your Ego’s?!” he laughed, jumping for Summer Breeze as she dove to the side, barely dodging the monster of a stallion. “Come on, just let me get a little nibble!”

She was terrified, as she still had her Shield, but that wasn’t enough to do anything against him! Even Starch has been struggling to handle him, as their attacks didn’t seem to do anything but give him pleasure.

With a roaring laugh Jun flared his wings and launched himself at Summer Breeze, catching her instantly as she attempted to dodge again.

“Got you!” he exclaimed as his jaw unhinged.

As he began to lurch forward, he let out a yelp as he was suddenly dragged backwards and thrown away, dropping the mare in the process.

“That was a bit too close,” Starch said as he helped Summer Breeze back up.

“Very close,” she said, a bit shaken up. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted as Jun climbed to his hooves and began to look around, seeming to have somehow lost them, despite them not moving. “If I knew how his powers worked, I might be able to get our Ego’s turned back on.”

“FOUND YOU!” Jun yelled as he locked his eyes on them and sprang towards them.

“Thank all that is good that this guy is an idiot like Lance,” Starch said with a smirk.

As he neared them, they split apart, making him decide on who he’ll deal with first.

He chose Starch as he galloped at full speed towards the smiling stallion.

The moment he reached Starch he sprang forward, mouth open wide as he went for the kill. Yet Starch didn’t waiver as he simple side stepped the muscled up Jun and grabbed one of his demon horns. With a yell of excitement he jumped up onto the back of Jun and straddled his back, holding his wings down as he grabbed his horns with both of his hooves.

“Get the fuck off of me!” Jun roared as he thrashed around.

“Well yee-haw!” Starch yelled as he held on. “Giddy up, little doggy! Uh, I’m out of cowboy terms so yipp yipp!”

“Stop that!” Jun growled as he fought to get the stallion off of his back.

As the Demonic stallion struggled to get free, he didn’t see the mare running towards him till it was too late. With a loud bang, Summer Breeze slammed his shield right into his face, right between the eyes. He stumbled back a bit as Starch yanked his head back up as she hit him again, then again, and yet again, each time right between the eyes.

“Fuckers!” he roared as he suddenly snapped forward, catching the hoof that had the shield attached to it in his mouth. Her eyes went wide as he clamped down, the shield easily surviving the bite, but not her hoof that was attached to it. A few of his teeth punctured through her leg, causing her to yell in pain as she tried to pull her leg free.

Starch began to slam one of his hooves into the side of Jun’s face, trying to get him to let go of her.

Jun began to shake his head side to side, like a dog going for the kill. Summer Breeze held her ground the best she could, but she was getting thrown around against her will nonetheless.

Just as it felt like he’d saw right through her leg, a fourth pony entered the fray, slamming their hoof into Jun’s face.

With a pain filled roar, Jun let her go and reared up, jumping backwards so he landed on his back. The force of having the massively muscled up Jun land on him caused Starch to lose his grip on him.

Now free, Jun jumped away from them, wailing like a child as he touched at his face. A knife was protruding out of his right eye.

“There, now you’re closer to being like Lance,” the new arrival said as he ran over to check on Summer Breeze.

“Thanks, Cody,” she said as he looked at her leg, which did not look good at all.

“Where’s my daughter?” he asked as he examined her wounds, taking out some gel that he’d gotten from Calypso and sprayed it on the wound, stopping the bleeding.

“I… I don’t know,” she admitted, realizing she hadn’t seen any of her friends since this had started. She could definitely hear fighting all around her, but she wasn’t sure if that was her friends or not.

“Okay,” he said, looking over to Jun as Starch danced around the still thrashing Demonic stallion, taking a few jabs at him when he could. “We can deal with this wannabe real quick, then I’ll go find Flippy Dew.”

She gave a nod as she noticed her Ego Spirit had reappeared next to her. Her eyes went wide as she looked at Starch and yelled, “our Ego’s back!”

“Oh booyah!” Starch laughed as he split into six copies of himself and laid into Jun. One of his copies ripped the knife from his eye and began to stab away at him. Jun seemed to go into a frenzy as he began to destroy everything around himself.

“I’m going to eat you! I’m going to eat your brain and take this stupid power of yours!” he roared, grabbing Starch’s and biting their heads off like a rabid animal.

The Ego Spirit flew over to them, holding it’s leg up as it turned into a sharp point and rammed it into the back of Jun. The spike-like appendage of the Ego Spirit drove all the way through the Demonic stallion's body, but it didn’t seem to do anything as he spun around and sliced a wing through the Spirit.

Cody looked back to Summer Breeze, seeing she had already mostly healed her leg with her Ego. “Okay, can you heal others like that?”

She nodded as her Ego attached to him, “I can, I’m just not very good at it.”

“Everything helps,” he said as he stood up and reached into his saddle bags, pulling out another knife. Now armed he sprinted towards the battle between Jun and the Starch’s.

Summer Breeze jumped up and ran after him, staying on the outskirts of the battle as she prepared to try and support them the best she could. Her own Ego Spirit rushed in to help, but Jun would just instantly focus it and get rid of it.

Cody, who wasn’t as trained as the others in his friend group, did his best as he clumsily dodged the attacks of the rampaging demon before him.

“Get his other eye!” a Starch yelled as the one holding the knife got his hoof bitten off, losing the knife inside of Jun’s mouth.

Doing the best he could, Cody ducked under a swipe of a wing and launched forward, going for a stab at the Demonic stallion's remaining eye.

But Jun, who may not be that clever or smart, was not that dumb as he leaned away from the attack and latched his jaws onto Cody’s hoof.

To his credit he didn’t react outside of gritting his teeth as he lost the end of his leg, his hoof getting swallowed by the smiling Jun.

“You little cunt,” Cody muttered as he jumped back in time to avoid any further attacks.

Summer Breeze panicked as she tried to seal the wounds. She didn’t know how to do anything else, so she couldn’t bring the hoof back.

Luckily for Cody, it was only his hoof and not his entire leg.

“That’s annoying,” he grunted as he looked at the slowly healing wound where his hoof used to be. Then his eyes went wide as he looked in the distance and suddenly flew away, leaving them without a word.

Summer Breeze blinked in confusion as he flew away, but a roar from Jun got her attention back to the fight.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I’m not sure if we can handle this alone,” Jero yelled as he gracefully side stepped a swipe of the massive gorilla before him, his Traveler’s blade slicing away at the appendages as they swung for him.

“Well who else is there to call?!” Alexander asked as he used his portals to perform hit and runs against the Nightmare, using a rapier to jab away at the creature.

“Everyone powerful is gone!” Dude yelled as his Ego Saber buzzed through the air as he cut tendrils out of the air as the sprung from the back of the gorilla.

Jero grunted as he messed up a dodge and took a direct hit from the fist of the gorilla. Luckily he’d blocked it with his Traveler’s blade, so the damage was minimal.

The Nightmare, who’d been mostly quiet throughout their little skirmish finally chuckled. “This is almost delightful. You three are fighting with everything you have, and I’m just playing around.”

“Stop gloating,” Alexander said as he shot a portal under the feet of Jero, causing him to pop up behind the Nightmare, allowing him to slice away freely at his back side.

“Want to see me get serious? Just for a moment?” Nightmare asked as he morphed so that he was now facing Jero.

“Bring it,” Alexander taunted as he kept moving around the area with his portals.

“Alex, pay attention,” Jero warned as he deflected an attack and stepped forward, slicing off the jaw of the gorilla, who just ignored it as the darkness that made up his body just reformed the jaw back to normal.

“Okay, I’ll get serious, for one attack,” Nightmare said with a touch of glee as he smiled widely.

Jero prepared himself, not sure what to expect.

A crackling red tendril shot form his body and latched onto Alexander as he came out of a portal.

“Whoa! Wait wait wait!” he yelled as he lost control of his body and his own sword flipped around.

“Alex!” Jero yelled, moving to cut the red tendril. Yet he wasn’t fast enough as Alexander forced his own blade up through his chin and out the top of his head.

“Wonderful, isn’t it? Possession is so much fun,” Nightmare laughed as he let Alexander go as he collapsed to the ground.

Jero’s eye twitched as he began to attack the Nightmare with reckless abandonment, slicing away anything that came near him.

Dude on the other hand was in complete shock at what he’d just witnessed. Nightmare had just killed Alexander like it was nothing. Was he really just playing with them this whole time?!

ooo000<^>000ooo

Zorrow struggled to carry the two injured ponies on his back, one of them being Roxxy, who hadn’t woken up after her wounds were closed. He pushed himself to keep moving towards the Everfree forest, the town behind him starting to resemble the original Ponyville all those years ago when they were attacked by these same assholes.

“Where’s Champion?!” Reinhardt yelled as she dragged a sled filled with injured ponies. “That prick needs to get his ass down here and deal with these guys!”

“I don’t know!” Zorrow yelled as he saw Moxxi running ahead, waving for their daughter to get into the forest with everyone else who was leaving.

They wanted to stay and help more ponies, but the fighting was getting too intense at this point.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Flippy Dew struggled to stay in the air as her wings fought to keep her up. She’d spent so much energy just dodging and flying around, she was starting to run on empty. If he landed even one hit on her, she knew she’d be dead.

“Come on, I killed your friend and all you’re doing is running away from me? Letting this flimsy Spirit thing do all the work?” Richard asked as easily flicked away the Ego Spirit as it sprang for him.

She frowned as she pulled out her Ego infused Whip. It wasn’t very useful, but the fact it could move anyway she wanted might help here.

“Ah, a whip. You're going to whip me as punishment for killing your friend?” he asked in a smug tone. “You do realize I’ve been holding back, right?”

“You smug types are always ‘holding back’,” she sneered at him.

He laughed at this, as he was used to her being scared looking or making squeaking sounds as he attacked her. This was a nice change of pace for him.

“Want a taste?” he asked as red energy began to rise from his body. “Going down!”

The area around her began to get warmer as she suddenly was pulled straight down towards the ground at an alarming speed. She fought against it the best she could, but it felt like something strong was yanking her downward.

Her Ego Spirt flew under her and held on as she put a shield down below her. All any of that did was barely lighten the impact as she crashed through the shield and landed on her Spirit, their body only helping slightly as they disappeared almost immediately.

“Gravity control, pretty fun isn’t it?” he asked as he landed next to her.

She struggled to get up as he laughed and began to raise her up and down, shaking her in the air. “Wonder what all I can do with this power,” he muttered to himself. “Maybe crush you to atoms?” He said as she felt her entire body start to crumple in on itself. “No, that’s too easy.”

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as he released the pressure that had been crushing her.

“How about sending you to space? Have you ever wanted to visit space?” he asked with a laugh as she suddenly rocketed straight into the sky. She started to scream as she flew up, but as she felt herself reaching a height she’d never been before, she came to a screeching halt.

Then she began to lower back towards the town below. She couldn’t help herself as she began to cry. After a minute she was back over the town and still lowering towards the waiting Griffon.

There was nothing she could do, as she didn’t know if she could break out of his control.

“How was space?” he asked as she got close enough to hear him. “I think I got you pretty close at least. Hard to tell from all the way down here.”

She didn’t respond as she looked away from him, not wanting to cry while looking at him.

“Come on, don’t-” he stopped and looked to his right, a wide smile on his face. “Ah, you must be daddy.”

Flippy Dew’s eyes went wide as she turned and saw her dad standing not that far away from them.

“Let her go,” Cody said eerily calmly as he stood there on his hindlegs.

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” Richard said with a gleeful tone. “One of my few pleasures in life is killing someones loved ones right in front of their face. I’m just not sure which of you I want to kill first. Which do you think would be more traumatic?”

“I said,” Cody said as he took his saddle bags off and held them up as he dug through them. “Let her go.”

Richard just laughed as he walked towards Cody, keeping Flippy Dew suspended in the air. “You have the eyes of a killer,” he said as he stopped directly in front of Cody, who still had his left hoof in his saddlebag as he stood up tall on his hindlegs. “I think I’ll kill you in front of her. I feel like that’ll have more of an effect on her, Mr. Killer.”

“Yeah, I use to be killer,” Cody said with a smile. “Want to know the cool thing about that?”

“What’s that?” Richard asked as he leaned his face down towards Cody.

“It means I don’t care about doing it again,” he said as he ripped his hoof out of his bag and pointed an object directly at Richard’s face.

“Is that a fucking gun?!” Richard yelled as Cody smirked and flexed his hoof, firing a Ego bullet right into Richard’s face.

The massive griffon roared in pain as he flung himself backwards, slamming a clawed leg into Cody’s body, sending him flying.

“Daddy!” Flippy Dew screamed as she was released from the hold on her. She quickly flew towards her downed dad as the large Griffon thrashed around the area, screaming expletives at everyone and everything. It didn’t appear that the bullet missed the brain or anything important, since he was still up and yelling.

She landed by her father, tears in her eyes as she saw he had three slices across his stomach and chest.

“You need to go,” he grunted, reaching up and placing a hoof on her face.

“Not without you,” she said, trying to lift him.

“Stop, if I move I’m afraid everything will fall out,” he said, holding a hoof to his gut. “Go, Dewy.”

“Shut up, dad!” she snapped, flipping his hoof away as she focused on his wounds. Little forcefields appeared over the wounds, holding everything in.

“What’d you just do?” he groaned as she struggled to get him up on to herself. Her Ego Spirit appeared next to her and effortlessly picked her father up and held him in its grasp.

“Thank you,” she said to her Ego Spirit as she took off running, her Spirit following after her as her dad wondered how he was floating in mid-air, as he couldn’t see the Ego Spirit.

Behind them, Richard was sending balls of red energy everywhere, blindly destroying everything around him.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mr. Bleak growled in pain as he flipped backwards into the darkness, disappearing.

Val just laughed as he flicked his bloody hoof to the side, “come on, Darkest, can’t you already see the ending of this fight? The more we fight the stronger I get.”

No response came as Mr. Bleak shifted through the darkness, trying to decide on his next move. An idea came to mind, but he wasn’t sure if it’d work.

“There you are, brother!” Val exclaimed as the darkness around Mr. Bleak suddenly pressed into him, betraying him as it crushed his body.

He flexed hard, breaking free of it and flipped into the air, disappearing into the tree cover above.

“Honestly, this is getting embarrassing,” Val yelled out as he kept absorbing the darkness around him.

Mr. Bleak frowned as he realized the longer he kept them in this Dark Field, the stronger his brother was getting. At this point he’s pretty sure he knows what powers his brother may have. Some kind of ability copying power and at least one other. He wasn’t so sure of the second one though.

Reluctantly he dropped the Dark Field around them, letting the light return to the area.

“Ah, giving up on that little trick already?” Val asked, scanning the area.

Focusing on the shadow under Val, he caused it to shoot up and stab into the side of the stallion.

Val let out a hiss of pain as he jumped to the side, using his hoof to absorb the shadow into himself. “Dirty little trick. But I must say, you’re using this power very simple mindedly.”

“Oh?” Mr. Bleak said as he moved through the shadows the tree cover provided.

“Oh yes,” Val said with a laugh. “For example, watch this.”

A moment passed as he looked around, then his eyes locked onto the area in which Mr. Bleak was standing, hidden in the shadows.

“Bang,” Val said in a cocky tone. A sudden pain exploded from inside of Mr. Bleak as he collapsed to the ground. He grabbed his side, coughing up a bit of blood.

He didn’t need his brother to explain that to him, it was the exact idea he’d just come up with.

“Before you try to do that to me, just know, I’ve already figured out how to use you silly power to defend against that. Hope you didn’t need that kidney.”

“Should of just blew my heart,” Mr. Bleak said as he stood up, wiping the blood from his face.

“And kill you so soon? Tsk tsk, no fun in that. We have a long history together brother, it’d be a shame to end it just like that,” Val said, feigning compassion towards his brother.

“How sentimental of you,” Mr. Bleak said as he attempted to use the darkness inside of Val to crush his heart, but nothing happened. Meaning he wasn’t lying about figuring out how to defend against it.

It didn’t take Mr. Bleak long to realize how his brother was doing it, so he mimicked it, taking control of the darkness within his own body, making sure to keep control of it at all times now.

“Ah, you figured it out,” Val said as Mr. Bleak felt a slight tug at one of his organs. “Guess I should’ve kept my mouth shut, huh brother?”

“Let’s stop playing around with each other,” Mr. Bleak said as he slung his hoof to the side, causing the tree next to Val to explode into splinters, sending all the shattered wood flying right at him.

Val dived out of the way, but was still filled with tiny pieces of wood in the process. He didn’t have time to recover as Mr. Bleak began to do the same trick to all the trees around him, taking control of the darkness within them, solidifying it and expanding it at a rapid pace.

A wave of energy burst from his body, blowing away all of the splintered wood before it reached him. “Nice trick, Brother.”

“I actually have another,” Mr. Bleak said with a smirk as he waved his hoof towards himself, causing Val’s shadow to fly across the ground and appear next to the large stallion. The shadow raised itself up and became a fully formed and solid version of Val.

Then in the same instant Mr. Bleak flexed his muscles, causing all of the shadows in the area to fly into himself, leaving nothing but the sunlight around them, not a touch of darkness to be seen.

This did not worry Val as he smiled as he began to exude energy again. Neither was speaking at this point, just staring each other down as their own respective energy swirled around their bodies.

“We’re done here,” Mr. Bleak said calmly as all of his appendages were covered in a pitch black smoke, obscuring them.

Before Val could say anything, a hoof appeared out of nowhere, crashing right into his face. He began to get thrown all around the area as hooves kept appearing out of nowhere and slamming into him.

He fought against them, but there was nothing he could do as Mr. Bleak just stood there, watching as he beat his brother down without having to move his whole body.

“Shadow Boxing,” Mr. Bleak said with a whistle, “you talked about having fun? Well this IS fun.”

Val let out a gasp as a hoof slammed into his gut and lifted him into the air as an onslaught of hooves began to crash into his stomach, keeping him suspended momentarily.

Two final hooves crashed together on either side of his head, causing him to go limp.

With Val finally down, Mr. Bleak began to walk towards him, watching for a counter attack. But the stallion stayed down as he neared him and opened his pocket dimension, pulling out a charm that could restrain anyone.

He tossed it towards his brother, ready to get him dealt with so he could go find his wife and daughter. But just as the little charm neared him, it suddenly stopped midair, a crackling red glow encasing it.

“Darkest Bleak,” a feminine voice said from nearby as a female unicorn appeared just on the other side of the unconscious Val. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“Lilith,” he said with a frown. “I thought you died a millennia ago.”

“I did,” she said sweetly, flashing him an alluring smile as she fluttered her eyes. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“About as happy as a bull on castration day,” he said dryly, getting a giggle out of her. “I assume this is all you're doing?”

“Naturally,” she said with a wink.

He just chuckled, keeping his defenses up, “you should’ve stayed dead, Lil.”

She just smiled at him as her body began to glow and Val suddenly jerked away as her magic engulfed him.

“Oh Vally,” she said as he pushed himself up. “Stop playing with your food.”

A sneer touched his face as he glanced at her, but then he returned his gaze to Mr. Bleak, looking just as furious as the day they first fought.

Mr. Bleak’s smile slowly faded as it seemed like more and more of the Anti-Ego was pumped into his body.

“My final gift to you, Valentine. Do not fail again,” she said in a strict tone as she faded away, as if she was never there.

“So that’s what this is about,” Mr. Bleak said as his own energy increased to its max.

“Same dance, different goals,” Val said as he disappeared, reappearing as he crashed into Mr. Bleak, sending the two tumbling into a portal that opened behind them.

Pushing hard, he broke contact with his brother and sprang back. Glancing around he found himself in a strange dimension, fire and brimstone everywhere.

“Oh this is not good,” he muttered, looking back at his brother to see him grunting and groaning as more and more crackling red energy flew into his body, seeming to come out of the walls around him. “Not good at all.”

Val took on a more demonic form as horns painfully burst from his head. He growled and coughed, sending a black sludge-like substance everywhere.

Not one for inaction, Mr. Bleak shifted through the air in his shadowy form and hit his brother with all he had, sending him flying backwards. Val tumbled through the air and crashed into a wall, shattering right through it and revealing a massive area beyond, fire and lava flowing everywhere as screams of agony were heard.

A low laugh could be heard as Val slowly stood up and appeared in the hole in the wall, now fully transformed into some kind of Demonic version of himself.

“Oh dear brother, this is not going to end well for you at all,” he said with a massive grin as a few strange and hideous creatures began to crawl through the hole, chittering and snickering as they moved towards Mr. Bleak.

Mr. Bleak sighed as he flexed his muscles, getting ready for the fight of his life.

Battle for Equestria: The Climax

Chapter 29

Richard roared in anger as he blindly kept up his volley of attacks, sending them in all directions. He was blind now and beyond furious.

“You’re a mess,” the voice of Lilith said from nearby, causing him to finally stop his rampage as he turned towards the direction the voice came from.

The massive griffon just gurgles at her, as his beak, mouth, and front of his face was just gone, nothing but gore.

“My, that’s some serious damage, probably never live a normal life again,” she giggled, causing him to growl as he sent a few balls of energy towards her. She just teleported behind him, smiling at him. “This is no way to live your life, Richard.”

He knew where she was going with this as he just stood there, body twitching as rage flowed through him.

“Letting your guard down like that, how amateurish of you,” she mocked in a sweet voice.

More energy began to glow around him as he prepared to cast a new attack at her.

“Take the deal,” she said firmly. “Jun and Val have taken it and have far surpassed you. Are you going to let them leave you in the dust?”

Spinning to face her, the glow only getting stronger around his body.

“If you take the deal,” she continues, “it’ll repair all that nasty damage to your face.”

This finally got him to listen as he slowly powered down, the exposed muscles in his face twitching.

“Is that a yes?” she asked in a sinisterly sweet voice.

He hesitated for a moment before giving a single nod.

“Good, Griffon,” Lilith said as her body began to crackle with energy.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jero gasped out in pain as another tendril slipped through his defenses and stabbed him in the side. With a twist of his sword, he cut the tendril and dodged backwards, blood running from a few puncture wounds around his body.

The Nightmare was clearly just enjoying himself as he kept playing around with them, only hurting them a bit each time he got through their blocks.

This battle was starting to draw out, and Jero had used everything he knew already. All of his Traveler’s tricks had done nothing but amuse the Nightmare. Looks like choosing to focus on his wife and kids had a few drawbacks.

Dude wasn’t fairing any better as he struggled to keep up with the fast movement of the Nightmare in his gorilla form. He seemed to be favoring this form at the moment as he swung his large fist at the young Stallion, laughing in glee as he watched Dude fight for his life, sweat pouring down his battered face.

“Dude, do you have ANYMORE tricks up your sleeves?!” Jero yelled as he tried to push through the tendrils to get to the main body of the Nightmare.

“I’m out of cards!” Dude yelled back as he kept jumping backwards as the Nightmare steadily advanced on him.

“Then make more!” the man yelled with a bit of desperation.

“I can’t while fighting!” Dude exclaimed, causing the Nightmare to stop attacking him.

“Is that so?” the large dark creature asked as he spun around and poured all of his focus on Jero. “Then better hurry before I kill your friend!”

Dude stood there completely stunned as the Nightmare ignored him completely.

“Dude!” Jero yelled, breaking the stallion out of his dumbfounded trance.

“Right!” he yelped as a few blank cards appeared before him. He racked his brain as he tried to think of what abilities to put on the cards. The way his Ego worked, he could make a copy of any ability he’s ever seen, but he honestly hadn’t seen that many at this point!

So he made a few more forcefield cards and a few minor wound healing cards. But this wasn’t enough!

“Uh oh! Your friend is losing!” the Nightmare laughed as he steadily increased his attack rate on Jero.

The stallion's eyes went wide as he realized he had seen one other ability! Quickly, he made a few cards with this new ability. He just hoped it’d work here.

Now ready, he threw a card out, causing a forcefield to appear between Jero and the massive gorilla, blocking all the tendrils and causing the beast to crash into the shield. This gave Jero time to get back.

“This is what you came up with? Boring and unimaginative,” the Nightmare said as he turned to face the young stallion, just in time to see him cast another card.

A crackling red tendril shot from the card and attached to the Nightmare’s body, causing his eyes to go wide.

“Yes!” Dude exclaimed as he made the Nightmare raise a massive fist. “Payback boi!”

All of the Nightmare’s tendrils turned inward and impaled the massive creature's body as he began to slam his own fist into his face.

“Yes yes yes!” Dude yelled as he kept making the Nightmare destroy himself slowly.

“Good work, Dude!” Jero yelled as he dashed in and jammed his Traveler’s blade into the thigh of the beast, digging it in as he began to cast a spell.

As he finished the spell, the entire body of the massive beast began to raise up as he continued attacking himself. A massive silvery ball began to close around the Nightmare, slowly encasing him in a special prison only a Traveler has access to.

Nightmare didn’t say anything as he kept his eyes locked on Jero, seeming to promise him death for this.

Just as the prison was about to fully close, a female unicorn appeared right next to the red tendril coming out of Dude’s card.

“Hey, lady!” Dude yelled, waving for her to move. “Get out of here! It’s not safe!”

“I know,” she said as she raised her hoof and sliced it through the tendril, breaking the connection with Nightmare.

With a deafening explosion the silvery ball shattered, sending shards flying in all directions.

“I’ll be honest,” Nightmare laughed as he lowered himself to the ground. “I did not consider you would use my own ability against me. That mistake will never happen again.”

“What have you done?!” Jero yelled at the unicorn who just smiled sweetly at him as she stood there looking all innocent.

Something snapped onto the back of Jero’s leg, causing his eyes to go wide.

“Can you really afford distractions right now?” Nightmare asked with a smirk as he took control of Jero’s body.

Dude quickly cast a card, sending a forcefield over and severing the tendril, but another was already reaching up and attaching to the man.

“Crap,” Dude muttered as both Nightmare and the mare turned to face him.

“Ah, one of the little ‘Heroes of Equestria’,” the mare said with a tilt of her head. “Trying to live up to that title?”

In response Dude cast all of his possession cards, sending the tendrils flying at both of them. But dark tendrils from Nightmare’s back flew forward and severed all of them before they even got close to making contact.

Nightmare raised a finger and wagged it at him, a massive smile on his face, “bad little pony.”

“Dude, get out of here!” Jero yelled as he fought to regain control of his body.

The mare stepped towards him, her body crackling with red energy. Jero let out a grunt as a ball of the same energy formed around him and began to slowly shrink, causing him to get down into a crouched position.

With a loud pop, the ball of energy seemed to shock him, knocking him unconscious in one go.

“Perfect, another one caught,” the mare said as she raised the ball of energy up and caused it to disappear, taking Jero with it.

Dude had seen enough as he turned and booked it away, using his magic to teleport down the street.

“Go after that one,” she commanded as she began to trot away down the street.

Without a word Nightmare began to sprint down the street, calling after the stallion in a cheerful voice.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This doesn’t make any sense,” a Starch clone said as it stood next to Summer Breeze as they watched the five other Starch’s attack the raging Jun.

“It doesn’t look like anything you do to him actually affects him,” she said, watching as the wounds they inflicted just healed slowly. Even the missing eye was slowly coming back, stitching itself back together. “Either he has some kind of regenerative ability, or he’s doing something else.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he muttered, watching as Jun sliced through all but one of his clones. “Can you do anything about that?”

She just sighed, shaking her head, “I don’t know. I don’t really understand my Ego yet, so I don’t know if I could counter something like that.”

“Can you try?”

“I have tried,” she said with a frown. “All I can do is open a wound he closes, but he’s faster at healing it than I am at undoing it. So it’s pointless.”

Starch rubbed his chin, thinking to himself as Summer Breeze’s Ego Spirit charged up another attack, diving in and cleaving a large hole in the side of Jun, revealing his pounding heart inside. One of the Starch clones saw this and sprang forward instantly, crashing his hoof right through the ribs and grabbing the heart.

With a slice of his wing, Jun killed the clone, but not before it crushed his heart. Yet, nothing happened as he continued to attack everyone around him just as viciously.

“That makes no sense,” Starch said with a frustrated grunt. “Even regeneration can’t save you from that kind of damage.”

Summer Breeze stood there, deep in thought as she racked her brain for an explanation. She raised her hoof and scratched her head, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

Then, an idea hit her as she looked around the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t see anything, but as she scanned the area she did feel something weird. Like something was holding onto her.

She closed her eyes and focused on that feeling, slowly tracing it to its origin. Her back left hoof.

Glancing back she raised her hoof, seeing nothing abnormal… at first. But as she stared at it she could just barely see a very thin, almost invisible, red thread coming out of the ground and attaching to her hoof.

“Starch,” she said, nodding down to the thread.

He followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow, “that’s his Ego alright. But what’s it doing attached to you?”

“Don’t know,” she said as she looked back at him, “but whatever it is, it probably is the reason he’s shrugging off all our damage.”

This brought a smile to his face as he looked back at the battle.

“I’m going to cut it, and when I do, go all out,” she said, holding up her shield as her Ego Spirit prepared to attack on her command.

“You got it, little lady,” Starch said with a smile as he dashed towards the battle.

She sat down and positioned her shield over the thread, giving Starch time to get ready.

After a few moments she gave a nod to one of his clones as she sliced the thread, breaking whatever connection Jun had to her.

In that same moment every one of his clones launched attacks against the Demonic stallion, distracting him as the Ego Spirit flew forward like a drill. WIth a massive spray of blood the Spirit pierced straight through Jun’s midsection, leaving a large hole in him.

He roared in absolute pain as he finally showed signs of being hurt.

“Now!” a clone yelled as they all jumped forward and began to rip into the new hole in Jun, ripping out organs and bones as the Demonic stallion struggled to fight them off, growing weaker by the second.

Summer Breeze watched intently, ready for this to be over.

“Now that is gruesome,” a voice said from next to her.

Her eyes went wide but before she could turn to see who was there, a massive fist grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.

A whimper escaped her lips as she found herself being held up by an absolutely massive Demonic Griffon, four sharp and jagged bones sticking out of his shoulder blades, looking like the ends of horrifying blades. The face was twisted into the most gruesome and wide smile she’d ever seen, as it no longer had the face of a griffon, but more of the face of a twisted man.

“Summer!” a clone yelled as it broke from fighting Jun and ran towards her.

“You are way too beautiful,” the Demonic creature said as it raised a claw and placed it right next to her face. “Let’s fix that.”

She let out a scream as he sliced his claw across her face, ruining her snout.

As the clone neared them, a fleshy spider-like appendage with a blade on the end erupted from one of his shoulders and sliced the clone in half effortlessly.

“Are you letting yourself lose to these ponies, Junny boy?” the Demonic Griffon asked as he dragged a claw down the body of Summer Breeze. Her Ego Spirit was trying to get to her, but bony blades kept whipping out from the Griffon’s shoulders and catching it.

“Shut up!” Jun yelled as he struggled to stay standing.

A few tendrils of red Ego flew from the Demonic Griffon and attached to Jun, pumping him full of extra energy. This seemed to bring him back to full strength as his wounds quickly healed themselves.

“Oh, now that’s the stuff!” Jun exclaimed as his muscles began to bulge

“Stop being a disappointment,” the Demonic Griffon growled as he looked at Summer Breeze, raising an eyebrow as he saw her struggling to close her wounds. “Oh, look at that, you have some kind of healing Ego. How cute.”

He began to squeeze her neck, slowly choking the life out of her. His flickering eyes watched her intently, seeming to enjoy the sight of her slowly dying. His fleshy appendages kept killing any clone that ran at him, as well as her Ego Spirit.

The fight slowly left her as her hooves weakly slapped against the fist of the large demon.

A white flash suddenly happened between them, followed by the arm holding Summer Breeze exploding in a bloody mess as she fell backwards, hitting the ground roughly. She rolled over coughing raggedly as the Demonic Griffon roared in agony.

As she looked up to see her savior, a relieved smile appeared on her face.

“What have I missed?” Bronwyn asked as she sheathed her sword, keeping her hand on it as she walked towards them, taking everything in.

“You interfering interloper!” The Demonic Griffon roared as he held up his severed arm, grunting as a whole new limb shot out of the stump.

The woman then saw the little symbol above Summer Breeze, recognizing it as the Mark of the Enforcer. She had questions, but she didn’t have the time to ask them as the Demonic Griffon shot straight for her, moving much faster than one would expect with his size.

She didn’t panic as she fell into a fighting stance and dashed to the side just as he neared her, her blade making a ringing sound as she performed a perfect slice, sending his head flying away.

A sigh escaped her lips as she stood up, looking to Jun as he continued his seemingly never ending battle with the Starch clones.

“Bronwyn!” Summer Breeze yelled as she jumped to her hooves, eyes wide.

Spinning around she saw tendrils shoot up and catch the severed head of the Demonic Griffon, pulling it back down and reattaching it to the body.

“Oh you’re going to be annoying to fight,” she muttered as she watched him turn to face her, a smug look on his face.

“Your speed is quite impressive,” he replied as the spider-like appendages began to rise out of his shoulders, extending themselves out.

She took in the four blades made of bone as they flexed above the large Demonic Griffon, a frown on her face. Looking at Summer Breeze, she saw she was still trying to heal her own wounds, while Starch was busy with Jun. That left just her to deal with this massive beast.

“Alright then,” she said as she squared up with him, lowering into a fighting stance as she returned her sword to its sheath.

Summer Breeze groaned in pain as she watched Bronwyn dash towards the Demonic Griffon, slicing away at his bladed appendages as he stabbed at her. She seemed to be doing just fine, so the mare focused on saving herself.

“Am I going to have to do all the work today?” a mare said as she walked up next to Summer Breeze.

She gave the new arrival a strange look as she continued to heal herself. “Ma’am, I think you should get out of here.”

“Oh, I thought you were another of those ‘Heroes of Equestria’,” the unicorn mare said with a smile as she reached over and placed a hoof on Summer Breeze's face. “Such a shame such a beautiful face has that nasty scar on it now.”

“Lady, you need to get out of here,” Summer Breeze snapped, shoving her hoof away from her face.

The unicorn seemed to consider something before winking at her. “Want to see something interesting?”

“No you need to-” she began to say, but the sight of the woman starting to crackle with the same red energy the two Demonic creatures had caused her to lose her voice.

Without warning all six of Starch’s clones were engulfed in a red ball, causing Jun to roar in anger as he smashed against one of them.

“Stop that, you fool!” she sneered, causing him to stop as the six balls formed together, forcing the clones to disappear and leave only the real Starch.

Summer Breeze, not sure what had just happened, narrowed her eyes as she spun her body and slammed her shield right into the other mare’s face. This seemed to catch her completely off guard as she let out a panicked scream and stumbled to the side. However, the ball of red energy stayed around Starch as it shocked him a few times, knocking him out.

“You nasty little pony!” she sneered, her face looking like it was deforming from the hit as a much older and decrepit mare stared back at her for a moment. Then the flesh shot back up, returning her to the young and beautiful image she wanted to present herself as.

Her Ego Spirit flew into the mare, attempting to attack her, but the moment it touched her it crackled and faded away.

“Kill her,” the mare said coldly as she teleported away, reappearing on a building nearby. The ball of red energy holding Starch disappeared, leaving just a very angry and pissed off Jun.

Bronwyn, who had her hands full with the Griffon before her, growled as she watched the other Demonic creature jump for Summer Breeze. The mare was doing her best to dodge and weave around him, using her shield to save herself, but it was clear her wounds were affecting her.

A bony blade suddenly sliced across her arm, causing her to snap back to the fight at hand. Luckily the injury wasn’t that bad for her as she continued to fight at the same speed as before.

The Demonic Griffon just laughed as he kept up his assault on the woman, ignoring the wounds she inflicted on him as they healed just as quickly as she could land them.

“Now you are a real challenger!” he exclaimed as he suddenly flew backwards, breaking contact with her. “So I think I’ll take you seriously.”

His body began to glow as he seemed to start to transform right before her eyes.

Bronwyn didn’t allow him to just freely do as he pleased as she dashed forward and sliced his front legs off, followed by his head. But he just laughed a bit as his entire body, even the severed limbs, shot into itself, forming a fleshy ball.

Then with a bright red flash it reformed into a much different creature. This one was just a simple, but very muscular, middle-aged man wearing a tuxedo. He chuckled as he reached up and rubbed his chiseled chin, working his jaw.

“Oh to be back in my normal body again!” he exclaimed, effortlessly dodging her attacks now as he seemed to be at his full power now. “Ah, the energy is so much easier to control in this form!”

Bronwyn growled as she upped her speed, trying to get at him, but he was like a completely different opponent now. He seemed to just be playing with her now as he casually used the palm of his hand to move her blade aside each time it swung for him.

“I may have just ruined all the fun,” he said as he smiled at her. “I’m far above you now, so this’ll lose its novelty very soon.”

“Damn it,” she grunted as she heard Summer Breeze scream behind her.

She risked a glance back, seeing that Jun had latched onto her shield and was chomping down on it, his teeth shredding her leg attached to the shield.

That small moment of distraction proved to be a massive mistake as he sprang forward, grabbing both her sword hand and her throat. He smirked as he raised her up into the air, showing off his power as he began to choke the life out of her.

Bronwyn raised her legs and slammed them against his face, trying to push herself away from him, but he just held firm to her, a sadistic look on his face as he slowly applied more pressure.

Taking a risk, she dropped her sword, then using one of her feet she kicked the blade upward. She snatched it out of the air with her left hand and brought the blade down across the arms of the man, causing him to let her go as she severed his appendages.

“Clever girl,” he said with a seductive look on his face.

She ignored him as she landed on the ground and swiped her blade across his legs, dropping him to the ground. Now free, she turned and sprinted towards the other two as Jun now had Summer pinned on the ground, the shield barely saving her as he tried to chomp down on her head.

With a careful slice, she severed the spine at the nape of the neck, causing him to go limp. She then grabbed the mare by a leg and hauled her out from under the large demon as he began to regenerate.

“What do we do now?!” Summer Breeze asked in a panic as she saw the other man was reforming as well.

“We need to run,” Bronwyn said reluctantly. “We can’t kill them as we are.”

The two demons stood up at about the same time, turning to face them.

“Crap, we can’t evade them for long,” Bronwyn observed, readying her blade. Then her eyes went wide as she looked back at the little Mark of the Enforcer that floated above the mare's head. “Wait, do you have an Enforcer's Order Hall Dagger?!”

Summer Breeze blinked at her then gave a nod as she reached up to her shield and took it off, revealing there was a dagger hidden within it.

“Amazing!” Bronwyn said as she took the dagger and sliced the air before them.

The two Demonic beings saw this and rushed for them.

Just as they neared them, Bronwyn grabbed the mare and jumped through the portal. The last thing they heard were the frustrated roars as the portal snapped shut.

Battle for Equestria: The Hero wins the day

Chapter 30

“Come on, little pony, stop fleeing from me,” Nightmare laughed as he bounded down the street, his tendrils snapping forward as he tried to impale the fleeing stallion. Who was only staying alive by using his magic to teleport all over the street as he galloped away from the beast.

“Shit crap shit fuck!” Dude yelled as he teleported again, his horn struggling to keep up with him. He couldn't’ keep this running up for much longer, as the moment his magic burned itself out, he’d be screwed.

Up ahead he saw a group of ponies working hard to put out a fire as a few others were tending to wounded ponies.

Gritting his teeth he turned to run down another alleyway, not willing to take the Nightmare towards them and put them at risk as well.

“Oh? Not running for the safety of others?” Nightmare asked, roaring with laughter as he shrunk down to fit in the alleyway, slowly catching up to the terrified stallion.

He had a destination in mind, but getting there was the hard part. And he wasn’t even sure if it was still there, since most of the town seemed to be blown to pieces.

As he prepared to teleport further down the alley, something pierced straight through his back leg, causing him to yell in pain. He forced himself to teleport anyway, the pain only getting worse as he started to slow down.

A card flew up in front of himself, casting a minor healing spell. It only really dulled the pain and stopped the bleeding, but it would have to do for now.

“You’re starting to slow down, boy,” Nightmare laughed from behind him as he kept getting closer and closer.

“Damn it,” Dude muttered as he teleported to the end of the alley and ran to the left, his destination dead ahead. The Mellowed Pie, and his bag that held all of his stuff.

The building was on fire, and out front he saw his dad’s wheelchair, laying on its side. He didn’t see his father, so he was going to assume he was okay.

Behind him he heard the sounds of Nightmare bursting through the alley, coming out onto the street with him.

“Where are you trying to go?” he asked as he returned to his massive size, bounding towards the lone stallion.

“Almost,” Dude muttered as he teleported forward a bit, his horn feeling like it was about to split in half. “Almost!” he forced himself to teleport again, a massive flash of pain shooting through his head.

He was so close now, but so was Nightmare. Just a little more!

With a yell he teleported again, but his horn had finally had enough as it sputtered and popped, sending a splitting feeling through his head. “No!” he yelled as he stumbled, no longer confident he’d make it to the house.

“So this is it then?” Nightmare laughed, seeing that Dude was no longer able to use magic. “Oh well, the chase was fun.”

A tendril whipped forward, knocking his legs out from under him, sending him tumbling across the ground.

He let out a groan as he came to a stop on the ground, no longer having it in him to keep running. The massive beast was nearly on top of him, so there was no way he’d get any further.

But not wanting to give up just yet he brought up a card and forced himself to create the first thing that came to mind.

“Going long!” Nightmare yelled with a wide smile on his ape face as he jumped forward and prepared to slam his foot right into the prone stallion, ready to end his life in one glorious hit.

The moment he was about to make contact with the downed stallion, a card flashed as a forcefield appeared around Dude’s body.

Nightmare just roared as he fully committed to the kick, sending the stallion flying into a nearby building. Dude, still encased in the forcefield, slammed through a wall and bounced off of a few surfaces before coming to a rest in the middle of a large room.

He groaned as he rolled over, the shields flickering as they fell. They’d done their job, but he still wasn’t safe.

“Are you still alive, little pony?” Nightmare said in a sinister voice as he crept up on the building, making clicking sounds for no reason other than to terrify Dude.

Dude started to get up to run, but then he realized something as he looked around. He was in the Mellowed Pie! As quickly as he could he jumped up and ran for the kitchen, looking for his saddlebags. He knew he’d left them there earlier in the day, but he just couldn’t remember where!

“I can hear your breathing,” Nightmare said as he shrunk down to fit in the hole, entering the restaurant.

Frantically, he ran around the kitchen and back rooms, looking desperately for his bags.

“I think I’m going to make you my little puppet for a while,” Nightmare said in a low tone, getting closer to where Dude was.

Just as he was about to go into a full on panic he saw his bags, buried under a few jackets. Rushing over he pulled his bags free and began to dig through them, looking for the only item that would save his life.

“There you are,” Nightmare exclaimed as he entered the kitchen, tendrils spreading from his body as his crackling Ego slithered across the ground towards the stallion.

With a relieved smile he pulled out the desired item and jumped up.

“What do you have there?” Nightmare asked, tilting his head as he looked at the item in Dude’s hoof. “Oh, a little dagger. Are you going to stab me to death?” He roared with laughter as Dude raised the dagger. “Oh no, don’t stab me, little pony!”

To his surprise, Dude stabbed the air before him and dragged the blade downward, causing a portal to open before him. Nightmare’s eyes widened as he shot everything right at Dude, but he wasn’t fast enough as the terrified pony dove through the portal, which closed the moment he was through it.

Now alone, Nightmare stood there, his body twitching. He’d been too cocky and had let the little pony escape.

“Tsk tsk tsk,” Lilith said from behind him, causing him to growl. “Come with me.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mr. Bleak dodged backwards as his shadowy hooves appeared all over the tunnel, shattering any creature they hit. These little demon things were everywhere, but they were extremely fragile, so a single hit was enough to take them out.

However, there was one that was giving him trouble.

The decrypted and grotesque Val laughed menacingly as he shoved his way through all the little demons around him, his eyes locked on his brother. “Oh come now, dear brother! Do you plan to fight till the very end?!”

No answer came as Mr. Bleak continued to move around the area, doing his best to keep the little demons between him and his brother.

His Ego no longer had an effect on Val, as he seemed to shrug off anything other than physical damage. Even trying to use his shadowy attacks proved dangerous as Val seemed to be able to sense when they were coming, and would try to bite his hoof as it came for him.

So he needed time to think of a plan, or to escape. This place had a great sense of evil to it, and he could sense something lurking nearby. Something he’d rather not come face to face with.

A massive wave of little demons surged after him, all of them screaming in agony, yet every single one of them sported a gleeful smile on their twisted faces.

He reached out with his Ego, attaching to one of the little creatures. He searched it for an answer to his problems, and it did not take him long to sense something within the demon. The answer to at least one of his problems.

Using his Ego he formed a wall of darkness around himself, blocking the weaker demons from reaching him.

Now that he had a moment to himself he focused on his own Ego, gritting his teeth as he tried to perform a brand new trick. A sphere of Ego spread out from his body and rushed forward, covering every demon around him in his energy.

With a strained grunt, he flexed all of his muscles, causing the spreading Ego to rush back towards him. As it passed back over the crowd of demons it disintegrated them immediately.

As soon as it returned to him he looked around, seeing that it was just him and his corrupted brother left.

“Impressive little trick,” Val cackled, unaffected by Mr. Bleak’s Ego. “But it’ll take a lot more than that to stop me now.”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Mr. Bleak said with a smile as darkness began to spread across the ground around himself.

Val growled in anger as he saw shadowy forms of the little demons starting to rise out of the darkness, all of them now obeying Mr. Bleak.

The little shadowy demons kept coming as they began to advance towards Val.

“Pitiful little army you’ve built yourself,” Val hissed as his massive mouth opened up, a dark red glow beginning to admit from deep within his throat.

Then, like a vacuum he began to suck in all the surrounding demons, causing all of them to rush forward as Mr. Bleak shifted into the shadows. He reappeared behind his brother as the little demons struggled to even reach him.

Using this rare moment of peace he began to expand his senses, searching for a way out of this realm.

A larger demon entered the area through the hole he’d made, this one much different from the little ones he’d killed and enslaved.

He started to try and kill it the same way as earlier, but an idea hit him. He could use this one for something a little different.

As it charged towards him, roaring with the wails of the damned, he smirked. His Ego shot out and attached to the large demon as it reached him, but as it dove for him, he shattered into wispy smoke.

Mr. Bleak reappeared just behind the confused demon, grabbing his trailing Ego in his hoof and yanking it hard. The demon roared as Mr. Bleak pulled its soul from its body and absorbed it himself.

His body flashed a light crimson as he grunted in pain. Apparently directly absorbing the soul of a demon is a terribly agonizing thing to do. But now he had access to their magic, but only temporarily, as this little trick had a time limit.

“Ah, interesting,” he muttered as he gained access to new abilities.

Val was just finishing up with the little demons, a look of complete annoyance on his face.

Just as he finished something attached to him.

“Brother,” Val growled as he closed his gaping maw, turning to face Mr. Bleak. “This is futile, your Ego-“ his eyes went wide as he saw both cyan and crimson Ego swarming around his brother's body. “How?!”

Mr. Bleak gave no answer as he used his new abilities to control the darkness of this realm to restrain his brother. Chains flew up from the ground and wrapped themselves around the demonic stallion, pulling him down roughly.

“You fool!” Val screamed as he fought to free himself. “You think this will hold me?!”

“Of course not, my dear brother,” Mr. Bleak laughed, pulling some of Val’s energy to himself. “But it’ll do enough for now.”

A smile formed on his face as he found the thread of darkness that linked this realm to his own. Giving his brother a bow, he side stepped into the darkness, leaving his brother screaming in rage.

He passed through the darkness, shifting through all kinds of realms as he followed the single thread. He could feel the power he’d stolen from that demon starting to fade, meaning he needed to hurry.

Without a second to spare he shifted out of the darkness, finding himself back in the forest he’d originally been in. The demon's soul faded away, leaving him with only his Ego. But that was fine, since he’d only needed it to return home.

Clearing his throat and dusting himself off, he began to walk for the path, ready to go find his wife and daug-

He came to a jerking halt, finding himself unable to move. His eyes widened as he felt a dark presence within himself.

“Bravo!” Nightmare exclaimed as he and Lilith shimmered into view as they dropped the cloaking spell they’d been hiding under. “Escaping Hell, not many can say they’ve done that!”

“No gloating,” Lilith commanded as her body began to glow red. “That’s how you lost the last one.”

Nightmare growled as he kept his crackling Ego attached to Mr. Bleak, making sure he couldn’t break free or use his Ego.

“I’ll admit, Darkest,” she said as a ball of crackling energy formed around him. “I was a bit worried you’d muck up our plans.”

He just glared at her, unable to free himself from the grasp Nightmare had on him.

The ball of crackling energy fully closed around him as he held Lilith’s gaze.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Azure Moon dragged the unconscious pony out of the rubble and pulled them over to an area they’d set up for the injured. A few medically trained ponies were rushing around, doing the best they could.

She laid the pony down carefully and then sprinted back to the rubble that used to be the supermarket. A few unicorn’s were using their magic to remove debris, search for survivors.

A loud boom was heard overhead, scarring everyone.

“Oh thank Celestia!” someone yelled as everyone began to cheer.

“It’s Champion!”

Azure Moon growled as she avoided looking up. While she hated and loathed him, at least he’d stop this unnecessary destruction.She just hoped he’d leave her alone while he did it.

“Azure Moon,” Champion said as he floated down to her, his eyes locked on her.

“Please, not now, Star Chaser,” she groaned as she avoided looking at him. “Please, any other time. Just go stop those monsters before any more ponies get hurt.”

But he didn’t fly away or even argue with her, just floated there staring at her.

She grumbled to herself as she finally looked up at him, ready to tell him off, but the sight of him covered in blood stopped her. “Have you… already stopped them?”

“I’m going to ask you a very important question,” he said in a chillingly calm and focused voice, “and your answer will decide the fates of everyone.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” she asked with a scowl, the ponies around them excitedly chattering about the appearance of Champion.

“I am being considerate by offering you this choice,” he said, eyes wide and bloodshot. “So do not squander it.”

A groan escaped her lips as she facehoofed. “Okay, I’m done. Get the FUCK out of here and do what ever it is you do. I have ponies to save.”

“I warned you,” he said with a sigh as he flickered, followed by every pony in the area exploding into red mist.

Azure Moon’s eyes went wide as what he’d just done slowly dawned on her. She fell to her haunches and began to scoot away from him, “what… have you done?!”

“I am the King now,” he said calmly, ignoring her completely. “And I am offering for you to be my Queen of your own free will. If you decline…” a dark look fell over his face. “Do not decline.”

“You’re a monster…” she muttered, heart racing as she stared up at him in horror. “You killed all those innocent ponies…”

“And many more will die if you decline,” he deadpanned, waving his hoof over the area. “Your answer here decides how I will rule this world. Think carefully.”

He flew down and landed before her, holding his hoof out to her. “Azure Moon, do you accept the role as Queen of Equestria? To be my beloved wife forever and always?”

She just stared at him in complete shock as he smiled down at her, knowing he’d finally won.

As he stared at her face, he couldn’t help but feel complete happiness for the first time in a long time. She’d accept his offer and rule by his side without having to be forced into it.

He watched as her face twisted into all kinds of emotions as he moved his hoof a little closer to her. “Come, my love, we have much to do.”

Her face finally settled on an emotion as she slapped his hoof away with a sneer on her face, jumping up and stomping her front hooves. “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! YOU’RE A MURDERER! A MONSTER!”

“Azure, think very-”

“Stop acting like I’ll ever be with you!” she roared, kicking debris at him. “Fuck you, Star! Just fucking kill me, get it over with! I can see it in your eyes! If you can’t have me then no one can! So just grow a pair and kill me! And if you can’t, then LEAVE!”

With all the hate and passion she had in her body she spat into his face, hitting him in the eye.

His eye twitched as he stared down at her. This wasn’t right at all. This…

With a flash he slapped her across the face, sending her crashing into the ground. The hit had been hard, but not enough to really hurt her.

She let out a cough as she struggled to stand back up, but he flew towards her and kicked her back over.

“You foolish mare,” he growled as she floated above her, eyes ablaze with fury. “I’ve offered you everything you could ever ask for and you spit in my face?! SPIT INTO MY FACE?!”

“Fuck you,” she groaned as she continued to be defiant and force herself back up. “I’m never going to be yours, asshole.”

“You will be,” he growled as he slammed down on top of her, easily forcing her onto her back. He held her legs down as she glared up at him.

“Do it then,” she growled, spitting into his face again. “Use those fucking lazer eyes to burn my face off!”

“No,” he growled as he looked into her eyes, his heart racing. “You’re going to be mine.”

She began to throw more insults his way, but the sight of him suddenly reaching down and removing his pants caused her to stiffen up.

“No,” she said firmly. “No, that is not happening.”

“Yes,” he said just as firmly.

“Star Chaser, no!” she yelled, struggling against him.

“Just stop,” he said as he lowered his body onto hers.

“If you… IF YOU-” she started to say, but was cut off as she began to scream.

Champion kept his eyes on her, his face emotionless as he finally got what he wanted. She kept struggling and screaming, but he kept it up.

He lost focus momentarily as he started to enjoy himself, letting one of her hooves go. She immediately slammed it into his face, causing him to thrust into her harder. As she screamed he grabbed her hoof and shoved it back down.

“Do NOT hit me!” he roared inches from her face as he increased his speed.

She suddenly latched onto his snout with her teeth, trying to tear into his flesh. But he was way too durable for that as he just got angrier. With a hard yank he pulled his snout from her teeth, actually chipping one of them in the process as she’d had a death grip on his snout.

Her eyes went wide as he adjusted their position slightly, giving him a better angle.

“This is amazing,” he gasped into her face, his hips thrusting faster and faster. “You’re amazing.”

She didn’t have it in her anymore to insult him as she just waited for this to be over with.

“Oh I love you, my Queen,” he grunted, starting to breathe harder.

With a pathetic moan his whole body stiffened as he finished, looking straight up at the sky.

Tears rolled out of her eyes as she clenched them shut, not able to look at him anymore.

“Oh…” he said as his body shook as he laid down on her. “That… wow, Azure.”

“Get off…” she said softly.

“I love you,” he said as he kissed the side of her face.

“GET OUT OF ME!” she cried out, resuming her struggling as she just wanted him out of her and to leave.

A dark look fell across his face.

“I just gave myself to you and this is how you react?!” he yelled, ripping himself out of her and standing above her as she let out a pained scream and rolled over, beginning to crawl away as she sobbed loudly.

His eye twitched again as he grabbed her tail and yanked her back to himself. “If this is how you’re going to act,” he said as he pulled the little orb Lilith had given him out of his pocket dimension, “then we’re doing this the hard way.”

She cried for anyone to come to her aid, but there was no one left in the area.

He touched the orb to the back of her head, causing her to go stiff as it worked its magic on her.

A pleased look fell across his face as he looked her over, waiting for the orb to finish with her.

“My Queen.”

As the Hero, I just keep on winning

Chapter 31

Bronwyn looked around as she slowly stood up, amazed that she was back in the Enforcer’s Order Hall. She’d lost access to it long ago when the UAD returned, which was when she’d also been split up from the other Enforcer’s.

But to be back after all this time, she felt a sense of relief and comfort wash over her. This brought her closer to reuniting with her friends again.

Turning her attention to the young mare, she again took notice of the Mark of the Enforcer. She had questions, but first she asked the most important one.

“Are you okay, Summer Breeze?” She asked as she kneeled down next to her, watching as her wounds were still slowly healing.

“I will be,” she mumbled, still looking a bit shaken up with her battle with Jun.

She still looked the mare over, making sure there was no real damage done to her. Luckily it appeared the worst of it was a mostly healed tear down her entire underside, with a nasty scar on her face already healed.

Satisfied she would be okay, the woman stood up, glancing around the door some more. “Alright, Summer, tell me how you became an Enforcer.”

“Oh, another Enforcer used an item to make all of Phantasm Troupe Enforcer’s,” she said as she stood up fully.

“Who was it?!” Bronwyn asked as her head snapped back to the young mare, excitement clear on her face.

“Um, Loric,” she said, a grimace on her face.

Bronwyn started to say something, but then she noticed the look on the mare’s face. “Where’s Loric?”

Summer Breeze looked away from her, “he died.”

This shocked Bronwyn to her core as she took a step back and collapsed to her knees. “That’s not possible… not Loric…”

“Champion inflicted a terrible wound on him and he passed away some time later,” the mare said as carefully and straight to the point as she could. “He died peacefully though, at the grave site of his friends.”

The woman just sat there, barely processing what she was hearing.

“His wandering Ego,” Summer Breeze continued, wanting to get all of this out now, “is inside of Shayla.”

“His Ego chose Shayla?” Bronwyn asked in a hollow voice, a ghost of a smile on her face. “That’s good then…”

“Do you need anything?” Summer Breeze asked as the woman continued to stare off into nothingness.

“No,” she replied in an empty voice.

Behind them another portal opened and Dude came flying through it, yelping as he bounced off of the floor.

“Dude!” Summer Breeze yelled as she ran towards him, jumping and sliding on her knees up next to him. She looked him over frantically as he laid there breathing heavily, his horn was also clearly burnt out. She began to try and heal the gaping wound in his back leg, but it was slow going.

Then she realized something as her body began to shake, “where’s my brother?! Is he okay?!”

“Nightstreak is okay,” Dude reassured her in an exhausted voice. “Trixie took him somewhere safe.”

She let out a sigh of relief as she stopped shaking so much, “what about the others?”

“I don’t know,” he grunted, sitting up forcibly. “Summer, they took your dad.”

“What?!” She yelped in surprise. “What do you mean they took my-“ then she remembered what happened to Starch. “But why?! They took Starch too!”

“I don’t know what’s even going on,” he groaned, pushing himself up to all fours, wobbling a bit as his body threatened to give out. He was beyond exhausted at this point.

“Stay down, Dude,” she commanded, forcing him back down.

“I need to get to Nightstreak and the others,” he protested, but his body betrayed him as he was no longer able to get up.

“We’ll get them,” she assured him. “But we need to wait a bit. If we go back out there right now we’ll probably get killed.”

“Damn it,” he growled as he weakly slammed his hoof on the floor.

She sighed as she looked over at Bronwyn, who looked very forlorn as she stared off into nothingness.

“Oh this is a mess…” Summer Breeze muttered as she stood up and went to look for Luzzumi.

ooo000<^>000ooo

An hour after the battle

Flippy Dew frowned as she stood above her dad as he laid on the makeshift bed, all the ponies around them yelling orders to each other. They were currently in the Everfree forest, where Calypso and Doc had set up an impromptu evac zone, using it as a rallying point for any ponies fleeing the fighting.

But from the sounds of it the fighting had died down long ago.

Ponies were steadily streaming out of the destroyed town, heading for the little camp in search of aid and comfort. Luckily the hospital staff survived the destruction of the hospital as they rushed around, making sure everything was set up and running correctly.

Watching everyone run around and being useful made Flippy Dew feel a bit useless, as she just sat by her dad as he rested. Doc had healed his wounds, but they’d still taken a tow on her dad's body. Which resulted in him needing to sleep it off.

“Dewy!” a female voice called out, causing her to whip around and see her mother, Ditzy Dew, rushing towards.

“Mom!” Flippy Dew screamed as happy tears began to pour down her face, jumping up and flying into her mothers embrace.

“Oh I thought I’d lost you!” her mom cried, holding onto her daughter tightly. “I heard that you were last seen fighting that Griffon monster!”

“Dad saved me,” she said as she broke the hug and pulled her mother over to where her father lay.

“Oh Cody!” her mother exclaimed as she fell down by his side, taking his hoof in hers.

Now that her mother was here, she felt like she could leave and see if her friends were here.

“Mom, I’m going to go find my friends,” she said, patter her mother on the shoulder.

“Don’t leave camp, please,” her mother said, giving her a pleading look.

“I won’t, mom,” she said with a little smile as she lifted into the air and began to fly around.

It took her a little bit but she eventually found both of them laying near each other on the makeshift beds.

Both were awake, and neither one looked like they felt that great.

“Guys!” she exclaimed as she landed between their two beds.

“Dew!” Roxxy yelled, leaning over and pulling the other mare into a tight hug. “I thought your dumbass got killed!”

“Almost did,” she laughed as she returned the hug.

“Flip, you seen my sister or Dude?” Nightstreak asked, body covered in massive bruises.

She broke the hug and turned to him, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I’ve only found you two so far,” she said as she walked over and hugged him, causing him to wince in pain.

“Can you go find them?” he asked as she leaned back.

“I will,” she promised, slugging him in the shoulder.

“Careful!” he hissed, groaning as he rubbed the bruised area.

As she began to continue searching, a loud boom was heard high above them, causing everyone to look up.

In the sky they saw Champion slowly descending towards them, and from the looks of it, he did not look pleased.

“Champion!”

“Did you get them, Champion?!”

“Is it safe now?!”

The gathered ponies all yelled questions to him as he landed.

“Silence everyone,” he said in an authoritative voice. “I have news.”

Everyone went silent as he stood there, a solemn look on his face. There was a flash right behind him as a female unicorn appeared with what looked to be a News Team.

The ponies ran around Champion and quickly set up a camera as they seemed to be getting ready to go Live.

“What’s going on?” Nightstreak asked as the three of them stared in confusion at the scene before them. The rest of the crowd was just as confused, but no one said a word.

Once the News Team was set up, they gave a signal to Champion as he cleared his throat loudly.

“The attack on New Ponyville has ended,” he announced, getting a roaring response from the crowd. “But it was a ruse, to distract me from the real threat. And I regret to inform you, all of Equestria, that it worked. I have failed.”

He tilted his head to the side, tears rolling down his face, looking very dramatic. “The Princesses, my mother and aunt, are dead.”

The crowd went silent as everyone stared in shock at him. After a pause, someone in the crowd screamed, which broke the tension as everyone began to wail loudly.

“I am so sorry,” he yelled to everyone, looking absolutely regretful. “But there’s even worse news.”

Slowly everyone quieted down enough for him to continue.

“We’ve been betrayed, by those we trust the most,” he said loudly.

“I don’t like where this is going,” Roxxy muttered, a frown on her face.

“I’ve been following a few leads over the last few years,” Champion began, taking on a more serious tone and appearance. “I didn’t want to believe it, but everything pointed to one outcome. Yet I tried to disprove it, which has cost the Princesses their lives.” He held his head high as the female unicorn next to him gave a nod. “Everypony. Equestria. This entire event, the attack here, the death of our beloved Rulers, was set in motion and perpetrated by Bronies.”

Everyone gasped in horror, while a few began to look a bit uncomfortable.

“Not just a group of Bronies,” he stated loudly. “But ALL Bronies. I have uncovered horrible evidence that everything we know is a lie! Bronies came here to rule this world, not live among it! We have been tricked, bamboozled!”

“What?!” someone yelled out, followed by a few in the crowd yelling their own questions at him. But he ignored them all.

“My Father, the late Prince Frederic found out about this plot and he tried to stop it, but he was killed for his efforts! He was not killed by the Watcher, but by Lance Greenfield and his friends!”

This caused the ponies to go ballistic as they seemed to be believing every word their Hero was saying.

“Oh fuck…” Roxxy mouthed as the crowd around them began to get restless, the events of the day already had everyone anxious and agitated. This revelation was just the final straw for a lot of them.

“As I have found out, using my TRUTH POWERS, all Bronies were in on this. A massively coordinated attack that was supposed to end with my death as well. But I foiled their plans and freed the minds of those they enslaved to attack us today.”

As he said this a few creatures appeared right behind him. It was the ones who’d just attacked the town!

They were all in their normal forms now, no longer appearing to be Demonic at all.

Everyone gathered began to panic, but Champion held up his hoof, calming them down.

“These are the victims of the Bronies,” he said, casting a hoof over the gathered group behind him. “Each one was under the direct control of one of the Bronies in this town. They were just pawns in this game, victims like the rest of us.”

The crowd still looked unsure, but they trusted Champion completely. He was their Hero after all, and now their new Ruler.

“What are we going to do about this?” someone up front asked.

“I’ve already taken the necessary steps to ensure this attack does not go unpunished,” he said, nodding to the female unicorn.

She stepped forward and her body began to glow red as she raised into the air.

“Do not be alarmed,” Champion said to the panicked crowd. A few ponies in the crowd were suddenly surrounded in crackling energy as ponies began to panic and scream.

“It is okay, my little ponies!” he yelled loudly, “we are just imprisoning all the Bronies among you. If we do not, their next plan involves killing entire cities of ponies to get what they want!”

“Dad!” Flippy Dew yelped as she looked in the direction of her parents, seeing that her father was one of the ones encased in the crackling energy.

Champion looked at the camera crew, giving a determined smile, “I request all citizens of this great nation follow my lead. Report any Bronies you know to the authorities and we will make sure they do not hurt you or your family ever again.”

The crowd of ponies began to cheer, throwing insults and jeers at the ones who were being raised into the sky encased in the crackling energy. All at once, they all made a popping sound as they disappeared, removing all the Bronies from the crowd.

“What about their spouses and kids?!” someone yelled out in a panic.

The ponies around the three friends began to step away from them, giving them dirty looks.

Champion looked at the unicorn, who just gave a nod.

“You are right, we can not take any chances. From here on, any one related to a Brony MUST be turned in. Anyone found to be protecting a Brony or their family will be treated as a traitor to Equestria!”

The crowd began to get rowdy as they began to push the accused ponies in question around, yelling for Champion to come get them.

“What do we do?!” Nightstreak asked in a low voice, the crowd screaming at them as they began to push towards the three ponies.

In the background the female unicorn began to rise into the air again, her red energy crackling around her body.

Flippy Dew watched as ponies all around them began to get encased in the red energy, knowing it was only a matter of time before she and her friends were trapped in it as well. She cast a glance to see her mother also being raised up, knowing she had a tough choice to make.

“Ah fuck!” she cursed as she pulled out her Order Hall Dagger, just as the crowd began to throw things at them.

“Dew, we can’t just leav-” Nightstreak began to say, but a bottle crashed into his face, shattering into tiny shards. “AH my fucken eyes! Get us out of here!”

She ripped a portal open right in front of herself as she grabbed her two friends and dragged them through the portal, just as the crowd surged towards them. The portal snapped shut behind them, cutting off the awful screams of the angry mob.

“Guys?!” Summer Breeze yelled as she rushed towards them. “Are you okay?!”

“No,” Flippy Dew said as she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

“What happened?!” Summer Breeze asked as she attached her Ego to all three of them, trying to heal them the best she could.

Roxxy wiped her face as she shakily stood up. “Champion happened.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Everyone?” Dude asked dumbfoundedly as he and Nightstreak sat together, pressed into each other's embrace.

“Everyone,” Roxxy confirmed solemnly, looking around the table at everyone. “Champion made up some bullshit about all the Bronies being these scheming evil creatures, and everyone just ate it up.”

“From the looks of it,” Nightstreak growled, “Champion is the one who led the attack. He’s probably the one who killed the Princesses as well.”

Dude groaned as he laid his head against his partner, “this is so fucked…”

“What are we going to do though?” Flippy Dew asked, her face still coated in tears. “Champion just made Bronies criminals, and it looks like all of Equestria will go along with him. So that means we’re criminals.”

The group went silent as the situation sank in. They couldn’t go home, and everyone they know has either been captured or turned against them.

“I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do,” Roxxy said as she slammed her hoof down and stood up, “we’re going to figure this shit out, and then we’re going to make him pay for what he’s done today.”

“If any of you step out of here and try to face him,” Bronwyn said as she sat with her arms crossed. “Then you will die. Just like Loric.”

“Stop being a downer,” Nightstreak said, getting a glare from her. “I’m sorry. But we have to do something. We can’t just sit here and let him win!”

Bronwyn looked at Luzzumi, who gave her a reassuring smile, cauisng her to let out a heavy sigh.

“Okay,” she said, shaking her head. “But you all need training, and lots of it. We’ll use the Enforcer’s Time Chamber to train. Time works differently there, as a day here is a year there.”

Everyone looked unsure, so she added, “fatigue does not exist there, and it doesn't affect your aging process at all. You gain all the benefits without any of the drawbacks. This is the only way you guys will be able to even stand a chance against Champion or any of his new goons.”

“Well,” Roxxy began, looking at her friends. “What do you guys say?”

“I’m in, of course,” Summer Breeze said with a determined nod.

“Enforcer’s Time Chamber?” Nightstreak chuckled, “sounds like that Dragon Ball shit Shayla is always going on about. I’m down.”

“Me too,” Dude chuckled, bumping hooves with Nightstreak.

Flippy Dew had a determined look on her face as she gave a sharp nod.

“Wonderful!” Luzzumi exclaimed as he rushed for one of the passages. “I’ll get tha gear ready at once!”

Bronwyn stood up as well, heading for the living quarters. “I have plenty of training manuals that will be of use to you all.”

“Oh great, we’ll be reading in there,” Dude groaned as he slammed a hoof into his head.

The others chuckled at his reaction, the tension still in the air, but at least they could still laugh with each other.

“I wish Shayla was here…” Flippy Dew suddenly said, getting everyone’s mood to fall even more.

“I know,” Roxxy said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “But you know what she’d say right now if she saw all of us looking all dejected?”

“You pussies, get up and move forward!” Nightstreak suddenly yelled out, causing all of them to start laughing loudly.

“Okay then,” Roxxy said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Let’s keep moving forward.”

This is simply too easy

Author's Note

Pacing feels weird to me for this chapter. My fault.

This is simply too easy

Chapter 32

Later that day, nighttime

“I don’t think this is the healthiest way to deal with your trauma,” Rosemary said with a grimace, watching me work on myself in the mirror.

“I don’t have trauma,” I mumbled as I reworked my eyelashes to not look so feminine. “I’m doing this for other reasons.”

“And what are those reasons?” she asked as she watched me work.

I rolled my eyes as I picked up a long blue scarf and began to wrap it around my head, only leaving my eyes exposed, “just my own reasons.”

“You do know I can see your thoughts?” she asked, crossing her arms as I leaned forward and looked myself over in the mirror.

“So what?” I grumbled as I cleared my throat and took on a much deeper and rougher voice. “My name is Shane Beltosh.” Shaking my head I adjusted my voice a bit, “Hello, I am Shane Beltosh.” Not that one either.

“Shayla, I know what happened was-”

“Stop,” I said, holding up a hoof as I stared at myself in the mirror. Clearing my throat a few more times, I took on a more natural voice, letting my normally raspy voice take the lead. “I am Shane Beltosh, a male Kejtdra.”

That one was perfect! Looks like just making it a bit deeper has the desired effect of making me sound like a guy.

“This honestly is the worst possible way to handle this,” she groaned, not enjoying that I was ignoring her.

“Now,” I said in my new masculine voice, “let’s fix the next problem.”

I opened my stats menu, seeing that I had twelve unspent skill points.

“Please, do not do what you’re thinking about doing,” she begged as I began to pump all of the points into strength.

“I have to, if I’d been stronger back there he’d never have gotten that far with me,” I grunted as I finished and smiled as I hit accept, actually feeling much stronger now.

“You need to go up gradually, and balanced, doing it this way is not the most efficient-”

“This is how I’m doing it,” I stated simply, smiling behind my scarf as I looked at myself once more in the mirror, admiring how I actually looked like a male Kejtdra now.

Now, no one would think to try any of that shit with me again.

“Drop it, please,” I said sternly as I glanced at her, seeing she had a sad look on her face.

“I’m here when you’re ready,” she said as she faded away.

“Yeah yeah,” I muttered, walking for the door and pushing it open, walking back into the dinner I’d been sitting around in for the last few hours.

Now that I was sorted out, I needed to get back to work.

I walked across the dinner, looking out the windows at the compound across the street. I’d come straight here to finish the job, but the moment I tried to confront the guards out front, I lost my nerve. Which is weird, because that’s never happened before.

So I ended up sitting at this dinner for hours, trying to build up my nerve. But now that I've changed up my appearance, I’m pretty sure I can do this.

Stepping outside, I took a deep breath and then power walked down the street, heading for the front gates of the compound.

I had a foolproof plan of getting in and out with the data.

As I neared the gates, where four male Kajtdra stood laughing, I gave a loud whistle.

Yet they ignored me as they kept up their conversation. So I whistled again.

Still, no response.

Fine then.

With a growl I sprinted toward and dashed into the middle of all four of them, catching them all off guard. Before they could react I went on a rampage, hitting each one with a fury of punches and kicks, moving between each of them as I alternated on who I was hitting.

It didn’t take long for all four of them to be out cold, laying around me in a little circle.

“Huh, that was easier than it should’ve been,” I grumbled, stepping over one of the men as I walked into the compound, finding a large courtyard before me with a large building in the middle. And also at least forty Kejtdra walking around as they worked on moving boxes between a loading zone and a warehouse.

No one seemed to care about me just standing there, so I just shrugged and walked forward, heading for the main building. Not one person even looked at me, just ignoring me as I walked through them.

“Okay then,” I said with a raised eyebrow as I made it to the front doors of the building. I honestly expected at least some kind of resistance, so this was turning out to be way more simple than I intentionally thought it would be.

Stepping through the doors I found myself in a lobby of some kind, with a receptionist sitting behind the desk. Right next to her desk was a door labeled ‘Admin & Records’.

It can’t be this easy, right?

I walked over to the Kejtdra behind the desk and leaned on it, getting her attention. “Hey, babe, got a data center thing around here?” I asked in my most charming guy voice.

She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. “Do you have a pass, sir?”

“Sure I do,” I laughed, patting at my pockets. “Ah drat, looks like I left them in my other pants.”

“You’ll need to go retrieve your pass before I’m able to open the doors for you,” she said in a bored voice.

I frowned a bit, not that she could see my face through the scarf. So I leaned over the desk, getting a foot away from her face, “come on, do I gotta run all the way home to get that stupid pass?”

“Afraid so,” she said firmly.

Before I tried to charm her anymore, I saw there was a red button right next to her that seemed to be connected to the door I wanted to gain access to.

She saw me looking at it and put a hand over it. “Sir, either get your pass, or head over to your work area to get a new one.”

“Eh…” I reached out with my hand and slowly pushed down on her hand, making her push the button. The door next to her desk popped open as the locks were released.

“Sir!” she yelled as I began to side step towards the door awkwardly. “Sir, do not go down that hallway!”

I gave her finger guns as I grabbed the door and slowly side stepped into it as she yelled once more. Closing the door gently, I let out a nervous laugh.

“That was odd…”

Turning around I saw that I was in a hallway with a few doors running down it on either side. With the one at the end being labeled ‘Records’.

“This is so dumb,” I said aloud as I casually walked down the hallway, looking in each door as I passed by it.

There were other Kejtdra in each of the rooms, all working on various tasks. Once I reached the door labeled ‘RECORDS’ I stopped.

‘Isn’t this all a bit… weird?’ I thought to Rosemary as she appeared next to me.

“It is,” she agreed, rubbing her chin. “This is going very smoothly, and no one is really trying to stop you.”

‘Think it’s a trap or something?’

“It crossed my mind.”

I sighed as I shrugged, “Ah screw it.”

Pushing the door open I stepped in, ready to see some kind of filing system or maybe a super old computer set up. But nope. Not anything normal like that.

“Oh did not expect that,” Rosemary said as she stepped out of sight.

“What the fuck is this?” I muttered as I walked into the room.

There were ten bug-like people sitting in chairs with helmets over their entire heads with glowing wires attaching to each of them, all leading to a pulsating barrel.

“Those must be Halwen’s,” Rosemary said as she appeared between two of the bug people. “This worlds other race.”

“But what is this shit?” I asked as I walked in and began to examine the strange set up.

“If I had to guess,” she began, also looking it over. “It’s some kind of organic version of a computer. I’ve seen things like this in other dimensions. They’ve linked their minds together and are using them as both a power source and as processors for whatever information they’re storing in here.”

Stepping up to the glowing barrel I realized it gave off a strong warmth, almost as if it was breathing right on me.

“I don’t like this,” I said as I looked around the room again.

“Plug in,” she suddenly said as she tapped at the side of the barrel where a little port lay. “I’ll do all the hard stuff, all you need to do is make sure we don’t get disconnected.”

“You got it,” I said with a little salute as I pulled out the wire in my wrist and plugged it into the barrel.

Rosemary made a grunt as she faded away, now in the back of my mind as I felt a weird feeling wash over me, coming from the cable connected to the pulsating barrel.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be here!” someone suddenly yelled from the doorway, causing me to spin around to see four armored Kejtdra stepping into the room with me.

“I’m not?” I asked in my raspy male voice. “Then up your security, I literally just walked into here.”

“Step away from the database,” one of them said as he popped out a baton-like weapon.

“Hey, she’s connected to it!” another yelled, causing all of them to rush towards me.

“Ah shit,” I grumbled as they neared me. The first one to reach out for me got his arm broken in three places and kicked backwards.

I smirked at the other three as they were now a bit more hesitant on approaching me.

“Come on, guys, we can talk this out,” I said in a charming voice, but this just broke them out of their stupor as they all three moved in on me.

It was hard to move or fight with my left arm out of commission as I had to stay connected to the barrel, but I was confident enough that all I’d need was my right.

With a yell I slammed a fist into one of their faces, causing him to crumble to the ground. But since I couldn't move like I’m used to I wasn’t able to dodge the baton of the largest guy as he began to beat me in the face with it.

Grunting, I brought my arm up to block the hits, which left my mid section unguarded as the other began to lay into me with his baton. Now I was getting pummeled from all angles.

As one of them brought his baton down towards me I exploded into action, grabbing the weapon and ripping it from his grasp. He yelped as I swung the baton into the other guy, catching him in the throat.

He made a gurgled yelping sound as he lost the will to fight and fell to the ground, choking and coughing violently.

Before he could react, I kicked out with my foot, breaking the now weaponless Kejtdra’s leg at the knee. He let out a wail as he tried to get back, but I slammed the baton into his head, breaking the weapon in the process. This sent the man crashing to the ground, out cold.

The only one still standing was the one’s arm I’d broken, but he wasn’t coming near me anytime soon.

“Done,” Rosemary announced.

“Good,” I grunted as I disconnected from the barrel and moved for the door. As I passed the one with the broken arm I kind of jumped at him, causing him to scream in terror and fall to the ground. I just laughed as I continued on my way.

Just like when I entered the compound, it was just as easy to leave, with no one trying to stop me.

“This was literally a waste of my talent,” I groaned as I stepped through the gates. “I guess I should head back to-”

I snapped my head over to see a strange person leaning against the wall next to me.

Neither of us spoke as we stared at each other, his mask giving nothing away just as my own covered face gave nothing away.

He was almost entirely comprised of the color green, with a bit of fluff at his shoulders and headpiece.

“Got a problem, pal?” I asked in my gruff voice as I stepped past him, keeping my eyes locked on the eyes of the mask.

Yet he didn’t respond as I walked past him.

“Okay then,” I said as I walked backward, his head following me as I moved. “Don’t fuck with me, bud.”

The strange man, who was clearly not a Kejtdra, just laughed in a thick accent, seeming to find me amusing or something.

“Screw off,” I said as I flipped him off and continued walking backwards, keeping my eyes on him.

He never said a word to me or followed me as I turned the corner, losing sight of him.

“Fucking creep,” I mumbled as I turned and began to head down the street at a steady pace.

Something made a sound behind me, causing me to snap around, ready to fight. But there was no one there, just an empty street. I narrowed my eyes as I turned to continue on my way, and slammed face first into the chest of the large man.

I yelped and instinctively threw my fist up at him. But he just gracefully moved his body out of the way of my hit. I jumped back, getting into a fighting pose.

“What the fuck, bro?!” I yelled in my gruff voice, which cracked a bit since I was so caught off guard.

“Which name do you prefer?” he asked in a thick accent I couldn’t place. “Shayla or Shane?”

“How do you…” I began, but then narrowed my eyes as I realized he must have been spying me. So I did the one thing I’m good at, I sprang forward and attempted to grab him. But my hands just grasped at the open air as he easily moved out of my reach.

Growling I pushed after him, trying to hit him with both my fist and feet, but he just kept dodging everything. No matter how I attacked, I was unable to even brush against his armor. It was like I was fighting a magnet and my attacks were repelling it.

“Are you almost done?” he asked in an amused voice, causing me to start attacking him faster, my speed increasing with each punch I threw. “I’ll wait till you’re done.”

“Shut it!” I growled as I kept up my assault, getting more and more frustrated that I wasn’t even touching the guy.

“He must have some kind of dodging ability,” Rosemary observed as she reached out to touch him, but he even dodged her hand. What the actual fuck?!

The guy just chuckled as he pulled out a book and began to read it, completely ignoring me as I attacked him.

“Have you read this comic book?” he asked as he turned it around to me, but I paid him no attention as I yelled in frustration, my body going at full speed now. “It’s Corn Justice Man. It’s about this wacky little superhero and his little sidekick, Popcarl.”

I just let out a loud yell of anger, causing him to just shrug and go back to reading the comic book.

“Shayla, just stop, he’s clearly far above us,” Rosemary said with a frown as she tried to touch him again, causing him to just move away from her.

Huffing and puffing, I finally relented and backed away, my body coated in sweat.

“Ah, got it out of your system?” he asked in a cheerful tone, followed by me spitting at him, which he also dodged. “Done?”

“Yeah, I’m done I guess,” I grumbled, trying to calm my breathing.

“Beautifully excellent!” He said loudly as he put his comic book away and stood up tall before me. “Now that you’re not attacking me, I want to offer you a little deal.”

“No deal,” I said, walking around him and continuing on my way. “I’m already working on something right now.”

“Yes, for Rig Fanden for a VIP access card,” he said casually, walking next to me without a care in the world.

I didn’t say anything, since I didn’t know how that contract would react to something like this. I’d rather not just die.

“Yes yes, you can’t speak about it. But you can listen,” he said cheerfully. “Finish up this contract of yours and then I’ll help you with your little goal of getting home.”

“Pass,” I said flatly. “I’m not teaming up with you, or anyone here. Especially someone I can’t even hit. Plus, I do not trust you.”

“Very valid points,” he chuckled as he walked ahead of me. “When you’re ready to talk, just say my name.”

“Yeah? What name would that be?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

“Talio, my crossdressing friend,” he said with a little bow.

“Oh fuck off,” I grumbled, popping my collar up and turning down a different street to get away form him.

“I will see you later, Shane,” he said from behind me, causing me to turn to say something. But he was gone now.

“That guy must be avoided at all cost,” Rosemary said with a shudder. “There’s something very off about him.”

“I felt it too,” I said, continuing on my way. I don’t know what it was, but that guy was not normal.

Forced partnership

Chapter 34

I grunted as I strained to get the armor on, the straps giving me a lot of trouble. There has to be an easier way!

Rosemary, who was just sitting on the bed, just laughed at me as I moved around the hotel room, grunting and whining.

“Don’t laugh at me,” I mumbled as I finally got the chestplate on. “I’m regretting picking this armor.”

She leaned back, a knowing smile on her face.

“What?” I asked as I frowned at her. “You’re acting like you know something I don’t.”

“Oh you know…” she said, playing with her hair all innocent like. “Just watching you do it the hard way is funny.”

“The hard way?” I asked, turning to fully face her as I wore parts of the armor. “There’s a easy way?”

With a wink she flopped backwards onto the bed. “Possibly, if you actually explored your menus you’d know that.”

Grumbling, I opened the status menu and looked it over, not sure what I was even supposed to be looking for. There were my stats, quests, personal inventory, standby inventory… wait. With a scowl I opened the personal inventory, finding there were a few more options in it, namely one labeled ‘Wardrobe’.

You’re kidding me… I opened the Wardrobe screen, finding that it was empty.

“Put the armor back in your inventory,” she said without getting up off the bed.

Doing as she said, I lifted up all the parts of the armor and my clothes, watching as they all faded away. They then all appeared in around a little image of myself.

“Just like a video game, huh?” she asked with a wide smile as she sat up.

“I don’t play video games,” I admitted as I put the armor I’d gotten on into the inventory as well, leaivng me with nothing on.

“Well, you can use this to instantly equip clothing and accessories,” she said as she smiled at me. “Can’t do it with weapons, but that’s not a big deal. So basically you can build a little loadout for yourself and equip it anytime you want. So there’s no hassle in putting on all that armor.”

“How convenient,” I muttered as I began to move the little armor pieces onto the image of myself, watching as it equipped itself. Once I’d finished, I frowned, as it didn’t look like something I’d normally wear.

My eyes drifted to the Laughing Drake’s jacket. A smile slid onto my face as I grabbed it and put it in the inventory along with the hoodie. I dragged the hoodie over and equipped it to the armor with no problem, but the jacket wouldn’t attach. It kept saying ‘Incompatible’, what ever the fuck that means.

“It means it won’t fit on the armor,” Rosemary answered, watching me with a smile plastered across her face.

“Then I’ll make it fit,” I said as I pulled the jacket back out and thought about it for a second. With a shrug I ripped the sleeves off, then tossed it back into my inventory. This time it attached to the little image of myself.

I examined the armor, content that it now at least looked closer to my personality.

As I started to put it on, I heard a knock at the door, causing both of us to look in that direction.

“Who the fuck?” I grumbled, as I walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole. Outside the door stood one of Rig Fanden’s men, looking very annoyed.

“Crap,” I cursed under my breath as I took a step back.

They banged on the door again, “yo, the boss has a new job for you. It’s non-negotiable.”

“What’s the job?” I asked through the door, not wanting to open it since I didn’t have on a disguise.

“Open the door.”

“Nah, tell me through the door, I’m busy,” I said back in my gruff voice.

I heard him groan on the other side of the door as he hit it once, really hard, “fine! Take this.” A little folder was pushed under the door, “read that, and get down there right now.”

“What if I say fuck off?” I asked, reaching down to take the folder.

“Then that’s breaking the contract,” he said simply, a smug smile clearly on his face.

“Fine,” I growled, walking away from the door.

I plopped down on the bed and opened the file, pulling out a few pictures. “Oh you got to be fucking kidding me…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So this is where they’ll be coming?” Domitor asked as he and Floria stood atop a building, looking down at a long stretch of road with buildings on all sides of it.

“Yep,” she confirmed, a cool smile on her face. “I’ve done my homework, and I know this is the fastest way out of the city.”

“What if they take a different route?” he said as he looked the area over, taking note of the many abandoned buildings that ran down the stretch of broken road.

She just gave him a confident smile, “they won’t. Trust me. These Government guys like routine, and as long as nothing spooks them they’ll continue down this way as planned.”

“Okay,” Domitor nodded as he glanced over at her. “So what’s the plan? Because there’s supposed to be, what, ten vehicles in this little convoy? With who knows how many Gloomers. How do we get this prototype weapon?”

“I’ve thought of a way,” she said as she leaned on the building, looking out over the area. “I called in a favor with Rig and he’s sending someone to help us.”

“Oh great, we’re going to be working with some kind of psychopath,” he mumbled, causing her to laugh loudly.

“Come on, Dom, we were working with one of the worst psychopath’s I’ve ever seen up till yesterday, and you killed him. No one can top that guy.”

The memory made Domitor shiver, as he’d still not come to terms with what happened with Lenrick. The guy, despite everything, had still been his first real friend.

Floria took notice of his mood shift and sighed, “sorry, Dom. Look here, pal!” she said as she shifted her mood into a high energy state, “we’re going to wreck this convoy tomorrow, and then we’re going to figure out a way to get you back to your father!”

“Great,” he said as he laid his head on the side of the building, looking outward. He wanted to see his father again, to see if he can earn his respect and love finally. But after what he’d done to Lenrick, he wasn’t sure if his father would accept him. Maybe if he lied about what happened…

“Heads up, our new partner is arriving,” Floria said as they looked over the edge of the building, seeing a figure approaching their location, coming down the street with a confident stride. “Ooo, fucker looks intimidating!”

Domitor frowned at the armored man coming towards them, not liking the look of him. The guy even looked right up at them, seeming to glare death right at the pair.

“Oh yeah, we got this,” Floria said excitedly as the man entered the building below. “If this guy is as badass as he looks, then we’ll wipe the floor with those Gloomers tomorrow!”

However Domitor wasn’t so sure, as he got a bad feeling about the guy. Something was off, even though he hadn’t seen the guy up close yet.

“I wonder if he has a Thorn too!” Floria said in excitement as they watched the door that led onto the roof.

A few minutes passed before the doors were thrown open and a man in demonic looking armor stepped onto the roof, holding a sheathed katana in his right hand. He looked pissed, but that could just be the mask he was wearing.

“Hey, man! Thanks for coming out!” Floria yelled in an overly excited voice.

“I’m being forced to be here,” the man said in a gravelly voice, which told Domitor this was probably a middle aged man who may have smoked a bit too much. He walked towards them, giving them a disapproving gesture with his left hand. “So don’t expect me to play nice.”

Domitor frowned at the man and the way he was acting, but Floria just kept up her cheerful mood, as she was used to people acting this way.

“Well alright then! You up to some high intensity action?!” Floria asked as she stepped right up to the man, meeting him halfway.

He just growled at her and shoved past her, walking right up to Domitor. The stallion frowned up at the man as he stepped up to him, standing above him.

“Can I help you?” Domitor asked as he glared up at the mask’s soulless eyes.

The man didn’t say anything, just seemed to glare down at him.

“Wait a minute, I’ve seen that jacket before,” Floria said from behind the man.

With a growl the man’s grip on his sword's sheath tightened, causing Domitor to blade his hindleg back.

“What’s your problem?” Domitor asked forcefully, raising up on his hindlegs to get face to face with the man.

As they glared each other down, a certain scent hit Domitor’s nose, a very familiar scent. His eyes went wide as he shoved the ‘man’ back forcibly. “Shayla?!”

“Domitor,” she growled in that strange masculine voice.

“Whoa, wait, that you crazy chicka?!” Floria asked in surprise from behind her.

Shayla stepped to the side and walked over to the ledge, leaning against it as she stared at the two of them. They looked absolutely shocked as they stared at her.

Finally, Domitor collected himself and cleared his throat, “erm, so… I wanted to apolo-”

“Shut it,” Shayla said forcibly. “We’re not going to talk about it, and we’re not going to even mention it. End of discussion.”

This brought a frown to Domitor’s face, but he gave a sharp nod in response.

“And going forward, I am Shane Beltosh. Got that?” she said, her grip on her sheathed sword tightening.

The pair looked at each other, their confusion clear on their faces.

“But, why are-” Domitor began, but Floria suddenly grabbed him and pulled him over to the other side of the roof.

“Look,” she began, glancing over to Shayla as she stared at them. “She’s gone through some terrible shit thanks to that prick Lenrick. And this is how she’s choosing to cope, so we need to just play along, for her sake.”

Domitor looked over at Shayla, a conflicted look on his face, “I’m not sure if I want to actually work with her though. I know it’s my fault she’s in this mess, but that doesn’t change my feelings towards her.”

“Trust me, it’s clear she feels the same about you,” Floria said, patting his shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself for Lenrick, that guy was his own little monster. There was nothing we could have done to prevent what happened without killing him earlier, and you wouldn’t have liked that either. So buck up, champ, and deal with the hand we’ve been dealt.”

He let out a sigh and gave a nod, thankful for her bluntness. “Alright, you’re right.”

“I’m always right,” she said with a sly smirk. “Now let’s get this shit over with.”

The pair walked back over to Shayla, who still looked to be overly pissed at the situation.

“Welcome aboard, Shane!” Floria announced, reaching out with her hand. “Past is all forgotten, so I’m looking forward to working with you!”

“Yeah,” Shayla grunted as she took her hand and shook it hard, squeezing way too hard in the process.

“Yikes, trying to break my hand, pal?” Floria laughed, rubbing her hand as she bumped Domitor forward.

“Let’s just get this job done, alright?” Domitor asked as he reluctantly held out his hoof to her.

She seemed to smirk as she took his hand and shook it, squeezing it even harder than she’d done with Floria.

“Fucking asshole,” Domitor growled as he ripped his hoof from her, rubbing the pain away.

“Now then,” Shayla said as she turned and looked out over the area. “What’s this grand plan you two have? I’m supposed to help you get some kind of weapon?”

“Yep,” Floria said as she leaned up next to her. “We’re going to be hitting a Government Convoy tomorrow, filled with Gloomers and all kinds of shit. It’s going to be a death trap, you still in?”

“I’m in,” Shayla grumbled. “I’ve got no choice in this matter.”

Floria blinked at her, a pained look flashing over her face. “You signed a contract, didn’t you?”

“Eeyep,” Shayla confirmed, not even looking at her.

“Well damn,” the Kejtdra woman said, a smile on her face. “Then we’re both fucked. Didn’t read the fine print, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly how he got me,” she said, trying to relate to the other woman.

But Shayla didn’t respond, just kept looking out at the city before them.

“Anyways,” Floria said, knowing they weren’t getting anywhere trying to be friendly with each other. “My plan is pretty simple, ready to hear it?”

“Go for it,” the mare said, slightly turning her head to the other woman.

A wide grin appeared on Floria’s face as she looked between the two. “Alright then, strap yourselves in, because this is a great plan!”

The night before

Chapter 35

Nighttime

I grunted as I sat in the corner of the bar, watching the people around me carefully. My eyes drifted to the woman, the one named Floria, as she stood in the middle of the floor, acting like a complete dumbass as she made jokes and pranced around, causing a few of the bar patrons to laugh and cheer for her.

The only other person in this bar that wasn’t participating in watching her antics was Domitor, who was at the bar drinking something, seeming to be talking with the bartender.

“This is stupid,” I grumbled to myself, upset that I was stuck with these two all of a sudden. If it wasn’t for the threat of dying to a strange contract thing, I’d have never come near these guys again. Seeing them just pissed me off so much.

Especially him.

I glared across the room at Domitor as he drank from a bottle, looking like he had his own demons to deal with. Screw him, I hope killing that prick Lenrick affects him the rest of his life, serves him right.

Drifting my gaze back to Floria, I saw she was doing tricks with some kind of large rifle, tossing it around herself as she made a few crude jokes to the people around her.

I honestly do not know how to feel about this woman, she’s weird and crazy. And bipolar as fuck. But if she’s following Domitor around, then she can’t be that great.

“Hey man, brooding in the corner?” A random guy asked as he sat down at my table, a drink in his hand.

“Fuck off,” I said harshly, causing him to laugh.

“I’m just trying to make conversation, man, chill out,” he said, taking a long swig of his drink. “So you look capable, wanna make some quick fazoles?”

“What part of ‘fuck off’ did you not catch?” I asked as I kicked the table at him, knocking him out of his chair and onto the floor.

“What’s your problem?!” he snapped as he jumped up, but as I stood up fully, he got a good look at me. “Yeah alright, shit man, forget I even asked.”

I watched him walk away as he walked to another table and began to ask them the same questions he’d asked me.

Shaking my head, I sat back down and went back to watching everyone in the bar.

After a little bit the bartender walked over to me and placed a bottle down next to me. “From the lady dancing for everyone,” he said, gesturing to Floria, who stopped her antics long enough to give me a thumbs up.

I just rolled my eyes and grabbed the bottle, “thanks, man.”

He gave a nod as he returned to his place behind the bar.

Looking the bottle over, I saw that it was some kind of mild alcoholic beverage. I’m not a drinker, I remember watching my mother battle this shit when I was younger. It took her a few years to get to where she could stay sober and not rely on this crap to get through all the tough shit.

Luckily she had me and mom there to support her. So I decided long ago I’d avoid any of this stuff like the plague.

Placing the bottle back down, I leaned back in my chair, pressing into the corner of the room and sighed. I want to leave and go somewhere else, but apparently I have to stay with them till the job is complete. Which is luckily tomorrow.

My Ego gave me a ‘Rank: S’ quest for this, so it’ll be worth it for me as well. But a Rank: S quest? Oh boy, that means this shit will be crazy for sure.

After I finish helping them, I should have enough time to go to this floating island for this stupid tournament. That should be super easy, the people I’ve fought so far here have been pushovers, so I’m fairly confident I’ll steam roll this silly little tournament.

Up at the counter I saw Domitor get into an argument with two other guys. From what I can tell, they were trying to kick him out for being a weird creature.

“Stupid, Domitor,” I chuckled to myself, watching them get more animated as they argued. “That’s why you should be wearing a disguise. Dumb fuck.”

They started to push at him, knocking him out of his chair as he stumbled back, trying to appease them. Just as they started to get more pushy, Floria slid in between them and began to bump them back.

The two guys began to throw insults her way, pointing at Domitor as they yelled. She just held her ground and yelled her own creative insults back.

“Children,” I muttered, causing Rosemary to snort laugh as she looked over at me from her seat atop a banister.

The little yelling match turned into a full on brawl as Floria jumped into the two men, dragging them down as she laid into them. One broke free and ran for Domitor, who jumped up and began to drunkenly fight the guy.

I just shook my head as I watched the four idiots fight each other.

“Going to help them?” Rosemary asked as she hopped down next to me.

“Why would I?” I asked, settling down a bit more as two more men joined the fighting, ganging up on Domitor.

She didn’t seem to have an answer to that, since she knew our history. “Erm, you have to because of the contract?”

“Nowhere in that contract said I have to help them in a bar fight,” I commented, watching Domitor holding his own against the three opponents as Floria finished off the one she was fighting. She rushed forward and jumped onto the back of one of the Kejtdra’s, beating the hell out of the back of his head as he ran around the bar screaming for help.

Three more guys joined in on the fighting, all moving on Domitor. They really don’t like him, do they?

“Get away from him ya limp cocked fucks!” Floria roared as she dived into the mess of men, dragging two away from the fight as they struggled to get away from the small Kejtdra woman.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at this, as the scene before me was a bit funny.

“Fine, I’ll help, a bit,” I conceded as I grabbed my full bottle of alcohol and looked at the scene before me.

One of the men had grabbed Domitor and was holding him from behind, letting two others lay into him.

Rolling my eyes I threw my bottle and hit the one holding him, shattering the bottle right on his faceplate. This gave Domitor enough of a chance to free himself and hit back at the ones attacking him.

“Welp, that’s my work for today,” I said as I leaned back, enjoying the show.

Some poor idiot turned his attention to me, having seen me throw that bottle, and rushed towards me.

“Bad move buddy,” I called out to him as he neared me. He ignored me as he threw the table out of the way and moved towards me. Just as he was close enough, I exploded upward, slamming my fist into the underside of his chin, sending him flying straight up into the ceiling.

The poor bastard’s head smashed through the wooden roof above us and just hung there, out cold.

Letting out a heavy sigh I strolled forward and grabbed one of the guys laying into Domitor and threw him full force behind myself, sending him straight through a window and out onto the street beyond.

“Having fun, dumb ass?” I asked him as he struggled to handle the two guys who were still fighting him.

“SIt down, asshole,” he growled at him as he caught one guy in the throat, sending him to the ground coughing. “I don’t need your help.”

“Yeah, you did,” I mocked as I grabbed the last guy by his tail and yanked him towards myself, ramming a fist into his face as he spun around to face me. He was out of the fight instantly.

Domitor frowned at me as he looked around at all the groaning Kejtdra laying on the ground. “That was a stupid fight to be in.”

“You need to wear a disguise,” I said as I crossed my arms. “You stick out like a retard.”

“Fuck off, Shayla,” he growled, causing me to slam a fist into his face.

He stumbled back, looking shocked as he held his bleeding snout.

“It’s Shane,” I said in a chilling voice. “Remember that.”

“Whoa whoa!” Floria yelled as she suddenly appeared between us, holding her hands up to us as Domitor tried to move towards me. “We have to get along, at least till the jobs done!”

“Yeah, Dom,” I taunted. “You gotta behave.”

“You-” he cut himself off, restoring to just glaring at me.

“Both of you, stop,” Floria said sternly, causing me to turn my gaze to her.

“You need to stop acting like the boss, little girl.”

She closed her eyes and exhaled loudly as she held her ground between us. “Okay. We all need to cool off before tomorrow. Shane, thank you for helping us in that fight.”

“Mhm,” I grunted, taking a step back as I stared them both down. “When this job is done, I’m out of here. And if I catch wind of Lorenzo, I’m killing all of you.”

They didn’t seem convinced of my threat, as my voice cracked a bit as I said it, so I growled and turned around, heading for the front door.

I stepped out aggressively and leaned against the wall, since I didn’t actually have a place to go for the night.

“You’re so good at making peace,” Rosemary said as she appeared next to me, leaning against the wall.

“I ain’t making peace with that little bitch,” I said as I spat onto the ground. “He fucks with me my whole life, then he helps the guy who…”

She looked at me as I went silent, letting my mask hide the emotions my face was displaying at that moment. Of course, she still knew how I was feeling.

“Shane,” she said, still clearly not enjoying calling me that, “if it wasn’t for Domitor, you’d’ve been-”

“Do not finish that,” I warned as I glared at her. “I don’t care if he saved me, it’s his fault I got caught like that. So fuck him. And fuck everyone else too.”

Rosemary just shook her head as she faded away.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned my head back, staring up at the night sky. My eyes drifted to the large skull like moon that could just barely be seen through the branches of the tree above. I held my gaze on it for a few moments, feeling nothing at first. But after a little bit I started to feel a dull pain in my head, causing me to advert my eyes.

Shaking my head hard, the pain slowly faded away. This whole world was hostile for no reason.

“Hey,” I heard Floria say as she stepped out of the bar. “Can you play nice till this is over?”

“Sure,” I grunted, staring right into her eyes.

“I’m serious,” she said in a serious voice. “This job is important, and if you can’t keep your anger in check-”

“I got it,” I interrupted her, holding up my hand.

“Okay,” she said, then her mood shifted as a relaxed smile appeared on her face. “Now, unless you got a place to stay nearby, you can room with us. Got a nice couch with your name on it.”

“I’m good,” I said as I crossed my arms.

But Rosemary appeared behind her and shook her head at me. “It’s either this, or a long walk back to your grandparents. You’re out of money.”

With a loud groan I roll my eyes. “Fine, I’ll stay at your place tonight. But I’m not playing nice while there.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a wink as she shoved her hands into her pockets. Then her eyes went wide as she pulled out her hand and held up her hand. “So I have a confession.”

“Yeah?” I said as I came off of the wall and stood before her.

“So when I first bumped into you, I stole something from you,” she said sheepishly.

“You what?!” I snapped, running my hands over my pants, trying to think about what she could have stolen. I didn’t bring much with me, so… “Give it back.”

Nervously she flexed her hand as a little vial appeared in her hand. I growled as I snatched it from her and held it up, staring at the Watcher’s confused little face.

I can’t believe I didn’t notice I’d lost this!

“To be fair, that whole thing with Lenrick…” Rosemary said, but felt I wanted her to stop.

“Little thief,” I snarled as I put the Watcher’s vial away in a pocket and latched it closed so it wouldn't fall out.

“Sorry, I'm a bit of a kleptomaniac,” she said as she scratched the back of her head.

I had the urge to punch her, but held back on it for once as I turned my body away from her, staring at the dark street before us. “Just keep your fucking hands to yourself going forward,” I grumbled, clenching my fist.

“Can do!” she said cheerfully as she walked back into the bar, only to reemerge a minute later with Domitor. “Alright, both of you play nice and follow me!”

Domitor glanced at me, holding a cloth to his nose with a wing tip. I gave him a thumbs up, causing his eye to twitch.

“Wanna another one?” I mocked, slugging him very hard in the shoulder.

“You’re a bully, Shane,” he said firmly, causing me to frown. I had expected him to hit back at me like usual.

“You’re the fucking bully, Domitor,” I sneered, but he just rolled his eyes and walked after Floria.

Walking behind them, I watched as Floria told him a joke, causing him to relax and laugh.

I decided to ignore them as I pulled out the Watcher’s vial and raised my mask so he could see my eyes. “You ready to talk?”

As usual he just stared blankly at me.

“Come on,” I pressed, glaring at him. “Don’t be a bitch, just say something.”

After a few moments of him just staring at me I began to shake him violently.

“Shane, that is not going to convince him to talk to you,” Rosemary said, but my only response was to start shaking him harder and in different directions to really mess with him.

I stopped and held him close to my face, “so? Talking? Because I can do shit like this forever.”

His eyes were spinning as he floated around in the vial, but he remained quiet.

“Fuck you’re persistent,” I grumbled as I shoved him back into my pocket. He’d talk, I’d make damn sure of it.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Okay, I need to warn you,” Floria said as we walked down the hallway, “my apartment is a bit messy.”

“Can’t be that bad,” I replied in a bored voice.

“It is,” Domitor said, causing me to roll my eyes.

We reached her door as she stopped and unlocked it, “well, welcome to my humble abode, Shane!”

I walked in behind them, looking at the messy apartment around me, with all the piles of trash and food containers. The floor was covered in clothes and trash as well, with the corners being piled high with all kinds of shit.

“Huh,” I mumbled, kicking some trash aside as I walked further into the room, taking note of the couch that was surrounded by trash. “Yeah, this isn’t that bad.”

“What?” Domitor asked in a dumbfounded voice. “This is horrible… no offense, Floria.”

“Ah none taken,” she laughed as she opened the fridge, even though it was clearly empty.

“Yeah, my house gets pretty bad,” I said as I stood there taking it all in. “My parents aren’t much for cleaning, so we all kinda just leave shit everywhere till Twilight or Adry comes over and forces us to clean. My room right now looks pretty bad, if they haven’t cleaned it yet.”

“That somehow makes sense,” Domitor muttered, getting a glare from me.

“Oh I’m sorry I don’t live in a mansion with maids and servants,” I snapped, kicking some trash at him.

“We didn’t have maids or servants,” he grumbled, “I had to clean most of the shit on the weekends. My father was against letting anyone in the house for any reason.”

At the mention of his father I just growled and walked over to the couch, standing by the trash covered coffee table. “Okay, so this is my bed for the night?”

“Yep!” Floria exclaimed as she skipped over and handed me a thing of takeout. “Also found that, should still be good!”

I sniffed it, noticing it was probably not ‘still good’, but I just shrugged as I lifted my mask and used the fork stuck in it to start eating the leftovers.

Domitor made a face as he watched me eat, looking a bit sick.

“What?” I asked with a smirk, “little pussy boy don’t have the stomach to eat anything?”

“That’s just nasty,” is all he said as he shuddered a bit.

True, it tasted old and out of date, but food is food. My parents taught me that. Basically everything can be edible, if you’re brave enough.

“So there's still blankets on the couch for you,” she said as she then pointed to a door. “That’s my room, where we’ll be.”

“Oh you two banging?” I asked crudely, causing Domitor to frown and Floria to laugh loudly.

“Nah, he’s not into me!” she laughed, slugging his shoulder playfully.

He just stood there, glaring at me.

“Anyways, come on, Dommy, let’s let her get settled in in private,” Floria said cheerfully as she moved for her bedroom door.

I laughed out loud at this, slapping my knee, “Dommy?! She calls you Dommy?! Like a Dommy Mommy?! Oh you little dweeb!”

“Oh fuck me,” he groaned, ignoring me as he walked after her, disappearing into her bedroom.

Laughing a bit more I jumped up and landed on the couch, still in my full armor as I got comfortable. But as I laid there, I slowly began to notice a certain smell coming off of the blankets and the pillow I was laying on.

My body began to shake as I slowly realized where’d I smelt this before. Then without warning I let out a panicked scream as I flung myself into the floor and pulled myself away from the offending couch.

Floria ran back into the room, looking startled as she looked at me on the floor as I pushed through the trash.

“What?!” she yelled, looking around, then her eyes landed on the couch, causing them to go wide. “Oh fuck… I’m so fucking stupid!”

“He slept on that couch?!” I roared, shakily forcing myself to stand up straight.

“Shane, I’m so fucking sorry, I forgot-”

“He slept on that couch?!” I repeated in a horse voice, still hyperventilating. “And I just laid on it!”

She didn’t seem to know what to say as I stumbled over to her kitchen and collapsed into the counter, ripping my mask off as I began to vomit into the sink.

“What happened?!” I heard Domitor say behind me as I vomited again.

“Shh, go back into the room,” Floria said as I dry heaved a few more times.

I sat there for a few moments, just staring blankly down at the messy sink. A glass of water was pushed into my view, which I took and downed in one go.

“Take my bed tonight. We’ll sleep out here,” she said in a calm and soothing voice.

With a growl I crushed the glass in my hand and turned to face her. “No. I’m sleeping on the floor, and that is final. I am not sleeping on the same bedding that any of you have slept on.”

She frowned at me, but didn’t press the issue as she walked over to a pile of trash and dug through it, pulling out a blanket and pillow.

“These don’t smell great, but they're the only ones I got that no one has used.”

“Give ‘em,” I snapped as I snatched them from her hands and walked over to the other side of the room, grabbing my mask as I went, and began to clear a spot on the floor.

“If you need anything, just yell,” she said as she slowly walked back to her room.

“I won’t,” I replied harshly as I laid down on my back, shoving a pillow under my head and pulling a dirty blanket over myself.

She seemed to want to say more, but my glare got her to move on and leave me alone in the living room.

Now that I was alone I pushed my mask back onto my face followed by a loud sigh of relief. I just felt better having my whole body covered like this. I thought for a second and flicked my tail out from under the blanket, seeing that some of my yellowish fur was still visible.

“Ah fuck,” I grumbled as I looked around and saw a black shirt. I took it and shredded it, using the shreds as wrapings as I covered the last of my fur, completely hiding all of myself from view.

“Better,” I muttered as I tried to relax, but found it difficult.

“Take off the armor,” Rosemary said as she appeared on top of the trash in the corner of the room.

“Nope,” I replied simply as I shifted around a bit, staring up at the ceiling.

The last thing I was doing was sleeping without clothes in a place like this. I’d deal with the discomfort.

Unlike the night before, sleep did not come easily for me.

Preparing for the Ambush

Chapter 36

The next morning

Domitor washed his face in the bathroom sink, sighing as he looked himself over. The days were starting to wear on him, as he was still having trouble sleeping. He kept being brought back to that moment, and each time he revisited it he saw it in a new light. His mind was just making new and creative ways to torture him.

Moving out of the bathroom he saw Floria was still asleep on her bed, all of her covers wrapped and twisted around her, as she apparently was a restless sleeper.

Reluctantly, he walked into the living room, not really wanting to face Shayla after last night. Upon entering the living room, he saw she was all twisted up on one side of the room, blankets and trash all caught up around her body. She too appeared to be a restless sleeper.

And for some reason she was in her full armor, her sheathed sword still held in her hand. She was still asleep, but she was swiping her left hand violently to her side, putting a hole in Floria’s wall.

“Geez,” he muttered as he kicked a pile of trash at her, hitting her in the chest with a can.

She exploded upward, sending shit everywhere as she ripped her katana from its sheath and pointed it all over the room. “What?!” she yelped in a panicked voice.

“You’re putting a hole in her wall,” he deadpanned, pointing to the little fist sized hole in the wall.

Shayla growled behind her mask as she put her katana back in its sheath. “Don’t wake me up like that ever again, you fucking hear me?!”

“Yep, I hear you,” he said as he walked over to the kitchen and stopped, realizing there wasn’t anything in there. They’d have to go out if they wanted to eat.

He could hear her moving around the room, grumbling to herself as she paced around, having nowhere to sit down since she didn’t want to go near the couch.

“Morning, guys,” Floria said as she stepped into the room, wearing just her underwear.

“Where are your clothes?!” Shayla snapped as she stared the other woman down.

Floria rolled her eyes as her clothes seemed to materialize right onto her body, “better?”

“Yes,” Shayla replied, still pacing around the room. “I’m hungry, what you got left over?”

“Nothing at all,” she laughed as she put her hands in her pockets. “But I know this great dinner right down the street.”

“I don’t have money,” the mare grumbled, gripping her the sheath of her sword tightly.

The short Kejtdra smiled at her and gave a wink, “then you’re in luck. I have plenty of extra money.”

“And you don’t keep food in the apartment?” Domitor asked with a frown.

“Too lazy,” she admitted as she walked for the front door. “But trust me, the food at this place is amazing. We’ll have to get it to go though, need to get back to the ambush point.”

“Then let's go,” Shayla said gruffly as she waved for her to lead the way.

Floria smiled at Domitor as he sighed. He was going to have to deal with both of them at once, and that he was not looking forward to.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I sat down on the edge of the building and placed my bag of food in my lap, ready to finally eat. We’d just bought the food and come straight here, so my hunger was starting to destroy me.

Plus I did my daily quest on the way over, so that didn’t do me any favors. At least I was able to put all three points into Strength.

Opening the bag sent a wave of scents up at me, causing my mouth to water as I removed my mask and began to greedily devour my food. It didn’t last long as I basically just swallowed most of it whole.

“Heard of chewing?” Floria asked as she ate her own food while leaning on the edge of the building.

“Heard of minding your own business?” I shot back, causing her to chuckle.

“Hey, can we be serious for a moment?” she asked as she looked behind herself, seeing Domitor off by himself as he ate alone.

“Sure,” I muttered, leaving my mask off for now. “Just watch what you say.”

She gave a nod as she took on a much more somber facial expression. “I’ve been there, where you are right now,” she said as she reached up and began to fidget with her broken faceplate.

“The fuck you mean by that?” I asked with a scowl, my body starting to shake in anger.

A light sigh escaped her lips as she turned to fully face me, “Shane, I know what you’re going through. You were a very strong and independent person when I first met you. I mean, you beat us to a pulp and had a smile the entire time. But then that was taken from you.”

“Careful,” I growled as I stared at her with tense eyes.

“It takes a while to recover, and sometimes you never fully return to normal,” she said, still fidgeting with her faceplate.

I stood up, not wanting to hear anymore of this.

“Please,” she said in a small voice, causing me to look at her. “Just hear me out.”

With a loud grunt, I sat back down and grind my teeth as I stared at her.

She took a shaky breath as she seemed to be working herself up. “I… Well you see… Damn it, I’m sorry, Shane. I can’t do this.”

The pained and conflicted look on her face caused some of my anger to subside, followed by me groaning. “I’m sorry, Floria. You seem like a good person, but I just do not have it in me to hear this conversation.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled with a sad nod. “Me neither, apparently.”

I looked her over, seeing she was no longer as animated as she usually is, as she just stared out at the city before us, a blank look on her face.

A grimace appeared on my face as Rosemary appeared on the other side of her. I really did not want to do this.

“It’ll help you,” Rosemary said softly.

“Fine,” I said aloud, catching her attention. “Yeah, you’re right. I haven’t been the same since Lenrick, and I honestly do not feel like myself either. I’m scared of being seen as myself by anyone, and the thought of someone eyeballing me makes me sick. Which is stupid as fuck, how can shit like that affect me? I’ve always been the number one badass out of everyone I know. And now I cry and vomit at just a stupid fucking scent.”

She listened to me, nodding along as I spoke, “I can’t tell you the right way to handle all this, but I can tell you that time heals most wounds.”

“Sure hope so,” I mumbled, using my claw to wipe away a few tears that had somehow fallen down my face.

“My…” she began, seeming to struggle with her words. But then she took a deep breath and turned to me, staring right into my eyes. “I got taken advantage of by my own father.”

This revelation caused my entire body to seize up, as I had expected something to have happened to her, but not her own father.

“I…” I started, but had nothing, so I just shrugged at her.

“It’s okay, most people don’t know how to react to that,” she said with a sad smile. “He did it for most of my life, and the one time I fought back he did this,” she said as she tapped her broken faceplate.

“Floria,” I said slowly, trying to get past my own shit to try and say something to her. “Erm, shit. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, it’s all good,” she said with a forced smile. “I killed him in his sleep one day and I’ve been on my own since then.”

“What about-”

“My family? All died of various events. My mom died while brooding for one, and my grandparents just up and died one day. So no, I’ve got no one left,” she said, looking at her hands. “But that’s fine with me. I’ve always liked being on my own.”

“What about Domitor?” I asked, trying to think of a positive. Sure, Domitor wasn’t much but at least they seemed like friends to me.

“In the short time I’ve known him he’s the only one not to try and fuck me, so I like ‘em pretty well,” she said softly, a little smile on her face. “But we’re never going to be anything other than friends. I’m not delusional, I can see that very clearly.”

“Never know,” I pressed, causing her to glance over to him.

“Nah, I’m okay being just friends with him. He’s a good guy.”

“I guess he is,” I said with a sour look on my face.

She laughed at my reaction, returning to her cheerful self, “Oh come on, I know you got history and beef with him, but he’s seriously not that bad.”

“You didn’t grow up with him,” I countered, causing her to stick her tongue out at me and stand up fully.

“Good talk, Shane.”

“Yeah, good talk,” I replied, watching her walk over to Domitor and begin to mess with him. Seeing them interact like that made me miss my friends. I kinda wish I'd brought them with me, but at the same time I’m so glad they’re not here for this shit.

I don't want them to ever know about what I’ve gone through. They’d never look at me the same again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

A few hours later

“Right on schedule,” Floria said as she held up her binoculars, looking far off down the street.

“Oh they’re actually coming?” I asked as I stood up from where I’d been sitting down.

Domitor groaned as he too stood up and walked over to stand next to Floria. “I honestly thought they’d do something different.”

“Like I said,” the short Kejtdra said with a proud smile, “I did my homework. I knew they’d come this way.”

I took her binoculars and scanned the incoming convoy, a large scowl appearing on my face. “What the hell? There’s no way in hell we can handle this convoy. There’s like thirty Gloomers walking outside of the vehicles.”

“Not to mention the ones in the trucks,” Domitor added as he used his own binoculars to look the scene over. “Your plan only accounted for fifteen guards. Well this is way over double.”

“We still got this,” she insisted as she rubbed her hands together. “You two just gotta do your jobs and we’ll be fine.”

“Unless we die,” I muttered, seeing that these Gloomers looked like straight up riot police with heavy armor and weapons. Sure, I could handle a few at a time, but this was going to be a straight up war zone with just two targets for them to focus on.

“You won’t die,” she laughed, then frowned. “Please don't die. Just harass them and draw their attention. All we have to do is grab the prototype weapon, then get the fuck out.”

“Oh that’s so simple,” Domitor muttered, getting a nod of agreement from me.

“We need more people,” I said as I lowered the binoculars.

“Too late for that,” she said as she picked up her large rifle. “So we stick to my plan. I’ll start us off and provide support in the beginning. Once we locate the right vehicle, I’ll be the one doing the grabbing. The moment I have it, get out of there.”

“And what if something goes wrong?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Then we improvise of course,” she replied with a cocky grin. “You’re a smart guy, you’ll figure it out.”

I roll my eyes as I put my mask back on. “Alright then, just don’t miss that first shot.”

“Oh I won’t,” she said with a wink as she propped up her rifle. “Now positions!”

Domitor took to the air and flew over to another building, getting into his place next to the little switch he was supposed to push.

As for me, I climbed over the building and slid down it to the ground, where I ran over to an overturned car in the middle of the road, propping myself up against it.

This whole idiotic plan relied on Floria not missing that first shot, because if she does, I’ll probably die. And if Domitor fucked up, which he very well could, then I’m just as fucked.

It was at this moment it hit me, I was the only one at real risk here, at least in the beginning. What the actual fuck?

“It’s because you’re the most capable of you three,” Rosemary assured me, but I still wasn’t happy with this.

I took my sheathed Katana and attached it to my belt, that way I could use some of my techniques a bit easier.

“This would be easier if you kill them,” Rosemary pressed, getting a glare from me.

“You know I’m against that,” I said as I peeked over the car, seeing the convoy in the distance getting closer. They were going at a walking pace, which is weird to me.

Shouldn’t they be hauling ass through this city so that they can get to safety faster.

“Well, this actually makes some sense,” Rosemary observed. “This city is supposed to be very dangerous outside of the Rich areas, and they’re supposedly carrying a very unique prototype weapon. And at least one crime boss knows about its existence. So they’re doing this as a show of force to keep would-be thieves at bay.”

“Yeah, well it’s obviously not working if we’re here,” I muttered, sitting back down and going over myself, making sure I was ready for this.

The sound of the convoy could be heard now, causing me to clench my teeth. This was for sure going to be the dumbest thing I’ve done so far… I guess other than actually taking Domitor’s father to this fucking place.

“You got this,” Rosemary said as she faded away.

I smiled nervously as I adjusted my mask, the ground starting to shake thanks to the large vehicles coming towards me.

“Yeah, I got this.”

The gang meets the Boogeyman

Chapter 37

“I got this,” I muttered to myself as the convoy was almost on top of me now. I could hear them slowing down as they approached the overturned car I was sitting behind.

“Sir, we’ve approached the road debris,” I heard a voice say as the lead car came to a stop. “I believe you’ll be able to drive over it.”

I tensed up as I looked up to the roof ahead of me, barely seeing the tip of Floria’s large rifle peeking down at us.

“Proceeding,” someone else yelled as the ground began to shake again, the large truck getting closer.

Just as I thought she wouldn’t shoot, I heard a massive boom, followed by a loud bang behind me. A loud grinding sound filled the air as the engine of the large truck began to seize up on itself.

“Ambush!”

“Here we go,” I said aloud as I flung myself over the car and landed on the other side, surprising all of the heavily armored Kejtdra on the other side as they tried to set up around the damaged truck.

“Front!” one yelled as I dashed forward and drew my katana, striking the nearest one in the faceplate with the wooden blade. He stumbled to the right and fell over, probably not out of the fight but definitely not a threat right now.

It was at that moment that Domitor hit his switch, causing the entire street to exploded with smoke bombs, filling the area in a thick fog. There were a few more shots from above as Floria hit each truck, getting as many as she could before the entire area was obscured in smoke.

Now that I was mostly hidden in the smoke, I dove towards the next guard and swiped his legs out from under him. As he hit the ground I slammed a foot into his faceplate, breaking the glass and hitting him directly in the face.

Thanks to my Egonetic’s and skill points in Perception, I was still able to make out the shapes of the other Gloomers as they moved around, screaming to each other.

Moving gracefully I rushed past four more men, my wooden blade crashing into each of their legs and faces in quick movements. All those points in Strength were paying off as each strike from me seemed to shake their entire body to the core.

“Shane!” I heard Domitor yell from somewhere in the smoke, but I couldn’t trace him.

A few balls of pink went flying past me as I weaved through the street, eyes searching out my next victim. The unlucky fella was a guy standing in the doorway of a car as he fired wildly in my general direction.

I laughed loudly as I effortlessly dodged through his bullets, taking out a guy along the way, and jumped up and slammed both legs into the open door. The man let out a pained yelp as I crushed him between his car and car door. But I didn’t let him recover as I struck him across the head with my blade, knocking him out of the fight.

My left ear twitched as I jumped back, just in time to dodge a large axe of a rather massive Halwen. My eyes went wide as this guy was very intimidating, and was clearly not a normal Gloomer.

“Little kite trying to fly high today?” he asked, twirling his large axe around, sending the smoke around us away.

“LIttle kite?” I asked, not sure how that’s an insult as I dodge his next strike, which completely destroyed the ground where I’d just been standing.

I bumped into another Gloomer, who yelped in surprise and tried to bring his gun around on me, but I just knocked it aside as I punched him right in the face, causing him to stumble back. I rushed forward and knocked him down, just as the axe wielding Halwen came after me, laughing loudly.

As fast as I could I smashed my foot into the downed Kejtdra’s face and sprinted into the smoke, wanting to avoid a prolonged fight with this Halwen monster.

A few Gloomer’s were unlucky enough to be caught off guard by me as I crashed through them, dropping any I came across. This smokescreen mixed with my Perception was a bit overpowered.

Finally I came to where I thought Domitor was, and saw he’d been making quick work of the Gloomers on his side. Fair to say he’d gotten more than I had as the armored guards laid around him, all either groaning or actually dead. Apparently he has no qualms with killing them. Color me not surprised.

“You good?!” he yelled to me as he used his weird tentacle thing to zip all around the area, slicing through the Gloomers with ease.

“Yeah, I thought you needed help!” I snapped, hearing someone coming up on my left and dropping to the ground, just as a few bullets flew over me. I sprang forward and tackled a Gloomer and took him to the ground, where I began to beat the ever loving shit out of his covered face and chest. Once I was done, I got up and turned back to Domitor, who was running out of opponents.

He glanced my way and shrugged, “I was trying to warn you. I saw some kind of large Gloomer heading in your direction!”

“Yep, met him!” I yelled back as I dashed through the smoke and nailed an unsuspecting Kejtdra in the neck with my katana, causing him to yelp and drop to the ground coughing. “I see you don’t care about killing people.”

“Save it,” he snapped, obviously not wanting to hear it from me as he continued his unrelenting attacks on the Gloomers around us.

“Just saying,” I called out as I took notice of the smoke starting to clear out. That’s not good, Floria hasn’t given us the signal yet.

Over the sounds of gunshots and screaming, I just barely heard the sounds of something heavy running towards us.

“Ah shit,” I mumbled as I dashed back as an axe head came out of the smoke, barely missing me as I hit the ground and rolled to my feet.

The massive Halwen stalked forward, smirking as he spun his axe around in his hands. “I honestly am happy to see you little kites,” he laughed, then saw Domitor. “... and weird animal thing.” He just shrugged as he laughed, holding his axe up as he began to spin it around, pulling the smoke towards himself. The smoke began to disperse even faster, and here soon we’d be fully exposed.

My eyes darted over the area as I took in a few more Gloomers who were trying to regroup. Not good at all.

“Domitor, right side!” I called out, watching as he actually listened to me and zipped right over to the group of Gloomers, going to town on them as he sliced and diced his way through them.

“This job has been one of the most uneventful I’ve ever taken,” the large Halwen said with a smile. “But thanks to you two, I get to have a bit of fun. So try and keep up with me!”

“Okay,” I simply said back as he stopped spinning his axe and dashed towards me.

I held my ground as he neared, locking eyes with him as he neared me and swung his axe right for me. Using my own sword I gracefully threw it up and hit the underside of his incoming axe, causing it to go off course and fly right over my head as I dashed in.

“Impressive!” he bellowed as his knee suddenly flew up towards me. I saw it coming and caught it with one of my hands, using the momentum to jump over the knee and slam a fist right into his face. He just laughed as his head recoiled back, but I wasn’t done as I grabbed his chest plate and planted my feet right under myself.

With a roar I put everything I had into lifting him up and slamming him straight down on his face.

He groaned loudly, so I walked past his head and gave him a solid kick, causing his head to bounce around like a bobble head.

“Stay down,” I said as I spat onto his back. This guy was big, but he wasn’t really that hard to fight.

Looking around I saw another Gloomer moving towards Domitor, firing away at the stallion as he used another Kejtdra as a body shield.

I began to move to help him, but I heard Rosemary gasp and yell.

“Behind!”

My eyes went wide as I spun around, seeing an axe head coming straight for me. I didn’t have time to react so I just threw up my arms, taking the blade of the axe right in the middle of my arms. The force of the impact sent me flying backwards and into a truck, which I crashed through and landed right on the interior of the large truck.

Groaning, I saw that there were a few well dressed Kejtdra around me, all looking stunned and panicked.

“What’cha looking at?” I grunted as I went on the attack, punching and kicking them as I crashed their heads off of the interior of the car, and each other. Once they were dealt with I clambered out of the hole I’d made and collapsed onto the ground.

“You’re still alive?” the massive Halwen asked with a loud laugh. “I thought you’d be dead after that.”

“Nope,” I growled as I stood up and looked at my arms, seeing that his axe had cleaved through my gauntlets and had only been stopped by my Ego-enforced bones. If I didn’t have Egonetic’s, I’d probably be dead right now. Because both of my arms felt like jelly now, as that hit was insane!

“Good,” he said with a wide grin as he advanced on me again. “I’d hate for this fight to end now.”

A loud whistle suddenly blared through the area, causing confusion to everyone but Domitor and me.

I just smirked at the large Halwen as I saw Domitor take to the air, flying away. “Looks like fights over, big guy.”

His eyes narrowed at me, “it is not. Not till we show each other all we have.”

“Nah, not my cup of tea,” I said with a smirk as I lowered myself a bit. “I don’t play those kinds of games.”

This brought a sly smile to his face as he dashed towards me, much faster than he should have been able too.

His axe swung for me, and I easily dodged around it, but the sight of it stopping immediately and flying right back for me caught me off guard as the hammer head side of the axe hit me in the chest and sent me flying away.

He wasn’t done with me as he sprinted after me and tried to bring the axe down on me as I flew through the air.

Shit.

As his axe came down for me, I saw some tendrils shoot straight down from the sky and latch onto my chest, followed by me being pulled straight up into the sky.

I flew straight up and was caught by Domitor, who let out a loud groan as he caught me, his wings going crazy as they tried to stay in the air.

“Fuck you’re heavy, Shane!” he yelled as he tried to ascend higher so we could land on a building.

“You’re just weak!” I yelled back, slapping the side of his head.

Down below I heard a loud yell, causing me to look down in time to see the Halwen’s axe rocketing towards us.

“Catch me,” I said as I broke free of Domitor’s grasp and kicked the side of the axe just as it reached us, sending it flying straight into a building nearby. Luckily Domitor wasn’t completely useless as he caught me with his weird tendril thing again and pulled me back up to him.

He struggled to fly us upward, but he eventually was able to get us to the roof of a tall building. The moment I could I elbowed him and jumped from his hooves, landing on the roof.

“Asshole!” he yelled, holding his snout as he hovered above me.

I just smirked at him as I took off running, jumping off the building, using the Wardrobe function to unequip my chest plate and flare my wings. We then both took off flying for the rally point, with him complaining the whole time about me hitting him in the snout for no reason.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Wooo! We did it!” Floria exclaimed loudly as Domitor and I stepped into the abandoned warehouse.

“Yeah we did,” I said as I re-equipped my chestplate. “You get what we were after?”

“Oh I did indeed,” she laughed as a large device appeared beside her, coming up to her waist. It didn’t look like any kind of weapon I’ve ever seen before, but it’s not like that mattered. “You two were amazing down there! I wasn’t sure we’d actually pull that off!”

Quest complete! 12 skill points awarded!
Level up!
Level up!
You have 18 unspent points!

Rolling my eyes at her as I flexed my arms a bit, “well it was pretty easy, except for that one big guy.”

“Wait, what big guy?” she asked, her excited mood seeming to waver.

“Didn’t you see him?” Domitor asked as he messaged his left wing.

She shook her head, “no, once I finished off the trucks I just came straight down and went for the prototype. I only really saw you, Dom, fighting a bunch of guys.”

“Well he was a Halwen with a large axe,” I said as I lifted my mask and picked at my teeth a bit.

“What was he wearing?” she asked, looking to be panicking now.

“Just a lot of armor with cloth hanging off of him, like some kinda royal prick. I didn’t really pay attention to his armor since, you know, I was trying not to die,” I said, pushing my mask back on and crossing my arms. “Why is this important?”

“Shit,” she mumbled, putting the prototype weapon away in her Vacuole. “That was Jekyll, aka The Undertaker. The Boogeyman of Eris. He’s a high tier Merc that only works for the elites of this world, and he has no morals whatsoever. I’m amazed he didn’t kill either of you.”

“He would have killed one of us if we didn’t get out of there when we did,” Domitor said, glancing at me.

I growled at him as I shook my head, “I didn’t need your help. I had that handled.”

“Uh-huh,” he replied with a raised eyebrow. “Whatever you say.”

“Hey, fuck you, you mothe-”

I was cut off as the garage door was kicked off of its hinges and in walked that massive Halwen again.

“Holy bouncy boilerplate!” Floria exclaimed as she dived away as the garage door flew past her.

“There you kites are,” he laughed as he strolled in, his axe held firmly in his hand. “Let’s pick up where we left off.”

It looked like he’d come alone, as there were no other Gloomers behind him, so that’s a plus for us.

“He followed you, dumb fuck!” I yelled at Domitor, who stared at me with an astonished look on his face.

“Me?! We flew side by side!”

“Stop bickering and fight!” Floria yelled from somewhere behind us.

“Fine,” I grumbled as I turned and squared up with the large Halwen named Jekyll.

“I believe you two have more pressing matters to attend to,” he said in a low tone as he spun his axe around his body a few times, showing off. “You three made me look bad back there. So how about we skip the warm up and go straight to the fun?”

“Go for it, big guy,” I said as I readied myself, my hand on the hilt of my katana as I prepared to draw it.

“Guys, watch out, his Thorn is-” Floria began, but he suddenly flung his axe towards her. She used her rifle to shoot it away just as it neared her, saving her from being sliced in half.

Jekyll let out a laugh as he held up his hand, causing the axe to fly back to him. “Now, don’t go ruining all the fun for me.”

Not wanting to give him a chance to react, I dashed forward as time seemed to slow down. However, to my surprise, he turned to me in normal time and smirked.

My eyes went wide as I stopped my advance and jumped back, confused. Sure, I hadn’t actually slowed time, but even then when I activate that ability everything slows down anyway for me. Yet he just moved like nothing was wrong, which means he’s super fast in both speed and brain power!

“Interesting, what kind of Thorn do you have?” he asked as he stared me down.

Instead of answering I dashed forward again, seeing Domitor’s dark tentacle latch onto the ground next to Jekyll. Doing my best to keep his attention solely on me, I drew my sword and swung it for him.

He just caught it with the head of his axe as his other hand shot out and grabbed Domitor by the face as he appeared.

“Really?” he asked, throwing both of us aside as he stood there, looking disappointed. “I expected more from yo-”

A loud bang was heard as he raised his axe, blocking the shot from Floria’s rifle. Even though he blocked it, the force of the impact sent his axe flying out of his hands.

Not wasting the moment, Domitor shot his tendrils up onto the axe and pulled it towards himself.

The massive Halwen frowned as he raised his hand to pull it back, but a second shot blew his hand clean off.

“What kind of gun is this?!” he yelled in anger as he dashed back, dodging the third shot that rang out.

Floria laughed like a mad woman as she began to follow him with the rifle, firing away. He dodged all over the room, growling and grunting as he did so.

“Those bullets are almost instantaneous! What kind of magic is this?!” he yelled, obviously not being used to dealing with guns that fired bullets that traveled faster than you could see.

“It’s fuck you magic!” she laughed loudly as she kept firing, blowing chunks out of the building around us as she did so.

This caused me to smile a bit as I stayed low, not wanting to get hit by a stray bullet.

Finally I heard her gun click empty as she let out a loud crazy laugh.

“Empty!” she exclaimed in glee as she began to pull more bullets out of her Vacuole and slap them into the gun.

With an annoyed roar, Jekyll began to plow through the building towards her, knocking anything out of his way as he went. But both Domitor and I sprang on him, with Domitor jabbing at him with his sword, and me trying to sweep his legs out from under him.

Yet he basically takes our attacks and did not slow down.

“Fuck fuck fuck,” Floria yelped as she finished reloading and fired the gun without aiming, sending a bullet right through his gut. A massive hole blew out his back, but he kept pushing forward.

She fired again, but somehow he dodged it, even though we were way too close for that to be possible.

“He’s following your aimed trajectory!” Domitor yelled, clearly seeing more than I was in this fight.

With a nod Floria stopped aiming and began to fire at random. This had the effect of a few bullets actually hitting Jekyll, but also almost hit Domitor and I as we kept up our attacks on the massive Halwen.

Nothing we did seemed to stop him as he grabbed her gun by the barrel and threw it behind himself, continuing forward for her. Just as he reached out for her, she was yanked to the left, a tendril attached to her.

Domitor caught her and flew upward, trying to get out of his range as I put my sword away in its sheath and lunged into Jekyll, intent on making this fight fist vs fist.

And he obliged as he took my first hit and then returned one of his own, his own fist hitting me so hard I lost all sense of reality and flew backwards, taking out a few support beams as I did so.

I let out a pained groan as I pushed myself back up, my entire being feeling disoriented.

“You just do not die, do you?” he yelled to me as he held up his remaining hand and caught his axe. “Who do you work for?”

“Can’t say,” I grunted as I adjusted my mask, thankful it didn’t break.

“I see,” he said with a knowing look on his face. “Rig Fanden. He’s the one who put the hit out on that convoy, so it makes sense you three would be his lap dogs.”

“I ain’t his lap dog,” I said, standing up fully and getting into a fighting stance.

He started to say something, but he suddenly jumped to the right as a bullet hit the ground where he’d just been standing.

“Hmm,” he said, looking between me and the other two, who were in the air as Floria rode on Domitor’s back, her rifle propped up on his shoulder. Then a strange look fell across his face as he glanced around. “There’s four of you here.”

I frowned at him, as there were only three of us, not four.

“Ah, it’s you,” he said in a low voice, which I barely heard. “Alright. You three enjoy your little victory. I have some wounds to attend to.”

“You’re not going anywhere, you-” Floria yelled as she fired again, but he simply sprang back and then rushed away, crashing through a wall and disappearing out onto the street beyond.

Once we were sure he was gone, we all came together. Floria hopped off of Domitor’s back and looked around confused. “What just happened? He never leaves till he finishes a job.”

“I have no idea, but he seemed to think there was another person here,” I said, looking around as I was unsure if there actually was another person hanging around.

“Huh…” she said as she rubbed her chin. “Well screw it, it got rid of him, and we were not winning that fight.”

“We were winning though,” I said, pointing to all the blood around the room. “You hit him a few times with that gun of yours, he couldn’t have kept that up for much longer.”

“He could have, his Thorn is something called ‘Opposition’. It always comes up with the perfect counter to anyone else’s Thorn or abilities. So unless I hit a vital with my gun, we weren’t winning that. He can negate all non-fatal damage to himself. Plus he’s a Halwen, he’ll just go find somewhere safe to regenerate.”

“We still would have won that if we kept fighting,” I insisted, causing her to smile at me.

“I’m glad you think so,” she then put her hands in her pockets as she looked around, a worried look on her face. “Now let’s get out of here before any Gloomers show up, or this mysterious fourth person makes themselves known. I don’t like people who hide in the shadows and stalk others.”

I gave a nod of agreement.

“So to Rig’s?” Domitor asked, getting a smirk from Floria.

“Yep, then I’m treating you both to some real food!”

Quest accepted: ‘Rank D: Deliver Prototype Weapon to Rig!’

Before I could say anything, a piece of paper slapped into my face, scaring the shit out of me.

“What is that?!” Domitor asked, jumping away from me as I growled and snatched the paper from my face.

It simply read; ‘Ephermeris Island approaches. Three hours.’

“My stalker,” I growled, tossing the paper to Floria.

“Ephermeris Island?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to that tournament that’s been all over the radio?”

“I guess so,” I said with a grunt. “I didn’t know it was on the radio, I just heard about it through these stupid papers.”

“Why are you going to a tournament?” Domitor asked, looking very confused.

“Apparently there’s a reward that might be able to help me get the fuck out of this dimension,” I said, waiting for more papers to hit me in the face.

Domitor and Floria looked at each other, looking unsure.

“I’m going alone, by the way,” I stated firmly. “This was a one time partnership for this job, and that was it. Once we turn that over to Rig, I’m outta here.”

Floria just smirked at me as she put her hands in her pockets and leaned back, “sure. You can go off on your own, not like you need a guide or anything.”

I ignored her, knowing what she was trying to do.

“I mean, do you even know how to access your Vacuole yet?” she pressed with a cocky grin on her face.

“I don’t have one of those,” I said, turning to leave.

But her laugh drew my attention back to her. “You two really are in the dark on how this place works. Trust me, if you’ve been here a few days you have a Vacuole. Sucro should have gathered up in your bodies enough to allow them to form. You just gotta know how to access them.”

I looked down at my sword, frowning. It would be nice to have a way to store gear and pull it out when needed. Sure, my Wardrobe function could do that, but only for my armor and clothes.

Letting out a loud sigh, I turn to her. “Fine. If you can help me with this shit, I’ll maybe let you two tag along with me to the tournament.”

“Deal,” she said with a gleeful smile.

Rosemary appeared next to Floria and smiled warmly at me. “Admit it, you want them to come along.”

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I thought to her with a sneer as I whipped around and began to head for the wide open garage door.

“I can see your thoughts and feelings, Shane,” she said with a chuckle, which just caused me to growl loudly.

“Come on, you fucks, let’s get this job finished!” I snapped, waving for them to follow.

I better not regret letting them tag along.

End of Act 1

Act 2: Home Sweet Home

Chapter 38

Act 2

The portal opened into the dimly lit room as a mare stepped through it, letting out a sigh of relief as she smelted the familiar scent of her room.

“Need anything else, Nova?” Balgore asked as he threw a bag through the portal for her, smiling at her as she turned to face him.

“That will be everything,” she said in her Received Pronunciation accent, and gave a small bow. “Till next time, my friend?”

Balgore chuckled and gave her a salute, “you know it! I’ll see you the next time I need a partner.”

The portal snapped shut, leaving her alone in the room.

She flexed her wings as she eyed her bed longingly, as it’d been a couple weeks since she’d had a comfortable night's rest. She’d been sleeping outside on makeshift beds for the last week or so, so her body would appreciate a real bed.

Looking around the room, something felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.

Her stomach growled, as it seemed to realize they were home now and wanted some real food, not that stuff Balgore liked to stock up on.

So instead of stripping out of her adventuring clothes and swapping into something more formal, she decided to just head straight for the Royal Kitchen to see if the cooks had anything laying around she could snack on. Her mother and aunt didn’t like her walking around in her adventuring attire, as they said a Princess must always look regal. But honestly, she could care less about that.

It’s not like she was going to take over the throne after all. That’s why she’s spent the last ten or so years traveling to and from the Eternal Plains with Balgore, much to her mothers anguish.

But she enjoyed it, and planned to keep doing it till the day she decides on either doing it full time or staying here in Equestria. The only reason she hasn’t made that decision yet is because she wants to be here for her family, especially with the way Star Chaser has been acting these past few years. Her mother was at wits end with trying to help him get back on track, and Nova wasn’t sure she could.

Star Chaser would have to figure this all out on his own, and they’d all just have to sit back and let him. She’s already tried talking to him in the past about his behavior, but he’s in denial about it.

All of this went through her head as she walked down the halls of the Palace, her hoof steps sounding off of the large walls around her, echoing down the empty halls.

It took her a bit to realize that she hadn’t seen another pony since she’d stepped out of her room. Not a servant, guard, or even any of her family members. This was abnormal, as this place usually at least had roving guard patrols.

As strange as it was, she kept making her way to the kitchen, knowing the cooks would at least be in there, since they spent the entire day preparing food and cleaning.

Yet as she stepped into the large kitchen, she found it empty and void of anything that signaled that anyone had been in there for a few days.

“Odd…” she muttered, this entire situation not setting well with her. She’d been traveling through Dimensions for years, and she’d learned how to tell when something was wrong. And this was clearly wrong.

Leaving the kitchen she moved to her mothers room, knowing she’d be in bed since it was the afternoon.

On the way there, she still saw no one, nor heard anyone. To make things stranger, the moment she entered the hall that led to her mothers room, she saw all kinds of cleaning supplies that’d been left out.

Her pace picked up as she rushed down the hallway and burst through her mothers doors, entering her room in a mild panic.

The room was bare, as it'd been completely cleaned out. Not a trace of her mother was left.

With a shaky breath, she stepped out of the room, head swimming with questions and worries.

Had something happened? Why was her mother’s room bare? Had she just simply moved to another room?

All these questions and more rushed through her head as she quickly made her way for her aunt's room, hoping there were answers in there.

Yet just as her mothers room, her aunt's room was cleaned out too, leaving nothing but a bare floor and bare walls.

“What the bloody hell is going on here…?” she muttered, deciding the only place left to check was the throne room.

She all but ran down the halls, her hoof falls echoing all around her as she galloped.

The moment she reached the large throne room doors she used her magic to throw them open, sprinting through them and into the massive room.

Just as the rest of the palace she saw no one. At first.

But as she looked around in a panic, she realized there was someone in the room, on the other side and behind the thrones.

Teleporting over, she appeared right next to the thrones, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she saw the back of her mother as she stared at a family portrait on the wall of the entire Royal Family.

“Mother!” she exclaimed as her body relaxed and she looked around the throne room. “Where is everyone?”

Yet her mother did not respond as she just stood there, swaying slightly as she kept looking at the family portrait.

Nova looked at her mother, a dull feeling appearing deep inside of her as she felt something was wrong. “Mother? Are you okay?”

She took a few steps towards the Alicorn Princess, watching as she kept swaying side to side.

Then her eyes caught the glint of something attached to her mother, causing her to stop. That dull feeling turned into a cold pit in her stomach as she realized there were almost invisible strings attached to her mother, all of them running straight up to the ceiling, but it was too dark up there to see what they were attached to.

Taking a step back, she spoke again in a shaky voice, “M-Mom?”

With a jerk her mother turned to face her, her body moving unnaturally, as if the strings were the only thing controlling her body.

Nova let out a shriek of horror as she saw the melted face of her mother staring back at her.

She stumbled back and fell down the stairs, rolling all the way down them till she hit the bottom. But she was in too much shock to feel the pain as she stood up, looking to the top of the stairs where her mother’s body now stood.

Sinister laughing began to sound all around her, causing her already panicked breathing to get worse.

From above, holding onto the strings attached to her mother, a very skinny and horrifyingly disfigured unicorn floated down. A wide smile on their face that extended all the way down to their chest.

On her left another demonic creature stepped out from the shadows, this one looking like a brutish Pegagsus with horns, a wicked smile on their face as they laughed crazily.

To her right stepped out a familiar creature, this one being the Nightmare. He was in a large fox form, a wide smile on his face just like the others.

“Nova, little princess of Equestria,” another said as they stepped around the thrones and stepped up next to her mother’s body. This one was just a buff human male in a suit, a cocky smile on his face as he stared down at her. “Welcome home.”

She trembled as she looked at the assorted creatures before her, barely recognizing any of them. They looked like villains from the past, but with a new paint job and obviously new powers.

Finding her voice, she stomped her hoof and stood up tall. “What have you done?!” she bellowed in an authoritative voice, trying to ignore her mother as she was forced to stay upright by the Demonic Unicorn above them. “Where is Star Chaser? My Aunt?”

This just caused all of them to laugh even harder, seeming to enjoy her attempt at taking charge of the situation.

“Cute,” the man said as he looked behind her. “Oh, here’s your dear brother now.”

The sound of someone moving behind her caused her to whip around, seeing her brother standing there with a confident smile on his face.

“Star Chaser!” she yelled as she ran towards him and threw her legs around his neck. But he didn’t return the hug as she held onto him, which she noticed instantly. Taking a step back, she noticed he had a large crown on his head and had replaced his old cloak with a more Royal looking one. “Star?”

His confident smile never left his face as he reached out and roughly gripped her shoulder. “Sister, you return home.”

This interaction did not sit well with her, as he was not acting like she’d expected him to. Then, as she looked into his eyes, it hit her.

“Star… what have you done?!” she asked, her fear clear in her voice.

“What had to be done,” he said as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. “You should have stayed away, sister.”

Sensing something was about to happen she teleported a few feet back, getting out of his grip.

“Please,” she began, her voice shaking. “Tell me you didn’t do that to our mother?”

“I did,” he admitted with a chuckle. “I did it all, sister. I’m the King now, and I have my Queen by my side.”

At the mention of his Queen, a mare stepped through the doors to the throne room and stood there. This caused Nova’s eyes to go wide as she recognized the mare. “Azure Moon?!”

“Yes, my Queen,” he laughed. “Now, I’m sorry it came to this, sister.”

He flew towards her, but she had already teleported behind him, having expected him to try that.

“Star Chaser, stop!” she yelled, but he just laughed as he stood up straight and turned to face her.

“It’s unfortunate that you’re an heir to the throne as well, otherwise I’d let you live,” he said as he smiled at her.

“You know I don’t want the bloody throne!” she yelled, causing his smile to fade and be replaced with an emotionless stare.

“I’ve always hated how you talk,” he said in a low voice. “Always acting like you’re better than me. More proper.”

“That’s nonsense!” she snapped back, teleporting just as he thought about dashing towards her. “I’ve never thought of myself better than you!”

“Bullshit,” he growled as he side eyed her. “Goodbye now.”

But she’d already teleported far away from there, already knowing what would happen if she stayed.

Nova reappeared on the train tracks far outside of Canterlot, her body trembling as she tried to hold herself together.

“Running will not work,” Champion said from behind her, having caught up to her in an instant.

In response she teleported again, this time appearing in the middle of New Ponyville.

But the sight of the destroyed buildings caught her off guard as Champion exploded out of the air and landed before her.

“Stop,” he said simply as he swiped his hoof into her, attempting to kill her in one hit. But her Ego Rapier appeared between them and took most of the blow, which still sent her flying through the air. Her horn flashed again as she teleported to a random location out in the middle of the Everfree forest.

She knew he was following her based on where she’d likely go next, so she hoped by choosing a spot at random would buy her more time.

But as she took a step, she let out a cough as blood spewed out of her mouth. Apparently more force got through her block than she thought, as now it felt like a few ribs were broken. She coughed a few times, stumbling as she fell against a tree.

Deciding to move before he found her again, she teleported to a few random locations, hoping to lose him somehow.

Yet she finally had had enough as she did one last teleport, appearing on the Apple Family Farm and collapsing in a pile of hay in the middle of the barn.

Doing her best to control her breathing, she tried to make as little noise as possible, knowing her brother could sense even the smallest of sounds at a distance. Which basically meant it was only a matter of time before he found her.

Hopefully by then her horn would be ready for another teleportation spell.

As she lay there, she heard a small sound off to the side, causing her to jump up and point her Ego Rapier in that direction.

“Nova?” someone unseen asked.

“Who’s there?!” she snapped, waving her blade around as she looked for the owner of the voice.

“You’re alive!” Louie exclaimed as he suddenly ran into view, wearing some strange get up. “Oh my God, we thought you were dead!”

“What?” she asked, looking around but seeing no one else. “What’s happened here?!”

“It’s a long story,” the little dog said as he looked her over. “Wait, you’re hurt!”

“I am,” she said, breathing hard as she lowered her rapier finally. “I need a doctor.”

“Calypso is all we have right now,” Louie said as he ran over to her and looked up at her. “Doc got got.”

“He’s dead?” she asked with a pained expression on her face.

“Oh no, just got taken by Champion’s anti-brony squad,” Louie said as he sniffed the air.

She blinked at him, as this just raised so many questions. “Louie, tell me exactly what has happened since I’ve been gone.”

“Sure!” he exclaimed, clearly happy to have an audience. “So it all began-”

“This is not the kind of game I wish to play in your final moments, sister,” Champion growled as he appeared in the doorway of the barn.

“Champion!” Louie yelped, grabbing a little blade on his side and flinging it towards the costumed stallion. The little dagger hit Champion in the face and bounced off harmlessly.

“Do not run anymore,” Champion said in a cold voice, completely ignoring Louie and his pathetic attack.

Yet Nova had already forced herself and Louie to teleport, much to the anger of Champion as he let loose a scream of absolute rage.

They could still hear his scream clearly all the way out in the Everfree forest.

“Oh fuck, we’re screwed if he’s the one chasing us,” Louie whimpered, pacing around in front of Nova.

“Stop, Lou,” she said as she stumbled to a tree and leaned against it, no longer feeling like she could use magic. All this teleporting, and the broken ribs, had left her completely exhausted. Luckily for them Champion was trying to gloat and show off before killing her, otherwise she's sure they'd already have died.

“Can you do one more teleport?” he asked in a panicked voice.

“No,” she said, breathing heavily as she tried to focus on anything but the pain in her chest and horn. “I’m spent, my little friend.”

“Come on, Nova!” he pressed, prancing before her frantically. “One more teleport, then we’re home free! We need to get back to our base!”

“Nowhere is safe from him,” she gasped out, losing all hope in the situation. She knew exactly how his abilities worked, and knew there was not a single place they could hide that he wouldn’t eventually find them in.

“Well we have a place, we just have to get to one of the safe houses to make the jump!” he exclaimed, grabbing her metal shoe with his mouth and yanking on her.

She took a deep breath, willing herself to do just one more jump. “Alright, Louie. Where are we going?”

He let out a happy bark and pointed in a direction. “Take us to New Ponyville! Right on top of the ruins of the Mellowed Pie! They’ll know we’re there once we arrive!”

All she could do was nod as she held a hoof out to him. He jumped onto her leg as her horn sparked and they teleported.

With a pained grunt she fell to the floor of the ruined restaurant, the roof gone with just a few walls standing.

“Sweet!” Louie exclaimed as he ran over to a little symbol on the ground and began to scratch at it.

Nova wondered what he was doing as she laid on the floor watching him. But she didn’t have to wait long as a portal opened before them.

“Louie? Why are you using this…” someone began but stopped as they stepped through the portal and saw Nova on the ground.

“Princess Nova?!” they exclaimed as they rushed over and began to try and get her up.

“Yeah! She’s actually alive!” Louie barked as he jumped through the portal and waved for them to hurry.

Nova struggled to walk along with the pony helping her as they stepped through the portal, followed by it snapping shut behind them.

She let out a pained gasp as the pony slowly sat her down on the ground. Now that she had a moment she looked at them, a smile appearing on her face as she recognized them.

“Nightstreak,” she said, getting a confident smile from him.

“Yo, Princess,” he laughed, giving her a little salute.

She groaned again as she looked around, taking note they were in some strange dimension. “Where are we?”

“Oh this place?” he asked as he looked at Louie. “Go get Calypso.” Louie gave a little salute and sprinted off. He then turned his attention back to Nova, “this place is apparently the place Lance and the others hid in while Bronwyn hunted for that one guy. We’re using it as a pretty sweet hideout.”

“Nice,” she said, the pain now flaring to extreme levels.

“Nova!” Calypso yelled as she and a few others sprinted over to her side. “Thank Celestia that you’re alive!”

She didn’t respond as she just grimaced up at the older mare.

“I got you, don’t worry,” Calypso said as she injected something into Nova’s side. “We don’t have Doc, but Summer Breeze is learning. She can reset all this damage once she gets back.”

Giving a little nod, she let out a relieved sigh as the pain slowly resided, thanks to whatever she was given.

Now that she wasn’t in as much pain, she glanced around, looking at the relieved and happy faces of the ponies around her. “I need to know; what happened?”

“Champion happened,” Roxxy muttered, getting a few sour looks from the others around her. “He killed the Princesses, then declared Bronies were the ones who did it. Now anyone who’s associated with them is being hunted down and sent somewhere.”

“That’s the basics of it,” Calypso said as she looked the mare over some more. “We’re losing people left and right to that damn sorceress they have.”

Nova blinked at them, sitting up with a grunt. “Start from the beginning. Tell me every little detail.”

Louie smiled widely as he jumped forward. “Gladly! Our story begins at the beginning, when I was born!”

“I’ll tell it,” Roxxy said as she shoved the little dog back and sat down before Nova. “Just, it’s not a happy story.”

Nova gave a nod as she focused on the young mare before her. “Proceed, please.”

Outburst

Chapter 39

“So does Rig like you?” Floria asked suddenly as we walked down the street, entering into what could be considered the nicer part of these slums. “Or am I doing all the talking?”

I just shrugged at her as I walked on one side of her, while Domitor walked on her other side. “I don’t know how he feels about me, but I dislike the guy. You do all the talking.”

She gave me a thumbs up and a charming smile, “you got it, dude!”

“I’ve been thinking about this guy and his Contract Thorn,” Domitor said, getting both of our attention. “Is there a way to, like, just break the contract without dying?”

“Yep!” Floria said cheerfully, “and all it takes is Rig severing the contract himself.”

“So there is no way?” I deadpanned.

“No way no how!” she laughed, doing a little spin. “Rig has never severed a contract.”

“Great,” I mumbled, clenching my hand around the sheath of my katana. I had hoped there was a way out of this mess I’ve put myself in. I wonder if leaving Eris will be enough to get away? Can his little contract enforcer thing follow me across dimensions?

New Quest! ‘Rank S+: Severe Contract with Rig!’

… are you fucking kidding me? A Rank S+ rating for this shit?! Fucking hell that’s just my luck.

“Oooo, that’s not good,” Rosemary said from up ahead as she laid on a lamp post. “Rank S+ quests are considered impossible usually.”

All I could do was sigh as we walked under her lamppost. I just ignored her for now, focusing on the walk ahead of us.

“Okay, so just don’t act weird and this’ll go great,” Floria said as she walked ahead of us, heading for the one building that stood out amongst all the others.

Most of the buildings in the area were pretty bland and boring, this one was covered in gold and jewels. The words ‘King’ were written across the front of the building.

This guy just likes to show off.

The three of us entered the building, passing by all of the guards who stared at us with mixed emotions. Most seemed bored, while a few just seemed straight up pissed off. Nice group of people.

Floria waved at a few of them, who just ignored her in return.

I frowned as I looked around us, taking note of just how many goons he had. While I’m pretty sure I could take all of them at once, I don't think I have it in me right now to test that.

Once we walked down a fairly long hallway we came to a door that screamed ‘I’m the boss’, what with all the jewels and decorations on it.

Floria stepped forward first and threw it open, walking in with a massive smile on her face.

“Heyo, Rig! Guess what we got?” she announced happily, giving herself a little twirl as she walked forward.

“As I’ve heard,” he said from behind his desk, a pleased smirk on his face.

We walked forward and stopped right before his desk. Floria stepped forward and held out her hand as the prototype weapon appeared on his desk, causing him to stand up and clap his hands together.

“Excellent work, my little flower!” he exclaimed as he began to run a hand over the device. It then disappeared as he pulled it into his own Vacuole. “I will say that I am impressed with you three.”

Quest Complete! 3 skill points awarded!
You have 21 unspent points!

“Thanks, Rig,” Floria said proudly as she shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned back coolly.

“Which is good,” he said as he walked around the desk to stand before us. “I have another job for you three.”

A frown found its way onto my face as I gave my head a hard shake, “I can’t. I have somewhere to be here soon.”

“Too bad,” he said simply, glaring at me. “When I say jump, you do it. No back talk… take that stupid mask off when you’re in my presence.”

I growled as I reluctantly removed my mask, suddenly feeling very vulnerable without it.

“Good,” he said, standing up straight again as he put his hands behind his back. “Now tell me, what were these plans of yours?” When I didn’t answer he just sighed, “would you kindly tell me what your plans were?”

“I’m going to the tournament on Ephermeris Island,” I said against my will, causing my body to shake in pure rage and shame.

“Ah yes, the infamous tournament being held by the Zmeu’s Galben, with the promised prize being a favor from the great being himself,” Rig said, rubbing his chin with a large smile. “You will not be going to this tournament. I have my own man attending it, so I don’t need you up there.”

“I’m going for myself, not you,” I said sharply, causing him to laugh.

“It matters not,” he replied as he waved me off and walked back around his desk. “This topic is now closed and will not be brought up again. You are not to go to the tourna-”

“If I may interrupt, Boss,” someone said behind us, causing me to turn around and see a large Halwen in green armor walk in. I stared at him in confusion for a moment, feeling like I knew him.

“Yes, Talio?” Rig asked with a large sigh.

My eyes went wide, as I realized this was that strange guy who tried to offer me his help earlier. I should have known he worked for this asshole.

“I believe we should send Mr. Beltosh here in Uptee’s place,” Talio said as he walked in and stood next to the three of us, looking both intimidating and goofy at once. It was a strange combo to bear witness too.

Rig just shook his head at the large Halwen, “Uptee’s already ready to go. I will not be changing my plans.”

Talio’s masked face turned to me, giving me chills as the emotionless mask seemed to stare into my soul.

“Terribly sorry to say this, Boss, but Uptee died,” he said in a monotone voice.

This news caused Rig’s eye to twitch as he stared the Halwen down, “you should have opened with this information.”

Talio just gave a bow in response, a little cupcake appearing in his hand as he came back up and placed it on the desk. “For you, Boss.”

Growling angrily, Rig took the cupcake and took a bite out of it. “How’d he die? He was supposed to be on his way to the Island.”

“Slip and fell, broke his neck,” Talio replied simply.

With another heavy sigh, Rig leaned back in his chair, staring at all of us. “Fine then. Mr. Beltosh, you are to go to the tournament in Uptee’s place and win Galben’s favor. You are then to have this favor transferred to me. Is this understood?”

I just stared at him, clearly not okay with this plan. “But I need it,” I said simply.

“And you work for me,” he said coldly as the dark shadow rose up behind him, a wide smile on its face. “If you deviate from what I’ve just told you, then that will be considered breaking your contract. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

My eyes drifted up to the large shadow as it rubbed its hands together sinisterly.

“Fine,” I grumbled, crossing my arms. This threw a wrench in my plans, since I now had to give away this favor when I won. But I wasn’t going to give up hope, as I’m sure I can figure something else out once I’m up there and I win. I might be able to sweet talk this Galben guy into giving me two favors if I explain this bullshit to him… Does that count as breaking the contract? Shit, maybe.

Screw it, I’ll figure it out when I get there.

“Excellent,” he said as he clapped his hands and looked at the other two. “Now you two, I have-”

“Sorry to interrupt again, Boss,” Talio said as he pulled out a large cake and sat it on the table. “For you, by the by.” Rig just frowned as the Halwen stood up straight again. “I suggest these two go with Mr. Beltosh. They work well together.”

“Why are you so interested in these three?” Rig asked with a raised eyebrow, but Talio just pulled out yet another dish of treats and put them before the well dressed Kejtdra. “Uh-huh. Well then, you two are off the hook for now.”

I stared at the strange Halwen, very confused by him and his actions. There’s something about this guy that’s super weird, but I just can’t put a claw on it. His interest in me is disturbing though, that’s for sure.

Rig grabbed another of the treats and waved us off. “You have your task, now get to it.”

Floria, looking a bit worried, threw her hand up and gave him a thumbs up as she began to bounce out of the room. “You got it!”

Domitor and I followed after her, both of us sharing a look of discomfort. Luckily we left the office without any further words from Rig or the Halwen. We walked down the hallway, with Floria being her usual energetic self and me and Domitor just dragging along.

I put my mask back on, feeling a wave of relief wash over me now that my face was hidden again.

We didn’t speak till we exited the building and walked a bit down the street, and the moment we were far enough away, Floria deflated.

“I’m so sorry, Shane,” she said in a completely remorseful voice. “Rig is a prick and is always screwing stuff up.”

“I’ll be fine,” I grunted, adjusting my mask a bit. “I’ll figure something out. He’ll get his stupid favor and I’ll get my answers.”

This brought a crooked smile to her face, “I like you, Shane. Life slaps you down and you just get up and figure something else out.”

“That's how I roll,” I said with a forced chuckle. Then I went silent as I pulled ahead of them, making it clear I was not in the mood to talk further.

“Asshole,” I heard Domitor say from behind me, but I ignored him as I kept up my fast pace.

My mind was elsewhere, as I really did not like how much attention was just cast on me back there. Not just from Rig, but from this Talio guy, who I know is my stalker at this point. He’s got some kinda goal, and apparently it involves me.

I shuddered a bit, just wanting everyone to ignore me right now.

We walked for a while as the other two talked to each other, mostly talking about Domitor’s home life.

All I could do as I listened to him talk was roll my eyes, as I had a feeling he was just exaggerating some of this shit. Like, I know Lorenzo is a monster, but breaking his son's leg just because he beat me? Yeah, no, that’s made up.

At least, I really hope it is.

Glancing back at the smiling stallion, a conflicted feeling rolled through me. Which just pissed me off as I came to a stop and turned to face them..

They both came to a stop and looked at me in confusion.

“Yeah?” Domitor asked as he noticed I was staring right at him.

“Will you shut the fuck up and stop whining about your daddy and how he treated you?” I asked with a growl. “It’s annoying as fuck to hear this shit constantly.”

His reaction was instant as he stomped a hoof against the ground, “I do not talk about this constantly! It’s the opposite! I NEVER talk about my shitty home life, especially to you!”

“Wah wah, cry me a river,” I mocked as I tilted my head, a massive unseen smirk on my face.

He took a step towards me, but Floria jumped between us.

“What the hell guys?! We’ve been doing so good till now!” she yelled, holding her hands up as she looked between us.

“She’s starting shit, as usual,” Domitor growled, his nostrils flaring in anger.

I raised my mask just long enough so he could see me stick my tongue out at him as I flipped him off, “not my fault you’re a dumb little bitch who has daddy issues.”

With a roar he jumped for me, but Floria caught him and held him back.

“Shane, stop it!” she yelled, fighting to keep him from reaching me.

But I knew I was winning here, so I threw my arms out wide, “let ‘em go! We’re long overdue for a rematch! Just the two of us! Little shit needs to be put in his place!”

“STOP!” she roared as she threw him back. “Domitor, you stop as well. She’s just baiting you.” Then she turned to me and pointed a claw at me, “and you! Stop this! This is out of nowhere and unneeded!”

I just laughed a bit as I crossed my arms.

Domitor however let out a sigh and relaxed his body, turning his head away from me.

“That’s a good boy, Dommy,” I mocked. “Do what you do best and listen to others.”

“You’re a bully,” he growled, shaking a bit.

“And you’re a pussy with parents who wish you’d’ve never been born,” I said, causing Rosemary to appear in front of me, gawking.

“Shayla!” she snapped.

Domitor didn’t respond as he flung his tentacle thing onto my chest and pulled himself towards me, crashing his forehead right into mine.

I stumbled and fell on my ass, trying to fix my mask as he did the same trick again, hitting me even harder this time. But before I could retaliate, a loud boom was heard, startling both of us.

“Stop you idiots!” Floria screamed, her gun smoking as she pointed it straight up into the air. “We’re trying to be friends! Not damn enemies!”

Growling I pushed myself up and got chest to chest with Domitor as he stood on his hindlegs, neither of us trying to attack the other now.

“Being friends with this little asshole is impossible,” I said as I bumped my chest against his.

“If you grew up with her, Floria, you’d know exactly what I’ve had to deal with my whole life,” Domitor said, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Dramatic little drama queen,” I mocked as he bumped against my chest, looking ready to fight for real.

“If you two start fighting again, then I’m leaving and never coming back!” Floria yelled, her voice a bit shaky, causing me to close my eyes and exhale.

“Fine, since you both want to be so dramatic about this shit. I’m done,” I said, taking a step back and crossing my arms. “I’ll play nice for now.”

Domitor glared at me as he went back to all fours and shook his head. “Grow up, Shane.”

I just flipped him off and turned my back on them, walking ahead as I heard Floria let out a little cry before she suddenly laughed loudly and shifted back into her normally bubbly mood.

This caused me to shake my head. She was clearly bipolar or some shit, or faking all these moods. Honestly it doesn’t matter to me.

Rosemary appeared before me again as I walked forward, looking very disappointed. “That was too far, Shayla,” she said, using my real name. Which just pissed me off even more. “I saw the reason you did that, it’s-”

“Shut up!” I screamed out loud, punching the air where she resided. “Screw off right now, Rosemary! I don’t want to fucking hear it!”

She gave me a look as she faded away, complying with my outburst.

Looking behind me I saw the other two were looking at me with both shocked and worried looks. “What?!”

They didn’t say anything as they looked everywhere but me. Pricks. I was starting to regret letting them tag along.

After this stupid tournament was over, I’m ditching them for good. I don’t care if Rig wants me to work with them, I’m done.

About that time

Author's Note

I lost track of skill points last chapter, so I had to go back and fix it. Shayla has 21 unspent points at the moment. My bad.

About that time

Chapter 40

“So this can be your house,” Louie said happily as he ran ahead of Nova and jumped through a doggy door, disappearing into the house before her. They were currently in a neighborhood of sorts, with many houses lining the street. It's like they planned to have a small town in here or something.

She looked the house over as she approached the front door, a frown on her face. While she appreciated their help and willingness to provide her with a house, she’d rather be out there with the others, helping however she could.

Stepping through the front door she was greeted by Louie, who was sitting on a table a few feet away.

“So it was my idea to add dog doors to all the houses here!” he exclaimed, his tail wagging like crazy. “That way I can visit everyone any time I want!”

“Lovely,” she muttered as she walked past him and looked around the living room and kitchen area. “Tell me, Lou, when will Summer Breeze and the others return?”

“Tomorrow?” he said as he tapped his chin. “They’re doing some more training in their super cool training dimension right now!”

“I see,” she said as she walked over to a couch and laid on it. “My little friend, I would like to be alone, to process my thoughts.”

“Okay!” he barked as he jumped off of the table. “I’ll be around later though! I’m just gonna go take a nap!”

“You do that,” she said with a nod, his energetic self a bit much for her right now.

He gave a few barks then sprinted straight through the doggy door, leaving her alone in her new house.

Once she was sure he wasn’t going to run back in, she let out a groan and used her magic to slowly remove her clothing and gear, wincing as she did so. The damage she’d suffered was still there, since she’d have to wait for Summer Breeze to return to actually be healed. Till then, she felt basically useless.

When she was fully undressed she carefully laid down on the couch, staring at the wall on the other side of the room. Mind going over everything she’d just learned.

According to the others, Champion has not only killed their mother and aunt, but also Princess Cadance and her entire family. He blamed that on Bronies as well, which has only increased the hate and violence against them.

Then to make matters worse; he has named himself ‘Lord God King of All’, and is in the process of assimilating other nations into this one. In his grand attempt to rule the entire planet.

And to be honest, he will at this rate. None of the people here can stand against him, nor can she. He’s reached a level of power that is unheard of, and he knows it.

But that doesn’t mean they’re just going to give up. They have their friends and families, not to mention all the other bronies of this world who’ve been caught as well.

For now, their main goal is to try and track down any more bronies and bring them here. The next step is a bit more complicated, since no one knows where they’re keeping all those they’ve captured.

As for her, she’s been painted as a traitor to all. Champion made an announcement the same day he took over that he found evidence pointing to Nova being the one who helped the Bronies enter the palace and kill the princesses. Looks like he covered all his bases, making it so even if she got away from him that the ponies of this world would still hate her.

“Absolutely perfect,” she muttered, rubbing her face in frustration.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stared into the face of my mask as I held it in front of myself, a conflicted look on my face. The wind whipped past me as I sat on the ledge of the building, my focus solely on the eyes of the mask.

There wasn’t a thought in my head as I stared at it, as I’d just needed a moment after my interaction with Domitor earlier.

Just thinking his name pissed me off as I squeezed the mask a bit, chewing a bit aggressively on my lip.

“Shane,” Rosemary said as she leaned up next to me. “Can we talk?”

“No,” I replied simply, my eyes twitching.

“This aggression you have inside of you,” she began, ignoring my desire to not talk about this, “it is making everything worse for you.”

“Oh is it? I haven’t noticed,” I said as I gave her a deadpan stare. “Guess I should stop, huh?”

She frowned at me, “this is serious.”

“This is serious,” I mocked back at her in a goofy voice.

“Shane,” she said in a stern tone. “I’m trying to help you. You’re not processing your emotions in a healthy manner, and when you feel any sense of-”

“Uh oh, I’m doing emotions wrong apparently,” I said as I raised my hand and stuck it into her face, flipping her off. “How about you take a hike and let me handle my emotions my own way. ‘Kay?”

A sad sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head and reached out, putting a hand on my mask. “I am here for you, when you are ready.”

“Great, good for you,” I sneered, yanking my mask away from her. “When I need my own personal psychologist, I’ll call for you to be one. Till then, stop trying to ‘fix’ me.”

She just moved forward and hugged me, with me only feeling her presence around me as she did so. I didn’t respond or move, just let her do her little hug. After a few moments she faded away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

But I wasn’t allowed to be alone it seems, as I heard someone walking up behind me. I quickly shoved my mask onto my face as they approached, as I knew who it was.

“Are you good, Shane?” Floria asked as she stepped up next to me and sat down.

“I’m great,” I replied calmly, not looking at her.

“Oh you’re great?” she asked in a tone that suggested she was not in a good mood. “Is that why you keep starting fights with Domitor?”

“You don’t get it,” I mumbled as I clenched my fist over and over again.

She grunted and nodded at me, “you’re right. I don’t get it. So make me get it. Why are you so hostile towards him?”

“Oh where do I even start?!” I snapped, turning to face her, “that guy and me? We’re never going to see eye to eye, and I prefer it that way. I can NOT stand being near him! He let Lenrick almost rape ME!”

“He’s the one who stopped it before it happened,” she said calmly. “I was lost in shock and was useless till he acted and attacked that monster. If he hadn’t of been there, things would of-”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone says,” I said, taking on a mocking tone, “oh Dom, thank you for not letting me get raped even though you are the whole reason it happened!” I dropped the tone and sneered as I turned away from her, “I don’t care. He’s guilt ridden over killing Lenrick, and that is why I hate him. Why I’ll never forgive him or be nice to him. He has sympathy for the guy who…”

Floria sighed as she shook her head, “Domitor doesn’t want you to know this, but he’s not guilt ridden over what he did to Lenrick. He’s torn up about the fact he let Lenrick do that to you. Sure he’s upset at having killed someone, but that’s not the source of his regret and guilt.”

“Sure,” I said, a mix of emotions washing over me, ending with anger. “Fuck ‘em. I don’t care about his reasons, I’m just happy he’s depressed and guilt ridden.”

“There’s no helping it, is there?” she asked in a sad tone.

“Nope, mortal fucking enemies,” I growled, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s waiting for daddy to show up so he can turn me over and gain his favor. Little fucking prick pussy.”

“If you think that, why are you still here?” she asked carefully.

I did not know how to reply to that, as a lot of emotions boiled up, ones which I did not like to think about. “You ready to watch me kick this tournament's ass?” I suddenly asked, changing the subject.

The sudden change in subject didn’t faze her at all as she shifted into a happier mood, “oh hellz yeah! You'll probably get to go up against a lot of super powerful Thorn users!”

“I hope so,” I said as I flexed my right arm, “I’m getting tired of fighting all these pushovers!”

She let out a laugh as she reached out and squeezed my arm, “fuck those are some solid ass muscles!”

“I know right?” I replied with a smirk. “I work out like all the time.”

“Holy Bamalooah,” she exclaimed as she checked my other arm, “you’re just solid muscle!”

“Damn straight,” I laughed, standing up and using my Wardrobe to flash away all of my armor. I then flexed hard as I struck a side chest pose, really showing off all of my muscles. “Eh? Impressive as fuck, right?”

She stared at me with wide eyes as she looked me over. “I did not expect you to look so fucking cool…”

I raised an eyebrow at her as I held the pose, then reality set in as I realized what I was doing.

“Fuck,” I hissed as a massive wave of humiliation and shame washed over me, causing me to open my Wardrobe menu and re-equip all of my armor and clothes again. I then just stood there like an idiot, not sure how to react now.

Floria just sat there staring at me, then a wide smile appeared on her face. “You are fucking awesome, Shane.”

“Eh… thanks,” I muttered, adjusting my sheathed katana awkwardly.

Her eyes drifted to my sword as she continued to smile, “so what’s its name?”

“What?” I asked, still feeling all kinds of fucked up emotionally after what I’d just done.

“Your weapon, what’s its name?” she asked as she reached out to touch it.

I swayed my hips away from her, moving the sword out of her reach. “It doesn’t have a name.”

“What?!” she asked, suddenly looking very shocked. “You have to name it!”

“I don’t really care about stuff like that,” I admitted as she pulled out her large Ego gun.

“Shane, bro, you have too! Naming them bonds them to you and gives them more power!” she explained as she kissed the side of her gun. “This hotties name is Mr. Trombone.” The gun shimmered a bit as if responding to her words.

Drawing my own sword out of its sheath, I frowned, “I don’t know…”

“Just do it!” she pressed as she put her gun away. “Trust me!”

With a sigh I grabbed the katana in both hands and thought about it for a moment, “erm… okay. Katana, your name is now… uh… Jessie… Stabby?”

The moment I spoke its new name, the wooden sword began to shimmer lightly. I blinked as I waved it around a bit, feeling a difference in the way it felt in my hand. “Whoa.”

“Right?” Floria said with an excited smile, then raised an eyebrow. “Wait, Jessie Stabby?”

I just smiled sheepishly at her as I put the sword back in its sheath, “yeah, first words to come to my mind.”

“Well it’s unique at least!” she laughed as she hopped up and stood before me, putting her hands in her pockets. “Feeling better?”

Looking at her smiling face caused me to smile a bit, “no, I feel terrible. But not as bad as I could be, I guess.”

A bright smile exploded onto her face as she leaned back a bit, “epic.” She then looked me right in the face, the mask hiding my eyes, “if you want, we can do this again. Talk, I mean.”

“Hmm,” I hummed as I rocked on my feet again, “sure.”

She gave me a thumbs up and then dropped so she landed on the ledge of the building, “awesomesauce. You want to keep talking? Or you want me to shut up?”

“I don’t know, give talking a try till you piss me off,” I said with a smirk as I pushed up my mask and sat down on the ledge as well.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before she finally spoke again.

“So what do you prefer? Chicks or dudes?”

This caused me to recoil a bit as I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You know, for dating and banging. Which do you prefer?” she asked with a relaxed smile on her face.

A frown found its way on my face as I shook my head at her, “I really don’t care about that kinda shit.”

“But if you had to choose,” she pressed, seeming to really want to know the answer.

I rolled my eyes as I looked out over the city before us. I’d never actually thought about stuff like this before, and I still wasn’t that interested in the subject. Romance was weird as fuck to me.

“Dunno,” I muttered, not really sure how I’d swing if I wanted to do the dating game. Or sex. Never really put any thought into it.

“Come on,” she laughed, slugging my arm. “You’re not asexual are ya?”

“No,” I replied with a scowl, not really liking this conversation. But after a few moments I sighed, “look, I really don’t know. Before Lenrick I’d have said guys, but now I’m not sure.”

This seemed to pull her back as she took on a softer tone, “hey, sorry. I get too into things sometimes. Want to change subjects again?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling a bit at her.

She rubs her hands together, seeming to be thinking of something to talk about. “Hmm… Ah! When you took off your armor, I saw your ass tattoo. I know Domitor’s came from being good at drawing, but what about yours?”

“Oh, my cutie mark?” I asked with a wide smile as I shifted my body and removed the bottom half of my armor, revealing my cutie mark.

Floria leaned forward and stared at it, nodding in approval, “that just looks so badass!”

“Thanks,” I laughed as she looked it over, “I got it by defying God and making him my bitch.”

“Whoa! You made a God submit to you?!” she asked in astonishment.

“Fuck yeah I did!” I exclaimed proudly, slamming a fist into my chest. “Made him do exactly what I wanted with no problems!”

A astonished look sat on the short Kejtdra’s face as she stared at me, “have I mentioned you’re a badass?”

“You can mention it again,” I said with a sly grin.

She giggled and snorted as she leaned away from my cutie mark and nodded in approval at me.

With a flick of my claw I hit the menu button to re-equip my lower armor. I then turned to her, ready to ask my own question, but then I saw a massive shadow being cast over the city before us.

We both glanced at each other as we looked up, mouths' going wide as we saw an absolutely MASSIVE piece of land floating above the tree. With what looked to be two miniature suns stationed under the whole thing.

“What the fuck is that?” I asked in awe as Floria scoffed.

“Huh, I’ve always wondered what they meant by ‘held up by the twin suns’. Guess that answers that,” she muttered.

“Wait, is that Ephemeris Island?!” I yelped, not expecting it to be so fucking big. Thing looked to be a couple of miles long! Which would be a fucking lot with us being only a few inches tall in this world!

“Yep, that’s the island,” she said, a frown on her face. “Guess that means it’s time.”

I blinked a few times then smirked, “Oh fuck yeah. You ready to see me kick some idiot's asses?”

“See those muscles in action? Fuck yeah,” she teased, slugging my shoulder again.

We both stood up and headed for the door that led down to the ground floor.

“Just, one thing,” she said suddenly as we entered the stairwell.

“Go for it,” I said as we began our descent.

“Can you at least try and be nice to Domitor?” she asked carefully, watching my reaction.

I frowned as my eye twitched, “Floria, that’s a tall order.”

“Please?”

Groaning, I shook my head, “I can TRY, okay?”

“Thank youuuuu,” she said in a sing-song voice, clearly very happy now.

Fucking bipolar Kejtdra.

As we continued downward, I saw Rosemary leaning on the rails down below, smiling at us.

‘I’m sorry,’ I thought to her, to which she just gave a happy nod and faded away.

I had to admit, I did feel a bit better. Looks like talking about shit is at least somewhat helpful.

The cycle of hate

Chapter 41

Barehoof stared out the window, nervous that this idea would fail. It all relied on no one catching wind of their plans, but he was certain no one would.

“This is a really bad idea, dad,” Jeff muttered, clearly not a fan of this plan.

“It’s going to be fine,” Barehoof replied, turning from the window. “I’ve known her since she was a filly, she’ll help us.”

But Jeff just frowned, “yeah but, she’s the new Chief of the Inquisitor’s. There’s no way she’d help us.”

“She will,” Barehoof assured him. “She’s a good mare with a good heart. Besides, her father was my best friend once.”

“What’d she say exactly when you contacted her?”

“That she’d stop at nothing to make sure she arrived here to see us,” Barehoof said proudly.

Jeff just frowned, “what’d mom say?”

“Your mother does not need to know about this,” the older stallion said, looking a bit fearful. “It’s better if she only hears about this afterwards.”

“She’ll kill us you know,” Jeff deadpanned, causing both of them to chuckle a bit.

“A calculated risk,” Barehoof replied as he went back to the window to look out again.

He scanned the mostly destroyed town outside, waiting to see her arrive, but so far he wasn’t seeing anything. Not even the citizens of this town, which was strange since they were usually out and about trying to repair the town.

A sudden scratching was heard at the front door, putting them both on high alert.

“Yo, homies, open up! It’s me! Louie!” A frantic little voice barked out.

Jeff grumbled as he opened the door a crack and allowed the small dog to rush in.

“Whew! Thanks guys, I hate being in the open like that!” Louie exclaimed as he sat down on the floor panting.

“Why are you here, Lou?” Barehoof asked with a frown.

“I heard you two were going to attempt contact with the Chief of the Inquisitors, so I’m here as back up!” He proclaimed proudly, slamming a paw into his chest.

The two ponies looked at each other, both having a perplexed look on their faces.

“Thanks, Lou, but it’s just a meeting. She’s coming alone so we can figure out how to stop the Inquisitors and Champion.”

“But she’s the literal boss of the people hunting Bronies down! She volunteered for this position!” Louie barked, tail going crazy. “She’s definitely going to be a certified crazy bitch!”

“Don’t judge someone without knowing them,” Barehoof lectured, causing both Louie and Jeff to roll their eyes.

“Well she tries anything dumb, Imma cut her!” Louie said as he drew his knife in his mouth and made a few frantic cutting motions.

The two stallions chuckled at his antics, but a knock at the door drew their attention.

“That her?” Jeff asked, appearing a bit nervous.

“I hope so,” Barehoof said as he stepped up to the door and peeked through it, a wide smile appearing on his face. He pulled the door open to reveal the most intimidating mare any of them have ever seen. “Strawell!”

“Barehoof,” she said in a stern voice as she stepped through the doorway, her black armor glinting in the sunlight. “Spawn of Barehoof,” she said as she looked at Jeff. Then her eyes drifted to Louie, who’d stripped out of his clothes the moment he saw her and looked absolutely terrified, “dog.”

The two stallions raised their eyebrows at Louie, who was shaking a bit as he let out a normal bark.

Ignoring him they looked back to the mare as Barehoof closed the door behind her.

“Thank you for coming, Strawell,” Barehoof said as he tried to give her a hug, but she held up a hoof to hold him back.

“I will say I wasn’t expecting a call from you, Barehoof,” she said in a mostly monotone voice. “With you and your cohorts being some of the most wanted criminals in all of Equestria.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled sheepishly, “bold move on my part. But I knew we could trust you.”

“Hmm, quite,” she mumbled as she looked around the room, “tell me, are there any others here?”

“Just us,” he answered, waving a hoof over the three of them.

This brought a frown to her face, “I see. Where are you all staying right now?”

Barehoof started to answer but Jeff put a hoof in his mouth, “whoa whoa, lady, we need to know you’re really on our side before we start revealing stuff like that.”

“You have a smart boy, Barehoof,” she remarked as she took a step back. “Too bad the Apple did not fall from the same tree.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Barehoof asked in confusion, with only Louie seeming to understand her words as he whimpered, his ears perking up. He then began to bark frantically.

Without warning ponies in black armor began to burst through the windows and walls, rushing in and tackling the two stallions.

Strawell just watched with a cold indifference as her Inquisitors arrested the two criminals. Louie went silent as everyone seemed to be ignoring him at this point.

“What is this, Strawell?!” Barehoof yelled as he was roughly hoofcuffed. “I trusted you!”

“You are a criminal,” she said sternly as she stepped over him and his son, a stoic expression upon her face, “and I am the one tasked with hunting you. This is the only way this could have gone.”

Barehoof struggled against the Inquisitor above him, eyes locked on Strawell’s, “what would your father think of this?!”

She raised an eyebrow at him, looking unamused.

“He would never work with a monster like Champion!” Barehoof yelled as he finally gave up fighting against the pony on top of him. “Your father was a good stallion! He believed in justice above all else!”

The stoic mare slowly knelt down before him, “you’re right. He was a great stallion, and an even better father. He instilled in me a sense of justice, and that is exactly why I am here, doing what needs to be done.”

“But the Bronies are not the bad guys!” Jeff yelled as four ponies held him down, as he had more fight in him than his older father.

“A brony murdered my father,” she said with a little sneer, her stoic expression wavering a bit.

ooo000<^>000ooo

24 years earlier

Colts and fillies sprinted around the backyard, screaming and laughing as they played random party games together. While the adults all stood off to the side, watching the children enjoy themselves.

But there was one filly who wasn’t running around with the rest, the young birthday filly. Today was her ninth birthday, and she was excited for the first time in a long while. Because her dad had promised he’d come home from his super important job just to see her and spend the whole day with her.

So she couldn’t focus on playing with her friends, as all she could do was sit there at the little table, eyes locked on the gate that lead into the backyard, knowing that’s where he’d enter. He always liked coming in all goofy and making her laugh. Which she was looking forward to seeing!

It’s been five months since she’d seen him last, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to go even ONE more day without seeing him. Which is why she knew he wouldn’t break his promise to her!

She grabbed the locket around her neck and held it up, opening it to see a picture of her and her dad, laughing as they hugged and stared into the camera.

The love between the two could be felt from this picture, as it was just that strong.

With a little smile she kissed the picture in the locket and closed it, returning to watching the gate.

“Come on, Strawell! We need a seeker for hide ‘n seek!” a colt yelled to her as he and a few other ponies stood together, looking at her with excited faces.

“I’m waiting for my dad! Go on without me!” she called to them, keeping her eyes on the gate.

“Aw come on!” another yelled, but a filly shushed them.

“You guys don’t understand! Her dad is coming home today! For her birthday! She can’t miss that!”

“Wow! Your dad is coming home today?!” a colt exclaimed in awe.

Strawell gave a happy nod at them, “Yes!”

They all cheered for her and ran off to play on their own, letting her wait for her father.

Two hours passed like this, with her staring intently at the gate, waiting patiently for her fathers arrival. The waiting did not damper her mood, as she KNEW he’d be here as soon as he could. Nothing would stand in his way!

Then finally, the moment she’d been waiting for! The gate unlatched and slowly opened, causing her to jump up and gallop as fast as she could towards the gate.

“Dad!” she screamed, happy little tears starting to form in her eyes. But then she came to a grinding halt as she saw it was just her dad's boss, causing her to frown. “You’re not my dad!”

“Oh… Strawell… is your mother out here?” the stallion asked, looking over the crowd of adult ponies that lined the walls of the fenced in yard.

But Strawell didn’t answer as she looked around him, expecting to see her father, “is my dad coming? Or did you make him work more?!”

The stallion had a weird look on his face as her mother rushed over, greeting the stallion happily.

“Captain Barehoof! We weren’t expecting you!” she exclaimed as she hugged him tightly. “Is my husband with you?”

“Can we talk in private, Opus Gleam?” he asked, giving Strawell a pained look.

This didn’t sit well with the mare as she gave a nod and turned to her daughter. “Okay sweetie, go play with your friends for a bit, okay?”

“I want dad,” Strawell stated firmly. “He promised he’d be here, and he will.”

“He’ll be here soon, honey, I prom-” her mom began, but Captain Barehoof touched her shoulder and shook his head.

“I wouldn’t make that promise just yet. Come on, we need to talk,” he said as he walked into the house.

Her mother looked horrified as she stood up and followed after him, not listening to Strawell as she asked over and over again where her dad was and why he was late.

She huffed in frustration as she saw her mother disappear into the house, so she stomped after her. As she entered the house she saw they’d entered into her parents bedroom, which confused her.

As she neared the room, she could hear them talking.

“-mission to protect a few civilians from a murderer,” Barehoof said in a somber tone. “You’re husband, Lieutenant Brink, died in the line of duty last night. He saved innocent lives at the cost of his own.”

“No…” she heard her mother moan out, obviously crying.

“I am sorry, Opus. Your husband died in the line of duty.”

Strawell’s eye twitched as she walked up to the door and pushed it open, getting both of their attention. “Where is my daddy?”

“Oh sweetie!” her mother wailed as she launched herself off of the bed and hugged her daughter, crying loudly as she held onto her.

“I said, where is my daddy?” she asked again, glaring into Barehoof’s eyes.

He looked hurt, but he knew he had to be clear here, “Strawell, your father died last night. He died serving the Princesses, just as he’d-”

She grabbed a book next to her and threw it at him, hitting him in the face.

“NO!” she roared as angry tears flowed down her face. “He did not!”

“Strawberry, I’m so sorry,” her mother cried, hugging her even tighter as she just cried into her daughter's neck.

The little filly held her tearful gaze with the older stallion as he stared back with sad eyes.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Present day

“But you know all about that, don’t you, Barehoof? You were one of the ones who made sure he walked free,” she said as she stared down at him.

“That’s what this is about?!” he asked in surprise, causing her to shake her head.

“Of course not,” she replied as she stood up and resumed her stern expression, “this is about justice.”

With that she gave a nod to the Inquisitors holding them down, causing them to haul the two stallions up and begin to drag them out of the building.

Strawell stood there a moment longer, looking around the room once more, eyes coming to a stop on Louie as he stood there petrified. Her gaze slowly narrowed, so he did the only thing he could in that moment.

He barked and ran over to her, licking at her armored hoof as he forced his tail to wag.

“Down, dog,” she commanded, causing Louie to sit down, his little heart going crazy. But she just gave the room one more look over before doing an about face and walking out the front door.

Once he was sure they were all gone, he slumped. He’d just taken the coward's way out, but at least he had avoided being caught. There wasn’t anything he could’ve done in that moment to save them.

He carefully returned to his clothing and picked it up in his mouth, he’d need someone else to put them on him. Dogs aren’t very good at dressing themselves.

The thought of that mare sent shivers down his spine, as it had been years since he’d seen someone who instantly scared the life out of him. The last one being baby Shayla…

Shuddering at the thought, he quickly ran for the backdoor, wanting to get back to the others to inform them of the new information he’d gathered.

The Inquisitors were finally formed and on the hunt.

Ephemeris Island

Chapter 42

“Keep up, slow ass bitch,” I yelled back to Domitor as he struggled to keep up with me as we flew towards the floating island.

“I’m trying, asshole!” he snapped back as he grunted and flapped his wings harder.

Floria laughed loudly as she held her arms far above her head, “fly! Fly my magical flying pony!”

“Stop moving so much!” Domitor yelled back to her as she sat on his back, having way too much fun.

Despite myself I couldn’t help but chuckle at them as I stayed ahead of them, my eyes scanning the open air around us. Floria said there were giant avian animals that flew around the sky, but I haven’t seen any yet. It seems the presence of the massive island above us held by two suns is scaring off all the animals.

I wasn’t complaining, I’d rather not deal with an oversized bird.

We flew in silence for another twenty minutes before I let out an annoyed sigh. Despite this island being just above the tree, it was actually REALLY far away. Like, we’ve been flying for about half an hour and we’re just halfway there!

Well I could’ve been there already for sure, but Domitor the Slow was causing me to fly at a slower pace. If I was the one carrying Floria, this would have been no problem and we’d already be there.

So instead of going fast, we flew at a leisure pace all the way to the island, which took a whole hour.

The moment we crested the ledge of the island we were greeted with a massive lake, with a decently sized city on the other side. But the main attraction of this place was the massive colosseum that sat right outside the city.

Quest complete! 5 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 29 unspent points!

“Fuck me,” I mumbled as I took it all in, as it was all a lot bigger than I thought it’d be.

Floria let out a whistle as she took out her binoculars and began to look the area over, “this place is so much nicer than people made it out to be.”

“So this Galben guy, he’s like what, a super powerful guy or something?” I asked as we slowly flew forward.

“The most powerful,” she replied as she leaned forward, propping herself on the back of Domitor’s head.

“Hey!” he complained, but she just laughed in response.

“Galben is a Zmeu, which is just a super powerful lifeform. Impossible to kill as far as I know,” she said as she looked her claws over, “yeah, he’s gone down the path of ‘look at me, I’m so important’ over the last few years, so he’s kinda been boring to hear about. But this tournament is supposed to be a big deal, since the reward is a favor from him.”

“The favor is useless to me since Rig has fucked me over,” I grumbled, rolling upside down as we flew, staring up at the sky above.

Floria shrugged as she began to braid Domitor’s mane, “if you fight hard enough and win, I’m sure you can swing two favors or something like that.”

“What are you doing back there?!” Domitor asked as he tried to yank his head away from her.

“Stop moving,” she said as she kept braiding his mane. “Just be careful, Shane. Thorn users are unpredictable sometimes, especially the older ones. Young people like me, we’re cocky, so exploit that.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, as the level of self awareness she always had astounds me. It is really hard to get a read on her and her motives.

“I can handle anything,” I replied with a thumbs up.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“There are too many people here,” I complained as we walked through the massive crowd of people, all standing outside the large colosseum.

“It’s been on the radio for like two months now, so of course a lot of chota’s would show up,” Floria said, still riding on Domitor’s back as we walked along, braiding away at his mane much to his annoyance.

To be honest, a lot of them looked a bit tough, like people even I’d have reserves about fighting. Nevertheless, I knew I could easily beat anyone here in a one on one match, which is what I’m hoping this tournament will be.

Up ahead, right on the side of the colosseum was a massive flashing sign that read ‘Sign-ups here!’ with an arrow pointing straight down to the ground below it. There was also a timer right above it that was counting down, with only about two hours left on it. That must be when the sign-ups end, I’d assume.

Heading in that direction we were greeted with a row of tables with a few lines of people waiting to sign up for the tournament.

“Great, lines,” I groaned as we stepped into one to begin the wait.

“Well at least it’s moving somewhat,” Domitor observed as we took a step forward every ten seconds or so.

I just shrugged as I started to shift from foot to foot, not liking just waiting around like this.

“So, the plan is,” I said aloud to them, having to do something to pass the time or I’d go crazy. “Win this tournament, then get that stupid favor for Rig. Then try and get this Galben to answer a few questions so I can figure out how to get the fuck out of this dimension.”

“It sounds so simple when spoken out loud,” Domitor said with a frown. “This whole thing banks on this guy actually wanting to help you, you know that right?”

“He’ll help me,” I replied confidently, “trust me.”

“Probably not, but we can hope,” Floria commented as she finished braiding Domitor’s mane. “There, all done, Dommy!”

“I don’t want to look at it,” he muttered, shaking his head about, causing the braids to flop all around him. “Oh I look stupid don’t I?”

“Like a little filly,” I mocked with a smirk, causing him to groan.

“So I have a question for you two,” Floria asked, suddenly looking a bit nervous as she started to fidget with her faceplate again. “When you two find a way to leave and get back to your home world, can I come?”

I frown at her, not sure how to answer that. I hadn’t planned on bringing anyone back with me.

“Home world? What do you mean ‘to return to your home world’?” someone asked behind me.

“It means mind your own business,” I snapped as I turned around to see a female Halwen had stepped up to us. She gave off a rich kid vibe, which just made me dislike her without even having to hear her speak again. “So scram, lady.”

“How rude,” she said in a refined voice as she put her hands behind her back, staring at us. Her eyes lingered on Domitor, “what is this thing?”

“A ugly creature, I’d stand back if I were you,” I said as my mask hid my smirk. “Otherwise he’d rub off on your nice clothes.”

Domitor rolled his eyes at this, apparently not up to dealing with me and my insults today.

“Hmm,” she said as she tapped at her chin, “I will say; I’ve never seen anything like it before. Willing to sell him?”

“How much ya got?” I asked with a laugh.

“I’m not for sale,” Domitor deadpanned.

“Oh it’s sentient,” she said with a look of surprise on her face. “Which now brings me back to my original question; What do you mean home world?”

Floria suddenly let out a gasp as she seemed to realize something. She stepped forward and japped a claw at the taller woman’s face. “You’re a fucking Cakehurst!”

“That I am,” the Halwen woman said, giving a half bow. “Vanilla Cakehurst to be exact. It’s good to know even lowly Kejtdra such as yourself can recognize excellence when you see it.”

“Oh hell nah,” Floria said as she turned to me, “we’re not entertaining this bitch at all. Cakehurst’s can NOT be trusted. All they want is money and power, and they will do anything, and screw over anyone, to get it.”

“While that is true,” Vanilla said calmly, hands still behind her back. “We’re not all like that. Have you heard the phrase: ‘don't judge a book by its cover’?”

“Jokes on you, I judge all books by their covers,” Floria retorted, sticking her tongue out at the woman.

“Somehow I don’t doubt that,” she said back, a little sly grin on her face.

Floria’s eyes narrowed as she started to take a step towards the Halwen, “you little pompous rich girl, you wanna go?!”

“Whoa there,” I said, playing mediator for once as I grabbed Floria by her coat and pulled her back behind me. “Don’t get us kicked out.”

“Yeah, if anyone is going to get us kicked out it’s Shane here,” Domitor said, just having to throw in a little jab at me.

“Shut your horse mouth, Dom,” I growled, reaching over and flicking his braids.

With a groan Floria slide between us, holding us apart, “come on you two! Don’t start shit right now!”

Vanilla just watched us with a slightly confused look. “You three have a weird group dynamic going on, don’t you?”

“You wouldn’t believe it,” Domitor said, taking a step back and looking away from me.

I just took a breath and turned to face the Halwen. “Okay first up, I don't know shit about Cakehurst’s, but from the few things I’ve heard, I know you guys are to be avoided like a plague.”

“Damn right!” Floria agreed behind me. “They’re slimy little snakes in the grass!”

Instead of getting offended, the Halwen woman just shrugged, “I can’t argue that. The family over the years have gained quite the reputation for how we handle business. But as I said, we are not all that bad. You’re focusing on a few prime examples and disregarding all else.”

“Hey, if the shoe fits,” Floria said with a smirk.

“And two,” I continued, crossing my arms. “I do not like people who eavesdrop.”

She just gave a shrug, “to be fair, you were talking fairly loudly. I doubt I’m the only one who heard you.”

“Yeah you were talking pretty loud, Shane,” Domitor said in agreement.

“What? Me?! Floria is the one she heard, not me you idiot!” The two of us began to square up with each other.

“Guys!” Floria snapped, pushing between us yet again. “Stop making me do this shit!”

Vanilla just watched us with an amused look on her face, “you three are quite adorable together.”

“Adorable?” I asked in disgust, turning my back on my two companions. “Saying it like that ruins it. Thanks, bug woman.”

She looked past me and raised a hand, pointing behind us. “You’ve been cut in front of.”

“What?” I asked as I turned towards the line and saw the line had moved without us and others had moved in to fill the gap. “Oh fucking great! Thanks rich girl, way to distract us.”

I moved forward and took up my new spot in the line, determined not to lose it again.

“How about you take a hike, Cakehurst?” Floria said roughly as she and Domitor came up behind me.

“It’s a free state, I’m afraid,” she replied as she walked away, but still within sight as she stood there, watching us.

“Creepy ass bugs,” I muttered, shaking my head as I turned my head to look at the other two.

“That’s the Cakehurst’s for you,” Floria mumbled, keeping her eyes locked on the Halwen.

I also eyed the other woman, not liking that she was just hanging around us. Plus she was a Cakehurst’s, which according to my grandparents they’re the worst thing ever. Then again, I keep hearing they’re the worst, but I’ve gotten very few examples.

Only thing I know for sure is they’ve prevented my grandparents' business in this city from getting off the ground and have put them into poverty. Which is apparently a major contrast to how the family business was in the past.

“Should I go over there and wallop her good?” Floria asked, pulling up a sleeve.

“Just ignore her for now,” I grunted, wanting to at least attempt to avoid any more problems.

“Someone is learning,” Rosemary commented from somewhere in the crowd, but I didn’t seek her out.

“That’s a bit out of character,” Domitor muttered.

“Yeah, it’s called doing better. You should try it, Dom,” I shot back, causing him to roll his eyes and look away from me.

He reached up with his hoof and began to try and undo the braids in his mane.

“Hey stop that!” Floria hissed as she slapped his hoof down. “Leave ‘em in, they make you look cute.”

“Ugh!” he groaned, a scowl on his face as he put his hoof down.

I made a whipping sound effect, causing him to kick some dirt at me.

Luckily before we got into it again we reached the front of the line.

Stepping up to the table I saw it was just a simple sheet of paper with places for others to put their names. A lot more simple than I’d thought it’d be.

Taking the pencil in my hand I carefully added my name to the list, watching as it shimmered a light yellowish color.

“Huh.” I turned to the other two and shrugged, “that’s it?”

“Move along, man!” someone in line behind us said.

Holding up my hand I move aside with the other two and walk into the crowd. Off to the side I could still see Vanilla watching us. She wasn’t trying to hide from us, just openly standing there watching us.

I’ll need to keep an eye on her for sure.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Two hours later

A loud horn sounded across the area as the timer hit zero, causing everyone to go silent and turn towards the colosseum where a massive door slowly swung open. The sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard approaching as the door creaked open.

From the sounds of it, something large was heading this way.

A few people in the crowd around us began to look a bit nervous as the footsteps got louder and heavier.

Then the door was kicked open fully and a normal sized Halwen jumped out, holding a mic in his hand as he seemed to sparkle like a diamond in the sunlight.

“Hey hey now! How are you all doing on this amazing day?!” he proclaimed in a much too happy voice. No one in the crowd responded to him, but he continued anyways, “wow! What a turn out! Many more than was anticipated!”

“That’s Galben?” I asked in disbelief, causing Floria to laugh.

“Him? No. You’ll know him when you see him, trust me,” she replied as she leaned back with her hands behind her head.

“Since we have so many contestants, we’re going to have to do a little bit of a preliminary round before the actual tournament can start,” the flamboyant Halwen announced as he walked along the crowd, a wide smile on his face. “Is that shubdiggery with everyone?”

The entire crowd, myself included, just stared back at him, not one word was spoken.

“Belletastic!” he exclaimed as he did a spin and came to a stop giving a finger gun to a random person in the crowd. “Before we officially begin, I am Flavio, your slemdoobitly announcer for today’s events!”

“Is he going to talk like this the entire time?” I asked as I looked at the others.

“I hope not,” Domitor mumbled, looking just as annoyed as I felt.

“Aw come on, it’s not that bad,” Floria chuckled, looking to be having a good time.

“So what kind of preliminary should we have?” Flavio asked as he walked around, spinning the microphone by the wire. “Butotactular idea!” he suddenly yelled as she struck a goofy pose, head down as he held a hand above his head. “Do you all know how to play Black and White Boxing?”

This got most of the crowd to react as they all seemed to know what this was.

Flavio fist pumped at this, “Booyah! That’s what I like to hear! The Preliminaries will be a round of Black and White Boxing! To pass through this doorway you will need five victories! If you lose, you’re gonzo! Matches will be best of five!”

He threw his hand up, causing a little pin with his face on it to appear on everyone’s chest. “Collect five Flavio’s Groovy Pins, and you’re in the tournament!”

I tried to take the little pin that had appeared on me off, but it was really stuck on my chest plate. Not really sure how I’m supposed to take someone’s pin if they’re stuck on like this.

“Good luck and have fun, heepistial people!” he yelled as he ran backwards through the massive doorway as a yellowish wall of energy appeared over it.

New Quest! ‘Rank A: Pass Preliminaries!’

“Oh this’ll be easy for you,” Floria remarked as she stayed in her relaxed position.

“For sure,” I stated confidently as I turned to face her. “But what is Black and White Boxing?”

This caused Floria’s eyes to go wide, “wait you’ve never played that game before?!” I just shook my head in response as she suddenly looked very nervous, “oh no, you might be screwed here then.”

“It’s just boxing though, right? I kick ass at boxing,” I said as I flexed my arms for them.

“This game is not as barbaric or simplistic as boxing,” the Halwen woman from earlier said as she strolled up to us.

I turned to her, taking notice that she did not have a pin on her chest, meaning she wasn’t participating in the tournament.

“It requires finesse and skill to win,” she stated, coming to a stop a few feet from me. “Both of which, a brute like you seems to lack.”

“Are you trying to get on my good side, or get your ass kicked?” I growled at her, eye twicthing.

“My point has been proven,” she said in a tone that made me want to just deck her right here. “Luckily for you, I actually know how to play this game.”

“Don’t need ya, I got my own expert,” I said, pointing over my shoulder to Floria.

“Actually, I know the street version of this game… which is not the same game,” Floria admitted, causing me to groan.

Vanilla smiled at me, waiting for me to say something.

“Fine, how do you play this game, lady?” I asked, crossing my arms in annoyance.

“Well, my muscled up meat head of a man, this game is quite simple,” she said, walking over and taking a seat next to Floria, who grunted and scooted away from her. “Both opponents will stand in front of each other and take turns attacking and defending. If you are attacking you have two ways to attack. Black fist and White Fist.”

“This sounds stupid and easy,” I commented, causing her to giggle at me.

“One such as yourself would think that,” she adjusted her dress a bit as she sat there. “If you put all of your force into a punch, that’s a Black Fist. If your opponent blocks it, they get a point. If you hold back and throw a punch, then it’s a White Fist. If they block this one, then you get a point. If you throw a Black Fist and they don’t block it, you get a point. And vice versa if you throw a White Fist and they don’t block it, then they get a point. Simple, yes?”

“No, not simple,” I frowned, barely understanding it.

“I’ll run you through it again, listen carefully this time,” she said as she stood up and began to pace around me.

She retold the rules again, this time talking slower like I was an idiot. But I hate to admit I got it the second time around thanks to her slower talking.

“Better?” she asked, returning to her seat.

“Yeah, I got it now,” I grumbled, looking around as the people around us were already engaging in their own matches.

“What if I throw a Black Fist and they don’t block, and I knock them out?” I asked, rolling my shoulders as I got ready.

“Then you win,” she chuckled, sitting there looking way to proper for my liking.

“You got this,” Floria said as she gave me a thumbs up.

“Just remember; the way to win is to read your opponent and not let them read you,” Vanilla added cheerfully.

“Don’t screw up and lose before it starts,” Domitor added, causing me to roll my eyes.

Turning around I scanned the crowd, looking for a worthy opponent.

“Hey there fancy boy, fight me,” a Kejtdra my size asked as he stepped up to me, already having two pins on his shirt.

I smirked at him as we squared up with each other, “Your funeral, bud.”

“I’ll go first, if that’s okay with you,” he said as he raised his fist into a fighting stance.

“Go for it,” I replied, getting ready as well.

We stared at each other intensely as I watched his movements, waiting to see how he’d throw his punch. Then his arm flinched, causing me to raise my guard, but he just slowly reached out and tapped my arm with his fist.

“Point,” he said in a smug tone as a little number one appeared on his chest.

“Oh she’s too fucking stupid to win this,” Domitor groaned as he flopped back onto the ground.

I narrowed my eyes at the man before me. This game might require more critical thinking than I thought.

Galben's Tournament: Round 1

Chapter 44

“Hello Eris! Sorry for the interruption to your regularly scheduled programming, but we are hijacking the fabtastical airwaves to allow you all the the privilege to listen in on the tournament, brought to you by the amazing Galben!” The little radio above the sleep trio blared, waking them up.

“What the fuck is this crap?” Scamp grumbled, pulling a pillow over her head as she pushed herself into Mallogory’s side.

“Just some whimsical bullshit, ignore it,” Mallogory replied as she rolled over and pulled her wife fully into herself.

“Round one will begin here shortly! And it will be covered by yours truly, Flavio! The grooviest and smoothest guy on the airwaves!”

“Turn it off,” Scamp groaned in annoyance.

“We can’t, I tried when it was playing that stupid talk show yesterday,” Spark said from his bed.

“Great, guess we’re listening to some stupid tournament,” Scamp muttered, adjusting herself so she could block out as much of the radio as possible.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“My expectations were low and I’m still completely devastated by this,” I said as I stood before the buffet table, shoulders deflated.

“My, I expected a feast provided by the great Galben to be a bit more… more?” Vanilla commented as she stood by my side, one eyebrow raised.

“This shit not poppin at all,” Floria grumbled in disappointment.

Domitor just stared at the buffet, looking indifferent, “this still beats what my father would provide to me.”

What lay before us, on a massive and long buffet table, was a single bowl of cereal. As in just one normal sized bowl, for all sixty four contestants and the spectators.

“This Galben is an asshole bitch,” I hissed as I stared at the cereal, which appeared to be a bit soggy as well.

My stomach growled loudly. Followed by Domitor’s and Floria’s stomachs.

“When was the last time you three ate?” Vanilla asked with a frown.

“What, this morning?” I asked, looking at my two companions.

“Yeah, but that was hours ago. We’ve been in like, two fights since then,” Floria said as she reached over and tipped the bowl over.

“Plus we had to fly up here,” Domitor added, glaring at Floria. “Well two of us did at least.”

She gave him an innocent look as she put her hands in her pockets.

Vanilla just chuckled a bit as she walked over to a lone table, pulling out random ingredients from her Vacuole and placing them on the table.

“What are you doing?” I asked curiously as I stepped over to her, watching her carefully arrange the items before herself.

“Stand back and I shall show you,” she said with a stern look on her face.

I narrowed my eyes at her but listened as I took a few steps back, crossing my arms.

We all watched as she rubbed her hands together, seeming to be concentrating as she stared down at the assortment of ingredients. Then with a clap of her hands she slapped them down on the table, causing all of the ingredients to be sucked into each other. They morphed around in front of her as they slowly formed into different kinds of baked goods.

“What the fuck did I just witness?” I asked aloud as I stared wide eyed at the food that the Halwen had just made, somehow.

“It’s the stupid Calehurst Thorn,” Floria answered as she frowned. “They all have the same Alchemy Thorn, and all are fucking bakers.”

“That’s actually really cool,” Domitor complimented as Vanilla turned around and waved a hand over the food.

“Feel free to help yourselves,” she said with a dull expression on her face.

Domitor and I started to walk forward, but Floria stopped us by grabbing our tails.

“What’s the catch, Cakehurst?” She asked coldly, glaring at the other woman as she stood there with her hands behind her back.

Vanilla’s mouth set in a hard line, “there is no catch, street rat. I’m attempting to be charitable.”

“Charitable?” She asked with a roll of her eyes. “Do we look like charity cases to you?”

I sniffed the air, the food seeming to beckon for me, “consider me a charity case, because that shit smells amazing!”

We broke away from Floria as we rushed over to the table, looking it all over.

“Cakehurst’s never do anything to just be nice, it’s not in their nature,” Floria growled as she walked up, keeping her eyes locked on Vanilla’s goggles.

The Halwen didn’t respond, just stared back with an expression that was hard to read.

“Thank you, Vanilla,” Domitor said as he gave her a genuine smile, “this was incredibly nice of you to do for us.”

This seemed to catch her off guard as she eyed him suspiciously.

“Yeah, guess you can’t be that bad,” I added as I piled a few food items in front of myself.

My own complement seemed to confuse her further as she stood there, hands still behind her back.

“Really? She provides you two with food and now you’re all over her?” Floria asked, clearly annoyed.

“What can I say?” I chuckled, finishing up my little food pile. “I’m a slut for good food.”

Domitor rolled his eyes at me, “that’s a bit crude.”

Flori sighed loudly as she stepped up and picked at the food, making her own little pile. “Lucky I’m hungry.”

Vanilla took her place at the table, taking only a few items for herself as she watched us.

Domitor was the first of us to try the food, taking a decent bite of a fancy sandwich. His eyes went wide as he sat there chewing.

“So?” I asked expectantly, wanting to see his reaction before I committed to eating any of the food.

Tears began to roll down his face as he took another bite, “this…” he finished the food in his mouth and just stared at the sandwich in his hooves. “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten…”

This caused Vanilla’s face to contort into a look of shocked surprise, “truly?”

“Truly, yeah,” he replied, taking another bite as he cried a bit.

“Pussy,” I muttered as I raised my mask and lifted up a little wrapped sandwich, “it can’t be that good.”

I took a bite. Then another. Then I just ate the entire thing in one bite.

“How did you do this?!” I asked, turning to face her. “This is the best thing that’s ever been in my mouth!”

She didn’t answer me as she stared at me dumbfounded.

“What?” I asked as I lifted another piece of food and began to eat it.

Floria had started eating hers as well, but she was doing her best to hide her reaction to it from the rest of us.

“You’re…” Vanilla began, lowering her goggles to reveal very confused pink eyes, “a woman?”

I blinked at her a few times, slowly realizing I’d raised my mask to reveal my face and had also lost the voice changing effect. “Eh, yeah.”

She stood there, looking way more shocked than I thought she would be. “That’s a… interesting revelation.”

“Don’t dwell on it,” I replied as I went back to eating, not wanting to answer any kind of questions regarding the subject.

“But why pretend to be a male?” She asked the obvious question.

“Trauma and shit, so drop it,” I grunted back, causing the other two to look awkward as they avoided looking at either of us.

My answer caused her to frown as she gave a nod, “very well then. Consider the topic dropped.”

I gave a grunt in response as I resumed eating my amazingly delicious food.

She picked at her own food as she ate, seeming to be conflicted.

Sighing loudly, I raise my hand and give her a thumbs up, “for real though, thanks for the food.”

A little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she looked at me, “you are very welcome, Shane.”

Giving a nod I started to eat again, but added after a moment. “My real name is Shayla by the way. Just don’t use it right now, ‘Kay?”

This brought a bright smile to her face as she stood back and gave me a bow, “it is a pleasure to know your real name, Mr. Beltosh.”

“Stop that!” I hissed at her as I looked around at the people milling about. “Don’t draw so much attention towards it!”

“I apologize for that,” she said with a beaming smile as she returned to her place at the table, going back to eating while staring at me.

“And don’t stare at me, it’s weird,” I said as I pulled my hood around a bit, blocking her out of my view.

I saw Domitor and Floria exchange a look, snickering to each other. “What the fuck you two giggling about over there?!”

“Nothing at all,” Domitor replied, still grinning.

“Yep, nothing at all,” Floria said, looking all innocent again.

I glared at them, but didn’t push it as I went back to eating.

As we were about to finish, I heard the sound of a loudspeaker blaring to life.

“Alrighty then! Are you all ready for round one?!” came the excited voice of Flavio, booming throughout the room we were in. “Excellsauce! I will announce the names of the two who will be fighting and all you have to do is enter into the arena!”

Quest accepted: ‘Rank S+: Win Tournament!’

“Looks like we’re finally starting,” I said as I put my mask back on.

“You got this,” Domitor said as he gave me a nod.

“Yeah I know I got this, you fucking retard,” I snapped back, causing him to roll his eyes.

“You are a very rude and brash individual, Shane,” Vanilla commented with a smile on her face.

“You got that right,” I laughed back, standing up and flexing my muscles. “You get to be that way when you’re top dog.”

“At least you know you’re a bitch,” Domitor muttered, causing my head to snap to him.

“You got something to say, sub boy?” I asked, putting my hands on the table and leaning over to him.

“I actually do,” he said as he stood up, squaring up with me.

“Shane Beltosh! You are the lucky numba one to start today's events! Come on out!” came the voice of Flavio.

“Oh you are one lucky fucking bitch, Domitor,” I growled as I shoved the table into him and spun around, walking for the doors that led to the arena.

As I walked towards the doors, Rosemary appeared next to me, smiling brightly.

‘What are you smiling about?’ I thought to her, raising an eyebrow.

“Wanna use this tournament as a way to get stronger?” she asked in an overly excited voice.

‘I guess?’

She jumped with joy at this, “Okay! I’m going to issue you some challenges based on who you’re fighting, and you have to stick to them! This is the way Loric got stronger in the beginning!”

‘Great, looking forward to it…’

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Here we go, folks! Round one of this great tournament is about to begin! We have our first two challengers! First up, the eptobicly amazing FazGo BelTow!” the radio basically screamed from above the three annoyed occupants of the train cabin.

“I’m about to just go walk around the train to get away from this guy's annoying voice,” Scamp said as she pushed herself up, rubbing her face.

“Oh, if you go to the food car, bring back something for me,” Mallogory exclaimed, bring her little gaming device up to her face as it blared to life.

“You got it, love,” Scamp chuckled as she jumped up and stretched her wings out.

“Oh and me too,” Spark asked, still wrapped up in his blankets.

“You have legs, Spark, come with me,” she replied with a smirk.

He frowned at her but sighed as he started to get up.

“And FazGo’s opponent is the man dressed in the most stylist armor I’ve seen today: Shane Beltosh!”

“Whoa wait, a Beltosh?” Scamp said as she came to a stop in the door, looking back at her wife. “You know them?”

“Nope, I do not know of a Shane Beltosh in the family,” she replied, seeming very interested in the radio now. “He must have been born after I left.”

“Oh cool, you two have a family member in this tournament,” Spark chuckled as he sat back down, wanting to listen to the radio as well.

“Now I’m down to listen to this crap,” Scamp said as she walked back into the room and sat down on the bed next to her wife.

“And we begin! The bell rings and the two are approaching each other!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I stepped out into the arena, smirking as I saw my opponent walking to his position as well. Oh this will be super easy.

As I neared my starting position I saw that he was a simple Halwen male with basic clothing on and a large hammer held in his hands.

He didn’t come off as much of a threat. So this’ll be a cake walk.

“Okay, for this guy you can only use your Ego itself,” Rosemary said proudly. “Meaning, you’re going to have to create your first ability, right here right now.”

“What?!” I exclaimed out loud, eyes going wide.

“I suggest you finally spend all those skill points you’ve been hoarding,” she said as Flavio introduced the two of us above.

Grumbling, I opened my menu and rolled my eyes. I hate doing this. I had thirty seven points, so I can spread them out a bit for once.

Since I have to use my Ego to win this, I might as well focus on that a bit.

It didn’t take me long to spend my points, and once I was done, I hit done, smiling as I felt my body improve ever so slightly.

“Good,” Rosemary said as she looked them over with me. “Now, to create an ability, you’ll just have to have a basic idea of what you want to do, then use your Ego to create it. You don’t have any Excess Ego, so you can’t increase its power beyond how powerful your own Soul is.”

“My Soul is pretty fucking powerful,” I said smugly, stretching my arms a bit.

“Not really, but you still got this!” she laughed, fading away.

A bell rang out, signaling the start of the round.

“How are you doing, sir?” the Halwen named FazGo yelled out as he began to walk towards me.

“You know,” I yelled back as I strolled towards him, “ready to wipe the floor with you so I can get back to my friends.”

“So smack talking?” he chuckled as we neared each other. “Okay, I can do that too.”

He fizzled out of view, completely disappearing. This confused me as I stopped, looking around for him.

But suddenly I felt a massive pressure bearing down on me, causing me to jump back as the ground I’d just been standing on exploded as something slammed into it.

“Fuckers invisible or something,” I muttered out loud, realizing I could see his footsteps in the dirt as he rushed towards me. If I could use my fist or sword, this would be over already. A simple dash in and boom, match over.

Dodging a few more of his invisible attacks, I frowned, realizing I didn’t know the first place to start to create my own ability.

“What kind of attack would you like to do?” Rosemary asked as she strolled next to me as I dodged and weaved around FazGo’s invisible hammer, which I could just barely make out as it flew towards me.

Well there’s only one attack that comes to mind, one that makes me smirk.

“Come on, Rosemary, you gotta ask?” I said aloud, causing FazGo to stop attacking for a moment.

“What was that?” he asked as he became visible.

“Not talking to you, dumbass. Your name Rosemary?” I snapped back, causing him to look at me in absolute confusion.

“You want to do that?” she asked, laughing a bit as she looked away from me.

“Yes, now show me,” I replied as I stared at the confused man before me.

“Okay… I’m going to go back to attacking now…” he said as he shimmered away again, slowly resuming his attacks against me.

“Alright then, so this is simple,” Rosemary said as she followed after me as I went back to dodging. “Just focus your Soul into your hands.”

“How the fuck do I do that?!” I yelled, since that made zero sense to me.

“Okay, I’ll dumb it down,” she laughed, holding her hands out. “Just imagine your energy traveling from your heart to your hands. As in, really imagine it. In time you’ll be able to do this automatically.”

Flavio was narrating everything that was happening in a super fast voice as he seemed to be enjoying himself.

“Still doesn’t make sense!” I yelled, a hammer swing actually clipping a part of my armor.

“Just try it.”

I rolled my eyes and dropped to the ground, using my tail to reach out and grab FazGo’s leg, yanking it towards me. The man yelped as he fell to the ground, becoming visible.

Now that he wasn’t on my ass anymore I jumped back a few times and placed both of my hands together by my side as I leaned down. I tried to imagine my energy flowing through my body and into my hands. And honestly nothing was happening.

“You have to think of it coming from your heart and pumping through your arms. If it helps, think of it as heat moving through you,” Rosemary offered as she stood over FazGo as he slowly got up, seeming a bit dazed from hitting his head on the ground. I literally could beat this guy in one punch! This is so stupid!

Focus, Shayla.

I took a deep breath and began to think of a warm feeling passing from my heart and down both my arms, and slowly, I began to actually feel a bit of heat flowing from my chest and into my arms.

Shit, that’s kinda cool.

Keeping it up I began to feel a lot of heat around my palms as they stayed above each other. A small cyan light began to form as I kept pushing energy into my palms.

“Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me!” I exclaimed with a wide smile.

“Is this your Thorn?” FazGo asked as he began to run towards me, fading away as he neared me.

“Nope!” I laughed as the glow got brighter and brighter. I dashed back as he swung for me, keeping up the process of pushing energy through my body.

The heat between my hands got more and more intense as the flashing cyan light got brighter, seeming to crackle with power.

“Oh man, I don’t envy you at all!” I laughed as I jumped backwards again.

“All you’re doing is running and talking to yourself! Just throw an attack or something!” he yelled, seeming very annoyed with me.

“Sure can do, pal!” I exclaimed as I suddenly dashed forward, catching his invisible self off guard as I threw both hands forward, right into his chest. “Get lost fuckboy!”

He began to say something but a beam of cyan energy flew from my outstretched hands and completely engulfed his body. It wasn’t as powerful as I’d like, but by God it was fucking amazing!

I swear I heard him start to scream just to be cut off by the beam as it increased in power and width.

“By Galby’s massive hamtony! What is this attack?! Folks, I have no words to describe this! It is simply gaptastical! A blue, no cyan colored beam has engulfed the entirety of FazGo! He is GONE!”

Hearing Flavio losing his shit above me caused me to feel super proud of myself as I finally pulled my hands back, ending the attack.

“Good job, Shane!” Rosemary exclaimed proudly. “On your first attempt! Amazing!”

Looking around I found FazGo laying on the ground pretty far from me. I sprinted over, feeling a bit of dread that I may have gone too far. But to my great relief I found the poor idiot still alive and breathing, but definitely out of the fight as he was missing a lot of his body and limbs, his green blood all over himself.

“Ew, shit bro, I’m sorry,” I said with a grimace, feeling a bit sick at the sight of what I’d done to him.

“It’s all good,” he groaned out. “I’ll just… have to regenerate…”

“FazGo can no longer continue! Our first winner is Shane Beltosh!” Flavio roared above me as a fake and unseen crowd went wild with cheers.

I awkwardly waved to the few real people in the stands and began to walk for the exit back to the standby area. As I walked that way I saw the other three in the stands, looking a bit stunned.

This caused me to chuckle as I continued on my way, enjoying the cheers, even if they weren’t from real people.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“FazGo can no longer continue! Our first winner is Shane Beltosh!” the radio blared at an increased volume.

“Huh, this Shane guy is pretty impressive,” Scamp said as she laid half on the bed and half off, her head dangling upside down.

“Didn’t that sound like Ego though? With the cyan beam he described?” Spark asked, looking like he’d really been into the fight as he was standing up in his chair.

“It did,” Mallogory agreed. “If it was an Ego and not a Thorn, then this Shane Beltosh probably did what I did and left Eris, only to return for whatever reason.”

“Ego or Thorn, this guy is okay in my books,” Scamp chuckled, pulling herself up and jumping to the floor. “Now, let’s go get that food, Spark.”

“But what about the other matches?” he asked as the radio began to announce the next fight.

“Meh,” Scamp said as she shrugged her shoulders and walked for the door. “I’m only interested in the Shane fights, since he’s probably family.”

“Same here,” Mallogory said, alreadying back in her video game.

Spark frowned, but then shrugged, realizing he really didn’t care about the fight that was starting on the radio. He jumped down and followed after Scamp as they left the cabin and headed down the aisle of the train car.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Shane, what was that?!” Floria asked as I entered the standby area where they were already waiting.

“My Ego, duh,” I replied, laughing loudly as they continued to stare at me dumbfounded.

“I thought your Ego was just a video game knock off that let you power up slowly?” Domitor asked, scratching his head in confusion.

“You would think that, wouldn’t you Domifuck, wouldn’t you,” I said with a smirk as I came to a stop before them.

“You mean, that was not in fact a Thorn ability?” Vanilla asked with a surprised look on her face.

“Nope, something completely different,” I chuckled, flexing a bit to show off.

She looked between me and Domitor, a conflicted look on her face. “I’m going to need a bit of an explanation, if you will.”

“Nah, too much for me to want to even try it,” I said, walking past them and heading for the table we had been at earlier. It was going to be a while before the next round, so I wanted to take a little cat nap.

“I’ll tell you,” Domitor said from behind me, being a goody two-shoes as usual. “It’s a bit complicated, but I’ll explain what an Ego is.”

“Thank you, Domitor, at least one of you are kind and understanding,” she said in a tone that pissed me and Floria off, as she let out a growl as she followed after me.

“I hate her,” she said as she walked past me and sat down at the table, laying her head down with a groan.

I just shrugged, as I didn’t exactly hate her, but I didn’t like her either.

Once I was at the table I plopped down and leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms as I got comfortable, wanting to at least get some kind of sleep.

Domitor was already engrossed in explaining everything to Vanilla and answering her stupid questions.

Little asshole out here trying to get on everyone’s good side. Prick.

Galben's Tournament: Round 2

Chapter 45

“Another question, if I may,” Vanilla said as she sat across from Domitor, her lips set in a hard line.

“Yes?” Domitor asked, a bit tired after having told her the entire story, as far as he knew of it at least, and had spent the last hour answering all of her questions. Mostly she was curious about things like how Ego worked exactly and how his home life had been. But she hadn’t made many comments about anything he had said, just wanting to know more and more.

And he was willing to answer it all, but the questions seemed never ending.

“If your father will only accept you if you turn over Shane, then what are you going to do when you see him again?” she asked, her eyebrow raised up from behind her goggles.

He frowned at this, as that was far too complicated for him to answer. His eyes drifted over to Shayla, who was laying in her chair snoring so loudly that everyone had moved away from her. “I don’t know yet. I’ve thought about just sticking with her till we found him, then hand Shane over. But now, I don’t know. Things are complicated now.”

“Complicated how?” she questioned, leaning forward.

“I…” a guilty look feel over his face, “I almost let something horrible happen to her, and now I feel like shit every time I think about handing her over to my father. So I guess I’m just winging it right now.”

“Him,” Vanilla suddenly corrected, catching him off guard. “Shane wants to be referred to as a male, so we must stick to that even when not near him.”

Domitor couldn’t help but chuckle at this, as Vanilla was a really strange, but nice young woman. “Right, sorry. I’ve just known him my whole life, so it just slips sometimes.”

She gives a sharp nod as she straightens up. “Next question; does he have a mate?”

At this Domitor began to laugh very loudly, followed by Floria who had been laying on the floor the entire time, mostly ignoring them.

“Why? You interested, Skankhurst?” Floria asked as she roughly climbed up to her feet, using their table as support.

“It is a simple question,” she asked with a huff, turning her head from them.

“Oh shit, the preppy rich girl has a crush on our vulgar and stupid friend over there,” Floria laughed, falling backwards and flailing around on the ground, unable to stop laughing.

“I do not, I asked a simple question!” the Halwen snapped, her face a bit green. “It is you two who are suddenly acting like children!”

“She’s flustered now!” Floria roared as she began to roll around the table, giggling and laughing so hard she couldn’t breath.

“I’m sorry,” Domitor apologized, still snickering a bit. “Really, I’m so sorry. I just did not expect that.”

Vanilla just frowned at him as she crossed her arms, “this was a very rude and unpleasant interaction. I hope you are aware.”

“I’m really sorry,” he replied, trying to become serious again. “To answer the question, no, he does not.”

“Thank you,” she replied in a stern tone. “You have now spoiled this great talk we were having. I hope you are happy.”

“Not our fault you’re bad at hiding your feelings, or owning up to them!” Floria mocked as she finally stopped rolling around, just sitting there on the floor and staring at them with a wide smirk.

“What are we laughing at you assfucks?” Shayla suddenly asked as she appeared next to their table, still looking half asleep as she raised her mask to scratch at her face.

“Oh do I have something to tell you!” Floria exclaimed as she crawled over to the other woman and grabbed her leg. “Guess what?!”

Domitor looked between Vanilla and Floria, the former looking upset while the latter looked to be very proud of herself.

“What?” Shalya asked as she put her mask back down, staring down at Floria’s grinning face.

“She’s wanting to tell you about what I did,” Domitor suddenly said, getting everyone's attention. “I… pissed myself.”

“What?!” both Floria and Shayla asked at once, looking a mix of dumbfounded and confused. Vanilla looked just as shocked, but also a bit relieved.

He smiled awkwardly as he shrugged, “yeah… I pissed myself earlier while you were sleeping. Really embarrassing stuff.”

“Damn it, you really are a fucking baby sometimes,” Shayla muttered, shoving Floria off of her leg and walking for the other side of the room. “If you need me I’m going to be walking around to stretch. See ya, pisspants.”

Once she was gone, the other two looked back at him. Floria looked the most confused out of the two, “what was that?”

Sighing, he shook his head, “I couldn’t let you do that to Vanilla. It would have been too mean and cruel, even for you.”

“What?” she asked with a frown, “nah nah, I was helping her! Right, Cakehurst?”

“I don’t see how it would be helping me,” Vanilla said with a large frown. “All you would have been doing was spreading misinformation and causing confusion among the group.”

Floria threw both hands at Vanilla while staring wide eyed at Domitor, “see?! She’s in denial! We gotta-”

“Floria, no,” Domitor said sternly, causing her to cross her arms. “We will laugh at her, and with her, but we will not hurt her. Okay?”

“Okay, mom,” she muttered, huffing as she looked away from them.

“Thank you, Domitor,” Vanilla said as she gave a little bow. “You are a really good person. But did you have to make up such a… outlandish and disgusting excuse?”

“It was the first thing that came to mind,” he said with a sheepish grin. “It worked though, right?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“And that’s the final match of round one! And what a kelptactical round it was! We will take a short break while we prepare for round two!” Flavio’s voice boomed over the speakers as I leaned against the wall, trying to stay awake.

That nap only made me tired, it didn’t help me at all!

“You ready?” Domitor asked as he stepped over to me, leaning up against the same wall as me. “You’ll be first up again.”

“Of course I’m ready, pee pee boy,” I replied with a snicker. I still can’t believe this dumbass pissed himself. He’s the same age as me! What a loser.

“Eheh, yeah,” he said as he looked around the room. “I checked into your opponent for you. Their Thorn lets them create a ring around themselves that allows them to perceive everything within it. It seems to just be about three meters in all directions, but from what I’ve heard, he killed his opponent in his match in one strike.”

I rolled my eyes at him, “thanks, Domiturd. I’ll keep that all in mind.”

“I’m serious,” he said, giving me a hard glare. “This guy isn’t playing around. He will go for the kill the moment you step into range. You need to be careful and-”

“Don’t tell me how to fight, faggot,” I growled, reaching over and shoving him hard to the side.

“Damn it, Shayla!” he snapped, squaring up with me. “I’m trying to help you!”

“It’s Shane!” I yelled back, reaching out and grabbing his throat as I pulled him towards myself. “Do you wanna just say fuck it and fight right here?! Because I could use a warm up round!”

“I’m seriously trying to save your life, asshole!” he spat back, using his hoof to break my grip on his neck. “You need to buck up and stop acting like we’re still children!”

“When you stop acting like one, then I will, Mr. can’t control his bladder!” I spat on the ground between us and took a step back, deciding to not exert any energy fighting his dumbass.

He let out a frustrated groan as he punched the wall a few times, “I don’t even know why I try!”

“Then fucking stop, I don’t need ya trying to make up for Lenrick all the fucking time!” I screamed, my mask’s voice crackling a bit.

He punched the wall a few more times then came down on all fours, huffing and puffing as he tried to calm himself.

“Shane, you are your own worst enemy, you know that?” Rosemary said in my head, but I ignored her.

“There’s nothing I can do to make up for what happened,” he said in a shaky voice. “And I’m not trying to make up for it. I’m just being… me.”

I glared at him, trying to read him, but he just looked tired. “Well you being you is what pisses me off the most.”

“I know,” he sighed, shaking his head. “We’re never going to be able to be friends, are we?”

This brought a frown to my face, along with a few conflicted feelings again. “Probably not.”

“Yeah, probably not,” he muttered, looking over to Floria and Vanilla, who were watching us from a distance. “I do actually have a question.”

“What is it?”

He looked at me, a conflicted look on his face. “Why do we even hate each other? Outside of the feud with our parents and all that.”

“Because you’re a fucking little asshole,” I replied instantly, then sighed as I deflated a bit. “I don’t know to be honest. All I know is when I look at you, I get angry and want to beat your face in.”

“Yeah, same here,” he admitted, actually chuckling a bit. “Just seeing you makes me want to just keep hitting you till you shut the fuck up.”

This caused me to start laughing, shaking my head, “fucker, you can only dream of beating my ass.”

“I did beat you the last time we fought,” he said, looking a bit too smug.

“Because you cheated, you little prick!” I snapped, suddenly no longer wanting to play nice with him.

“Hang on, I did not cheat, I beat you fair and-”

I cut him off by punching him straight in the face and sending him to the floor. I stepped up to him, standing above him as I began to breathe heavily, “you did not beat me fair and square! I’d never lose to you in a real fight!”

“Oh yeah?!” he snarled up at me as he climbed to his hooves and squared up with me. “Want to test that?!”

But before we could go at it for real, a massive wall of stone appeared between us.

“Stop fighting you two, it is completely unnecessary,” Vanilla declared as she and Floria walked over to us.

“For once I agree with the Cakehurst, you two need to cool it before you get us kicked out!” Floria snapped, eyes ablaze with fury as she'd seemed to have had enough of us fighting.

I could hear Domitor grunt on the other side of the wall, “she started it.”

“And I have ended it,” Vanilla said firmly as she looked between the two of us. “Honestly, I have not know you three that long and I am starting to wonder how you are all friends.”

“Who said we’re friends?” I asked, crossing my arms as I glared at them.

“Shane Beltosh and Yorkstyle, make your way to the arena please!” Flavio suddenly called out over the loudspeakers, his smooth voice seeming to calm the tense between all of us.

“We’ll finish this when I get back,” I growled as I walked for the exit to the arena.

“Yes, we shall,” Vanilla confirmed as I walked away.

Rosemary appeared next to me as we walked, shaking her head, “do I even have to say anything?”

“Nope, not a word.”

“But you two were making progress,” she pressed, causing me to slice my tail through the air where she would be if she were solid.

“What’s my challenge for this round?” I asked, wanting to change subjects.

“I want you to study his ability and try to recreate it,” she answered, fading away with a frown on her face.

“Easy fucking peasy.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

My Kejtdra opponent, simply named Yorkstyle, stood before me, just staring at me with a blank look on his face. The match had started a minute ago, and neither of us had moved.

I had wanted to let him use his Thorn so I could figure it out, but he hasn’t done a single thing yet.

“So… we fight or just stare at each other?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Fighting, once you decide to attack me,” he replied in a tone that implied he could wait all day.

“Oh I fucking hate people who only counter attack,” I exclaimed, groaning as I drew my wooden sword. I fought guys like this in tournaments back in Equestria. They’re always the most boring as well, just reacting to whatever you do.

So fucking dull. This ability better be worth the trouble, otherwise I’d just kamehameha his ass back to the stone age.

Screw it.

I began to walk straight towards him, keeping my eyes on his body and movements. As I neared him, a ring suddenly formed around himself, exactly like Domitor said. Huh, guess the little bitch wasn’t lying to me.

“So what? I step on this little glowing ring and you just attack me?” I asked, hoping he’d just tell me what I want to know.

“Precisely,” he said, actually answering me, “the moment you step foot in my Perception Field, I will attack you with such force you won’t be able to retaliate.”

“So, how’s this thing work?” I asked, just a few inches away from his field.

“Anything that crosses that line there is donezo. I just have to choose how to attack and I will,” he said smugly, seeming proud of himself. “I’ve spent years developing this Thorn to get it to where it is now. So go ahead, cross that line.”

“Okay,” I said as I stepped over the line, watching as he almost instantly zoomed right at me, his sword going for a piercing stab right for my face.

However I had my own little abilities as everything seemed to slow down as I brought up my sword and deflected his blade, followed by me slamming my head into his.

He let out a wail of pain as he fell onto his ass, staring up at me with a shocked expression. However, instead of finishing him off I just jumped back a few yards. Stupid challenges, I really could have finished that right there.

“Okay, I’ll admit, I did not expect you to be able to move so fast,” he said as he stood up and resumed his casual stance, his ring expanding around his body again. “Try it again though.”

“One minute,” I said as I planted my feet and began to try and concentrate my own Soul to mimic his ability.

“What are you doing?” he asked as he watched me in confusion.

“Shhh, shut it,” I growled, trying to think about how to do this.

It took me a few moments, but eventually I came up with an idea. I even added my own little twist to it.

“Sweet, watch this shit,” I laughed as my own cyan colored ring formed around my body. It wasn’t as large as his, being just a single yard in all directions around me. But it was enough, with the little surprise I baked into it.

“Are you copying me?!” he snapped, dropping his own field.

“Yep!” I laughed, “But this one is better than yours, by like a lot!”

“It’s way too small to be useful,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

“It’s not the size that matters, it's how you use it,” I said with a little wink, taking a hold of my sword as I stared at him.

If this fucking works… oh I’ll fucking cream in my pants!

“Gross, Shane,” Rosemary muttered in my head.

Yorkstyle growled as he reached into his Vacuole and pulled out a gun. Perfect! I was going to ask him to throw something at me, but this’ll work even better!

“Unfortunately for you, this ability has a major weakness, ranged weapons!” he laughed as he raised his gun and fired a pink blob of energy at me.

I didn’t move as it flew towards me at a moderately fast pace.

“Move you fucking idiot!” I heard Domitor yell in the distance, but I of course ignored his stupid advice.

My eyes followed the speeding bullet, watching as it neared me and my little ring of Ego. Then it happened; the bullet crossed over the ring and everything slowed to almost a stand still as I saw its projected path. I simply moved out of its way as time seemed to resume, the bullet flying right past my head harmlessly.

His eyes went wide, because to him I just suddenly zipped to the side almost instantly.

“Pretty rad, huh?” I asked, smirking at him. “If I can learn to teleport or some shit, then this ability could become super fucking broken!”

As far as I know, it wasn’t actually slowing down time, just increasing my senses so high that I felt like time was slowing down. It also had the added benefit of increasing my speed and reflexes, which is how I’m able to move so quickly while under its effects. Fuck me, Soul Manipulation is so cool!

He didn’t seem to know how to react as I squared up with him.

“Alright, challenge completed. Let’s end this, Yorkie,” I said with a little chuckle as I began to stroll towards him.

Yorkstyle recovered as he took up a serious fighting stance, his sword at the ready. The ring appeared around him again as he scowled at me.

Just as before I stepped over his line, causing him to explode towards me. However this time I activated my own little Ego Field, right on top of his. He didn’t seem to notice it as his sword tip passed right over it.

Everything came to a stop as I sprang forward, ripping his sword from his almost frozen form as I began to beat the ever living shit out of him with my wooden sword. Time resumed as I continued my beat down of the poor Kejtdra.

He yelped and coughed as he tried to defend himself, but that was almost impossible as I kept hitting his hands every time he tried to bring something out of his Vacuole.

Finally I caught him right in the forehead, sending his body crumbling to the floor.

“Yorkstyle is down for the count!” Flavio bellowed, the fake crowd going insane. “Folks of Eris, that was amazing! Shane Beltosh not only mimic’d his opponents abilities! He improved them! What disrespect! He is truly a goshtarpit! Go on back to the standby area and take a break, you’ve earned it!”

I threw a few finger guns up at him, causing him to throw them right back at me, laughing loudly.

“Shane, you’re a natural!” Rosemary exclaimed as I walked back towards the door to the standby area, seeing the others above it waving excitedly to me.

“I know,” I said with a proud smirk. “I get it from my mom’s.”

“I’m just upset you haven’t been doing this from the start!” she laughed, causing me to shrug.

“Didn’t need it, I’m good enough on my own,” I replied as I stepped through the doors.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“At this point, I don’t have words for what I just saw,” Domitor said, still looking a bit salty about our earlier contact.

“So this ‘Ego’ of yours, what does it do exactly? Because I’ve seen two very different ways you’ve used it,” Vanilla asked, seeming very interested in me as she stepped up, putting her face only a foot away from mine.

“It’s… hard to explain,” I muttered, taking a step to the side to avoid her. “I’m also not smart enough to actually understand it.”

“She’s not lying about that,” Domitor added with a chuckle, almost setting me off again. But I decided to ignore him, this time.

“Honestly,” Floria said as she smiled up at me, “you’re just getting cooler and cooler the more I see of you. Too bad you’re spoken for.”

“The fuck that supposed to mean?!” I snapped, not liking how she said that. I must be missing a joke or something.

“Oh you know,” she laughed, spinning around and walking away. “Stuffs.”

“She’s just trying to mess with you,” Domitor said, looking between me and Vanilla. “I’d just ignore her, otherwise she wins.”

“She ain’t winning this one,” I said confidently as I flipped the short Kejtdra woman off as she walked away. “Now,” I said, turning to Vanilla. “I could do with some more food.”

“But… you just ate a few hours ago,” she said as she cocked her head.

“Shayla is like her parents,” Domitor chuckled, rolling his eyes. “A bottomless pit for food to disappear in.”

“Damn right, bitch,” I said as I pounded on my chest a bit. “So food?”

“I’ll see what I can prepare for you,” she said with a smile as she turned around and walked towards our table.

My eyes drifted over to Domitor as we stared each other down.

“You gonna play nice? Or are we going to actually fight?” I asked, cracking my knuckles.

“Neither, I’m going up top to see the next match so I can better prepare you for your next fight,” he said as he walked past me, heading for the door that led to the stands. “By the way,” he said as he stopped in the door, “that was really cool. What you did out there I mean.”

“Yeah, I know it was pretty cool,” I grumbled back, crossing my arms. “I don’t need you telling me that.”

He just grunted in response and walked through the door.

“Ass fucker,” I mumbled, turning to see Vanilla preparing some ingredients. Oh shit… is that meat I see?! Fuck yes!

Galben's Tournament: Intermission between rounds

Author's Note

I decided to split this chapter in half due to the fact it flows better this way.

Galben's Tournament: Intermission between rounds

Chapter 46

“How long has this fight been going on for?” Spark asked as he woke up from his nap, disappointed to find out the same two guys were still fighting.

“Four hours and forty minutes,” Mallogory answered, her eyes glued to her handheld video game.

“And you’ve missed nothing,” Scamp added, looking to be suffering as she sat there, with nothing to do but listen to the radio. She’d run out of books to read long ago, so she was doomed to listen to the most boring fight ever. “They just keep chasing each other, and barely even fight. Right when you think they’ll stop, one of them lands an attack and they go at it for a few minutes, then right back to chasing.”

“Folks, I’m terribly sorry for this match. Beezle and Yomilake are equally matched in all ways, and can not find a way to gain the upper hand on the other. We might be here a long time,” the radio announcer said, sounding very deflated and bored, as he’d run out of things to say to try and make this fight even somewhat entertaining.

Scamp groaned as she grabbed one of her books and attempted to reread it again, “I’m amazed they’re letting it go on this long.”

The other two nodded in agreement as the radio continued to give bland commentary on the fight.

“I wonder how our guy Shane will be fighting in the next match,” Spark said, trying to get them talking again.

“Well, his opponent seems a bit powerful, so unless he’s got a trick up his sleeves, I don’t actually think he’ll win,” Mallogory stated, shrugging as she focused on her game.

“Well if he’s a Beltosh, then I think he’s got this,” Spark commented, getting a nod from Scamp.

“He’s demonstrated some amazing skills so far. He’s beat his last two opponents with two completely different attacks. I believe in him, for now.”

“Beltosh’s, outside of myself and older brother, are not really fighters. We’re a gunsmithing family who specializes in custom weaponry. To actually be a fighter of this caliber means he’s an outlier, like me,” Mallogory said, giving them a wink. “But again, I don’t think he’ll beat his next opponent.”

“Wanna make a bet?” Scamp asked with a smirk.

“You’re on,” she replied, grinning at her wife.

“I bet Shane wins, and if he does, you gotta give me your little gaming device till this trip is over.”

Mallogory rolled her eyes and held out her hand, “deal. But when he loses, you gotta let me put you in a dress. A really girly dress.”

Scamp narrowed her eyes, “you fiend…”

“Love you,” Mallogory laughed, blowing a kiss at her.

“Deal then,” Scamp said firmly, shaking hands with her wife.

“Enough,” a new voice suddenly sounded over the radio, clearly not near the mic but loud enough that it came through clearly. “This little dance has gone on far two long. We are bored now.”

“Now now, Galben, let’s not-”

A loud pop was heard over the radio, followed by a distant explosion.

“It is done. We declare Beezle the winner,” the other voice declared.

“Well that’s it folks, the battle between Beezle and Yomilake has been decided by the great Galben. We will now take a small break as we wait for round three to begin!” a moment passed as it sounded like the mic was lowered from Flavio’s face, but he was still broadcasting, “Galby! Did you have to blow the poor guy to pieces?!”

“It had to be done. They displeased us.”

“Galby, nooooo!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Finally,” I groaned as I watched Galben vaporize one of the opponents that had been fighting for the last five or so fucking hours.

I laid my head back on the bench behind me, deciding to stay here and wait for the next round. The others were sleeping around me, having given up long ago while watching this match. I was getting close myself, but for whatever reason my body and mind were saying screw you when it came to sleeping.

Oh well, probably better if I stay awake anyways. I still have three more matches to fight in, no need to be even more tired while doing them.

At the sound of Flavio complaining to Galben, Domitor stirred and sat up, looking completely bedraggled thanks to the way he’d been sleeping. “Is it over?”

“Yep, Galben blew one of them up, was pretty fucking rad,” I laughed, watching as a person wearing a shirt with Galben’s face on it run out and start cleaning up the arena of all the gore. “Should have been awake.”

He grunted as he stood up and walked over to me, plopping down next to me. “Are you ready to hear about your next opponent?”

“I guess,” I sighed, shaking my head.

“Her Thorn is actually a bit concerning,” he said, frowning as he pulled out his notebook where he’d written some notes. “It’s actually a bit complicated, and I’m not even sure I really understand it.”

“Probably not,” I pointed out, putting my hands behind my head as I smirked at him.

“Yeah, well,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “She’s able to launch imaginary attacks, like false movements and stuff like that. And as far as I could see you can’t really see which one will be the real attack.”

“Of course you can’t see it,” I mocked, punching him rather hard in the shoulder, “but me? Yeah, I’ll be able to see right through it.”

“She’s killed everyone she’s fought in one attack pattern,” he warned, causing me to snort laugh.

“You said the same shit about the last guy, and you saw how I handled him.”

But he didn’t smile as he stared at me, “look, I know you’re an amazing fighter, but please take this one seriously. Please. She’s already made a comment backstage about how she’ll end each of her fights in one move.”

“And she can try, but do you think she can kill me?” I asked, slamming a fist into my chest.

“Please,” he pressed, annoying the shit out of me.

“Fine, yeah, I’ll take this one seriously, okay?” I groaned loudly, waking up the other two with my volume.

“Thank you,” he said with a head nod. “Now if you want my two bits on how to fight her-”

“Nope, I do not want your opinion. I got this,” I said confidently, leaning back and kicking my feet as I waited for my name to be called.

Vanilla stepped up before me, hands behind her back.

“Shane,” she began as she stared sternly down at me. “I suggest you heed Domitor’s advice. Your opponent is actually a sub-contractor for the Cakehurst family. She has never failed a contract and is a ruthless killer.”

“Oh a Cakehurst's lackey?” Floria asked as she glared at the Halwen. “Let me guess; she’s with you?”

“In a way, yes,” Vanilla admitted, getting a glare from me as well. “I admit, my family sent me with her to this tournament to gain the favor for us. But I am not affiliated with her at this moment. I am merely the family representative for this event, I have no real role outside of being present.”

“So you have a horse in this race?” Domitor asked, looking a bit upset and betrayed. “Are you just with us to have two chances?”

“Absolutely not,” she stated firmly. “I am among you three for my own reasons.”

“What reasons are those?!” I snapped, scowling at her angrily.

She just looked right into my masked eyes, “personal reasons. And we will leave it at that.”

Floria blinked a few times, then began to laugh, “are you serious?! You’re hanging around us for that sweet sweet Kejtdra puss puss?”

This caused Vanilla’s face to go bright green as she spun around and stared off into the ring. “I’ll have you know, no, that is not the reason. I find myself very fond of you three and want to see how your little group dynamic works out in the long term.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, “What? You wanting in my pants or something?”

Vanilla let out a yelp as she jumped forward a bit, looking back with a face of horror, “N-no! Of course not! My family has made me be here and I am looking to do anything to avoid doing what they wish for me!”

“Sure,” I laughed, flexing a bit, “I don’t blame ya though, I do be a sexy beast. But I'm not interested, cupcake.”

“Ooo, Shane, do that thing you did to me!” Floria laughed, clapping her hands as she watched me.

“Oh?” I said, looking around seeing that no one else was in the arena around us except Flavio and Galben, who were talking amongst themselves. Plus the single person cleaning the arena. “You mean this?” I flashed away only my chest armor, leaving everything else on as I struck a pose and flexed as hard as I could, my muscles exploding around my arms and chest.

“Oh my…” Vanilla said as she covered her mouth, then fell backwards, unconscious.

“Fuck yes!” Floria yelled as she rushed over and stood over the passed out Halwen, “I knew that’d do it!” she leaned down and began to poke her in the face, “should we draw on her face or something?”

“Leave her alone, Floria,” Domitor said, shaking his head at me as I re-equiped my armor.

“Give me a pen, Dommy!” she yelled, holding out her hand to him.

“Floria, no,” he said firmly, causing her to pout at him. “No.”

“You’re no fun,” she complained as she stood up and left the unconscious Halwen alone.

Domitor facehoofed, “did you have to do that though?”

“It was funny,” I countered, giving him a thumbs up.

“It’s called bullying,” he threw back. “You just found out she has feelings for you and the first thing you do is torture her?”

“What can I say?” I chuckled, flexing again through my armor. “When you got it, you just gotta show it off. And boy do I got IT!”

“Fucking hell,” he groaned, rubbing his face in annoyance. “Just one big child.”

“Says the pants wetter,” I laugh, flipping him off. “Yeah, you’ve lost all credibility with me after that little revelation.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed, not even trying to defend himself.

With this I looked out at the arena, seeing they were almost done cleaning.

Domitor just sat back and pulled out his notebook again, seeming to be drawing something.

“Hey,” I said, smirking at him. “You drawing or something?”

He frowned at me and did not answer, just kept drawing.

I knew he was an artist, with his stupid cutie mark and all that, but I’d never seen his shitty art before. Guess it’s time to change that.

“Give me that,” I said as I snatched the book from him.

“Shane!” he snapped, standing up and squaring up with me. “Give it back. Now.”

“Hang on, sissy boy,” I said as I opened it, “I just wanna see your stupid art.”

“Then ask!” he growled, causing me to roll my eyes as I flipped through the pages.

I had to admit, some of this was actually really good. Like, professional levels! But I’d never admit that shit to him.

“Pretty lame, what’s this supposed to be?” I asked, flipping it around to show a picture of what I assume to be him in a costume.

“It’s nothing, are you done being a dick?” he said, holding his hoof out to me.

“Keep your panties on,” I chuckled, going back to flipping through the pages. A few images caught my attention, as they were super fucking badass drawings of armor and weapons.

“Domitard,” I said, tossing the book back to him. “You’re alright at that art shit.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled, eye switching as he glared at me.

“Draw me.”

“What?”

I crossed my arms, smirking at him, “yeah, draw me. Right now. Full detail and all badass. If you can even catch my awesomeness that is.”

“You want me to draw you?” he asked dumbfounded. “Why? So you can make fun of me some more?”

“I won’t make fun of you if you make me look cool,” I countered, tilting my head back and giving him a toothy grin behind my mask.

Behind me I heard Vanilla let out a groan as she started to wake up. “My… what happened? Are we all okay?”

“Yeah, we’re all good,” I laughed, spinning to face her as I flashed my armor away again, striking an even harder pose, “but this is what happened!”

Her eyes went wide as she laid there staring up at me as I switched poses, making my muscles ripple.

She jerked a bit as she foamed at the mouth, slumping back onto the ground, KO’ed yet again.

I just started laughing loudly as I put my armor back on, turning to see a disappointed Domitor.

“Really?”

“Yes, really, now get to drawing, pony boy!” I exclaimed happily, really proud of myself.

“Shane, I love the hell outta you for that!” Floria yelled as she sat there, a wide grin on her face.

“Thank you, my gracious audience,” I said as I gave her a bow.

Domitor groaned as he sat back, propping up his notebook. “I’ll draw you, but you gotta promise to stop bullying Vanilla. Okay?”

“Let’s say I’ll try,” I offered as I reached over and flicked one of his braids, causing him to roll his eyes as he began to draw.

I stepped away from him and over to Floria, who was looking very pleased with the situation.

“Should we screw with her in other ways?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.

“Nah, I’m done, I just wanted to fuck with her a bit,” I said, sitting down next to her.

“Boo,” she whined, shaking her head. “We could make a powerful duo, fucking with that Cakehurst till she pops. Come on!”

“I’m good,” I chuckled, scratching my neck as I watched the man in the arena start packing up his cleaning gear. My eyes then drifted to Domitor, “still trying to get into Dom’s pants?”

“Eh, I’m trying in the most respectful way I can,” she replied, sitting back as she stared at him as well. “I’ve tried overly energetic girl, bored and detached girl, and even fun and supportive girl. But he’s just not interested.”

“He’s a dork,” I pointed out, “I don’t see what you see in him.”

“He’s a good guy, funny, and caring,” she said, rubbing her chin in thought. “Plus, he’s always there when you need him. And he’s not afraid to take the blame to save your ass from embarrassment.”

“Still, he’s annoying and stupid, those two traits outweigh all else in my book,” I countered, looking away from him and to the passed out Halwen.

“What about you? Thoughts on our preppy rich girl?” she asked, gesturing to Vanilla.

“Eh, don’t really care. I’m not interested in all that romance crap.”

“Okay, but what are your thoughts on her?”

“I don’t have thoughts on her, I barely know her. I’ll fuck with her and make fun of her, but that’s about as far as I want to go with her. She’s weird and foreign as fuck.”

Floria snickered, slugging my arm, “come on! You gotta wanna fuck or something, right?”

“Nope,” I deadpanned, frowning behind my mask. “Honestly, I’ve thought about it, and I think I'm going to become asexual. Physical contact outside of combat bugs me, and I hate the idea of showing emotions like that. So I’m good as I am.”

“You’ll change your mind,” she said, getting a glare from me. “You have a LOT of sexual tension, and that’s clear. I just can’t tell where it’s coming from. Pretending it’s not there is just pissing you off.”

“She’s right,” Rosemary interjected from my mind.

“Okay, that’s enough, I’m done speaking about this shit,” I announced as I stood up and walked away, heading for the door that led to the standby area.

“Think about what I said!” Floria called after me as I entered the doorway.

Galben's Tournament: Round 3

Chapter 47

“After a long long pause, we are back with the start of round three!” Flavio bellowed into the mic as I walked out into the arena, our names having already been called.

“And what an exciting opener for round three! We have Shane Beltosh, a very exciting and fun contestant who is the only one to not kill his opponents! How respectful and noble of him!”

I just shrugged as I approached the woman who would be my opponent, taking my spot across from her.

‘Challenge for this round?’

“No challenge, just survive,” Rosemary said, actually looking a bit worried. “I do not like the look of this one.”

“His opponent however is a favorite of the great Galben himself. Vicky Optus! The Halwen with a Thorn so crazy, it makes me even sweat! And I’m invulnerable to physical damage! Wowza! She’s slain every person she’s fought today, will Shane follow suit? Or will we see a turn around?!”

“Hey, Flashy Man,” Vicky said as she stared at me, a needle like rapier in her hand.

“Flashy Man?” I laughed, liking the nickname. “Is that because of my sexy armor?”

“No, it’s because you are a show off,” she deadpanned, causing me to just flex on her.

“Damn right I’m a show off, kinda happens when you’re this fucking hot,” I threw back, enjoying my self. The fact my identity was hidden really helped me be my normal confident self.

“It’s a shame you’re about to die,” she commented as she flashed her rapier around in front of herself, eyes locked on me, “otherwise I’d enjoy talking strategy with you. You are clearly a very knowledgeable and smart individual, based on your last two matches.”

“HA!” came Domitor’s distant laugh, causing me to raise my hand in his direction and flip him off.

The bell rang as she began to walk towards me casually.

Okay, so imaginary attacks, what exactly does that mean? Will she throw a lot of faints? If so I’ll just watch her body movement and wait for the real attack.

“Let’s end this quickly,” she said in a casual tone. “I respect you enough to not draw this out.”

“Well thank you for that,” I said back, grabbing the hilt of my sword.

Then it happened, she suddenly dashed forward, her rapier going for an atack on my face. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I drew my sword and went to block her attack, but my sword passed right through her blade as the attack soared right for my face. But it just passed right through me, as if it wasn’t actually there.

The image of Vicky faded away as I suddenly felt something jab right through my chest.

“Shayla!” Rosemary exclaimed in panic.

“Fuck! SHAYLA!” I heard Domitor yell, but to be honest, my focus was a bit more on the thin blade suddenly piercing through my chest armor and out my back. My sword fell from my hand as I stood there in shock.

“Sorry for this,” Vicky said as she placed a hand on my chest and pulled her sword free. “A pierced heart means death, I’m afraid.”

I stumbled back, feeling a cold feeling wash over me as I heard my friends still calling out to me, but my eyes snapped up to hers, narrowing.

“Bitch, you think that little needle dicked sword is enough?” I spat out, blood pouring out of my mouth.

This seemed to shock her as she stared at me, a small grin sliding onto her face.

“She missed by a literal hair,” Rosemary said as she examined the damage. “I think we can chalk this one up to your body being slightly different from a normal Kejtdra’s body. Otherwise she’d have pierced the center of your heart.”

“So wanna try that shit again? Because I figured you out now,” I bluffed, still not sure how to actually counter her without using my new ability. Which I was going to have to abuse the hell out of to win this one.

“Careful, that new Perception Field ability you created is dangerous, it’ll burn your body out if you use it too many times at once,” Rosemary warned.

Great. Just my luck.

“So you’ve figured me out?” she asked, smirking at me. She then took off running, leaving me behind.

“What the fuck are yo-” I began, but the feeling of a blade stabbing through me again interrupted me. She slowly faded into view right in front of me, her rapier stabbed right through my stomach area.

“Yes, you’ve for sure seen right through my Thorn,” she mocked, ripping her rapier free and taking a step back as I fell to my knees.

“Fuck me,” I growled, punching the ground as I reached over and grabbed my sword.

“Her Thorn is creating false images inside your head, Shane,” Rosemary said as I stood up and faced the Halwen woman.

“How do I counter this?!” I yelled out loud, causing her to laugh at me.

“I’m not telling you. Maybe I gave you too much credit in the beginning,” Vicky said, raising her sword and seeming to think of how to finish this.

I’ve got seconds to figure this out.

Then I punched myself, causing a bit of yellowish gold blood to spurt out of the new holes in my body. I knew what to do.

I lowered myself as I put my sword back in its sheath, taking it by the handle and preparing to strike when I was ready. A little ring appeared around me as I stared her down.

If her imaginary attacks triggered my ability, then I was really screwed.

Taking this as her que to attack, Vicky launched herself forward, her rapier coming in from the left. As it passed over my Ego ring, I felt nothing, meaning that had to be a fake attack! And I was right as it passed right through me.

And at that same instant I felt something coming for me, followed by me seeing a predictable path of something unseen coming for my face.

My sword flew from its sheath as I swung it upward and made contact with her rapier as it seemed to materialize right before my face. The force of my blow sent her attack high as it flew over my head harmlessly.

Her eyes went wide as I reached out and grabbed her by the throat.

“Gotcha ya!” I yelled as I began to squeeze, hoping I’d be able to end this here. Her sword began to move, but I dropped my sword and grabbed that hand, holding it firm as she used her free hand to try and break my grip on her neck.

But it was clear I was far above her strength level as I held firm like a solid statue, her desperate pries doing nothing but wasting energy.

Her free hand shot out as a hammer appeared in it, and she swung it for my face, but I just rolled my shoulder to block it. Only for it to pass right through me harmlessly.

Shayla you idiot.

Something hard slammed into the side of my face, causing me to drop her as I stumbled to the side, my mask no longer on my face as it’d been thrown clear with the hit. Thankfully it seems it took the majority of that blow, but now I was exposed, as the hood had fallen away as well.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is not looking good for Vicky! Shane has her in a death grip! Is this over already?!” Flavio exclaimed excitedly over the radio.

“See? Shane came out on top,” Spark said, but saw that the other two still looked to be intensely listening to the radio.

“It’s not over till it's over,” Scamp replied calmly, her focused gaze on the wall ahead as she listened carefully to the radio.

“Vicky attempts to fight back, but Shane takes control of her sword hand! Spaztabiclale! The Halwen has brought out a hammer! Shane goes to dodge… and is unsuccessful as Vicky’s Thorn tricks the stronger man!”

“There it is,” Mallogory said, chuckling a bit as she winked at her wife.

“Damn it, Shane, one job,” Scamp grumbled, feeling that this was probably over. Vicky just had to land a hit here and it’d be game.

“What’s this?!” the radio suddenly blared. “It appears that Shane is not a man at all! But a woman! Unexpected turn of events! What a strange sight, folks! This Kejtdra is not like any Kejtra I’ve ever seen before! If only you could see what I mean! He’s the definition of mean looking though! Face of fury and covered in piercings!”

The three of them sat in silence, a strange feeling falling over them.

“Shane is back up and engaging with Vicky, but it seems the hit to head has left him a bit weak in the knees! She goes for the jab! Oh hubbltoco! Shane takes a hit directly to the chest yet again! And another, and another! He’s getting filled with more holes than a strainer basket! But he’s staying up! What a guy!”

“Something feels off about this,” Scamp muttered, not liking the feeling in her gut right at that moment.

“He’s backing up, going on the defensive! Vicky has shredded his armor, leaving him topless! The muscles on this guy could crush a mountain, folks! Wait a moment! Are those wings on his back?!”

“Shayla!” Scamp suddenly yelped, putting everything together at once.

“No, that can’t be!” Spark said, not wanting to believe it, since it seemed Shane was on the losing side of this battle.

Mallogory didn’t speak as she sat there, eyes wide as she continued to listen.

“Vicky continues her relentless pursuit of Shane as he keeps her at bay, seeming to be trying to gather his energy for another of those amazing beam attacks! But she won’t allow him a moment's breath as she pokes away at him! This looks to be a battle of attrition as Shane surely could not keep this up for much longer!”

“That can’t be Shayla,” Spark said again, seeming to be more trying to convince himself than the others. “Why would she be at this tournament?!”

“Because she’s our daughter and an idiot,” Scamp answered, looking a bit pale as she listened.

“It appears that Vicky is about to perform some kind of special attack! This may be it for our plucky little Kejtdra, folks!”

Scamp slammed a hoof through the wall of the cabin, her eyes locked on the wall ahead. “Come on… Come on…”

“What is this?! Vicky has split into multiple images of herself, all attacking at once! Shane is struggling to gather his energy in his hands, but it looks to be too much for him! Oh no! Folks I think that’s it, Vicky has pierced the face of… Wait, I spoke too soon! His faceplate seems to have stopped the attack!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Shayla you’re fucking dying!” Rosemary cursed as I continued to dodge backwards, struggling to avoid the real tip of her rapier as she dashed after me. I was starting to get the hang of her attack patterns at least, so I could keep dodging out of the way of her. But I couldn’t keep this up for long.

My body was screaming at me to stop, as she’d apparently hit a few major organs. My spin took a direct hit, but thank God I have Egonetic’s, or that’d finished me off right then and there.

I was trying to gather my Ego into my hands to finish her off, but she kept jabbing right for them, causing me to have to start over.

“Okay, this is boring,” Vicky suddenly said as she stopped attacking me and backed off, holding up her hand with the Stomata on it.

“Shit,” I muttered as I forced more Ego into my hands, taking this moment to try and win this.

Right before my eyes she split into multiple images of herself, followed by all of them sprinting for me immediately.

“Double shit,” I groaned as I tried to pick out the real attacks among the wave of fake ones.

This proved impossible as I realized even with my field up I couldn’t pick out the real one as there was too much going on at once. But my Ego was almost ready!

Then my head jerked back as her sword tip suddenly crashed right between my eyes.

I swear I heard my friends scream my name, but my ears were ringing from the pressure of the impact. But to my great relief I realized my Ego infused faceplate had saved me!

There wasn’t enough Ego in my hands to do a full on blast like I wanted, but there was enough for one thing.

“Should’ve went for the throat,” I growled as I snapped my head forward, catching her retreating blade in my teeth. She yanked as hard as she could, but I held firm as I put all the energy into one hand and reached out with the other, taking her by the wrist of the hand that held her Stomata.

She tried to break free as she took her other hand and materialized a dagger into it. But I focused as I threw my Ego covered hand forward, engulfing her trapped hand. The dagger came flying for me, but I kept going forward as I screamed in rage, my Ego exploding out of my hand and into hers, completely obliterating it.

The dagger still slammed into my shoulder, but she began to scream in pain as I let her go and took her rapier in my hands.

The Halwen stumbled back, holding the stump where her hand and Stomata used to be. It’d grow back, but that didn’t mean much right now.

I dashed forward and stabbed her rapier right through her right knee. Then with an expert's grace I swiped her legs out from under her with my tail and slammed a fist right into her unguarded face, sending her body spinning like a top in front of me. Just to add a bit of flair I then threw another punch, right into her midsection, sending her flying straight into the stands beyond.

“Out of bounds!” Flavio roared along with the fake crowd. “I don’t believe it! Shane has come out on top, despite the clear disadvantage!”

Raising my hand, I gave him a shaky thumbs up as I spun and walked towards the exit. But each step I took got more and more shaky, as I could literally feel my body ripping apart from the inside out.

“Ah fuck me,” I grunted, looking at my three friends as I lost my footing and collapsed.

“Shayla!” I heard Domitor yell as the three of them seemed to be coming down here.

“Idiots,” I grumbled, everything starting to lose focus. “Don’t call me that…”

“Whoa whoa, let’s not just up and die out here after an amazing show like that!” I heard the voice of Flavio said as he seemed to be floating down to me.

“Trying not too,” I grumbled, my eyes fluttering a bit.

He landed next to me just as my friends reached us.

“Well let’s get you back in shape!” he exclaimed as his hands began to glow.

Within moments it felt like the whole fucking sun was suddenly being pushed through my body, causing me to jump up with a yelp.

“Bro, what the fuck was that?!” I yelled as I patted at myself, realizing the holes that had riddled my body were now closed over. Additionally, I felt better than I had before the match had began!

“Just a little groovtastical flavor from me to you,” he said in a smooth voice as he struck a little pose momentarily. “Consider it a thank you for the amazing performance!”

“Well,” I began, frowning at him as I just wanted to cover back up now. “Thanks for that then.”

“You are welcome!” he said as he snapped his fingers, causing my armor to fly from where it lay on the ground and land before him. “Now you four, I have some good slash bad news. Thanks to the two from earlier, we’re going to be postponing the last two matches till tomorrow.”

“Great,” I muttered as I placed my foot on my piled up gear, using my menu to pull it back into my personal inventory. It looks to be too broken to re-equip, so I’ll have to wait till the system repairs it.

“Are you alright now?” Domitor asked, but I ignored him as I stared at Flavio’s smiling face, staring at my reflection in his sunglasses.

“Thanks though, for real. For healing me,” I said, forcing myself to make an effort to apologize to him.

He just strikes an exaggerated pose as he points a finger at me, placing his other hand against his face. “Don’t even mention it, honeymomma!”

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at his antics.

Flavio just relaxed his pose as he stood up fully, giving us a confident smile, “now for that sweet sweet good news! Galben has allowed all those who wish to use the luxury suites of the city next door! You four can head on over now if you’d like. The rest of the matches will continue in the meantime.”

“Luxury suites?” I asked, looking at my friends. Floria just shrugged while Domitor didn’t really have a reaction. Vanilla just looked pleased as she stood there, hands behind her back.

“Nah, we’ll sleep here. No need to-”

“No!” Vanilla suddenly yelled, scaring the shit out of me. She then cleared her throat and resumed her normal posture. “I’m sorry. I mean, let's not spit in the face of his hospitality, Shane. It is rude to turn down luxury accommodations.”

I just roll my eyes as I shrug, “then I guess we’ll take them.”

“Make yourselves at home over there! Take any building, they’re all empty anyways!” he laughed, striking a different pose as he began to ascend into the sky back towards his platform. “If you need to speak with me, I will be out and about after tonight's matches!”

Turning to my friends I saw they were looking at me expectantly. “Floria,” I suddenly said, getting her attention. “Do you have another jacket? I don’t want to walk around with my upper body exposed.”

She chuckled as she began to pull something out of her Vacuole.

As she did that I looked myself over. My lower armor was still good to go, so I didn’t have to worry about that. But my chest and face were exposed, and that was way too much. I might be okay making a quick joke with these idiots using my muscles and shit, but I am DEFINITELY not walking around exposed for others to see.

Floria tossed me a dirty jacket similar to hers, but had a hood on it. I slid it on quickly and threw up the hood, feeling a lot better.

“Here,” Vanilla said as she stepped forward, holding a scarf. “You may use my scarf to hide your face if you so wish.”

“Thanks,” I replied as I took it and wrapped it around my head, hiding my face from view. “Now come on, assfuckers, let’s check out our digs for the night.”

Fate: Old views die hard

Chapter 48

“That was for sure Shayla?” Spark asked as the match ended and Flavio went off the air momentarily to heal the winner. “How certain are we?”

“Completely certain,” Scamp said confidently. “I just know that it was Shayla. I don’t know why she’d be pretending to be a guy, but she probably has her own reasons.”

“Whatever those reasons are, I’m sure they’re good ones,” Mallogory added as she reached over and took her wife's mechanical hand. “She did good though, huh?”

“Oh she did very good,” Scamp replied, smiling a bit. “I wish we’d actually seen it for real though.”

“Love, you’d’ve jumped into that ring the moment she started getting stabbed,” Mallogory teased, poking her mare in the side of the face.

“Yeah, but could you blame me?” Scamp said back, smirking at her wife. She reached out and stroked her face, giving a wink.

“Spark,” Scamp suddenly said, not looking at him. “Why don’t you go for a long walk?”

He groaned as he stood up, knowing what was about to happen. “Please, don’t destroy the room this time.”

“No promises,” Mallogory replied, placing a hand on her wife's hip.

Spark stepped out of the room and closed the door, shaking his head.

“Those two…” he muttered, but decided to get away from the door as he heard the sound of something breaking. He’d made the mistake once before of staying too close to the door, and he was not going to make that same mistake again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Huh, way too fancy for me,” I muttered as we all stepped into the lobby of one of the massive buildings that made up this city. Like Flavio had said, everything was empty. Which raised the question: why have this massive city if there were no people living here? Guess it goes back to Galben liking things big and showing off.

“I have heard rumors of the Great Galben’s luxury city, but I never thought I’d be permitted to enter it!” Vanilla exclaimed, clasping her hands together as she looked at the overly fancy décor around us. “It’s so wonderful and whimsical!”

“Oh yes it is,” Floria laughed as she kept grabbing random items and putting them in her Vacuole.

“Are you stealing?!” Vanilla basically screamed, getting a laugh out of the short Kejtdra.

“Yep, what are you gonna do about it? Go tell Galben? Your family?” she taunted, sticking her tongue out at her.

“He is ever so gracefully letting us stay in his city, and you take that opportunity to steal from him?!” Vanilla exclaimed, looking about ready to pop.

“I mean, yeah?” Floria replied, just angering the Halwen even further, “Besides, he’s not here you can stop sucking his dick. No need to praise him so highly.”

“If you grew up with even a hint of class, then you understand why I am being respectful to our host,” she huffed, crossing her arms as she looked at me. “Shane, please stop her.”

“I’m staying out of this,” I laughed back, deciding to continue towards the elevator that led upward.

“Which floor are you staying on?” Domitor asked as he followed behind me.

“Top fucking floor, bud,” I laughed, stepping into the elevator and hitting the button.

“Hold it!” Floria yelled as she rushed over, kicking Domitor into the elevator with me as she jumped in behind me. “Okay now go!”

“Please hold the door,” Vanilla called out as she made her way towards us.

“No no no,” Floria said in a panic as she hit the close door button. “Come on!”

The doors began to slowly close as Vanilla tried to pick up her pace, but she wouldn’t make it.

“Bu-byeeeeee!” FLoria mocked, waving to the Halwen.

But then Domitor’s hoof reached out and caught the door, allowing the woman to make it onto the elevator with all of them.

“That was very close,” she exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. “Thank you, Domitor. Without your help I’d have lost you three in this massive building.”

“Yeah, thanks, Dom,” Floria said, crossing her arms as she leaned away from the Halwen.

Domitor just stood checking over his drawing.

“That picture done yet?” I asked as I tried to snatch the notebook from him, but he yanked it away from me before I could grab it.

“No, it is not. Unless you want an unfinished product, Shane, then you should let me work,” he said roughly, causing me to glare at him. But I decided to let it go, this time.

“This is really exciting,” Vanilla said with an excited look on her face. “To be inside of this place that no one else has had the pleasure of seeing! It’s just amazing!”

“If you say so, Cakehurst,” Floria groaned, rubbing her face.

Finally, after a long ride of listening to Vanilla and Floria bicker, we reached the top floor. We stepped out into a very impressive lobby, with a mock living room set up in the middle of the floor, complete with a bar and everything. The room itself was circular with six doors running along the walls around the furniture in the middle of the floor.

“So elegant,” Vanilla muttered as she strolled forward, running a hand along a couch. “This furniture cost more than a single house, just so you know.”

“Ew,” I made a face as I walked past it, running a hand along the fancy yet rough fabric. I was not a fan of expensive furniture it seems.

“So how we doing this room situation?” Floria asked, smirking at Domitor.

“I will be taking this one for myself,” Vanilla said as she strolled over to the center most one and opened the door.

“What? Not going to try and bunk with Shane over there?” Floria mocked, causing Vanilla to roll her eyes.

“I value my privacy, I’ll have you know,” she huffed as she stepped into the room and closed the door.

“Shane?” Floria asked, looking at me.

“Alone,” was my simple answer as I picked the once closest to the elevator.

“Looks like it's you and me Dommy, rooming together, as usual,” Floria laughed, slapping his back.

“This is the first chance I get to have a room to myself since getting here, I am taking it. I’m sorry, Floria,” he said, giving her a sheepish smile as he quickly walked for the room on the other side of the room.

“Oh you bunch of party poopers!” she yelled, sitting down on the floor. “We’re all gonna at least hang out and talk tonight, right?”

I didn’t answer her as I closed the door and examined my room for the night. Just as the rest of the place, it was way to fucking fancy.

Stepping over to the bed I found it was at least not as firm as everything else looked, so I’d at least have a decent night's sleep. Unless my mind decided I wasn’t allowed that.

One thing did catch my attention, bringing a smile to my face. “No way!” I rushed over to a table, finding a large pile of comic books just sitting there. But to my ever growing disappointment they were all just that weird comic book, Corn Justice Man. Damn it.

Groaning, with nothing else to do other than sleep, I grabbed a handful and jumped back onto the bed.

ooo000<^>000ooo

A few hours later

I closed the comic book I was currently reading, left more confused than anything. While these comic books were nothing like the ones I was use to, they at least were fun reads. Well drawn too. Could use a bit more variety though, but the dynamic of the two hero’s was fun to read about.

Letting out a yawn I slowly got out of the bed and made my way over to the door, wanting to go look for food in that bar I saw.

Stepping outside of my room I saw everyone was out in the little lobby area, just sitting around talking with three couches pulled close together.

“Have a nice cat nap?” Domitor asked as he munched on something.

“No, I read some books,” I replied, omitting that they were comic books. “Where’s the food?”

Floria waved her hand over the little table between them. “Come on, bro, help yourself.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I walked over and jumped over the back of a couch, landing next to Floria. “Oh hell yes,” I exclaimed as I saw just how much food there was.

“The cabinets here were filled with all kinds of ingredients,” Vanilla said as she sat curled up in her pajamas, drinking a cup of something hot. “So I did something a little special for all of you. Added my own personal flair to everything.”

“Flair?” I asked, taking a bite of a bread item, eyes going wide as the filling within filled my mouth. There was a bit of a kick to it, like something spicy was mixed in.

“Yes, my own personal flair,” she said, watching me expectantly. “I add hot spices to everything, is it to your liking?”

My mouth burned pretty badly, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle as I finished off the food in my hand. “It’s good. But maybe chill out on the spiciness next time, that’d kill the right person.”

“You like that?” Floria asked dumbfounded, sitting back defeated. “I thought you’d lose your crap like Domitor did.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t handle the heat,” Domitor said without looking up from his drawing pad. He was just staring at it, randomly making a little mark here and there with his pencil.

How fucking long is he going to work on this single picture?!

“Yeah, I bet you couldn’t handle it,” I mocked, but even I didn’t feel that one as he just chuckled a bit.

I shoved a few more food items in my mouth, watching as Vanilla stared at me happily. “What?” I asked, food falling out of my mouth as I stared right back at her.

“Just happy someone else enjoys the little flair I put into the food, since most Kejtdra can’t taste spicy foods, and most Halwen can’t stand the level of heat I like. Everyone in my family tells me to stop trying to stand out and change things, though. But that’s good, is it not?” she asked as she waved her hand at the food and me.

“Yeah, it’s good,” I said back slowly, pushing another bite into my mouth.

“Vanilla,” Domitor suddenly said, glancing at her, “you mentioned earlier your home life was just as good as any other Cakehurt’s home life. But tell us how you really feel.”

“How do you mean?” she asked, feigning ignorance.

“Your parents beat your ass or something?” I asked with a mouth full of food, causing her to frown as she took off her goggles, placing them on the table behind her.

“No, not exactly that bad,” she said, seeming to be gauging how much to actually tell us. “You all wouldn’t understand.”

“Try us,” Domitor said with a reassuring smile. “My home life was pretty terrible growing up.”

“Here we go again,” I groaned, much to his annoyance.

“Anyways!” he grumbled, ignoring me, “I don’t know how yours is, but I can say I at least might understand what you’ve gone through.”

“Thank you, but really, the Cakehurst family is very… unique,” she said, her face giving away that she doesn't want to talk about it.

“Bitch, come on, my fucking dad raped me and I’ll admit to that,” Floria suddenly said, causing me to start choking on my food loudly. Vanilla had a similar reaction, her eyes wide as she stared at the short Kejtdra.

“Floria, are you okay?” Domitor asked as Floria just sat there, a forced smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just proving a point,” she said as she stared the Halwen down. “If I can say that, then you can talk about how bad the room service in your own home was. Or how your mummy forgot to give you money one time to buy that toy you so desperately wanted.”

“That is… not even close to the problems I’ve had with my family,” Vanilla growled, grinding her teeth.

“Even Shane can talk about his problems more than you can! And that’s saying something!” Floria said as everyone looked at me.

I blinked back at them and shook my head. “No, I’m good. We’re not focusing on me right now, this is about Vanilla.”

“Yeah, so come on, Cakehurst! Spill the beans! What kinda sad little princess level problems have you had to deal with?” Floria demanded, smirking right at the Halwen confidently.

“I’d rather not discuss it,” she said in a small voice. “Please, let us drop this topic and move on to a much happier one.”

“What? Can’t confront the truth?” Floria said, standing up between us as she stared at Vanilla, her hands shoved in her pockets.

“I do not know what you mean,” Vanilla replied calmly, looking anywhere but at her.

“Alright, I’ll give everyone a brief little overview of the Cakehurst family,” Floria announced, jumping up on the table and knocking the food into the floor, much to my dismay as I continued to reach down and pick it up, eating it anyways.

“Careful, gutter trash,” Vanilla suddenly growled, now glaring up at the Kejtdra.

“Cakehurst are just mass produced products that the family just pumps out to further their business,” Floria said in a voice a teacher would use, eyes locked with Vanilla’s. “They all have the same damn Alchemy Thorn, and they use it to meddle in all the businesses of this world. Not only that, but they’ll lie and cheat to get what they want.”

The Halwen did not say anything in her defense, just frowning up at her as emotions played across her face.

“You heard her earlier, she was with the woman Shane fought, saying they were together for family business. It doesn’t matter what she said afterward, they still came here together. She’s just using us to get that stupid favor, and she’s pretending to like Shane since he’s the one doing all the fighting!” she accused, growling a bit. “Admit it! You’re just trying to get on Shane’s good side so he’ll relent and give you the favor when he wins!”

“No, that is completely false,” Vanilla stated firmly, her lip quivering a bit, but otherwise she held her stern look perfectly.

“Oh? So you just so happen to be interested in the one guy who’s in our group and winning the tournament?”

“If you recall, I joined you guys well before he started winning anything,” she pointed out, but Floria didn’t seem to care as she kicked more food into the floor.

“Cakehursts are always on the long con, you saw potential in him and you pounced on it! You’re a snake in the grass, just waiting for your moment to strike and take us for everything we have! That, is the fucking Cakehursts way of doing business,” Floria growled, as she shook slightly, clearing very worked up.

“You think so lowly of me?” Vanilla said as calmly as she could, standing up carefully. “Yes, Cakehursts are known to be horrible people, and yes, I have stories from my childhood that would make even you cringe in horror, but nonetheless; I. Am. Not. Like. That.”

I very carefully picked up some more food, trying to keep their attention off of me as I ate. Domitor just looked very uncomfortable as he said on his couch, a bit curled in on himself as he watched the developing fight before us.

“Once a Cakehurst always a Cakehurst,” Floria mocked, leaning down so her face was near Vanilla’s as they stared into each other's eyes. “You can’t change your nature.”

“I could say the same to you, street rat,” she threw back, putting her hands on her hips. “Stealing anything you can get your hands on. Tsk tsk.”

“Don’t you fucking judge me, princess,” Floria snapped as she jumped down, squaring up with the other woman, who stood just slightly taller than her. “You have no room to pass judgment on anyone, what with you having literally the easiest life possible. All laid out before you like a red carpet.”

“You think my life has been easy?!” she yelled, but she pulled herself back, taking a deep breath before continuing in a calmer tone, “despite what you think or say, I have been an outlier in my family since I was very young. I haven’t never fit into the family hierarchy, and my entire family knows it.”

“Oh boo woo, let’s cry each other a river because of course both of our lives are so equally shitty,” Floria said, pretending to wipe away fake tears before spitting right onto Vanilla’s chest. “Screw you, Stankhurst. Don’t try to relate your rich people's problems with our real problems.”

The Halwen’s eye twitched as she looked down at the spit on her pajamas, then back to Floria’s face. Yet she didn’t say anything, seeming to be trying to keep herself in control of her emotions. She simply pulled out a handkerchief from her Vacuole and wiped the spot away on her chest.

“Guys, I think we should-” Domitor started to say, but Floria just started laughing in a very unhinged way.

“Just fuck! I can’t believe you’re trying so hard! We’re on to you, you’re not getting that favor! So just pack up your shit and go. Now.”

Vanilla glanced at me, but I offered nothing but a weak smile as I shoved even more food into my mouth, keeping it full so I didn’t have to talk.

“I have told you, I am not here for the favor. I am here on my own accord, because despite everything you’ve said to me, I’m intrigued by you three and wish to be near you,” she said as her lip quivered even harder than the first time.

“Well I don’t want you near us,” Floria shot back harshly, “you’re nothing more than a Cakehurst puppet who does what she’s told, no matter what happens to anyone else. As long as the family makes a little bit more money, huh?”

“I am not like that,” Vanilla growled, clenching her fist a few times as she held her ground. “And I am not a puppet.”

“Oh? Did that comment actually affect you?” Floria laughed, bumping chest with the other woman. “Well I’m sorry to say, but that’s exactly what you are, a lifeless puppet that does as she’s told. Like you’re doing right now, trying to infiltrate our group.”

“I am not trying to infiltrate your group!” she snapped, shoving Floria back roughly. “Please stop this!”

“Stop lying to yourself and admit it!” Floria yelled back, shoving her back just as hard.

“I’m my own person!” she cried out, eyes welling up with tears. “I am not controlled by my family! I decide what I can and can’t do! I just have no choice but to listen to them!”

“And there it is, the whole ‘I have no choice’ line that all Cakehurst’s like to spew when they get caught in a lie,” Floria said triumphantly.

“They will punish me if I disobey!” she said, clenching her fist as tears streamed down her face.

“Oh no! They’ll punish you? A week without your allowance, how tragic!” Floria mocked, “face it, you’re not your own person. You’re the face of your family and that’s all you’ll be till they use you up and toss you aside.”

Vanilla’s eye twitched as she stood stock still before Floria, who did not stop herself as she continued.

“You are just a dumb little slut without an original thought in your head! Nothing but empty space, just waiting for mommy dearest to fill it with commands!”

This seemed to push the Halwen over the line as she growled loudly, “yeah? Well here’s an original thought for you; you’re a bitch!”

Everything went silent as the two stared each other down. Just the sound of them breathing could be heard.

Then without warning Floria swung on Vanilla, hitting her right in the face with a closed fist. The Halwen stumbled to the side, but stayed standing as she turned back and growled as she struck out, slapping Floria across the face with her open palm.

“You just fucking slapped me!” Floria snapped.

“And you punched me!” Vanilla countered.

“Oh boy,” I muttered, waiting to see what would happen next.

“You have to hit someone with a closed fist, you idiot! Slapping doesn’t hurt as much!”

“It’s a sign of disrespect to be slapped instead of a brutish punch,” Vanilla stated as they kept looking at each other.

“Huh,” Floria said, seeming to change moods as she shook her head. “Answer this simple question: why are you really here?”

Vanilla, who couldn’t change her mood as easily as the other woman could, just growled as she crossed her arms, “I’ve told you! Multiple times! I want to be around you three, you make me not feel so… bland.”

“Uh-huh,” Floria muttered, walking back to her seat and sitting down. “Screw it. Welcome aboard.”

I just blinked at them as Vanilla went back to her seat as well, still upset but no longer engaging in a fight.

“What just happened?” I asked aloud, getting two shrugs in response. “You two were really going at it though! You can’t just hit each other once and then end it! You gotta finish it!”

“It is finished,” Floria said simply, looking tired and depleted. “Not all of us are angry all the time like you. She said more to me with that slap than her words could have.”

“But you were so fucking angry, you’re saying that’s all gone now?!”

“Of course not, my opinion of her is still extremely low. But I also know when to drop something. She says she’s here on her own accord, then screw it, I’ll buy it for now.”

I looked at Vanilla, who just shrugged at me, looking just as tired as Floria.

“I just don't want to fight anymore.”

“This makes no sense,” I muttered, putting my head in my hands. I expected them to rip into each other a lot more with how much shit they were talking. They got personal! How can they just… drop it after just hitting each other once?

“I need some air after that one,” I groaned as I stood up and walked for a door that seemed to lead to a balcony.

Stepping outside I took a deep breath, the stress of watching them fight like that finally revealing itself. Honestly, I feel cheated. Like they’d built up this big fight, then just ended it instantly. I’m… at a lose here.

Groaning, I stepped up to the railing and leaned on it, looking out over the dark empty city before me.

Behind me I heard the door open as someone stepped out with me.

Fate: Tis better to have loved and lost...

Chapter 49

I glanced over my shoulder to see Domitor coming out, looking a bit shaken up.

“What?” I asked roughly as he walked over and sat down on a chair next to the railing.

“Nothing, just was a lot to take in,” he said, rubbing his face.

“I mean yeah, but oh well, they blue balled us by ending the fight like that.”

“It was actually a pretty mature way to end it,” he commented, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Yeah wish we could end our shit that easily,” I muttered, pulling my hood up to block out the wind.

He leaned back, staring at me, “who says we can’t? We just have to try and put in some effort, and we might actually become friends.”

“Nah,” I grunted, glancing at him, “we ain’t gonna be friends, jackass. Like I said, looking at you pisses me off. Nothing's gonna fix that.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he said, pulling the notepad back out and tapping at it with his pencil. “But I’d like for us to work through all this and become friends one day.”

“Geez, you just don't give up,” I groaned, sitting down in a chair across from him.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I watched him draw, my emotions flaring up randomly, but I did my best to not start a fight right now.

“Almost done, assface?” I asked as he just kept on fucking dabbing at the paper.

“Not yet,” he muttered, seeming concentrated. “I want this one to be right.”

“Just fucking show me,” I snapped as I leaned forward, holding out my hand.

He frowned as he made a few more dabs and then looked at me. “Okay, I’m going to let you see it now. Just be warned, I drew you exactly as I see you.”

“So you fucking made fun of me,” I deadpanned, eye twitching as I felt a bit betrayed.

“No,” he said as he held it out to me, face down.

I took it and sat back, glaring at him as I flipped it over, revealing a beautifully shaded pencil drawing of me, a confident smile plastered on my face as I stood up straight, looking ready to take on the whole word, not caring if I was in clothes or not. The old me.

My eyes kept scanning the page as emotions I didn’t understand ran through me.

Seeing this image of me, acting like I was the boss of the whole world, really affected me as I felt a bit light headed for a moment.

“So? Do you like it, Shane?” he asked a bit nervously, fiddling his hooves as he watched me.

“I…” I began, at a loss for words as I kept my eyes locked on the drawing's face, wanting so desperately to be like the old me again. “Yeah, I do…”

He just smiled at me as he let me have my moment.

“You…” I muttered, still trying to work out my emotions. “You can call me Shayla in private.”

This seemed to cause him to relax a bit as I just kept looking at the drawing, hoping one day I’d be able to be like that again.

“Thanks, Dom,” I said as I put the paper down gently, placing a book over it to keep it from flying away.

“I’m… actually really glad you like it,” he said with a wide smile.

“Yeah,” I muttered, sitting back and staring right at him. “I’m just going to go right for it. Why were you friends with Lenrick?”

This caught him completely off guard as he recoiled hard, “uh what?!”

“You heard me, so answer the question,” I asked coldly, finally feeling like I can have this conversation and get it over with.

“It’s complicated,” he sighed, shaking his head.

“Then explain it.”

He looked at me with hurt eyes as he continued, “this will sound like an excuse, but he was my first real friend.”

My eyes narrowed at him, as that wasn’t answering the question.

“He threw a few compliments my way after I saved him, and he made me feel wanted, like I mattered to someone for once. It felt… nice…” he said while looking away from me. “I looked past all the horrible shit he was doing because he was being so nice to me. Then we met Floria and he started to act all weird, like a completely different person.” He frowned at this, shaking his head, “no, he wasn’t acting like a different person, he was just being himself. I was just too blinded to see that at the time.”

“He made comments that I should’ve taken as red flags and done something about, but I was so afraid of losing a friend…” he looked right at me, looking like he was about to cry. “I… I almost let him rape you…”

“Yeah, you did,” I said flatly, my heart rate increasing drastically.

“I let him go way too far, I should’ve stopped it a lot sooner,” he said, squeezing his front hooves together tightly. “But I just couldn’t move… I’m so fucking sorry, Shayla. If I’d just done something, anything, this wouldn’t’ve happened to you.”

I crossed my arms, letting him say his peace. I don’t know if it was helping me, but I needed to hear this.

“I can’t sleep anymore,” he admitted, his baggy eyes starting to make sense. “I drink to push the feelings away, but every time I see you in your armor I feel so damn guilty. I let that monster take your confidence away…”

“Stop,” I said, my body and mind no longer wanting to continue this. “I’m broken, Domitor. Like full on fucking broken. And yes, it is your fault, and you should feel bad.”

His head lowered as my words beat him down even further.

“But,” I said with a massive sigh, “I… I-” I coughed loudly, not able to finish that sentence. “Fuck, look, I’ll just say I’m sorry, happy?”

He raised his face to look at me, eyes narrowing a bit. “You know what? No, I’m not happy. We’ve both done so much shit to each other that a simple sorry from either of us won’t fix this.”

“Then fuck you, asshole!” I snapped, finally losing my cool as I stood up and glared at him. “I tried to be nice tonight, and I even said I’m sorry. Why can’t you just fucking accept it?!”

“Because I know you’re just saying it to make yourself feel better!” he yelled as he jumped up and got in my face. “I don’t want to hear fake apologies! I fucked up and let Lenrick almost have his way with you, and for that I’m fucking sorry, Shayla! But you’ve done some pretty horrible shit to me as well!”

“You bitch!” I snapped, head butting him. “I have not done a single thing to you that is on par with what Lenrick tried to do with me!”

“I’m not talking about one single thing, I mean ALL OF IT!” he roared, head butting me right back.

The doors to the balcony blew open and the other two ran out.

“Are you fucking serious?! You’re fighting again?!” Floria yelled, staring us down.

“Yep!” I growled, pulling the sleeves back on my jacket. “And I don’t want to hear it from you! I just sat through the stupidest fight ever between you two!”

“I give up,” Floria said, throwing her hands up. “Know what? Here’s what we’re gonna do; you two are going to go into one of the rooms and just beat the shit out of each other. And that will be the end of it! You fucking hear me?!”

“Oh I hear you,” I growled as Domitor and I held our gazes, both of us clearly ready to finish this. Once and for all.

“Then go! Beat the literal crap out of each other!” she screamed, clearly done with dealing with us.

Without a word I walked for the balcony exit and walked towards one of the unused rooms. I kicked open the door and walked over to the other side of the room, kicking tables and chairs out of the way so the floor was wide open.

Domitor came in behind me, huffing and puffing just as much as me as he slammed the door and stomped towards me, eyes ablaze with fury.

“Alright fucker, ground rules! No powers, and no weapons! I’m going to use my fucking fist to rearrange your face!” I yelled, cracking my knuckles.

“Then come on!” he yelled as he stood up on his hindlegs, front legs held out wide.

I roared and charged him, tackling him to the floor as I instantly began to beat the living shit out of his face. Of course he didn’t just let me as he got a back leg up on my chest and sent me flying off of himself.

He jumped up and blocked my next punch as we began to move around the room, me screaming with each hit and him grunting and yelling with each block.

“You’re an uncaring asshole!” he yelled as he slipped a punch and crashed a hoof right into my face.

“At least my fucking parents love me!” I screamed back as I grabbed his leg and punched him twice in the face before he broke free.

“Yeah I have a shitty father! But that’s not my fault!” he exclaimed as he dropped and swiped my legs out from under me, causing me to crash to the ground.

My tail shot up and grabbed him by the neck as I slammed him straight down into the ground, face first. “All you’ve done your whole life is follow in my fucking shadow!”

“You cast a pretty fucking big shadow, you fat fuck!” he jumped up and dodged my tail as he grabbed it and threw me across the room, sending me straight into the wall.

“Calling me fat doesn’t bother me, retard!” I roared as I hopped up and sprung forward, hitting him right in the gut with my fist as I grabbed his throat and lifted him into the air.

“Yeah? At least I don’t have to have everyone's approval, like you,” he said with such force that I screamed and slammed him straight into the ground next to me.

He didn’t stay down as he just shot right back up and slammed a hoof into my chin, stunning me for a moment. “Do you know what it’s like, to be brought up in someone else's shadow?!”

Four punches connected to my chest and stomach as he took advantage of my stunned state. “It’s horrible! Everyone is putting you down, all the time!”

“Cry me a river!” I snapped as I blocked a punch and returned one of my own right to his face, bloodying his snout. “I tried to be friends with you once! On a camping trip when we were kids!”

He blocked a few of my attacks, followed by me blocking a few of his.

“But then you fucking came back that next morning and fought me so hard you broke my legs!”

“Yeah!” he screamed, his emotions running high as he caught my hoof and kicked me straight in the knee, dropping me to the ground as he held my arm, pinning it to my back as he put me in a rear naked choke hold. “Because when I got home my father beat me for telling you all about his goals! I was angry with you!”

“That’s… a stupid… reason…!” I gasped out, the air and blood being cut off from going to my head as I fought against him, but he had the leverage on me in this position.

“I just wanted to be friends with all of you after that night! But my father broke me!” Domitor cried out, applying more and more pressure to my neck as I slowly started to lose the battle with consciousness.

Luckily I was able to rip my arm free and push myself up, causing him to lose his grip on my neck long enough for me to fully break free.

I reached over my shoulder and grabbed him, and with a roar, threw him straight into the wall ahead of us.

“Then you should’ve said something! I’d of been willing to be friends with you back then if you’d just fucking spoke up! I actually liked your dumb ass for some unknown reason!” I screamed, stomping over and slamming an armored foot into his side. “My parents could've helped you! Instead you bottled it up and made it worse by attacking me over and over again!”

“Sounds exactly like what you’re always doing,” he coughed out as he slowly got to his hooves, only to receive a strong kick to the face as I roundhouse him.

“At least I have friends to talk to about my problems!” I snapped, grabbing his braided mane as I pulled him up, raising my fist.

“But you don’t, you push everyone aside and just deal with it yourself, you fucking moron,” he groaned, staring at me with anger filled eyes.

I let out a yell and threw my fist for his face, but he exploded into action and caught my fist, causing me to lose my balance as he threw me to the floor.

He kicked me straight in the face as I tried to get back up, dazing me. Instead of continuing that attack he walked away, yelling in anger.

“Yeah, I wish I could talk about my fucking problems,” I grunted as I stood up, blood pouring out of my mouth now. “But I can’t! I just fucking can’t!”

He spun around to face me, breathing heavily as he prepared to re-engage me. “Then stop making excuses and try to fix them!”

“Fuck you!” I spat back as I dashed in and began to try and slip a punch through his guard. “You don’t get it! I hate myself, Domitor! My emotions are all fucked up, and my confidence is all fake! What happened with Lenrick just made things so much worse!”

One of my fists got through his block and hit him right in the eye, causing him to yelp in pain. I took advantage of this by following that hit up with another to the side, right in the liver. He doubled over, groaning loudly in pain.

“You think I’m happy all the time?! I’m not! I’m faking it till I make it!” I yelled, slamming a knee into his face as he flopped onto his back. “Now stay the fuck down!”

“Then,” he coughed, getting up for some damn reason, “... we have a lot more in common than we thought.”

I snarled as I spun around and roundhouse him again, sending him stumbling sideways.

“We’re nothing alike!”

He coughed and wiped his face, squaring up with me. “Yeah, we are. I just wish… we’d’ve been friends when we were younger.”

“Yeah, well it didn’t happen!” I yelled as I rushed in and received a swift kick to the face, sending me backwards a bit. We began to exchange blow after blow, no longer blocking as we wailed on each other.

“You’re the fucking worst!” he yelled as he hit me in the face.

“You make my life a living hell!” I returned, getting him in the jaw.

“I hate everything about you!”

“I wish you’d just fucking die so I can have some peace!”

“I wish you’d die! You are so unreasonable it hurts to be around you!”

“Fuck you, Domitor!”

“Fuck you, Shayla!”

We both connected at once, hitting each other right on the forehead. We stumbled away from each other, holding our faces.

After a moment we glared at each other.

“I should just end you right here, right now,” I growled in a low voice, my face and body beaten pretty badly.

“Yeah? Then do it,” he sneered back, his bruised and bloody face looking ready to finish this.

With a roar I ran into him, lifting him up as I slammed his back into the wall. I held him against the wall as I threw a few punches at his unguarded face, but he just threw a few right back.

“Come on! End me, bitch!” he spat out as I slammed my head into his forehead, getting my eyes right in front of his. We growled at each other as our blood mixed together, my shaking eyes almost touching his shaking eyes.

“Fuck you, Dom,” I sneered.

“Fuck you, Shay,” he growled back as we kept our eyes pressed together.

Without warning I grabbed him and pushed my lips against his, kissing him roughly. He yelped, but then grabbed my shoulders as he pulled me against himself, hard. We noisily made out, grunting into each other's mouths.

Finally we broke the kiss, leaning away from each other with wide eyes. We both looked shocked at what we’d just done, but it was me who pulled him right back into another kiss, this one much more passionate than the first as we stumbled backward, right into the middle of the room.

“What are we doing?” he asked in between kissing, panting heavily.

I didn’t answer him as I ran my hands up and down his side and back, pressing myself into the kiss even more.

His hooves ran up my own body, causing me to shiver, but not in an uncomfortable way as I’d've expected.

After a few more moments I became bold as I reached down his front, finding him and giving him a squeeze. His head jerked back, eyes wide as he stared into my face.

“Yeah,” I mouthed, nodding to him.

Taking my que he grabbed my jacket and pulled it off of me, leaving me topless. He then began to try and remove my pants, but he just fumbled as he tried to work the belt.

“Idiot,” I grunted as I pressed a few menu buttons, removing everything I was wearing.

We slammed into each other again, now full of passion as he lifted me up and spun us around. With a grunt he dropped us both on the bed, with him on top.

I laid on my back, covered in blood and sweat as I stared up at him as he propped himself up above me. His own blood and sweat dripped off of his face and onto mine, but I didn’t care as I just held his gaze. My body was shaking so hard due to the emotions and adrenaline, I could barely stand it!

“Come on,” I grunted, grinding myself against him.

“You sure?” he asked, seeming very nervous suddenly.

“Very,” I confirmed, panting as I stared up at him.

He gave a nod as he pulled his hips back and reached down, trying to figure it out. We were both inexperienced at this, but it was a simple process.

Still, I had to reach down and take a hold of him, helping guide him in.

“Careful,” I hissed as he pushed a bit too hard. He slowed down and after a few sloppy attempts was able to go at a steady pace.

I grunted with each small thrust, eyes locked on his. Once I knew I was ready I gave him a little nod. He pulled back and pushed all the way forward, causing me to let out a little feminine moan. My face burned at this and I suddenly threw a punch right into his face.

“Do not say a word!”

He just smiled back at me as he gave a nod, a silent promise to never mention what I’d just done.

With this he resumed his slow and steady pace, me doing my best to not make a sound. Mostly out of embarrassment.

He began to pick up his pace as we both grunted loudly. I had to bite my own arm to keep quiet, as I did not want to make another sound like that again.

But I couldn’t help it as I reached a climax, throwing my head back as I let out a hoarse moan, body shaking violently as he reached his top speed, thrusting away into me. I reached climax four more times as he began to reach his first one.

“Should I…”

“Doesn’t matter,” I moaned out, grabbing hold of him as he started to go faster.

He thrusts a few times really hard as his body went a bit ridged, a rough moan escaping his throat as he finished inside of me. With that he collapsed on top of me, breathing heavily.

I laid there, breathing just as heavily as my mind reeled with what just happened.

A soft whimper escaped my lips as everything hit me at once, all of the stress I’d been under and all the problems I’ve been facing. It was in this moment I finally realized just how screwed up everything so far had been. This being the one and only moment where everything made sense.

“Are you okay?!” he asked in a panic as he sat up, eyes wide as he looked down at my tear covered face.

“Yes you bitch!” I snapped, punching him in the face again. “Just… hold me, okay?”

He stared at me for a moment before giving a nod and laying down next to me. I crawled into his embrace and laid my head on his chest, my body still shaking.

“It’s okay,” he said in a soothing voice, causing me to gut punch him.

“... thank you, Dom,” I muttered, snuggling into him as I allowed myself to be held for the first time since I was a child.

He didn't respond, just held me as requested, letting me cry into his chest when the urge hit me. He gently stroked my mane, helping me relax somewhat.

It was going to be a long, long night. But at least I wasn’t alone.

I felt safe. I felt like myself.

Fate: ...than never to have loved at all.

Chapter 50

Earlier

The room's door slammed shut as Domitor followed Shayla into it, both fuming as they prepared to fight.

“Is this such a good idea?” Vanilla asked as she and Floria stepped up to the door, hearing the two inside talking. “I mean, will they get hurt?”

“Oh yeah, they’re gonna get hurt,” Floria laughed as she stood there, hands in her pockets. Moments later the sounds of crashing and yelling could be heard. “And off they go.”

Vanilla stood there, looking antsy as she clasped her hands under her chin. She was shifting from foot to foot, the sounds only getting worse as they listened.

“Calm down, Cakehurst, they’ll be fine,” Floria said with a smirk as she leaned against the wall by the door.

“Will we go in there if it sounds like it is escalating too much?” the Halwen asked as she sat down by the foot of the door, not liking how aggressive they were sounding.

“Calling me fat doesn’t bother me, retard!” they heard Shayla bellow.

Floria let out a laugh as they heard this, shaking head, “these two idiots. I wish we could see this fight in all its glory.”

Sighing, Vanilla looked up at the short Kejtdra, “we can, if you’d like. It’s quite simple.”

“What’chu talkin’ ‘bout, Hurst?” Floria asked with a raised eyebrow, looking intrigued.

“I can make the fake window on the door a real one way mirror,” she said, twiddling her claws.

Floria looked at the door, nodding her approval, “fuck yeah, do it!”

With a little flair the Hawlen jumped up and turned to the door, placing a single hand on it. After a moment the blacked out window began to clear, slowly revealing the room within.

“Cakehurst, you might be growing on me,” Floria said as she playfully slugged Vanilla’s shoulder.

“Oww,” she muttered, rubbing her arm as the two of them pushed up to the window, looking inside.

The fight had gotten pretty bad as Domitor had just slammed Shayla to the ground and was currently choking her out.

“We should stop this,” Vanilla said as she reached for the door, but she was stopped by the other woman.

“Nah nah, let it play out,” Floria said as they watched Shayla break out of Domitor’s grip and sling him across the room. “See? Your little girl crush can handle herself.”

“I know. But fighting of this caliber can not be healthy for anyone,” she said, winching as the fight continued.

With a chuckle, Floria patted her back, not taking her own eyes off the battle, “trust me, these two will feel a lot better once this shit is done. The bickering is getting to absurd levels.”

“There are better ways to handle anger,” she commented, causing the shorter woman to laugh.

“Says the Cakehurst. Aren’t you guys supposed to feel no emotions and just do your masters bidding?” Floria asked, poking at the Halwen’s side.

“That is the preferred state, yes,” she admitted, grimacing a bit at a few unpleasant memories. “We are born to be perfect, and it is expected at all times.”

“Aw, and you’re scared of not being perfect? Don’t wanna disappoint your family of assholes?”

“No, I’m tired of always being perfect. I just want to be…” she stared at the fight, eyes trailing Shayla. “... me.”

“Then just do it,” Floria replied simply, “just drop the little Miss Perfect act and just be yourself.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Sure it is,” Floria laughed, rolling her eyes. “Look at me for example; I’m all kinds of fucked up, and I’m still going forward.”

“I don’t understand how,” she said, shaking her head. “With all your faults and problems, you shouldn’t be this happy.”

“Who said I was happy?” she scoffed, taking on a more somber tone. “My life is a complete mess, run by a crime boss who has me dead to rights with a stupid contract. If I tried to be perfect I’d just implode. People aren’t supposed to be perfect, we’re supposed to just enjoy life. Do what we can to etch out a bit of existence for ourselves. Sure, it comes with all kinds of shitty moments and pain, but we all end up in the same place in the end. So we might as well enjoy the ride as best as we can.”

Vanilla looked at the shorter woman, eyes wide in surprise. “Those are… some very wise words from one such as yourself.”

“That sounds like an insult, but thank you,” Floria said with a smirk, giving Vanilla a gentle punch on the shoulder.

“To be honest,” Vanilla sighed, watching as the two inside the room just wailed on each other, no longer trying to block anything, “I’d love nothing more than to just drop out of the family completely and be my own person.”

“Do it, fuck those assholes,” Floria encouraged her, giving her a genuine smile.

“No,” she replied in a shaky voice as she grabbed her hand as it started to shake as well, “the last time I even voiced such a thought; I was forced to kneel on tiny shards for hours while the family mocked me. Then when I didn’t appear hurt enough they locked me in a tiny closet till I almost died of starvation. I-I can’t do that again.”

“What the actual fuck?!” Floria growled, eyes flashing with anger. “They punish you all like that?”

“Just the ones of us who don’t… conform properly. My twin sister, Cocoa, has always been the one to enjoy giving out punishments. Especially to me…”

“Yeah, you’re not going back,” Floria stated firmly. “I know I’ve said some fucked up shit to you, but no, fuck no! You’re a good person and I will not let you go back to that shit.”

This completely shocked Vanilla as she looked at the furious Kejtdra before her, feeling a different feeling inside of herself. As this was the first time someone had shown actual concern for her well being. “I… Thank you, but I don’t really have a choi-”

“Yeah yeah, fuck that, you’re with us now. Fuck the Cakehursts,” Floria reached over and grasped Vanilla’s shoulder firmly. “You’re one of us now, Princess.”

A soft smile floated onto Vanilla’s face as she relaxed her shoulders for the first time in a long time. Allowing herself to slouch a bit.

“That’s the spirit!” Floria laughed, looking into the room to see Shayla and Domitor were now broken apart, just talking to each other. That didn’t last long as Shayla roared and charged him, slamming him into a wall.

“This will take some getting used to,” Vanilla said with a little joy present in her voice. “But I look forward to it.”

“Well, this looks to be about to end,” Floria commented as they both looked in, seeing that Shayla had Domitor pinned against the wall, both of them growling into each other's face. “Not as bad as it could have been I guess.”

“I hope Shane didn’t get too hurt,” the Halwen muttered, not liking how much blood covered both of them.

“Fuck you, Dom!” Shayla sneered right into his face, pressing him harder against the wall.

“Fuck you, Shay!” Domitor spat back, their eyes basically touching.

“You know, I actually really would like too-” Vanilla was cut off as the two rivals suddenly began to kiss each other, very aggressively. Her words flew from her mind as she stared at the confusing scene before her, her mind not actually processing what she was seeing.

“Oh fuck…” Floria cursed, eyes wide.

The women watched in shock as the two inside the room began to move to the center of the room, still latched onto each other. They stopped, seeming to be speaking as Shayla moved a bit.

After a few moments they watched as Domitor began to strip the clothing from Shayla.

“That’s enough for me,” Floria exclaimed, turning away from the door as she took a few steps forward, mind reeling. She stood there, letting her breathing calm down as she tried to keep her mind straight. It took a few moments, but she was able to collect herself.

However she didn’t hear Vanilla move, so she turned around to see that she was stun locked, just watching the display inside with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open and trembling.

“Vanilla, you don’t want to see this!” Floria hissed as she rushed over and grabbed the other woman, seeing that the two in the room had progressed to actually having sex.

“I don’t understand…” she muttered as she was dragged away, her eyes still locked on the two passionately making love. “... what happened?”

Floria forced Vanilla away from the door and over to her room, pushing the doors open as she pulled her in. She sat her down on her bed and stood in front of her, placing both hands on the woman's shoulders.

But Vanilla didn’t seem to register anything as she sat there, face blank but covered in tears.

“I just don’t understand…”

“Yeah, it came out of nowhere,” Floria muttered, doing her best to not have a reaction right now. She’d do that in private somewhere else. “Vanilla?”

The Halwen just sat there on the bed, eyes shaking as her mind went crazy with questions. She did not know how to process what she’d just seen. “I… Shane loves Domitor?”

“I don’t know,” Floria sighed, shaking her head. “It doesn’t really matter now though, what’s done is done.”

Vanilla didn’t seem to hear or care for what she’d just been told as she clasped her hands together in her lap, sitting up straight, “I was finally… going to get to be myself.”

“Calm down, princess,” Floria rolled her eyes at the dramatic reaction of the other woman. “This doesn’t change what we talked about. We’re going to-”

“You don’t understand,” Vanilla said in an eerily calm voice. “I have been told my entire life to conform, or else I’ll regret it. I saw you three, acting like close friends and talking about a distant world, and I saw my chance to escape this life in you three.”

Floria frowned at the woman, a bit worried at the tone of voice she’d adopted.

“Then you all made me feel wanted in the short time I’ve known you, caused me to feel things I didn’t know I was capable of feeling,” she reached up and grabbed her chest, “I don’t know what love feels like, but I believe I felt it for Shane.”

“Whoa whoa crazy chicka, you can’t love someone after a SINGLE DAY!” Floria said a bit roughly, hating this overly dramatic turn Vanilla had taken.

“My family… My sister… they were right,” she said in a voice that was slowly becoming more and more emotionless. “Trying to be unique just hurts you. There really is no point in trying.”

“For fuck sakes,” Floria groaned, rage boiling up in her. She felt like she was talking to a wall. “Stop acting like this was a massive revelation to you and just sleep it off. Trust me, this little crush you had on Shane was nothing. You’ll be hurt in the morning, but you’ll live.”

But Vanilla just placed her hands on her lap, her eyes looking dead as she stared at the wall ahead, “Cakehurst’s do not cry, nor do they care for silly things such as emotions. We are perfect as we are and we do not need to change a thing about ourselves.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s not creepy at all,” Floria muttered as she waved a hand in front of Vanilla’s face, but she didn’t react to it. “Look, I know it hurts to see Shane and Domitor like that, but I promise, the feelings you had for Shane were small in comparison to the ones you’ll have with someone else one day.”

Vanilla’s eye twitched as she had a moment of regret flash through her. She’d finally felt something for the first time in all her life, and now it was gone. This wasn’t about Shane, exactly. This was about the fact that her family had been right. She tried to leave the family behind and she got punished for it.

If she hadn't been thinking such… bad thoughts about the family, then Shane and Domitor wouldn’t’ve done what they’d done. This was her punishment for defying the family.

She deserved this.

She deserved this.

She deserved this.

“Vanilla!” Floria snapped, seeing the other woman's eyes slowly dimming, in fact it seemed she was losing all color. “Snap the fuck out of what ever funk you’re letting yourself slip into. You are blowing this whole thing out of proportion!”

Yet her words meant nothing to Vanilla as she recounted the Cakehursts family motto over and over again in her head. Praying they’ll forgive her without punishment this time.

“You can leave me alone now,” Vanilla suddenly said in an emotionless voice, a wide smile forming on her face. “I am fine.”

“No, you are not,” Floria said sternly. “You got worst mental shit going on than me from the way your fucking acting.”

“I am perfectly fine. I just made a mistake, it is fixed now,” she replied, her smile never leaving her face. Her eyes gave her away though as they looked both sad and dead at the same time. “Please, vacate my room so I may rest.”

“Vanilla…” she said, eyeing her hard. “Sleep this shit off. In the morning, we’re ALL going to talk about this. Trust me though, once you wake up the pain will subside. It always does.”

“Thank you for the advice, I will heed it well,” Vanilla said as she stood up, putting her hands behind her back. “Good night.”

“Yeah, night,” Floria said with a frown as she stared at the other woman, not liking how she was acting. But this was one of those things you needed to deal with in time.

Besides, she had her own emotional problems to handle in regards to this situation. And to do so, she’d need to go to a vacant floor to vent her frustrations.

“If you need me… I’ll be ten floors down,” Floria said as she backed up to the door, holding eye contact with the other woman as she smiled back at her.

She didn’t get a response so she stepped out of the room and made her way to the elevators.

Now that she was alone, Vanilla’s eyes and neck twitched as very confusing and conflicting emotions ran through her body. She could never hope to process all of them, as none of them made sense to her.

There was an intense pain in her chest, causing her to have trouble breathing, but she couldn’t pinpoint the cause of this.

“It hurts…” she groaned as the pain within her chest increased to unbearable levels. Her body didn’t know what to do either, so the moment she took a step for her bed, she stumbled, ending up in the corner of the room.

She gave up, realizing she didn’t deserve the comforts of a bed. So she decided to punish herself just as her family would; no bed. She’d sleep on the floor to atone for her bad thoughts against the family.

But one single punishment wouldn’t be enough. Her sister alone would demand more.

All she could do was curl in on herself and think about what she’d done wrong.

Fullscreen this.

Fate: Retrogress

Chapter 51

A ray of sunlight shone right through the blinds over the window and right down onto my face, forcing me awake.

Letting out a grunt I shifted my head out of the ray of light and opened my eyes, momentarily confused. It took me a few more moments to realize I was currently wrapped up in Domitor’s Legs, held snuggle against him.

I growled a bit, but I didn’t react immediately, just enjoyed the moment. Then he stirred, so I ripped myself out of his grip and sat up.

He jerked awake, sitting up with a start, “is everything alright?!”

“Yeah, asshole,” I grumbled, not looking at him.

The two of us sat there in silence, the morning sun casting its light over the destroyed room, and my jacket on the floor.

I honestly do not know how to feel about last night.

Looking down at myself I saw a mess, causing me to frown, “fucking disgusting.”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly as I jumped up and walked into the bathroom, wanting a shower after everything I’d done the night before.

I stayed in there a little longer than needed, not wanting to confront Domitor.

“Enjoy the show?” I growled out loud, causing Rosemary to appear next to the shower as I let the water wash over me.

“I blocked it out,” she assured me. “I did not watch.”

“Well thanks for not being a creep,” I mumbled as she chuckled and faded away.

After some time I finally turned the shower off and stepped out, grabbing a towel as I stepped up to the mirror. I stared at myself, noticing I didn’t look as stressed as usual.

I felt a little better as well, like some of the pressure that’s been building up around me was released, giving me some breathing room.

Finishing up with drying myself off, I decided to finally step out of the bathroom.

Upon exiting I saw that Domitor had cleaned up a lot of the room, trying to fix the damage from our fight.

“You dork,” I said as I crossed my arms, shaking my head at him. “I’d’ve just left it as it was.”

“Yeah well I’d rather not be a rude guest,” he countered, also avoiding looking at me.

“Bruh, ain’t anyone even here to notice,” I chuckled, causing him to laugh a little in return.

“Guess you’re right,” he said as he stopped and turned to me, a conflicted look taking over his face. “What now?”

I knew what he meant, letting out a sigh I just shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Same,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. “It just kinda… happened didn’t it?”

“Yeah, it sure as fuck did,” I deadpanned.

We stared at each other, both clearly at a loss here.

“Are we… together now?” He asked carefully, gauging my reaction.

I couldn’t help but snort laugh, “fuck no.” But my laughing died down as I felt a really stupid and weird feeling in my chest as I saw him look a bit deflated.

If I were to be very brutally honest with myself, then I’d have to say I enjoyed last night. Not really the physical part, but the feeling of… I don’t know the word to use here. The feeling of closeness? Of letting myself just forget all my problems and be held?

Fuck this shit is cheesy and dumb.

My feelings towards Domitor are… fuck they’re complicated as fuck now.

“Damn it, Domitor,” I groaned, rubbing my eyes. “Why do you always fuck everything up?”

He looked at me a bit confused, and a bit hurt. But I continued talking before he could respond.

“We’re together, but I’M in charge, got that?” I stated firmly.

He just rolled his eyes at me, “so just like that we’re together?”

“Yeah, got a problem with it, asshole?” I growled, my emotions just flying all over the place.

We glared at each other, but then he started to laugh.

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” He asked, relaxing a bit.

“Guess so,” I replied, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “Now take a shower, I can smell your nasty ass from over here.”

He just chuckled as he walked around me and entered the bathroom.

Now that I was alone again I decided to gather myself. Because now I have to deal with the other two and their snide little comments. I know they heard that shit last night.

Especially my dumbass.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor and I slowly stepped out of our room, both a bit nervous at confronting the others.

“Well hey you guys!” Floria called from the middle of the room, sitting on a massive pile of pillows and blankets. “Good fuckin’?”

We both just stared back at her, unsure of how to respond to that. I mean, I honestly expected a lot of things, but not a happy Floria.

“Uh… yeah?” I said awkwardly as I made my way over to a couch, which had all of its spare pillows removed and added to the pile.

“What about you, Dom?” she asked, giving him a cool smile as she laid on her makeshift bed.

He sat down carefully on a separate couch from me, looking a bit uncomfortable. “How are you feeling, Floria?”

She chuckled at him as she just shrugged, “well right now, I’m pretty fucking great. I spent the whole morning gathering all the pillows and blankets from the other floors to make this sweet ass throne of comfort. But before that I destroyed an entire floor in an emotional outburst that rivaled all of my previous ones by a long shot. Seeing you two fuckin’ really really hurt me, but I’ve had my cry and tantrum, so I’m good now.”

The two of us just stared at her wide eyed, not sure how to actually respond to that.

“For real, you two, I’m happy for you,” she said, giving us both a thumbs up. “No hard feelings. At least from me,” she said, smiling a bit nervously. “Vanilla didn’t take it as well as I did.”

“Where is she?” I asked.

“I think still in bed, since she hasn’t come out of her room yet,” Floria said, relaxing back into her pillows.

“Have you checked on her?” Domitor asked, standing up as he looked towards her door.

“Her door is locked. I’m giving her a little longer before I try and force it open,” she said, appearing to be a bit worried.

“Ah well screw waiting,” I grunted as I stood up and walked right for her door. The moment I reached it I began to pound on it, shaking the entire door. “Yo, Vanilla, you awake?”

No response came.

“Shit,” I muttered as I stepped back and kicked the door right at the handle, breaking it open with ease. Stepping through the now wide open doorway I was greeted with a sight that sent a chill down my spine.

“Good morning, Shane,” Vanilla said as she stood in the middle of her room, back in her normal clothing and her hands behind her back. She looked like she did the day before, but there was something… off about her. She had a pleasant smile on her face, but it seemed way out of place somehow. Her goggles hide her full expression though.

I blinked at her as the others ran in behind me, coming to a halt next to me.

“Whoa…” Floria said, seeming to also notice how strange Vanilla was acting as she just waved at us.

“Vanilla?” I asked as I looked her up and down. Honestly she looked okay, but there was just this aura around her that was different than yesterday.

“Yes, Shane?” She answered as she smiled at me.

“You… good?”

“Perfectly. Why do you ask?”

I frowned as I looked at the other two, who were also frowning. She was clearly NOT okay.

“You…” Domitor began, but her head turning to him seemed to cut him off as he looked away from her in shame. “Erm, you know what happened last night, right?”

“Yes, we watched your fight through the window in your door,” she said in a tone you would expect to hear from a cashier at a grocery store. “We saw it transition from fighting to intercourse. Is this what you are referring to?”

“... Yeah, that,” he muttered, looking extremely uncomfortable.

They watched through a window?! Great. Just fucking great. Lost my virginity with a fucking audience watching.

“Are you good, for real?” I asked, getting a pleasant smile from her.

“I am.”

“Even though you had a crush on me?” I pressed, deciding to just be brutally straight with my questions here. “Floria said you didn’t take it very well.”

“A simple misunderstanding,” she replied, standing up straight. “My emotions were out of control, but they have been quelled.”

“Quelled?” I asked, looking at Domitor and Floria.

“It means ended,” Domitor answered, looking at her with a concerned expression. “You’re not acting like yourself, Vanilla.”

“This is how I always am,” she answered, giving a little curtsy. “What you three witnessed yesterday was just an act of ill judgment, not my true self.”

“Okay, but what are your thoughts on what you saw last night?” I asked, not really wanting an answer, but at the same time very thrown off by her actions.

“My thoughts?” she asked, tapping her chin. “I believe I do not really have any on that matter. I do apologize for us spying on you two, that was very improper of us,” she gave me a bow. “Very unbecoming of one of my status.”

“Okay this shit is too weird for me,” I groaned, turning and walking for the couches in the center of the lobby. “She says she’s good, I’m just gonna go with it.”

“Vanilla, you’re worrying the fuck outta me,” Floria said, but just got a chuckle out of the Halwen as she walked past them and followed me into the main lobby of our floor.

“There is no need to worry about me, I am perfectly fine,” she replied cheerfully, walking right for the bar.

I plopped down on a couch and raised an eyebrow as I watched her begin to bring out ingredients, “making food for you? Or all of us?”

“Would you like me to prepare breakfast for the group, Shane?” she asked, turning her entire body towards me as she put her hands behind her back again.

“Eh… sure?” I answered, not really liking how she was acting. I’m pretty sure this is because of what she saw last night, but I honestly do not know how to fix it.

The other two had walked over and were watching Vanilla lay out the ingredients, appearing to be a little more methodical than the previous times. More mechanical as well.

“I don’t think she’s handling this very well,” Floria whispered to us as she sat down on her pillow pile. “What do you think, Dom?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, keeping his voice low as well. “Did she say you two were watching last night? How much did you see?”

“Honestly, I stopped as soon as you started removing clothing,” she said, holding up a hand. “Scouts honor. Vanilla though, she got kinda overwhelmed and saw a LOT more than I did.”

“So she saw everything?” I asked, shaking my head. Now that I did not like at all. “Why the fuck were you two watching?”

“Because you two dumbfucks were supposed to be fighting, not boning!” she snapped, but then reeled herself in. “Sorry, guess I’m still a bit bothered by it. Point here is, she had a mental breakdown last night and I don’t know how bad it got after I left her alone.”

I glanced over to Vanilla, who had prepared a decent amount of food, but was still looking it over. “Should we… talk to her about it?”

“Yes,” Domitor said with a sharp nod. “But we need to be careful. If we-”

“Breakfast is served,” Vanilla announced cheerfully as she suddenly appeared next to us, holding up the food.

“Fuck me, you startled the shit out of me,” I muttered, not liking how she went from looking over the food to suddenly being right next to me.

“I made a traditional Cakehurst’s breakfast,” she said as she placed three plates down for us. “I do hope you enjoy.”

“You need to cut this customer service shit out,” I mumbled as I grabbed my plate and sat back, looking the food over. It was just a piece of bread, baked beans, and some shitty vegetables. And I think that’s some kind of black pudding. What the fuck?

“Erm, Vanilla, question,” I said as I saw the others were having a similar reaction.

“Yes, Shane?” she asked, turning her full attention towards me.

I do not like that, it’s creepy as fuck.

“Where’s the real food?” I asked, poking at the bland and unappealing food.

“Is the meal not to your liking?” she asked, a hint of a frown tugging at her wide smile.

“No, I mean,” I sighed loudly. “The food you made yesterday was a lot better looking than this.”

“Shayla, just try it,” Domitor said as he took a spoonful of the black pudding. Almost immediately he put the food down and just stared ahead. “Never mind.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Floria said as she tried a few of the food items, grimacing as she ate. “I mean… It's not bad. But it's not… good either. Not like the shit you made yesterday.”

“The food I prepared yesterday was not to Cakehursts standards,” Vanilla stated as she stood there smiling at us. “I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Reluctantly I took a bite of the food, at least wanting to give it a try. And just like Floria said, nothing like the food of yesterday. But I just shrugged as I continued to eat, finishing my plate rather quickly since there was so little food on it.

“Gonna eat that?” I asked as I took Domitor’s plate and began to eat from it, not even waiting for an answer.

He just shook his head as he looked a bit forlorn.

The entire time I was eating, Vanilla just stood there, waiting for… something.

Once I finished the second plate, I sat back, patting my stomach. “So, any dessert? More specifically, like the ones you made last night?”

She gave a bow as she moved back to the bar, pulling out a few more items for herself.

“Something is wrong with her for sure,” Domitor said, gesturing to the food. “I’ve only eaten her food a few times, but the food from yesterday tasted amazing. This though?” he said, lifting up the plate I’d just finished. “No flavor. Just… bland.”

“Bland food doesn’t mean anything,” I said as I picked something out of my teeth with my claw.

Floria didn’t look convinced as she finally finished her own plate, taking longer to eat it than I had.

“I think Domitor’s right here,” she said, a slightly worried look on her face.

Before I could throw back any kind of response, Vanilla returned, holding a plate of baked goods. Just like the ones from last night.

“Now we’re talking!” I exclaimed as I took the plate from her and sat back, placing it on my stomach. I rubbed my claws together as I looked them over, trying to decide on which one to eat first. I decided on a little cookie looking item.

With a crunch I shoved the whole thing in my mouth and began to munch away. But my excitement slowly drained away as I chewed, slowly being replaced by confusion.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, taking a few more of the baked goods and shoving them into my mouth, getting the same result with each one. “Vanilla, where’s the spicy shit?”

“Deviating from the recipe is not the Cakehurst way,” she said simply. “I again apologize for the inconvenience I caused.”

“But…” I muttered, looking up at her in complete confusion. “The spiciness was your personal flair.”

“A childish attempt at refining the works of my foremothers,” she replied, causing me even more confusion.

“I don’t… what are you fucking saying?” I asked dumbfounded.

“Improvement was not necessary,” she answered, giving us a little bow. “Anything else for you three?”

We looked at each other, clearly at a loss on what to do here. She wasn’t acting normal, nor was she making any sense. She wasn’t acting like the lovable dork I saw yesterday. Now she was just a robot.

“Wait,” Floria said as she looked past her at the bar, which was not cleared of any items. “What about your food?”

Vanilla just smiled back at her, “I am currently undergoing a fast.”

“A what?” I asked, causing Domitor to sigh.

“A fast,” Domitor answered, “she’s basically forgoing eating.”

“What? Why?” I asked, giving her a strange look.

“Personal reasons,” she answered simply, that wide smile never leaving her face.

“That’s dumb though,” I said as I looked between the other two. “Right? That’s like super fucking dumb, right?”

“Yes, but she has her reasons,” he said, seeming to be trying to hint at something with his eyes.

But honestly I wasn’t smart enough to get what he was trying to say here. So I just dropped it.

“Anyways, Vanilla,” I said, getting her full attention. “I’m going to ask this one more time, and this is your chance to say whatever you want; are you okay?”

“Shane, I am perfectly fine,” she answered, her smile widening to the point I thought it’d break her face.

While I knew this was a lie, there didn’t seem to be anything I could do about it. I guess she’ll just have to work herself through this on her own. Whatever this is.

“If I am no longer needed, I must take my leave,” she said as she took a step back and bowed yet again.

“And go where?” Floria asked, her face scrunching up as she stared up at the Halwen.

“To the Arena of course, if Vicky is still present I’ll need to reconnect with her,” she said, her smile twitching a bit.

“Wait, you’re leaving us?” Floria asked, jumping up and stepping over to the other woman. “But you’re a part of the gang, remember? You said last night-”

“I was not in my right state of mind last night,” Vanilla interrupted her, keeping up her cheerful composure. “Anything I said was false and should be discredited as such.”

Floria crossed her arms, glaring up at the smiling Halwen. “Okay, I’m done playing around here. You are sticking with us and that is final. You hear me, Cakehurst?”

“Yeah, you’re kinda fucked now,” I chuckled, shaking a finger at her. “You forced yourself into our group, and now we like ya. So boom, you’re one of us now.”

Her smile faltered hard as her face went through a mix of emotions.

“Please don’t leave, Vanilla,” Domitor said in a voice that even pulled on a few of my heartstrings.

After a moment her face settled on an expression; a wide smile.

“I must return home,” she said simply. “There is no reason for me to remain on this island.”

“Yes there is,” Floria stated firmly, squaring up with the other woman.

“What reason would that be?” she asked, her face momentarily shifting into a grimace before resuming her static smile.

Floria raised a claw and tapped it against her head, “you Cakehursts like easy money and business shit, right?”

“That’s a bit crude,” Vanilla answered. “But not incorrect.”

“So stick with us and we’ll take you along for the ride to their home world,” she said as she cast a hand towards me and Domitor. “Unlimited money making opportunities.”

Vanilla seemed to consider this as she tapped at her chin. “You do make a decent point.”

“I make a great point,” Floria countered with a smirk as she put her hands in her pockets. “Besides, you’re growing on me. Would suck for you to leave right when we’re getting to know each other.”

I started to throw my own comment into the mix, but decided to hold back. Floria seems to know what she was doing, I’d probably just screw it all up if I tried to add anything.

The words of the short Kejtdra seemed to affect Vanilla as she stood up a bit straighter. “Er…” However she quickly recovered and resumed her proper stance, “that is indeed an acceptable proposal.”

“Radical,” Floria chuckled, holding out her hand. “So shake on it, Cakehurst. You’ll stick with us no matter what.”

Vanilla stared at her hand, seeming conflicted. But after a few moments she reached out and shook her hand firmly.

“Now you’re fucked,” Floria said with a wink.

“Welcome to the gang, officially,” I laughed, giving her a thumbs up.

“Good luck,” Domitor said, a relieved smile on his face.

She looked between the three of us, her wide smile still plastered across her face. “I look forward to working with you three going forward.”

“Okay you’re going to need to drop the act,” I said as I stood up, stretching my arms and wings. “It’s weird.”

“This is how I speak,” she replied, putting her hands behind her back again.

“Okay, so go back to how you were yesterday,” I said as I crossed my arms.

“I can n-”

“Goooooood MORNING contestants!” Flavio’s voice suddenly roared all around us, scaring the absolute shit out of me as I jerked so hard I fell over the couch next to me and landed on the floor. “It is currently groove time here on Ephemeris Island! I hope you all enjoyed the amazing digs! Brought to you by Galby of course!”

“Just fuck, did he have to yell out of nowhere like that?!” I groaned as I pulled myself back up, frowning at the others.

“If all remaining contests could make their way back to the arena, then we’ll get started with the hubolostical final rounds!”

I glanced at Vanilla, seeing she was back to her smiling self. Guess we’ll drop this subject for now, at least till the end of the tournament.

“Okay then, you guys ready to watch me kick some ass?” I asked as I opened my menu, seeing that most of my armor was still out of commission. That sucks, but at least my mask was good to go. I felt more confident when my face was hidden.

“If by kick some ass, you mean watch you get beat to a pulp and still somehow win, then yes, we’re ready,” Domitor said with a little smirk.

“Har har, fuck you,” I retorted, returning his smirk as I began to equip individual pieces of gear.

Floria looked between us, rolling her eyes, “you two are weird as fuck together.”

Yeah, I know.

Galben's Tournament: Semi-Finals

Chapter 52

“Do you have it?” Lorenzo asked as he stared down at the two brothers, Henbeck and Rendrik.

Rendrik gave a sharp nod as he opened his pocket dimension and pulled out a crate with a strange symbol on the side.

“We tracked down a shipment coming from some kind of massive bakery,” Henbeck said as he brother opened the crate to reveal some kind of strange looking fruit. “It was strangely heavily guarded for a bakery shipment.”

“Not to mention all of the guards had the exact same Thorn, and were annoying as all get out to fight,” Rendrik added, tossing a fruit to Lorenzo.

The man caught the fruit and looked it over, a dark smile on his face. “So this is the Fossil Fruit, a food item used to restore Sucro to those who need it. A perfect short cut.”

“Yes, sir,” Henbeck answered as they handed some of the fruit to Leem, who ate it immediately.

“Excellent,” Lorenzo said as he took a bite of the fruit, feeling something immediately wash over him.

A smirk played onto his face as he turned his attention to the front of the church, his eyes looking past all of the bodies and right at the Scapil.

It hadn’t taken them long to find one, the only problem was an entire church had been built around it. Of course that was a short lived problem, as they didn’t provide much of a challenge to dispatch.

Finishing off the Fossil Fruit, he began to stroll towards the Scapil casually, confident in his actions.

“Should we test it first?” Rendrik asked as they watched their boss approach the pillar.

“No need,” Lorenzo exclaimed as he slapped his hand down right in the center of the Scapil, living up to his title of The Insane.

The moment his hand laid flat against the top of the pillar a large spike flew up and penetrated his palm. He let out a grunt of pain as an even more intense pain exploded deep within him.

A pulse rocked through his body, pushing him to take a knee.

His crew didn’t move to help him, just waiting to see what would happen next.

He stayed down for a moment, not moving.

Right when they began to wonder if he was alive he stood up, a massive smile plastered on his face.

“Sir?”

Lorenzo held up his hand with the Stomata in the middle of it and made a fist. “It’s show time.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“They’re back!” Louie barked as he sprinted into Nova’s house, running around looking for her. “Nova, Phantasm Troupe are back! Come on!”

He finally found her in the backyard training with a few Living Dummies.

“Nova, did you hear me?!” He yelled as he watched her dodge and weave around the dummies lightning fast strikes.

“I heard you, my ecstatic friend,” she called out as her horn flashed, causing the dummies around her to stop moving and slump over. She then turned to him as she levitated a towel over to herself, winching as the pain in her chest flared again.

“Should you be training with your injuries?” He asked, taking notice of the way she walked.

“I will be fine, Summer Breeze will heal any further damage I cause myself,” she replied, coming to a stop before him. “Now, you say they have returned?”

“Yeah!” He exclaimed, returning to his excited self as he began to jump around in front of her. “I told them you were here and they want to meet you at the Mellow Pie!”

Nova gave a nod as she turned to walk around her house, “perfect. Come along, Lou.”

“Are you going to convince them to make an Enforcer so I can help?” He asked nervously as he ran around her as she trotted.

“I will do as I promised,” she assured him, giving him a warm smile.

“Sweet, you’re the best, Nova!” he barked happily.

It did not take them that long to make it to the Mellow Pie, once they arrived they saw that all the members of Phantasm Troupe were present, along with Bronwyn.

“Princess Nova!” Roxxy yelled out as she saw them enter.

Flippy Dew and Summer Breeze rushed over and hugged her tightly.

“We thought Champion killed you!” Flippy Dew cried, unable to control her emotions as she felt relieved to see the older mare.

“He attempted too,” she replied, returning the hug despite the pain. Once they broke the hug she regarded all of them at once. “Now, we have a few things that need discussing.”

Louie barked once, getting a nod from Nova.

“Of course, Princess,” Roxxy said as she gestured for her to take a seat at the largest table in the room.

“Please, just call me Nova,” she chuckled as she walked over and took a seat. The others took up their seats around the table, all facing her. Louie jumped up in a free chair next to her, looking extremely happy.

“Now,” she started, leaning forward, “where to begin?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Quest complete! 3 skill points awarded!

“Sweet,” I muttered as I finished the last task for my Daily Quest, a bit sweaty after the run.

“So that’s stuff you have to do every morning?” Domitor asked as he and the others caught up to me.

“Yup, free skill points and shit,” I replied as I opened my menu and dumped all three points into Reflexes.

“No idea how that works, but it’s fucking cool,” Floria commented as she walked next to Vanilla, who was walking all proper like, hands behind her back.

I lifted my mask to wipe my face with a towel Domitor had brought for me, not enjoying how much of a workout I’d had to do for this Daily Quest.

“I’m just going to say it,” he said as I dried myself off. “This new outfit makes you look like an even bigger asshole than you normally are.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at this, as I knew what he meant. It was an unintended side effect of just looking so damn good in a leather jacket.

The absolute best thing about not having the chest armor on though was now my wings were able to be used, since I’d cut slits in the back of the jacket.

“Yeah, the jacket adds to that effect,” I agreed as I pulled the mask back down and tossed the towel aside.

“It’s not the jacket,” Floria snickered, but I ignored the little jabs at my appearance. I at least still looked like a guy, so I was thankful for that.

“What do you think, Vanilla?” I asked, wanting to see if I could get her to drop this stupid act she was putting on.

She just smiled at me with the same smile she’s had on her face since we left the hotel, “you possess the appearance of a fearsome barbarian.”

“Is… is that an insult or a compliment?” I asked, looking at Domitor.

He looked to be trying not to laugh as he just shrugged, “take it as a compliment.”

“Alright then,” I said, looking back at Vanilla as I flexed hard, making my muscles ripple and pop, just as before. “What do you think of this?”

“Very imposing,” she said with a nod, not having a reaction like the last time I did this to her. This caused me to frown and stop flexing.

“Come on, you going to play this stupid act up forever?”

“What act?” she asked, cocking her head.

“Forget it,” I said, throwing my hands up. Spinning around I began stomping for the coliseum.

The others were asking her similar questions, but I didn't pay attention as I increased my pace, wanting to get to the arena to see who my next opponent will be.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Round four of Galben’s Tournament is about to begin, folkaronies! But first, a word from our sponsor, Galben!”

Scamp’s ears perked up as the radio finally blared to life again, the others also turning their attention to it as the strange radio announcer spoke.

“We offered this chance to all as a sign of our good will,” a new voice, more than likely this Galben guy, said proudly over the radio. “Many have come and died for our favor. Do you hear that, Emilyn? The people flock to die for our favor.”

“Okay, Galby, no need to-” Flavio tried to interject, but was silenced by the booming voice of Galben.

“We knew you would be too cowardly to appear before us, Emilyn! Another win for us! Another loss for you!”

“Sorry folks!” Flavio exclaimed as it sounded like he was fighting for the mic. “Our great host Galben is just saying ‘hi’ to a friend of ours!”

“Friend? She is no friend of ours! She is a-”

“Whoa! We can not say that on the air!” Flavio yelled, followed by the radio cutting off.

Spark blinked and then looked at his two friends. “What was that?”

“Lovers quarrel probably,” Mallogory offered, shrugging as she helped Scamp fix their bed.

“Huh,” Spark muttered, going back to eating his breakfast.

It wasn’t long before the radio came back on with just Flavio talking.

“Sorry about that, bongos! Technical difficulties! However we’re now ready to start! All of our groovy competitors are finally here and ready to rumble!” There was a pause as an obviously fake crowd cheered in the background. “Yesterday was an eventful day! But today promises to surpass it in terms of excitement and drama! Just look at our first match of the day! Shane Beltosh versus Mag! A match up of the century!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This one will prove quite difficult,” Rosemary said as I walked out into the arena, my opponent not there yet.

“Domitor said she’s all about magnets and shit,” I said aloud, frowning. “But as long as she doesn't touch me she can’t use her full powers against me.”

“Your metal bones make you susceptible to her attacks, so you need to be very careful here,” she warned. “However, you still get a challenge.”

“Oh yippy,” I rolled my eyes, taking my place in the center of the arena.

“I want you to get to level nine before the next match,” she said as she appeared before me. “You gain one of your signature abilities then. So this challenge will be harder and should trigger a quest.”

“More system bullshit?” I groaned, hating how much shit came with this Ego.

“Do not worry, this one is a simple power up ability that you’ll love,” she promised. “Now, for your challenge you must allow her to touch you and beat her while she’s at her full potential.”

“Ew, hate that for me,” I muttered, causing her to laugh a bit. “Fine, I can beat anyone if I actually try.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Quest accepted! ‘Rank S: Magnetic Rule!’

Rank S? Great.

“Perfect! That’ll be plenty to get you to level nine!” she exclaimed, seeming very pleased with herself.

The doors on the other side of the coliseum suddenly blew open as a beefy looking Halwen walked into the arena, a smile on her face as she approached her spot opposite of me.

“It’s your unlucky day, Kite,” she laughed, squaring up with me.

I really do not get this ‘kite’ insult.

“Same for you, bitch tits,” I threw back, smirking as I flexed on her. “Come get some.”

The bell rang, signaling the start of our round.

Sighing loudly I dashed over and stopped right before her, holding my arm out. “Slap it, you need all the help you can get.”

She eyed me suspiciously, but she still slapped my hand to the side as she jumped back a few times. The moment her hand hit me a very uncomfortable feeling washed over my body, like my bones were being tugged on from all directions.

“You’re either the bravest Kejtdra I’ve ever met, or the dumbest,” she said, flexing her arms as she pulled a bag out of her Vacuole.

“A little of both, so let’s stop talking and get to fucking shit up,” I said, drawing my wooden sword as I thought of the best way to handle her.

“You asked for this,” she said as she dumped the bag out, revealing it was just a lot of shredded metal. She crossed her arms and then flung them wide, sending the metal before her flying in all directions, landing all around us. “Now I’m ready,” she smirked as she pulled out a few knives.

Oh she’s going to be annoying to fight for damn sure.

Using my wings I propelled myself sideways across the ground, watching everything around me.

As I neared her she twisted her wrist, causing my wings to jerk hard and send me downward instead of sideways.

I recovered as fast as I could, but four knives were already flying towards me. Dodging them would be child's play since they were coming form so far away.

So I simply dodged to the left, smirking at her. What I didn’t expect was for them to change direction in mid air and fly right into me, embedding themselves in my chest and one in my left arm.

“Ah fucking shit!” I yelled in both pain and anger, eyes now ablaze with rage as I stared her down.

“Come on, be smarter, Kite,” she laughed as she turned her fist, causing the knives sticking out of me to begin to twist and wiggle around, causing even more damage.

With a grunt I ripped the four knives out of myself, but they kept trying to pull themselves right back into me, cutting into my hands a bit.

Growling I built up some Ego into my hands and obliterated the four blades, removing them from the equation.

“Now that’s a neat trick,” she muttered with a smile as she twitched her fingers around.

I dashed towards her again, aiming to shoulder check her into next week.

But as I neared her she simply waved her hand to the side, causing my right leg to get dragged out from under me. This ended up with me doing the splits, which hurt like hell since I wasn’t limbered up for a move like that.

“You skank,” I growled as I stood up, my hips burning from the sudden position I’d been pulled into.

“You Kejtdra, always forgetting about those metal bones of yours,” she chuckled, shaking her hand from side to side. I wasn’t able to control myself as I was shaken violently from left to right. “So, crushed to death, beaten to death, or stabbed to death? Which do you prefer, Kite?”

“I like a mixed bag of getting hurt and shit, so let’s do all three,” I said with a wink as she stopped shaking me around.

“That so?” she said as she put her hands on her hips, staring at me a bit seductively.

I rolled my eyes at her and pushed Ego throughout my body, attempting to block out her control by coating my bones in Ego. Yeah, Ego beats magnets!

“Alright, try me now, bitch!” I laughed, fully confident.

Now that I was sure she couldn’t control me anymore I rushed towards her, watching as she raised a hand. I smirked as I got closer, waiting for her reaction to realizing her powers no longer affected me.

She raised an eyebrow as she pulled her hand towards herself, causing me to suddenly get pulled right at her.

Ah shit.

I wasn’t able to recover as she held up her fist, my face flying right for it. Then with a boom my face was pulled right into her outstretched fist. My mask held up, but I was a bit worried about my face behind it.

My body landed on the ground right next to her as she held her hand down at me, keeping me pinned to the ground.

“So you’re just dumb,” she stated, smirking down at me.

I’m just surprised my Ego didn’t negate her powers.

“I’m going to be as nice as I can be,” Rosemary said as she leaned over me. “Putting Ego around your METAL bones does not negate the effects of MAGNETS. That was a very idiotic thought process.”

“Bite me,” I groaned to both of them.

“I don’t like the taste of chicken,” Mag laughed as she raised her other hand and made a fist. All the metal in the area lifted up and flew towards us.

Fuck me running.

Straining with all I had I was able to fight against her magnetic force and get up to my hands and knees.

“Ooo, you’re a strong one, Beltosh,” she laughed, pushing down harder against me.

I grunted as a few metal items slammed into me, sticking to me as they cut into my body a bit as they tried to get closer to my bones. This shit sucks.

As I was hit with more and more metal, I forced myself to focus as my Perception Field spread around my body, passing over her.

For a brief moment I felt like I could move, so I took advantage of that and exploded into action as I rocketed up at her and slammed a fist into her jaw, delivering a perfect uppercut to the dumb bitch.

She let out a panicked yelp as the force that had been pushing down against me faded away.

“Now you’re fucked!” I roared as I grabbed her clothes and pulled her towards myself as I punched her in the face again to disrupt her focus further. On my next punch I powered up my fist with my Ego.

As my fist flew towards her face again, she growled as her hand shot up. My eyes went wide as she snapped her finger, causing my wrist to snap backwards. However I continued my attack as I slammed my broken fist into her face, the bone that was sticking out impaling her in the right eye.

“FUCK!” I yelled as I shook my hand, causing it to flop around uselessly.

“My fucking eye!” she screamed, stumbling back as she held her face as green blood flowed down her face and hand.

“Don’t be a whiny bitch!” I roared as I used my wings to propel myself at her again, filling my good hand with Ego.

“Shayla you fucking idiot, use ranged!” Domitor yelled, causing me to stop my rush towards Mag as she gathered herself.

“Oh that’s a good idea actually,” I muttered, jumping back as I pushed more Ego into my good hand.

Mag wasn’t about to let me do that as she flexed her hands and slapped them together. A massive force slammed into me from all sides, feeling like I was being crushed as my body began to scrunch in on itself.

I growled as I fought against the force, still building up Ego in my hand.

“Come on, you fucking Kite!” she yelled as she slammed them together again, increasing the pressure around me.

“Gonna need to do better than that!” I grunted.

A smirk suddenly appeared on her face as she raised one of her hands and pointed it at me. “Try this one then.”

She yanked her hand towards herself, causing every bone in my body to jerk forward.

This erected a hoarse groan from me as I felt like my bones were being pulled from my body.

“Oh fuck this,” I gasped out as I felt the need vomit just from the feeling alone.

Metal bones suck now.

I let myself get pulled towards her, as it was the only way to keep my bones inside my body.

Mag let out a laugh as she spread her fingers and winked at me. “Game set match, Kite.”

“Yeah? Well Ego beats magnets!” I yelled as I threw my hand forward, sending a wave of cyan energy flying right at her. I couldn’t see her anymore, but I knew she was snapping her fingers, because my fucking hand broke, followed by the elbow, and then the shoulder.

A scream was heard as my Ego hit her. Even though it had been cut off short, there was still enough of it to do some damage. But the bitch still had it in her to snap her finger again, breaking my knee.

“Crap!” I yelped as I collapsed onto the ground. Oh I hope she’s done for, otherwise I’m gonna have to improvise.

Grunting, I forced myself to stand up, leaning on my good leg.

To my great annoyance, she was standing back up. Pretty badly wounded, missing most of her right side, arm included.

Luckily, she appeared to be blind now, so I had that going for me.

“You damn, Kite,” she said, spinning her hand around as all the metal in the area began to spin around her. “When I find you, I’m ripping every bone from your body and leaving you a sulking pile of feathers!”

I smirked at her as I began to gloat, but I was interrupted by Domitor’s yelling.

“Do not fucking talk, she doesn’t know where you are! So zip it!”

I just raised my hand and flipped him off, but he had a point.

So how do I handle this? She currently has a wall of metal flying around her, and if I get hit by any of it I’m pretty sure she’ll know where I am. I could hit her with another Ego blast, but that’s boring, doing the same attack twice.

Hmm… wait, if I can do a Kamehameha, then… Oh that would be badass.

Problem though.

Both my arms were out of commission. One arm completely fucked, while the other just has my hand dangling off of it. Can I even build Ego with those kinds of energies?

“Yes, you can,” came the frustrated voice of Rosemary.

Okay, then let’s do this.

I raised my arm, pushing Ego up into the air above my stubby wrist

Mag was spreading the metal around herself, looking for me.

Keeping my focus on the air above my arm, I watched as it slowly formed into a wide shape.

“What, are you scared now, Kite?!” she called out, trying to taunt me.

The Ego finally finished forming as it took on a disc shape.

“Fucking badass,” I muttered, causing Mag’s head to snap right towards me. “Oops.”

Her remaining arm shot towards me as all the metal flew forward. I flung my arm downward, sending the Ego disc flying right for the blind Kejtdra. It cut through some of the metal, but it all kept flying right for me.

“Great shit,” I muttered as metal sliced through my body and clung to me.

My body was then grabbed very roughly as she yanked me straight down to the ground, breaking a few bones in the process.

“A pile of feathers and flesh!” she screamed as I felt my faceplate being pulled roughly, like it was about to be ripped off.

“Shayla!” I heard both Domitor and Floria yell out, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Spectators must remain in the stands!” I heard Flavio call out.

Then everything stopped at once. The pressure around me let up instantly, followed by the metal clinging to me falling away.

I collapsed immediately, completely spent at this point. My body felt like it’d been thrown into a rock tumbler or something.

Fuck I hope she’s done now.

“Folks, what an amazing dramatic finish! Shane is this round's winner!” Flavio exclaimed into his mic.

Quest complete! 12 skill points awarded!
Level up!
New Ability unlocked! ‘VofKai’
You have 15 unspent points.

“Awesome,” I muttered, coughing up a bit of blood.

“Why are you stupid?” Domitor asked as he and Floria came up on either side of me as I laid face first in the dirt.

“I’m not stupid,” I muttered as they rolled me onto my side. “I won didn’t I?”

“Yeah but you’re all broken and shit,” Floria laughed, lifting my broken arm and wiggling it around. “See?”

“Floria, don’t do that, it’ll make the injuries worse,” Domitor said with a frown as she shrugged and dropped my arm.

“Is Mag… alive?” I asked, not sure how my attack landed on her.

“Oh, she’s alive,” Floria assured me. “You cut her in half, but she’s crawling away right now. She’s a fucking Halwen, she’ll go off somewhere and cocoon her ass to regenerate. Just be happy you actually hit her, otherwise you’d be dead.”

I just nodded as I groaned.

“Another spectacular round, kid!” Flavio exclaimed joyfully as he floated down next to me.

“Well I’m happy you’re enjoying yourself,” I grunted out as Domitor helped lift me so I was sitting up.

Flavio’s hands began to glow as he held them over me, filling me with whatever energy he had.

“Alrighty, Shanny, I have a question for the final round!” he said with a wide smile.

“Yeah?” I asked, feeling a sense of relief as my body slowly healed, my bones snapping back into place. Oh it hurt like fucking hell, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

“For the final round, would you like to be called Shane, or your real name?” he asked as I sighed.

“Just keep doing it like you’ve been, alright?”

“You got it, dudette!” he laughed as my wrist fixed itself with a loud noisy crunch.

“That’s gross,” Domitor muttered as he held me up.

Finally the last of my bones fixed themselves as Flavio stood up, “there you go! One gallytastic body ready to go for the final round!”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, getting a thumbs up from him as he began to move towards Mag as she crawled away. “Maggy taggy! Wait up, you little vixen! Let me get those wounds fixed for ya!”

“Come on, let’s go take a break,” Domitor said as he helped me stand, grunting as he did so.

“I can walk, dipshit,” I said as I broke from his grasp and began to walk on my own back towards the stands.

My body felt fine, since he’d healed everything, even my fatigue, so I didn’t need any help. But…

I did a little fake limp and groaned, “fine, I guess I do need a little help, you fucking asshole.”

He chuckled as he came up next to me and stood up on his hindlegs, letting me lean on him as he helped support me as we walked towards the stands.

Floria just laughed as she walked next to us, humming to herself.

Up ahead I saw Vanilla still standing where she’d been when the match started, just smiling at us as she waited for us to return.

“We need to break her out of this funk,” I muttered, getting a nod of agreement from Domitor.

“I’m working on it,” Floria said cheerfully as she stared straight at the Halwen.

I nodded at her as I looked at Vanilla, feeling a bit bad about being partially responsible for her acting so… robotic and creepy.

Galben's Tournament: Dramatic Finish

Chapter 53

“So fucking bland,” I complained as I hate the snacks Vanilla made for us upon request. But just like this morning it left a lot to be desired.

The Halwen just stood there smiling at us, watching us eat her food with a pleased expression on her face.

“Come on, Van’s, what happened to the good food?” Floria asked as she frowned at her half eaten snack.

“This food is the approved food of the-” she began, but was cut off by Floria’s sigh.

“Forget I asked,” the short Kejtdra groaned.

I finished mine and stood up, stretching my body out as the match before us started to draw to a close.

“If that skinny Kejtdra down there beats that Halwen, then he’s going to be a real threat to you, Shayla,” Domitor observed as he chewed away on his own food.

“That guy?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “He controls wind and has fancy rich boy footwork with that sword. I’m just gonna smash his face in while he cools me down with a refreshing breeze.”

“How the hell have you won so many fights and you think like this?” Domitor asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“With my skills, and these babies of course,” I said, flexing my biceps and kissing each one of them.

“I don’t see what you see in her,” Floria teased, slugging Domitor in the arm.

“Me either,” he admitted with a smirk, causing me to glare at him.

“Hey, Domitard, keep your opinions to yourself,” I said as I plopped back down between them, keeping my eyes on the fight.

“Challenge time,” Rosemary announced as she appeared a few seats down from me. “For this guy, you must defeat him with just your sword. No ranged attacks, but you can use your Perception Field and VofKai.”

“Gay,” I muttered out loud, getting a few strange looks from my friends.

“I want you to do something different than just using that brute strength of yours and focus on your fundamentals,” she said with a wink.

I just rolled my eyes as the match below came to an abrupt end, with the Kejtdra coming out on top with a fancy little twirl that removed the arms of his Halwen opponent.

“Okay fine, I’ll admit the guy is pretty good, but I can still take him,” I said with a shrug as I watched the man stand down there as Flavio floated down to heal them.

“I think I know of a way to counter him,” Domitor said as he rubbed his chin.

“Don’t tell me,” I chuckled, patting my katana. “I’m gonna just beat him at his own game.”

“That’s incredibly stupid of you,” he sighed.

“Nah, I got this,” I said, giving him a thumbs up as I pushed myself up, knowing I’d be called on here soon. “Just you three sit back and watch me kick his skinny ass.”

“Oh this’ll be fun,” Floria commented, giving Vanilla a playful shove. “What do you think, Van’s?”

“I concur,” she simply said, bringing a frown to Floria’s face.

“Come on, show some emotions, Honey Bun,” she said in an almost pleading voice. Yet Vanilla just smiled wider. Floria just stared at her with a sad look on her face.

“Anyways!” I exclaimed, not liking the awkward mood that was slowly starting to creep up on me. “Wish me luck, fucknuts!” I began to stroll towards the edge of the seats, aiming to just jump down when Flavio announced me.

Which didn’t take long as he returned to his platform and began to do his elaborate introduction of the final round.

Leaning up against it, I opened my menu, looking my stats over. I was about to pump them all into strength again, but Rosemary placed a hand in front of me.

“Wait, before you make this choice, I need to explain your new ability; VofKai,” she said, causing me to groan. “No, you’ll love this one.”

“How?” I asked, rubbing my face.

“The best way to explain this, for someone like you to understand, is this; in that TV show you love so much, the fighting one.”

“Dragon Ball Z?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as she peaked my interest.

“Yes, that one,” she said with a nod. “When the hero-”

“Goku,” I corrected her, turning my full attention to her.

“Yes, when Goku is trying to fight his first two real threats, he learned a new ability that increased his powers for a short period of time.”

“Bitch, are you saying I have a Kaioken ability?!” I asked as I began to bounce in place in excitement.

“In essence, yes,” she confirmed, causing me to get a bit giggly as I rubbed my hands together. “VofKai can be active for as long as you want, but the longer it’s up the more strain it’ll place on your body and Soul. It’ll increase all your stats by a wide margin, and will allow you to perform feats that normally you could never do. With better stats and practice you can negate some of the negative effects of using VofKai, but for now you need to be careful with how long you use it.”

“Oh trust me, I can handle it for a LONG time,” I laughed, my mind racing with all the cool shit I could do with this.

“To get the most out of it, you need to increase the Ego stat, that way it’ll increase your power even further,” she said, tapping at my menu. “VofKai is the perfect ability to mix with any and all of your other abilities. It can even be stacked up on itself, but that’ll put a strain on your body.”

“Exactly like Kaioken,” I replied, smirking. “I’ve always wanted a powerup that I could activate whenever.”

“I’m serious, for now just use it as needed. If you activate it too early you might end up burning out before you win the fight, so choose the correct moment to use this ability. And do NOT stack it right now,” she warned sternly.

“Yeah yeah,” I muttered as I proceeded to dump all fifteen skill points into Ego.

“... I still would’ve spread those out,” she complained, but I just shrugged.

“Shane Beltosh, it is your time to return to the arena one final time!” Flavio announced, causing me to smirk as I grabbed the railing and threw myself over, landing onto the solid ground below me.

Standing up straight I began to stroll towards my spot as my opponent watched me with his hands behind his back, his eyes squinted for some reason.

As I reached my starting position he gave me a nod, “I have been watching all of your fights, Shane Beltosh.”

“Then you know you’re in for a world of hurt, huh?” I asked, smirking at him as I flexed my right arm.

“On the contrary, I’ve noticed you fighting recklessly and without concern for yourself,” he said in a calm tone, causing me to shrug at him.

“Yeah? But look where that’s gotten me,” I pointed out, placing my left hand on the sheath of my sword.

“In a real world setting, your recklessness would’ve ended in your death,” he countered. “Yet I respect you and your honor code. You have shown you do not wish to kill your opponents, and that is rare in these trying times. So I will return the favor by only incapacitating you for this match. There is no need for either of us to die here today.” He then bowed, “I am your final opponent today; Ensam Feng.”

I could think of a thousand insults for this guy, but something inside of me told me to keep my mouth shut.

“Alright then,” I said as I rolled my shoulders. “I’m not going to be using any ranged attacks, so do with that information as you will.”

The corners of his lips slowly curled into a small grin as he stared at me, “if you are to be believed, then this fight shall be enlightening to both of us.”

“Sure,” I shrugged as the bell rang.

Unlike previous rounds I decided against just dashing in and engaging him.

Ensam pulled out a wooden sword and held it out to his side, “I shall meet your bokken with one of my own. It’s only fair.”

“Whatever helps you feel better about losing,” I replied as I began to advance on him, keeping myself lowered into a fighting stance, hand on the handle of my katana as it rested in its sheath.

He began to stroll towards me as well, keeping his sword held out to his side as he kept his calm gaze locked on my own.

As I neared him I suddenly dashed forward, drawing and slicing with my katana in one fluid motion. However he simply turned his body, completely dodging my attack. Before I could react his own sword moved like a blur in front of me, causing me to be pelted with at least five strikes before I could get my sword into position to block. Our wooden blades connected with a massive whoosh of air.

“Impressive,” he said as I used my wings to dash to the side, trying to perform a slice for his legs, but he casually brought his sword around and caught mine, easily deflecting it. “But you are an amateur with the blade. Barely any technique, just the bare fundamentals and brute strength.”

“You want technique?” I growled as I swung for him, watching as his blade flew up to meet mine again. But I stopped my attack and shot my left hand out, catching his blade. “How’s this for a technique!”

All he did was raise an eyebrow as I swung my sword hard for him as I held him firmly in place. But as I neared him he punched a fist at me, sending a massive amount of wind right into my face, sending me flying backwards as I lost my footing.

“Always be ready for the unexpected,” he lectured as I stumbled across the ground and landed in a kneeling posture, eye twitching in anger. “Your mind seems troubled, Mr. Beltosh. As if you have a massive burden upon your shoulders.”

“Yeah, life be like that,” I growled as I stood up and placed my katana back in its sheath, resuming my fighting stance.

“Let me be serious for a moment, try and keep up,” he said as he sliced his sword through the air, causing all of the dust and dirt on the ground around us to fly upwards due to the sheer power of his movements, followed by him dashing towards me at an incredibly high speed.

I could just barely track his approach as I drew my sword and attempted to catch him, but he flew past me, resheathing his sword as he posed behind me. My eyes went wide as I felt a massive wave of pressure approaching. The air before me filled with flashes of his blade as the after images hit me with so much force I almost dropped my sword. But I held firm as I took a few too many hits before I got my own blade up to block a few of the attacks.

Finally it ended as I stood there, breathing heavily from the beating I’d just received. He was still standing right behind me, our sides right next to each other.

Shit… this guy is...

“You have potential,” he said calmly as I held my sword in front of myself, not ready to turn on him to attack yet. I honestly need a second to recover after that. “Attack me. I will only parry and counter.”

“Stop trying to teach me shit,” I grumbled as my Perception Field spread around me, catching him in it. Time seemed to stop as I spun around and went for a strike on his face, but just as it was about to make contact, his sword seemed to spin and hit my own, knocking it aside as I went off balance from missing the attack.

He struck out with his palm, hitting me in the face hard enough to knock me away from himself, and even sent my helmet flying away from me.

“Head wear such as that hinders your sight,” he pointed out as he turned to fully face me.

I just grinded my teeth as I rolled my shoulders, time to mix up my approach.

No flying messes things up, but they said nothing about ‘jumping’.

Time for me to be serious as well. Now he’s fucked.

Squaring up with him, I dashed towards him, eyes locked on his. As I neared I sliced my sword through the air, but he just parried it upward. However I let the momentum carry me as I dashed backwards and then jumped forward, using my wings to launch myself higher into the air. I came straight down on him, performing a front spin midair as I sliced vertically.

He of course blocked that, but that wasn’t my real attack as my back foot came right behind my katana and caught him in the face.

I landed on the ground in a ready stance as he stumbled back a bit, his still mostly closed eyes locked on mine.

“Now things are getting fun,” he said with a cool smile as he held his sword out to his side again.

Not wanting to have a dialogue I propelled myself forward, spinning through the air using my wings so that as I reached him I performed two quick attacks, which he easily deflected. I followed with my momentum as I slithered across the ground and used my tail to try and swipe his legs as I performed a heavy upward strike.

His own tail shot out and wrapped itself around mine, holding tight as his sword parried my attack. We gripped each other's tails tightly as we held close as I began to attack him over and over again, putting everything I had into each strike as I tried to maneuver my blade around his incredible defense.

I kept pushing myself to increase my speed more and more, starting to move so fast that I’m pretty sure anyone watching could no longer follow our movements as my arms and upper body moved in almost a blur. But he was unaffected as he just matched my speed no matter how much I increased it.

Even activating my Perception Field didn’t help as he still moved to block any attack I threw out. Our tails were in a tug of war with each other as we tried to pull the other off of their feet.

“Now, I will fight back,” he announced as his stance changed. He blocked one of my strikes with his hand as his sword flew past my guard and hit me right in the face. My head recoiled back, but I held my ground as I kept up my attack, now having to block as he began to counter me.

Shit this isn’t looking good!

“Use it!” I heard Rosemary yell in my head.

Good enough time as any!

As I blocked a counter attack, I flexed as I activated a skill. “VofKai!”

A cyan glow spread around my body as I felt myself increase in power. My attacks began to reach a point I could barely keep up with them, but he just smiled as he just matched my speed.

I gritted my teeth as my blade was now just leaving after images that he was still able to see and defend against. Not only that, he was countering me! What is this guy?!

Out of nowhere his hand shot out and grabbed my jacket, followed by his sword slamming right down into my left shoulder so hard that I crumbled in on myself. He followed this up by using his tail to sling me across the arena.

My body bounced and rolled across the ground a bit before I slid to a stop.

I grunted as I coughed and began to push myself up, seeing that he was waiting for me to stand up before reengaging me. My shoulder burned from the hit, but at least it wasn’t broken or dislocated.

“Come on, bro! Beat him already! My new body hinges on you winning this!” someone in the stands yelled out, causing Ensam to shake his head.

Ignoring the yelling guy in the stands, I focused as I kept up VofKai.

The fact he was keeping up with me with this shit active is just dumbfounding. But that doesnt matter. I can still win this, I just need to stay focused.

“Mr. Beltosh,” Ensam said as he began to walk towards me. “I am sorry, but my protégé is a bit impatient. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go all out and end this, as a show of respect for you and your potential.”

“Go all out? Yeah, you do that, you’ll need it,” I grunted as I prepared myself.

“Do not do that,” Rosemary warned sternly, but I ignored her.

The music in my head changed from its normal tune to a totally different one as Ensam neared me.

He exploded towards me as I clenched my jaw as I yelled, “VofKai times two!”

Ego exploded out of my body as I felt myself get unbelievably stronger, but at the same time my body felt like it was burning up from the inside out. It wasn’t that bad, so I could withstand it!

The moment he reached me it felt like a wave of pressure slammed into me as his sword flashed so fast I barely could follow it, but thanks to my boost in power I was able to meet him with my own blade, our two swords clashing together violently as we tried to break through the others defenses.

We were now a match it seemed, as I could just barely keep up with him at his full power, but he didn’t seem phased as he kept up his assault. The area around us began to break up and get blown away as each of our strikes had so much power behind them that each time they landed they shattered everything around us.

I began to lose as his attacks began to increase in intensity and speed, reaching a point I feared was beyond me!

“Fuck!” I yelled out as I began to strain to keep up with him.

“NO!” Rosemary roared.

“VofKai times three!”

It felt like my body was breaking as my power soared even higher, to a point I clearly was not ready for. But I pushed through it as I caught back up to him.

One of his attacks hit just right, causing me to be pushed back, but we didn’t relent as we began to dash around the arena, clashing swords each time we neared each other. And each time our swords clashed the ground around us exploded, leaving craters everywhere.

My body was burning up so fast I feared I’d drop before I was able to defeat him!

On one of our collisions he sent a wave of wind at my face, causing my vision to blur for just a moment. Which was long enough for him to parry my sword and get his sword through to my face.

But my hand shot up and caught his blade, slowing it just enough that when he hit my face it sent me flying back, but not knock me out.

I tumbled for just a moment before I caught myself and landed upright, sword up and ready.

Yet he didn’t push his attack as he stared at me with his eyes fully open, an impressed look on his face.

We began to approach each other again, but this time we didn’t attack each other as we got within a foot of each other, staring each other down as we held an intense stare between the two of us.

This guy… is incredible.

“Shane, you’ve impressed me,” he said as he continued to hold my gaze.

I grinned at him as I gave a nod, “I respect you, Ensam. I’ve never fought someone like you before.”

He smiled as he held out his hand, “then let’s acknowledge one another fully.”

My hand reached out and gripped his as we shook hands firmly.

“Now, let’s finish this,” he said as he broke the handshake and began to walk backwards.

“My real name is Shayla by the way,” I said as I took a few steps back, sheathing my sword.

“Shayla Beltosh,” he mouthed as he held his sword out to his side. “It has been a pleasure fighting you. Give me your all, right now. May the better swordsman come out on top.”

“I will if you give me your all as well,” I replied as we both lowered a bit.

Everything went quiet as we stared at each other. If we’re going all out, then this fight will end very quickly. I need to go beyond my limits here.

I swear I could hear Rosemary groan as I prepared myself.

“VofKai…” I said slowly as the wind began to pick up around us as Ensam prepared himself as well. “Times…” He smiled at me, his body lurching forward as he moved right for me. “Five!”

The Ego exploded out of me so violently that it seemed to rival his wind as it bore down on me. My body screamed in absolute agony, but I pushed through it as I dashed forward as well.

As we neared each other, our blades flashed, followed by both of us sliding past each other as I sheathed my sword. The moment it clicked into its sheath I heard him gasp, bringing a relieved smile to my face.

But that was short lived as the realization hit me. My body jerked and twisted as I was pelted with so many hits I lost count and could only get beat like a rag doll. As soon as the onslaught ceased I fell to my knees, completely spent as VofKai ended violently, causing my body to expand and deflate, followed by blood pouring out of every orifice and wound.

“I warned you,” I heard Rosemary whisper as I sat there slumped on my knees.

Behind me I heard Ensam groan as he walked over to me.

Painfully I turned my head to see him, his left arm ruined and his chest wide open as my slice had so much power behind it that it sliced right through him as if it was a metal blade. But he was still standing as he raised his sword and put it right under my chin.

“Amazing, Shayla,” he grunted, seeming just as spent as me. “Now yield.”

I stared up at him, holding a stern gaze. But after a few moments I lost it and began to laugh hoarsely. It devolved into coughing as my body was done for and unable to do much now.

“Yeah… I yield,” I said after I recovered my breath, accepting defeat for the first time in my entire life.

Quest failed! ‘Rank S+: Win Tournament!’

A look of relief washed over his face as he put his sword away and fell to his knees next to me. “Thank you.”

“For what?” I grimaced, the pain in my body just increasing more and more as my adrenaline wore off.

“For making me go all out. It’s been far too long,” he said as he held his bleeding chest. He then regarded his shattered left arm, “if I hadn’t sacrificed this arm, you’d’ve won that exchange.”

“I did my best,” I admitted, coughing up a decent amount of blood.

“Amazingly dramatic finish, brodies!” Flavio exclaimed as he landed next to us and placed a hand on either of us, slowly healing our wounds. “Congratulations, Ensam Feng, you are our groovtastic winner! Galben will grant you your favor as soon as you are finished being healed!” He then looked at me with a look of sympathy, “I’m sorry, Shane. You put up an epic fight, but second place doesn’t come with any kind of reward.”

“It’s okay,” I groaned as it was taking a bit to heal my wounds. “I wasn’t going to be able to use it anyways. I’m under contract to-” I stopped talking as I saw the dark form of Rig’s shadow thing looming up behind Flavio, smiling right at me.

Flavio seemed to sense this as he turned and saw the shadowy creature. “Ah, so someone with a Contract style Thorn has you in their grasp?”

I couldn’t respond to that as I stared at the smiling face of the shadow creature.

“Unfortunate,” Ensam muttered as he finished healing before me, standing up.

“Yes! You beat that weak guy like he was nothing!” the guy from the stands yelled as he rushed over to Ensam. “Now lets go get me my new body!”

Ensam regarded the man with a stern look, “if you will wait, I will. But I will remain here till my former opponent is healed and back on their feet.”

“Nah, forget them, go do it now!”

“Barnaby!” Ensam snapped suddenly, causing all of us but Flavio to flinch. “Be patient or else.”

“Or else?! You promised, forget your opponent, you wiped the floor with them! Let’s just go get my new bod and get out of here!” the Halwen named Barnaby exclaimed.

Ensam began to rub his face, looking annoyed.

“You good, Shayla?” Domitor asked as he ran up to me and knelt down, looking worried.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I assured him, feeling a mixture of emotions after losing. Sure I accept it, but that doesn't mean I like it. This marks the one and only time I’ve lost a fair fight, and I wasn’t sure how to process that.

“Well, I thought you were amazing out there,” he said with a reassuring smile, reaching out and wiping some blood from my face. “I couldn’t even see you two for most of that fight.”

“Thanks, Domitard,” I said with a smile as I let him clean my face of blood.

“Cute little couple!” Flavio exclaimed with a wide smile, causing me to frown and push Domitor’s hoof away. That was enough of that then.

Domitor just rolled his eyes at me as he continued to help me by fixing my jacket and mane, which had come loose from its ponytail and was hanging all round my face now.

“Here,” Floria said as she walked up, holding my helmet for me.

“Thanks, bud,” I said as I took it and put it away in my Personal Inventory to let it get repaired.

“Now how the fuck did you do all that?!” she asked excitedly as Vanilla stepped up behind her, looking the same as she had all morning.

“Just skill,” I winked, not wanting to explain everything.

“All good to go!” Flavio said as he stood up and smiled at all of us. “Thanks to you two, this event has been amazing! Out of all the contestants we had here, you two were the funniest to announce for!”

Ensam bowed gracefully, “it was my pleasure, my good sir.” He then turned to me and held out a hand. “And thank you, Shayla Beltosh, for an amazing duel.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I took his hand and allowed him to pull me up. “Hey, you’re the first person to fairly beat me in battle, so feel pretty proud of yourself.”

He chuckled at this, but then his face became serious. “I do not know what trauma or traumatic event you have faced, but there is no need to hide behind a mask and a false identity. You are strong enough to stand above all threats that you will face, you just have to take it all seriously.”

I regarded him with a conflicted look, feeling a mix of emotions. “Thank you, Ensam. But it’s honestly more complicated than that.”

“It doesn’t need to be,” he said in a wise voice. “Things are only as hard as we let them be. You can’t solve it all in a single day, but over time, you will triumph over whatever is troubling you.”

He didn’t know what I was going through, but hearing him say this made me feel a bit better. Things won't get better in just a few days, but if I keep pushing forward, then eventually I’ll be back to my normal self.

Or… what if I shouldn’t be fighting to get back to normal, but instead making a new normal for me that I’m just as happy with?

“That’s… very mature and profound of you,” Rosemary said in surprise, causing me to chuckle.

“Ensam, come on!” Barnaby whined, causing the Kejtdra to sigh.

“Flavio my good man, lead the way if you will,” Ensam said as he put his hands behind his back.

I let out a sigh as I reached over and ruffled up Domitor’s braided mane, much to his annoyance. “Come on, you guys, let’s get out of here.”

“Oh, Shane,” Flavio called out as he spun to face me. “Hold up a moment, brodam, Galben and I want to talk to you once we’re done with Ensam!”

“Uh… Okay?” I said with a confused frown, causing him to laugh as he struck a pose and then spun away, resuming his walk for Galben’s own platform.

“Well that’s either good or bad,” Floria muttered as she leaned into Vanilla’s side. “What do you think, Vantastic?”

“I believe the Great Galben wants to talk with Shane,” she said in a monotone voice, a smile plastered there as always.

“Damn it, give me something, Vanilla!” Floria snapped as she grabbed the taller Halwen by the shoulders and shook her. “Come on, you were so expressive and happy last night! Go back to that!”

“I am sorry, but I was not in my right mind last night,” she replied calmly, letting herself be shaken around.

“Quit that bullshit, you’re my friend and I don’t care if we haven’t known each other long, you’re already apart of my life and I don’t want you acting all robotic and shit!” Flora yelled as she shook her harder.

“If it will help I can attempt to be more ‘expressive’, would you like that?” she asked in a voice that clearly showed she was just saying what was expected of her.

“No! I want it to be real!” Floria exclaimed as she let go of Vanilla and began to walk away, her hands in her pockets.

“Floria, are you-” Domitor began, but she cut him off.

“You two make sure she doesn’t do something stupid, I need to cool off,” she called over her shoulder as she stomped away.

Vanilla just waved after her and turned to us, giving us that same creepy smile.

“You need to cut this shit out,” I growled at her, just causing her to cock her head.

“What do you mean?” she asked in a way that made me want to deck her in the face right here and now.

Domitor must have seen me clenching my fist because he stepped between us. “Alright, let’s all just take a step back and cool off. Okay, Shayla?”

“Yeah,” I grumbled as I turned and looked away from her, not wanting to actually hurt her.

“Fuck me, this group is screwed up,” I heard Domitor mutter to himself.

Yeah, we are.

Problem solvers

Author's Note

Re-upload because I'm dumb and forgot a single part of this chapter near the end.

Problem solvers

Chapter 54

“The entire arena is shaking due to the sheer power of their blows! These two are out of this world!” Flavio exclaimed in so much excitement it practically flowed out of the radio.

The three in the train car all stood there, full attention locked on the words coming out of the radio. They’d all gotten so into the fight that they’d all just jumped up and been reacting to each announcement with enthusiasm.

“Shane’s body is glowing an intense blue color, but it appears to also be smoking! As if he is burning from the inside out! Can he keep this up?!” Flavio seemed to be on the edge of his seat, just like his audience. “Ensam has momentarily blinded Shane with a gust of wind to the face! He’s broken through Shane’s defenses and seems to be going for- NO! Shane caught the blade with his hand and has been sent flying!”

The sound of Scamp grinding her teeth could clearly be heard as she clenched her mechanical fist.

“The two are now posing up and approaching each other again! What will they do next?!” a moment of silence passed. “Folks, you’re not going to believe it, but they’re face to face and seem to be talking! Let’s listen in!”

There was a squawk of static as the mic seemed to be lowering quickly.

“-acknowledge one another fully,” a new male voice said as the mic neared them.

There was a short pause before the same man spoke again, “now, let’s finish this.”

The sounds of footsteps moving away from the mic could be heard, then a new voice spoke up suddenly.

“My real name is Shayla by the way,” a raspy female voice said, causing everyone in the train car to go crazy.

“I knew it was Shayla!” Scamp yelled, looking completely overjoyed now that it was confirmed. She and her wife embraced immediately, squeezing each other tightly in relief that their daughter was still okay.

The radio squawked again as the mic was pulled back up to Flavio, “exciting stuff! The two contestants are powering up, looking to want to end this fight right here!”

“Shayla has gotten a lot more powerful than the last time I saw her,” Spark commented, getting a proud smile from the two women.

“That’s our daughter! She’s always working her ass off to overcome her problems!” Scamp proclaimed proudly as she slammed a hoof into her chest.

“If anything she’s thriving in an environment like this!” Mallogory exclaimed as she looked just as proud as her partner.

“Here we go, folkaronies! They’re dashing towards each other now!... and they’ve clashed! But it was so fast not even I am quite sure what I just witnessed! They’re standing with their backs to each other and… Ensam is hurt!”

“YES!” Scamp roared, pumping her fist triumphantly.

“What’s this?! Shane didn’t escape unhurt! He’s being pelted with the after images of attacks! They seem to be endless!” There was a silent pause as everyone leaned towards the radio. “And that’s it! Shane is down! Ensam is approaching! A sword to Shane’s throat!... Shane has yielded! Ensam is our winner!”

“Fuck!” Scamp bellowed, her mood swapping into rage as she punched a few holes in the wall next to her.

“Okay, calm down, Scamp,” Mallogory warned as she pulled her wife away from the wall as she tried to punch it a few more times.

“Damn it,” Scamp growled, shaking her head. She’d never seen her daughter lose in a tournament setting, so she wasn’t used to the feeling. And it felt shitty. She felt bad for her daughter, knowing this must be a devastating moment for her, and she wasn’t there to comfort her.

Of course she knew her daughter wouldn’t win all of her fights, but up to this point she had, and Scamp had wanted to be there when she lost her first one. To guide her through the process. As a person used to winning is affected the most by a simple loss. She knew this all too well.

“She’s going to be okay,” Mallogory assured her as she pulled her into a hug, trying to sooth her raging wife as she stroked her mane.

Spark just stood there, shocked that she’d lost as well. This Ensam guy must’ve been worse than Flavio made him sound, because that’s the only way he could see Shayla losing to someone after having that much power at her disposal.

“This train needs to hurry up,” Scamp growled, letting her wife hold her so she wouldn’t destroy any more of the train.

“We’ll be there by tomorrow morning, so just hang in there, my love,” Mallogory assured her.

Scamp just grumbled to herself, hating the thought that her daughter was dealing with this loss alone.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You know if you used a real sword you’d wipe the floor with anyone you fought, right?” Floria said as we all stood around waiting in a hallway.

“Yep, I am aware,” I muttered, rubbing my face.

“Then do it.”

I just shook my head, “I’m not out here to kill people, so I’m good.”

“Killing people isn’t that bad,” she chuckled as she pointed at herself and Domitor. “I mean look at us, we kill people, ain’t nothing wrong with us.”

“I remember the face of everyone I’ve killed,” Domitor said in a monotone voice as he looked at his hooves with an emotionless expression on his face. “They haunt me.”

“Okay, but look at me! I’m not bothered by it, and I’ve been doing it for years!” She said, ignoring Domitor as he stared at his hooves. “So let’s go pop that cherry and kill some bad guys!”

I just stared at her with a ‘what the fuck’ style expression. “No.”

She blinked a few times then just shrugged, “suit yourself. What about you, Vanchilla? Kill anyone yet?”

Vanilla just stood there and gave a single head shake, “violence is unbecoming of a Cakehursts such as myself. I am no Maiden.”

“Am I the only one here who’s okay with killing?!” she asked, looking between all of us, getting two blank stares, and one static smile, in return. “Well shit, maybe I need to reevaluate myself…” she muttered, fidgeting with her broken faceplate.

“Alrighty, Shane! We are ready for you!” Flavio called out as he leaned out of a doorway at the end of the hallway.

Pushing myself off the wall I waved for my friends to follow me.

Upon stepping through the door we found ourselves in an overly fancy room, with statues of Galben everywhere, in various poses.

“Ew,” I muttered as we walked towards a massive throne where Galben himself sat with a glass of wine in his large hands.

“We must admit we enjoyed your performances,” he said to me as we came to a stop in front of him. “Too bad you were not strong enough to win.”

“What the big guy means is,” Flavio said as he slinked up beside the large serpent-like body of Galben, “we’re both very impressed with you. The light you give off is beyond any we’ve seen. The same for your partner in crime there,” he gestured to Domitor, causing both of us to frown.

“Hmm,” Galben hummed as he held up a hand, causing a strange tube to come out of it and enter the glass of wine, slowly draining it.

My frown deepened at this, but I chose to not say anything about what I was witnessing. Luckily the rest of my friends decided to keep their mouths shut as well.

“So... uh… what did you two want to talk to me about?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off of the strange way he was drinking his wine.

“Where did you achieve this power of yours?” Galben asked, or more demanded by the tone of his voice. “It is not a Thorn.”

“And you two give off some wackadoo vibes to boot!” Flavio added excitedly.

I glanced at Domitor, who just shrugged at me when he noticed me looking at him. “Eh… that’s a bit hard to explain.”

“Try,” Galben said sternly.

“Erm, so like…. We’re not actually from this dimension,” at their blank stares, I add, “as in, we don't come from this world at all.”

“And that power is called Ego,” Domitor interjected. “It uses the Soul to create powers for each person. So in that regard, it’s similar to Thorn’s. The only difference is anyone can unlock their Ego, while from what I know these Thorn’s are very rare, since they kill something like ninty five percent of those who attempt to get one.”

I just stared at him dumbfounded as he turned to me and smiled.

“I’ve been doing a lot of questioning since we’ve been here.”

“Good shit,” I said, giving him a little praise before turning back to Flavio and Galben. “So yeah, that’s basically it.”

Galben shook his head at me, “such power is wasted on one such as yourself. We do not sense much in the way of intelligence coming from you.”

I scowled at him, but Domitor and Floria snickered, “yeah, I never claimed to be a smart mare. Is that why I’m here? To be insulted?”

“Of course not, broham!” Flavio assured me, but Galben laughed loudly.

“You are here because we demanded it, to sate our intrigue,” he said with a smug look on his face, causing my eye to twitch. There’s only so much shit I can take, even from someone like this, before I say some out of left field shit. “If we desire to insult your lowly self, we shall.”

“Mighty sorry about Galby here, he has a bit of trouble connecting with people without hurting them,” Flavio apologized, forcing a laugh. “If you wouldn't mind, could you tell us what you wanted to use your favor for?”

“Well,” Domitor began, knowing I couldn’t talk about it, “those two are under a Thorn Contract with a guy named Rig Fanden, and he made them come up here so they could win it for him.”

“Our favor was for the winner, not a third party,” Galben stated firmly, looking pretty annoyed. “Trying to game the system would not be wise.”

“But that’s now what I wanted,” I interjected, getting their attention. “I wanted to use the favor to get back home.”

“I think that would have been out of our range of things we can do, friendo,” Flavio admitted, getting a growl from Galben. “But!” he added before Galben could speak, “we might know of how to help you.”

“But I didn’t win the favor, so why would you help me?” I asked, a bit confused.

“What’s the catch?” Floria asked from behind me.

“Oh there’s no catch, we just like you,” Flavio laughed. “You got that mojo that is rare to see nowadays. Plus you made the last round exciting! So we won’t give you any kind of favor, but we can point you in the right direction!”

I looked between the two, trying to see the angle here, but it was hard to gather anything with Flavio standing there looking absolutely excited while Galben just glaring at us.

“Okay then, go for it,” I said, crossing my arms.

Flavio jumped down and landed in front of us, his body collapsing into itself like a slinky toy before shooting right back up to normal, which caught me way off guard. I did not think his body could do shit like that.

“Over the years folkaronies have gone missing while searching for a way to leave Eris, and for the longest time I thought they were just dying. But then later those same people would show back up with tales of other worlds,” he said, his clothing changing into that of a professor as he adjusted a fake pair of glasses on his face.

I just blinked at him in confusion, as watching his body morph around into new clothing was… disturbing.

“Galby over here has been interested in this topic for years, so I’ve done a little digging, ya dig?” he said as he struck a little pose for effect. “So far I’ve got nothing. BUT! I have a hunch, a mundo bingo level hunch!”

He didn’t elaborate, just smiled at me like he was waiting for something.

“Eh… what’s your hunch?” I asked after a moment, realizing he wanted me to ask him that question.

“I’m glad you asked, babllama!” he exclaimed as he struck a different pose, hand straight up in the air. “The top of the tree at Frokinko! There’s a few labs run by the government up there that hold some very tembyoupa stuff! And from what I can tell they’ve added a few new items to that little collection. Namely something that allowed a massively wanted criminal to escape from them! It is my mocha blontay hunch that that item is a way off of Eris!”

“Huh…” I rubbed my chin, thinking. My mom mentioned she’d found a hermit that had an item that allowed her to leave Eris. Maybe this is a similar item… “How do I get up there?”

He chuckles, pointing at Vanilla, “you have the solution to all your problems right in your group! A Cakehurst is the key to everything in this situation.”

I glanced back at Vanilla, who’s smile was wavering a bit, a look of discomfort seeming to threaten to take over. But she snapped out of it and went right back to that stupid ass smile.

“Lucky us then,” I muttered as I turned back to them. “Anything else you can tell me?”

Flavio wasn’t looking at me, but right at Vanilla, a frown on his face, “well that’s not groovy at all.”

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at his sudden shift in moods.

“Your friend there, she’s had some… terrible things happen to her that’s affecting her right now,” he said, seeming to also be a bit uncomfortable. “Whoa, that is a weak Sucro aura.”

We all looked back at her as she shook a bit, trying to keep up her happy façade, “I am fine.”

“She is not, not at all,” Flavio countered. “I do not know what has caused her to vibe like this, but you three need to watch out for her.”

“I am fine,” she repeated, but this time her voice cracked a bit, causing her to clear her throat a few times.

“See, Cakehursts normally have this deflated puff pastry vibe to them, however your friend is looking a lot closer to a melted soggy mess,” Flavio said as we all looked at Vanilla, who clearly did not like all this attention.

At least she was somewhat showing emotion now.

“That is enough,” Galben said sternly from behind us. “We are not here to help them with their pitiful problems. Our interest has waned in this matter.” He started to lift himself up, but then he glared right at me and Floria, who stood right behind me. “Rig Fanden, what a greedy name,” he raised his hand, causing a light to shine over us.

I had to look away as the bright light was cast over us, seeming to wash away all the shadows around us, and even the ones within us, as I felt… cleaner now.

“There, that is for the entertainment you’ve provided us, now leave this place,” he all but growled as he slithered for a large door in the room.

“What did he just do?” I asked, looking at Flavio.

“Aw, big guy does care,” he said as little hearts exploded out where his eyes were. “He just severed the connection between you two and that dubious Contract Thorn.”

It took a few moments for what he said to register with me, and when it did, a massive feeling of relief washed over me.

Quest complete! 25 skill points awarded!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Passive Skill awaiting selection!
Access to Gear Shop unlocked!
You have 34 unspent skill points!

“Wait wait wait,” Floria exclaimed behind me, rushing past me and grabbing onto the shoulders of the taller Flavio, “are you saying he just got us out of our contracts?!”

“Yupperdoodles!” he laughed, causing her to let him go and fall on her ass.

She placed both hands on her head as she began to rock back and forth silently.

“Erm…” I looked around awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. Do we just let her have her moment? Or do we say something here?

Domitor seemed to be in the same boat as we watched her rock, even Flavio took a few steps back, smiling but looking unsure of how to react.

Then she began to cry, and not normal cries either, but full on wailing.

We all stood there, not sure of what to do for her.

Then Vanilla walked past us and stepped up next to Floria as she sat hunched over crying into her hands. She bent over and placed a hand on Floria’s shoulder.

“It is okay,” she said simply, but still in that customer service voice, with the smile still plastered on her face.

Floria, still crying, looked up at Vanilla, her face a mess from tears and snot. “Thanks, Vanny…” she then choked back a few sops as she looked back to her messy hands. “... I just… I’m free…”

She latched onto Vanilla’s legs and held onto her as she resumed crying. Vanilla just stood up straight and put her hands behind her back, standing like a smiling statue as she let the shorter woman cry into her legs.

I looked at Flavio and gave a small smile, “so… I guess tell Galben thanks for us.”

“You got it, dudette,” he said, reverting back to his normal mood as he gave me a thumbs up. “We’ll probably keep an eye out for you four, just in case.”

I gave a nod as we all looked back at the two women.

A small smile danced onto my face as I knelt down next to Domitor so I could lean against him.

I’m just happy I don’t have to worry about Rig anymore.

Unexpected help

Chapter 55

The four of us stepped out of the coliseum and began our walk to the edge of the island so we could fly down to the city far below. Honestly I am not looking forward to carrying Vanilla, she’s still kind of creeping me out with that wide smile that just never seems to leave her face.

“So we’re going to the top of the tree?” Domitor asked with a frown.

“Denmor,” Floria interjected. “The tree's name is Denmor.”

“Eh yeah, we’re going to the top of Denmor to get into those labs and figure out how to get home,” I replied as I sighed, because I just knew this wasn’t going to be simple.

Quest accepted! ‘Rank S+: Reach the labs at the peak of Denmor!’
Quest accepted! ‘Rank X: Return home!”

… what the fuck is a Rank X?

“Milestone Quest,” Rosemary chimed in as she walked beside me. “Think of them as the main storyline quest in a video game.”

‘I don’t play video games,’ I thought to her in annoyance, as she keeps trying to use games as a reference for everything.

“Okay, then think of it as the main goal of each of the sessions of Dragon Ball Z. They work through each session with one goal in mind, and that’s what a Milestone Quest is.”

‘Huh, okay I get it now,’ I thought as I nodded a bit. ‘In the future just use DBZ as a reference point, it’s so much easier to understand.’

She snickered at me a bit but didn’t let me in on what was so funny. “Anyways, a Milestone Quest has a quest reward and award between one hundred and two hundred skill points.”

I stumbled a little when I heard this. That’s a lot of points!

“Yes it is!” She laughed. “Shayla likes big numbers?”

‘I do, they-‘ I narrowed my eyes at her as I realized she was making fun of me. ‘Assfucker.’

We still had a bit more walking to go before we reached the edge, and the group was mostly quiet outside of Floria bugging Vanilla. Who seemed to be doing her best to keep her eyes forward and not react to her.

So I decided to check over the stuff I unlocked after completing that Rank S+ quest.

First I decided to check out the item shop and see about getting something fucking cool.

“Please, just do this one thing for me,” Rosemary begged as she leaned next to me. “Get a real weapon as a backup, just in case.”

I shook my head, ‘I’m not-‘

“You don’t have to kill anyone, just have it in case a threat presents itself and you HAVE to save one of your friends.”

I scowled at her, not wanting to indulge the thought. But to be honest, she did have a point. If a non-sentient creature attacked us then I’d feel better having a real sword to kill it.

‘Fine,’ I conceded as I opened the weapons category and swiped over to the melee weapons. ‘Just something simple, though.’

“Then might I suggest a Bonding weapon?” She said as she pointed to a different menu. Upon pressing it I saw a different selection of weapons to appear. “They get stronger as you do, so they’re similar to an Ego weapon in that regard.”

‘Sweet.’ I scanned through the pictures of weapons, looking for one that spoke to me.

‘That one,’ I thought as I selected one of them.

“A longsword? Why not stay with the aesthetic we got going on?” She asked, a bit pouty.

‘What aesthetic?’ I asked dumbly, causing her to groan.

“This is all lost on you, isn’t it?”

‘What?’

“I rest my case,” she said, chuckling a bit as she faded away.

I checked my Personal Inventory and saw that the new sword was waiting there for me. Selecting it caused it to appear on my hip, with Jessie Stabby’s handle sticking out above the longsword making it easier to grab the wooden sword. Both swords sat perfectly on my left hip.

‘I shall name you… uh…’ I rubbed my neck, thinking hard. ‘... Ah! Sir Stabsalot!’

The Longsword glowed for a second as it accepted the name it’d been given.

Well now that that’s sorted, guess I should pick a new Passive Skill.

“Alright, this is another important choice,” Rosemary stressed from within my head. “Level ten passives only come once, and this is when you get to pick what you’ll be immune to.”

‘Seriously? That’s pretty bitchin’ at least,’ I thought as I looked the long list over, seeing some pretty cool ones.

“Now, there is one that is simply the best, and it’s what Loric and I wished we’d picked, it’s-”

I selected Electrical Immunity, since I hated getting shocked by that one asshole that worked for Rig. Plus my mom’s keep warning me about going out in lightning storms, so I’d like to get around that shit.

“... you fucking idiot,” Rosemary cursed as she appeared next to me, catching me off guard as I looked at her. “If you would just listen for a second and not just click things, you would have heard me telling you to pick Ego Immunity! It would’ve made it so no one else's Ego could affect you! That goes for all Soul based abilities! You fucking donkey!”

‘Geez, sorry,’ I frowned, not used to her being so… hostile and crude. That’s kinda my thing, she’s supposed to be the calm and collected one.

“Why can’t you just…” she trailed off and sighed, “I’m sorry, but you need to think before you act. It’s going to get you killed, or worse.”

‘What could be worse than dying?’ I asked as we all neared the edge of the island.

“So much,” she muttered as she faded away with a grim look on her face.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Louie jumped through the portal opening and landed inside of the Enforcer’s Order Hall, overjoyed to finally be allowed here.

“This is so cool!” he exclaimed while he ran around the room as Nova and the others stepped through the portal as well.

“Very… extravagant?” Nova said as she saw the high ceiling and bland decor.

“Trust me, it looks better in other parts of the Hall,” Roxxy assured her as they all watched Louie sprint around the room, barking at everything he saw.

“Two new Enforcer’s?! Amazing!” Luzzumi exclaimed as he rushed into the room, clapping his hands.

“Whoa! A Dwarf!” Louie barked as he ran over to the short man, bouncing around him.

“Ah! A talking Canis lupus familiaris with a human soul 'ithin it!” Luzzumi laughed as he reached down and patted the excited Louie.

“A what?” the little dog asked, looking confused.

“As entertaining as this is, we’re in a hurry,” Roxxy interrupted, walking up and bumping hoof to fist with Luzzumi.

“Of course!” the man said as he waved for them all to come forward, “I’ve resupplied the Enforcer’s Time Chamber just as requested.”

She gave a nod, then sighed as she looked at the excited Louie. “And I guess give him his Ego as well.”

“Yes!” Louie barked as his tail went crazy. “I want a super dope one!”

“I can nae control what you’ll get, but it’ll be exactly tha one ye need,” Luzzumi said as he stood before the little dog, reaching out his hand to place it over his head. He went through the process of unlocking Louie’s Ego.

“What’d I get?!” Louie barked, feeling a difference in his body.

“Huh, Pain Negation,” Luzzumi answered, causing Louie to cock his head. “You’re able ta negate all forms o' pain for yourself or others.”

“Cool, so I’m invulnerable now?!” Louie asked with a wide smile as he began to pull his knife out and stab himself.

“Whoa!” Luzzumi yelped as he snatched the knife from the little dog. “Ye be nae invulnerable, nor be ye more durable! Ye can just turn aff tha feeling o' pain so ye can take massive damage an' just keep on going, as long as your body be able ta move.”

“Oh… that’s not as useful,” Louie muttered, clearly not appreciating his new Ego. He then waved a paw at himself, “so what? I’m just a support guy now? I want to fight! And I can’t fight like this, or with this Ego!”

Bronwyn chuckled off to his side, causing him to look at her. “Oh little Louie, you’re looking at this all wrong.”

He barked at her while frowning, “does this dog body scream fighter to you? I was hoping to get some super amazing Ego that’d make up for this body. But now all I can do is stand on the sidelines and support you guys.”

“Not necessarily,” she said with a sly grin as she walked over and kneeled down next to him. “Let me ask you this; what fighting style are you interested in?”

Louie just looked at her, thinking back to his time on earth. A little smile appeared on his face as he leaned up and whispered into her ear.

“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah!” he barked happily.

“Alright then,” she said as she stood and began to walk for one of the hallways. “Give me some time, I believe I have a solution for your canine body problem.”

She stopped as she reached the hallway, looking back at him, “and I may be able to find you some teachers for that… fighting style.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor glided along as he watched Shayla fly around a bit aggressively, seeming to be trying to get Vanilla to react to her. It didn’t look like she was having any luck, as the Halwen just clung to her back and wasn’t having much of a reaction.

“I’m worried about her,” Floria muttered as she slowly unbraided his hair, like he’d asked.

“Which one?” He asked with a chuckle.

“Vanilla,” the short Kejtdra answered, not seeming to be in the mood to joke around. “This isn’t a normal breakdown. It’s like she’s been… reset.”

“Factory reset,” Domitor muttered, having thought the same thing after seeing how she’s been acting. “But I don’t get it. I know she was crushing on Shayla, but how could seeing… what she saw really affect her this badly?”

“I don’t really think it’s about you two,” she sighed, shaking her head. “It might’ve been the straw that broke the camel's back. I’ve been trying to get her to open back up again, but she just repeats crappy Cakehurst slogans. It’s like she’s a freaking doll or something.”

“Well you heard what Flavio said, something terrible must’ve happened to her in her past, and this could be a symptom of it. Basically PTSD.”

“You could be right with that PTSD crap,” she said as she playfully grabbed his neck. “You are too smart to be left alive, you must die.”

“Quite it,” he laughed as he shook her hands free. “I’ll drop you.”

“You wouldn’t drop little ol’ me, would ya?” she asked in a completely innocent voice.

“In a heartbeat,” he smirked as he looked over his shoulder at her, giving her a wink.

She chuckled and ruffled up his mane, getting it back to its normal style, “so I gots a question for you, Dommy.”

“I don’t like your questions,” he grumbled, watching as Shayla did a few barrel rolls.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why Shayla?” she asked carefully, fidgeting with his mane.

He flew in silence for a few moments, not sure how to answer that.

“It just… happened,” he finally answered.

“No, I mean… I guess I mean why her at all? I thought you two hated each other?”

Domitor let out a deep sigh, as he wasn’t sure of that either. He wasn’t really that good at talking about his own personal feelings, but something in this moment made him want to at least try too with Floria.

“I dunno,” he muttered as Shayla’s laughs could be heard from where they were, “my emotions have always been messed up, ever since I was a kid. I just don’t know how to react to anything. And when we were fighting in that hotel room, going all in on each other, it was the first time I’ve felt alive. Like, not a husk of a stallion just walking around doing what needs to be done. Then when we kissed…”

Floria patted his side as he went silent, giving him encouragement.

“When we kissed,” he continued after a moment, “I… felt something I’ve never felt before. And it made me… happy.”

She combed his mane with her claws, a small smile on her face, “made everything make sense, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess it did,” he said softly. “I know she’s probably the meanest, rudest, douchest, and most aggressive mare I’ve ever met, but underneath all that is… someone special.”

“I could add a few dozen adjectives to that list of yours,” she joked as she finished up fixing his mane.

“I think I’ve always had these feelings for her,” he admitted, “I’ve just not been able to process them correctly due to… my father.”

“Oh I get that shit,” she said as she patted his side again. “Look, if she makes you happy, then I’m happy. She’s a unique person, I’ll give her that. But now I gotta ask another question.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“What was it like staring down at that muscled up woman as she-”

“STOP!” he yelled, taking off at a fast pace to shut her up as she laughed like a mad woman.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later

Louie watched as everyone got ready to enter the Enforcer Time Chamber, whining loudly as Bronwyn had yet to return.

Just when everyone started to enter the chamber, he heard someone coming. His tail began to wage as he saw the woman enter the room and head straight for him.

“You are in luck, Louie,” she said as she held a strange rune covered item in her hand. “My friend Wyntir had one of these in his room.”

“What is it?!” he asked excitedly as she knelt before him.

“Well, you are under a very serious curse of some kind, but this is the single item in existence that can break a curse from the God’s. So I’m going to use it to change your form a bit,” she explained as she held the item between them.

“So I’ll be human again?” he asked, not sure how to feel about that.

“Oh no, your human form is probably gone forever,” she laughed, causing him to frown. “I’m not sure what form you will take on. Are you ready?”
“Just do it,” he said, standing on his little back legs, ready to be out of this little canine body.

She gave the item a squeeze and tossed it at him, where it hit him in the face and began to float right in front of him.

“What is it-”

He was cut off as it suddenly opened up and wrapped itself around his entire body, followed by a rainbow of colors exploding out of the cracks as it morphed around.

The woman stood up, watching as it began to grow in size, continuing till it was as tall as she was. A full six foot eight.

Finally the rune covered shell fell away, leaving everyone in the room a bit shocked.

“So? How do I look?” Louie asked as he stood there, eyes closed.

“How do I put this…” she began, but Dude walked up laughing.

“Bro, you look EXACTLY the same, just now you’re bipedal and shit. Oh and you got real hands now.”

Louie opened his eyes and looked himself over, very displeased with what he was seeing. He was still in a canine-like body, just now he had opposable thumbs. He was really tall, but lanky as hell. Skinner than Bronwyn even.

“I’m a bean pole!” he exclaimed, crossing his arms as he sighed. “Thanks, Bronwyn. This is at least better than being a normal dog.”

“That’s not all,” she said as she whistled loudly. “So, I tried to find some teachers for you, but no one wanted to help. So I put a call out, and only two people answered.”

Before he could ask who, he saw a middle aged man walk into the room, wearing workout clothes.

Louie’s eyes went wide as he saw who it was. “Coach?!”

“Luke Swain? My god boy, you’re a dog man!” the man exclaimed as he walked over, looking at Bronwyn, “you forgot to mention that in your post.”

She just chuckled, “I thought we’d have fixed that by now. But that didn’t work out as planned.”

“How did you get my highschool wrestling coach to come?!” Louie asked, eyes wide as he stared down at his former coach.

“I put a call out to anyone who’d listen, and he’s one of two to respond,” she explained as his coach looked him over.

“You’re nothing but skin and bone, Swain!”

“But… why would you help me, Coach Jones?” Louie asked in complete confusion.

“Simple, I was bored. The world of ‘The Big Lebowski’ actually gets boring after a while,” he said as he stood before the much taller Louie. “Besides, you were a good kid back then, before the Rapture kicked in.”

They shook hands as Louie looked at Bronwyn, “Who’s the second guy?”

At this she sighed loudly, “I’m not so sure about this one…”

Suddenly music began to play throughout the room, causing Louie to get excited.

“No fucking way!” he exclaimed as a man burst through the opening, doing a little dance as he yelled loudly.

“Wooooo! How you all doing out here?!” he bellowed as he moved towards Louie, who was having a fanboy moment.

“It’s John fucking Cena!” Louie all but screamed, causing the man to laugh as he came to a stop before him.

“And you must be the dog boy with cancer,” he said, giving him a salute. “Hell of a thing kid, but we’ll get you into fighting shape if it's the last thing I do.”

“Wait, I have cancer?!” Louie exclaimed, suddenly losing all excitement and becoming panicked.

“No, that was a lie. Sorry, he does not have cancer,” Bronwyn interjected before Louie had a melt down. “This was urgent and no one was answering the postings.”

“Oh, well…” John said awkwardly, looking around. “... well this is better than where I was before, so let’s just roll with the punches.”

Coach Jones didn’t look as impressed as everyone else, but kept it to himself.

“These two will help you get into fighting shape while we’re all in there,” Bronwyn explained as she crossed her arms. “I had Luz adjust the settings, so we’ll be in there two years, is this acceptable?”

“I have nowhere to be,” Coach Jones said with a shrug.

“We’ll only be gone a day in real time,” she added, getting a smile out of John.

“I’m always open to something new.”

Louie was still starstruck as he looked at the WWE superstar before him.

“Come on, dog boy, we need to discuss your new schedule and diet,” John said as he and Coach Jones began to walk for the Time Chamber door.

Louie looked at Bronwyn and gave her a thumbs up as he turned and ran after them.

Bronwyn just sighed, this was not how she pictured this going. She wasn’t so sure those two could turn Louie into the fighter he needed to be.

Fun Palace

Chapter 56

“The service sucks here,” I complained as I sat in the booth with my arms crossed, looking around the restaurant through the eyes of my mask.

“It may be better if you didn’t call the waitress a retard,” Domitor offered as he sat looking through the menu.

“She literally talks in a voice that screams retard,” I said in my defense.

“You are very rude, Shane,” Vanilla stated calmly, marking this as the first time she’d voiced a real opinion since last night.

I grumbled as I watched the same waitress come back into the room and walk to another table, ignoring ours completely.

“Shayla don’t,” Domitor warned without even looking up at me. “I know you’re wanting to yell at her, so do not.”

I scowled at him, because he was right, I was about to yell some insults at the waitress. “Killjoy,” I mumbled as I sat back and kept my mouth shut.

Floria looked between us, a look of mild shock on her face, “oh shit, you’ve tamed the beast.”

“He ain’t tamed shit!” I exclaimed as I looked at the waitress as she approached our table. “Back again goofy sounding ass?”

And with that she just walked right by our table.

“See? I ain’t tamed,” I declared proudly, getting groans out of the two of them.

“We were so close,” Domitor said as he rubbed his face in frustration.

I just shrugged as I pulled out the Watcher and placed him on the table.

“What are you doing with that?” Domitor asked, not liking the fact she was just carrying the Watcher around so freely.

“I’ve decided to stop being an asshole to him and I’m just gonna treat him like one of the group,” I declared, getting strange looks from everyone present, except Vanilla who’s expression remained the same as always.

“Why?” Domitor asked with a frown.

“Because,” I began, shrugging my shoulders, “I kinda get what he’s going through, being trapped in a jar and unable to talk about his thoughts.”

Plus if I’m nice to him he may finally talk with me.

“Shayla, he is evil, he puts people in jars for his collection. Not to mention he almost killed everyone,” Domitor said with a touch of frustration.

“Maybe he’s changed,” I replied as I put a menu before the Watcher so he could look at the pictures.

“He’s not going to change, no one like him could change,” he countered.

“Well Majin Buu changed, and he was pretty evil,” I double countered, smirking in victory.

“Who?” He asked, his question mirrored on the others' faces.

“Wow,” I exclaimed, shaking my head at them. “You all need to get off your asses and watch Dragon Ball Z.”

“I’ll pass,” he replied, not able to stop himself from smiling.

“Don’t even know what that is,” Floria shrugged as she looked at Vanilla. “Do you, Vango?”

“I do not,” she replied simply.

“I’ll break you out of this shit,” Floria said as she leaned towards the smiling Halwen. “Even if it’s the last thing I do. Got that cuz?”

“I am fine as I am,” was the only response she got.

“Ready to order?” The waitress asked in a tone that suggested she wasn’t happy to be serving us, or I guess more accurately, me.

“You betcha,” I laughed as I raised the menu to point at the pictures of what I wanted.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Okay so what’s the plan?” Domitor asked as we all finished eating at about the same time. “Are we going to try and get into the tree first?”

Everyone looked at me as I picked at my teeth. I blinked a few times then shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Why are we asking her?” Floria snickered, followed by Domitor’s own snickers.

I growled a bit before crossing my arms, “alright fine, here’s the plan. I’m going back to Floria’s apartment to get some real rest, because I’m still exhausted after all the work I put into that tournament.”

“That you lost,” Floria pointed out.

“… yes, but even still I’m going to go sleep it off. You three are free to do whatever,” I said as I stood up and put the Watcher on around my neck so he could see the world.

Domitor stood up as well, “I’m going to come with you. Because you’re dumb enough to get into trouble if we leave you alone. Probably get yourself killed.”

“Aw you care,” I jokingly mocked him as I gave him a shove. “Yeah, you can come along, Domiturd.”

“Sweet,” Floria exclaimed as she smirked at Vanilla, “that means you’re coming with me, Vanity.”

Vanilla looked a bit worried, but kept up that stupid smile.

I looked between them, wondering for a moment if I should leave this poor preppy girl alone with this crazy Kejtdra. But then I saw her creepy straight smile and knew the right choice to make.

“Have fun you two!” I exclaimed as I began walking for the door, hands clasped behind my head as I walked. Domitor followed in my lead, leaving the two women to their own devices.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Floria walked behind Vanilla as she continued to guide her down the street, having to give her little shoves to keep her walking forward. She’d tried walking in front, but the Halwen kept falling behind as she walked all proper like.

“Come on, you’re gonna LOVE this place!” Floria exclaimed, pushing her friend to keep moving.

They turned a corner, causing Vanilla to finally have a real reaction as her smile fell into a straight line.

“No, absolutely not,” she stated firmly, coming to a grinding halt.

“What? It’s not that bad!” Floria promised, trying to get her to keep walking.

“I will not go into such a place!” Vanilla began to fight against her.

“It’s just a fun place for fun people! We’re fun people!” Floria yelled as she grabbed the other woman by the waist and lifted her up as she began to walk forward slowly, struggling to keep a hold of her as she fought to be free.

“Strip clubs are gross and horrible places! Please!” Vanilla screamed, causing Floria to start laughing.

“Not the club, dummy Vanny. We’re going to the place across the street!”

Vanilla looked in that direction and deflated in relief, “Ah. I see.”

Floria looked up and saw she was reverting back to her usual smiling self.

“Oh come on, Vans! You can’t just switch back like that! You were showing real emotions again!”

But Vanilla didn’t respond anymore, much to Floria’s annoyance.

She carried her friend all the way to the doors of the Fun Palace and placed her down, brushing her off.

“Alright! So all you need to know there are a lot of rules here, but none of them matter but one; just have fun! Can you follow that rule?” she asked, eyeing her friend hard as she smiled nervously in return. “You’re not a rule breaker, are you, Van Go?”

“A Cakehurst never breaks the rules,” Vanilla stated simply.

“Perfect!” Floria laughed as she pulled her friend into the building and towards the receptionist, ignoring all the kids that swarmed around the place.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So? Pretty cool, huh?” Floria asked as the two of them stood on the edge of a room that was nothing but trampolines. “Wall to wall bouncing fun, right?”

Vanilla just smiled as she scanned the room, looking indifferent to everything.

Rolling her eyes she shoved her friend out into the room, watching as she stumbled and bounced forward awkwardly, clearly having no idea how to conduct herself.

“Jump!” Floria called out to her, watching the proper Halwen trying her best to regain her footing.

After seeing she wasn’t trying to jump, just get back to standing, she let out a groan. “Fine, I’ll help!”

With a bit too much aggression she ran out onto the trampolines and jumped into the air, landing right next to Vanilla as she finally regained her footing. This caused her to get launched straight up, where she crashed into the roof.

“Yikes,” Floria winced, looking up at her friend as she dangled from the ceiling where only her legs were visible. “Eh, you good?”

When she didn't get a response she began jumping around, trying to grab the dangling legs of her friend. It took a few too many attempts, but she eventually got a hold of her foot, causing her to break out of the ceiling and fall towards the trampolines below.

Vanilla bounced a few times before she suddenly landed upright, looking a bit shocked as her goggles sat crooked on her face.

“You good, Van Diesel?” Floria asked as she dusted her off and fixed her goggles.

“... yes,” she finally said after a few moments, her smile returning to her face.

“Bro what?! Really? I just launched you into the ceiling and you still act like a damn Cakehurst robot?!” Floria groaned, shaking her friend who just smiled back at her. “I know you’re forcing this on yourself! So stop!”

When she didn’t stop smiling, Floria narrowed her eyes, a smirk forming on her face. “Fine then, next activity!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is a cube pit, it is actually impossible to NOT have fun in a cube pit,” Floria declared as they stood on the edge of a pit that overlooked a pool of foam cubes.

Vanilla peered down, but had no visible reaction.

“Alright, in you go,” Floria said as she waved for her to jump, but all she did was stand there. “Vanham, I’m trying to fix you, so jump and have fun!”

After a full minute of inaction, Floria growled and grabbed her. “I SAID!” she yelled as she raised the Halwen above her head, “HAVE FUN!” She threw Vanilla into the pit, giving her a spin so she spun like a top right into the pit, sending foam cubes everywhere.

“Fuck yeah!” Floria cheered, throwing her hands up.

“No cursing!” a random employee yelled up to her as kids all stood around staring up at her.

She rolled her eyes, ignoring them as she looked over the ledge to see Vanilla just laying in the cubes, that same smile plastered on her face.

“You’re getting on my nerves, Van Boot!” Floria yelled, pointing a claw at her smiling friend.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Skeeball, mini bowling, no way to not at least enjoy yourself a bit,” Floria said as she took a ball and rolled it up the lane and missed all the holes. “It’s not as easy as you’d think, so give it a try, Vanil.”

Vanilla stood there holding a ball, but not moving to throw it.

“Come on, give it a roll, preppy girl,” Floria said as she gave her a nudge.

Finally, Vanilla moved her hand and let the ball roll slowly across the lane, only for it to fall in a gutter.

“No, you need to THROW it! Yeet it like you hate it!” Floria said as she put another in her hand. “Try again.”

But the Halwen did the same exact thing as before, not even trying.

“Come on! This is simple, do it like this!” she said as she picked up a ball and rolled it with all her force. The ball skipped right before it reached the end and hit the railing, bouncing right back at them and hitting Vanilla directly on the forehead. She fell straight back like a plank.

“Oh fuck!” Floria yelped as she knelt down next to her friend, eyes wide. But her worry turned to annoyance as she saw Vanilla was still smiling, looking to be perfectly okay. “This shit makes no sense, Vantastic.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Okay, I didn’t want to resort to this, but we’re meeting the Fun Palace Mascot. Donald McChuck! This guy is a riot!” Floria said as she pulled Vanilla through a crowd of kids towards a large stage where a Halwen in a weird mascot outfit stood playing a guitar for the kids.

Vanilla looked a bit put off by the sight of the large costumed mascot, the massive rodent clown face not doing it for her.

“Yo, McChucklenuts!” Floria yelled as they reached the stage, slapping her palms against it as she tried to get his attention. “Look over here, clown rat guy!”

The mascot ended his guitar solo and looked at them, the large fake eyes and massive smiling staring right at them. “Aren’t you two a little old for this place?” he asked, clearly not enjoying her stopping the show.

“Nah, we’re kids at heart,” Floria said as she jumped up on stage, pulling Vanilla up after her, who actually put up a bit of a fight. “My friend here is very sick, can you cheer her up?”

“What’s wrong with her?” the mascot asked in an annoyed voice.

Floria pushed Vanilla towards him, “she’s got butt rust, she’s only got a week to live and she wants to dance with you!”

Vanilla turned her head and glared at Floria, showing some real emotion for once.

“Get off the stage,” the man said, pointing to the crowd as all the kids began to boo and yell at them to get off.

“Not till you dance with her,” Floria stated firmly as she stepped up and got nose to face with the larger mascot.

“I’m not dancing with your mentally handicapped friend,” he growled at her, giving her a bump with his large costumed belly.

“She’s not slow, asshole!” Floria yelled as she shoved him hard, causing him to stumble a bit.

“Oh fuck this job,” the man snapped as he swung the guitar for Floria. She simply ducked, causing him to instead hit Vanilla, sending her into the crowd of kids.

“Oh you’re fucked now!” Floria roared as she tackled the man and began to give him a good old beat down. She ripped the head off so she could get at his real face, going to town on him as he tried and failed to fight back. The large costume doing nothing but hindering him from moving.

Once he was unconscious she got off and jumped into the ground, grabbing Vanilla as she sprinted away, before security showed up.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“I think they’ve stopped looking for us,” Floria said as she and Vanilla crawled through the massive tube maze.

“He got you good though, but you took it like a champ,” she praised as she continued forward. “Are you feeling more alive now?”

When no response came, she looked back, seeing no one was there. Just a long empty tube tunnel.

“Shit,” she muttered, realizing she must have lost her somewhere in the maze.

As quickly as she could, she back tracked down the tunnel, not really sure where she could’ve lost her at. After a few turns she reached one of the plexiglass windows. Looking out she saw the massive assortment of games and attractions that lined the floors of the Fun Palace.

But no Vanilla.

Groaning in frustration, she continued down the tube till she hit a slide. Having nowhere else to go she slid down, coming out into a different tube. This time when she reached a window she looked out, scanning the room carefully.

Then she heard a pecking, so she looked up, a frown on her face. Above her, in the tube she’d just come from, was a smiling Vanilla.

Of course, the smile was the same one as always, so she wasn’t that relieved to see her. On the contrary, she was annoyed that she’d have to back track, again.

“Stay!” she yelled, pointing at the Halwen as she just smiled back at her. “I mean it! Stay!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Floria ran her hand down the side of the Air Hockey table, smiling brightly, “okay, Van Van, this is right up your alley! It’s safe and all you have to do is move your hand around to hit the puck.”

Vanilla just stood there smiling, her hand lazily grasping the paddle.

“Good, you’re already halfway there to playing the game!” Floria said excitedly as she placed down the puck. “Alright, here it comes!”

She hit it gently, sending it right for Vanilla’s goal.

“It’s coming! You got this!” she encouraged her friend, watching with wide eyes as the puck slowly glided towards her friend. And then right into her goal post.

The machine blew a bell, congratulating Floria on the goal.

“No, you have to MOVE your hand, Vanilla Crunch! Like this!” she said as she moved her hand around. “Again, you got this!”

She hit another one at her, watching as Vanilla moved her hand ever so slightly, more than likely involuntarily, causing her paddle to bump the puck away from her goal post.

“YES! Oh FUCK YES! That’s how you do it!” she cheered, getting very worked up from the simple movement. The little puck was moving back towards her slowly.

“Alright, Vanny, this is it! Let’s ramp this shit up to the max!” she yelled as she threw her paddle forward with as much force as she could muster. It hit the puck, sending it rocketing right back at Vanilla’s goal. Her hand was in the way back accident, causing the puck to hit her paddle and ricochet straight up into her face.

Her head snapped back from the sudden hit, causing her to sway a bit and then fall to the ground.

Floria blinked a few times as she looked at her hand holding the paddle, “I… may have put a bit too much into that one.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Okay, let’s try pinball,” she said, sounding a bit frustrated. “This thing is the safest machine in the building. The ball is safely behind glass, so there’s no way it’d come out and hit you in the face.”

Vanilla stood there, looking mildly worried as she looked at the machine.

“Trust me, it’s good safe fun. Now step up and pull the plunger back.”

Reluctantly, and being forced by Floria’s hands, she stepped up and put a hand on the plunger.

“Now give it a hard tug! Send that ball FLYING!” Floria said excitedly as she put her face over the glass, ready to see her friend start having fun.

With a small sigh Vanilla pulled back on the plunger as hard as she could. But it broke right out of the machine, causing her to go stumbling backwards, and right into a waitress that was carrying a massive tray of milkshakes.

They all fell towards the Halwen as she stared up at the tower of milkshakes as they collapsed right towards her.

Floria winced as they crashed down all around her, covering Vanilla in ice cream.

Vanilla turned to face the short Kejtdra, her smile wavering on her face as she stood there completely covered.

A small laugh escaped Floria’s mouth as she stepped up and wiped a claw through the ice cream, sticking it in her mouth. “Hehe, you’re covered in Vanilla ice cream Vanilla Bean.”

Vanilla’s smile twitched as she put all of the ice cream away in her Vacuole, completely cleaning herself off.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Sit,” Floria said sternly as she made Vanilla sit on a bench, far from any kinds of danger or evil arcade machines. “We’re going to sit here and just enjoy the view. No way to get hurt while just sitting.”

Vanilla just sat there, her face a bit bruised from all the hits she’d taken.

With a sigh Floria sat down next to her, watching the kids around them rushing around, playing some kind of stupid game.

“Why can’t you just go back to normal?” Floria asked, shoulders slumped.

“I am being normal,” Vanilla replied, hands folded in her lap.

“Nah, you’re putting on a front,” Floria said as she looked right at Vanilla. “Look, I don’t know what happened, but-”

A kickball came out of nowhere and nailed Vanilla right in the face, knocking her off of the bench and onto the floor.

Floria blinked a few times in confusion and then looked to where the ball had come from, seeing a bunch of older kids staring at her in shock.

“Are you kidding me!” she roared as her massive gun appeared in her hands.

They all began to scream and run off, leaving them alone. She sighed as she put it away and then leaned over the bench to see a dashed Vanilla.

“You good, Van Mon Doe?” she asked, getting that same smile in response.

She collapsed on the bench, completely defeated. “I surrender.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

As they walked for the exit, she pulled Vanilla towards the prize booth, “we might as well turn in our tickets, at least this trip won’t be a complete loss.”

She pulled all the tickets she’d won that day out of her Vacuole and dropped them on the table.

The tired employee sighed as he reached out and took her tickets into his own Vacuole, writing the total down on a piece of paper.

“Anything in the first two cabinets,” he grumbled, clearly used to this kind of interaction.

“Let’s see what we got…” Floria mumbled as she looked it all over, seeing literally nothing of value in those two cabinets. “Bruh, come on, I had more tickets than this!”

“You did not,” he sighed, shaking his head.

“Grrr, fine, uh…” she looked at Vanilla, seeing she was looking at a stupid little paper clip with a spider on it. “That shit then,” she said, pointing at the paper clip.

The man grabbed it and tossed it onto the counter. “Enjoy.”

Floria snatched it up and flipped the man off, who just stared back at her with dead eyes.

She then lead Vanilla outside, letting out a frustrated groan once they were through the doors.

“That was a waste of time!” she groaned, looking at her smiling friend. “Here, this is yours,” she said, placing the spider paperclip into Vanilla’s hand.

She seemed to brighten up a bit as she put it away in her Vacuole.

Floria was too spent to notice the improved mood, as she just stood there, rubbing her face.

She didn’t know what else to do, the Fun Palace was her go too for fixing moods and all emotional problems. And all it seemed to do for Vanilla was get her hurt. Repeatedly.

Looks like they’ll just give up and go-

“Oh my gosh! Look at you, you little cutie!” Vanilla suddenly exclaimed, rushing past a confused Floria and sliding up next to a Reng.

“My little baby, where’d you come from?” she asked as she began to pet the little spider cat on the head as it purred up at her. “Oh you’re just simply amazing, beyond words! This little angel!”

Floria just looked on dumbfounded, as this was way more emotions than she’d shown since they’d met.

Vanilla picked up the little Reng, petting its head, a look of pure happiness on her face. “This little cutie! I just don't have words to describe how I’m feeling right now!” she just nuzzled the little Reng as it purred up at her, returning the affection.

“You found Mrs. Buffet!” a little girl yelled as she rushed over, holding her hands out for the Reng.

Reluctantly Vanilla returned the Reng to the little girl, who just turned and ran off without another word, leaving Vanilla looking completely forlorn.

Slowly Floria approached her friend, “Erm, you like Reng’s, Vanana?”

“I love them,” she said, still staring after the one she’d just been holding. “I’ve always wanted one… but my sister won’t let me have one.”

“That’s some bullshit, just get one, what she gonna do?” Floria asked with a frown.

“She’s had the last few I tried to keep put down…” she said in a small voice.

This caught Floria off guard as she stared at the woman before her.

“It’s my fault to be honest,” she muttered, grabbing her shoulder and squeezing it tightly. “Like Cocoa said, if I’d just listened and not tried to defy her rules, then those sweet little babies would still be alive.”

“Yo, none of that is your fault,” Floria said firmly as she took a step towards Vanilla, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault you apparently got a batshit crazy sister.”

Vanilla looked at her, a look of desperation and fear flashing over her face. “I shouldn’t talk ill of my sister, that’s what caused Domitor and Shane to get together.”

“...” Floria just stared at her, mouth agape, “wut?”

The Halwen took a deep breath and her fake smile returned to her face.

“... Wait, NO!” Floria yelled, shaking her hard, “keep talking! Because what you just said is some straight up delusional crap! There’s no way you talking bad about your sister caused those two to get together, they were already going to anyway! Domitor himself said he already had feelings for her, so that had nothing to do with you!”

“I have a wonderful sister who treats me very well,” she said plainly, a hint of fear in her voice.

Floria growled, but then an idea hit her. “Okay, time to take drastic measures.”

She grabbed her friend and began to pull her down the street. “Come on, basket case, we’re fixing this shit right now.”

“There is nothing to fix, friend Floria,” she said in a bland voice.

“Yeah not fooling me,” she growled, eye twitching at the thought that Vanilla’s sister may be the one responsible for this state she was in.

She’d need to get to the bottom of this shit, and soon.

A ray of happiness

Chapter 57

“This place needs better literature, I fucking swear,” I muttered as I laid propped up in Floria’s bed as I read one of her super hero comics. It was the same shit I read at the hotel, which is making me think this is all this world has to offer.

“Could be worse,” Domitor commented as he lay on the couch, drawing away at his notepad.

I just shrugged, tossing the comic book aside and laid back on the bed. I was enjoying being completely out of my armor and clothes again.

“You finished with that page?” I asked as I turned the page of the propped up comic book, looking at the Watcher as he seemed to be kind of reading the comic.

“I really don’t get why you’re being nice to him all of a sudden,” Domitor said without looking at me.

“Because just maybe he isn’t as bad as people say he is,” I replied as I turned the page again.

“Do we need to go over his list of crimes and bad deeds again?” He asked, a small smirk on his face.

“Nope, five times is enough,” I said, looking over at him. “So what are you drawing this time?”

He looked a bit sheepish as he turned the pad away from me, “just stupid doodles.”

“Yeah right, show me,” I held out my hand expectantly.

“You’re going to think I’m weird and make fun of me,” he said as he continued to draw.

“Bro, you are weird,” I countered with a grin. “So just let me see it.”

He did a few finishing touches and sighed as he flipped it around to hand it to me.

Taking the notepad I turned it over to see a picture of me in all my glory, standing like I was about to fight God himself with my two swords. “Fuck me this is fucking epic.”

“Yeah?” He asked, his ears perked up.

“Fuck yeah,” I replied with a smirk. I looked the image over, appreciating how well he drew my muscles and facial expression. Very masculine and imposing.

But as I looked at the picture, a weird feeling came over me. I just wasn’t sure how to explain it or where it came from.

After a few moments he sighed, getting my attention. “Can we… be open with each other for a moment?”

I frowned at him as I handed him his notepad back, “I guess.”

“Last night,” he began, causing me to tense up a bit at the memory, “you said all of your confidence was fake, and that you hate yourself… why?”

A groan escaped my lips as I had the urge to start yelling and insulting him, but looking at his stupid caring face prevented me from lashing out like that.

“I just…” I started, working my jaw, “my mother has always wanted me to succeed at everything I do, and it’s just so fucking hard to keep up sometimes. So I don’t know, I’ve had to just keep pushing myself to stay on top, no matter how I felt about it.

“I just hate that I’ve always had to do what my mother wanted me to do,” I admitted for the first time, even to myself. “I don’t hate or resent her, but I do hate myself for never speaking up. Because I fucking KNOW she would’ve accepted me and loved me no matter what I did. But I wasn’t strong enough to voice those opinions. She was just so happy watching me succeed at all of her hobbies. I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint her like that.”

Domitor just listened, which is all I needed right now. “What did you want to do instead?” he asked in such a way that I felt a little flutter in my gut.

“You’ll laugh and lose all respect for me,” I muttered, my face starting to feel hot.

“I promise I won’t,” he assured me calmly.

My face got hotter as I stared at him, “I uh… I wanted to be a ballerina…”

This caught him off guard, but he didn’t laugh, “that’s not what I’d expected. Why didn’t you try and do it?”

“I mentioned it to my mother, but she thought I was joking, so I dropped it,” I answered, rubbing my arm nervously. “Besides, I’m too… ugly and masculine to be a ballerina.”

“Well, you’re not ugly,” he stated as he began to draw, “and you being masculine is not a negative. I like you just the way you are. All faults included.”

A little smile tugged at my face as I stared at him, a mix of emotions running through me.

“Domitor,” I said after a few moments, getting him to look up at me, “I’m sorry for… all the shit I’ve put you through.”

He just smiled at me as he kept drawing, “I’m sorry too. Neither of us are very good at expressing emotions, so we’re both at fault. Besides, I’ve always kinda liked you.”

“I don’t fucking know how, I’ve always been a major asshole and a mess,” I chuckled, unable to tear my eyes from him. “But really?”

“Yeah, really,” he replied, looking me right in the eyes, “always have, I’m just dumb and didn’t know how to express it. So I let my anger take over.”

“Well,” I began, rubbing the back of my neck, “I’ve, eh… kinda always liked you too… just when I felt any affection towards you I’d lash out.”

He just snickered at this, “so we’re both just idiots then, letting our parents dictate too much of our lives.”

“Seems that way,” I sighed, a dumb smile on my face as I sat there watching him draw.

After a few minutes of silence he finished and handed it to me, “here, it’s just a sketch, but you’ll get the idea.”

I flipped it over to reveal an image of me in a ballerina’s outfit, looking very proud and confident. I’ve never worn a dress of any kind, so seeing this really caught me off guard.

“I know it’s shittly drawn, but I tried to get it just right for you,” he said a bit nervously, seeing my black expression. “Too far?”

“No…” I muttered, eyes glued to the page. “Thank you, Domitor.”

Just seeing myself like this, even as just a sketch, was hitting me with emotions I had no way of processing. I’m not a ‘girly’ kinda mare, never have been. But seeing myself dressed like this made me not resent the idea as much as I used to.

Of course I’m not going to start dressing up now, but the thought feels nice.

“You’re welcome, Shayla,” he said with a small smile.

I put the notepad to the side and looked at him a bit nervously. “Don’t make any jokes or comments, but I… I want to be held again.”

He smiled warmly at me as he stood up and came over to the bed, plopping down on one side as he used his wing to lift the Watcher’s vial and put him on the nightstand.

I wasn’t used to shit like this, but I remembered how nice it felt the night before to just be held, and that’s just what I wanted right now. So I carefully crawled up and laid next to him, placing my head on his chest as he wrapped his legs around me. He pulled me in close and began to stroke my mane, bringing a sense of peace to my racing mind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Floria smirked as they turned the corner, seeing the desired location right down the street.

“Okay, Vanilly, I’m going to do this for you, and you’re going to like it,” she said firmly as she continued to pull her friend down the sidewalk “I don’t have the money to buy a ‘proper’ one like you’d probably prefer, so we’re settling with cheap.”

Vanilla just stared ahead, not quite sure where they were going, as this part of town was a bit seeder than she’d like. But she just kept up the same static smile she’d had beaten into her over the years.

The short Kejtdra lead them into a run down looking building, with no indicators on what it could possibly be. But upon stepping inside it was clear it was an animal shelter of some kind.

“Stay,” Floria demanded as she left her friend by the door so she could talk with the single employee that inhabited the building.

They talked for a few moments, which turned into a small argument. But before Vanilla could really start to worry she saw her short friend give the man a small item from her pocket.

“Okay, we’re free to pick whatever we want,” Floria said as she walked back over to her friend. She looked mildly upset, but she didn’t say why as she waved for them to walk through some double doors.

Upon walking through them and down a short hallway, they found themselves in a very dirty kennel with animals all around them.

“All on you, Vanchilla,” Floria said with a smile as she pushed her friend into the room.

Vanilla looked around in awe, as she was surrounded by mostly Reng’s of all kinds.

“Oh my Gosh…” she muttered as she swayed and collapsed onto the ground, her emotions running to high for her to handle.

“Really?” Floria sighed, a smile on her face.

She stepped over and knelt down, poking at the Halwen’s face, “come on, wake up, dum dum.”

It took her a bit, but eventually Vanilla came to and sat up, looking confused, “what happened?”

“This,” Floria laughed as she cast her hand over the room. Luckily this time she didn’t pass out as she stood up and stared at all the Reng’s that sat in the cages.

“There’s so many little babies…” she muttered as she put a hand over her heart.

“Yep, now pick out one,” Floria said as she leaned against a table, watching the reactions of her friend happily.

“Pick one?” Vanilla asked in a surprised voice. “What do you mean?”

“It means I paid the asshole up front to let us pick a Reng out, so go for it. My gift to you,” Floria said as the other woman’s face went through a mix of emotions.

“But, my sister said I wasn’t allowed-“

“Screw your sister,” Floria declared roughly. “If she’s as bad as I think she is, she can go fuck herself. Now pick the one that speaks to you.”

This seemed to cause Vanilla a great deal of torment within herself, but eventually her heart won out as she began to run to each cage, smiling in at each Reng.

“Oh all you wonderful little gifts from above! I just want to take you all home with me!”

“Just one,” Floria said from across the room.

Carefully, the now excited Halwen moved past each cage, saying cute things to each Reng she saw. She was like a kid in a candy shop, just with spider cats instead of candy.

As she passed by one she stopped, taking a step back and peering into the cage, “oh no! What’s happened to you?!”

Within the cage sat a very dirty Reng, with its left side a bit damaged, missing a limb and even some of its eyes were a bit cloudy.

There was a sign on the cage that read ‘Danger: vicious. Biter.’ But she ignored the sign as she reached in, “who would do such a thing to such a small baby?!”

The Reng hissed and then bite her hand, drawing blood.

“Owww,” she whimpered but didn’t retract her bleeding hand, “it’s okay, I know you’re frightened. People can be so cruel, hurting those they don’t understand. But I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”

The Reng seemed to narrow its eyes at her as it leaned forward and sniffed her hand, then it began to lick at the wound it had inflicted on her.

“I don’t blame you, sweetie,” she said in a soft voice as the Reng began to rub its head against her hand.

Floria watched on, the scene a bit to emotional for her as she tried to remain stoic.

“I’ll get the guy to open the-“ Floria began, but the sight of Vanilla using her Thorn to deconstruct the lock caused her to laugh. “Well never mind then.”

“Your name is Creampuff and I will love you forever,” Vanilla cooed as she held the dirty Reng in her arms, a massive smile on her face as she stared lovingly down at the little creature as it relaxed into her embrace.

Floria approached carefully, causing the Reng to start to hiss at her.

“It’s okay, Creampuff, Floria is a good person,” Vanilla said with the sweetest smile as she looked at Floria.

“Eh I try,” she mumbled as she held her hand out to Reng, waiting to get bit. But it just sniffed her hand then gave it a bump with its head. Relieved she reached out and began to scratch its head, “good, boy. No need to be a prick and bite people.”

“He’s a wonderfully behaved baby to those who are nice,” Vanilla stated as she hugged the purring Reng to herself. “Thank you, Floria.”

“No problem, you done acting like a robot?” Floria asked, giving her a worried look, “because I want your preppy ass to be happy and shit.”

The question seemed to make Vanill uncomfortable, but Creampuff nuzzled her neck, calming her down. “I will try.”

“That’s all I ask,” Floria said with a sigh of relief as she switched moods into her normally bubbly one, “now come on! Let’s pick up some food for everyone and head back to my place.”

Vanilla smiled as she gave a nod, letting Creampuff crawl out of her arms and climb up onto her head, laying on top of her hat.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Now fair warning, my apartment is a bit messy,” Floria cheerfully said as she lead them down the hallway to her room.

“A little messy is bearable for myself and Creampuff,” Vanilla said as she walked behind her shorter companion, her hands behind her back as Creampuff napped on her hea head.

Floria chuckled as she swung the bags of food around, ready to eat and just relax for the first time in days.

Once she reached her apartment she used her spare key, as she’d given the other two her main key, and unlocked the door.

“Welcome to Casa La Floria!” She announced as she strolled in, kicking trash out of her way as she went.

Vanilla took a single step into the apartment before coming to a dead stop, eyes so wide in shock that her goggles fell down a bit.

Creampuff woke up instantly and began to hiss as he looked in and saw the piles upon piles of trash and junk.

“Sweet merciful…” she muttered, not able to comprehend what she was seeing.

“Is it bad?” Floria asked sheepishly as she stood in the kitchen facing her friend.

“Is it bad?” Vanilla parroted back. “This… is so far beyond bad that… I just don’t understand it.”

Creampuff, having had enough of this, jumped off of Vanilla’s head and landed outside the door, planting his butt right right on the floor as he stared in at them.

Panicking a bit, Vanilla spun around and began to try and coax the Reng back in. “Oh baby I know it’s bad, but please come inside.”

He just stared at her defiantly.

“Please, don’t make me endure this alone, my little Creampuff,” she begged, but it did no good.

With this she stood up and whipped her head around to face Floria, giving her a very stern look.

“Erm, what?” She asked nervously.

“We’re cleaning,” Vanilla stated in a voice that left no room for discussion.

“What?!” Floria yelped, eyes going wide. “No it’s fine as is!”

“Cleaning, now,” Vanilla said in a even sterner voice, fully turning to face the short Kejtdra. “My darling Creampuff refuses to enter till this unholy mess has been dealt with.”

“But,” Floria whined, pointing past her at the Reng, “he’s so dirty! Why would he care about this mess?!”

“He is not dirty by choice,” Vanilla stated as she put her hands on her hips. “Now are we cleaning, or are we arguing?”

Floria blinked at her for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh and throwing her hands up. “Fineeeee, we’ll clean so the apparently very pampered Reng feels comfortable enough to enter my crappy apartment.”

“Thank you,” Vanilla said simply as she walked past her and began to look the room over. “This will take a bit, so I suggest making sure you grab what you want to keep. Otherwise it’s getting tossed.”

“Yes mom,” Floria mumbled as Vanilla opened the bedroom door. Inside were even more piles of trash. It took her a moment to realize Shayla and Domitor were passed out together on the bed, tangled up with each other.

She closed the door slowly and looked at Floria, “we shall do this room last, they both need some rest.”

“Geez, they sleep while we work, that’s not fair,” Floria mumbled as she began to absently mindly pull trash into her Vacuole so she could dump it at the trash later.

This was going to take a while.

House Cleaning

Chapter 58

Later

Floria grumbled to herself as she stood over the overflowing dumpster, her hands outstretched as she pushed all the garbage out of her Vacuole and onto the growing pile.

Once finished she walked back to her apartment, giving the Creampuff a nod as she stepped over him and back into her now bare apartment. They’d somehow managed to clean out the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, leaving just the bedroom left.

As she stepped in she saw Vanilla using her Alchemy Thorn to clean most of the stains that lined the carpets, trying to remove the smells that permeated from them.

“Now that you’re back, prepare the food for everyone, if you will,” Vanilla said as she wiped sweat off of her face, clearly straining herself.

Floria started to complain, but saw how hard Vanilla was working to clean everything, so she bit her tongue, “yes, ma’am, gonna get right on that.”

She pulled all the ingredients out, only to realize one small problem.

“Um, I can’t cook,” she said dumbly as she stared at Vanilla, who sat up on her knees looking absolutely spent.

“What? How can you not-“ she stopped herself as she remembered all the take out boxes they’d just thrown out. “Never mind, the question answers itself.”

With a groan she stood up and waved for her to move, “very well, I’ll make dinner if you’ll wake the others.”

Now that the apartment was cleaner, Creampuff skittered in and up Vanilla’s leg. He quickly took up a position on her shoulder, watching her work as he purred.

She gave a little salute and hopped to the task, flinging open the door and walking in, “wakey wakey, fuckers!” She grabbed the side of the bed and dumped them right into the floor, causing them both to panic and fight each other to stand up.

“What’s happening?!” Shayla yelped as her wooden sword appeared in her hands.

“Have fun?” Floria asked with a smirk

“I did actually, thank you very much!” Shayla declared as she dusted herself and Domitor off.

“Wait, no, don’t bang on my bed!” Floria groaned, getting wide eyed stares from the other two.

“We didn’t,” Domitor said simply, causing Floria to roll her eyes.

“Sure, just use the couch next time,” she said, giving them a smirk and finger guns.

They both just sighed, deciding not to fight it.

“Food is ready!” Came Vanilla’s voice, causing both of them to look at Floria in confusion.

“Did you fix her?” Shayla asked.

“Fuck yeah I did!” Floria laughed, moving to the living room.

As they all walked into the living room they did a double take, taking in the now completely clean room.

“What the fuck…” Shayla muttered, rubbing her face. “I take a nap and everything changes.”

“Vanilla made me clean so her new Reng would come inside,” the short Kejtdra mumbled as she sat down at her now clean coffee table.

“The fuck is a Reng?” The buff mare asked, followed by Creampuff popping up behind her and hissing right in her ear.

“Shit!” Shayla yelped as she jumped away, bringing her fist up as if ready to fight.

“That is a Reng,” Vanilla said as she put some food down on the table, eyeing Shayla as she squared up with the Reng, “his name is Creampuff and you will not harm him.”

“As long as he’s cool, then I’m cool,” she said as she gave the Reng a nod.

Creampuff quickly ran along the wall and jumped onto Vanilla’s shoulder as she made her way back to the kitchen.

“Okay seriously, what’s with her?” Shayla asked as she and Domitor sat on the floor around the coffee table, no one wanting to go near the couch.

Floria looked towards the kitchen to make sure she wasn’t coming back before leaning forward, “so I think that whole episode of her being an emotionless robot was because of some shit her sister put her through.”

“What kind of stuff?” Domitor asked quietly.

“I dunno, but apparently her sister has killed every one of her Reng’s, saying she wasn’t allowed to have one. Then her sister somehow convinced her it was because of her that the Reng’s died.”

“I hate this bitch already,” Shayla grumbled, mirroring the reaction of Domitor who looked just as upset by what he’d just heard.

“It goes deeper,” she said as she leaned closer, “her mind is so fucked she’s convinced that her bad mouthing her sister is the reason you two got together.”

“Well that’s just batshit insane,” Shayla stated, shaking her head.

“So you think her sister is the route of all the problems we’ve seen?” Domitor asked, getting a nod in response.

“I hope you all enjoy, Creampuff and I put a lot of thought and effort into this meal,” Vanilla said as she put down the last of the plates, taking up her position by Floria.

They went silent once Vanilla sat down, not wanting to upset her after all the progress she’d made.

Shayla was the first to take a bite, letting out an excited squeal, “you put the spices in!”

“I knew you enjoyed them, so I put them in for you,” she said with a little smile, eating a bite and then feeding the next bite to Creampuff.

“Fucking score,” Shayla muttered as she began to messily devour her food.

Domitor ate his slower, flicking any specks of food that landed on him from Shayla’s messy eating.

Floria was just happy Vanilla was back as she ate her own food, smiling as she side eyed the now happy Cakehurst.

As everyone started to finish, Domitor leaned back, staring at Vanilla as she held Creampuff in her arms, feeding him her left overs.

“Vanilla,” he said, getting her attention, “you remember what I told you of my home life?”

She blinked at him then gave a nod, “of course. It was horrific and beyond words.”

“Yeah,” he said as he leaned back towards her. “So tell me about your childhood.”

Everyone stopped moving, just staring at him and then at Vanilla. She had a conflicted look on her face.

“It was great,” she said in a quivering voice.

“What about your sister?” He pushed.

“She’s… the best,” she said, sounding a bit terrified. Creampuff meowed and pressed his head into her chin.

“That’s not true,” he said a bit sternly. “What has she done to you to make you act like this?”

She was trembling as she tried to remain calm, “n-nothing.”

“Vanilla,” Floria said calmly as she put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You can tell us.”

“C-Cocoa has only done what is best for me, because I am incapable of making good decisions for myself,” she said in a rehearsed tone, still looking terrified.

“Are you saying that we’re a bad decision?” Floria asked. Then she squeezed her shoulder and asked in a smaller voice, “that I’m a bad decision?”

Vanilla didn’t know how to answer that. Her heart said one thing, but her brain said another.

“Can we… please change the subject?” She practically begged.

“Nah, we need to work through-“ Shayla began but Floria held up her hand, interrupting her.

“We can,” Floria said as she removed her hand, letting Creampuff take over as he rubbed against Vanilla, trying to cheer her up.

A wave of relief washed over her as she began to pet the Reng, “thank you, Floria.”

“Don’t mention it, Vandyke,” Floria chuckled as she waved for the other two to drop it as well.

Shayla clearly didn’t want to just drop it, but Domitor placed a hoof on her hand, shaking his head at her.

She let out an annoyed sigh but didn’t push the subject further.

“Now,” Floria said as she stood up, “let’s focus on cleaning the bedroom, would you like that?”

“I would very much,” Vanilla replied as she stood up and marched into the bedroom.

“Just, let me look at what you’re throwing out, since all of my valuables are in here,” Floria said as she began to shift through the trash, picking up a few items that were important to her.

Out in the living room she could hear Shayla and Domitor talking, but she focused more on helping Vanilla clean the room.

Creampuff stayed in the living room, clearly not wanting to be among this mess.

The pair worked slowly, removing trash and sorting through Floria’s personal things. It took a few trips to the dumpster, but they were finally down to the stuff that Floria hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Oh shit, I remember this,” she said as she held up a weird item with signatures all over it. “This is from that one band I went to see, good fucking times.”

She put that away in her Vacuole, moving on to the next item.

Vanilla was just piling things up for her to go through as she shifted through the junk, shaking her head at all the weird and out of place items that the other woman had hoarded.

Reaching under the bed she pulled out a massive amount of trash, bringing a frown to her face. Who could live like this?

On one of her fishing trips under the bed she pulled out a old shoe box that had seen better days. She almost tossed it, but heard some items rolling around in it so she sat it down and opened it.

As expected it was mostly just junk items that seemed to hold no value to anyone but Floria. She seemed to keep just random ite-

Vanilla came to a grinding halt as her eyes landed on a single item within the box, an item that should not be there. With a shaky hand she reached in and grabbed the item, raising it up for Floria to see.

“W-where’d you get this?” she asked, her voice shaking as well.

Floria looked over, a small smile appearing on her face as she saw the little item she held, “that? Long depressing story, ending in my father doing this,” she said, pointing to her broken faceplate. “The kid who gave that to me was the first person to try and help me, and I fell for them. Then they turned around and...”

She looked pained for a moment, but then sighed, "forget it. Why are you asking about that item in particular?"

Vanilla looked at the item, reading the inside where a name lay, “Because, Watari Cakehurst is my late fathers name. This is his ring…”

The two looked at each other, shocked slowly over taking their faces.

“D-Dahlia?” Vanilla asked in a whisper.

This caused Floria’s eyes to go wide as she stumbled back a bit and leaned into the corner of the couch, “... Orchid?!”

They now looked completely dumbfounded and shocked as they stared at each other.

“Yo, you fuckers almost done?” Shayla asked as she stepped into the room, coming to a stop as she saw the two looking at each other like they’d just received the shocks of their lives. “Erm, guys?”

They ignored her as Vanilla looked back to the ring, “But I don’t understand… Cocoa said you sold this? To buy drugs for yourself… how do you still have this?”

Floria herself was still too shocked to respond as her hand reached up and began to fidget with her broken faceplate.

“I just don’t understand,” Vanilla muttered, “Cocoa was very clear about the fact you sold this… but it's right here…”

“You fucking monster,” Floria muttered, causing Vanilla to look at her in surprise. “You… it was you that… YOU?! FUCK!” she roared, clenching her fist as she stared straight up at the ceiling.

“Floria?” a very confused Vanilla asked, watching as the other woman raised her fist, still looking straight up.

“Why… what benefit was it to you to do this to me?!” she yelled, looking right at Vanilla as large tears flowed out of her eyes and down her face. “Why would you do that to me?! I TRUSTED you!”

“W-what do you mean?!” Vanilla yelped, the sudden change in mood just adding to her confusion.

“Don’t play dumb!” she screamed, causing Domitor to rush into the room, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything as Floria continued yelling, “you told me to follow you! That you found a place for me to stay! But you took me to my FATHER! Then you LAUGHED as he grabbed me and forced me to go home with him! He fucking BEAT AND RAPED ME! YOU SADISTIC MONSTER!”

The look on Vanilla’s face spoke a thousand words, yet her mouth spoke none as she stared at the seething Kejtdra, tears running down her own face.

“Say something!” Floria screamed, taking an aggressive step towards her.

“I-I… I-I…” Vanilla stuttered, her mind working overtime as she tried her hardest to recall what Floria was saying, but she was drawing blanks. What she was saying made zero sense to her. “... I don’t remember doing anything like that…” she muttered weakly, but then her sister's words came back to her.

“B-but I guess if you say I d-did it, I-I guess I must’ve…” Vanilla said quietly, hanging her head as she began to hate herself in even more ways.

Shayla and Domitor were even more lost, not understanding a thing that had just been said.

“I should ki-” Floria began, but stopped herself as the words spoken by Vanilla finally registered. “The fuck you mean ‘if you say I did it, then I guess I must’ve’?! Just fucking own it, bitch!”

“Then I did it! Happy?” Vanilla cried out, falling in on herself and curling up.

Creampuff sprinted into the room and jumped onto her, licking her face and nudging her as she shook violently, eyes wide.

Floria growled as she fell onto her ass, putting her hands in her face, “FUCK!”

Domitor gulped as he took a step between them, “... what the hell is going on?”

“Uh…” Shayla said from behind him, her own mind working hard as she tried to process what she’d just seen. “So apparently those two know each other from when they were kids, and Vanilla thought Floria sold her dad's ring because her bitch sister told her he did. Then Floria got mad and said Vanilla tricked her back into her dad's arms. But Vanilla acted like she didn’t even know of that, and then after being yelled at changed her answer to ‘yes, she did do it’.”

Domitor looked at her as she stood there breathing hard, mildly impressed she’d actually been paying attention for once. “Okay, so this still makes no sense,” he said, looking between the two crying women, “you both say different things of the same event. So you know what that means?”

No one answered him.

“It means,” he continued, “that it’s possible you’re both wrong. Third party interference.”

This caused them both to look at him.

“What?” Floria asked in a rough voice, clearly still enraged.

“Hear me out, but is it possible her sister did something? Vanilla herself said her sister lied about you selling the ring,” he said, trying to make this all make sense.

“No, because it was HER there. She herself led me to my father, not someone else,” Floria growled, glaring daggers at the curled up woman.

“Isn’t Cocoa her TWIN sister though?” Shayla asked, causing everyone to have the same reaction.

“Vanilla, did you actually do this? Or are you just saying what you think you have to say?” Domitor asked as he knelt down next to the whimpering Vanilla.

“I-I don’t know, my memories can’t be trusted… so I probably did it…”

“I don’t buy it,” Domitor said as he stood up, shaking his head. “Floria, do you actually think she did this?”

“I know she did,” she muttered, “and it hurts. I fell for her back then, and she betrayed me. And now I fall for her again, and then I find this out.”

This admission caused Vanilla to start crying again.

“Okay, then we’re going to need to confirm this,” Domitor declared as he turned to his partner. “Shayla.”

“Uh, yeah?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“You can use your port thingies to enter memories right?”

She blinked dumbly at him, but then nodded.

“Can you take others with you?”

Again, she looked like a deer in the headlights, seeming to be letting Rosemary explain things to her.

“... I can actually.”

“Perfection,” Domitor said as he turned back to the others, “so here’s what we will do. Floria, you will hold back on anger till this is confirmed. Vanilla, you’re going to let us into your memories. Are we agreed?”

“Fine,” Floria grunted, hoping against hope that what she knows to be true is actually not.

“If you think I should, then yes,” Vanilla answered in a trembling voice, holding onto Creampuff as she buried her face in his chest fluff.

He sighed as he turned to Shayla, waving for her to come forward, “well, your time to shine, Shay.”

Family ties

Chapter 60

The next morning

Quest complete! 3 skill points awarded!
You have 37 unspent skill points!

I let out a sigh as I finished the last exercise, relieved to finally be done with the daily quest. The last one was a four mile run, so I’d just been running circles around the blocks as my friends walked at a normal pace.

“You are driving me insane with your apparent unwillingness to spend any skill points you get,” Rosemary said with a frown as she shook her head at me.

“I just think it’s stupid,” I replied, wiping the sweat from my face.

“Stupid or not, this is how you get stronger,” she countered, causing me to sigh.

“Fine,” I groaned as I looked around, seeing that the others hadn’t caught up with me yet.

Flicking open my menu, I began to spend my points, much to Rosemary’s delight.

Most of my points went into Perception, Reflexes, and Stamina. While the rest I just dumped into Brain Power.

I at least resisted the urge to drop them all into Strength this time around.

“Thankfully,” she muttered as she faded away, just as my friends rounded the corner and began heading for me.

“Finally done?” Domitor asked as he tossed a bottle of water to me.

“Yep,” I replied as I caught the water and bit the cap off, chugging the entire bottle in one go.

“I am pretty sure you’re not supposed to drink from a bottle like that,” Vanilla commented as she stood there holding Creampuff, who’d had a bath and actually looked very cute now.

As for Vanilla herself, she appeared to be doing better, as she’d been in a decent mood since she’d woken up. She was sticking next to Floria, keeping pace with her, while Floria herself just looked like her normal carefree self.

All I can say is, after all the shit I saw last night in her memories, she needs a few wins. Plus, that sister of hers is as good as dead. I may not be capable of pulling the trigger, but Domitor is more than capable, and willing, to do it for us.

He voiced his opinion last night as we slept on the floor of the living room together, making it clear he planned to deal with her if he ever saw her in person.

In response to her comment, I just laughed, tossing the bottle over my shoulder.

“Now then,” I said as we continued down the street, “step one of our awesome plan is to get into the Social District. Once we’re in, things become easy as fuck.”

“Sounds so simple,” Domitor muttered as I gave him a wink.

“With me around, everything is simple.”

“Yeah, sure,” he remarked, returning my wink as I slugged his shoulder.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The door to the Enforcer’s Time Chamber opened as a few of the members of Phantasm Troupe walked out, carrying themselves a bit differently after the two years they’d just spent training.

“I’ll inform Calypso we’re ready to start moving things forward,” Roxxy announced as she continued walking for the hallway that led back to the main room.

“We’ll go gather up the gear,” Nightstreak said as he, Dude, and his sister all walked for the armory.

As everyone else split up to perform their task, Louie stepped out, followed by his two teachers.

“Well, Louie, this has been fun,” Coach Jones said as he shook hands with Louie. “Don’t go out there and disappoint us now.”

“I won’t, Coach,” Louie said proudly as he towered above them, his now fully muscular body giving off a very imposing aura.

Next he turned to John Cena and gave him a salute, “thank you again, Mr. Cena. Without you I’d never have gotten into shape like this.” He then struck a very exaggerated pose, hands splayed out as he held one before his face and one over his knees, “nor would I have learned the true art of Showmanship!”

John returned his salute, a very proud smile on his face, “I did my best for you, son. Now you just need to go out there and put everything we taught you to use.”

“I will!” Louie laughed as he bowed to them.

“Now,” Coach Jones said as he placed a hand on Louie’s shoulder as he bowed before them. “Go suplex that prick Champion for me.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp let out a relieved sigh as she stepped off of the train, happy to finally be off of it after four long days.

The city before her though was not something she’d expected, as it appeared to be a never ending maze of buildings stretching all the way to massive tree, which extended so high into the sky she had to tilt her head all the way back just to see the top.

“How are we supposed to find our daughter in this shit?” She asked, getting a reassuring shoulder squeeze from Mallogory.

“It won’t be easy,” she admitted, “but we have family here in this city. That is, if they actually went through with the plans to expand here.”

“Do you know where they might be?” Spark asked as he looked around, seeing all the people around them giving them strange looks.

“If they stuck to the original plan, then I know of the general area they’ll be in,” she confirmed as she began to walk down the platform.

Scamp frowned, as she felt something was off. Like they were already being watched, but scanning the area revealed nothing out of place. But to be honest, she wasn’t familiar with this world, so it was a bit harder to pick things out that don’t belong.

Regardless, her senses were on high alert as she took up the rear as they walked, head forward as her eyes scanned the area constantly.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Let me take the lead,” Vanilla suddenly said as we neared a checkpoint that led into what I assumed was the Social District.

“Go ahead,” I replied as we all held back so she could walk ahead of us. “Should we know anything once we get inside?”

“Yes, don’t act… like yourselves,” she said, a slight smile tugging at her face. “We’re already going to stand out thanks to how you two are dressed,” she said, regarding Floria and me. “And with Domitor, we’ll draw a lot of attention. If this is going to work, I’ll need you three to follow my lead.”

“You can count on us,” Floria chuckled, giving her a confident smile as she tilted her head to the side.

“Floria and Shane,” she said as we slowly neared the gates. “You are my hired bodyguards.”

“Well we do look the part,” Floria said, giving me a smirk. “Especially Ms Beefcake over here.”

I nodded in agreement, then frowned as I realized what she said, “hey.”

“Domitor,” Vanilla continued, putting her hands behind her back as Creampuff took up a position on her shoulder. “I am sorry, but you will have to pretend to be my non-speaking pet.”

“Ha!” I laughed, giving him a shove as he frowned.

“Great,” he said flatly, shaking his head.

“Pet’s don’t speak, Domitard,” I teased as I rumbled up his mane. He playfully bit my hand, causing me to yelp. “Hey! No biting assface!”

He just smirked up at me, staying silent.

“You’ll regret that,” I said as I rubbed my hand, a sly grin on my face.

“Focus you two,” Floria said as we stepped up to the gates where four guards stood around looking bored.

“Pass?” One of them asked without even looking up as he read a book.

“Open the gate,” Vanilla said in a stern and practiced voice, standing with her hands behind her back.

The guard looked up, eyes going wide as he realized who she was. “Ah yes, Ms. Cakehurst ma’am!” He turned and yelled to someone inside the guard house. “Open the gate!”

The gates began to squeal as they slowly rolled open, allowing us entry as we all walked in with no problem.

Quest complete! 7 skill points awarded!
Quest complete! 3 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 13 unspent points!

“Well that was easy,” I muttered, getting a smile out of Vanilla as we walked further into the Social District, which looked a lot different from the part of the city we’d just come from. A lot more fancy and put together, with everyone wearing much nicer clothing.

“Of course, it’s one of the many benefits of being a Cakehurst,” Vanilla replied, then in a lower tone added, “one of the only good things about being a Cakehurst.”

Domitor and I didn’t react to that last part, but Floria gave her a reassuring nod, as she couldn’t do much more without breaking the illusion of us behind her bodyguards.

Moving on, she resumed her proper stance and strolled forward, head held high. “Going forward will be very simple, as the guards at the entrance to Denmor will allow us entry just the same.”

Quest accepted! ‘Rank A: Enter Denmor!’

“Wow, this is all… going very smoothly now,” I commented, a smile taking over my face as I adjusted my mask, eyes scanning the area around us.

I thought I saw someone staring at us within the crowd, but when I looked in their direction they were gone.

“Aw hell naw,” I muttered, now feeling very uneasy. I may be dumb, but even I know when we’re being followed.

“Heads up guys,” I said quietly, “I think we have a fan.”

“Who?” Floria asked as her eyes darted around the area.

“Dunno, I barely saw them, but it’s a Kejtdra male,” I answered, gripping the sheath of my wooden katana with my lift hand as we walked.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“I guess nothing, unless we wanted to draw them out,” I answered, trying to think of the best course of action here. “I say we just keep pushing for entrance to Denmor.”

“Well that’s worrisome,” Vanilla muttered from ahead of us as we continued down the street.

“What is it?” I asked as I sped up to get next to her.

“That woman, there,” she said, tilting her head towards a very well dressed woman staring at us with an amused look on her face.

“What about her?”

“That is the sister of one of the men married into the family. She knows me,” Vanilla said as her posture strained to force her into a more upright stance.

I just shrugged as I made eye contact with the woman, causing her to smile as she stepped back into a building. “There, she’s gone.”

“The fact she left without saying a word to me does not bode well,” Vanilla said, sweat suddenly beading up on her forehead.

“Hey, don’t worry, we got you,” Floria assured her as she took up the spot on the other side of Vanilla.

This seemed to calm her a bit as she relaxed slightly, “Thank you, all of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said with a nod, eyes still watching the crowd around us.

ooo000<^>000ooo

3 hours later

It took a bit, but we were finally close to the base of the tree, where there were even more secure checkpoints set up before you could even get near the base of the tree.

Which would be no problem for us with Vanilla Cakehrust here to have us waved through every obstacle.

“Once we’re actually in the tree,” she began, doing her best to look as proper as she could. “Do not speak. The denizens within Denmor are of a different standing than anyone you’ve met so far. As bad as it sounds, you’re all lowly trash in their minds.”

“I mean they’re not wrong,” I said with a smirk, not really caring for the opinions of uptight rich people.

“I’m serious, I must be the one to do all the talking. It won’t matter if you are my bodyguard, if you anger someone within Denmor, you can be ejected without any warning, do you understand?”

I rolled my eyes but nodded, “yeah, I do.”

“Good,” she said with a firm nod as we neared the first checkpoint.

The guards here looked a lot more serious, as they stared down anyone who walked near their post. But we walked up confidently, like we belonged here. That didn’t stop every single one of them from staring right at us.

“Stop,” the largest one demanded as he stepped forward, a little device in his hands. “Name.”

“Vanilla Cassonade Wafer Glazia Cakehurst,” Vanilla stated firmly, staring right back at him sternly.

The lead guard raised an eyebrow as he held out the device, scanning all of us. “I see,” he said as he stepped back and leaned into a guard house, speaking with someone.

“Is there a problem?” Vanilla asked in a practiced no nonsense tone.

He didn’t respond right away, just kind of leaned out to stare at us for a moment before nodding to whoever he was talking to.

“Ms. Vanilla Cakehurst,” he announced as he walked back to us, the guards in the area tensing up instantly. “Looks like I will be the one to inform you of the bad news.”

She glared at him, trying to remain in charge, but her trembling body gave her away.

The guards began to form a circle around us.

“You have been excommunicated from the Cakehurst family effective one hour ago, and are to be turned over to a Maiden upon arrest,” he declared, causing Vanilla’s entire façade to fall away instantly, causing her to take a step back between us.

Every guard around us began to move in slowly, holding their hands up.

“Do not resist, this does not need to go down that route,” he said as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “Just surrender, Ms. Vanilla.”

“What do we do?” I asked, not sure if attacking guards like this would be a smart move.

Floria looked at me, then to the terrified Vanilla, a conflicted look on her face. “Fuck it… can you handle all of them?”

A little smirk appeared on my face as I gave a single nod, “yeah, easy peasy.”

“Then do it,” she said as she wrapped an arm around Vanilla, pulling her close as the guards were almost in grabbing distance.

Well, they’re fucked.

“VofKai,” I suddenly said aloud, causing cyan energy to burst from my body as I activated my Perception Field, taking in everything around me as I planned my following movements carefully. Then in a fluid motion I sprang forward, drawing my wooden sword and weaving in and out of the group of guards around us.

As I came to a stop right outside of the circle, I slid my katana back into the sheath. As it clicked into place, the guards behind me all let out pained grunts and gasps as they all collapsed.

“Fuck me,” Floria muttered as she dragged Vanilla along, jumping over the downed guards and making a run for it with Domitor close on her heels.

“That’s Shayla for ya,” Domitor said as I stood up and took off after them, deactivating VofKai to conserve my energy. I don’t have a overpowered healer here this time to fix my body if I over use that.

Behind us a few guards ran out of the guard house and began to chase after us.

“I got it,” Domitor said as I started to stop, using his weird tentacle ability to shoot right back towards them. This caught them off guard as he zipped around them, using just his hooves to take them down, as he seemed to be trying to avoid killing them. Of course, even with just his hooves and abilities, he was able to easily dispatch them, catching back up with us without any trouble. “Got them.”

“My little badass,” I teased as we ran alongside each other.

He shot me a wink as we caught up with the other two.

Vanilla was hysterical as Floria was now having to carry her, as she was having a breakdown. She was starting to slow down, so I ran by her and grabbed Vanilla, holding her so we could run faster.

“What’s the matter now?!” I asked a bit roughly, not very happy she was doing this right here and now.

“Excommunicated…” she repeated over and over again, pulling at her hair. “They’ve excommunicated me from the family…”

“So what? Fuck the Cakehurst!” I shouted a bit too loudly as we sprinted down the crowded streets, not really knowing where we were going.

“You don’t get it!” she shouted, eyes wide as her goggles had slipped down. “That means they’re going to have to remove my Thorn! If a female member leaves the family for any reason, the family will forcibly remove her Thorn!”

“You can’t remove a Thorn,” Floria said as she held Creampuff, doing her best to keep her eyes open on the crowd around us.

“Our family can,” Vanilla said grimly, “we have a branch of the family dedicated to just that, and it’s the most ville and unpleasant thing a person can experience! I’ve seen the aftermath of some family members! Not all of them come out the same! Some even just straight up die during the process! If you survive, then your soul will be so damaged you may never be able to fully recover!”

“Fucking Cakehurst,” Floria growled. “Well they’re not going to get you, I promise on my life that I will not let that happen.”

“Same here, they’re not touching your skinny ass,” I assured her as we turned down a mostly empty street, heading into what appeared to be a living district of some kind.

Vanilla didn’t look convinced as she curled into herself in my grasp.

“I’m going to need you to pull yourself together, Vanilla!” I said gruffly, “we can’t have you-”

“Hello, kites,” a voice called out, causing all of us to come to a grinding halt.

“Ah shit,” I muttered as I saw the owner of the voice step out of a doorway, smiling brightly at us. “Jekyll.”

“The Cakehurst’s have put out a hefty bounty on that little lady right there,” Jekyll laughed, staring right at Vanilla. “So let’s do the smart thing and hand her over.”

Instead of responding, we all squared up with him as I put Vanilla down behind me. Floria’s large rifle appeared in her hand, causing him to smirk.

“Same tricks won’t work this time,” he declared as he began to advance on us, his axe spinning around his body.

“Shayla, we can win this if you just agree to killing him,” Domitor said carefully, remembering how the last fight went.

“I’ll weaken him if you want to kill him, but that’s all I’ll be able to do,” I stated firmly, getting groans out of them.

“Okay,” Domitor grunted, giving me a reassuring nod, “get him down and we’ll finish him.”

“Easy,” I said with a smirk.

“Round three, kites,” Jekyll laughed as he sprang forward.

Quest accepted! 'Rank S: Defeat the Boogeyman!'

The Gang confronts the Boogeyman

Chapter 61

I rushed forward to meet Jekyll, planning to take most of his attention during this fight.

He laughed as he zeroed in on me, pulling his large axe back as I placed my right hand on the hilt of my katana.

“VofKai,” I muttered as my Ego exploded around me, just as he swung his axe, coming in from the left side. In one fluid motion I pulled my wooden blade and clashed it with the head of his axe, flipping my wrist as the axe head was deflected straight into the ground.

Using my wings I exploded forward, and punched the handle of his axe, sending it flying out of his grasp. As he reacted to my movements, I grabbed my katana in both hands and sliced it upward, catching him in the jaw just as he tried to grab me.

A grunt escaped his lips as his head snapped back, but one of his legs flew up and caught me right between the legs. Pain exploded through me, but I ignored it as I swung my sword back down, right onto the top of his head.

This just pissed him off as he pushed back towards me. I barely caught the glint of metal in the corner of my eye as I ducked, the axe flying through the air and almost taking off my head. I started to continue my attack, but then I saw it coming right back for me, changing directions in a way that should not be possible.

The only way I was able to dodge it this time was to activate my Perception Field and use my own blade to deflect the incoming axe.

However this cost me as I felt a massive fist hit me right in the face, shattering my mask instantly. I didn’t go down, just stumbled back as he advanced on me.

I felt something attach to my back, followed by Domitor shooting past me and engaging with Jekyll. The large Halwen seemed to be playing this safer as he used his fist to deflect and parry Domitor’s strikes, easily avoiding his sword.

I obviously was not going to stand back and watch this as I started to move in, but then I saw that damn axe flying right for Domitor, coming from his blind side.

My body moved on its own as I pushed Ego into my left hand. Thanks to my wings I was able to get between Domitor and the axe before it reached him, and using my Ego infused fist, I punched the axe away, sending it flying down the street. Then, pushing even more Ego into my fist I dashed forward, getting right up next to Domitor as I threw my hand forward.

A massive beam of Ego suddenly enveloped Jekyll, surely injuring him enough for Domitor or Floria to finish him off. But as I pushed more and more Ego through my hand, I saw a fist come flying out of the stream and punch Domitor right in the face, sending him skidding across the ground.

My eyes went wide as that damn axe exploded out of the stream of Ego and flew right for my face. I had no choice but to end my attack and bring up my katana, gripping its wooden blade to brace myself as the axe made contact. The force of the impact sent my sword flying out of my hands, leaving me wide open as Jakyll stood before me, a wide smile on his face.

“You look surprised,” he remarked as he dusted himself off, not a scratch on him from my attack. “I saw your match, so I know all about these nifty abilities you have.”

Which means he can counter them… fuck.

A loud boom sounds behind me as I feel a massive bullet fly right past my left ear. But the large Halwen simply tilted his head as the bullet tore past him and blew a chunk out of the building behind him.

“I told you, the same tricks won’t work this time around. I’ve adapted,” he announced as his axe flew into his hand, bringing a smile to his face. “I’ve played enough. Turn over the Cakehurst, and I’ll forget I saw the rest of you.”

“No can do,” I growled as I lowered into a fighting stance, raising my sword. Domitor slowly made his way back over, his face a bit bloody but otherwise he seemed to be okay.

“I’d rather not kill talent like yourself, but at the same time,” he said, licking his lips, “I do love a real fight.”

“Shayla, from what I can tell, he’s immune to Ego now. You can’t damage him using any of your abilities,” Rosemary warned, sounding a bit frantic.

‘Then how the fuck do we beat him?’ I asked as he twirled his axe as he lowered into his own fighting stance.

“He’s not immune to physical damage, as far as I can tell,” she advised, getting a nod out of me.

“Good enough,” I said aloud as he exploded towards us.

I took a deep breath, focusing as my Perception Field spread out around me. He can counter its effects, but it still provided me with plenty of benefits. As his body passed over the perimeter of the ring around me, I began to take note of every movement he made, looking for an opening.

But that was the problem, he was nothing but openings! Which meant any of them I took could be a trap!

So I did the only thing I could do, I attacked his guard. This had the effect I’d hoped for, as he wasn’t expecting me to attack the most protected part of his defense. The force of my attack broke his guard, just as Domitor slid up under him, jamming his blade right into Jekyll’s knee, giving his blade a twist to really do some damage.

Jekyll roared as he began to fall to one knee, but he still was able to attack as his axe came flying back for me, both of his hands on the handle as his eyes exploded with anger.

Just as before I deflected his attack, sending it harmlessly above me as I jabbed my wooden sword forward, catching him in the diaphragm. This seemed to knock the wind out of him, but his body kept moving at a high speed as he gripped the axe again, bringing it back down towards me.

This time I just simply dodged as I whacked him in the throat, trying to take him out of commission.

Domitor attempted to jab his own sword into Jekyll’s back, but the large Halwen suddenly rolled to the left, dodging the attack as he brought his axe around. This time it wasn’t aimed at me as Domitor barely got his sword up in time to block the hit. But there was so much force behind it that it sent the stallion flying right at me.

I gritted my teeth as I threw my arms out wide, catching him as we were both sent flying backwards, skidding across the ground multiple times.

Floria’s rifle began to fire away now that we were no longer in the way, hopefully keeping Jekyll distracted long enough for the two of us to get back into the fight.

“You alright?” I asked as I climbed to my feet, holding out a hand to Domitor.

He grunted as he took my hand, allowing me to pull him to his hooves, “can you please kill him. I can't reach his vitals.”

I bit my lip as I looked over to see Jekyll dodging Floria’s bullets, slowly advancing on her.

“I have a better idea,” I muttered as I put my wooden sword away. “Just… be ready.”

He frowned at this, but gave a nod.

Taking a deep breath I prepared myself, fidgeting with the Watcher’s vial as he hung around my neck.

“I really advise against this,” Rosemary warned, but it fell on deaf ears. I know the risk.

“Let’s go,” I said as I flared my wings and took off right for Jekyll as he got a bit too close to Floria and Vanilla for my liking.

“VofKai times four,” I growled, wincing as my body pulsed with an intense energy, a burning sensation overtaking everything. This was far too much at once, but if I could end this now, then it wouldn’t matter.

I exploded forward as I suddenly appeared before Jekyll, blocking his advance on the others. He seemed to be waiting for me as his axe was already coming for me. But, just to show off, I simply punched it away, leaving him wide open.

Taking a deep breath I gripped the hilt of my longsword and drew it. I performed four quick slices, returning my sword to its scabbard as I exhaled, eyes locked with Jekyll’s.

A look of surprise slid onto his face as he stood there, blinking at me. He started to move, but the moment he did he collapsed in on himself, his arms and legs no longer attached to his body, as I’d cut them in a way that he was now just a head and a torso.

I stood up straight, staring down at him as his mind slowly processed what's just happened.

With a grunt, I ended VofKai, my body feeling like it was deflating as it suddenly felt very strained. If I’d stayed in the for too much longer I might not have been able to stay standing.

“Amazing,” Jekyll remarked, a pained smile on his face. “I saw that ability at the tournament, but fighting against it is a whole different experience.”

“Yeah,” I replied, shaking my head as I took a step back.

“At least it was you to strike me down, and not that short woman, or that strange creature,” he said, forcing a smirk. “So come on, finish me.”

“No,” I said simply, getting a sneer out of him. “I’m not a killer.

Domitor stepped up, flipping his blade around his hoof as he stood above the limbless Halwen.

“But my hot little artist here? Yeah, he’s a killer,” I said with a smirk.

“No, he can’t kill me. He didn’t earn-” Jekyll began to say, but was cut off as Domitor stabbed his blade into the man’s head.

Quest complete! 12 skill points awarded!
Level up!
You have 28 unspent skill points!

“Your hot little artist?” he asked as he flicked the blood off of his sword, raising an eyebrow at me as a smirk appeared on his face.

“Shut up,” I huffed, crossing my arms. But I couldn’t help but smile at him as he slugged my hip.

“That was amazing though,” he praised, “you just keep on impressing me with all the shit you can do, Shayla.”

My face felt a bit hot as I forced a laugh, “yeah, I’m just cool like that, Domster.”

“I hate to break up this little moment you two are having, but we need to get off the streets,” Floria yelled as she pulled Vanilla after, heading for an alleyway.

We both gave a nod, but as I started to move away, Floria pointed behind me.

“Grab his Vacuole Drum, he’s got to have some neat shit in there!”

My eyes went wide, as I turned around, seeing a decently sized blob forming on the chest of Jekyll. It bubbled up till it suddenly hardened, forming a pink cube with a dark center.

This fucking place just gets weirder and weirder.

I grabbed the cube and took off running after the others.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Exhaling loudly I fell on my ass, relieved to finally be able to rest after that fight and all the cardio we’d just performed while looking for a place to hide.

We’d been lucky enough to find a building that seemed to be under construction, providing us with a place to rest up and figure out our next move.

Domitor plopped down next to me, breathing much harder than I was.

Floria and Vanilla were across the room, talking as the short Kejtdra was attempting to calm the other woman down. Poor fucking Vanilla… she just could not catch a break.

I looked at Domitor, seeing he looked a bit troubled.

“You good?” I asked, giving him a light shove.

He just sighed a bit, nodding his head, “yeah, I’m good…” then he looked at me, a serious yet hurt expression on his face. “Do you just see me as a killer now?”

This question caught me way off guard, causing me to recoil a bit as I stared back at him. “What? Is this about what I said to Jekyll?”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod, eyes looking a bit wet.

I did not know how to handle this, as I just stared wide eyed at him. But I desperately wanted to say something, anything, to make him feel better. I honestly didn’t think that comment I made would affect him like this…

“Dom…” I said, clearly struggling to say something.

He wiped his face, smiling sadly at me, “it’s okay, I know we’re not good with emotions and shit…”

“No, just…” I reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, causing my own emotions to fluctuate like crazy. “I’m sorry… I need to think before I speak sometimes.”

“Yeah, you do,” he laughed, placing a hoof over my hand.

I scooted closer to him as I tried to be a bit more serious, “I do not see you as a killer, Dom.”

He held my gaze, letting my words process.

“You’re a good stallion, Domitor. You do what you have to do to help others, even at the cost of yourself…” I was trying so damn hard to say the right things, just wanting him to be happy.

“You can say I’m a good stallion, but I’ve killed-”

I shut him up by kissing his dumbass. After a few moments I broke the kiss, leaning back, “shut up, you idiot. If I say you’re a good stallion, then you’re a good stallion. Don’t you fucking argue with me.”

My stern gaze didn’t last long as we both began to laugh, pulling each other into a hug.

“Thanks, Shay,” he muttered, squeezing me hard.

“You bet, Tard,” I replied, breaking the hug.

“I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes before you start shagging like animals,” Floria joked as she walked over. “Did you get his Fossil Drum?”

“This thing?” I asked, digging it out of a pocket and tossing it to her.

“Fuck yeah that thing!” she laughed, catching it and putting it away in her own Vacuole. Instantly a few items appeared around her, looking to just be junk of some kind.

“Shit… he had a lot of stuff in his Vacuole,” she muttered, seeming to be concentrating on something. “I’m… going to need a moment to go through all this shit…”

“Wait, that item was his Vacuole? And you just absorbed it into your own? So now all of his shit is yours now?” I asked, trying to make sense of everything.

“Yeah basically,” she chuckled, returning to Vanilla.

“This fucking place is weird,” Domitor muttered, getting a chuckle out of me.

“Right? I just want to get back home at this point,” I said as I fidgeted with the vial around my neck.

At this he frowned, “what are we going to do now? With Vanilla excommunicated from her family, we don’t have a way to just walk into Denmor. And now we’re going to have people hunting for her.”

“Yeah shits complicated now…” I muttered, rubbing my chin, very upset that my mask had been ruined. It’ll take a LONG time before it is fully repaired.

“She’ll need to put on a disguise or something, that’s for sure,” he commented, getting a nod out of me. “You’ll need to wear a face mask, Shay. Thanks to that tournament, more people know what you look like. That mask was the real give away though, so if we just cover your face, we should be good…”

“Yeah, what about you?” I asked, waving a hand over his pony body. “You stick out hard.”

“I… we’ll have to figure something out,” he conceded, clearly forgetting about himself.

“Time to workshop some ideas,” I chuckled, standing up and holding a hand out to him.

“Fun,” he muttered as he allowed me to haul him up.

We then made our way over to the other two. We needed to work this out as a group.

New day same problems

Chapter 62

“I’ll be completely honest with you, babe,” Scamp began as they all walked down a mostly deserted street, dilapidated buildings all around them. “This place is a lot worse than you made it sound.”

“We’re just in the bad part of this city,” Mallogory chuckled, walking in the middle, “if you want beautiful, then you should’ve been watching the scenery outside the train.”

“I was a little preoccupied,” the mare laughed, slugging her wife in the hip.

“I don’t know,” Spark spoke up, a grin on his face. “I kinda like it. Sure it’s a bit run down and dead looking, but it’s got a charm to it.”

The two women looked at each other, sharing a knowing smirk.

“What?” he asked, tilting his head at them as they continued down the street.

“Sometimes your father shines through when you speak,” Mallogory teased, causing him to frown.

“I know that’s supposed to be an insult, but I’m taking it as a complement,” he declared, causing them both to laugh.

“I rest my case.”

He huffed, but before he could make another comment, Mallogory came to a halt.

“What is it?” he asked, stopping right behind her, eyes scanning the area.

“I believe we’re here…” she said, nodding to a building ahead that had a sign that read ‘Beltosh Armaments & Repairs’.

“I expected more,” Scamp muttered, getting a nod of agreement from her wife.

“Yes… something’s wrong here. This place should be… bigger, and in a better part of town,” Mallogory said as she began to walk towards the building quickly, throwing caution to the wind.

“Hey, don’t just-” Scamp began, but it was too late as her wife picked up her pace, running to the building. She let out a groan and took off after her, closely followed by Spark.

“Don’t just rush in!” Scamp hissed as she caught up just as Mallogory reached the door. “Take this slow.”

Reluctantly she stopped at the door, taking a deep breath. “Yes, you’re right. If anything, I don’t want to panic them by bursting through the door.”

“I’ll go first,” Scamp said as she took a step forward, followed by her wife taking a step back.

Carefully she pushed the door open and walked in, eyes scanning the empty and dusty store. A bell rang above her, causing some movement to be heard deeper in the building.

“Um… coming!” a female voice called out, sounding a bit… strange.

She walked in, followed by the other two who stayed right behind her.

After a moment an older Kejtdra woman stepped out and walked up to the counter, covered in sweat and a fake smile plastered on her face. Scamp took notice of her disheveled appearance immediately, seeing a strange look in her wide eyes, the smile doing nothing but making her look more out of place.

“Welcome to Beltosh Armaments & Repairs… I’m sorry but we’re close today due too… repairs,” she said, not really looking at them as her eyes kept darting to the door she’d just come from.

“Mother?” Mallogory said from behind Scamp, causing the woman to snap her head at them, fully taking them in for the first time.

“Mallogory?!” the woman yelped, seeming both shocked and scared at once.

Mallogory began to take a step forward, but Scamp, who knew her wife was tunnel visioning on her mother, held out a hoof and stopped her.

“Somethings not right,” she whispered, snapping her wife out of her trance.

The woman behind the counter had a mix of emotions on her face as sweat continued to bead up all over her skin.

“Mother, what is it?” Mallogory asked in a low tone.

“Mother?” a different voice called out as a large number of Kejtdra began to walk out of the doors around the shop, filling up the room and surrounding the trio. The speaker was a large man with two swords across his back, and a bulky seat of armor attached to his body. “I thought your kids were all dead, Liz? You dirty liar, you.”

The older Kejtdra woman did not speak as she locked eyes with Mallogory, seeming to beg her to just leave.

“What is this?” Spark demanded, taking in all the men around them. At least fifteen people were stuffed into this tiny shop, making it impossible for them to leave.

“You’ve done walked into the hornets nest,” the man laughed, smirking at them as another man came out, a rifle in his hands as he pointed it at Liz. “Normally, I’d let you walk, but you called her mother. Which makes you a part of this.”

“A part of what, exactly?” Scamp asked, staying calm as she mentally prepared herself.

“Sir, I think these are the parents of Shayla Beltosh,” another man said as he held open a notebook, going over what they’d found out from the owners of the shop.

At the mention of their daughters name, the two women had a visible reaction, causing the large man to smirk.

“I think you’re right, Keto,” he drew his two swords and pointed one at the trio. “So let’s just play nice together and all go take a seat in the other room.”

“Mallogory,” Liz began, getting a lot of looks from the men around her. “Run!” she yelled as she slammed her hand down on a button that had been hidden on the table, causing a bell to ring as the lights went out. The only light came from the mostly obscured windows, meaning the majority of the room was hidden in darkness.

Instead of listening to Liz the group exploded, dashing into the men around them.

Screams filled the room as guns went off, illuminating things momentarily as the images of Scamp and Mallogory ripping through the Kejtdra haunted those that were not engaged yet.

It didn’t take long before everything went quiet, leaving just a single person talking.

“Damn it!” the large Kejtdra yelled as he stood in the middle of the room, not hearing anything anymore. “Keto? Hectar? Jayco?!” he yelled, getting no response from any of his men.

“Fuck!” he yelled as he twisted around, trying to pick out movement in the mostly dark room around him.

Something moved behind him so he spun around, holding his swords up, but something slapped against his wrist, causing him to drop his swords.

Then the lights came on, revealing his hands had been cut off right at the wrist. His eyes went wide as he yelled in pain, but then Scamp dove over the counter and nailed him right in the face with a hoof, knocking him unconscious.

“Whew,” she let out a sigh as she looked around, seeing all the dead and unconscious Kejtdra that now lay around the shop. Liz just stood there, eyes wide in shock as she took in the scene before her.

“Spark, restrain the ones who are still alive,” she commanded as she walked over to Liz, her wife doing the same as she jumped the counter and wrapped her mother in a hug. “We need to talk,” she said simply, getting a nod from the confused woman who was currently being hugged by Mallogory.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Any questions?” Nova asked as she stood at the head of the table, all eyes on her.

“One question,” Louie said as he sat leaned back in his chair.

“Yes, Lou?” Nova asked as she turned her attention to him.

He threw a hand up, “so our plan is to expose Champion as a murderer who not only killed the Princesses, but also a lot of other people, right?”

“That is correct,” she confirmed, causing him to throw up his other hand.

“Why don’t we just focus on killing him? There has to be a way to stop him for good, why go through all the trouble of exposing him?”

“Because,” Roxxy interjected, a bit annoyed, “Champion is obsessed with his image, and wants the people to love him. Taking that away from him is the first step in defeating him.”

“Sure, but what if it just makes things worse?” Louie asked, getting a few looks from the others. “I think we should focus on-”

“Louie, we can’t kill him,” Roxxy said sternly. “He’s too powerful. The best we can do is break him down and then hopefully trap him in another dimension.”

Louie clearly didn’t like this, but looking at Nova he saw her give him a reassuring look.

“I know my brother,” Nova said firmly, getting everyone's attention. “If we take away all the love and admiration he’s gained, and make his deeds known to the world, then it’ll cause a breakdown. That will be when we can handle him, when he is not thinking clearly. Our goal,” she said as she placed an item on the table, “is to trap him in a specialized dimension, made just for him. Once he’s there, he’ll never be able to escape.”

“Before you ask, it’s unlikely he’ll enter it on his own,” Roxxy added, hooves crossed. “He’s able to sense when someone is being deceitful thanks to his super senses, so trying to trick him into entering right now would just end in all of our deaths. So we have to play this… carefully.”

“I really do not like this,” Louie muttered, “but I’ll back it.”

Everyone else gave their agreements as well.

“I shall hand out all assignments,” Nova said as her horn began to glow, levitating out a few folders to each person. “This is it. Once we leave this room, there is no going back. This plan must go exactly as planned, or everyone we know and love will die. Is this understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” everyone said at once.

“Good luck,” Nova said with a nod as she took a step back, causing everyone to stand up.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Four more were arrested in the Everfree Forest, ma’am,” Captain Hefthoof, second in command of the Inquisitors, said as he stood before his Chief's desk.

“I’m assuming no one on our list?” Strawell, Chief of the Inquisitors, asked as she looked through a folder.

“No, ma’am,” he answered, placing down four pictures. “We have yet to locate any of our Most Wanted.”

“Hm,” Strawell glanced over to the four pictures, seeing no one she was interested in. “Very well. Anything else, Captain?”

“That is all, ma’am,” he said, giving a salute as he took a step back and walked out of her office.

She sighed as she began to focus on the files before her, but the building shook a bit, causing her to raise from her seat and stand at attention.

A few moments later her door opened as Champion himself stepped in, a scowl on his face.

“So tell me,” he said in a low tone as he closed the door behind himself and walked right over to her cabinet where she kept her personal wine. “Why did I wake up this morning to the news that you, YOU, held a press conference telling the world that Nova has returned?”

Strawell stood firm, unwavering. “You appointed me to hunt down and capture all Bronies and their associates,” she said sternly, causing him to growl as he broke the seal on one of her bottles and poured himself a drink. “Nova is at the top of our Most Wanted list. It is in our best interest for the world to be on the lookout for her, so she’ll have nowhere to hide from us.”

“That was not your call to make,” Champion said coldly as he drank her wine, frowning as he poured it out on the floor. “I gave you one job; to do as you were told,” he then turned to face her fully, eye twitching, “you went behind my back.”

“I did my job, My Lord,” she replied as she held his gaze, still standing at attention.

He suddenly punched her desk, sending it flying across the room where it crashed through the wall, flying out into the offices beyond. Yet she didn’t flinch as she stood there.

As they stared each other down, her phone began to ring, causing both of them to look down at it as it lay on the floor.

She saw the caller ID and gave a nod, “if I may, My Lord?”

He growled but gave her a nod.

Strawell bent over and grabbed the phone, clicking accept.

“Strawell,” she answered sternly.

“We’ve received a report of a sighting of one of our Most Wanted, ma’am,” the Inquisitor on the other side of the phone said.

“Send the details to my personal computer,” she commanded as she hung up, eyes never leaving Champion’s. “My Lord, I apologize for stepping above my station, but we have a sighting of one of our Most Wanted. If this concludes our meeting, I’m required elsewhere.”

“Chief Strawell,” he growled, getting right up in her face as his eyes began to glow, “do not cross me again. You are my DOG, you do what I say. If I didn’t order it, then you do not do it. Do you understand me?”

“Clearly, My Lord,” she said, her expression never faltering as he leaned back, eyes returning to normal.

“Now, go do your job,” he commanded as he walked out of her office.

She didn’t move right away, just stood there at attention. Once the building shook again she allowed herself to relax.

“Ma’am?!” Captain Hefthoof yelled as he rushed into the room, having heard the yelling but knowing better than to enter without being asked.

“It is fine, Captain,” she said as she began to move her chair back into place and sat down. “Have a new desk brought up, if you will.”

“Yes, ma’am!” he said as he saluted and left the room.

She let out a sigh as she looked at her personal computer, which had landed on the ground a few feet away. It flashed as a file was sent to her. Slowly an image began to appear of one of the ponies on the Most Wanted list.

That interaction with the King did not sit well with her, as it went against her previous views of him. But that did not matter, what mattered was bringing those responsible for the death of the Princesses to justice.

No matter the cost to herself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp held out a cup of tea to Liles as he sat in his chair, his face pretty swollen from the beating he’d received before they’d arrived.

“Thank you, Scamp,” he said as he took the cup, sipping from it.

She gave him a nod as she looked over at the four tied up Kejtdra, who were all still unconscious.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Liz exclaimed as she and Mallogory sat together on the couch.

“I’m sorry but,” Scamp said as she stood in the middle of everyone, “why were they here? And why are they after Shayla?”

“Them?” Liles asked, glaring at the restrained men. “They work for Rig Fandan, and apparently Shayla’s gotten on their bad side.”

“Yeah, she tends to do that,” Scamp replied, unable to not chuckle at this. She glanced at the four unconscious men, ready for them to wake up so the interrogations could begin.

“Your daughter is a lot like you used to be, Mally,” Liz chuckled, causing Mallogory herself to smile. Then she smirked, “actually speaking of that…”

Mallogory raised her eyebrow, “why are you-” her eyes went wide. “No.”

Liz jumped up and took off running, giggling with glee as she did so.

“Mother no!” Mallogory yelled after her as Liles bellowed with laughter.

“Get the photo albums on the top shelf as well!” Liles called after her, causing Mallogory to groan.

“Scamp, go stop her,” Mallogory begged, but was met with her wife smirking at her.

“I don’t know, I kinda need to see these photo albums if you’re reacting like this.”

After a moment the older woman returned, holding five large photo albums.

“We’re starting with baby pictures!” she announced, causing Mallogory to groan loudly.

Scamp herself was clapping her hooves excitedly, a wide smile on her face.

“This is cruel…” Mallogory grumbled as everyone gathered around Liz.

The Gang gets a new look

Chapter 63

“There’s some good shit in here,” Floria exclaimed as she kept pulling items out of her Vacuole, examining each one.

She was like a kid as she smiled with glee as she pulled out item after item, fidgeting with a few of them.

Vanilla sat next to her, holding onto Creampuff as she watched the other woman enjoy herself. She didn’t look any better, but she at least had a small smile on her face.

“Okay put this on,” Domitor said as he tossed a scarf at me.

I rolled my eyes as I wrapped it around my face, leaving just my eyes exposed.

“And this,” Floria said as she pulled out some clothes and tossed them at me.

“What?” I asked, seeing that it was a business suit of some kind. “Hehe… no.”

“That jacket stands out too much, Shay,” Domitor pressed, causing me to growl.

“This jacket came from the guy who saved my life, it stays on,” I stated, but he placed a hoof on my hand.

“I get it, but we need to lay low. Please, Shay. Once this is over you can put it back on, okay?”

I growled and spat onto the ground next to me, but gave a nod, “fine, but I want it known this was done against my will.”

“Noted,” he said as he held out the clothes for me.

I removed my clothes with my Wardrobe function, and took the undershirt from him. I struggled to get it on, as my muscles were a bit too big for the sleeves.

“Geez,” he chuckled as he began helping me get the shirt on. It took a moment but we were able to squeeze me into it. The jacket at least slid on a bit easier, but was still a bit tight. As for the pants they just slid on with ease, but made me look really stupid in my opinion.

I pulled the strings on the Watcher’s vial so he was back out on the outside of my clothes.

He adjusted the front of the button up shirt, getting everything straight. “Hey, at least you look good in a suit,” he teased, causing me to roll my eyes as I slugged him in the shoulder.

“Now, what about you, pony boy?” I asked as I rumbled up his mane.

“Ooo! I got something for that now!” Floria suddenly exclaimed, pulling out two items. “Our dead friend Jekyll had some cool shit in his Vacuole, and I’ve found two that are just what we need right now!”

We all turned our attention to her as she held one up above her head.

“So this one can make one person take on the appearance of another! And it lasts till you turn it off! So Domitor can look like me!” she laughed, looking most excited about this option.

“Pass,” he deadpanned.

“Well you’re no fun,” she grumbled as she held up the second item. “Fine, this one can change his form to that of a Halwen. And I guess this one is the better option since it becomes a part of him permanently so he can transform back and forth. But this one isn’t as fun as the first one.”

“No, that one works perfectly for what we need,” he countered, holding his hoof out.

“You sure? Because I think it’d be pretty cool if you were my twin for a bit,” she pressed, but we all just stared at her with raised eyebrows. “Geez, we can’t have any fun here,” she grumbled as she tossed the item to Domitor.

He caught it and began to look it over, “so how does this wor-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as he pressed a button on the small cube-like item. It immediately began to sink into his skin, much to his displeasure.

“Is this supposed to happen?!” he yelped as he tried to pull it out, but it kept sinking further and further into his arm.

“I guess?” Floria admitted, causing him to go wide eyed.

But there was nothing we could do as it fully submerged into his hoof, leaving no marks behind.

Nothing happened at first, and just as he started to say something his body pulsed hard, causing him to groan in pain.

“You could of warned me that it would hurt this bad!” he growled as he fell to his knees, sweat dripping off of his face.

“Uh… I didn’t know?” she said as she watched him sheepishly.

“Damn it!” he groaned as I flew to his side, placing my hands on him.

He didn’t say anything to me, but he did give me a thankful look as his body was rocked with another wave of pain.

I did my best to comfort him as he went through this clearly very painful process.

Finally, he seemed to relax as he held his snout to the ground, breathing heavily.

“I got you,” I assured him as I rubbed his back, using my other hand to wipe away some of the sweat on his face.

He grunted as he pushed himself back up, looking like he’d just ran a marathon.

“So?” Floria asked as she and Vanilla stared at us. “Can you transform?”

“I…” a confused look befell his face. “... I have no idea how to do that. I thought you did.”

“Look, I just knew what the item did, not how to use it,” she admitted as she held up her hands.

“Great,” he grumbled as he began to rub his face.

“You need to focus on changing forms,” Vanilla suddenly said, still holding on tightly to Creampuff.

Domitor frowned, but nodded at her as he tried to do as she said.

I was pretty sure it’d take him a while to figure that out, since I couldn’t even grasp the concept, but he yet again proved he was smarter than me as his body began to glow. It happened faster than I thought as a light overtook his entire body, causing him to grow in size.

After a few moments the light faded away from his body, leaving him sitting there looking confused, and naked.

He had the same hair style and skin color as his pony form, but now he looked a lot more… toned. His muscles had more definition now, getting a smirk out of me. But that’s not what caught my attention.

I snickered, pointing at him as he stood up, “bro, your dick looks weird now!”

His eyes went wide as he covered himself. Floria was just laughing, while Vanilla had looked away before he even stood up.

“My guy! You gotta retract that shit!” Floria laughed even harder as he stood there flustered.

“How?!” He yelled, turning away from us as he tried to work his appendage.

“I dunno! I’m not a male Halwen!” she roared with laughter, falling onto her back as she lost control of herself.

“Vanilla?!” he yelled desperately.

“I do not know how such things work!” she yelled back, fully turning away from him.

“Oh fuck… it’s not going in!” he cried out, causing both Floria and I to laugh even harder.

I stepped up behind him, still laughing as I raised my hand, “I got ya!” With that I slapped his ass, causing him to tense up.

Which apparently had the needed effect as he let out a sigh of relief. “Whew… it retracted…”

“Gotta figure out how to work your dick, Dommy!” Floria yelled, causing me to fall to the ground laughing as well.

“Haha, yeah laugh at me all you want,” he said as he turned back to us, holding a hand over himself. “Once you’re both done, I’ll need clothing.”

But neither Floria or I responded as we kept laughing, adding new jokes to the mix as we rolled around.

“Children,” Vanilla said sternly as she stood up and walked over to Domitor, pulling out some clothing from her Vacuole. “Here, I keep a few pairs of male suits in my Vacuole.”

“Why?” he asked as he took them from her and began to pull them on.

“Cocoa makes me carry things like this, for her own reasons, I’d assume,” she replied, seeming a bit uncomfortable talking about her sister.

He gave her a nod, “well thank you, Vanilla. At least one of you is mature enough to keep it together.”

A little smile tugged at her mouth as she gave a bow and returned to her seat.

We finally stopped laughing as I stood up and wiped the tears from my eyes.

Once he finished dressing himself, he turned to me, “is everything on right?”

I couldn't help but chuckle at him standing there wearing a full business suit, tie and all, “sure. But there’s a problem.”

“What is it?” he asked with a frown as he looked himself over.

“Ya look like a dork,” I teased, jabbing a finger into his chest.

He just rolled his eyes at me as he adjusted the jacket, “I’ll take that as a complement.”

“It is a complement,” I said with a wink, causing him to wiggle his eyebrows at me. This just caused me to laugh, “you fucking dork! Stop that shit!”

“Okay, while they’re flirting like school kids, I’ll get you worked out, Vanny,” Floria said loudly, taking Vanilla by the hand and leading her to another room.

I flipped her off as they left the room, shaking my head.

Domitor began to move around, doing a few jumping jacks as he worked out how his new body worked.

“So? How is it?” I asked as I took a seat on a chair, watching him do a few exercises.

“It’s super weird,” he said as he did a few squats. “Huh… but it feels natural too.”

“Here, do a few pull ups,” I said, nodding to a half finished wall with a few support beams exposed.

He gave a nod as he moved over to them and hopped up, doing pull ups as requested.

“Ooo, yeah, looking good,” I teased from across the room, causing him to laugh.

“You like that?” he asked, flexing a bicep as he hung by one arm.

“A little bit,” I admitted, leaning back in my chair as I watched the show.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You guys are going to fucking love this!” Floria exclaimed as she rushed back into the room where Domitor and I sat, playing with a set of cards we’d found.

“What’d you do to her?” Domitor asked as he put his cards down as we both turned to face her. She looked overly excited as she jumped from foot to foot.

“Vans! Come on!” she urged as she leaned in the doorway, waving for the other woman to come out.

“I look ridiculous!” she yelled, causing Floria to snicker loudly.

She looked back at us with a wide grin, “I had some body paint tucked away, and plenty of hair dye! You guys just gotta see this!” She leaned back into the doorway, “Vanska! Come on!”

Floria backed up as she rubbed her hands together, followed by Vanilla stepping out of the door slowly, rubbing her shoulder nervously.

“Oh fuck me,” I muttered, trying not to laugh like a maniac at what I was seeing.

“That’s… a disguise alright,” Domitor said, clearing his throat as he also tried to not laugh.

Vanilla just stood there as Creampuff ran around her feet, meowing loudly.

Her new look was… hilarious. Gone were the proper clothes she wore before, and now she wore just plain jeans, a normal t-shirt, and a dark jacket. Her hair had even been dyed black, and hung down freely. To top it all off she’d been apparently painted gray, with blue lipstick and eyeliner tossed on for good measure.

She did not look like herself at all, which is perfect.

“That’s enough gawking!” she suddenly snapped, turning to Floria. “It's your turn.”

“My turn?” she asked, smirking, “yeah, let’s go. Do your worst!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is so much better than Vanilla’s reveal!” I roared with laughter, followed by Domitor as we both fell back together laughing.

Vanilla stood there proudly with her hands behind her back as Floria stood in the doorway, seething with rage.

“Yeah! Fuck you assholes! Fuck all of you!” she yelled, very clearly not happy with what had been done to her.

Vanilla had gotten her payback, that was for sure, as Floria now stood before us wearing what best could be described as a school uniform, long skirt and all. There was even a large bow right on her head, holding her combs back. They’d even ‘fixed’ her faceplate by putting what looked to be some kind of crafting clay on it, making it look like it wasn’t broken at all.

“She looks very proper and adorable, does she not?” Vanilla asked with a wide smile.

“She does!” I laughed, pointing and laughing right at her.

“I hate all of you,” she grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Oh shit! You being all mad makes you look so much cuter!” I roared, rolling right into Domitor as he couldn’t help himself either.

Floria growled as she looked at Vanilla, who was just smiling right at her, “this was too far, Vantilly.”

“Don’t be a pouty missy, Floria,” she replied happily, “I think you look great no matter what you are wearing.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Floria asked with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What?! No!” Vanilla exclaimed, crossing her arms and tilting her head away from the smirking Kejtdra. “I was giving a compliment, that does not equate to ‘flirting’.”

“Sure, Vans, sure,” Floria said as she looked at me and Domitor as we continued to laugh on the ground. “That’s a lot of laughing coming from the two who can’t keep their hands off each other.”

“Hey!” I yelled, still laughing as I sat up. “Careful with the jokes, I’ll throw some right back!”

“Shayla, you’re not smart enough to hit her with any good jokes,” Domitor remarked as he sat up.

“Who’s fucking side are you on, Domitard?!” I asked with a scowl, causing everyone to laugh, now directed at me. “Oh you’re all fucking assholes, you know that?”

“Don’t dish it if you can’t take it,” Floria said as she adjusted the bow on her head. “Is this shit really necessary though?”

“Yes, now stop messing with it,” Vanilla said as she swatted her hand away from the large bow.

We threw a few more jokes back and forth, taking a little bit to calm down. But eventually we all calmed down and ended up sitting down together in a circle.

“So what’s the plan?” Domitor asked as he looked between all of us.

“Same plan,” I answered, scratching my neck. “Just now we need to find a different way to gain access to Denmor.”

“I may not have access to Cakehurst resources anymore,” Vanilla said as she rubbed Creampuff’s belly, “but I still know of a few ways we can get past the gates. Of course, they all involve one of us pretending to be rich.”

All eyes fell on Floria, who just frowned, “yeah I saw that one coming.”

I waved my hand over myself and Domitor, “bodyguards, of course.”

“And I will be…” Vanilla began, looking herself over. “Uh…”

“My assistant,” Floria declared proudly. “Yeah, you’re my street kid assistant.”

Domitor chuckled, “looks like you two have swapped places. Rich girl to street kid, and street kid to rich girl.”

“The irony is not lost on me,” Vanilla mumbled as she gave Floria a deadpan stare.

“Oh I love this already!” Floria exclaimed as she rubbed her hands together. “I get to be the preppy little shit now, and you gotta act like a poor asshole!” She reached down and picked up a piece of trash and held it out to Vanilla, “here! Eat this trash!”

Vanilla shied away from her outstretched hand, raising an eyebrow, “are you saying you eat trash? Is this why you are asking me to do this?”

“Sure, if that means you’ll eat this!” Floria replied as she shook her hand at the other woman. “Come on, eat it, Vans!”

Vanilla jumped up and took a few steps away. “I am perfectly okay just pretending, Floria. There is no nee-DO NOT CHASE ME!” Vanilla screamed as took off running as Floria jumped up and began to chase her, hand out in front of her.

“Eat the trash, street kid Vanny!” Floria laughed, causing the other woman to shriek in fear as she was pursued by the short Kejtdra.

The panicked Vanilla got on the other side of me and Domitor, putting us between her and the laughing Floria.

“Be an adult here, Floria!” she begged, but only got manic laughing in response.

“You’re fucked, Vanilla,” I said with a smirk as I moved over, allowing Floria to run past me.

Luckily for her, Floria tripped over my chair and stumbled away from her, allowing her run away.

“Tis just Trash, my good lady!” Floria yelled as she resumed her pursuit of Vanilla. They ran down a hall, their screams growing distant.

“Those two need to bang, right?” I asked as I looked at Domitor.

He just rolled his eyes and picked up the cards, “round three?”

“You’re on, fuck boy,” I laughed as we turned towards each other. He shuffled the cards and began to deal them out.

I looked my cards over and then looked up at him as we held our cards out of each others views.

“Hmm…” I muttered, thinking. “Got any fives?”

“Go fish,” he replied, causing me to growl as I drew a card from the deck.

“Got any three’s?” He asked, causing me to glare at him.

“You bitch,” I grumbled as I handed him three of the requested cards.

“You need to learn poker or something, Shay,” he remarked as he put down four three’s on the table.

“It’s too complicated,” I muttered, “just keep playing.”

“Got any eights?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I snapped as I handed him a card.

Interrogation

Chapter 64

Laughter filled the room as Scamp and Spark sat on either side of Liz as she flipped through one of the albums, recounting stories for each picture.

Mallogory however sat by herself, huffing loudly as they kept laughing and pointing at her.

“You really have always been a messy eater!” Scamp exclaimed as she saw a pic of a younger Mallogory covered in food.

“Yep yep,” was the only response she got from her wife, but she didn’t care as they moved to the next picture.

One of the tied up men let out a groan as he began to shift around.

“Finally!” Mallogory all but cheered as she jumped up, “one of our guests is awake, so drop the albums you three!”

Scamp became serious as she stood up and walked right up to the four tied up men, eye locked onto the one who’d woken up.

“Morning,” she said gruffly as she stared down at him. “I have a question for you.”

The man, looking very confused, wiggled around to face her, “what question?”

“Is this going to be a good time? Or a bad time?” She asked as she raised her mechanical claws, “because my daughter is missing and you gentlemen are apparently after her. And let me tell you, I’ve killed for less. So choose very wisely, buck-o.”

The man looked between her and the others, trying to figure out the best course of action.

“I… can’t tell you anything,” he said carefully, flinching as Scamp narrowed her eye at him. “I really can’t! I’m under contract!”

“Who cares?” She said as she stood on her hindlegs, stretching her legs out. “You work for a man named Rig Fanden?”

He didn’t respond to this, just stared at her with a scared expression.

“That’s a question I already know the answer to,” she came down before him, flicking out a claw as she raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we really going to have a bad time here?”

“Listen, I can not answer your questions, or I’ll die!” he begged, fighting against his restraints.

“I mean, you’re going to die if you don’t answer my questions, so,” she shrugged as she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up to her face, “last attempt at being nice; why are you after Shayla Beltosh?”

Still he did not speak so she reached up and grabbed his throat, slowly digging her claws into his neck, “alright, I’ll ask one of the others then.”

His eyes began to bulge as he realized she wasn’t bluffing, causing him to panic.

“Okay!” he coughed out, causing her to let go of him. The man collapsed to the ground, coughing and gagging as he tried to get air through his damaged airway.

“Why are you after Shayla Beltosh?!” Scamp yelled, standing above him with such intensity that he tried to scoot away from her.

“Because she broke the bosses con-” he was cut off as a shadow flew across the floor and entered him, causing his eyes to go wide. “No no no no no no no NO!”

Before anyone could process what was happening, the man's head exploded, spraying gore everywhere, and completely coating Scamp’s chest and face.

“... what the fuck just happened?” Scamp asked in complete confusion as she stood covered in the remains of the man's head.

“What happened is he broke Rig Fanden’s contract,” another man said, this one being the much larger man who had appeared to be the leader.

Scamp turned her gaze to him as he pushed himself up with a grunt.

“None of these idiots can even talk about him to people outside the organization, let alone tell his business,” he said as he looked at the stumps where his hands used to be.

“But can you talk about all this?” she asked, stepping up to him.

“Yeah, I can,” he growled, meeting her gaze, “I’m his brother after all.”

“Well then,” Scamp replied as she glanced back at her companions and parents in law, “guess that makes you pretty important, huh?”

“You could say that,” he grunted.

“Are you going to cooperate? Or are we going to have to get to know each other first?” she cracked her neck to put emphasis on that last part.

“Will you let me and my guys go?” he asked.

“If you answer all my questions, I will,” she promised as she squared up with him. “Now, why are you after Shayla Beltosh?”

He let out a deep sigh as he turned his body to fully face her, “she made a contract with Rig, and was sent to that tournament up on that floating island to win the favor for him. Well she fucked up and failed, which set him off. Then she made things worse by somehow cutting the contract she and another woman had with Rig. He did not notice till this morning, so he’s scrambling to find them.”

“Explain this contract business,” she demanded, glancing at the dead man.

“Rig has a Thorn that allows him to make contracts with others, and it pretty much insures they do what he wants, since it does that if they break it,” he answered as he nodded his head at the body. “Only he can break a contract, or at least he thought so.”

“Where is Shayla now?”

“If I knew that we wouldn’t have been here, now would we?” he said with a bit of snark to his voice. They held each other's gaze as Scamp’s eye narrowed slowly. “Look,” he continued, “my task was to just wait here in case she came here before going to the Social District.”

“So you do know where she is going,” Scamp stated, causing him to sigh.

“She came to Rig a few days ago to ask for a way to get into the Social District, so that’s where we’re assuming she’ll go. Some other guys checked her friend's apartment this morning, but they weren’t there. So if you just gotta know, she’s going to the Social District, we just don’t know how she’ll get in.”

Scamp rubbed her chin, thinking about what he’d said, “how many others are out there looking for her?”

“How many of us? Or how many people in general?” he asked, a smirk on his face.

“Let’s start with how many of you,” she said sternly.

“Yeah, I reckon at least five teams, all the same size as the one I had here,” he said coolly, smiling at her.

“And the others?”

“Oh now that’s the fun part,” he laughed, adjusting himself as he got onto his knees, “I know for a fact the Cakehurst are looking for her and her friends. Don’t know why though. And then there’s the bounty hunters they’ve hired, so that’s already a pretty big group.” He grunted as he rotated his body to face her again, “there’s also a new group, some out of towners. I don’t know much about them, but Rig has been keeping tabs on them.”

“Great, our daughter’s made some friends, it seems,” Mallogory commented from behind Scamp.

“Last question; where is this Rig Fanden?”

He just laughed, “and that’s the only thing I can’t do. I’m under contract, and the only thing I’m not allowed to do is tell people where our base is. Of course, it’s hard to miss if you know where to look, but I can’t even give that.”

“But you have a work around to that, don’t you?” she asked as she saw a twinkle in his eyes.

“If you agree right now that you’ll let us go, I’ll tell you,” he said with a sly grin.

“Tell me,” she said simply as she gave a single nod.

“Some guys are going to come by later today to check up on us. If you play your cards right, they’ll take you right to Rig,” he said with a confident smile.

“Good to know, now sit down,” she said as she shoved him backwards.

“I do believe you promised to let us go,” he pressed, causing her to shrug.

“Yeah, I will. I just didn’t say when,” she said with a wink.

This caused him to frown, “you and my brother are alike in that regard…”

“Why are we apparently tracking down this Rig Fanden?” Mallogory asked as Scamp walked back over to them.

“Simple,” she said as she plopped down on the couch. “Anyone who goes after our daughter gets fucked, one way or another.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Everyone is staring at me…” Vanilla mumbled as we all walked down the street, with myself and Domitor standing on the outsides of the group, with Floria and Vanilla between us. “They know who I am…”

“Nah, they’re looking at you because you look like a street rat,” Floria laughed, walking like she owned the place. “Aren’t I amazing at making disguises?”

Vanilla just squeezed Creampuff tighter to herself as she kept right next to Floria, looking extremely nervous.

Floria took notice of this and rolled her eyes, “seriously, it’s okay, Vanilla. No one knows it's you.”

This brought a smile to her face as she relaxed slightly.

We continued down the street, following Vanilla’s directions as we went. Our destination was supposedly a club that offered all kinds of special services, and apparently one of those services would allow us to enter Denmor without having to go through a checkpoint.

Only one problem; money.

Vanilla did not carry that much on her, due to her sister's gay rules, and none of us had any money either. But Floria said she had it covered, whatever that means.

So this all hinged on whatever Floria had in mind. Great.

“When we get there,” Vanilla started, talking quietly, “do not act rude, and do not get aggressive with anyone. This is not your typical club. It is a High Roller’s Club, for only the elites of our society. You need a password to enter.”

“I’m assuming you know this password?” I asked quietly.

“Of course,” she confirmed, smiling proudly. “Ut bene sit nobis.”

“The fuck does that mean?”

“It means; May we prosper,” she answered, causing Floria to groan.

“I can’t say that shit, it's too fancy,” she said as she tried to say the phrase, but failed each time. “Yeah, the words don’t want to form.”

“Just act like you’re too important to say that shit and have your lovely assistant do it,” I offered, causing Floria to smirk.

“Great idea!”

“Wonderful,” Vanilla muttered, shaking her head as we continued our march down the street.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is a bad idea, I’m just saying,” Nightstreak commented as he peered out the window of the destroyed building, watching the building across the street. “You two being here with me makes this so much more dangerous.”

“Say’s the guy who got spotted by that mare,” Louie remarked as he lounged on a makeshift chair, arms behind his head. “Besides, this is a great idea.”

“You were against it earlier,” Nightstreak replied as he looked over his shoulder.

“Yep, but now that I’m on board, I’m backing this mission fully. We’ve got this!” Louie exclaimed, thrusting a fist into the air above himself. “Besides, we’ve got Nova with us, so this’ll go off without a hitch.”

“Hmm,” Nova shifted in her seat, checking over her PDA. “Let’s just focus on the mission at hand, shall we boys?”

“Can do, Nova,” Louie saluted as he resumed his lounging.

Nightstreak sighed as he went back to looking out the window. While their current mission was pretty simple, it was actually one of the most important.

On the day Champion made his move, killing the Princesses and who knows how many other people, there were a few ponies who had seen one of his vile acts. Yet they all disappeared the moment they tried to tell anyone in power.

Of course, they all knew these ponies were likely dead. But this witness they were currently trying to pursue had seen something especially heinous. This person had tried to tell the media, but they were shunned away, and somehow they’ve avoided being taken by the Inquisitors or Champion’s Apostles; the mock name the Bronies had given his demon powered little buddies.

It was extremely lucky Champion himself wasn’t out here looking for them, otherwise they’d have died long before now. Thankfully, Champion himself was too busy playing King, running around the world trying to enforce his will the ‘correct way’. Which went against what they knew of him, but he must be keeping up appearances, as he could easily take over any country he wanted with his Ego. So for him to be playing the diplomacy game was… strange.

Movement across the street got Nightstreak’s attention. As he looked closer he saw a mare step out of one of the destroyed buildings, looking around nervously.

“Is this them?” he asked, causing Nova to rush over with her PDA.

She held it up, comparing a grainy picture to the mare currently walking down the street carefully.

“It is highly probable,” she said as she gave a nod of her head. “Let’s confront her.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Nightstreak exclaimed as he rushed outside and ran towards the mare, scaring her instantly.

“Whoa whoa whoa! I’m on your side!” he yelled as she started to run away.

Nova teleported near her, holding up a hoof, “do not be alarmed. Are you Ms. Sprinkle Toppings?”

The mare stopped, eyes wide as she took in the regal Alicorn before her.

“Princess Nova?!” she yelped, bowing immediately.

“Shhh, no need for that,” Nightstreak hissed, looking around for any onlookers.

The mare slowly stood up, staring up at Nova, “Um.. yes, that is my name. Why?”

“We want to take you somewhere safe so we can hear your story,” Nova said, holding a hoof out. “It is okay now, you are safe.”

Sprinkle Toppings let out a sigh of relief as she reached out and took Nova’s hoof. “Thank you, Princess! Your brother… he…” she looked pained as Louie and Nightstreak moved towards them so they could be teleported. “... He killed a bunch of people and then he… took advantage of… that poor mare.”

This caused Nova’s eye to twitch, as this was news to her. The killings, yes, she knew of those. But this other statement…

“Which mare?” Nova asked as a dark look befell her face.

“I don’t know her name, but it’s the mare that is his Queen now…” she muttered, looking at the ground. “He used some kind of-”

“We need to go, now,” Louie said firmly, catching movement down the street.

Nova gave a nod as everyone grabbed hold of her. Her horn sparked a few times, causing her eyes to go wide.

“Oh no,” she said as Louie’s ears perked up.

“Inquisitors!” he roared as he raised his foot and kicked Nova away, just as a bolt of magic flashed through the area she’d just been standing.

He dodged a few more bolts that flew at him from multiple angles, while the others collected themselves and began to do the same.

This was exactly what they’d hoped to avoid.

Inquisitors in the streets

Chapter 65

“Protect Sprinkles!” Nova bellowed as she dodged the incoming bolts, yanking and pulling the other mare around as she did her best to keep them both from getting hit.

“Comms are down too!” Nightstreak yelled as he put his PDA away. “They’re completely blocking us here!”

Louie growled as he scanned the area, his eyes finally locking in on some of the shooters.

“Six buildings down, fourth floor, left side!” he yelled to the others.

Nightstreak looked in that direction, knowing he wasn’t fast enough to reach them before being zeroed in on. Unless…

“Louie, throw me!” he yelled as he dodged the incoming bolts.

The large bipedal dog blinked a few times, then laughed, “oh hell yeah!”

With a bit of flair, Louie back flipped over some bolts and landed on the ground, holding his hands together by his knees. Taking his cue, Nightstreak flew right at him, landing on him so that one of his hooves was placed into Louie’s hands.

Roaring loudly, Louie flung him hard towards the buildings ahead, “alley-oop!”

Nightstreak rocketed towards the building, crashing into the room with the four Inquisitors.

The shooting lightened up enough for them to breathe as they began to maneuver their way down the street, knowing Nightstreak would catch up.

The mare was letting out screams each time Nova yanked her around, doing her best to keep her safe. If those bolts hit one of them, they’d be incapacitated immediately.

Five Inquisitors suddenly appeared on the roofs of the buildings around them, causing Louie to growl.

“Great,” he glanced at Nova, “we need to get you two out of range of their jammer so you can get her to safety.”

The five armored ponies above them jumped off the building and landed around them, advancing very slowly on them as the bolts stopped flying at them.

“Big mistake, boys,” Louie laughed as he flexed his chest muscles, squaring up with all five of them at once. “Shoulda stayed up there, where it was safe.”

“Get on the ground,” one of the Inquisitor's ordered through their mask, causing Louie to smile.

“Sure, which one of you will make me?”

They were not playing around as they all dashed forward at once, planning to overwhelm him and arrest him.

Little did that know that this was Louie’s preferred way of fighting.

As the first pony reached him he dashed back, slapping them right across the face, shattering their helmet and sending them skidding across the ground.

“One!” Louie gleefully yelled as he dodged an attack from one of them and then sprang forward, catching two of them with his outstretched arms. He pulled them both into himself and jumped into the air. With much more flexibility than he should have he spun around in the air and slammed both of them face first into the ground, embedding their heads in the ground.

“Three!” he laughed as he turned on the last two who were being a bit more cautious of him now.

He didn’t wait for them as he began to walk forward, taking on a very imposing demeanor. It had the desired effect as the two Inquisitors began to back up, a bit fearful of this massive dog man.

As Louie got within striking distance, he stopped, smirking. Then much faster than they could react, he struck a pose.

This confused the two officers, but before they could do anything, his hand suddenly shot out and grabbed one by the face. “Up you go!” and with that he tossed the pony into the air, where he was slammed into by Nightstreak as he returned to the group. The Inquisitor was sent flying through the air and slammed through a wall, out of the fight.

“Four,” Louie said calmly as he towered over the last Inquisitor.

The stallion looked up in fear and then raised his hoof and shot himself in the chest with one of the paralyzing bolts, knocking himself out voluntarily.

“Huh, alright then,” Louie muttered as he turned around, being mindful of the buildings around them. However no more bolts came towards them, which worried him.

Nightstreak landed next to him, looking just as worried. “I took out at least ten of them, but there’s still plenty in the area…”

They looked to Nova, who was standing above Sprinkle, doing her best to keep the mare safe.

“We need to-”

“So the rumors were true, there is a dog Brony,” a very stern and frightening voice called out as another Inquisitor stepped out, this one not wearing a helmet.

“Ah shit…” Louie muttered as he saw who it was. “Chief Strawell, we meet again,” he called out to her, turning to face her as she walked down the street towards them.

“We have never-” she stopped herself, an amused smile over taking her face. “Barehoof’s arrest, you were the little dog, weren’t you?”

“Eeyep, that was me,” he laughed, walking towards her as well.

“Release your hostage immediately, and this will go better for you,” she demanded as they stopped a few yards away from each other.

“Hostage?” Louie asked, raising an eyebrow. Then he realized who she meant. “Wow, lady, you’re way out of the loop here. That mare is not our hostage, she’s our witness.”

“Regardless, let her go,” Strawell again demanded.

“She’s safer with us,” he countered, rolling his shoulder as he prepared for the coming fight.

But Strawell did not engage him as she narrowed her eyes, looking between him and the others behind him. “Explain yourself then, you have one minute.”

“What?” He asked, body tensing as he waited for an attack to come at any moment.

“You said she was a witness, did you not? Tell me exactly what you mean by this,” she said sternly, her cold eyes locked on his.

“Lady, you are too far gone to even grasp the concept,” he countered, but her gaze remained the same, so he let out a deep sigh. “She has information about the wrongdoings of your beloved lord and savior Champion. She’s seen him in the act, killing and assaulting others.”

“I see,” Strawell replied, slowly shaking her head, “any more tall tales you’d like to tell?”

“See? Too far gone,” Louie chuckled, exploding forward as he couldn’t wait any longer for her to make a move.

However she clearly was expecting this. The moment his hand grabbed her neck guard, she gripped his wrist and yanked him down, hard. She had way more strength in her body than he’d thought as she slammed him fast first into the ground, holding him down using his own arm.

But all this did was excite him as he twisted his own body, throwing her over himself and attempting to throw her into the ground, but she moved agilely in the air, like a cat, and landed on her hooves on the other side of him, still holding onto his arm. Not missing a beat he pulled her towards himself as he stood on one knee, getting her into a headlock.

She elbowed him in the gut, which had no effect due to his Ego, so she instead reached up and grabbed his face. To his surprise she used him as leverage as she pulled her entire body up, slamming a back leg right into his face. His hand grabbed onto one of her legs as he stumbled backwards, dragging her with him.

He attempted to throw her over himself so he could smash her into the ground, but she just twisted midswing and broke his grip, saving herself. She then landed flurry precise strikes to his face and chest, causing his left arm to go limp.

“Oh damn, that’s new!” he yelled as his eyes darted to the others, relieved to see they’d already taken their leave, just as he’d hoped they would. He quickly darted back as she advanced on him, trying to get his arm back into action.

“You’re good, I’ll give you that,” Louie said as she stared coldly at him.

With a jerk he got some feeling back in his arm, almost ready to go again.

“Stand down,” she commanded, not even looking a bit tired as she advanced on him. “Do not make this worse than it has to be.”

“Yeah no, I’m not getting killed that easily,” he laughed back, doing a little jig as he readied himself for round two.

“You are under arrest, not being killed,” she countered, shaking her head.

“Lady, for being the Chief of the Inquisitors, you’re really dumb. Do you even know what is really going on here?” he asked, trying to buy himself a bit more time as his arm slowly limbered back up. When she didn’t react he rolled his eyes, “do you even know what Champion has done? Or are you in the dark on all that shit?”

“If you want to talk this much, we can do so at the station, under surveillance,” she offered, trying to at least do this peacefully.

“Like I said, I’m as good as dead if you arrest me, so I’ll take my chances fighting you,” he said as he cracked a few joints, ready to go again.

“Do not resist,” she commanded as she moved in on him much faster.

But, he resisted, hard.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nova ran down the alleyway, carrying Sprinkle Toppings on her back as she held her rapier to her side with her magic. She wasn’t killing any of the Inquisitors who moved in on her, but she was definitely incapacitating them as best she could.

As for Nightstreak, he was flying above her, easily taking out any that tried to come from above. They were working as a perfect team, thanks to the two years they’d spent together training in the Time Chamber.

She kept trying her horn, but they were still within range of whatever jammer the Inquisitors were using.

The moment they came out of the alleyway, they found themselves in a decently sized parking lot, surrounded by at least fifteen officers.

“Hold on,” she said to the mare on her back as she and Nightstreak dashed forward.

“Freeze!” an Inquisitor yelled, “Or we will-”

He was cut off as Nightstreak used his face as a launching board, rocketing into another officer as everything erupted into chaos.

It didn’t take them long to dispatch the officers around them, since these were clearly not the higher ranking Inquisitors from before.

As the last one fell, the two regrouped in the middle of the parking lot.

“Are there anymore?” Nightstreak asked, breathing a bit hard as he looked around the area.

Nova focused on the area, trying to pick out any more movements.

“I believe we are…” her eyes went wide as they both turned to a different alleyway where they heard the sounds of someone clapping.

“Fucking epic work you two!” Jun yelled out as he entered the area, clapping his hooves as he hovered towards them.

“Jun!” Nightstreak hissed, not expecting to see him here.

“Yo!” Jun laughed, waving at him. “I see you two found that little mare I’ve been looking for. So just hand her on over so I can eat her pretty little brain. Get those juicy memories absorbed before they become a real problem.”

“You talk a lot, copy,” Nova said firmly as she let Sprinkle Toppings slide off her back. She walked forward, coming to a stop not far from the Lance lookalike.

“Oh Princess Nova, nice to see you again!” he exclaimed, bowing to her with a mocking grin on his face. “Champion wants you dead asap. So why don’t you just… let me take a bite of your skull?”

She just rolled her eyes, flicking her blade around herself, “I will warn you, I’ve fought you a thousand times. I know all your our tricks.”

“Bitch, we’ve never fought!” he yelled, seeming to take offense to her words.

“Oh but we have,” she smirked as she tapped her head with her hoof. “My Ego is… pretty interesting.”

She’d never tell anyone how her Ego worked exactly, but it was very unique. It allowed her to enter into a mindscape where she could fight anyone she’s ever fought before, but as an added bonus it also let her borrow memories from others so she could gather more knowledge on an opponent. This made the copies she made in her mindscape act more like the real person she wanted to learn how to defeat.

She could even use it in real time, allowing her to test attacks against an opponent before she actually committed to them for real.

There was also a sub power to her Ego, which allowed her to predict the movements and attacks of an opponent. Of course, it had the draw back of being limited to her knowledge of the opponent. However, she’d gotten pretty good at predicting how others will fight her, so she’s usually spot on.

For Jun, she had plenty of combat data thanks to the others. Not to mention he was an idiot and very predictable.

“I know how your Anti-Ego works,” she said as she raised her back hoof, slicing her sword through the thin thread that was attached to her. “You negate damage by attaching to others. So if I were you, I’d leave. Now.”

“Screw you, skank!” he roared as he flew towards her, eyes ablaze with rage.

“So easy,” she muttered as she simply dodged to the right, stabbing her rapier right into his chest, penetrating his heart.

He screamed in agony as he hit the ground, holding his chest.

This surprised Nova, as she thought a strike to the heart would finish him for good. He’s reacting to the pain, so that means he wasn’t connected to anyone, so how’d he survive that?

“You dirty fucking slutting bitching fucking cunt!” Jun screamed, body exploding with red energy as he stomped his hoof, sending a shock wave of energy out.

She knew what this would do, so she just dashed back, avoiding the power canceling wave of energy.

The demonic stallion saw this and began to roar with anger as he began to slam his hooves into the ground over and over again, sending out wave after wave of energy.

Yet the regal mare gracefully dodged every wave, rolling her eyes. Even if she lost her Ego, she’d still be able to handle him.

Nightstreak was carrying Sprinkle Toppings on his back as he just as easily dodged the waves of energy.

With a roar, Jun finally gave up trying to hit them with the energy, and optided to instead just charge towards her again.

She followed his movements, seeing he was clearly coming in for a tackle. So she just dashed to the right, hitting him with a flurry of stabs, taking both his eyes in the process. Yet he didn’t react as he spun around on her, blind but still locked in on her.

A frown appeared on her face as her blade flashed a few times, cutting his face in half and taking a leg, but he just kept coming. He’s attached to someone.

No matter what he did though, he couldn’t touch her, as each attack just ended in him getting shredded. His eyes had reformed, but she kept poking them out, much to his annoyance.

Finally he stopped advancing on her, instead focusing on healing as he seethed with rage.

“I’m going to eat you…” he promised, eyes locked with hers as she raised her back hoof and cut the thread. He glared as he watched Nightstreak do the same thing to the thread attached to him and the other mare. “All three of you… I promise…”

“This ends here,” she announced as she pulled an item out of her Personal Dimension and rubbed it against her blade, causing it to glow yellow. “Let’s try some Holy damage, shall we?”

He just smirked as he flared his wings and flew towards her.

“So predictable,” she sighed as she saw his obvious path. He was going to try and tackle her again.

With ease she dodged right, sword flashing up. But her eyes went wide as she saw his body following her, not following the predicted path.

Blood sprayed into the air.

“NOVA!” Nightstreak roared as he dashed towards them.

“Stay back!” she yelled through gritted teeth, her left foreleg caught in the massive jaws of Jun as he latched onto her neck. If it wasn’t for her leg getting into his mouth, he’d have probably bitten cleanly through her neck.

Jun laughed like a maniac as he clenched his jaws on her leg and neck and began to shake her around like a dog with a small animal.

Using her magic, she forcibly pried his mouth off of her and dashed back, blood pouring down her neck and ruined leg.

She winced as she looked down at her left leg, seeing that it was indeed ruined. The bone was sticking out in a few places, and his teeth had shredded it completely. Summer Breeze would have her work cut out for her on this one, that’s for sure.

Thankfully, her neck seemed to just have a few puncture wounds, but nothing serious.

“Fuck yes,” Jun moaned as he licked his lips, smirking at her. “How’s that for predictable, you cunt!”

She had to admit, he caught her off guard. She had underestimated him, and that almost cost her her life.

Her rapier crackled with Holy energy as she raised it again, spitting some blood out of her mouth.

“Try me again, demon.”

He smirked as he obliged her, flying right at her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Louie laughed as he stumbled back, his body battered and beaten from the surprisingly very tough mare. She knew way more fighting styles than he did, so she was wiping the floor with him.

But he had to admit, this was fun, despite the situation he found himself in.

As for Strawell, she looked at least somewhat disheveled, her mane messy and her face a bit bruised. Of course, she looked to be handling herself better than him as she walked towards him like nothing was wrong.

All around them were Inquisitors, just watching the fight. So he had nowhere to go, but at least he was distracting them.

“Are you finished?” she asked sternly, pushing her mane back with a hoof.

“I still have a lot left in me,” he laughed as he stood up, looking just as ready as she was.

“You are surrounded,” she pointed out, “even if you beat me, you’re still getting arrested. There’s only one way this’ll end.”

He looked around, deciding it was time for his special move. “Okay, yeah, I’m surrounded. Pretty much screwed. But I ain’t worried.”

She raised an eyebrow at him as the group around them moved in slightly, getting much closer to the two.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he laughed as he began to tense up, “I’ve been training for years for this moment, and it will not make any sense, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that in the year nineteen ninety eight, The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer's table."

“What are you-” she began, but he suddenly appeared before her, wrapping both arms around her and suddenly launching straight into the sky. She couldn’t break free of his grip as they spun around and plummeted right back to the ground, much faster than they should be able to.

Right as they neared the ground, he readjusted her so that she hit the ground first, cushioning his blow. But that wasn’t all, as the impact of him slamming her into the ground sent out a massive shock wave of rubble and Ego, sending all of the Inquisitors around them flying.

Slowly he rose out of the crater, rubble and debris falling off of himself. Grunting, he climbed out of the hole and stood up, whistling at all the damage he’d just caused.

“Well! We didn’t have the announcers table, but I think I got the point across,” he chuckled, seeing that he’d incapacitated all the Inquisitors as well. “Wicked as fuck. I told John Cena that would be a viable move.”

He began to walk after his friends, but the sound of rubble shifted caused him to stop in his tracks. “Are you serious?!”

Spinning around he saw a rage filled Strawell standing at the lip of the crater, Anti-Ego flowing off of her body, and her armor blown to pieces.

“Okay,” she said in a calm voice, “that’s it. I’m bringing you in, Brony!”

“You’ve pissed her off, Lou,” a woman said from behind him, causing him to smirk.

“Would love to stay and fight some more, Chief Strawell, but frankly, you’re scary as hell!” he yelled as he dove backwards through the portal Bronwyn had opened right behind him, throwing finger guns at her as he did so.

Strawell watched him escape, not giving chase as she knew she’d never make it. Once the portal snapped shut she took a deep breath, calming herself down as her Anti-Ego faded away.

As everything began to quiet down, she could just barely hear some screaming coming from further in the city.

She cleared her throat and fixed her mane a bit as she readied herself, then she took off at a dead sprint, ready to get back into the fight.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Jun screamed and roared as he tried to get at Nova, but he wasn’t making much progress as just a head and torso. She couldn't seem to kill him, but keeping him this way was at least super easy.

“I’ma kill ya, eat ya, fuck ya up! Just let me get me legs back!” he roared, but she just rolled her eyes, removing more of him as she prepared to make a run for it.

“Just tell me when to book it,” Nightstreak said as he stood behind her, the mare on his back clearly wanting this to be over with.

“Almost ready,” she assured him, getting ready to remove his head so it’d take him longer to regenerate.

“Party of three, your booth is ready,” Louie called out as a portal opened right next to them.

Nova couldn’t help but laugh as she turned her head to the portal and the smiling dog man, “amazing work, Lou. Nightstreak, get Sprinkle through the portal now.”

He gave a nod and began to walk past her.

Now ready to go, she raised rapier, preparing to cut his head off, but something flew across the ground and latched onto her leg, causing her eyes to bulge.

“RUN!” she yelled, but it was too late as her body spun on the retreating Nightstreak and her blade flew forward.

The mare screamed loudly as her rapier pierced through her throat, causing everyone to react at once. Louie sprinted out, going for the Ego attached to Nova, and Nightstreak tried to move faster. But her floating rapier just followed him and sliced the poor mare in half, causing her to fall off of him, dead. The rapier then flew for Nightstreak, but that was when Louie cut the Ego attached to her and then grabbed her, springing into the portal as it snapped shut, leaving the dead mare and Jun behind.

Jun just roared in anger as Nightmare slowly strolled up, hands behind his back as he took on a more bipedal form

“Hm, good job, Jun, you let them get away,” he remarked as he stopped over the dead mare. “If I hadn't come along, this one would’ve gotten away. And you know what that’ll mean for us.”

“Shut up, asshole,” Jun growled as he reformed slowly.

It was at this moment Strawell ran into the area, coming to a halt as she took in the sight of all her unconscious Inquisitors, the two talking, and the dead mare.

“What happened here?!” she asked sternly, knowing who these two were, but still not happy with what she was seeing.

“I did your job,” Nightmare declared as he spun on his heels and began to walk away.

“Who killed the hostage?” she demanded, walking over and kneeling next to the corpse.

“I did,” Nightmare said as he stopped walking away, but not turning to face her. “That mare was a danger to everything, just as bad as a Brony. Probably worse. Why? Are you upset at this turn of events, Chief Strawell?”

Her left eye twitched as she looked at Jun as he reformed, his own eyes ablaze with fury. She took everything in and weighed her response carefully.

“We did our job, that’s all that matters,” she said in a cold tone.

“Good girl,” Nightmare chuckled, continuing on his way, whistling a strange tune.

Strawell stood up firmly, eyes locked on the corpse before her.

This isn’t what she’d signed up for. This wasn’t justice, nor was it right.

Watching the demonic form of Jun wither around as he regrew his limbs just added to her thoughts.

Doing an about-face, she turned and walked over to her men, deciding to focus on her job for now. She’d deal with everything as needed later.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nova slammed her good hoof against the ground, angry tears streaking down her face.

“I killed her…” she spat out, causing everyone around her to move back awkwardly. All those expect Louie as he leaned down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“No, Nightmare killed her. He just used your sword to do it. YOU did nothing wrong, he snuck up on us,” he tried to assure her, but she just shook her head.

“I should’ve seen it coming… I DID see it coming, I just didn’t react fast enough.”

“We can’t all be perfect all the time,” he countered, squeezing her shoulder. “We need to move forward, Nova. We have a lot to do, and we need you there guiding us.”

She clenched her eyes shut as she gave a nod, knowing she couldn’t have a breakdown right now. So she pushed herself up, wiped her face and regarded everyone around her. “Thank you everyone. Can someone go retrieve Summer Breeze?” she asked as she wiggled her ruined leg.

Nightstreak gave a nod and took off to find his sister.

“Everyone else, proceed to the next part of the plan,” she commanded, causing everyone to salute her and take off to do their required task.

Then she looked at Louie, giving him a forced smile. “Thank you, Luke.”

“Ah don’t mention it, I’m always here for a friend,” he said as he gave her a thumbs up. “Now if you don’t mind, tell Summer to check me over as well.”

With that, he released his Ego and passed out due to the massive injuries he sustained during that fight.

Blocked

Chapter 66

“I’m serious, do not act out of line once we enter this club,” Vanilla warned as we neared the front doors of a very large and brightly lit building. Two guards stood outside, eyes scanning the area.

“I got this,” Floria said confidently as she picked up her pace, walking like a pompous asshole, “just follow my lead.”

The two guards snapped their heads to her as she stepped up to them, with the rest of us right behind her.

“Move aside,” Floria demanded in such a tone that even I suddenly wanted to deck her.

“Password?” One of them asked, eyes locking with mine for some reason.

Floria scoffed and raised her hand, waving with just her hand, “Banana, do your job.”

Vanilla blinked then frowned as she realized she was talking to her, but she listened as she stepped up next to her and cleared her throat. “Ut bene sit nobis.”

“Hmm,” the guard staring at me rubbed his chin, glancing back to Floria. “What’s your business?”

“My own,” Flora shot back with a sneer. “Now step aside hired help!”

She had such authority behind her voice that they both obliged her and stepped away from the door, allowing us entry.

We quickly made our way inside, letting the doors slam shut behind us.

As we walked down the hallway with no one around us, Floria began to giggle.

“Oh this is so much fun! Why didn’t you tell me being a rich asshole was so much fun, Vantastic?!”

“Banana?” Vanilla asked with a scowl. “Why would you give me such a ridiculous name?”

“Because duh,” Floria laughed, bumping her hips against the other woman, “you’re my big banana.”

“I am not a banana,” Vanilla grumbled as Creampuff meowed loudly as she held him.

“Dunno, Creams seems to agree with me,” she said with a smirk.

The conversation died as we neared the end of the hallway, where we could just barely make out the sounds of talking and laughing.

Acting like she knew what she was doing, Floria walked forward and stepped through the doors, standing proud as we entered into a large room. The room was filled with people in all kinds of fancy dresses and suits, all of them split up into little groups as they mingled about.

I frowned, as this was not the kinda shit I was used to. Maybe a rave or a mosh pit, but a club like this? Boring and uncomfortable.

“Where to?” Domitor asked as Floria seemed to hesitate.

“Go to the bar and ask for services,” Vanilla whispered, causing Floria to straighten up and walk straight towards the bar.

We followed behind her, watching as she took up a place at the bar and began to flag down the bartender.

The man stepped up to her and raised an eyebrow, “what shall I get you, miss?”

“Services,” Floria answered firmly.

“What type of services?” He asked politely as he stood before her. “Pleasure or business?”

“Business,” she replied coolly. “We need passage into Denmor. Discrete passage.”

The man gave a single nod and walked off, presumably to retrieve someone to help us.

While we waited I scanned the area carefully, seeing a lot of immoral things being done by the folks around us, but ignored it since we had our own problems to deal with.

I saw the guard from outside, the one who’d stared me down come in and walk straight for a back room. I didn’t like that one bit, but there was nothing I could do about it.

We waited a good amount of time, staying silent so as to not draw any attention to ourselves.

Eventually I saw the guard leave the room he’d been in, watching as he walked across the room and met up with a skinny Halwen woman who’d just entered the room. They seemed to be talking, but it was impossible to tell about what from this far away.

“So you’re needing discrete entry into Denmor, is that right?” A suit wearing Halwen asked as he sat down right next to Floria, a wide grin on his face.

“That’s right. You our guy?” Floria asked roughly, apparently forgetting she’s supposed to be acting proper.

He just continued to grin at her, “I am the guy. Names Topic. Do you know the cost of discrete transportation into a place like that?”

“Don’t worry about the cost,” she declared boldly, staring him down. “All I need you to say next is that you can do it.”

“Oh I can do it, missy,” he said with a wink. “If you got the coin then I got the time.” Then he straightened up with a smug look on his face. “One thousand per person.”

This caused all of us to go wide eyed, but Floria just shrugged as she held out her hand, a few bags slowly appearing in her hand.

“Deal.”

This caused the rest of us to stare at her in complete confusion. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to realize all this money must’ve come from Jekyll’s Vacuole.

“My favorite kind of customer,” he said with a smile as he took the bags and put them away in his own Vacuole.

Before we could continue, someone yelled my real name from across the room.

“Shayla Beltosh!”

Oh that can’t be good…

Turning my attention to the speaker I saw it was the woman the guard had spoken too. She was standing there with a smug look on her face as she stood in the middle of the room.

I don’t know how she knows my real name, but that didn’t really matter right now.

“Shane, be careful, that’s Vicky’s sister, Blake,” Vanilla whispered into my ear, causing me to stiffen. “She works for the Cakehurst’s as well, but I don’t know anything about her.”

Giving her a nod, I strolled forward, squaring up with the other woman, standing ten or so yards away from her.

“How’d you know?” I asked, just needing to know how she’d seen through the disguises.

Blake just chuckled as she flexed her arms, “I got a friend who works here, his Thorn let him know who you were. He knew I wanted ya, so he called me up.”

“Hm, I see,” I muttered as I glanced at the guard, who just backed off further into the crowd.

She looked past me at the others, “and that must be the girl of the hour, Vanilla Cakehurst herself.”

This caused Vanilla to shrink back and press up against Floria.

“Eyes on me fucker,” I growled, drawing my wooden sword.

“You know, the Cakehurst’s family put a hefty bounty on her head, you could collect it yourself,” she offered, causing me to scoff. “Oh well,” she said casually as she licked her lips , “looks like I’m getting paid for the brat, and getting sweet sweet payback for my baby sister.”

“Your sister was a shitty fighter,” I said with a smirk, trying to provoke her. But it didn’t work as she just laughed.

“True, but she’s still my sister,” she remarked as she began to advance on me. “Get ready.”

“Shayla, be careful, there’s something off about this woman,” Rosemary warned as she appeared off to the side.

I gave a small nod as I began to step towards the Halwen, keeping my sword up at the ready. I could see the wound on her hand, so she had a Thorn, I just couldn’t tell what kind yet.

“You have some very unique abilities,” Blake commented, not in a hurry to engage me, “they’re soul based, just not a Thorn. Which could only mean one thing.”

She stopped talking as she flickered, appearing right before my face with a massive psychopathic smile. My reaction time was on point though as I quickly dashed back, my sword coming down on her face.

But to my frustration it missed completely as she flickered out of existence.

“She can teleport!” Rosemary yelled as I felt a presence behind me. Using my Perception Field I caught her as she threw her hand for me.

Everything came to a crawl as I spun around and caught her with my sword, right on the neck. She didn’t teleport away as time sped back up, but instead shot her hand out, grabbing my sword arm by the wrist.

Cyan energy exploded up from where she grabbed me, causing both Rosemary and me to have a violet reaction.

“She has Ego-“ Rosemary yelled, but was cut off, as if a wall came down between us suddenly.

Letting out a growl I grabbed Blake’s wrist and snapped it, forcing her to let go and teleport away from me.

She didn’t look too concerned about her broken hand though. A smirk fell onto her face as she watched me.

It took me a moment to realize it, but when I did I panicked. I couldn’t use my Ego! Or hear or see Rosemary! I could still feel her, but it felt like there was something between us.

“What the fuck did you just do?!” I yelled, flipping my katana back into its sheath as I pulled out Sir Stabsalot, ready to turn her into a talking torso.

She just hummed as she smiled sweetly at me, “not much. Just blocked you from accessing your Ego for a little while.”

“How long?!” I growled as I began to stalk towards her.

“It’s funnier if I don’t tell you how long the block lasts,” she laughed, a blade appearing in her hand. “Without that Ego, you’ll be a piece of cake.”

“Think so?” I asked as I dashed forward, slicing my sword forward as she teleported next to me, attempting to jab me with her knife.

But I surprised her as I continued my swing, cutting through the floor below us and catching her just as she tried to teleport away, sending her left arm flying.

The now one armed Halwen roared in anger as she held her new stump, eyes ablaze with fury.

“Told ya,” I said smugly as I turned to face her. “So you got a Thorn and an Ego?”

“I’m not talking to you anymore!” She yelled, starting to look even more unhinged.

“Then come on, let me take another limb,” I laughed as I twirled my blade a bit to show off.

Her eyes narrowed but as she started to move, something pulled up behind her and jabbed a blade through the back of her head.

“Wha-wha…” she sputtered as she started jerking and then collapsed, revealing Domitor standing there.

“I had her!” I yelled as I put my sword away.

“I know, but I’m not going to let you risk yourself in stupid solo fights,” he replied as he put away his own sword.

I gritted my teeth, as my pride felt a bit bruised, but I let it go as I turned and walked back to others. Domitor picked up Blake’s Vacuole as it appeared and followed after me.

“Very interesting turn of events, wouldn’t ya say?” Topic asked with a grin as I stepped up to them.

“Shut it,” I snapped, causing him to chuckle.

“This complicates things,” he said as he tapped the table. “Extra six thousand for transporting wanted peoples, such as yourselves.”

“You fucking…” I began, but watched as Floria just dropped a few more bags on the table.

“Done. Now do what we’re paying you for,” she demanded, eyes locked with his.

“Straight to the point, the best kinda customer,” he remarked as he stood up. “Let me arrange things and I will be back shortly. Try and enjoy yourselves in the meantime.”

I glared after him as he walked off, leaving us at the bar with the entire club staring at us.

The bartender stepped up on the other side of the counter and gestured to a door on the other side of the room. “A private room is available for you four if you’d like.”

We took the offer for privacy, since the entire room had their eyes locked on us.

This situation was far from ideal.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I groaned loudly from boredom as I sat at a high table by myself, the Watcher’s vial sitting there with another comic book propped up before him. I was absent mindedly turning the pages as I finished them, assuming he was a faster reader than me. I liked to look at the pictures for a bite as I read the words.

The others were preoccupied with their own things. Domitor was drawing, as usual, while the other two were sitting pressed together as they read the same book.

“Hey,” I said after a moment, staring at the Watcher, “I’m sorry for, uh, being a bitch and shaking you all those times.”

He of course didn’t respond, just raised an eyebrow at me.

“Yeah, uh, you don’t gotta talk to me if ya don’t wanna. Once we get back to Equestria I’ll set ya up somewhere nice so you won’t be bored,” I mumbled, laying my head down as I turned the last page on the comic book. “Fuck,” I hissed as I put my arms under my head, deciding to just nap, “I’m starting to become… nice… ugh.”

“Shayla? Nice? Not two words I’d put together,” Domitor teased as he sat down at my table.

I looked up, seeing he was drawing a picture of some wicked looking swords. “Sick as fuck weapons,” I mumbled with a grin on my face.

“None of them are practical,” he chuckled, “it’s all about looks with these.”

“Bruh, looking cool is like half the battle,” I said as I sat up, rubbing the tiredness from my eyes.

“I’m pretty sure functionality trumps ‘looking cool’,” he countered.

I stuck my tongue out at him as he went back to drawing.

After a few moments I reached over and placed my hand on his. “Hey,” I said as he looked at me, “thanks for earlier. ”

He patted my hand as he smiled at me, “

Life is unfair

Chapter 67

Someone nudged me, causing me to jolt up in a mild panic. But upon seeing Domitor’s smirking face I relaxed.

“We’re ready to go, Sleeping Beauty,” he teased as he began to walk for the door to the room.

I let out a groan as I stood up, rotating my upper body to pop my back.

“Do we know where we’re going yet?” I asked as I picked up the Watcher’s vial, putting it on around my neck.

“Apparently we’re meeting up with a guy who will take us into Denmor through some hidden tunnels,” he said as he waited for me to walk over to him before holding the door open.

I walked through and headed for the front door, still getting a few stares from the people in the club. But I just ignored them.

Once outside we regrouped with the other two.

“You snore, Shane,” Vanilla commented, causing me to throw a finger gun her way.

“Snoring means I’m strong as fuck.”

“I think it means your neck muscles are too big,” she replied.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile.

“I… don’t think I meant that as a compliment…” she muttered as she smiled awkwardly at me.

“Anyways,” Domitor interrupted, “are we sure we can trust this guy? He made us wait in that room for hours, and then just gives us directions to a meeting spot.”

“He is trustworthy,” Vanilla assured us. “At least, he has to be, otherwise no one would use his services.”

“There’s a first for everything,” Domitor countered.

“Don’t worry,” I said as I gave him a confident smile, “we have me, so anyone who tries to fuck with us loses instantly.”

They all just rolled their eyes at me as they turned and began walking down the street.

I stood there blinking, expecting them to make a comment or something.

“Oh well,” I muttered as I ran to catch up with them.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later

Scamp sat at the shop's window, watching the group of Kejtdra walking towards them, seeming to not be concerned with anything around them.

“Don’t play any games,” she warned as she cut the bindings on the large Kejtdra’s arms. He was missing his hands, but there was nothing they could do about that.

“I’ll uphold my end of the bargain,” he assured her as he put his arms into his armor, hiding his missing hands. “As long as you uphold yours.”

She gave a sharp nod and he walked outside, stepping up to the approaching group.

“Yokai ,everything good here?” the lead man asked as they stopped before the large Kejtdra.

“All good,” he replied, shrugging. “Any word from my brother?”

“Yeah, turns out they’ve already made it into the Social District. Rig wants the grandparents killed, and after that he wants everyone to return for a meeting,” the man informed him, causing Yokai to look back at the window where Scamp stood glaring at him. She was out of sight, but he knew she was there.

“Gotcha. I’ll handle the grandparents, you guys head on back and tell Rig I’m on the way,” he ordered as he turned around and began to return to the shop.

“We can wait on you,” the man offered, but Yokai just chuckled.

“Don’t, this’ll take a minute after all,” he yelled back as he stopped at the door, giving them a head nod.

The group turned and began to head back the way they’d come.

“There, just follow them,” Yokai said as he stood there staring at Scamp. “Now your turn. Let my boys go and we’ll stay out of your hair.”

“Do you not care that we’re probably going to kill your brother?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If you knew my brother, you’d understand my indifference to him living or dying,” he said as he shifted from foot to foot.

She held his gaze for a little longer before giving a nod, “your guys are being pushed out the back. Go untie them and then get out of here,” she said sternly, causing him to grin as he began to head for the back door.

“But Yokai,” she called after him as he stopped and looked back at her. “If I see you again, I will kill you. Understood?”

“Yes,” he replied simply as he continued to the back.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This is a shitty place for a meeting,” I said as we stood in the middle of a gym, empty bleachers on either side of the court. We were in some kind of community center right on the edge of the Social District.

No one had been here when we arrived, which is probably why they chose this place as the meeting spot.

Still super dumb though.

“I’ve walked the entire perimeter,” Domitor announced as he walked back into the gym. “We’re safe.”

“Dork,” I muttered as I sat down on the ground, doing a few stretches.

“Shane, what are you doing?” Vanilla asked as she stood there holding Creampuff.

“Stretching,” I answered as I continued what I was doing. “If we’re gonna be going into the tree here soon, I want to be as limber as possible. Never know what kinda shit we’ll get into once we’re inside.”

Floria laughed as she fidgeted with the bow around her tail, “yeah, she’s got a point. We attract all the bad shit, that’s for damn sure.”

“It’s our specialty,” Domitor added as he stepped up to join us.

“Pfft, yeah, we’ve all got some fucked up backstories,” I said with a flick of my tail, finishing up my stretching. “Especially Vanilla.”

At hearing this Vanilla squeezed Creampuff harder and walked off to sit on the nearby bleachers.

“Shayla!” Floria snapped, startling me. She went after Vanilla, flicking her tail into my face.

“What’d I say?!” I asked, causing Domitor to rub his face.

“Remember when you said you need to learn to watch what you say?” he asked, causing me to frown as I reflected on what I’d said.

It took a moment, but I eventually realized I’d brought up her trauma directly, which probably wasn’t a good move.

“I’m a fucking asshole,” I groaned as I stood up.

“You are,” he agreed as I began to walk over to sit on the bleachers near them, giving them some time.

“It’s going to be alright, Vans,” Floria said in a soothing voice as she knelt in front of Vanilla as she sat curled up on the bench before her. “Shayla is just an insensitive asshole sometimes,” she said, side-eying me hard.

“I just want to stop having breakdowns all the time…” Vanilla whimpered, holding onto Creampuff as he licked her face.

“I know,” Floria said softly as she slowly reached out and placed a hand on Vanilla’s knee. “But it’s not something that’ll just happen overnight. Which is why I’m going to be here by your side to make sure you pull through.”

“I’m not worth the effort,” Vanilla mumbled softly, “I’m broken and worthless…”

“No, if anyone is broke, it’s me, see?” Floria said as she broke off the fake piece of clay over her faceplate. “I’m the broken one here, not you, Vanilla,” she said as she moved her hand up to the other woman’s shoulder. “You are an amazing sweet and caring person, despite all the shit you’ve gone through. I look up to you, Vans.”

“You do?” she asked quietly, making eye contact with the shorter woman.

“Yeah. If I had to put up with what you did, I’d have given up long ago. You’re so damn strong, Vanilla. So let me take some of your burdens, okay?” Floria asked as she put her hand on Vanilla’s cheek.

She leaned into the hand on her cheek, seeming to relax greatly. “You… don’t want to do that…”

“Kinda too late, I’ve already decided I’m going to,” Floria countered, rubbing her thumb against her cheek.

Vanilla reached up and placed her hand over Floria’s, shaking slightly, “Just don't... leave me, please…”

A soft smile slid onto Floria’s face as she gave a nod, “cross my heart and hope to die, stick a knife in my eye.”

“So crude,” Vanilla muttered, a little smile on her face.

I felt a little tug at my heart watching the two, a dumb smile plastered on my face as Domitor sat there looking like he was trying not to cry.

“No matter what, Vanilla, I’m going to make sure nothing bad ever happens to you again. No matter what,” Floria promised in a serious tone as she leaned towards Vanilla.

“I-I…” Vanilla sputtered, blushing hard as Floria leaned in closer. She didn’t try to stop her, just waiting for the moment to happen.

“Isn’t this sickeningly sweet?” a voice suddenly called out from the doors to the gym, causing Vanilla to seize up instantly, eyes wide with fear.

My head snapped to the speaker, rage bubbling up within me the moment my eyes landed on them. I stood up, clenching my sword as Domitor sprang up as well.

Floria growled as she moved to block Vanilla from view, eyes ablaze as she stared at the woman before us.

“You’ve caused a lot of trouble, Vanny,” the woman wearing red nuns clothing called out as she began to stroll towards us, hands behind her back. “Mother is very upset with you this time. I think you’ve finally crossed the line.”

Whatever shock that held us in place ended abruptly as I dashed forward so fast I basically just appeared before her. My sword flashed as I pulled it, not even thinking as I went for a clean cut through her midsection.

My blade clanged loudly as my eyes went wide, as there was now a short armored woman before me, her hand holding my blade, keeping it from reaching the cunt before me.

“You’re a fast one,” Cocoa laughed as she took a step back. “But not fast enough. Meet Amylum, my personal Mai-”

A bang filled the air as Floria fired her rifle right at Cocoa, but the Maiden threw her hand out, somehow intercepting the bullet and sending it flying harmlessly past Cocoa.

“Feisty little friends you’ve made, Vanny,” Cocoa giggled, turning her overjoyed gaze to me as I tried to pull my sword out of the Maiden’s grip. “Especially this-”

The Maiden suddenly yanked me to the side and slammed me into Domitor as he pulled himself through the air, trying to go for Cocoa. We crashed to the ground as the short Maiden clapped her hands together and slammed them onto the ground, green lighting flashed around her hands as a pit opened beneath us. Domitor shot his tendril up at the roof and grabbed me as he pulled us up just as the ground slammed shut, almost trapping us down below.

I snarled as I broke from his grasp and landed on the ground, flexing hard enough to completely shred the clothes I was wearing. I needed my full range of motion and wings for this bitch.

Ripping the scarf from my face I pulled my wooden sword with my left hand, now wielding both at once.

Floria fired a few more times, keeping herself between them and Vanilla, who was curled up in a ball on the bleachers.

Each of her bullets were easily redirected by the Maiden as green lightning kept flashing out of her hands as she used her Alchemy Thorn to great effect. Domitor threw his shadowy tentacle at Amylum and pulled himself towards her as I used my wings to dash around them, going straight for Cocoa.

She didn’t look worried at all as I neared her, but I didn’t focus on that as I planned to slice her to pieces!

However just as I neared her that damned Maiden appeared between us, her hands flashing as she threw a punch. I came to a grinding halt as I raised my swords, taking the hit right on my block. There was a massive explosion that sent me flying backwards.

I easily used my wings to recover and dive right back at them, taking notice that my wooden sword was now broken in half and my longsword looked severely damaged.

This is not good.

“Focus on the Maiden!” Floria yelled out as she fired away with her rifle, eyes burning with rage.

Both Domitor and I shifted to attacking just the Maiden, but she seemed to be ambidextrous as she used both hands to perform different tasks, keeping us both at bay and also stopping the incoming bullets from striking her.

This woman was a beast! I desperately needed my Ego!

“My, three on one, that’s a bit unfair, don’t you think, Amylum?” Cocoa asked in the sweetest tone I’d ever heard.

The Maiden did not respond as she continued to deflect our attacks.

“Oh Vanilla,” Cocoa called out in a sing-song voice, “which of these three is your least favorite?”

Vanilla did not respond.

“Oh come on, baby sister! I’d hate to break your favorite little friend,” she laughed as she turned her gaze to me as I attacked the guard of the Maiden.

Domitor yelled with rage as he picked up his attack speed, trying to use his ability to gain the upper hand. But no matter what we tried to do, this woman just reacted almost perfectly to it. It was like fighting a wall that would not break.

“Last chance, Vanny,” Cocoa called out as her smile widened. When she didn’t get a response she just laughed. “Then I’ll do it for you. Amylum, take the Kejtdra’s eyes.”

It happened so fast I couldn’t even react as the Maiden blew Domitor away and turned her full force on me. I went on the defensive, ready to block whatever attack she threw my way. But then everything went dark as a massive pain blasted through my skull. I was then sent flying backwards by whatever had hit me in the face.

I crashed into the bleachers, and collapsed in on myself.

“Shayla!” I heard Floria scream as the fighting picked back up. I forced myself to roll over, trying to clear my eyes with my hand. But as I rubbed at them I realized something, something horrible.

“No…” I gasped as I began to shake violently. Panic rose within me as I vomited before myself, my breathing going out of control.

My eyes… were gone.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Floria’s faceplate was covered in sweat as she fired her rifle, watching as Cocoa giggled loudly while Domitor struggled against the Maiden.

“Oh baby Vanny,” Cocoa called out as she looked towards them, “you’re hurting your friends by disobeying your sister. Why don’t you just get up and come to me, like a good girl.”

There was movement behind her as she heard Vanilla getting up.

“Do not,” Floria growled as she stepped back and pushed the other woman back down, “do not listen to her, Vanilla.”

“If I go she’ll leave you all alone…” Vanilla whispered as her whole body trembled.

“That ain’t happening,” Floria snapped as she looked to the bleachers to see Shayla thrashing around in a rage. She wanted to help her, but she wasn’t going to leave Vanilla alone. Not with that monster in here.

“Just let me go, Floria,” Vanilla whimpered as she reached up and placed her hand on Floria’s back. “Please… I don’t want you to get hurt…”

“I told you,” Floria growled as Cocoa smiled right at her. “I’m not letting her take you again!”

“You are a bad sister, Vanilla. And an even worse friend,” Cocoa declared as she looked at AmyLum. “Take his right arm for me.”

The Maiden exploded into action as she very easily grabbed and ripped Domitor’s right arm off, then kicked him right into the bleachers, causing him to crash into Shayla.

“Now for you,” Cocoa giggled as she and the Maiden approached them. “The one who’s tainting my baby sister with her commoner filth.”

Floria snarled as she turned the gun towards Cocoa, but the Maiden sprang forward and grabbed it by the barrel, then before Floria could retract it back into her Vacuole, she yanked it out of her grip and pulled it into her one Vacuole.

Now without her gun she took a step back, eyes locked with Cocoa’s.

“If you want this… thing to survive, baby sister, then I suggest you come with me. Now,” Cocoa said in a smug tone, standing just behind the Maiden.

“She’s not going with you, cunt,” Floria declared, standing defiantly before the Maiden who was the same height as her.

“Amylum, I want a little keepsake of today. Give me her faceplate,” Cocoa said with a sadistic smile.

But just as the Maiden moved forward, two items appeared in Floria’s hands as she threw them at the ground. Smoke instantly filled the area, obscuring everything in a thick wall of white.

The Maiden flashed her hands a few times and clapped them together, causing the smoke to quickly suck towards her and form into a ball before her.

Once the smoke fully cleared they found themselves standing alone in the gym. The only give away were two sets of doors slamming shut, one on either side of the gym.

Cocoa took notice that the first two had run as well, but she paid them no mind.

“Follow that Kejtdra. Kill her and bring me my sister,” Cocoa demanded as the Maiden took off in the only direction they could have gone.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Fuck fuck fuck!” Floria hissed as she ran down the long hallway, carrying a sobbing Vanilla. Creampuff was running alongside them.

“Please, just let them take me!” Vanilla cried, completely useless now as she wailed loudly.

“They’re not taking you!” She growled, running as fast as she could.

But far down the hallway came a sound, causing her to groan. The Maiden was coming.

“We can’t outrun them, Cocoa always gets what she wants…” Vanilla sobbed, burying her face into Floria’s neck. “Just lay me down, go on, live, for me! I’ll… be okay.”

“Nope!” Floria answered as she turned suddenly and kicked open a door. They stepped into a laundry room, filled with dirty laundry baskets and massive dormant machines.

“We can’t hide from them, they’ll look everywhere for me,” Vanilla choked out, her face a mess with snot and tears.

“Trust me, I got this,” Floria said with a pained look on her face.

“What are you going to do?!” Vanilla asked as Floria made her stand up before her.

The sound of the Maiden stomping down the hallway caused them both to panic.

“Do you trust me?” Floria asked seriously, putting both hands on Vanilla’s shoulders.

Still crying, she gave a nod, “I do.”

With that Floria pulled her down into a passionate kiss, shocking Vanilla. She broke it and leaned back, the most pained look ever on her face. “I’m sorry, Vans…”

“For wh-” she didn’t get to finish the sentence as Floria used an item to knock her out, causing her to collapse onto the ground.

“This is the only way…” Floria muttered as the Maiden got even closer.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The Maiden kicked burst through the door, eyes locking onto Vanilla as she stood there, waiting for her.

She didn’t speak as she dashed over and latched a hand onto Vanilla’s shoulder, holding her firmly as she looked around for the other one.

“She… abandoned me,” Vanilla said softly, eyes looking down.

“Oh?” Cocoa giggled as she strolled into the room. “You stupid brat. I’ve warned you for years, to only listen to me.”

Vanilla didn’t answer her as she kept her eyes on the floor.

“Hm…” Cocoa reached over and grabbed her sister by the chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. “It’s over, Vanny. You’re mine once the family is finished with you.”

Hate flashed through Vanilla’s eyes, causing Cocoa to laugh loudly, “So! There’s still a spark in there after all!” A sinister look befell her face as she gently stroked her sister's cheek, “good. That makes the coming punishments so much more… enjoyable.”

With that she took a step back, nodding to the Maiden, “Amylum, do not let her escape. We’re heading home.”

As they dragged her out of the room, they failed to notice the little Reng peering out of a full laundry basket.

I’ve been watching you

Chapter 68

I growled and snapped at everything around me as Domitor continued to pull me along.

“Please, just keep moving, Shay!” he yelled as I fought him every step of the way.

My fucking eyes were gone!

GONE!

I kept stumbling and slamming into things, but he kept pulling me up and encouraging me to keep moving.

“Shh, Shayla please be quiet, it’s them!” he hissed as he took me to the floor and clamped a hand over my mouth.

Despite myself I began to chew into his hand, causing him to wince and grunt in pain. He held me down till I finally stopped fighting him and just laid there.

“They got Vanilla…” he whispered, sounding pained.

He slowly removed his hand from my face.

“I-I’m sorry…” I choked out as I reached out, wanting to be held.

“It’s okay, just… we need to go find Floria, if she’s still…” he didn’t finish the sentence as he yanked me up and began to pull me along again.

Everything was so fucked now…

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor trembled in both fear and pain as he pulled Shayla down the hallway, desperately hoping to find Floria alive. His severed arm was attached to his belt, as he’d grabbed it as they were escaping earlier.

He scanned each doorway, looking for a sign of where they’d come from. Thankfully he saw a door up ahead that was open, meaning that had to be where they’d been.

Upon stepping into the room he saw nothing out of the ordinary, which was exactly what he didn’t want to see.

Shayla let out a whimper as she touched her face, seeming to finally be coming down from her adrenaline high. He wanted to comfort her, but they needed to make sure Floria was okay first.

“Floria?” he called out, hearing a bit of rushing coming from a laundry basket nearby. Looking over he saw Creampuff pop his head out and start meowing at them.

“Thank God!” Domitor exclaimed as he pulled Shayla over to the basket. He began to pull the laundry out of the basket, “Floria are you-”

He stopped dead as he stared down with wide eyes, not able to comprehend what he was seeing.

“Vanilla?!” he yelped as he saw her unconscious body laying at the bottom of the basket, Creampuff sitting next to her protectively.

“But I saw you with…” his heart skipped a beat. “Floria…” he shook his head as he reached down and gently pulled the unconscious Vanilla out of the basket.

Vanilla groaned as she came too, looking around confused. “Floria… Where’s Floria?!”

“She…” Domitor began as Vanilla struggled to get out of his grip, eyes wide. “She used that charm to swap places with you… Cocoa thinks she’s you.”

A horrified look flashed onto Vanilla’s face as tears streamed down her cheeks, “no…”

“We’ll go get her back, don’t worry,” Shayla said in a shaky voice, facing to the right of the others.

“Shane! Your eyes!” Vanille cried as she collapsed onto the ground, everything becoming too much for her.

Shayla sniffled a bit, but did her best to remain strong, but her trembling body gave her away.

Then Vanilla finally noticed Domitor was missing his right arm, “Domitor… we need to… reattach your arm.”

“Domitor’s missing an arm?!” Shayla suddenly yelled, reaching out trying to find him. When she did, she pulled him into herself as she ran a hand over him, finding his stump. “You fucking idiot! You should have said something?!”

“I had other priorities,” he said as he broke free of her grasp, but took her hand with his so she knew where he was.

“You two need to listen to me,” Vanilla said as she forced herself to stand up, still shaking like mad, “we need to get to Floria before they get back to the Mansion… otherwise…”

“Otherwise?” Domitor asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“They’re going to take her Thorn, and the process is… terrible. She won’t be our Floria after that…” Vanilla answered in a shaky voice. “Please… we have to save her.”

“We’re going to,” Shayla stated firmly. “Just… how do we fight that Maiden?”

“We don’t need to, we just have to get Floria back! Trade me if we have too, just get her away from my sister!” Vanilla yelled desperately, her face a mess.

Domitor shook his head, “first off, we’re not trading you. You’re not going back with them. And two, we will get her back. I promise.”

Vanilla tried her best to calm down, but she wasn’t able to.

“Now, how do I reattach my arm?” he asked, trying to get her mind off of the situation for the moment.

“Um…” she started, trying to clear her head. “You’ll need to… make some healing gel and rub it on the arm and the wound. I’ll wrap it up after that… It’ll take a few hours to fully reattach though.”

“How do I make it?” he asked as he grabbed the arm.

She smiled sheepishly. “Well…” she explained the process to him, causing him to take on a look of disgust.

“I have to vomit up sticky shit to attach my arm?!”

“That’s nasty,” Shayla muttered as she stumbled and sat down, waving her hands around. “I’m good, just need to sit down…”

“I’ll help,” Vanilla said as she took his severed arm.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“This shit stings,” I complained as both Domitor and Vanilla performed basic first aid on my eyes.

“I know,” Domitor muttered as he wiped away some disinfectant onto the wounds. “She carthilzed the wounds when she poked your eyes out, so there’s not much we can do. We need to back track and find a doctor.”

“We don’t have time,” I groaned, “we need to get Floria back first, then I’ll look into fixing my eyes.”

“I’m going to be blunt, Shay. You’re useless in your current state,” he said with a sigh as he placed a hand on my cheek.

“Nah I’m fine. We just need to hurry up and go,” I replied with false confidence.

“We do need to hurry,” Vanilla pushed, “Cocoa will more than likely take her somewhere to… punish her before taking her to the family…”

“Don’t think about that,” Domitor said as he began to wrap a strip of cloth around my head to cover my missing eyes, “we’re getting her back and killing that bitch. Okay?”

“Okay…” I heard Vanilla mutter as she walked around in front of me.

“Now Shayla,” Domitor said as he put both hands on my cheeks, “we need to go fast, are you sure you want to come?”

“I’m coming, Dom,” I said firmly. “Got that?”

“I got that,” he said softly as he suddenly kissed me. “I know you can figure out a way to fight like this.”

A smile touched my lips, “thanks, Domitor.”

“I’m going to lead you with my good arm,” he said as he helped pull me up.

I patted my chest, panicking slightly, “where’s the Watcher?!”

“Here,” Domitor said as he placed a vial in my hands. “He got knocked off when you were thrashing around earlier.”

“And you grabbed him for me?” I asked, a bit touched as I put the Watcher around my neck.

“Yeah. Despite how I feel about the whole thing, I'm not going to purposely get rid of him.”

“Please, can we go? I do not want Floria to experience even a moment of my sister…” Vanilla begged.

“Let’s go,” Domitor said as he took my hand and began to pull me along.

ooo000<^>000ooo

As I was pulled along, my mind raced. I had no idea where we were, or what was going on around us. I could hear people talking from time to time, but that just added to my confusion as I focused in on every sound.

I was a powder keg of emotions as my mind shifted through all kinds of moods. I was mad, but also terrified. How could I be useful when I had no Ego and no eyes?

Maybe… I should just hang back. I’m useless now.

“You’re not completely useless,” a new male voice suddenly said in my head, causing me to jerk in surprise. “You’re obtuse and a dunce, but you have plenty of unrealized potential.”

‘Who the fuck is this?!’ I thought harshly, not having it in me to deal with another asshole.

“You could never comprehend my true name, so you can continue to call me the Watcher,” the voice said, causing my nonexistent eyes to go wide.

I reached up and gripped the vial, ‘why are you suddenly talking to me? Now of all fucking times?”

“I’m going to admit something to you: due to being so close to you for so long, I can see your thoughts.”

Great.

‘That doesn’t answer the question.’

“I can see your thoughts, so I know you’re… ‘niceness’ towards me is genuine. So I want to help.”

‘Help?’

“Yes, help.”

I knew where this was going, ‘what do you want in return?’

“Nothing. This is the only thing I'm going to do for you as payment for being… nice.”

‘Okay, then how are you going to help me here?’

There was a pause.

“I can tell you that your Ego is very slowly trickling back into you, but it’ll be two days before it’s fully restored. And at least a day before you can talk to your mental companion.”

‘Oh, thanks for the help I guess.’

“That’s not the ‘help’ you imbecilic,” he said in such a way that I knew I’d annoyed him. “No, I’m going to teach you how to use a tiny touch of Ego to gain Virtue Sight.”

‘The fuck is Virtue sight?’

“To dumb it down for even a toddler to understand: it allows you to see Souls around you. I was once a Virtue of the Ultimate Authority Dimension, and this is a very rudimentary ability that is known by all Virtues, and those above.”

‘Uh okay, but how is seeing Souls gonna help me see?’

“My, you really are dense,” he muttered with a deep sigh. “With this sight, you will perceive the world around you in its fullest. You will be able to see Ego’s and these Thorn’s before they activate. With enough smarts and practice you will be able to predict others actions based on how their soul looks and ‘feels’. Do I need to dumb it down further?”

‘I got it… how do I learn this?’

“It takes eon’s to learn,” he said in a smug tone, causing me to frown. “Unless I give you mine.”

‘And why the fuck would you do that? What’s your endgame here?’

“You know… I’m going to be honest. I hate all current life, what it’s become. My views have never changed. However, somehow, you, a lowly wildling creature, have endured yourself to me. Amid all the filth and scum, there is you, a brash, crude, and horribly cretinous creature, and you’ve made me care.”

There is no way I’d ever know how to process what he’d just told me.

‘That’s hard to believe. You gotta have an end goal here.’

“Believe me or not, that is up to you. I’m going to offer my sight, and you will have to decide if you will take it or not.”

I stumbled along, trying to decide on what to do. On one hand, I could gain a form of sight and not be useless. But on the other hand, it’s the fucking Watcher!

What do I do?

My mind drifted to Floria and Vanilla’s memories, causing me to cringe at the thought of Floria being subjected to any of that.

That made my mind up for me.

‘I’ll accept it,’ I thought as I sighed. I’ll take the risk to save my friend.

“I know you don’t trust me, nor would I expect you to. I know who I am, what I’ve done. Yet I regret nothing.”

There was another pause.

“I need you to focus the tiny amount of Ego you’ve gotten back into my vial, I will do the rest.”

I really did not like this, and I knew Rosemary would be screaming at me to stop, but Floria needs us, needs me to be useful…

With that thought process, I slowly focused on the vial in my hand, pushing my own Ego into it. I felt it instantly, the feeling of something else entering into me, into my soul.

The Watcher was no longer in his vial… he was now within me! I knew it! I fucking knew he’d-

Then the feeling passed as I felt him move down my arm and back into his vial, causing me to feel a great deal of confusion.

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” he said with a sigh. “I had the chance to possess your body, yet here I am.”

I was at a loss. He’d chosen not to gain his freedom by taking my body over… I really do not know what to make of that.

“It’s best to not put any thought into it,” he said, “you have my sight, you just need to activate it. It’s as simple as opening your eyes. Just will it to be.”

‘I… have no idea how to do that.’

“Fine. I’ll bring it down to your level; activate it by thinking about it. If this doesn’t work for you, then I’ll want my Virtue Sight back.”

I tried to do what he said, but I honestly couldn’t figure it out. So I decided to try and do it the same way I use my Perception Field.

Almost immediately a new sense took over, revealing the world around me. Or at least, the world within six meters of me.

It wasn’t like seeing with my eyes though, as I could perceive everything around in all directions. It was like a third person view in a way. I could see the outlines Domitor and Vanilla as they walked ahead of me, pulling me along. I could clearly see their souls too, right in the center of their chest. It was just a glowing ball of light, and strangely beautiful.

Seeing Domitor’s Soul calmed me immensely, as it gave off a loving and peaceful aura towards me. Vanilla’s was a bit jumpy, like even she couldn’t figure out her own emotions.

I could easily see their movements, and even the movements of everything around me. It was exactly like my Perception Field, just so much more in-depth.

“Well there you,” the Watcher said, “maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

There was nothing more for me to say to the Watcher as I played around with this ‘Virtue Sight’. This is clearly something I should mess around with before trying to use it in combat.

So I pulled my hand from Domitor, startling him as I began to walk on my own.

“What’s wrong, Shay?” He asked, reaching out for my hand again. But I just moved my hand out of the way, avoiding him as I almost gracefully stepped around a puddle on the ground.

“… can you see?” He asked in shock as I navigated on my own.

“Kinda, but it’ll be a bitch to explain,” I replied as I gave him a smile.

I could see they were both confused, just by the feeling their Soul’s gave off.

“Just trust me, I’m good to go now,” I assured them as I jumped over a table, just because I could.

“I knew you’d figure something out,” Domitor said happily as he watched me practice my movements, getting accustomed to moving with this new sight.

“I guess nothing keeps her down for long,” Vanilla commented with a small smile.

“Yep, that’s my Shayla,” Domitor said proudly with a beaming smile.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Rig stepped out of his office, a sour look on his face. Not only had the two contract breakers gotten into the Social District, they’d also completely disappeared. His men who’d been sent to follow them lost track of them after some kind of confrontation at a security gate.

So now things were a bit more complicated.

He stepped into the main meeting room where the majority of his men awaited him.

“Tell me,” he growled as he stepped up in front of the crowd, “how a group of mismatched misfits got away from us!”

“Sir, once the security forces got involved, it was hard to-“ one of his men began to say, but Rig’s glare shut him up.

“Change of plans,” he declared as his shadowy Contract Enforcer loomed up behind him, causing everyone to fill with dread, “every single one of you will go into the Social District and find them.” His eyes shifted over all of them, landing on his right hand man, “that means you too, Talio.”

The large Halwen in question didn’t respond, which irked Rig.

“I want Floria Feit and Shayla Beltosh’s heads on my table by the end of the day, or you’re all good as dead!” He roared, causing everyone to flinch back.

Right at that moment the doors at the back of the room burst open, causing everyone to turn and watch with confusion as a Kejtdra and two strange creatures walked in. The trio casually walked down the middle of the crowd, seeming to not have a care in the world.

“And who are you?!” Rig demanded, eyes ablaze with rage at this sudden interruption.

The lead creature just chuckled as her single eye locked with his, “me? Just one very disgruntled momma.”

First date

Chapter 69

“This is so fucking cool!” I exclaimed as I easily flew over every obstacle that stood in my way, doing little tricks just for added flair.

“You’re doing great, Shay,” Domitor encouraged as he and Vanilla continued down the street and I jumped all around them.

“She’s a bit like a child,” Vanilla observed, getting a laugh out of Domitor. Then she looked at his bags that hung over his shoulder, “why are you not using your Vacuole yet?”

“Like I said, Shay and I don’t have one of those yet,” he answered.

“I assure you, you do,” she countered. “Try to put your bags away by focusing on them like you never want to lose them.”

I stopped my parkouring and landed next to them, very interested in finding out if we had them yet.

Domitor grabbed his bags and stared at them hard, followed by them slowly disappearing. By this point, seeing him instantly figure it out didn’t surprise me.

“Fuck yes!” I yelled as I grabbed my swords and focused on them. It took me longer to do, but eventually they were pulled into me. Inside my mind I could clearly see them, along with a little checklist showing their names.

“Huh,” Domitor mumbled as he pulled out Blake’s fossilized Vacuole and pulled it into himself. A few items appeared around him as they seemed to overflow out of his own Vacuole.

“Whoa!” He said in awe, “she had so much shit!”

Vanilla began to pick through all the extra stuff that didn’t fit in his Vacuole. She picked up a few items and put them away, then she let out a little gasp.

“Here, eat these,” she said as she lifted a small box and pulled out some kinda fruit looking thing. It was hard to tell since I couldn’t actually see it, just an outline.

“What is it?” I asked as I took one and ate it without hesitation, getting a very sweet yet bitter taste in my mouth.

“Fossil Fruit,” she answered as she ate one herself. “It restores Sucro to anyone who eats it. It’ll help speed up your recovery too, Domitor.”

He ate his and grabbed another, “perfect then.”

I watched as their Soul’s got a bit more vibrant, as if the fruit was directly affecting their Soul’s.

Which I guess it was.

I ate three before Vanilla stopped me.

“Three is plenty, Shane. We need to save some for Floria, she’ll need it if my…” she couldn’t finish her sentence, but we knew what she meant.

She went silent as she picked through the items before stopping and picking Creampuff back up.

We left the majority of the items on the ground, as they appeared to be mostly junk. Which definitely was going to piss someone off.

No one spoke for a little bit as Vanilla led the way.

“Are we sure we’re going the right way?” I asked, since I couldn’t actually see where we were going.

“I am sure,” Vanilla replied confidently. “I know Cocoa, she’s going to take Floria to her home first before taking her to the family Mansion.”

I was about to ask why, but I already knew the answer. “Where is her home?”

“Here in the Social District, on the residential side. She owns a stand alone home, so she can have her privacy…” she trailed off at the end there, a look of horror on her face. “… we need to hurry.”

“How far are we now?” Domitor asked.

“An hour…” she muttered, causing us to pick up our pace. The longer we took, the more shit Floria would have to endure.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Don’t slow down, baby sister,” Cocoa called out over her shoulder lovingly as she led her sister and Amylum down the street, getting a bit excited as she saw her street coming up. “I would hate for it to break before we even arrived.”

Floria, still disguised as Vanilla, grunted around the lightbulb in her mouth. She was pissed in more ways than one, with the main thing being that this is what Vanilla herself had to deal with all the time. Her blood boiled as she glared at the back of Cocoa’s head, silently promising to kill her.

“We have a full week ahead of us, Vanny,” Cocoa giggled, “as far as the family knows, you’re still out there. The longer our fun takes, the more angry they will be with you. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Of course Floria couldn’t respond to her, which for some reason angered the deranged woman.

“You will answer me when I speak to you!” She snapped , glaring back at Floria in such a way that it actually frightened her. This caused the woman to smile, “soon, my dear sister, very soon.”

This woman was clearly disturbed and insane. With clear mental issues. And a strange fixation on lightbulbs. Floria could just abide her time for the perfect moment to try and escape using her Thorn.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Welcome home, Vanny!” Cocoa exclaimed happily as they all walked into her semi large home.

Floria raised an eyebrow, as she’d expected the house of someone like Cocoa to be a lot more… Fancy.

But this house was empty, as in, fully empty. As if no one lived here. The walls and floors were empty of everything but paint. It just made this entire experience so much more… unsettling.

“Remember the last time you were here, dear sister?” Cocoa asked as she continued further into the house. Floria did not follow, but Amylum shoved her forward, making sure she followed the crazy woman.

“Your silence, baby sister, irks me,” Cocoa snarled as she stopped in the middle of a hallway, staring right into Floria’s eyes. “Speak.”

Of course, even if she wanted to, Floria could not speak. The lightbulb in her mouth prevented that. She was having trouble deciding if Cocoa knew this, or if she really was insane.

“Push her in,” Cocoa ordered, followed by Amylum shoving Floria through a door, sending her sprawling onto the floor.

The bulb in her mouth shattered the moment she hit the floor, sending an intense pain through her as the shards dug into her inner mouth and tongue. She felt the disguise start to fail, but she did her best to hold it together.

She resisted the urge to scream as she shakily began to spit the shards out, using her fingers to remove the ones she couldn’t spit out. Luckily, there wasn’t that much blood as the shards didn’t do that much damage.

“Oh you clumsy girl,” Cocoa giggled as she walked into the room and stood right behind Floria. “Looks like we’re going to have to start over.”

“You sadistic…” Floria started to say, but stopped herself, knowing she needed to stay quiet, otherwise she’d blow her disguise. If Cocoa knew she wasn’t Vanilla, then she’d go out and find her. She needed to buy them time to get away.

“What did you just say?!” Cocoa growled as both of her eyes began to twitch. Her sister had NEVER talked back to her before. “Amylum! Teach her obedience!”

The Maiden immediately moved into the room and kicked Floria in the side, knocking the wind out of her.

“Good, now back,” Cocoa ordered as she walked over to the coughing Floria and knelt down, grabbing her face and forcing her to look up at her. “Now, what did you-” she stopped, a shocked expression on her face.

Floria winced as she struggled to catch her breath, realizing the disguise had failed her, leaving her there in her normal Kejtdra body.

“You!” Cocoa screamed, digging her nails into Floria’s chin. “YOU!”

“Me,” Floria coughed, smirking up at the woman.

Cocoa stood up, staring down at the wheezing woman with absolute rage.

“You’re… stupid as fuck… you know that?” Floria laughed painfully, the pain in her midsection not going away.

“Cuff her!” Cocoa roared as Amylum pulled out a pair of special handcuffs that were used mainly to disable ones Thorn.

Floria couldn’t really do much other than laugh as her hands were cuffed behind her back and she was forced to stand up before Cocoa.

“You mad, cunt? Mad I tricked your dumbass?” Floria mocked as she spat onto Cocoa’s dress, causing her to get punched across the face by the Maiden. She didn’t go down as she stood firm, smirking.

She knew she was probably going to die here, but she’d go down throwing out as many insults as she could, just to piss this crazy bitch off.

Cocoa was shaking with rage as she stared into Floria’s eyes, “where is my sister?!”

“Nunya business,” Floria threw back, a bright smile on her face.

This caused the deranged woman to slap her, which didn’t do anything other than make Floria laugh louder.

“You hit worse than my father did, you pussy,” she mocked as she was slapped a few more times, each one followed by a frustrated yell from Cocoa.

“You worthless insolent worm!” she screamed as she kept on slapping Floria, who just laughed like a mad woman.

After a decent amount of slaps she finally turned away, clenching her fist.

“Aw what? You done already?” Floria spat out, her face only a little sore. “Geez, you’re a disappointment, that’s for sure.”

Growling loudly she turned back around, glaring into the Kejtdra’s eyes, “your life is over, Amylum, remove her-” she suddenly stopped as she stared into Floria’s smirking face. “Amylum, step back to the wall.”

The Maiden did as she was told, stepping back and pressing her back against the wall.

“What? Going to kill me yourself?” Floria asked with a cocky smile on her face. “Well bring it on, slut! Get creative!”

“I don’t see what she sees in you,” Cocoa said softly, causing Floria’s cocky smile to falter. “Sure, you don’t look unappealing, and you do have very intense eyes… but you’re so crude and rude, with a mouth so vulgar… and… and…”

“Uh…” Floria wasn’t sure what was happening as Cocoa just stared at her, face turning green with a blush.

“... oh my…” Cocoa muttered as a soft smile crept onto her face. She stepped up and reached out, placing a hand on Floria’s confused face. “I get it now…”

“Er… what the fuck is happening?” Floria asked with an awkward look on her face.

“Love,” Cocoa swooned as the blush grew on her face.

Floria blinked a few times, then forced a laugh, “yo, what the fuck?”

“I’m better than Vanilla,” she said, suddenly sounding very desperate. “Which is why you’ll be with me, right?”

“...” Floria looked over to the Maiden, who seemed unfazed by all this, “are you seeing this shit, Maiden?”

Cocoa forced her to look back at her as she smiled at the heavily confused Kejtdra, “you are mine now.”

“Like fuck I am,” Floria laughed. “You’re crazy, chicka.”

“I’ve never been with someone before,” Cocoa said as a creepy smile slid onto her face. “So you’re my first… partner.” She then placed a hand right on Floria’s hip.

“Yo! WHOA! Back up, cunt!” Floria yelled, eyes wide as she jumped back. “Are you fucked in the head or something?!”

“What will we do for a first date?” Cocoa asked in a shy voice.

“Are… you even fucking listening to me?! Or am I talking to a brick fucking wall?!” Floria yelled.

“I think a nice dinner would be a good place to start,” Cocoa suggested, swaying side to side.

“Brick fucking wall…” Floria groaned, shaking her head.

“Then maybe… if we get along… a little… cuddling?” Cocoa asked as she took a step towards Floria.

“I’d rather have another lightbulb in my mouth,” Floria deadpanned.

“Amylum, take my girlfriend to the kitchen and start the tea,” Cocoa ordered, smiling at Floria.

“When the fuck did I become the girlfriend?!” Floria asked as she was dragged out of the room and down the hallway. “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Floria sat at a little table, tea set out before her as Amylum stood in the corner of the room. The Maiden had removed the handcuffs and instead tied a rope around her arms and torso. Making it nearly impossible to drink the tea, not like she wanted to anyway.

She, however, was in complete shock. This was not at all how she thought this would go.

After a moment she looked over at the silent Maiden. “Pst, hey!” she whispered, trying to get the Maiden’s attention. “Yo! Is she always like this?”

No reply came as the other woman just stood there stock still.

“Bro, come on! She’s unhinged as fuck! You can’t be-”

“I’m ready!” Cocoa announced as she entered the room and stood by the table. “I freshen up for you, do I... smell better?”

“You smell like shit,” Floria said coldly, causing Cocoa to giggle.

“It’s my most expensive body wash!” She sat down before her and took off her nun's headdress. “Do you like my hair?” she asked as she patted at her bun.

“Peepee poopoo,” Floria deadpanned, no longer here for this shit.

“I usually wear it in a bun… but if we cuddle I’ll let it down for you,” she said as she began to sip at her tea cutely. Actual little hearts began to bubble up around her and pop like balloons.

“Ugh.”

“You know,” Cocoa began, giggling a bit, “I think you’re super cute, once you look past the broken faceplate.”

“Flying pigs go oink,” Floria replied.

The clearly insane woman finished her tea and smiled sweetly across the table at Floria, “I must admit something.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’ve never… kissed anyone before,” Cocoa said with a huge blush, fidgeting with her empty tea cup.

“Oh boy, I wonder where this is going.”

“Would you… allow me my first kiss?” Cocoa asked, slowly scooting around the table, eyes locked on Floria.

“I kinda miss having that glass in my mouth, such a simpler time, ya know?”

As she got right up next to Floria, she let out a nervous giggle, “Oh I’m so nervous… are you nervous?”

“According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly,” Floria said as she leaned back as much as she could in her chair.

Cocoa leaned all the way forward, pressing her mouth against Floria’s as they engaged in an awkward makeout session, where Floria resembled a dead fish and Cocoa a eager otter.

After way too long, Cocoa sat back, breathing hard and heart racing, “that was… amazing…”

“And I thought my dad was the worst kiss I’d ever had.”

Cocoa began to fidget with her hands as she looked down, appearing very shy suddenly. “I have a question.”

“Oh I wonder what we’re about to do next.”

“Have you thought about… marrying me?” Cocoa asked with an innocent look on her face.

“... Yep, I’m in hell. Actual fucking hell,” Floria groaned, shaking her head around. “Riddle me this: are you actually fucked in the head? Or are you just fucking with me?”

“I have a ring and everything…” Cocoa replied as she pulled a ring out of her Vacuole.

“... I honestly can’t tell if you’re serious or just retarded,” Floria said as she threw her head back in frustration.

“Do you like it?” she asked sweetly as she held the ring up for Floria to see.

“Bitch, you’re not even listening to me, so why would I-” her voice caught in her throat as she saw the ring, and her mothers name engraved on the inside. “... where’d you get that…”

“I knew you’d like it,” Cocoa said with a wide smile. “It is yours after all. I’ve kept it, all these years. At first I thought it was just to mess with Vanilla, but now… I know it was destiny.”

Floria was floored, speechless. She could only stare at the little ring, emotions running high. “Okay… let’s stop this… you’ve made your point…”

“I promise you’ll always be by my side,” Cocoa said, clearly not hearing a word Floria was saying. “Do you accept me as your future wife?”

“...” Floria could just stare blankly at Cocoa, a scary realization dawning on her. “Wait… you’re not screwing with me, are you? You actually believe everything you’re saying?”

Cocoa placed a hand on Floria’s face, a loving smile on her face, “I think I love you.”

“Oh… oh no…” Floria felt the life leave her as the ring was pushed onto her finger.

“We’re going to be so happy,” Cocoa assured her as she came in for another awkward kiss.

Author's Note

Cringiest shit I've ever written.

The untimely wedding

Chapter 70

“What are they?!” Rig yelled as he ran down the hallway, his right hand man Talio casually walking after him. He’d just watched everyone of his men get demolished by those three newcomers, and he’d barely gotten away. If he could get to his office he could use the secret passage to get outside and avoid them.

Talio didn’t answer him as they neared his office.

Behind them came the sounds of a door being kicked down, causing Rig to panic. He rushed into his office, moving for the bookshelf.

“Move this!” he demanded as he struggled to push the heavy shelf to the side.

However Talio just watched him, seeming a bit amused.

“If you don’t help me, you will be violating your contract!” Rig bellowed as his shadowy Contractor appeared behind him. When Talio shrugged, he growled. “Useless!”

The shadowy figure dove for Talio, attempting to enter him. Yet nothing happened as the shadow passed through him, seeming to be unable to get into him. It tried a few more times, but for whatever reason, the Contractor could not enforce the terms of breaking the contract on this Halwen.

“What is this?!” Rig growled.

The door to the room crashed open as the three intrudes walked in.

“You must be Rig Fanden,” the disfigured one laughed, shaking her head.

“Kill them!” Rig ordered, pointing at the large Halwen.

However Talio just took a step back and observed.

Scamp raised her eyebrow at the masked Halwen, keeping an eye on him as she moved towards Rig.

“What do you want?! Money? Land?” Rig asked, backing up to his desk.

“Nah, none of that,” Scamp chuckled as she raised up and squared up with him, “Shayla Beltosh.”

Rig stared at her wide eyed as he made the connection, “you’re her mother.”

“Yep, and you fucked with my daughter,” Scamp threw back, flexing her metal claws.

Mallogory stepped up to Talio, keeping him in check as her two swords appeared in her hands, “Don’t move, big guy.”

“Of course, mademoiselle,” he said in a thick accent.

“She signed a contract, she knew what-” he did not get to finish his sentence as Scamp round housed him in the face, causing him to crash through his desk.

“Whoa!” he yelped as he jumped up, faceplate cracked, “do not go straight to violence! We can work this-”

Again, he did not get to finish what he was saying as Scamp punched him in the face with her metal fist, causing his faceplate to splinter as he flew back into his wall.

“Just wait!” he spat out, holding up his hands.

“Want to survive this” Scamp asked, getting a vigorous nod in return. “Then tell me how to find my daughter.”

Rig forced himself to stand up straight, taking on as much of an imposing stance as he could, “I do not know this. They are in the Social District, with two other groups chasing them.”

“And who are these groups?” Scamp asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to see if he’ll know more.

“The Cakehurst and their bounty hunters,” he answered, then gestured to his desk. “And a new group of strange creatures. I’ve been keeping track of them since they came into town, but I do not know what to make of them.”

He was trying to buy himself time as he inched towards his desk, eyes glancing at the gun sticking out of its hidden compartment.

“Take the file right there,” he said, nodding to a single file near Scamp. “It has all the information on your daughter and the two groups chasing her.”

She kept an eye on him as she stepped over, placing her hoof on the file.

The moment she touched it he shot forward and grabbed his pistol. He raised it, only for his head to explode as Scamp’s own large framed revolver appeared in her outstretched paw. The headless body stumbled back and fell against the wall, followed by a massive torrent of darkness flying out of it.

Scamp just let out a sigh as she put her pistol away in her Personal Dimension and grabbed the file, ignoring the body.

“They always try that trick, don’t they?” Mallogory chuckled as she kept her eyes locked with Talio’s.

“It’s like their go too,” Scamp answered as she flipped open the file, seeing a few pictures. Her entire body froze as she stared at the images.

“What is it, love?” Mallogory asked as she took notice of how her wife reacted.

“We have… a problem,” Scamp muttered as she turned the file around to show Lorenzo and his crew sitting in a church-like building, Leem clearly visible as he smirked up at the camera.

“Oh crap…” Spark muttered as he walked over and looked the file over. “Why are they here?!”

“Your daughter brought them here,” Talio suddenly said, getting all eyes on him as he seemed to be enjoying himself. “Of course, I believe they tricked her.”

Scamp’s breathing picked up as her mind began to make connections, “Kal.”

The moment she said this, the other two had a similar reaction.

“That snake…” Mallogory growled.

Spark turned his head to Talio, glaring at him, “you seem to know a lot. Mind telling us where Shayla is?”

“I wouldn’t know a thing about that,” he laughed as he reached out and used his two fingers to lower Mallogory’s swords. “Of course, someone here probably would have known where they were. Yet they’re all in pieces.”

“Help us find our daughter, or,” Mallogory threatened as she raised her swords back up, pointing the tips at his face.

“There’s no telling where young Ms. Beltosh will turn up next, the child has a tendency to do what she wants. Of course, following the path least traveled by commoners will lead you to her,” he replied casually, seeming very unaffected by her threats.

“I take my leave,” he chuckled as he turned, walking for the door.

Of course Mallogory wouldn’t just let him leave as she flickered, her swords performing a cross slice. But he just moved in a strange way, avoiding her attacks. She blinked in confusion and attempted to strike him a few more times, flickering like mad as he just simply walked away, somehow avoiding all her attacks without even looking at her.

“Stop!” Scamp demanded sternly, causing both of them to stop and look at her. “I do not know who you are, or what your goals are, but you clearly know more than you are letting on.”

“Perhaps,” he said simply with a tilt of his head.

“And you will not tell us, for whatever reason,” she continued, getting a thumbs up as a response. “So at least do this; take us to this Social District and get us in. Can you do this?”

He stood there for a long moment, seeming to think about what she’d said. “Life is too short to say no.”

“Is that a yes?” Spark asked, looking at his companions.

“Yes, Spark, that’s a yes,” Scamp said as she stared into the eyes of the man's mask. “Lead the way, Mr…”

“Talio, at your service for this little stroll,” he replied with a little bow.

Scamp narrowed her eye at him, not liking the jib of this guy, as he gave off a very strange vibe. But as he turned to walk out of the room, she sighed. They’d just have to hope he’s being honest here, otherwise they’ll have to figure something else out.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Which house is it?” Domitor asked as we walked down a street. I wasn’t sure where we were, but it was quiet.

“None of these,” Vanilla answered, sounding extremely worried, “her house is all the way on the other side of this area. We need to hurry, please!”

“We’re hurrying,” he assured her as we picked up our pace.

“My sister…” she whimpered, unable to finish the sentence. She was terrified at what they’ll see when they arrived. “Floria needs us…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Get your fucking hands off of me!” Floria roared as Amylum forced her into a dress, not even reacting to anything Floria hit her with. The Maiden was like a tank, affected by nothing.

Eventually the Maiden finished forcing Floria into the dress, retying her up once she was done.

“Are you seriously okay with all this?!” Floria asked as the Maiden finished tying her up. “Like this chicka is loco, right?! Why are you playing along with her shit?!”

No answer came as the Maiden began to push her out of the room and down the hallway.

Once they entered the oversized living room, Floria’s heart dropped. “Oh fucking come on, we can’t actually be doing this!” she yelled as Cocoa stood in the middle of the room, looking overjoyed as she cast her hands out.

“Isn’t this perfect?” she asked with a massive smile.

The room had been made up to look like a wedding venue, with pews and hastily set up decorations everywhere. There was even a massive cake on a table nearby, standing tall. Up near the front of the pews was an altar, covered in flowers and an arch hanging above it.

“A perfect wedding for a perfect couple,” she continued, snapping her finger as an overly elaborate wedding dress appeared on her body. “Amylum, change into the correct attire.”

The Maiden nodded as her chest armor was replaced with a simple t-shirt with a decal of a tuxedo on it.

“You know this shit is insane, right?” Floria asked, but Cocoa ignored her as she waved for the altar. “Take your place, my beloved! The wedding is starting!”

As the Maiden pushed her to the altar, Cocoa quickly ran to the other end of the room, giggling like a schoolgirl.

Floria was forced to stand before the altar as Amylum stood beside her, a firm grip on her shoulder.

She looked around, frowning as she took in the batshit insane situation she’d found herself in. This was a far cry from what she’d signed up for. Tortured by a psychopath? Sure, easy peasy…. But this shit?! This shit was so far from what she’d expected that she’d never be able to process this.

Suddenly, music began to play as Cocoa appeared at the end of the aisle, flowers in her hands.

“Oh screw this,” Floria mumbled as she began to fight against the Maiden behind her, but wasn’t making much progress as the other woman held her tightly.

The entire time she was fighting for her life, the deranged woman slowly walked down the aisle, a happy look on her face as she stared right at Floria.

Once she stepped up, taking her place on the other side of Floria, she giggled, “I see you’re just as nervous as me.”

Floria gave her a dumbfounded look as she continued to struggle to break out of the iron grip of the Maiden.

“If it makes you feel better, I’m so nervous,” Cocoa said sweetly as she clenched her flowers tightly. “But I’m happy you’re up here with me, it makes everything easier to process.”

“Bitch you ain’t processing a damn thing that is happening!” Floria yelled inches from her face as Cocoa’s eyes flickered to the Maiden, seeming to give her an order without saying a word.

Amylum yanked Floria back and slammed a fist into her gut, winding her instantly. She didn’t collapse as the Maiden just held her up.

“We’re going to be so happy after this,” Cocoa said, tears in her eyes. “Amylum, begin the ceremony.”

The Maiden moved so she was standing between them, still holding onto Floria tightly. A book appeared in her hand and then she just stood there, not speaking.

Cocoa smiled brightly at Floria as she reached over and fixed her veil, as it’d been knocked around due thrashing around. “Soon, we’ll be happily married, my love.”

“Ugh,” Floria groaned, not really having it in her to fight against this crazy shit.

The Maiden flipped the page, acting as if she was reading the words out loud, but was clearly not.

A large blush appeared on Cocoa’s face as she looked a little shy, “after the reception, we’re going to have to… do it.”

“...” Floria just stared at her blankely, not engaging.

“I’ve never… made love before,” the crazy woman muttered, face ablaze as little hearts floated up around her.

“Oh, awesome,” Floria groaned, shaking her head. “Saw that one comin’.”

The Maiden flipped to the final page and looked at Cocoa.

“I do,” Cocoa answered, body shaking as they both looked at Floria, awaiting her answer.

Floria’s response was to spit at Cocoa’s face, but Amylum just snatched it out of the air, preventing it from landing on Cocoa.

Then Cocoa began to smile brightly, as if she’d heard something amazing, “now pronounce us married, Amylum.”

The Maiden just gave a nod, sending Cocoa into a crying fit.

“I ain’t kissing this bitch again,” Floria grumbled as Cocoa tried to recover herself to finish the ceremony.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“That one!” Vanilla yelled as she took off running down a driveway.

“Stop!” Domitor yelled as he flung himself after her, stopping her. “We need to play this smart, for Floria’s sake.”

Reluctantly she nodded as Shayla walked up to them.

“Shayla, you can see into buildings with that, right?” he asked, both of them looking at the mare.

“Eh… yeah, as long as I’m close enough,” she confirmed, getting a nod from Domitor.

“Perfect, we’re going to walk the outside of the building till we locate them, then we’ll put together a plan.”

With this plan in place they all moved to the building, watching for movement. They walked along the wall, letting Shayla scan the inside of the building.

Once they neared the back of the building, she came to a stop. “Oh shit, got ‘em!” she exclaimed, pressing against the wall as she tried to make out more details. Of course, her Virtue Sight had a major weakness; she couldn’t see details outside of outlines and body shapes.

“Uh… so they’re all three together…” she raised an eyebrow, “I think… Cocoa is laughing? Erm, crying? I dunno, but Floria’s Soul is flaring super fucking hard.”

“Okay, let’s back off and-” Domitor began, but Vanilla growled.

“I’m going in, right now!” she declared as she began to walk for the front of the building.

“We need a plan, or we’re riskin-” Domitor tried to say, but Shayla cut him off.

“Vanilla, wait,” she hissed, causing the other woman to look back at her. “We’re going in, right now. Just come back over here.”

Slowly, Vanilla returned to them, trembling. “Please… we need to get in there right now.”

“Alright, follow my lead,” Shayla said with a smirk as she turned and began to focus, holding a hand against the wall.

Her Ego was still far from recovered, but she still had access to just enough to boost one thing at a time. So she focused her Ego into her right arm, slowly increasing her strength.

“Rush them the moment this wall falls!” she yelled as she slammed her fist into the wall, blowing a large chunk of it away. Domitor jumped through first, ready to rush towards them, but came to a grinding halt as he took in the scene before him.

Vanilla was next in, but the scene before them hit her so hard she stumbled and fell into Domitor, eyes wide.

“Let’s fucking rip them too-” Shayla exclaimed, but was silenced as she saw her two friends weren’t rushing forward. “What?”

They found themselves in a room decorated for a wedding, with both Cocoa and Floria standing at the front of the room wearing wedding dresses, with the Maiden just wearing a t-shirt with a tuxedo decal on it. They also took notice that Floria was tied up and held onto by the Maiden.

Vanilla was the most confused as she looked between the two, not able to make sense of what she was seeing.

“Guys!” Floria exclaimed, but was hit by the Maiden to silence her.

“Vanny!” Cocoa laughed as she wiped tears from her face, as she’d clearly been crying. “I was wondering if I’d have to come find you again.”

“L-Let her go!” Vanilla yelled, her voice shaky as she was not use to raising her voice at her sister.

“Even if I did, she’d stay by my side, we’re married after all!” Cocoa mocked, reaching over and pulling Floria into herself, forcing a kiss onto the short Kejtdra, who was still trying to fight against the Maiden.

“Are they… fucking kissing?!” Shayla asked in shock as Vanilla fell to her knees, her emotions running wild.

“You sick fuck,” Domitor growled as he looked at Vanilla. “Do not let her into your head, Vanilla. Think about this clearly; Floria is tied up and fighting, this is your sister trying to get in your head.”

Vanilla looked back to her sister and Floria, trying to work this out logically, but seeing Floria kissing Cocoa was becoming too much for her.

“Damn it, you skank!” Floria yelled around the lips of Cocoa, eyes ablaze with pure hatred. Her eyes snapped Vanilla as she sat on the ground, looking completely crushed by what she was seeing. Floria knew what was going through her head right now, and it pissed her off as she knew the person responsible for how Vanilla’s mind work was currently kissing her.

In one move she dropped her legs out from under her, causing her to fall out of the Maiden’s grip and away from Cocoa, confusing her.

“Vanilla!” she roared as the Maiden reached out for her, grabbing her by the back of her dress. “I love you!”

“I love you too!” Cocoa called out, nodding to Amylum, causing her to hit Floria in the back of the head, knocking her out. “Kill them, Amylum.”

The Maiden followed the order instant, walking around the unconscious Floria and began to advance on the others.

Vanilla’s eyes were wide in shock as the words from Floria rocked through her. The moment she’d seen Floria get hit, she’d jumped up, ready to rush forward and fight, but Domitor held her back.

“Bring me Vanilla once you kill those two,” Cocoa said firmly as she grabbed one of Floria’s legs, beginning to walk for one of the doors, dragging her behind herself. “I want her to watch me and my wife consummate our marriage.”

Vanilla tried to go after them, but Domitor held her firmly as Shayla walked past them, smirking.

“Amylum, the bitch who took my eyes, ready for a rematch?” Shayla yelled as she and the Maiden advanced on each other.

That one Reptile

Chapter 71

I walked straight at the Maiden, a confident smirk on my face. This bitch may have kicked my ass the last time we fought, but this time would be different.

“Domitor, follow my lead,” I called out as I came to a stop, letting the Maiden walk the rest of the way to me.

My longsword, my only sword left now, was tucked away in my Vacuole. I have a feeling fist will work better against her.

The Maiden continued to approach me as I watched her Soul in the middle of her body. It pulsed steadily, clearly well trained. If I paid attention, I felt I could see right when she’d use her Thorn.

As she reached me she exploded forward, her Soul slithering through her body and into her hands. Perfect.

Instead of countering or dodging, my own hands shot out, Ego in both palms, and caught hers in midair. Her face was hidden behind her visor so I couldn’t see her reaction as I interlock my fingers with hers, holding her firmly.

“Balls in my court now,” I laughed as I yanked her forward and slammed a knee into her gut. She grunted, but just gave back just as much as her own knee hit me, winding me. We held firm to each other as we began to kick at one another, using our legs and elbows to block incoming attacks.

We danced around the room, fighting hard to gain control of the other. I watched her Soul fair as she attempted to use her Thorn, but I just flashed my own Ego into my palms every time she did so. We were at a stalemate.

Thanks to the way my new vision worked, I could watch the others as well while dealing with the Maiden. Domitor finally began to move towards me as Vanilla took off after Cocoa. I couldn’t stop her, so we’d just have to finish up here as fast as possible.

As Domitor neared us, his sword aimed for the center of her back, she suddenly spun us, putting me between them. He however just zipped to the side, sword flashing.

I watched as her Soul suddenly traveled down into her foot, catching me off guard as she kicked his blade as it flew towards her side. He flinched back as his sword was kicked.

Her head turned back to me, and I could just feel her smirking at me despite not being able to actually see her face.

“Nice trick,” I complimented as my muscles rippled as I pushed the small amount of Ego I had into them. “Wanna see another cool one?”

With a bit of effort I forced her hands together as I yanked her into me, attempting to gain control of her. However she flexed and broke my grip just long enough to slip her hands out and around my waist.

“Shit!” I grunted as she had a hold of me in such a way both my arms were trapped under hers as she began to squeeze hard, applying a lot of pressure on my chest. We were face to face as she yanked me around, keeping my body between her and Domitor as he tried to get in to help.

“Damn it, Shayla!” Domitor growled as he struggled to find an angle of attack.

I pressed my face into her visor and growled. “Let. Me. Go.” I demanded, putting strong emphasis on each word. But of course she didn’t release me as she held firm, slowly squeezing the life out of me.

A scream was heard from further in the building, causing me to take drastic measures.

“Fuck!” I yelled as I tilted my head to the side and latched down on her neck, biting down so hard I ripped out a chunk of her flesh.

She threw me off of herself immediately, stumbling back and going down to a knee, holding her neck as her soul trickled into her hand, attempting to heal herself.

Domitor was on her in an instant, thrusting his sword for her. She threw a hand up and caught his blade with her palm, but he just pushed through her hand and impaled her chest, pinning her hand between her body and the hilt of his sword.

She gasped as he twisted the blade, causing her soul in her chest to start to dim. He held his blade in her as she fought against him, but her strength was weaning.

Right as her soul started to flicker, he yanked the blade out of her and took a step back, allowing her to collapse onto the ground.

I walked over and stood above her with him, both of us staring down at her as she breathed raggidly, a hand shakily coming up to try and heal the neck wound.

“I’ll finish her,” Domitor said grimly as he flicked his sword and placed the tip against the face of her visor. She weakly grabbed the blade with her hand and tried to push it away.

“No. She’s done,” I said coldly as I stepped over her.

“Leaving her alive is a really stupid idea,” Domitor warned, “she’s way too powerful.”

I glanced back, seeing her soul staying strong and firm, if not also slowly fading.

Damn it.

“Leave her, the others need us,” I said, turning from them. I was betting on her being too hurt to be a threat at this point. Her weakened Soul was a good indicator of that. “If she follows us, then you can finish her.”

Wiping blood from my face, I continued forward as Domitor reluctantly followed after me, leaving the wounded Maiden behind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Earlier

Vanilla rushed down the hallway, heading for the only room she knew was furnished. Her sister's room.

It’d been longer than she’d have liked, which increased her anxiety to the extreme. She also wasn’t sure what she’d do once she got there. But that didn’t matter, Floria needed her to be strong, and she would be. For her.

Finally she reached the door to her room, hesitating for just a moment before forcing herself to throw open the door. The moment she stepped in she saw her sister standing by the bed, looking proud of herself, eyes locked on Vanilla.

“I knew you’d be along shortly, baby sister,” Cocoa chuckled, hands behind her back. “Now sit down,” she demanded, gesturing to a chair with rope in it right by the bed.

But Vanilla just stood there, breathing heavily as she stared at her sister. “Where is she?” she demanded in a shaky voice, eyes moving to the bed.

“My wife?” Cocoa asked in the smuggest tone. “She’s here, waiting for me,” she giggled as she pulled the blankets off, revealing Floria still tied up and laying on the bed in the wedding dress, cloth wrapped around her mouth as she laid there awake. Her eyes were still ablaze with rage and hatred as she stared at Cocoa.

“We couldn’t start without you,” she said as she placed a hand on Floria’s face. “Now sit, Vanny.”

“Get away from her,” Vanilla grumbled, clenching her fist, but not able to act.

“Either sit or stay there,” Cocoa said with a stern look as she used her Vacuole to remove her clothes, leaving just her underwear.. “Just do not interrupt your big sister on her wedding day!”

She reached out to Floria, intending to remove her clothes with her Vacuole as well, but movement caught her attention as she looked back in time to see Vanilla running right at her.

“What do you think you’re-” she was cut off as Vanilla suddenly slammed her fist into Cocoa’s face, causing a small explosion as she used her Thorn to ignite the air around her fist.

Cocoa let out a scream as she was flung backward into the wall, crashing face first into it and rebounding off, landing in a heap at Vanilla’s feet.

“You keep your hands off of her!” Vanilla roared as she pounced on the downed woman and began to repeatedly slam her fist into Cocoa’s face, screaming and crying the entire time. She let out a lifetime of pent up anger and pain right into Cocoa’s face.

The downed woman tried to defend herself, but she was powerless to stop the onslaught of punches coming for her, each one rocking her to the core. She’d never in her whole life been hurt, let alone beaten like this.

Vanilla let out a pained grunt as she hit her sister so hard once that her wrist broke, causing her to shift and start using the other hand, not letting up for even a second.

Finally, she stopped and stood up, covered in green blood. Her sister was a mess, face barely recognizable at this point. She gave her one solid kick to the side and then jumped for the bed, quickly ripping the gag out of Floria’s mouth.

“I’m so sorry!” Vanilla cried as snot and tears ran down her face, her one good hand fumbling to untie the ropes. “This is all my fault, I’m so sorry, Floria!”

“Shh,” Floria shushed her, getting an arm free and reaching up to place it on Vanilla’s cheek, “shut up you big ol’ softie.”

This caused Vanilla to cry harder as she wrapped her arms around Floria, burying her face into her neck.

Floria sat up and threw her own arms around the crying woman, trying to comfort her. “You’re a vicious little ball of fury when you want to be, Vans.”

She didn’t get a response as Vanilla just continued to cry, holding her tightly.

“Get the fuck back you-” Domitor screamed as he flew into the room, stopping as he saw the scene before him. “Oh damn.”

Shayla was next, already knowing what was going on due to her Virtue Sight. “She’s still alive guys,” she said, gesturing to the prone Cocoa.

“I got it,” Domitor said as he walked over, flipping his sword around.

As he neared her, Shayla yelped as she dashed forward and tackled Domitor, taking him to the ground.

Before he could ask why, the wall next to Cocoa exploded, with a large blade on a chain flying forward, passing over the area Domitor had just been moments before.

Acting on instinct, Shayla shot up onto the bed and grabbed the two women and threw them behind herself as the chain went taunt, pulling the blade right for her. She crossed her arms and took the hit directly, sending her flying through the new hole in the wall.

She skidded across the ground a few times before catching herself, spinning as she slid to face the new threat.

“Oh fuck me,” she groaned as she stood up, her longsword appearing in her hands.

“Found you, daughter of Scamp,” Leem chuckled as he retracted his blade to himself, eyes ablaze with hunger.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp stared in confusion at the checkpoint up ahead, as it was completely destroyed. There were guards all around it, dead.

“What happened here?” Spark asked as they walked right through the checkpoint, no one was around to stop them.

“I don’t know…” Scamp mumbled, eyes scanning the bodies. She saw one that looked to be alive as they took deep breaths. “But I’m going to find out.”

The group followed her as she stepped up to the downed man. She flipped him over and checked him over.

“What happened?” she asked as he groaned.

“Captain? That you?” the man asked, his eyes burned away so he couldn’t see her.

“Yes, soldier. Now tell me what happened,” she answered, seeing that his wounds were far above what she could treat.

“A monster… just tore through us without warning… it just laughed at us as we attacked it…” the man coughed, causing blood to spurt out of a wound in his chest. “Captain, the thing just regenerated instantly… we couldn’t hurt it…”

“Did this creature look like a bulky Kejtdra without the faceplate?” Mallogory asked, causing the man to grunt.

“Yeah… now that you mention it…” he shakily reached up and grabbed Scamp’s metal hand. “Captain… are the doctors on the way?”

“Yeah, kid, they’re coming,” Scamp said as she slowly stood, letting his hand fall out of hers as he went limp. She then looked at the others, a grim look on her face. “Leem’s on the move it seems.”

The others had similar expressions on their faces, except Talio, as he just stood there casually. Just observing them.

She followed the path of destruction, seeing he went a certain direction after getting through the checkpoint. “Well, I hate to say it, but we need to follow him.”

“Wonderful,” Mallogory grunted, shaking her head as she clenched her fist.

Neither of them wanted to face Leem again. Just the thought of seeing him again caused them both to break out into a cold sweat. But they’d have to face him, if he was after Shayla.

“This way,” she said as she turned to follow the path of bodies heading into the Social District.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor ran out behind me, tripping over himself as he saw Leem. “Jerry?!”

“Domitor?” Leem asked, seeming a bit surprised to see him here.

Nervously, Domitor looked around, “is-”

“No, just me,” Leem said, eyes locked on Domitor. “Why are you a bug?” But before he could answer, Leem continued. “Where is Lenrick?”

“Dead,” Domitor answered quickly, causing Leem to raise an eyebrow.

“Hmm…” he looked at me next. “How?”

“I killed him,” Domitor answered, stepping between me and Leem. “To save Shayla.”

“Lorenzo will not be pleased with that at all,” Leem roared with laughter, a wide smile on his face. “I always liked you, Domitor, such a wild little spirit. Now step aside.”

“No,” Domitor said firmly, squaring up with Leem. “I will not.”

“Oh?” the large crocodile man laughed as he began to walk towards us. “Domitor, is she worth dying over?”

“Yes,” Domitor stated as he raised his sword.

“Oh I see,” Leem said with a smirk. “You’re sleeping with this one.”

Domitor gulped as the imposing force of Leem bore down on both of us. Even I began to feel nervous as he approached. He had such an aura about him that made your fight or flight response go crazy.

“I’d rather not kill you, Domitor. It’s rare for me to like someone as much as I do you,” Leem said with an intense look in his eyes.

“You’re not touching her,” he growled back, beginning to walk right at Leem, despite the massive amount of fear he felt.

I started to walk forward as well, but Leem suddenly shot forward and slammed a foot into Domitor, sending him rocketing past me and into the building behind me, causing him to crash through the wall and disappear into the house.

“Will you be as entertaining as your parents, little one?” Leem asked as he flashed me a toothy grin.

Resisting the urge to chase after Domitor I turned to Leem, taking him in. His Soul was massive, as it seemed to fill every part of his body. I have no idea what his weakness could be, or if he even has one. But I couldn’t run from him.

“I might surprise you,” I replied, watching his movements carefully.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Leem laughed as he began to spin the chain over his head, the blade inching towards me. Without warning he snapped it, sending it flying right for me.

It wasn’t a challenge to side step it, but my heart still skipped a beat. I couldn’t telegraph his movements! His Soul obscured his body enough that I couldn’t tell when he was flexing his muscles or moving certain ways.

Oh crap.

He whipped the chain, causing it to pop me in the face unexpectedly. This sent me stumbling back as he recoiled the blade off the building behind me, sending it right for me.

Using my blade I deflected it, letting it ride up my blade and right over my head.

My entire body shook in fear as I realized this was hopeless. I could literally feel his power in each of his movements and attacks.

I now understood why my mother said Leem was the only thing she feared in all of existence.

I need to run.

Get the fuck out of here.

But, I could see Domitor thanks to my Virtue Sight, laying amid a pile of debris in the house behind me, while Floria and Vanilla seemed to be hunkered down in the bedroom, and that encouraged me to stand my ground. For them.

As I shakily squared back up with him, I raised my sword.

“Well, you are like your parents,” he chuckled as he tossed the blade into the air. “So I'm going to treat you the same way.” With that he punched the blade, sending it rocketing for me.

Staying aware of my surroundings I dashed to the left, watching as he manipulated the chain to change its direction in midair. I couldn’t help but yelp as I barely blocked it, getting sent to my knee by the force of the blow as the blade deflected off my guard and went flying straight up.

The chain shook hard as he caused it to fly right back down towards me. Rolling to the side saved me as it plummeted right into the ground, the shockwave actually hitting me a lot harder than I thought it could.

He laughed as he yanked the blade back to himself, letting it fly past him as he spun his entire body so that it ended up rocketing right back at me at an angle.

Watching carefully, I sprang up and over it as it flew under me, using my wings to propel myself to the left.

I need to do something other than defend!

As the chain snapped, sending the blade right for me yet again, I roared as I pushed Ego into my palms and down the edge of the longsword.

The moment I dodged the blade again, I sliced at the chain with my sword, easily cutting right through it as I focused all the Ego I could into a single point on my blade.

Doing a little spin, I landed on my feet, watching as the blade went flying into a nearby tree, slicing right through it and continuing on its way.

Leem let out a laugh as he dropped the chain, licking his lips. “Interesting use of your Ego,” he complimented as he opened a pocket dimension and pulled out a large halberd. “I’m going to take your right leg now.”

Normally a statement like this would make me laugh, but the way he said it, like it was a fact, caused me to let out an audible whimper.

“Do not let him get into your head,” the Watcher suddenly said calmly, “this creature is among the most dangerous in all of existence, as even I could not harm him.”

‘Wait you couldn’t even kill him?!’ I asked, taking a step back as Leem began to advance on me.

“His Ego is among the most unique,” the Watcher continued. “Fatal damage of any kind, or any that tries to harm his Ego itself just causes him to revert back to normal. If you completely erase him from existence, he just reappears at one of his many home points.”

‘How does his Ego work exactly?’ I asked, hoping I could figure something out if I knew this info.

“His Ego allows him to exist no matter what happens to him, always sending his body and Soul back to a save point.”

‘Save points?’ I asked as Leem burst towards me, using his halberd to try and wear me down. I dodged around him, barely able to keep up with his erratic movements.

“Yes, a save point. He is able to set a save point in his body, which is how his Ego knows what state to return him to each time he is hurt or killed,” he said, but noticed I was a bit confused as I dodged and deflected Leem’s very heavy attacks. “You moron. In terms even you’ll understand; he chose a specific form for his body to return to when damaged. Meaning, his Ego reverts his body back to a set point.”

“Yeah, I got it!” I snapped out loud, causing Leem to raise an eyebrow at me as the head of the halberd barely missed me.

‘None of this helps me here,’ I thought as I moved backwards, trying to keep him at bay as best as I could.

“Many have tried to think of a way to kill him, yet every attempt has failed. Even I gave up on killing him. Locking him away is the only real solution.”

‘Retarded.’

As his halberd came in from the upper right side, I pushed my Ego into the middle of my blade, using it to slice through the handle of his weapon and right into him. He just smiled as my blade tore through him and came out the other side. Of course the wounds healed instantly, so it was like I wasn’t even cutting him, just having my blade pass through him harmlessly.

An arm shot out and latched onto my right leg, squeezing hard. “Do you taste like your mothers?” he asked with a grin as he caught my arms, preventing me from attacking or moving.

My body seized up as he raised me, sniffing at my leg, eyes rolling up a bit. “I bet you do.”

Slowly he opened his mouth and lowered it towards my leg, clearly taking his time to screw with me. I jerked hard, trying to break free, but it was hopeless as his head-

Suddenly fell off of his body as a massive black colored wave of energy sliced between us, removing his arms as well.

I didn’t waste a second as I flapped my wings, shooting myself away from him as he recovered, turning to see where the attack had come from.

That’s when I saw him, Domitor standing in the hole with his hand held out before himself, breathing heavily. On his left hand I saw what could only be a stomata.

… Domitor has a Thorn?!

A threat so large

Chapter 73

“Shayla, let’s go,” my mother said sternly, but I ignored her as I watched Spark holding his own against Leem. I don’t know how he got so strong, but watching him casually move out of the way of the multiarmed attacks of Leem was amazing.

In my Virtue Sight I saw that Floria and Vanilla were watching the fight from a different room in the house, so at least they were keeping their distance.

“Shayla!” my mother snapped, causing me to sigh.

“Mama, please stop being my mother for one minute,” I said in a low voice as I prepared myself.

My mother stared at me for a long moment before waking up next to me and watching the fight as well. “Okay. Do you have a plan, honey?”

“I do,” I confirmed as I turned my head to her. “I just need you to trust me, mama.”

She sighed then gave a nod, “you’ve got my trust, Shayla. What do I need to do?”

“I need you to focus on me and keep anything from reaching me,” I said as she gave a nod.

“And what of me, sweetie?” my mom asked as she twirled her swords with a smile on her face.

“Help Spark, focus on keeping Leem’s limbs from re-growing,” I answered, getting a nod in response. “Domitor, use your new Thorn to pin him down somehow.”

Everyone gave a nod as I put my sword in its sheath.

“You must do everything exactly as I described,” the Watcher warned, “just trust our… bond.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I began to walk forward, “let’s kick this croc's ass.”

Everyone shot past me as they moved to help Spark fight Leem, while my mother stayed at my side as we strolled towards them.

My mom was the first to reach the two, sliding in and flickering rapidly as she began to remove body parts before they had a chance to even reappear. Domitor was using his ink abilities to crash large spear-like poles through the top of Leem, constantly pinning him in place, much to the crocodile's annoyance.

Leem was now fully engaged with those three, which would hopefully allow me to do what needs to be done.

My mother raised herself up to two legs as she pulled a sword out of her personal dimension, giving me a nod of encouragement.

Now I just needed to trust the Watcher.

I dashed in, watching every movement of the fight as I neared it, looking for an opening. A few attacks came for me, but my mother just agilely moved around me, slicing them away as they neared.

Thanks to my Virtue Sight, I was seeing the battle from all angles, but I was still having trouble finding a direct path to Leem’s head.

“Once we start this, we will have just a split second to act, are you fast enough?” the Watcher asked, causing me to smirk.

‘I’m fast enough,’ I answered as I prepared my Ego to enhance my body, needing as much speed as possible for this to work.

“Just don’t let him get a hold of you once in there, because any damage you take will be inflicted directly on your Soul.”

I just gave a nod.

“Mama, what I’m about to say is weird, but you just need to do it,” I said as I came to a stop close to the fighting, lowering myself into a fighting stance, my hand on my sheathed sword.

“Tell me what needs to be done,” she said, putting all of her confidence in me.

“When I say now, take this,” I said as I reached up and pulled the cable out from behind my ear, causing her to raise an eyebrow. “I know, it’s weird. Just take this and connect it to Leem’s head.”

She gave a sharp nod as she took the connector, using her mechanical hand to cut away any of the limbs still coming for me.

I watched the battle, waiting for the best path to open up for me. Finally, everything lined up as a clear and direct path to Leem opened up.

“Now!”

My mother exploded forward, flipping and weaving through all of Leem’s arms, and slammed the connector to his head.

Instantly, both the Watcher and I were pulled into Leem’s head as time seemed to stop.

I found myself in a white void, with the Watcher floating next to me.

Leem and his Ego weapon appeared before us, both looking angered and amused.

“Really?” he asked as he began to stalk around us as his Ego weapon went the other way. “Your mother already played this card, it won’t work twice.”

I just smirked at him as I moved forward, putting my trust into the Watcher as he floated above us.

“Blah blah blah,” I mocked as I saw his Memory bank appear behind him, “let’s just finish this, one way or another.”

He dashed towards me, a sinister snarl on his face. I, however, held my ground, staring him down as he ran right at me, his Ego weapon coming up from behind me.

Right as I thought I was about to die, they both were hit with a beam of light, causing them to come to a sudden halt. The Watcher began to laugh loudly from above me as he fully possessed Leem’s body and Soul.

“Shayla, the moment you’re out, do it,” he said as he began to mess with Leem’s Ego. “I’m trusting you, don’t let me die as well.”

“I won’t,” I said as I began to fade away, giving him a thumbs up.

I have to do two things at once. Strike and pull the Watcher out, and they both have to happen at the same time. I can not fail either.

The moment I felt myself back in my body, time began to resume, but I was already exploding forward, the ground beneath my feet becoming a crater from the sheer force I exerted. Using my wings, I spun through the air, holding back as I neared him, waiting for the exact moment.

As I passed him, Leem’s body began to shimmer, prompting me to slice my sword through his head, while at the same instant my sword made contact I pulled the Watcher out with my cable. My muscles strained as I cut through his head, followed by me spinning through the air and landing right behind him. I slammed my sword back into its sheath and exhaled, followed by a massive amount of pressure exploding behind me, sending out wave after wave of Ego.

All of it poured into me, causing me to grit my teeth and go down to a knee. The overwhelming pressure of so much excess Ego pouring into me caused me to almost pass out, but I held strong as it finally came to an end. But then a much larger force slammed into me, absorbing into my own Ego.

I’d just absorbed Leem’s Soul.

Slowly everything quieted down as I stayed down on one knee, body shaking from the experience I’d just endured. If I had full access to my Ego I’d check to see what just happened, so I’d just have to wait for that reveal.

“Watcher?” I asked quietly, hoping I’d pulled him out in time.

“I am here, Shayla,” he replied, causing me to sigh in relief. “I will be honest, I fully expected you to let me die with Leem.”

“Nah, I gave you my word,” I chuckled as I stood up and turned around to see everyone staring at me in complete shock, Leem’s massive body laying between all of them.

“Shayla…” my mother began, her expression causing me to smile. “What… how?!”

“It’s simple,” I said in a proud tone, “I just set his save point to the moment my blade sliced through his head. Can’t come back if your save point brings you back to the moment you died.”

Both of my parents immediately rushed forward and wrapped their arms around me, pulling me into a family hug. I just stood there awkward, letting them hug me as I patted their backs.

“That’s my fucking girl!” my mother exclaimed as she squeezed me harder.

My mom just hugged me, clearly just as proud as my mother.

Floria and Vanilla rushed towards us, causing Spark to get into a defensive stance.

“They’re my friends, Spark,” I called out, causing him to relax as they ran up to Domitor.

My parents broke the hug and stepped back, looking at my three friends.

They both had conflicted looks on their faces, mostly in regards to Domitor, but I placed a hand on their shoulders. “He’s a good guy, trust me.”

My mother turned her head to me with a raised eyebrow, “you’ve changed a lot, Shayla.”

“I have,” I said sheepishly.

She still looked conflicted, but she gave a nod as she looked around the area. “We need to go, before people start snooping around.”

“Good idea,” I replied as I looked to Floria, who was currently holding hands with Vanilla, Creampuff on the Halwen’s shoulder, “Cocoa?”

“Amylum dragged her off,” Floria replied with a sour look on her face.

I saw that one coming, but we don’t have time for that right now.

With that we all quickly took off, leaving the scene behind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later, nighttime

We were all now in a rather large hotel room, deciding it was better to have some real privacy as we planned our next move.

My mom went out to look into getting into Denmor, since she was the only one among us who was not wanted, nor stood out. So that just left the rest of us in this room, keeping to ourselves.

Floria and Vanilla were in their own room, wanting some privacy. I don’t blame them, we just went through some shit, especially Floria.

Spark was taking a nap on the bed, while my mother just sat on the edge of the bed, thinking to herself. Talio was… somewhere in this hotel. I don’t know, I can’t see him and everyone hasn’t spoken to him since we arrived.

As for Domitor and I, we were on opposite sides of the room, feeling too awkward to show affection to each other with my mother just sitting there, looking both pissed and proud at once. It was honestly… a very strange sight.

So I just sat by myself, fidgeting with my sword.

Even so, I could still see Domitor looking at me from time to time, a little smile clear on his face. He was back in his pony form, which seemed to be the one he was most comfortable in when not fighting.

“Hm…” my mother suddenly mumbled out loud, looking right at me as she stood up and walked over, taking a seat before me.

“We need to talk,” she said firmly.

“I guess,” I said with a little shrug, not looking forward to this.

She leaned back and crossed her front legs, frowning at me, “I am heavily disappointed in you. Running off with Kal, hiding everything from us, that’s not how I raised you, Shayla.”

“I know,” I muttered back, ears down as I kept fidgeting with my sword.

“But I will admit,” she said with a little smile, “I'm hella impressed with what you’ve done since then. I listened to the tournament.”

I turned my head to her, a perplexed look on my face, “you did?”

“Mhm,” she said as she reached over and patted my knee, “you did amazingly, even if you came in second.”

“Thanks, mama,” I replied with a tiny smile.

“I’m sorry if I come off as… rough and aggressive sometimes,” she apologized, letting out a deep sigh. “I’m just… not good at being a mother sometimes.” I started to say something, but she held up her hoof. “I’m a damn good leader, and an amazing teacher. I can handle all the horrible shit life has to offer us, and I’ll just move forward with a cocky smile. But… I’ve failed as a mother.”

“You have not failed,” I said back, shaking my head. “I look up to you, mama. I just have trouble… expressing myself to you.”

She smiled a bit sadly at me, “that’s my fault, I’ve pushed you too hard. I’ve treated our relationship like I was your sensei and you were my student.”

“Mama, I’ve never seen it that way,” I assured her, putting my sword aside, “it’s just… I can’t open up to anyone very easily. Even you. I just… like keeping things to myself.” My sight focused on Domitor, as he apparently was the only one I could be myself around.

Somehow, my mother must’ve sensed I was looking at Domitor as she too turned to him, frowning.

“That boy is the son of Lorenzo, Shayla,” she said in a low tone. “I don’t know what kind of bonding you two have undergone, but nothing will change that fact. He can not be trusted.”

“I trust him with my life,” I said firmly, getting her to look back at me. “I know your history with Lorenzo, but Domitor is nothing like his father. He’s a good stallion.”

“I can sense something is up with him,” she countered, narrowing her eye. “He has clear motives towards you, I just can’t tell what they are.”

“You’re putting too much stock in your gut,” I growled, getting upset as we stared at each other. I could see her Soul fluctuating heavily as she went through all kinds of emotions.

“He saved your life?” she asked, “okay, how? How did he save your life?”

I froze.

There was no way I could tell her that…

“Well?” she asked expectantly, eyes locked on me.

“I… mama, please… I can’t tell you,” I mumbled, lowering my head.

She softened her expression as she stared at me, seeming to read me. “Shayla… what happened?”

“Please,” I said with a slight tremble to my voice, “don’t make me tell you…”

She stared at me for a long moment, then her eye went wide. “Oh…” I flinched as I realized she had an idea of what happened, which must have confirmed it for her. “Come here.”

Without hesitation I collapsed forward, falling into her arms as she wrapped me up in a hug, holding me tightly.

I held myself together, but I still let out a few soft whimpers.

“Who was it?” she asked carefully as she rubbed my back.

“... Lenrick…” I forced out, starting to shake violently.

“Who is… Lemon Tape…” she pulled me in tighter, pulling me up into her lap, which would be the first time since I was a child. She just rocked me as I began to openly sob into her neck.

We stayed like that for a while, with her just comforting me as I cried into her.

After I was able to calm down slightly, I forced myself to speak, “mama… nothing happened… thanks to Domitor…”

She turned her head to him, a discountenance look on her face.

“He saved me, mama…” I said, focusing on his soul as he tried to not say anything, just staying on his side of the room.

“Hm…” she kept staring at him. “Didn’t he come with Lorenzo to help him?”

“Yes,” I admitted in a shaky voice. “But he’s not like them…”

“Shayla, he was raised to-”

“I don’t care,” I snapped as I pushed myself out of her lap and stood up before her. “No matter what you think of him, Domitor is an amazing stallion. He is…” I looked at him as he stared right at me. “... my partner.”

This caused my mother’s eye to widen as she stood up, getting chest to chest with me, “he may have saved you, but Shayla, think of the possible ulterior motives he could have for-”

“I love him,” I stated firmly, causing both of them to recoil in shock. “Life sucks, mama, and he makes it suck just a little less. If you don’t approve of him, then fine, but he’s mine, and I’m his.”

She clenched her jaw, her Soul going absolutely crazy as she stared at me.

“I want you to accept him, mama. He’s a good stallion,” I said calmly but firmly. “If you give him a chance, then you’ll see that.”

My mother let out a deep sigh as her Soul seemed to calm slightly. “I can only promise that I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask,” I said with a sigh of relief.

“Just include me more in your life, please,” she reached up and touched my face. “And I’ll try to see things from your point of view.”

I pulled her into another hug, causing both of us to relax into one another.

Domitor stood on his side of the room, his soul pulsating quickly as he looked right at me, tears running down his face.

Breaking the hug with my mother, I quickly moved across the room, zeroing in on him. He yelped as I suddenly swept him off his hooves and held him close to me, squeezing him tightly as I buried my face into his neck.

It took him a moment before he wrapped his own legs around my neck and returned the hug, his hot tears streaming down onto my face.

“I love you, Domitor,” I whispered into his ear, feeling a bit excited to be saying those words.

“I love you too, Shayla,” he said back, his voice shaking harder than mine had been.

Heated night

Chapter 74

Earlier

Floria and Vanilla stepped into their hotel room, both clearly exhausted after the day they’d just had to endure.

“Ah fuck yeah,” Floria exclaimed as she saw the luxury food bar set up for them. “Food!”

“Floria,” Vanilla said quietly as Floria rushed to the food and began to eat like she hadn’t eaten in years.

“This shit is amazing, you should try it, Vans!” she exclaimed, stuffing her face.

“Floria,” Vanilla said again, sitting down on the bed.

“I mean it’s not as good as your food, but fuck me is it good!”

“I’m so sorry,” Vanilla whispered, causing Floria to slump her shoulders and drop the food back to the table.

She turned to Vanilla, a pained look on her face, “there’s nothing for you to be sorry about. It's not like anything actually happened after all.”

“It’s my fault Cocoa was able to-”

“Geez, Vans, shhhh,” Floria said as she flew to her side, putting her hands on Vanilla’s shoulders. “Get that stupid idea out of your head, I’m the one who knocked you out and took your place. She just ended up being a lot more loco than I planned for.”

Vanilla reached up and placed a hand on Floria’s face, rubbing the side of her faceplate with her thumb, “I just… hate that you had to deal with her… did she put a-”

“Yeah, she used a lightbulb on me,” Floria said with a forced laugh. “It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” She then frowned as she stared into Vanilla’s eyes, the thought that she had to live with that hurting her.

“You should’ve let me get taken, then you wouldn’t have-” she started to say, but Floria placed a finger on her mouth.

“Shh, Vans,” she said sweetly, rubbing her thumb across her lips gently, “I told you I wasn’t going to let her touch you again, and I meant that.”

Vanilla’s heart fluttered as a warm feeling overtook her, “Floria… did you mean what you said earlier? Your feelings towards me…”

“I did,” she confirmed, causing Vanilla to smile up at her cutely. At this angle she could see the scars in the other woman’s mouth. She stood up straight as she kept her hand on Vanilla’s face, giving her a confident smile, “you’re never going to suffer again, Vanilla. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that,” she replied softly as she raised her bandaged broken hand, giving a little smile. “Life is against me, no matter what I do. I’m just a fai-”

“I’m going to make your life so amazing that you will never be able to put yourself down again,” Floria interrupted her, stepping into her so that she was now standing between Vanilla’s legs.

This caused Vanilla to gasp a bit, as she wasn’t used to anything like this. She’d only read fairy tales about romance, but actually being in the middle of it was not how she’d expected it to be. But she liked it.

Floria rubbed her thumb against Vanilla’s lips again, gently using it to open her mouth so she could see the scars within. “You deserve to be happy, Vanilla. You are the sweetest, nicest, and most genuine person I know.”

A little gasp escaped Vanilla’s mouth as Floria gently held it open, their eyes locked. Her heart was going crazy, her body trembling slightly.

Acting on instinct, she scooted forward a bit so that their waists were pressed together. “I-I… I love you, Floria,” she said softly, the trembling increasing so much that it was visible now.

Floria gently pushed her backwards and climbed up on top of her, putting her face inches above Vanilla’s, “love ya too, Vanilla.” She then leaned down and began to kiss her tenderly on the lips, being careful not to push her too far.

But it was Vanilla who grabbed Floria’s hips and squeezed hard as she pushed into the kiss, filling it with passion as they noisily made out.

Eventually Floria broke the kiss and leaned back, staring down lovingly at Vanilla as they both took heavy breathes. “Whoa… I didn’t expect you to take the lead like that, Vans.”

Her blush grew as she grinded her hips up into Floria’s, “I’m going to do something, just… don’t laugh at me.”

“No promises,” Floria winked at her with a wide smile.

Taking a shaky breath, Vanilla used her Vacuole to remove her shirt, now laying beneath the other women topless.

“Oh…” Floria gasped lightly, face burning as she stared down at Vanilla’s small breast.

“Yeah,” Vanilla mumbled back, lips trembling as she stared into Floria’s eyes.

She raised a hand and cupped one, causing the other woman to jerk suddenly.

“I’m okay,” Vanilla assured her, “please… continue.”

Floria obliged her as she gave her nipple a light squeeze, “Vans, are you wanting to…”

“I think I am…” Vanilla answered as she reached up and ran her own hand down Floria’s body. “Do you want to?”

To answer her, Floria removed her own clothes, now completely nude atop Vanilla.

She let out a little whimper as she stared up at the shorter woman's nude body as her breasts were fondled. Floria began to grind herself into Vanilla’s belly, enjoying the expressions that the woman beneath her was making.

“You’re so fucking adorable, Vancilly,” she said as she got a bit to into grinding against the other woman, her tail flickering around behind herself.

Vanilla’s own pants disappeared, leaving both of them nude now. “You’re one to talk,” she said softly as she reached up and grabbed Floria by the faceplate and pulled her down roughly, connecting their lips together yet again.

This surprised Floria, as she thought she’d be the one in charge, but she wasn’t complaining as the other woman took full control, flipping them over so that she was on top.

“You’re mine,” Vanilla declared, causing Floria’s breath to catch in her throat. “And I am yours,” she said sweetly as her hand trailed down Floria’s chest and stomach, going lower as she placed her hand over it, causing a cute little gasp to escape the Kejtdra’s lips.

With a little sly smile, she entered the shorter woman with her fingers, causing her to moan loudly.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Where are you going, honey?” my mother asked as I suddenly jumped up and ran for the door to the room.

“I need air!” I yelped, face burning as I ripped the door open and took off running down the hall, away from our rooms.

I have found a down side of Virtue Sight, I can see into other rooms. And I’d just seen WAY TOO MUCH of Floria and Vanilla getting… intimate. I thought they were just messing around at first, then I could clearly see…

Pushing that thought aside as my face burned hotter, I just ran, planning to wait outside for a while. They can’t take that long, can they?

ooo000<^>000ooo

Hours later

“Shayla?” my mom asked as she returned to the hotel, seeing me just sitting in the lobby by myself.

“Oh, hey mom,” I said sheepishly as I read a random magazine. “Did you find anything out?”

“I did,” she answered as she raised an eyebrow, “why are you down here, alone?”

“Oh, just wanted some air,” I lied, not wanting to tell her that every time I try to return to the room, I can still see those two going at it. They’re just not letting up!

“Well come on, I have good news,” she said as she waved for me to follow her.

It’d been an hour since the last time I checked, so surely they were done now.

So I jumped up and followed after her.

However, as soon as we neared our room and theirs came into sight, I saw that they were in fact still going at it. Not as aggressively or passionate now, but they were still… playing around.

“Fuckin’ hell,” I muttered, taking a few steps back so that they faded out of view.

“Come on, sweetie” my mom asked as she opened the door, looking back at me.

“Eh… I’ll be along shortly,” I said, starting to head back.

“Shayla, listen to your mom and get in here,” my mother said a bit sternly as she peered out of the room.

I started to say something, but her glare forced me to listen and walk in. I’d just have to block their room out…

And I’ve realized that is impossible.

So I just stepped into the room and sat down next to Domitor, blushing as I couldn’t not focus on the actions taking place in the other room.

“Are you okay?” Domitor asked quietly as he leaned next to me.

“Uh…” I muttered, shrugging, “I’m good. I’m just seeing something I don’t want to.”

“It can’t be that bad,” he teased, poking my side.

“Oh yeah?” I said as I pulled a cable out from behind my ear and connected it to his head, forcing him to see what I was seeing. “Not so bad, huh?”

A perplexed look over took his face, “what? They’re just… oh… OH!” He tried to pull the cable out, but I grabbed him and held him firm.

“Nuh uh! If I have to endure this, so do you, fucker!” I exclaimed, getting weird looks from my parents.

As we wrestled with each other, my mom chuckled.

“I guess we should wait till morning, so the other two will be here as well.”

My mother just watched me and Domitor fight with each other, looking a bit confused and uncomfortable. “... that would probably be for the best.”

“I believe we need our own room,” my mom said, winking at my mother.

“You know, I like that idea, babe,” my mother said quietly.

I stopped fighting as I turned my head to them, mouth hanging open. They were giving each other… the look.

Oh fuck me, this shit is not happening.

“Guys wait,” I said suddenly, letting Domitor get away from me as I stood up.

Both of my parents stopped at the door, looking back at me with raised eyebrows.

“I’m just going to warn you, my new sight lets me see things through walls… so you know… keep things PG.”

“Our own daughter telling us when and where to bang?” Mallogory chuckled as she continued out the door. “We’ll get a room FAR from this one, do not fear my, sweet summer child.”

“Is that why you ran earlier?” my mother asked with a smirk, “are those other two bumping uglies?”

Spark slowly slinked out of the room upon hearing this, seeming to want to avoid the conversation completely.

“You two are so crude sometimes,” I muttered as they both laughed and left us alone in the room.

Domitor shook his head as he moved back to the table he’d been drawing at, sighing loudly. “I really did not need to see that.”

“Yeah, well I’m STILL seeing it, so consider yourself lucky,” I groaned as I flopped onto the bed, using my Vacuole to remove my clothes and slide under the covers.

But as I lay there, I realized something. How do I sleep with this shit turned on?!

“Just will it to turn off,” the Watcher said, causing me to growl a bit.

‘You could’ve said that hours ago!’

“You didn’t ask,” he replied simply, and I could swear I heard a bit of smugness to his voice.

Doing as he said, I found I could indeed turn the Virtue Sight off, rather easily actually… I could’ve avoided seeing so much shit if he’d just said this earlier!

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next morning

“Good morning, friends!” Vanilla exclaimed as she and Floria entered our room, a little pep in their steps.

I let out a groan as they woke me up, turning my vision on to see them. “What time is it?”

“Early,” was the only answer I got from Floria as she stood there in her normal clothing, a wide grin on her face.

Domitor grunted, but did not wake up as he held me firmly, his arms wrapped around my chest.

“You two look happy,” I muttered, trying to avoid giving away I knew about their actions last night.

“Oh, you know, just good things going on,” Floria chuckled, bumping Vanilla’s hip with hers.

I forced a chuckle out, giving them a thumbs up, “you two got a lot of stamina, I’ll give ya that.”

They both stared at me blankly, then Floria began to laugh.

“You can see through the wall!”

Vanilla yelped as she blushed and hid behind Floria, who was just laughing her ass off.

“No!” I yelled back, waking up Domitor. “I… eh…”

“That’s hilarious!” Floria exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Vanilla, who was still blushing like mad. “Isn’t it, Vanbelly?”

“It’s horrifying, I was so…”

“Aggressive?” I finished, causing her to groan and collapse onto the ground.

“My life is over…”

“Ah stop being so dramatic, Vancouver,” Floria chuckled as she walked past our bed and began to raid our food bar. “So what’s the plan for today?”

“Well,” I said as I jumped out of bed as Domitor rolled over, clearly wanting to stay in bed, “my mom says she has good news. So I guess we hear that, then figure out how to get into Denmor.”

“Shayla, I think we’re overlooking a certain point,” Domitor mumbled from the bed. “I talked with your mother last night when you weren’t in the room. She says there’s a lockdown on this dimension for a little while, but once it ends, she can get us out of here with her dimensional dagger.”

I blinked at him, disappointed I hadn’t thought of that. “So… do we need to climb the tree?”

“I’d say no,” he answered, covering his head with a pillow.

“So what are we doing then?” I asked aloud.

“Leaving the city, that’s what we’re doing,” my mother suddenly said from the doorway as my parents and Spark entered the room.

“Why?” I asked, confused as to why we’d need to leave.

“Because you’ve made a lot of friends who want you dead,” my mom said with a chuckle, “not to mention Lorenzo still being out there.”

I frowned, but gave a nod. “You said you had good news last night?”

“I did,” she confirmed as they walked further into the room, “we do not need to climb to the top of the tree.”

“Okay, then what are we doing?” I asked, a bit thrown for a loop since this all went against the plan I’d had since I arrived here.

“Nothing at all,” my mother said as she leaned against the wall, crossing her forelegs. “This dimension is apparently on lockdown, meaning we can’t leave even if we do go to the top of the tree and find whatever item is up there. So the best course of action is to leave this hellhole of a city and wait till the lockdown is lifted.”

“How long is that going to take?” I asked with a grimace, not liking the idea of just waiting around.

“We do not know,” she admitted with a shrug. “But we don’t have much choice in the matter. As soon as the lockdown is lifted we’ll be able to leave with this,” she held up a dimensional dagger… MY dimensional dagger.

Now is probably not the best time to ask for that back…

I looked at my friends, seeing they also looked a bit unsure about all this. We had a plan: Go to the top of the tree, leave Eris. But now we’re being told we do not need to do that.

I don’t know how to feel about that, but I do know I do not like the idea of just waiting. ADHD will eat me alive, that’s for sure.

“We just need to find a place to hunker down,” Spark added.

My brain actually made a connection that brought a smile to my face. “I actually know of a place outside of the city.”

Everyone looked at me as I stood there smiling brightly.

“Perfect then,” my mother said, giving me an approving nod. “Anywhere we need to stop first?”

“Yeah, my apartment,” Floria answered as she put away some food into her Vacuole. “That’s it, right?”

“Right,” I nodded, rubbing my chin. “What about my grandparents?”

“They’re coming too,” my mother confirmed, “we’re all leaving this place.”

“What about Talio?” I asked, not really wanting him to come, but he was kinda hanging around us.

“... I’ve tried to run him off, but that’s nearly impossible since I can’t even touch him,” my mom said, getting a groan out of my mother.

“He’s a tag along it seems,” she muttered, shaking her head as she looked at me. “So there’s nothing else you need here?”

“Nah,” I answered as I looked at my friend's Souls, a little smile on my face. “I already got everything I need from this place.”

End of Act 2

Part 5 Act 3: The Good, the Bad, and Champion

Chapter 75

Act 3

“Here, ma’am?” the Inquisitor asked as he floated a large box into Strawell’s living room, letting out a grunt as he dropped it onto the ground.

“Yes, Jenkins, that will do nicely,” she replied as she eyed the box, her mouth in a thin line across her face.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Chief,” the stallion began, wiping sweat from his forehead, “but why did you request all the files related to the Bronies captured on the first day?”

“I have a hunch that could lead to a massive arrest,” she answered vaguely, causing him to nod. “It’s probably nothing, but we’re leaving no stone unturned.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You may head back to the station now, Jenkins,” she said as she moved around the box, waiting for him to leave before opening it.

The stallion gave her a salute and took his leave.

Once he was gone, she cracked open the large crate and stared down at all the files that filled the box. While most would see this and be filled with dread at the amount of information they’d have to shift through, she just saw a fun challenge.

Things were not adding up. What she knew of the King and his Apostles was limited, but she’d been convinced of what he was selling. But now, after the most recent encounter she had with the rebels, she wasn’t so convinced now.

She didn’t know if the answers she was seeking were within this box, but it was the best starting place for her.

Grabbing the first file, she felt a sense of dread, hoping her instincts were wrong this time around.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The Next Day

Louie jumped through the portal and spun around to wave goodbye to the Inquisitor's who were chasing him.

“Thanks for the free shit, guys!” he laughed as the portal snapped shut in their faces.

He adjusted the bag on his back and began to head for the main chamber where he knew Nova would be. A few of the others were milling about, either getting ready to head out or just getting back like him.

“Oh shit you got it?” Dude asked as Louie walked by him and Nightstreak talking outside the kitchen area.

“Oh I got it alright,” Louie laughed, giving the bag a little shake. “They practically gave it to me.”

“Right on, bro!” Nightstreak cheered.

The moment Louie stepped into the main chamber of the Enforcer’s Order Hall, he saw Nova and Roxxy going over things by the hologram projector. Nova turned to him as he entered, a wide smile over taking her face as she saw him carrying the bag.

“I presume that’s what I think it is?”

“It is indeed!” he confirmed as he placed the bag down on a table. “It wasn’t easy breaking into the Inquisitor's Evidence Compound, but damn there was some nice shit in there.”

He removed the item as the other two walked up, excited looks on their faces.

“This is a major leap forward for us,” Nova said as Louie placed the item down on the table, smiling proudly.

“It’s encrypted though,” Louie added.

“Nightstreak can break it,” Roxxy assured him, but he shook his head.

“I don’t think so, the Inquisitor's were working on it as well, but there’s a spell on it that’s locking it down. Feels like that witch’s magic.”

“Lilith,” Roxxy muttered, frowning. “That explains why this hasn’t been destroyed yet. If they knew what was on this, they wouldn’t be following Champion.”

“It does raise the question though,” Nova said as she rubbed her chin, “if this is so damning, why would Lilith, his second in command and advisor, place a spell on it? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to just destroy it?”

“Who knows?” Louie said with a shrug, patting the device. “All that matters is we got it and all we gotta do is break the spell. Then boom, goodbye love and admiration for King dickhead.”

Nova gave a nod, staring at the device. “This device holds all the CCTV footage from the city, I’m sure it caught everything that happened that day.”

“We’re basically holding the nuke that’ll win the war,” Louie chuckled.

“Take this to Twilight, she should be recovered and out of medical by now,” Nova said firmly, “and get Nightstreak as well. They can work together on this.”

Louie gave a salute and put the device back in the bag, taking his leave.

“Looks like we’re getting close to the end, huh?” Roxxy asked, getting a deep sigh out of Nova.

“It would seem that way,” she replied as she turned back to the hologram projector, “Just, is it his end, or ours?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

I sat on the bench, breathing heavily after my morning workout. My Ego wasn’t fully back yet, but I could definitely feel it now. I could at least perform the majority of my abilities now.

Using my Virtue Sight, I could see everyone around me doing their own thing. We had left the city far behind and gone to the one place I knew was safe. Raffy’s house.

To my surprise he was very welcoming of all of us after I explained what’d happened since we’d last seen one another. So now we had a safe place to just sit around and wait at. Of course, this shit was killing me.

I’d rather fight Leem again rather than just sit around for an unknown amount of time waiting for a lockdown to life. Bleh.

“Shayla,” Rosemary suddenly said as she appeared before me, startling me.

“Rosemary!” I yelped, a massive goofy smile sliding onto my face, “I’ve missed the shit out of-”

“Get him out,” she said sternly, “put the Watcher back in his vial. I will not share the same space as him.”

Well shit.

“Erm… can’t you just get along with him?” I asked lamely, causing her to scoff.

“You may be able to forgive him for his heinous crimes, but not me,” she growled as the Watcher chuckled in my mind.

“Come now, Rosey, we can get along, can’t we?” he mocked, causing her to rage even more as she clenched her fist.

“He is responsible for untold deaths, Shayla! He values life as much as a cat values a mouse! Put him back in the vial, now!”

“But,” I muttered, grimacing, “he’s the one who figured out how to kill Leem… I couldn’t have done it without him.”

“Yes, very cool,” she snapped harshly, “but that does NOT absolve him of his past sins!”

“People change,” I countered.

“Not him,” she replied coldly.

“She is right, I’m still the same being I was when I was defeated,” the Watcher chuckled. “My views have not changed.”

I rubbed my face, not wanting to deal with this, “Rosemary, he’s not going back in the vial. And Watcher, be nice.”

“Impossible,” she muttered as she crossed her arms. “He is literally telling you he’s unchanged and will not change. How can you still treat him this way?”

“Because,” I started, not actually sure myself, “he might change?”

“Very optimistic,” he commented, clearly entertained by all this.

I started to say something, but an idea hit me, “know what? We’re changing your name.”

“We are not,” he said firmly.

“Your name is now…” I began to rack my brain, thinking hard.

“If we’re changing my name, let ANYONE else name me. Not you,” he deadpanned, but I ignored him.

A lot of good names went through my head; TimTam, BillcoMop, LookyMan, or even Blinky. But I decided to fall back on something a bit more fitting for him, “you’re a lot like a cool villain from Dragon Ball Z, so from now on, you’re Buu.”

“Buu? You’re naming me after a fat blob?” he asked as Rosemary laughed.

“Yeah!” I exclaimed proudly, “he goes from being the big evil guy to being a friendly guy who loves puppies!”

“I absolutely hate puppies,” he deadpanned.

“I know you’ll come around, Buu,” I said with a wide smile.

"Existence is torture,” he muttered, much to Rosemary’s enjoyment.

I gasped as I realized something, “that would make me Mr. Satan! Fuck yeah!”

“You are Satan, I will not argue that,” he said as I stood up, pumping my fist.

“She’s not smart enough to realize that is an insult,” Rosemary commented, shaking her head.

“Now!” I began, “you two will get along, just like Buu and Goku.”

“Does she really use this ‘Dragon Ball Z’ as the main reference point for her life?” the Watcher, now Buu, asked.

“Yep, if I’m stuck with you, then you’re going to have to get used to it,” Rosemary answered, shaking her head.

Smiling proudly, I opened my menu, wanting to see what had happened while…

My eyes went wide as I saw that not only had I leveled up, I’d gained a LOT of skill points. But even more shocking was how much excess Ego I had.

Level: 18
Ego power: 6
Excess Ego: ∞
Unused Points: 245

“Fuck me…” I muttered in complete shock.

“Leem was a Milestone quest, and not only that he had more excess Ego within him than I believe anyone in existence. He was known as the Dimension Eater after all,” Rosemary explained.

“That’s… fucking badass,” I said, unsure of how to spend my points.

“But now you need to get to level twenty,” she advised, “because you’ll gain access to a part of the Gear Shop that has Egonetic upgrades in it.”

“Okay, but why does that matter?” I asked, shrugging at her.

“... because,” she said after a moment of silence, “you can get Optical Implants, which will replace your lost eyes.”

“Oh…” I said sheepishly. “Guess I just gotta wait till we get home to complete that milestone quest, huh?”

“Yes, so just relax till then,” she said, but I just smiled as I saw my mother at the edge of my vision doing her own training with Spark.

“Nah, not my style,” I said as I jumped up and began to walk towards them, planning to join their training sessions.

ooo000<^>000ooo

A low hum sounded through the large room, filled with rows of cocoons made of red energy. Each one had a pony within it, unconscious. The cocoons seemed to be slowly siphoning energy out of the ponies within them, sending it all to the center of the room where a semi-large cube sat.

It pulsated every few seconds as energy was pumped into it.

Lilith stood next to the cube, watching it intently.

There was a pop as a portal opened, followed by Richard stepping into the chamber, hands behind his back.

“Yes, Mr. Bourdages?” Lilith said with a sigh as she turned to him as he strolled towards her.

“Champion has begun to go off plan,” he said flatly as he came to a stop right before her.

“I knew he would eventually,” she said, seeming unfazed, “how exactly is he going off plan?”

“He’s stopped focusing on gathering Bronies, and instead is focusing on playing King,” he answered as he looked at the cube, feeling the power pulsating off of it.

“There was no avoiding that,” she muttered, reaching out and patting the cube. “As long as those Inquisitors keep doing their job, then it doesn’t matter. Champion can play his games, as long as he does not interfere with the gathering.”

“And if he stops playing and starts interfering?”

She looked at him, smiling as she tapped her horn, “then he’ll get to spend an eternity in a special little place, made just for him.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Champion strolled down his palace hallway, head held high as his Royal assistant struggled to keep up with him.

“Griffonstone and Yakyakistan have both declined your offer to join your glorious kingdom,” the slightly terrified pony said as he ran alongside the strong and opposing Alicorn.

“A mistake on their part, I will speak to them directly,” Champion said casually, clearly not upset with this news. He knew they’d fall in line very soon, just as everyone else will.

“Very good, my lord,” the stallion replied, flipping his notes around, “we also have a few Hippogriff dignitaries coming from Seaquestria in two days.”

“Excellent,” Champion said with a firm nod, “make sure everything is set up.”

“Yes, my lord,” the stallion said as he gave a bow, then quickly chased after the King.

Champion gave him a hard stare, stopping him in his tracks, “now.”

The stallion’s eyes went wide as he came to a stop and gave another bow, “my fault, my lord!” He then took off running for another part of the palace, leaving Champion alone.

Grumbling to himself, he continued on his way, heading for his personal chambers.

Upon stepping into the room, his beloved wife and Queen rushed to him, wrapping her legs around his neck.

“My love!” Azure Moon exclaimed, kissing at his cheek, “I hope your day has been great!”

“It just started,” he said coldly back, but she just kept hugging and kissing him.

“Do you need me to do anything, my love?” she asked, when he didn’t respond, she gave a nod. “Bed?”

“No, once a day,” he answered, stepping out of her embrace and heading to his wardrobe, planning to change into a different attire. “Stay,” he commanded as she tried to follow him.

She came to a halt, waiting patiently for him to tell her what to do next.

As he started to undress, he looked at his wife, eying her up and down. Maybe he did have time for…

He stopped as his eyes and senses picked up something within her body, causing him to stop what he was doing and turn to her fully.

“Yes, my love?” she asked excitedly.

“You’re pregnant,” he said with no emotion.

“Are we happy about that?” she asked, cocking her head. “Or are we aborting?”

He frowned at the straight forwardness of her words, but he sighed. “I am undecided. Do not mention it till I say otherwise.”

“Yes, my love!”

With that, he went back to changing, his mind focusing on the Hippogriff dignitaries and how to woo them.

Justice above all else

Chapter 76

Later

Louie and Nightstreak stepped into the house at the end of the street, being careful not to startle its owner.

“Twilight?” Nightstreak called out as they walked further into the house.

No answer came.

“Hey Twi, it’s Louie and Nightstreak,” Louie yelled, turning a corner to find Twilight laying on a couch, just staring at the wall.

“Oh, hi, Louie. Nightstreak,” she muttered, not even looking at them.

Being careful, Louie walked over and knelt down next to her, holding up the device for her to see, “we got it.”

This got her attention as she snapped her head to it, “you have it?!”

He smiled at her reaction, glad to finally see her showing emotions. She’d been depressed since Lance was taken, and her being mortally wounded did not help.

“We need your help,” he said, causing her to raise an eyebrow, “there’s a spell lock on it, and you’re the only one here who could figure it out.”

“Hmm,” she muttered as she sat up and took the Device from him with her magic, flipping open the console on its side. Her horn flared as she began to analyze the device. “Oh… oh… hmm…”

“What is it?” Nightstreak asked, stepping up to look at the console.

“This magical encryption is from Lilith, I can clearly feel her magic, but… it’s so simple,” she said, a perplexed look on her face.

“What does that mean?” the stallion asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It means,” she began, shaking her head, “that I’ll have this cracked by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Shit, really?” he exclaimed, looking at Louie with an excited smile.

“Right on time for those special guests he’s supposed to have stopping by,” Louie said with a sly grin, stroking his mustache.

Twilight tapped her chin as she looked up at them, “I think we will need a third person to help though, because the computer encryptions itself will be a lot more to handle than the spell part.”

“Trust me, I can handle this shit easily,” Nightstreak chuckled, but she shook her head at him.

“You are amazing with computer’s, Nightstreak, but a second expert will speed things up,” she countered.

He shrugged, “you’re right. But there’s no one else in this safe dimension that can help us.”

“There is one,” she said, getting a confused look in response. But after a moment, Nightstreak’s eyes widened.

“Oh come on, not her, she’s… weird,” he groaned, causing Louie to laugh.

“I’ll go get her!” Louie exclaimed as he jumped up and ran for the door, laughing loudly.

“I’d rather just struggle against this alone than work with her,” he complained, but Twilight just shrugged at him.

“You’ll be fine, Nightstreak, so play nice,” she said as she got up to take the device to another room.

“Play nice…” he muttered, sighing loudly as he followed after her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Louie stepped back into the house, a smirk on his face as he saw Nightstreak sitting at the kitchen table. “And here we are, Babel Yarn, the new Greenfield residence.”

“Oh God…” Nightstreak groaned as the mare stepped into the house, eyes wide as she looked around.

“Wow! So this is Lance Greenfield's house?!” she asked excitedly.

“Nah, just Twilight’s, since ya know, Lance has been captured,” Louie answered, still smirking as he watched Nightstreak’s reactions.

“Still cool though!” she said as she walked further into the room, smiling right at Nightstreak. “Hi, Nightstreak! I haven’t seen you since school let out!”

“Hi, Babel,” he muttered, giving her a wave. He’d always thought she was weird, as she was massively obsessed with Lance and Scamp’s books. She annoyed him greatly, as she’s always going on and on about the books, or her own little universe she’s creating for roleplay purposes.

Her attire also annoyed him, as she wore a hoodie that had some kind of custom ‘Living the Dream’ art on it, based on Scamp’s book. She just NEVER took that off. Her glasses did not help her not look like a dork either, as she’d been bullied throughout the years for her weird obsession with ‘Living the Dream’. Also did not help she’d drop random trivia into conversations…

“I’m so excited to help with this Brony rebellion stuff!” She exclaimed excitedly, starting to bounce in place, “this is just like Scamp’s original timeline with an evil monarch trying to do away with Bronies and their kin! Which means-”

“Okay okay, welcome aboard, Babel,” Nightstreak interrupted, not up for another of her long winded spiels.

“You two have fun playing computer nerds,” Louie chuckled as he backed out the door. “Me? I got some Inquisitor ass to kick. Ciao!”

Once he was gone, Babel Yarn turned back to Nightstreak, smiling widely, “do you think Twilight will talk about Lance’s book with me?”

“... I’d say no, since you know, she’s currently depressed about him being kidnapped,” Nightstreak said, shaking his head at her.

“Ah yeah yeah! Good point!” she said, nodding her head quickly as she adjusted her glasses. “So what are we doing exactly? Louie just said you needed my help with a computer?”

Letting out another sigh, he just shrugged, “we just need someone else who’s good with computers… and you’re the only other one we got apparently.”

“Oh!” she laughed, smiling widely, “then you got the right mare! I’ve been in love with this technology since it came into existence! I’m even developing my own game! It’s based in my own world, where-”

“Babel, please, stay on track,” he said in a strained voice.

“Sorry sorry!” she chucked sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head before resuming her happy appearance, “so! What are we cracking? What’s the end goal here?!”

“We’re just trying to get into the black box for the town's CCTV system, so we can prove to the entire world that Champion is a horrible bastard,” he explained, watching as she wrote everything he said down in a notebook.

“Okay, got it. We’re breaking the encryption so we can access the CCTV footage and then release it to the world. Do we know what he’s done yet? Or will it be revealed when we see the video?” she asked, looking up from her notes.

“Eh… yeah, we have a really good idea. He’s killed a lot of innocents, and apparently… eh… took advantage of a mare,” he said, getting a bit awkward near the end.

“Ah, Champion raped a mare?” she asked, making a few notes as she clicked her tongue, “a classic LTD plot right there.” Then her eyes went wide and she gasped loudly, “wait! Will we be in a LTD book now?!”

“I can’t do this shit,” Nightstreak groaned as he rubbed his face. “You know this is a real mare we’re talking about, right? Not a character in one of your stupid books.”

Her ears folded down as she put her notebook away, “eh… yeah I’m sorry. My mind just works weirdly sometimes…”

He sighed again, “it’s fine. Just don’t mention anything like this to Twilight right now, okay?”

“I can try!” she said, giving him a sloppy salute.

“Geez, come on,” he said as he waved for her to follow him into the next room where Twilight was currently working on the device.

Babel Yarn quickly followed after him, getting a bit giddy as she realized she was getting to help the main characters from her book with a mission!

ooo000<^>000ooo

“They’ll be done by tomorrow?” Nova asked, shock clear in her voice.

“Yep,” Louie answered, leaning back in his chair. “Putting the best ponies on the job means it gets done fast.”

“Then that moves up our plans,” she muttered, making a few marks on the paper before herself. “That gives us two days to be ready to end this.”

“Sweet,” he said with a grin.

“Which means your workload just increased, Lou,” she said, giving him a sly grin.

“Ah fuck, yeah saw that one coming,” he groaned, rubbing his face. “Screw it, throw it all on me. I’ll make sure it’s all done before the deadline.”

“I know we can count on you, Louie,” she said as she slid a folder over to him. “Everything you need to know is in that folder.”

He snatched it up and flipped it open, scanning the contents. “Hmm… yeah this’ll be a doozy.”

“All resources will be funneled towards you, so do whatever you need to do,” she said as she lifted up another folder and began to walk away. “Good luck, Luke.”

“You too, Nova,” he said with a little wave as he continued to examine the folder.

“Shits about to get crazy…” he muttered, an excited smile sliding onto his face.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Chief?” the receptionist asked as Strawell stepped into the lobby of the Inquisitor's Headquarters. “I thought you were taking a few days off?”

“Change of plans,” she said sternly, walking past him as she headed for her office.

“Oh, well, you had a visitor earlier,” he called after her, causing her to turn her head to him. “It was a young stallion, but he wouldn’t tell me what he needed you for.”

“I see,” she replied, turning to continue on her way. “Send his info to my office computer.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

She made her way through the halls, getting greetings from all of her subordinates as they saw her walk past. But she did not engage outside of returning the greeting, as her mind was elsewhere.

As soon as she stepped into her office she closed the blinds and locked the door, making her way to her desk. She sat down and turned the computer on, her mouth in a straight line.

The files she’d spent the last day going over made no sense. They focus on the arrest of the Bronies, but not a single one of them include where they were taken. Officially, she’s been told they’re being taken to a special dimension to keep them in check. Which made sense to her, as putting them away in a different dimension meant they couldn’t be broken out as easily. But she does not have access to this dimension, and when she asked earlier, she was told to not ‘worry about it’.

But even more unsettling for her was looking into Champion himself. Taking a step back and looking at this situation from an outsider's perspective, it quickly became worrying. His actions went against the image he liked to be presented.

The words of Nightmare and that Brony dogman rang through her head constantly, as the more she looked into it, the less sense it all made.

Shaking her head, she clicked on her email, scrolling through all the messages she’d received. She started with the most recent one, which had just come in from the receptionist.

The contents of the message caused her to raise an eyebrow. “Hmmm, interesting…” she muttered, not knowing why one of Val’s men would be coming to her like this. She’d need to pay them a visit it seems.

“Chief!” someone yelled from outside her door, trying to enter but unable to due to the lock. “Chief!”

Sighing, she stood up and walked over to the door, opening it and staring at the young panicked Inquisitor.

“Yes, private?”

“The dogman has been sighted!” he exclaimed, causing her eyes to widen slightly.

“Thank you, private,” she said as she walked past him, heading for the front.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Whew, hell of a work out, guys,” Louie chuckled as he stretched his arms, the seven unconscious Inquisitors laying around him. He hadn’t expected to run into them this early, as he hasn’t even entered the actual building yet.

With a grunt he jumped over the prone stallions and landed right at the door to the building. Adjusting his jacket with a large smile, he raised a foot and kicked the door open.

There was no one within, as they’d probably all run away at the sight of him fighting the Inquisitor's outside. No worries, he wasn’t here for them. All he needed were the servers in the back, so the less obstacles the better.

In a carefree manner, he strolled down the hallway, whistling as he read the plaques on each door. It didn’t take him long to reach the server room, a smile appearing on his face.

“Bingo,” he said aloud as he kicked this door open as well, stepping into the empty room, eyes on the massive server towers around him.

This was just one of the many steps they’d need to complete for their plans to work.

Pulling a small computer-like device out of his pocket dimension, he stepped over to the servers, looking for an access point. Once he’d found one, he connected the little computer to the servers.

The screen flashed a few times before a dialogue box popped up.

‘Upload contents?’

He clicked yes, causing the computer to start flashing over and over again as it injected a program into the servers, courtesy of Nightstreak. This would give them unrestricted access to the ENTIRE network, which would allow them to broadcast anything they wanted, but only once. The moment they used this, the admins of the network would become aware of the program and will quickly remove it.

But that’s fine, if things went as planned, then this would all be finished in just two days.

After a few minutes the computer flashed green, turning itself off.

“A little too easy,” he chuckled as he disconnected the computer and put it away. Then just as casually as he’d entered, he began to walk out of the building, whistling loudly.

Upon stepping outside however, he found himself face to face with the head Inquisitor herself, a glare on her face.

“We meet yet again, Chief,” he laughed, tilting his head back with a smirk as he stared right at Strawell. He glanced around, seeing no one else in the area, “where’s the cavalry?”

“I’m bringing you in on my own,” she said firmly.

“Yeah, not happening, we’ve been over this, lady,” he replied, stroking his mustache.

“I’ve looked into what you told me,” she said carefully, narrowing her eyes. “I’d like for you to allow yourself to be arrested so we can do this properly.”

“If I get arrested, then I will be taken to an undisclosed location, so nah, I’m good,” he chuckled as he began to stretch, getting ready to face her yet again.

“I personally guarantee that if you turn yourself in, I will make sure you stay in my custody, no one else's,” she assured him, trying to handle this situation correctly.

But Louie did not respond this time as he just stared her down, making his stance clear.

“Answer this question then,” she began, glaring at him, “did Nova really help the Bronies kill the Princesses?”

Louie just let out an exaggerated laugh at this, “the fact you still think Bronies are responsible for the death of the Princesses tells me all I need to know. If you arrest me, then I'm as good as dead. So let’s drop the banter and get to fighting.”

“Stop,” she ordered sternly. “Tell me exactly what you-”

“Excellent work, Strawell, you’ve tracked down the dog boy,” Val exclaimed as he suddenly appeared next to her, a sinister smile on his face as Louie’s eyes went wide behind his shutter shades.

“I have this handled, Val,” Strawell stated as she looked up at him. “This arrest is Inquisitor-”

“Silence, Chief,” he said with a chuckle, eyes locked with Louie’s. “We’re not arresting him. He’s too dangerous and offensive to be left alive.”

“We are not killing anyone,” Strawell growled, heart rate picking up as she stared at the large unicorn beside her.

“Not your choice, I’m afraid,” he replied with a large smile as he began to advance on Louie.

“So you want to go toe to toe with me?” Louie asked as he began to walk towards the approaching Val, “big mistake, pal.”

“Is that so?” Val asked as his form shifted into his demon form.

The two clashed together, hitting each other with as much force as they could muster. However, neither showed signs of being affected by the hits, as Val seemed to be copying Louie’s Ego, much to his annoyance.

With a grunt, Louie latched his arms onto Val’s side and attempted to lift him up, planning to suplex him. But the moment he raised the demonic unicorn, its mouth opened all the way, spreading all the way down to its chest as it attempted to latch down on Louie.

He yelped as he instead threw the unholy creature to the left, not wanting to have those jaws attached to him at all.

Val caught himself midair and sprang back for him, clamping his massive mouth down on Louie’s arm.

“Gah you little bitch!” Louie yelled as he grabbed the top of Val’s mouth, trying to prevent him from cleaving through his entire arm. He began slamming a knee into the laughing demon’s chest, getting a bit desperate as he couldn’t break the grip.

“Val, stand down!” Strawell yelled, unsure of how to react to this, as Val was technically her superior.

Of course he didn’t listen as he continued to attempt to remove Louie’s arm, his horn flaring to life as he tried to cast a spell. Louie however head butted his horn, canceling the spell, which just annoyed Val greatly.

“Nuh uh motherfucker!” Louie laughed as he suddenly jumped into Val, sending them both to the ground. Luckily this broke the grip Val had on his arm, allowing Louie to rip his arm free and wrap it around the demon’s neck.

“Sleep fucker!” he yelled as he began to try and choke the life out of Val, struggling with the demon to keep his arms around his neck. But Val just flashed his horn, teleporting away so that he was standing next to Louie.

“You pathetic dog!” he snapped as he used his magic to lift Louie into the air.

“Uh oh,” Louie yelped as he found himself being lifted up.

“Goodbye, dog,” Val spat out, starting to apply pressure to the floating Louie.

“Val, that is enough. Allow me to arrest him so we can interrogate him,” Strawell yelled, quickly walking towards the demonic unicorn.

But Val did not acknowledge her as he focused on finishing off his target.

“This is not how we handle things here!” she yelled as she stepped right up to him, no longer caring that he was above her in rank. “If you do not stand down, I will be forced to-”

“Silence!” Val suddenly snapped, eyes twitching as he stared at Louie.

Louie let out yells of pain as the pressure was increased, “oh no! This looks like the end for ol’ Lou!” He let out a few more yells before suddenly devolving into a laughing fit. “Ah shit, I can’t keep that up for long.”

With a cyan flash, he suddenly broke out of Val’s magical hold and fell to the ground, landing on his feet and smirking right at the frustrated Val. “Gotcha, dumbass.”

This caused Val to let out a growl as he began to advance on Louie again, but Strawell suddenly dashed in front of him, eyes ablaze with anger.

“Enough! You are out of line, Val!” she bellowed.

“You foolish mare,” he said in a low voice. “Stay in your lane, unless you want to be grouped in with these Bronies,” he gave her a dangerous look.

“We are tasked with arresting and interrogating,” she countered, standing firm. “I will not stand aside and let you just murder this Brony because you want to.”

“Are you saying you’ll fight me?” he asked with an amused smile.

“If you continue, then I will be forced to declare you a threat to this kingdom,” she said as she squared up with him. “I am sure the King will understand.”

“You are one foolish and idiotic mare, Chief,” he laughed, looking past her at Louie who was currently wrapping his injured arm with a bandage. “If YOU don’t step aside, then I’ll declare you a threat and dispose of you accordingly.”

“He’s right, dumbass,” Louie said from behind her as he finished wrapping his arm. “If you go against this prick the ‘King’ will just kill you for going against him. You are so fucking out of the loop here that you’re coming off as a naive child.”

She snapped her head at him, her nostrils flaring as she glared at him, but the laughing coming from Val caused her to return her gaze to him.

“Very smart doggy,” he said with false praise. “Now step aside, Chief, before you lose your status.”

This situation was not ideal for her, as she needed to bring Louie in for questioning, yet Val was here to kill Louie. Her job was to listen to her superiors and deal with the Brony threat as needed, which was supposed to be very simple. What she knew she should do is step aside and let Val handle this, as he out ranked her. But if she did so, that’d be going against everything she stood for. This came down to two things: Duty or Justice. Which should she choose?

The choice was simple for her.

“I can not let you kill this Brony, Val,” she said sternly, holding his gaze, “I am the Chief of the Inquisitors, and it is my duty to protect and serve all of Equestria, to keep it safe from those who would do it harm. If you are willing to kill this suspect without cause, then you are an enemy of Equestria!”

“Oh, oh!” Val exclaimed, acting offended before smiling at her, “what took you so long, idiot?”

The response seemed to catch her off guard as she had no follow up for it.

“I thought with this inflated sense of justice you have that you’d have figured this out sooner,” he said as he turned his full attention to her. “I knew you’d become a problem the moment you were appointed Chief of the Inquisitors. We needed an imbecile in your role, not someone so competent and annoyingly justice oriented.”

She took a deep breath, calming herself before she spoke again, “Val, you are under arrest. Come peacefu-”

“Oh shove it,” he groaned, shaking his head. “I’m done entertaining this,” he said as he suddenly lunged for her as her anti-Ego flared to life. However he knew her Justice Ego only combat use was to power her up to face a threat that she perceived as an injustice, so he just copied it. Using her own Ego against her he slammed a hoof into her face, hitting her before she could react, and sent her flying away.

His horn flashed as he appeared above her as she flew through the air and slammed all four legs down into there, causing her to skid through the ground below them. He rode her like a makeshift snowboard as she tore through the ground, laughing like a maniac.

As they started to slow down he jumped off, letting her come to a stop in a small crater. With a flash he appeared above her yet again, this time smiling as his jaws unhinged, preparing to devour her in one go.

She growled as she forced herself to stand up, her body battered and a few bones definitely broken, but she wasn’t just going to lay down and die like this. So as he lunged forward with his jaws wide open, she rolled to the side and sent a jagged rock flying up into his face, hitting him directly in the left eye.

Val let out a roar of pain as he stumbled over himself, lashing out with his magic as he tried to grab her, but she slapped her hoof across his horn hard enough to break it, which just caused him to become enraged.

He lashed out a few times, but she just dodged all of his attacks as her anti-Ego came to life, letting her take him in in his entirety, able to see his intentions.

“Disgusting creature,” she spat out as she felt his desires and wishes, feeling heavily uncomfortable.

As she dodged around his clumsy attacks, he suddenly changed his tactics without giving any kind of pre-indicators with his desires or intentions. His body jerked hard as he lunged for her, shifting around and coming in at a weird angle that she was not expecting, his jaws opened wide.

She barely had time to react as she caught his jaws with both of her hooves, holding them away from her as he pushed closer and closer. Sweat began to run down her face as he began to win their struggle, his jaws closing in on her face with each passing second.

Just as he was about to clamp down on her, something tackled him from the side, taking him to the ground. Strawell stumbled back as she regained her footing, surprised to see Louie was now fighting with Val on the ground, the two fighting to gain control of the other.

However she didn’t think too hard on this as she rushed in and attempted to help Louie by gaining control of one of Val’s legs.

“Get his legs behind his back!” she ordered, getting a nod from Louie as he fought to get ahold of one of Val’s legs. But he wasn’t about to let them have their way, letting out a massive howl as he suddenly exploded upward, sending both of them flying away from him.

He wheeled on Louie, choosing him as his main target, and rocketed forward.

Louie just stood up, focusing hard as his Ego’s second form began to take form, letting him control his Ego to a greater extent. He raised his hands, waiting patiently for Val to reach him.

Val let out a roar as he reached Louie, going for a grapple styled attack, but Louie just calmly moved around his hooves, reaching up and grabbing the demonic unicorn by a front leg and his midsection, then with one fluid motion grabbed hold of him and slammed him straight down on his face. The cobblestone under them was blown away by the impact, but he followed it up by lifting him into the air again and continually slamming Val into the ground all around him, each hit getting harder and harder as he went.

“Back to hell with ya, demon,” Louie exclaimed as he began to spin around at a high speed, slamming Val into the ground as he went.

Strawell watched in awe as Louie began to spin so fast that even she couldn’t see anything but a blur as the ground around him was slowly whittled away as he forcibly dragged Val through it. After a good long minute, he came to a stop, only holding a leg and patch of flesh in the other hand.

“Whew! What a ride, huh?” he asked as he stumbled back a bit, clearly very dizzy. All around the spot he’d been standing was a massive amount of gore, as he’d used the ground to basically sand Val away into nothing.

After regaining his composure he turned to the stunned Strawell with a smirk, “so, still think you’re on the right side?”

She eyed him hard as she stood up tall, composing herself, “I will admit, I had a few growing doubts thanks to what you said in our first encounter. But, just because the Apostles are compromised does not mean I am. My goals remain the same; bring the killer of the Princesses to justice.”

“Yeah, that killer is Champion,” he retorted with a shake of his head.

“If that is true, then I need proof,” she said sternly, “all my evidence points to Bronies. If what you’re saying is true, I will need indisputable proof.”

“Oh we got proof alright,” he said with a chuckle, “we have video evidence of him killing innocents and possibly sexually assaulting a mare.”

“Then show me.”

At this he smiled sheepishly, “I can’t, we don’t have it ready yet.”

“You need to understand how convenient that sounds to me, right?” she asked, shaking her head at him. “You say you have the evidence, but you can’t show me because it is not ready.”

“Well it’s the truth,” he said as he threw up his hand. “Not that I expected you to believe me.”

“If you are telling the truth, let me bring you in and we can get this handled the right way,” she said as she floated up a pair of handcuffs.

“Are you serious?” he asked, unable to not laugh at this, “you were just attacked by that asshole and you’re still playing Inquisitor?”

“It is my duty,” she stated firmly, “I am still Chief of the Inquisitors, even if the Apostles are now enemies of Equestria.”

“If you go back, they’ll kill you the moment you try anything,” he warned.

“I can handle this,” she countered. “If you’re not going to let me arrest you, then share your resources with us. If what you say is true, then the Inquestors will work tirelessly to bring those who killed the Princesses to justice.”

“It’s Champion and his Apostles,” he groaned, shaking his head in annoyance, “Can’t you get that through your thick head?”

She worked her jaw, thinking hard, “I will need hard evidence of that before I can believe it.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll get it, soon,” he said as he took a step back, getting ready to dip.

She took notice of him getting ready to flee, but chose not to engage this time. “Thank you, for the help,” she suddenly said, catching him a bit off guard.

“Eh, yeah, I wasn’t just gonna let him eat you. Despite you being a hard headed idiot, you’re not a bad person. You’re just on the wrong side is all.”

“I could say the same for you,” she countered, “you seem to be a good and just person, but you’re also on the wrong side.”

“Agree to disagree,” he said with a smile, getting one in return. He then looked at the gore, “eh, if they ask that was all me, alright? No need for you to get thrown to the dogs.”

A light chuckle escaped her lips at this, “get out of here, before I arrest you.”

He gave her duel finger guns and turned to leave.

“I look forward to your evidence,” she called after him, causing him to throw back a thumbs up.

As he left, she sighed as she looked at the mess they’d made, this report would be fun to compose.

But more importantly, this interaction had changed a lot of her views, especially those of her current task of hunting down Bronies.

Before this all came about, she’d spent the last twenty years as a traveling detective, solving Brony related homicides. This gave her a unique perspective on Bronies and how they operated, which is why all of this had made sense to her. Bronies killed the Princesses? Very plausible in her mind. Champion killing his own family? Not implausible, but not likely either. To her, Bronies being the culprits made more sense, especially with all the evidence she had.

Yet, that same evidence was weird and didn’t add up completely.

Maybe her biases were affecting her more than she thought.

Nonetheless, she had a job to do, and if Louie couldn’t produce this evidence, then she’d resume her hunt for the truth.

The Fan

Chapter 77

“You killed Val?!” Nova spat out, eyes wide as she jumped out of her chair, sending it to the floor behind her.

“Yep, quite easily might I add,” Louie replied, standing proud as he twirled his mustache.

“This changes so much,” Roxxy muttered, grabbing her head with her hooves as she leaned on the table.

“It definitely makes the coming days a lot more bearable,” Nova agreed as she began to pace around the room, mind reeling with the new possibilities.

“Other than killing literally one of the biggest threats we’re facing, did you complete the mission?” Roxxy asked, still looking to be at a loss after hearing the news.

“We’re hooked in and ready to go,” he confirmed. “And before you ask, yes, I’ve finished the folder,” he held up the folder, giving them a wink.

“All of it?” Nova asked in astonishment.

“All of it, and then some,” he laughed, tossing the folder onto the table.

“Lou, that was supposed to take you at least a full day to complete!” she exclaimed as she just kept staring at him in disbelief.

“I work fast,” he replied smoothly, getting a groan out of Roxxy.

The young mare stood up and stepped up to the board and began to move around pieces, grumbling to herself.

Nova also moved to the board, rubbing her chin, “well, that leaves just one more mission that must be completed before the Big Day.”

“Ah yeah, that one,” he said with a frown, stepping up with them. “Is it still set for tomorrow?”

“It is,” she confirmed, “we will hold off till we have the CCTV footage, then I’ll make the final call.”

He gave a nod, continuing to twirl his mustache. “Tomorrow is gonna suck.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Val is dead?!” Lilith yelped as she spun around to face Richard, her eyes wide.

This seemed to shock Richard, as he hadn’t expected her to have such an emotional reaction to this news.

“Eh, yes, the dogman did him in,” he informed her, which just caused her to do a double take.

“My son was killed by that thing?!” she snapped, red energy crackling off of her body. “That mucks up my plans!”

“Your son?!” Richard asked in shock, but she ignored him as she moved to the large cube in the room.

“With Val gone, I no longer have a vessel to hold this energy before it can be transferred to myself,” she grumbled, eyes flickering to Darkest Bleak, who sat in his own cocoon. He was awake and smirking, but unable to do much else.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but chose to not say a word to him as she turned back to Richard, “I need a powerful Unicorn to use as a vessel. Find one.”

“Does it matter who?” he asked, getting a sinister smile in return.

“No, any vessel that holds this energy in its purest form will die, so it does not matter.” Lilith then turned to the rows of cocoons, her smile growing larger as she saw a few were awake and staring daggers at her.

Even with this set back, things were progressing nicely for her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“You damn dirty cunt!” Jun roared as Strawell stepped into her office to find him standing there, looking absolutely enraged.

“Ah, Jun, I see you’ve heard the news,” she said calmly as she walked right past him, reaching under her cabinet to grab a hidden bottle of strong liquor.

“You let Val get merc’d!” he yelled as she walked over to her desk, putting the bottle down and walking to the other side of her office.

“He was murdered by the Dogman of the Brony Rebellion,” she said flatly as she opened another cabinet and grabbed two glasses. “He died despite my attempts at intervention,” she added as she stepped back up to her desk and placed the two glasses down.

But Jun didn’t seem to care as he stomped his hooves, having a little angry tantrum, “I don’t give a flying fuck! You let my friend die!”

“You need to relax, Jun,” she said in an out of character soothing tone. She poured liquor into each glass and pushed one towards him, “have a drink.”

“Why the fuck are you being nice suddenly?!” he growled, taking the drink and chugging it in one go, slamming it down, only for her to refill it.

“Drink,” she encouraged, a very out of place smile on her face.

“Ew fuck, I don’t think a smile is supposed to be there,” he grunted as he did as he was told and drank the entire glass. Yet she just refilled it again as he put it down. “What is this shit?!”

“You know,” she began in a low voice, reaching out and stroking his muscled chest, “I’ve always thought you were the hottest Apostle since the very first moment.”

“Really?” he asked, instantly dropping his anger in favor of a cocky smile. “Yeah, I get that a LOT!” he exclaimed as he raised a leg and flexed it so hard he hurt himself, but he played it off by turning his head from her so she couldn’t see his pained expression.

Strawell grimaced as he turned away, disliking this act she was putting on, but put on her fake smile when he turned back to her.

“I bet you do,” she said with a strained laugh, “I bet you have to fight all the mares off, don’t you, hottie?”

His cocky smile faded as he took another long gulp of the liquor, “no actually… I’ve never been with a mare.”

“Oh eh,” she grimaced, but quickly recovered, “I mean, I don’t believe that one bit. Not a hottie like you!”

“Would you sleep with me?” he suddenly asked, causing her to laugh loudly.

“Sure!” she forced out, causing him to smile brightly as his tail wagged, “but I want to ask a few silly questions first.”

“Anything you want!” he basically yelled, looking overjoyed now.

“Aw you’re the best!” she giggled, then her face became serious, “where have all the Brony prisoners been taken?”

“Oh Lilith has taken them to her personal pocket dimension, so she can keep an eye on them,” he answered quickly. “Sex now?”

“Questions first,” she stated sternly, “why is she taking them there? Why not just put them away in a normal prison?”

“Because she’s stealing their Holy Energy for some reason,” he replied, licking his lips.

“Is Champion who he says he is?”

“Champion is the fucking best, he’s my bestest friend!” Jun exclaimed happily, “now sex?”

“No,” she said firmly, “did he kill the Princesses?”

“...” Jun’s happy face dropped as he stared blankly at her. “You’re… just using me aren’t you? You don’t want to actually have sex with me, do you?”

She frowned at him, choosing her next words and actions carefully. She slowly reached out and placed a hoof on his cheek, forcing herself to stroke it gently. “Oh, Jun, who has hurt you so greatly to make you this mistrusting?”

He held his blank look for a few seconds before breaking down and throwing himself into her, hugging her tightly, “everyone is so fucking mean to me! They just see me as a clone, but I”m not a fucking clone! I’m JUN. JUN JUN JUN! I ain’t a clone no moar, I’m mah own man! Stallion! Whatever! But everyone just bullies me and beats me down and tells me I ain’t gonna be nothin’ but Lance’s wannabe clone! But I ain’t! I AIN’T!”

As he began to wail into her neck, she just stood there with wide eyes, completely shocked by this outburst and admission, not really sure how to process or handle it.

“Erm… there there,” she said awkwardly as she patted the back of the crying stallion.

“You’re the first person to be nice to me for reals!” he sobbed out, squeezing tightly. “I don’t care if we don’t bang, I just want to be held and loved and told I’m a real boy!”

“What you need,” she grunted as she broke his strong grip on her, forcibly taking a step back, “is a new approach to life.”

“You think?” he asked, wiping his nose, leaving a trail of snot.

“Yes,” she answered as she readjusted her chest armor. “If your current company treats you this badly, then I suggest finding your own path in life.”

“But,” he began, his brain looking to be working in overdrive, “I can’t leave. Champion needs me. I’m his number one guy.”

“But are you happy?” she asked, using all the skills she’d learned over the years to try and push this scenario in her favor.

This question caused him to tear up again, but she made sure to take a few large steps back to avoid his attempts at hugging her again.

“I’ve never been happy,” he admitted, crying very loudly now. “I don’t wanna be the bad guy anymore, I just wanna have a family and kids. Kick the ass of anyone who messes with em and all that fun junk!”

She was very uncomfortable with his quickly changing mood shifts, but she rolled with it, “then do what makes you happy?”

“Can I?” he asked meekly.

“Are… you asking my permission?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly.

“Then… yes?” she answered in a very unsure voice, as this entire situation was far outside her normal comfort zone.

He lit up instantly as he began to jump in place, “oh yes! THANK YOU!”

Without another word he shot into the ceiling, exploding through a few floors before hitting the open sky and flying off, all the while screaming, “I’m free!!!”

Strawell just stood there a bit shocked, this whole interaction not going at all as she planned. She was sure it’d end with him in her bed, which would have been terrible but necessary. But now? She wasn’t sure how to react to this.

At least she got a bit of information out of him, even if it wasn’t enough to formulate a plan off of.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that night

Twilight let out a sigh as she put the device down, deciding it was time to take a small break. She’d have this spell encryption broken by morning for sure.

“Did you get it?!” Babel suddenly asked excitedly from across the room where she’d been working on some art and other assorted projects.

“Not yet, but we’re getting there,” Twilight answered with a smile as she made her way to the kitchen, Babel’s thick glasses following her as she walked across the room.

Upon entering the kitchen she found Nightstreak laying on the floor, a book over his face.

“Is she always so… spirited?” she asked as she began to prepare herself something to eat.

“Babel Yarn?” he asked as he raised the book off of his face, “oh yeah. She’s always been super weird.”

“She does not come off as weird, just a bit excitable,” Twilight commented, getting a chuckle out of young Stallion.

“Nah, Mrs. Greenfield, trust me, she’s weird. She’s been wearing that hoodie for the past six years, and all she talks about is your husbands and Scamp’s books. And trust me, she knows EVERYTHING about you and the others mentioned in those books.”

“She can’t know everything,” she chuckled as she lifted a box of food, just for Babel’s face to be right behind it.

“I do actually!” she proclaimed proudly, causing Twilight to let out a startled scream as she jumped back, holding her chest.

“Oh and she has a tendency to pop up like that,” Nightstreak said with a little smile. “Sorry, shoulda warned you.”

“Don’t do that, Babel!” Twilight said sternly as she used her magic to dust herself off.

“I’m sorry, Twilight!” she exclaimed as she walked out from behind the counter, smiling brightly. “Can I ask you some questions?!”

“Sure, ask away,” Twilight said, causing Nightstreak to make a few clicking noises with his tongue.

“Ooo, bad move, Mrs. Greenfield,” he warned as Babel took out her notebook and fell on her haunches.

“First question!” she declared as she flipped open to a page and made a few marks, “what made you fall for Lance so quickly?”

“Aw, a cute question,” Twilight giggled as she pulled a chair up and took a seat, leaning back as she reminisced, “it was a combination of his strange otherworldly looks, and this charm he had to himself. Like that one kid in class who’s clearly not smart enough to know simple math, but had a simple mind, and a heart of gold. He was just so genuine and kind.” Then she gave Babel a little knowing smirk, “plus, to be completely honest, I was young and naive, so when the bad boy stallion came knocking, I answered.”

“So adorable!” Babel said happily as she wrote everything down, causing Twilight to beam a smile at her. “Next question!”

“Let’s hear it, sweetie,” Twilight said as she leaned back, actually enjoying this little mock interview she was getting.

“What was it like having Lance stuck inside of you?” Babel asked so earnestly that it took a bit for the question to actually hit Twilight, but when it did, she sat up, face red.

“What?!”

“Follow up to that actually; the rumor is that his dingaling is colored like a candy cane, is this true?” she asked with an expectant look on her face, pen hovering above the notebook.

“There’s the weird Babel I know from school,” Nightstreak laughed as Twilight just stared slack jawed at the young mare before her.

“... why would you ask something like that?” she finally got out.

“These are major questions on the fan website I run,” she said casually, causing Twilight to do a double take.

“Fan website?!”

“Yeah!” Babel exclaimed proudly, “I run the Living the Dream fan website! Proudly serving well over a thousand Dreamers with LTD lore and content!”

Twilight just stood there super confused as Babel began to get even more excited.

“Now I prefer Scamp’s adventure over Lance’s, no offense. But you have to see the animatic I made for her book!” Babel basically yelled as she ran out of the room to retrieve her laptop.

“What have I started?” Twilight muttered, eyes still wide in shock.

“You’ve done the one thing everyone does once,” Nightstreak laughed. “You showed interest in her obsession, so good luck, because the next few hours are gonna be hella intense!”

As he finished his sentence, Babel rushed back in, balancing her laptop and all of her supplies on her back and head, “I don’t have all of my LTD stuff with me, but I got enough to give you a basic idea of just how amazing and cool you all are!”

Twilight was trapped, as she did not have it in her to stop this. She couldn’t crush this young mare’s interest, so she’d endure.

“But quick question!” Babel exclaimed as she dumped all of her stuff on the floor before Twilight, “are charts and diagrams too much for you?”

This caused Twilight to smile, “I can handle any amount of charts and diagrams you have for me.”

“Cool!” Babel laughed as she dumped out a massive amount of paper, “because I gots lots for all the relationships, connections, and even for all the events I believe lead to Lance meeting Toby!”

“Oh sweet Celestia…” Twilight muttered as she saw just how much there really was.

“OH! Are NSFW drawings okay? Because I’ve got a LOT of personal headcanon’s and I’ve drawn a LOT of art for them,” she asked as she set up the computer, turning it so Twilight could see it. Of course Twilight did not get to answer as she continued talking, “now I just made the animatic, because I don’t know anyone to voice act. BUT! There are these really cool ponies online who also read the story, and they’ve done their own personal reading of it. They call themselves the ‘Let’s Read Crew’ and BOY are they funny!”

“Here it comes,” Nightstreak laughed as Babel brought up a video.

“All I do for these guys is provide lore corrections and stuff, because I don’t like how my voice sounds in their videos. BUT! You’re gonna love this! I’m gonna show you my favorite animatic I made for them!”

And with that, she hit play.

“Hey everybody, welcome back to Let’s Read Living The Dream!” a voice yelled out as a few others screamed like maniacs behind them. “Today we got Foundfork, AR, Lightningrabbit, and me! April!”

“Welcome back! We got Chapter sixty, Dinner with the Greenfields, on our plate today!” another voice yelled out. “Are you guys excited for this?”

“Oh, for sure, I’ve heard a rumor that this is the chapter Scamp’s hellion of a baby thing terrorizes the Greenfield residence, and even that Brony dog Louie!” the first voice, April, exclaimed while laughing.

“Hey hey hey, no spoilers, come on!” a new voice exclaimed.

“If this is another Baby Shayla chapter, then I think I’ll pass, being a bunny and all makes me a prime target,” a much more refined and calm voice said.

“I think you’re safe, Lightning,” April began, “I think the Shayla character is seven right now? Is that right?”

Babel paused the video. “This is an older podcast from them, I just added the animatic later,” she explained as she hit play again.

“Yeah yeah, if you check the LTD website, Cassava has all their current ages and information posted.”

She paused the video again and looked at Twilight with a huge smile, “I’m Cassava!”

Twilight just stared at her for a moment before coming to her senses, “wait, what was that part about everyone’s info being posted?”

“And play!” Babel laughed as she hit play, resuming the animatic which showed the front of the Greenfield residence before it was destroyed, with Scamp holding baby Shayla standing by the front door.

“Oh this is weird,” Twilight muttered as the video played on, not liking that the inside of the house was drawn EXACTLY how it looked back then. Even down to the pictures on the walls.

“Told ya,” Nightstreak sang from across the room as Babel kept pausing the video to point out little details and explain things.

“This is going to be a long night…” Twilight said quietly as she sat down, watching the overly excited mare bounce around the computer, talking faster than she could keep up with.

Author's Note

For anyone who does not understand the final scene's reference, then have I got a treat for you:

https://www.youtube.com/@Duhad8

These guys have been the sole reason I've stuck around this story for the last 10 years, so go enjoy them making fun of old LTD. It is the best.

Falling into place slowly

Chapter 78

The next morning

The sound of a book slamming shut woke Twilight up, causing her to let out a little yelp of surprise as she fell out of her chair.

“And that’s the entire comprehensive history of what happened to Louie’s first set of children,” Babel said loudly, a wide smile on her face as she waited for Twilight to say something.

Twilight blinked a few times, still coming to her senses after waking up, so she forced out the most she could, “that’s neat.”

“It is neat!” Babel exclaimed as she suddenly let out a yawn. “I’m so sorry, Twilight, but I’ve been awake for forty eight hours, so I need a micro nap.”

“Yeah, go for-” Twilight began to say, but Babel suddenly collapsed, snoring loudly as she laid on the floor in a position that couldn't be comfortable.

She began to use her magic to try and move her to a couch or something, but Nightstreak stopped her quickly.

“Don’t do that!” he hissed, slowly pulling Twilight back to the living room. “She does that all the time, just let her take her nap wherever she falls and she’ll be up and about here soon.”

“That can’t be healthy,” Twilight commented, getting a laugh out of Nightstreak.

“Back to work,” he said as they came to a stop before the device, “how much longer do you need?”

With a sigh she sat down, using her magic to lift the device back up, “Just a few more hours.”

“Sweet,” he said with a nod as he took a step back and sat down on a chair. “Once you’re done, it shouldn’t take me and Babel too long to break whatever encryption there is.”

Twilight gave him a nod as she began to focus her magic into the device, working her way through the magical seal.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Strawell walked confidently down the Palace hallway, her face set in her natural stern expression. Everyone she passed turned their heads from her, unable to hold her gaze even for a second.

She ignored everyone, keeping her mind focused on what she’d come here to do.

Once she reached the correct door, she pushed through it without hesitation.

“Chief Strawell?” a servant asked in surprise as she walked further into the room, “why are you in the Apostles' living quarters?”

“I am looking into something regarding Val,” she stated, barely giving the servant a glance as she walked towards the door on the other side of the large room labeled ‘Val’.

“Oh,” the servant said quietly, “Master Val’s secretary is inside cleaning, he’ll be able to help you with anything you need.”

Without any further acknowledgement, she stepped up to Val’s door and pushed it open. Inside she saw a lot of packed boxes and a red stallion in a tan turtleneck rushing around.

She didn’t say anything as she walked in, eyes scanning the room carefully.

“Chief Strawell!” the stallion yelped as he started to run past her, tripping over himself and falling onto the ground before her.

“I assume you’re the one who came to the Inquisitor's headquarters looking for me?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Erm,” he began, looking around the room, appearing very nervous. She knew why; if Champion was here, he could easily hear anything they say out loud. “Yes, Ma’am, I… had a few questions, was all…”

Strawell could clearly see he wanted to say more, but was smart enough not to speak out loud. So instead he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it, folding it and putting it in an envelope. She watched him closely, but remained silent.

Once he was done he handed it to her and put on a forced smile, “sorry to make you come all the way down here, Chief. But Val was the one who needed you, and within him dead…”

“I understand,” she said flatly as she did an about face and left the room without another word. She did not speak to another person as she walked through the Palace, remaining stoic all the way till she was out on the streets beyond the front gates.

She kept up her confident pace all the way back to the Inquisitor's Canterlot Headquarters, acting like everything was normal just in case she was being watched. Which she knew was a real possibility with recent events.

Once she was safely back in her office she sat down and pulled out the envelope. Carefully she ripped it open and flipped open the note within.

‘Strawell, meet me in New Ponyville at the collapsed Hero’s Monument in four hours.’

After reading the note she crumbled it up and tossed it into her metal trash can. She then threw a small charm into it, causing a little flash that instantly disintegrated all the paper within the trash can.

With that, she walked for her door yet again, heading for the Magic Department so she could be teleported to New Ponyville.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“How’s it coming along?” Nova asked as she stepped into the Dimensional Monitoring chamber of the Enforcer’s Order Hall.

“Not well,” Bronwyn answered as she ran her hands through the floating images before herself, watching as the hovering screens around her changed with each input. “Finding a different version of Lance is proving… difficult.”

“What of the one named Giro? The one who helped them all those years ago when Ponyville was originally destroyed?” Nova asked, stepping up next to the other woman.

“His dimension is dead now,” she answered grimly. “I don’t know how, but there is not a single living thing within that dimension. So I’m having to look elsewhere.”

“That does not bode well,” the mare muttered, shaking her head as she watched the other woman work.

“It does not,” she agreed solemnly. “To make matters worse, all other alternate timelines are either gone, or on lock down.”

“What does that mean exactly, on lock down?”

“Well,” Bronwyn began, still swiping through images, “it can mean a lot of things. But usually it means an outside force has come in and closed it down for whatever reason. In the past it would have been the Central Dimension, but with them gone, that kind of duty falls to the UAD. As for why they’ve gone in and locked down these specific dimensions and timelines, I’d never be able to tell you.”

Nova just rubbed her chin, shaking her head. None of this was looking good for them at this point.

“To add to the growing list of despair,” Bronwyn continued, “for our plans to work, we need an alternate Lance who is very close to our Lance in terms of progression. A.K.A. a Lance who has gone through at least most of the trials and tribulations ours has gone through. And there’s only two I’ve found. The one named Giro, who is gone now, and another who is in a locked dimension.”

“Can we break the lock?” Nova asked curiously.

Bronwyn gave a nod, “we can, but it’ll take a few hours, and almost all of the Ego Rubies we have in storage. But we need to be sure, because if this is the wrong kind of Lance, then we’ve wasted our one shot at finding the others.”

“I trust you to figure this out,” Nova said with confidence, getting a smile in return.

“Well let me check into the available info then,” Bronwyn said as she opened up a menu and began to read through everything. “Hm… so this version of Lance seems to be a lot more… dominate. They’ve cleared all the threats in their world a lot earlier than our Lance has, and not only that, they even faced a UAD being similar to the Watcher. The Observer. And it looks like,” she read a few more things quickly, “huh, they broke out of the false dimension on their own within a few months of being sent there by their version of the Watcher. The only difference is after defeating the Observer, they themselves tried to reset the Dimension to save their friends, but all they achieved was locking their dimension down.”

“Sounds like a Lance kind of move,” Nova confirmed.

“Should I focus on them?” Bronwyn asked, getting a nod from the mare.

“When you’re ready to pull them, let me know,” Nova said as she turned to leave.

“Can do,” Bronwyn said as she went back to work, “just know, we’ll have to summon them while on Equestria, otherwise it will not work.”

“That’s not ideal,” Nova muttered, not liking the idea of risking Champion finding them while they summon this Lance, but if they didn’t have a choice then she’d have to just make sure they took precautions.

“Once you’re done, we’ll summon them at night, just to be safe,” she finally said as she continued on her way.

If this worked, then this new Lance they’re bringing in will be able to be used to find the Bronies that have been taken. They just have to hope they’re all still alive.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Finished,” Twilight said as she sat back, letting out a sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

Nightstreak jumped up and started to walk over to take the device from her, but Babel suddenly jumped up and snatched it from Twilight’s magical hold.

“Ooo, our turn!” Babel exclaimed happily as she flipped open the console and began to type away like a mad mare.

“Babel, don’t just start messing with it!” Nightstreak yelped, rushing over to try and stop her, but she just turned her back to him, hooves flying across the keyboard. “We need to run a few tests and diagnostics to make sure we know what we’re dealing with here!”

“Oh it’s just a simple government encryption that they use on all their computers and networks,” she said joyfully, leaning her head backwards so she could look at him, a wide smile on her face. “I break these all the time for fun!”

This caused Nightstreak to groan as he relented and sat down next to her, “okay yeah, just don’t hog it all to yourself. I’m just as capable, if not more so, than you with computers.”

“Sure, Nighty!” she giggled, scooting so he could have access to the keyboard and screen as well.

He raised an eyebrow at what she was doing, as she was already far into the system, much further than he’d be after a few hours of working. “Eh… do your thing, Babel,” he said reluctantly.

“Okay!” she laughed as she pulled it back to herself and went back to work, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she concentrated on her work.

Twilight just smiled as she stood up and walked over to the couch, planning to get some more sleep while they worked on the computer.

“Ooo, I’ll have this done in a few hours!” Babel announced proudly as her hooves clacked crazily against the keyboard. “Maybe sooner!”

Nightstreak just watched in amazement as she navigated her way through the systems, moving much faster than he could. Her mind just worked so much differently than his it appears, giving her a clear edge.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later

Strawell approached the destroyed Hero’s Monument, which once depicted the old hero’s of this world. The Brony known as Lance Greenfield and his ragtag group of friends. The monument had been torn down after Champion revealed their sins, so now all that was left were makeshift signs denouncing Bronies and the previous heroes.

It did not take her long to see Val’s secretary standing by the ruined monument, looking extremely nervous and out of place with how they were acting.

“You need to relax,” she said sternly as she stepped up to him, startling him as he hadn’t seen her approaching.

“Yeah, I’m trying,” he said, eyes darting around the area.

“No one followed either of us, I can assure you,” she said confidently, knowing the only person who could be spying on them was Champion himself, and she knew for a fact he was in Manehattan dealing with some kind of government issue.

“Okay,” he muttered, turning to her and taking a deep breath. “Okay um, I know you’ll probably arrest me after this conversation, but you’re the only person I can turn to.”

“Start with your name,” she said when he went silent for a moment.

“Erm…” he looked around nervously, “Red Storm…”

“Hm, Red Storm, the same Red Storm who worked with Val in the past?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, that’s me,” he said with a sigh, shaking his head, “but I’m not like that anymore. I dropped that life almost twenty years ago when Val was imprisoned the last time. I’ve changed, I swear.”

“That’s irrelevant to why we are here,” she said a bit coldly, wanting him to get to the point.

“Sorry,” he muttered, “I’m just worried about my wife and daughter. Val didn’t know I’d started a family and when he came for me, he made me return to his side, so I sent my family away somewhere safe.”

Strawell nodded along, waiting for him to get to the point of this meeting.

“I’d come to you originally because I wanted to give you this,” he said as he pulled out a few folders from his saddlebags.

“And these are?” she asked as she took them, putting them away in her pocket dimension so she could view them later.

“The truth,” he said simply. “I’m not going along with any of this willingly, and I just want my daughter to be safe.”

“Why would she not be safe?” Strawell asked as she took note of the sweat starting to form on his brow.

“LIke I said, you’d arrest me after this,” he said quietly. “My wife is a Brony.”

“Okay,” Strawell replied, the thought of arresting him indeed crossed her mind. “I will not arrest you,” she suddenly stated, catching him off guard.

“Oh… I wasn’t expecting th-”

“If,” she interrupted, eyes locked with his, “you answer a few questions.”

“Erm, of course… What do you need to know?” he asked, clearly very unsure of where this was going.

Her eyes darted around the area once, confirming they were alone with no prying eyes, “were the Apostles really under Brony control from the very beginning?”

This caused him to frown, but he shook his head, “no I can personally tell you Val for sure has never been under anyone's control. I can’t be sure of the others, but I can tell you I do not think they were. Especially Nightmare…”

She gave a sharp nod before continuing, “who killed the Princesses?”

This caused Red Storm to appear very uncomfortable, and he went silent.

“Tell me, now,” she demanded sharply.

“Champion,” he finally said after a long pause, causing Strawell to close her eyes as her body tensed.

“I was afraid you’d say that,” she said calmly as she opened her eyes again. “Do you have proof of this?”

“No…” he answered quietly, “I’ve just over heard things. I know Val said Champion was a fool for how he handled the take over, saying they should’ve imprisoned the Princesses instead.”

“I’m going to need proof if I’m going to do anything about this,” she said as she stared him down.

“We can pull my memories of them talking if that’ll-”

“No,” she interrupted, shaking her head, “you know memories are dismissible in court due to them easily being manipulated by magic. I’ll need solid evidence, like what you’ve given me today in these folders.”

He shied away from her a bit, “the folders I gave you have a lot of information in them, but none of it talks about the Princesses, just that the Apostles are evil and that Lilith is keeping the captured Bronies to herself. You just need to read the folders, it’s the best I can do.”

She let out a deep sigh, “okay. Now tell me, what were you hoping to gain by giving me this?”

“I just want this all to end,” he admitted with a sigh, “my daughter deserves to grow up in a world that doesn’t hate her for what she is.”

“If this is all true, then that applies to a lot of others as well,” she stated, getting a nod from him.

“I know, but I have a simple request,” he said as he pulled out a small photo. “If something happens to me, can you let my family know I did my best to make things right?”

She stared at him for a long moment before giving a sharp nod, causing him to sigh in relief.

“Thank you, Chief Strawell,” he then handed her the photo, “this is the only picture I have of her after my house was destroyed in the fighting. A stain kind of covers my wife, but you’ll be able to find my daughter. She’ll stand out wherever she’s at, trust me.”

Strawell took the picture, raising an eyebrow as she stared at it. “I will do as you ask, if something happens to you.”

He glanced around again, “if you need me again, just try and not come to the Palace, people were asking a lot of questions about why you were there.”

“I will keep that in mind,” she said simply as she took a step back, “if that is all, I shall take my leave.”

“Thank you again, Chief,” he said as she turned to leave. “For everything you’re doing.”

“It’s my duty,” she answered simply as she walked away, leaving him alone by the ruined monument.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that night

“Done!” Babel suddenly screamed out, scaring both Nightstreak and Twilight as they jumped up, having been asleep before this.

“You’re done?” Nightstreak asked as he stepped over, seeing that the screen now displayed the desktop with a few folders and applications.

“Mhm!” Babel said proudly, moving the cursor to an application labeled ‘New Ponyville CCTV’.

“Don’t click it,” Twilight said as she stepped over, placing a hoof on Babel’s shoulder. “Nova will want to be the one to go through everything herself.”

“Oh yeah yeah!” the young mare said as she shook her head quickly.

With that, Twilight used her magic to lift her communication device and dialed in Nova’s number.

After a short pause, there was a pop as a connection was made.

“Hello, Twilight, any news on the footage?” Nova asked, sounding a bit worked up.

“We have it,” Twilight answered.

“You do?!” Nova all but yelled, followed by her clearing her throat. “Good, good. Bring it to my house and I’ll go over it soon…”

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked, noticing the tone of the other mare's voice.

“Yes, we’re just getting ready for a mission,” she answered, then after a short pause, “actually, can you and Nightstreak come to the command center? We’re about to head to Equestria to summon a different version of Lance, and I’m sure you’ll want to be there.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she heard this, “you’re summoning Giro?”

“No, I’m afraid it’s a different version of Lance,” Nova answered, not going into details.

She thought for a moment before giving an answer, “we’ll be there shortly.”

As she hung up, she realized Babel was right next to her ear, clearly listening to the conversation.

“Babel!” she said sternly as she turned on the now overly excited mare.

“You’re all bringing in a different version of Lance?! Similar to Giro, but not him?!” she asked, speaking so fast they could barely understand her. “Can I come?! Please?!”

The two looked at each other, both looking very unsure.

“It’ll be dangerous, we have to go back to Equestria apparently,” Twilight warned, but this did nothing to deter the young mare.

“I’ll be fine!” she yelled as she rushed to her supplies, starting to pack everything away as quickly as she could. “Ooo, I hope this Lance has seen some crazy stuff!” she then went wide eyed as she let out a gasp, “what if the shipping happened differently in their world?! Oh I’ll get to make a whole new list! Oh we have to hurry and get there!”

“There’s no stopping her now,” Nightstreak mumbled, getting a nod from Twilight as they watched the overly excited mare bounce around, gathering her things as she talked faster and faster.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nova stepped through the portal first, wanting to make sure it was safe before the others followed. She scanned the area, seeing that there was not a living soul anywhere near them, as they had chosen a location far out in the forest.

Satisfied, she waved for the others to follow as she walked into the clearing.

“Oh this is so exciting!” the young tagalong Babel Yarn exclaimed as she walked out behind the members of Phantasm Troupe.

“We’re not going to have to do any running, are we?” Babel asked as Twilight and Bronwyn walked out of the portal next, allowing it to snap closed behind them. “I really can’t run that far, I have really bad stamina. Also my glasses always fall off when-”

“No, we’re not doing any running,” Roxxy sighed as she answered her. She wasn’t that fond of Babel Yarn, but she didn’t have a problem with her either. According to Nightstreak, she was the sole reason they broke the encryption so fast, so they were willing to give her a chance.

“Okay good,” Babel said with a smile as she walked over to where Nova was and sat down on the ground, pulling out a few notebooks.

Nova stared at her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for Bronwyn to get ready to perform the summoning ritual.

“What do you have there, young one?” she asked, causing Babel to look up in excitement.

“My LTD notebooks! This new Lance will have SO much lore to share, and I need to write it all down!”

Nova couldn’t help but smile at the young mare as she gave a single nod, “that is fine. All I ask is that you allow us to work first, then you can ask them what ever you want. Is that fair?”

“That’s more than fair!” Babel laughed, smiling brightly up at Nova.

With that, the Royal mare looked to Bronwyn, who was placing Ego Rubies down in a certain pattern on the ground.

“Anything we need to know here?” Dude asked as they all gathered around the woman as she worked.

“Yes,” Bronwyn answered, “when I summon this new Lance, they’ll probably be confused, so don’t crowd them.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Babel Yarn as she hummed to herself, tilting side to side as she waited for the new Lance to appear.

“We’ll try our best to contain ourselves,” Roxxy answered dryly, shaking her head.

Once Bronwyn finished placing down all the Ego Rubies, she took a step back and pulled out a new item, this one looking more like a large ceiling fan than anything else.

“Everyone,” she announced as she pulled a cord on the device, causing it to spin, “take a few steps back.”

As the group stepped back, she tossed the spinning device into the air, where it hovered above the Ego Rubies, spinning faster and faster.

The Rubies began to glow brightly as they all seemed to reach up and connect to the device, feeding their Ego directly into it. Everything sped up as the device spun so fast it looked to become just a stationary solid object.

Then, after a few moments the area around the device exploded in a bright light, causing everyone to look away. When it cleared, they all looked back, eyes going wide at what they were seeing.

“No way!” Babel exclaimed as she began to make notes in her book, “totally unexpected outcome!”

Alternate Lance arrives

Chapter 79

The past in a different reality

POV Change

“Aw fuck!” I yelped as I split from the fusion and slammed face first into the ground.

[We’re so fucked! The Observer’s still up!]
(We need to get up!)

Forcing myself up, I spun around, seeing the few friends I had left struggling to gather themselves.

Then my eyes landed on the one who’d been in control of the fusion, and they looked rough.

“Damn it, Gregoria!” I yelled as I rushed over, grabbing her hoof and lifting her up.

“Fuck I’m sorry, Lacy,” she coughed, “I tried.”

“You fucking idiot,” I hissed, squeezing her hoof, “you took to many hits of that Soul Break, I could have taken at least one!”

“Nah, I knew we weren’t winning that, so we’re putting all our hopes in ya,” Gregoria said weakly, her green face starting to pale.

“Now that was a very close attempt, Lacy,” the Observer called out from the other side of the room, her voice cracking a bit.

I growled as I watched the life leave Gregoria’s eyes, standing up and facing the Observer. I took in her damaged face and missing rings, as Gregoria had done a real number on her in that final blast. But we didn’t have enough power to fully finish her off.

So now here we are, facing each other down yet again.

The Observer forced a chuckle as she struggled to stay floating above me as she moved towards me, “Oh no, did another of your little friends perish?”

“Shut up,” I growled as my massive Ego greatsword appeared next to me, falling against me as I stared up at the Observer.

“Are we going to do this dance yet again, Lacy?” she asked, clearly putting on a false confidence that even I could see through.

“Oh fuck yeah, we’re gonna do this shit again,” I yelled as I shifted into my Apollyon form and raised myself off the ground with my wings as I grabbed the handle of my Ego greatsword, letting my own Ego flow into the blade. “Bring it, bitch!”

[Fucking ruin her, Lacy! Cut her face off and shit on it!]

[That’s it, Moon! Get pissed! Fuck this evil cunt for killing our friends!]

Behind me, I could hear my four remaining friends gathering themselves, but they were all too weak after taking all the Soul Break’s for me, despite me trying to stop them.

“Let’s go!” I roared as I flew forward, spinning through the air as I held tight to my greatsword, pushing my Ego into it as I spun hard, sending a wave of Ego flying from the blade and right at the Observer.

She raised a mechanical hand to block the hit, but instead of absorbing it like she’d done previously, my wave of Ego just sliced right through the hand and continued towards her face. As it hit her, she let out a massive roar of pain, eyes flaring to life.

“Uh oh!” I laughed as I continued swinging my blade through the air, sending wave after wave of Ego at her, “looks like you’re weak now, you stupid bitch!”

“I might be weakened,” she threw back, dodging the Ego I was sending at her, eyes locked with mine, “but I’m still strong enough to handle the likes of you!”

“Uh huh!” I mocked as I sent a wave at her, flying right behind it as I held my sword back, preparing to fuck her up real good. “Keep telling yourself that!”

“Your overconfidence is your downfall, Lacy!” she yelled as she flung her ruined hand at me, sending a beam flying right for me. But I easily weaved around it, smirking at her as I reached her and sliced my sword through the air, hitting her on the top of her dome head.

It didn’t cut through her, but the sheer weight and size of my Ego greatsword sent her flying straight down, where she slammed into the ground with a massive crash, sending debris and stone in all directions.

I followed after her, slamming the tip of my sword into the top of her face, sending her further into the ground.

“You were saying?” I asked with a smirk as I stood on top of her face, expecting her to say something snide. But instead, she just smiled at me.

“So foolish,” she said simply, confusing me as I stared at her. Then I heard an explosion behind me, causing my eyes to go wide as I jumped into the air and spun towards my friends.

My heart sank instantly as I saw that the beam she’d sent at me was not in fact aimed at me, but instead my friends.

The sight of the charred remains of my friends caused me to lose the grip on my greatsword, my eyes locked to the scene. The only sound I could hear was the horse laughing of the Observer as she lay embedded in the ground.

“You are so predictable, Lacy! For all that power you have, you don’t know how to use it to save even a single friend!” the Observed laughed, “were those the last four you had? Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“You just need to shut up,” I said softly, causing her to laugh more as I floated down, grabbing my greatsword again, my cloak blowing in the artificial wind of the Observer’s Chambers.

I stood at the top of the crater, staring crazily down at the Observer as she kept on laughing. Raising my massive sword, I began to push Ego into it yet again, but this time pushing a lot more than I ever had before.

“No matter what happens here,” she said between laughs, eyes locked with mine, “I’ve won.”

“I don’t care,” I replied as my sword began to overflow with Ego, “Just die.”

She stopped laughing as she just smirked up at me, waiting for me to end this.

Once I pushed as much Ego as possible into my greatsword, I began to rise into the air again, keeping my eyes locked on hers.

“Well, Lacy,” she called up to me as I reached the roof far above her. I pointed the tip of my sword at her and kicked off the ceiling, flying towards her at a speed far above anything I’d done before. “It’s been fun.”

With those final words, the tip of my sword hit the center of her dome and exploded with Ego as it broke through and slid all the way in till it hit the hilt. My body flexed as I caused the Ego to expand from within her head, causing it to explode like a fish bowl with a firecracker in it.

Cyan goop and shards of her dome went flying everywhere as I heard her voice laughing faintly as it faded away while her Ego swirled all around me as it slowly entered me. A bit overwhelming, but my mind was elsewhere.

My grip slipped on my sword, which was stuck in the ground, and I fell to my knees next to it.

I stared down at the ground, unable to cry as I just stared at the glowing remains of the Observer below me. My body shook as I shifted out of the Apollyon form, returning to normal.

It took a long while before I pulled myself out of the crater, feeling completely dead inside.

With that final attack by the Observer, I was now completely alone in the world.

Everyone is dead now…

I fucking knew I should have listened to Shallow Gale and Graze… They told me going after the Observer was a bad idea, but at the time I wanted payback for the friends we’d lost.

And I got it, but at the cost of my friends' lives.

{Shut up, Moon, I don’t want to hear your logic right now.}

Holding out my hoof, I caused my Ego greatsword to return to me, fading away as I continued walking aimlessly towards my dead friends. Hoping that somehow they were still alive.

But after doing a thorough check, I was devastated to find that they were for sure dead.

I grabbed the little charm that held my cloak in place, gripping it tightly. My mind flashed to my husband and daughter, causing a tear to roll down my face as I remembered their final moments.

“Fuck it,” I grumbled, falling onto my haunches and collapsing to my side. “I give up.”

[Uh, no, we’re not just giving up, fucktard!]

{Like what? We’re the only ones left now, everyone else is gone. What’s the fucking point now?}
[What’s the fucking point?! Bitch get your pussy ass up and dust yourself off! We don’t just give up when all the cards are on the table! We take that shitty table and flip it, because we don’t play by anyone's rules! Someone else wins the card game?! Nuh uh! Can’t win when yo cards are on the ground, slut!]

“I get it, Rake,” I groaned as I pushed myself up, turning to head for the front of the room where the Observer had entered from. “If there’s a way to fix this, then we’ll find it.”

[That’s my bitch!]
(Fuck yeah! We’ll get this shit fixed no matter what!)

[Yeah! We’re too fucking badass to fail!]

“Yeah!” I yelled, pumping my hoof as I took to the air and flew towards the large doors at the other end.

Upon passing through them I found myself in a large room with a massive computer-like device on one side of the room, with all kinds of devices and platforms extending out from it. That is obviously where I need to go.

However, as I stepped up to the large device that resembled a keyboard, I realized I could not read any of it.

“Ah fuck…” I muttered as I flew up and hovered above the keys, rubbing my chin. “Step one and we’ve already hit a snag.”

(Let me try! Push your Ego into this and I’ll see what I can find out!)

Raising an eyebrow I placed my hoof on the large computer and did as she asked, shoving my Ego right into it. Goldfinger moved through me and connected herself to the computer, humming as she worked.

[So? Can you figure it out?]
(Eh… not yet. I’m just taking shots in the dark and I can’t grasp this thing at all.)
{Well, anything is better than what I’d do. This shit is far beyond me.}

As she worked, I glanced around the room seeing that the Observer kept a large collection of animals in jars.

“Huh,” I mumbled, seeing all kinds of weird creatures staring at me from the jars on the shelves around the room.

After a few minutes Goldfinger finally sighed.

(I don’t know if this is it, but I MAY have a sequence we can input that’ll possibly reset that alternate dimension she locked us away in.)

My eyes widen as a small smile slide onto my face, “because in that dimension all of our friends and family are still alive! I mean it’s not OUR friends and family, just copies, but that’s better than nothing!”

[Oh fuck yeah! Let’s do it!]

[That’s the thought processes of a dumb retard, Moon! We’ll do what ever the fuck we gotta do to see them again, right Lacy?]

I gave a nod with a wide smile, “I get to see my husband again…”

[Oh I’ve missed Soarin and his fucking hot dick!]

[And I have missed our daughter, Sora…]
<... Okay, Rake, you can NOT go from that one subject to feeling sad for our daughter. That’s not how that’s supposed to work!>
[Screw you, my mood go brrrrr!]

“Guys,” I said softly as Goldfinger worked her magic. My mind was focused on seeing everyone again, even if I’d have to play the ‘oh we just met’ game all over again.

(Okay! Yeah, I got this shit! I think! Just do as I say and we’re golden!)

“Fuck yeah, good work, Goldfinger!” I laughed as I began to slam a hoof into each key she directed me towards. I had to fly all over the keyboard, as it was massive, and hit each key, the screen flashing like crazy.

Eventually it stopped and began to display words in a strange language.

“Was that it?” I asked, watching a countdown appear.

(Yep!)
[Fucking epic shit, Goldy!]

(Hehe! Thank you, thank you)

I fluttered in front of the screen, rubbing my hooves together in anticipation.

“Warning,” a monotone voice suddenly rang out through the room. “You have violated Ultimate Authority Dimension protocols, Observer. Prepare for divine intervention.”

“Eh… is that supposed to happen?” I asked as I just floated there confused.

“Dimensional freeze beginning in fifteen… fourteen… thirteen…” it began to slowly count down, causing me to panic.

“Fuck!” I yelped as I began to jump around the keyboard, hitting random keys.

[Oh way to fucking go, Goldy! You’ve fucked up big time!]

(Aw fuck… I’m sorry guys :’( I didn’t mean too.)
[Don’t cry emoji us, you slut!]

“Fuck fuck fuck!” I exclaimed as I saw the count down reach one. “FUCK!”

“Dimensional Lock Down Initialized. Goodbye.”

My eyes went wide as everything just stopped.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Present in original reality

I suddenly crashed into the ground, getting a mouth full of dirt. Wait… dirt?! The Observer’s chamber is all stone and shit!

[Uh…]

My eyes went wide as I jumped up, my massive sword appearing in my hooves as I spun on the group of ponies, and single human, staring at me. They didn’t seem surprised at my reaction, which did not sit well with me. One of them, some young weird looking mare, was bouncing excitedly, writing something in a book furiously.

Then I noticed the lead one, an Alicorn, was holding up a hoof.

“It is okay, we’re friends,” she said calmly as they all looked at me.

My eyes darted between each of them, unable to process what was going on.

One second I was in the Observer’s chamber, and then the next I was here. It made zero sense to me!

“I know you’re probably very confused,” she continued, getting my eyes back on her, “but we summoned you to our world because you’re an alternate version of our friend.”

I blinked a few times, processing what she said.

[Ooo, fuck yeah! That means we’re the Kero of this world! Quick, Lacy! Strike a cool pose and say a badass one liner!]

I put on a confident smirk and spun my massive sword around and slammed it into the ground and then leaned against it, smirking at them as my cape blew in the wind like some kind of epically cool comic book protagonist, “you rang for a hero? Well your hero has answered your call, and she’s fine as hell.”

“I’m sorry, we don’t need a hero per se, just someone who can be used to track down our kidnapped friend,” the Alicorn said a bit sheepishly, causing me to deflate a bit.

“Ah… I see,” I said as I put my sword away and stood there a bit awkward.

“But,” she continued after a moment of awkward silence, “we can use all the help we can get in the coming battle.”

“Coming battle?” I asked, my interest piqued.

“That…” she said as she looked at the gathered ponies around her, “will take some explaining. If you don’t mind, I’d rather us do that somewhere… safer.”

I looked them over again, finally realizing there was a single human female in the back, causing me to raise an eyebrow. “Okay, I’m gonna need to ask a few questions before I move from this spot.”

“We don’t have time, we need to move somewhere-” she tried to say, but I cut her off by holding up a hoof.

“Nah nah, answer my questions or I stay right here forever,” I countered, causing her to sigh.

“Ask away, friend,” she said reluctantly.

I smirked as I licked my lips, “okay, where is the Lacy of this world currently?”

“Lacy?” she asked, then nodded as she realized something, “ah, yes, our friend's name is Lance, and he is currently somewhere we can not find. Hence why you’re here.”

“He?” I asked, rubbing my chin. Guess this dimension is a bit different from mine. Kero’s had been basically the exact same, so I guess I was expecting the same thing here.

“Yes,” she confirmed as she waited for me to ask something else.

“Eh…” I muttered, trying to think of another question, “... Ah! What happened to the Observer of this world? You guys defeat her?”

“She means the Watcher!” the young and weird looking mare suddenly exclaimed. “Let me answer her questions please!”

The Alicorn frowned but gave a nod, causing the strange mare to shoot forward and stand right in front of me, staring up at me with her wide glasses, a notebook held in her hooves.

“Hi!” she yelled, causing me to recoil back a bit.

“Eh, yo?” I answered, giving her a weak wave.

“So in our dimension, Lance and his friends beat the Watcher, which seems to be our version of your Observer!” she answered, smiling brightly up at me. “And to boot, it’s been thirteen years since then!”

“Huh…” I muttered, rubbing the back of my head, “thirteen years? That’s a bit of a time jump…”

“Next question?!” she asked expectantly.

[This mare looking a bit crazy… tread carefully!]

“Okay… in this dimension, where is Soarin?” I asked carefully.

“Soarin? The Wonderbolt Soarin?” she asked, to which I nodded, “ah, I don’t know why you’d ask about him, but I think he retired and got killed in the most recent battle in New Ponyville. I saw his name on the memorial website.”

“Oh yeah I see,” I muttered, a look of distress falling across my face. Looks like I was at least hoping to see him one more time here, even if he wasn’t my Soarin…

“Wait…” the young mare suddenly said, seeming to study my reaction, then she gasped, “in your dimension that is your husband, isn’t it?!”

“Eh, yeah,” I answered as she looked back at the group and pointed to the one pony I knew of, Twilight Sparkle, “See her? She’s our Lance’s wife! They have one kid together who’s twenty three right now!”

I stared at Twilight, causing her to give me a sheepish little wave, “well that’s interesting… She got with some douche in my timeline.”

This for some reason caused the mare before me to gasp again, “just like in the Dark Timeline! Oh that’s so interesting!”

She began to write in her notebook as I just stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Question?” she pressed, leaning towards me.

“Erm…” I muttered, suddenly losing all the questions I had. “I think I’m good now.”

“Ooo! Can I ask some questions?!” she exclaimed as she jumped up happily, “in your world, what happened during the Heat?!”

“Hehe,” I laughed nervously as I rubbed my shoulder, “eh……”

[Bro, we went on a FUCKING RAMPAGE that first Heat. Like holy shit, none where safe!]
{Rather not think of that shit, Rake.}

[Pussies.]

“Babel,” the Alicorn warned, causing her to smile sheepishly at me.

“Ah yeah yeah, sorry about that! I probably shouldn’t have asked that one right off the bat,” she said as she flipped a page, “do you have a kid?!”

My eyes just widened even further, as my mind flashed to my daughter, Sora, and her… death.

“I did…” I muttered, causing everyone to cringe a bit as they all looked everywhere but me. But not the one before me, this Babel chick.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! If I had to guess, I’d say it happened at the same time as our dimension’s Spark almost died when Evil Possessed David had him and tried to break his neck,” she said matter-of-factly, causing me to start to breath a bit heavily.

“How’d you know that?!” I asked a bit panicked, causing her expression to drop.

“Ah crabapples… I’m sorry! Nova you can take over again!” she exclaimed as she backed off quickly, leaving me there having a mini panic attack as the memory replayed against my will.

“Lacy, if you will, we need to get out of the open. I’ll explain everything to you once we’re safe, okay?” the one named Nova said, causing me to nod a bit dumbly as I took a step towards them.

“Good. Bronwyn?” she said, looking back at the human female.

The woman gave a nod and opened a portal. Everyone quickly made their way in as I kind of slowly walked behind them.

“Please, do hurry, Lacy,” Nova said as she scanned the sky.

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered, jumping through the portal, finding myself in a completely different dimension.

I blinked a few times, a bit surprised at what I was seeing, as it looked to be a small town on an endless plain, very similar to the Eternal Plains.

“This way, Lacy,” Nova said as she waved for me to follow her. “I’ll take you to our command center so I can give you a complete rundown of the situation so far.”

“Uh… alright,” I replied as I followed after her.

[This place wack yo, I wonder if everyone is genderbent like we are. That’ll be weird as fuck!]

[We could fuck them!]

[Rake yes!]

The Day of Reckoning: All is well

Chapter 80

Lacy POV

“Is that it?” I asked as I walked around the room, examining all the things they had laying about.

“Essentially,” Nova answered as she, Louie, and Roxxy sat at the table, watching me. “Any questions?”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod of my head, picking up a picture of a few ponies at a party, “this Champion guy, he’s literally unbeatable?”

“Very much so,” she said solemnly.

“And we’re sure of that fact?” I asked with a smirk as I put the picture down and moved to a window, looking out to see that one weird mare, Babel, leaning against the nearby building drawing in her notebook.

“Lacy,” Nova began sternly, “do not engage with Champion if you see him. You’ve watched our memories, you KNOW he’s to dangerous to challenge.”

“I mean, yeah,” I chuckled, “but it’d be cool to be the one to kick his ass, wouldn’t it?”

“Do not engage Champion,” she repeated, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Geez, can do, mom,” I muttered as I watched Babel.

Nova must’ve seen where I was looking as she let out a sigh, “I’m really sorry about Babel Yarn. She’s a good mare, she’s just a tad bit… excitable.”

“Nah don’t worry about it,” I chuckled, “I actually like her. Got that charm to her, ya know? Plus I love someone who speaks their mind and doesn’t give a flying fuck.”

As if she knew I was talking about her, Babel’s head shot up and she began waving happily at me. I just chuckled and waved back as I moved away from the window and turned my attention to the other three in the room.

“So my role tomorrow is to just be used to find Lance?”

“Correct,” Nova confirmed.

“Will I get to do any kind of fighting?” I asked hopefully.

“If everything goes to plan, no, there will be no fighting,” she said a bit proudly, causing me to frown.

“Oh yeah great, no fighting works for me…” I muttered, a bit disappointed.

[Gay bullshit. We are being misused and mistreated! We are a fighter!]

[Only pussies need breaks!]

“Tomorrow at noon Champion will be holding the greeting ceremony for the Hippogriff Dignitaries, and it will be broadcasted live to the entire world,” Nova began, finally telling me the full plan, “we’re going to hijack the broadcast and show the world CCTV footage of just how bad he really is.”

“Oh sweet, what kind of footage do you got?” I asked, walking over and spinning a chair around so I could sit in it and lean on the back of it.

“We don’t know just yet,” she admitted as she nodded to a device plugged into a much larger computer screen, “I haven’t gone through it yet.”

“Well I’m invested, so I’m down to go through it right now,” I said with a large smile.

Nova looked at the other two, who gave nods in return, “very well then. Just be warned, there is apparently a… sexual assault in this video. Are you able to handle that?”

“Uh yeah?” I said with a wave of my hoof, “shit don’t bother me.”

“Just making sure,” she said as she used her magic to navigate the cursor over to the CCTV app, opening it to reveal a system for going through all the CCTV footage of New Ponyville.

It took her a few moments to get it set up, but once she had the time right, the screen displayed multiple camera angles of a city being slowly destroyed.

“Okay… now I just need to find all the Champion footage…” she muttered, slowly clicking through camera’s and moving the timeline around.

“Go to the beginning, Twilight said he attacked them first,” Roxxy suggested.

Nova nodded as she set the timeline back and switched to a camera showing a few homes. After a moment a costumed stallion, which I knew was Champion thanks to their memories, landed at the front door of a building. A mare appeared next to him in a flash as he banged on the door.

From the angle we could see the door open and Lance step out, looking a bit confused, but happy. Then without warning Champion punched him, somehow destroying not only Lance’s home, but every house behind it for at least a mile.

“Fuck!” I yelped, having not seen him actually fight yet, so to see how much power he actually had was insane!

“Save that,” Louie grunted, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

“Do we know when he next appeared?” Nova asked as she sped through the footage, watching all the camera’s.

“We do not, we just know he came back at some point near the end…” Roxxy answered, rubbing her chin as she watched the little boxes of cameras.

Nova sped the footage up till near the end of the battle, switching to all the camera’s that did not include the area’s where Phantasm Troupe had been fighting. It took a little bit but eventually we saw Champion suddenly appear on one of the camera’s.

“Got him,” Roxxy exclaimed as Nova switched to that camera.

They all watched as he lowered himself down to a pile of rubble where a mare was helping another.

“That’s Azure Moon,” Louie clarified, causing everyone but me to frown. I was missing some context here it seems.

Champion was speaking with her, but she seemed to be angry with him as she was a bit animated, clearly wanting him to leave.

From the angle of the camera, we could see those two and everyone around them slowing gathering up.

Then without any warning every single person around them just… exploded.

We all lurched forward in our chairs as this happened, as it came out of nowhere.

“What the fuck?!” I yelped while everyone else stayed silent, eyes locked to the screen.

Champion flew down to Azure Moon and held his hoof out to her.

“So this is when that bitch joined his side,” Roxxy muttered.

We watched them talk for a moment, then she slapped his hoof away and began to scream. Nova zoomed in a bit so that we could clearly see what was happening.

“Do you think this is the…” Louie began, but cut himself off as we all knew what he meant.

She spat into his face, followed by him suddenly slapping her, sending her to the ground.

They watched as they continued to talk, then Champion began to remove his…

“Oh fuck…” I muttered as we watched something horrible begin to take place on the screen. None of us looked away, as this sadly was something we needed to see.

Once he finished his heinous act, he pulled out an object and pressed it to her head, causing her to go rigid. After a few moments she went limp and he picked her up, his ears perked up and he suddenly flew to the left. Changing the camera angle showed him killing a few innocent ponies who’d entered the area. He did it a bit slower this time, so you could clearly see him just killing them with a single hit each.

Then he flew off, taking Azure Moon with him.

Nova paused the footage at this point and grabbed her head, clearly distressed at what we’d just seen.

“That evil bastard…” Roxxy growled, slamming her hoof down hard and getting up to walk around the room.

Louie just clenched his fist and leaned forward, looking focused and deep in thought.

As for me, I just rubbed my face, processing what I’d just witnessed.

[I’m not!]
(We can clearly tell you’re thinking of one right now!)
[I mean, I got a good one in the chamber, but I’ll keep it to myself!]

I sighed as I looked at Nova, “is that what you needed?”

She groaned, shaking her head, “yes, but I will not use that part of the footage.”

“What?!” Roxxy snapped as she ran back over, slamming her hooves onto the table. “We have to show that! It’ll paint him as the bad guy instantly!”

“I will not show an innocent mare getting assaulted on live TV just to win this,” Nova declared sternly, eye twitching.

“What if the footage of him killing innocents is not enough? What then?” Roxxy countered.

“It will be enough,” Nova assured her as she began to save the needed footage. “It has to be.”

“That’s wishful thinking we can not rely on!” Roxxy yelled, but Nova ignored her as she finished grabbing the footage and putting it on a small PDA.

“I am not discussing this further,” Nova said simply as she got up and left the room, her emotions clearly all over the place.

Once she was gone, I looked at Roxxy, who was fuming with rage.

“She’s too soft sometimes…” Roxy growled as she pulled out her own PDA and plugged it into the device.

“What are you doing?” I asked as she went back to the CCTV footage.

“I’m setting up Plan B when Plan A fails,” she answered roughly as she brought up the assault footage again so she could save it.

Once it finished she put her PDA away and glared at us, “not a word to Nova, okay?”

“You got it,” I answered as Louie just shrugged.

She gave a sharp nod and left the room.

I let out a sigh and looked at Louie, “this shit is a lot more complicated than the shit I was dealing with in my dimension.”

“Yeah, that’s common for us,” he answered with a chuckle as he stood up, “you ready for tomorrow?”

“Born ready,” I answered with a grin.

[Let’s get this shit, fuckers!]

ooo000<^>000ooo

Strawell rubbed her forehead as she read over the orders she was issuing for tomorrow's ceremonies. The Inquisitors were in charge of making sure no rebel activity occurred or disrupted the Hippogriff Dignitaries' visit to Equestria.

As she went over a few revisions, her mind drifted to the folder Red Storm had given her and its contents. She’d learned that the Apostles indeed were never under the control of anyone else. They’d been acting on their own free will. She also found out Nova herself was not even on Equestria during the battle, as she’d apparently been off traveling the Eternal Plains.

This raised a lot of questions, as the King assured everyone that she was the one behind everything, the main leader of the Bronies. According to him, she was the one who helped them kill the Princesses. But now, with this new info, she wasn’t so sure of that.

Of course, that didn’t matter right now, as she needed to make sure tomorrow went off without a hitch, as her current plans required life to continue as normal for now. If things went as planned, she’d be able to bring everything down at once, and hopefully end with Champion arrested.

The actual process of arresting him though eluded her as of now, but she’d figure something out. She had plenty of time to come up with a method of holding him.

With that, she went back to work, as she had a long night ahead of her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The Next Day

The crowd slowly gathered up in front of the massive stage set up in the courtyard of the Palace, all excited about the upcoming ceremonies as it was rumored their King had a special announcement to make.

Inquisitors walked the outskirts of the crowd, watching everything closely, on high alert for any kind of suspicious activity.

Up on the stage stood a few important ponies, namely Strawell who stood by her seat, eyes scanning the crowd before her as she looked for any familiar faces.

As the crowd grew larger, the time began to near for everything to begin.

“All clear?” Strawell spoke into her radio, getting a few ‘affirmatives’ in response.

She knew the rebels had something planned for today, she just was not sure what it would be. But she knew this would prove to her if they really are the ‘good guys’ or not, as it depends on how this went.

If they came in violently and hurt anyone, then that’d be it, she’d dedicate her life to bringing them all to justice. If things played out differently… she’d just have to decide on her actions if that time comes.

Trumpets began to sound all around them as the sound of a sonic boom sounded above their heads. The crowd went insane as Champion began to lower himself down the platform, waving to the crowd all around him happily.

“My citizens! How I have missed you!” he bellowed, getting a massive response from the crowd as they roared his name. The huge screen behind him displayed his smiling face as he looked out at the crowd. “Yes yes, it is I!” he laughed, still waving to them all.

After a moment the crowd fell silent as he smiled at them.

He began to read a speech he’d prepared for this event as Strawell continued to scan the crowd, her eyes locking onto a single pony in the sea of ponies.

The Rebel known as Roxxy.

Her eyes narrowed, but she held off on calling this in, as she knew she needed to wait and see their plan first. She just prayed she was not making a mistake here and about to allow others to get hurt.

Champion’s grand speech continued as she took notice of a few more Rebel’s in the crowd, namely the members of the Phantasm Troupe. They were wearing disguises, but she could easily see through them.

Then her eyes caught an unexpected sight. Red Storm’s daughter, Babel Yarn, just standing in the crowd by herself, eyes locked on the stage. That is an unexpected development.

“And now,” Champion said proudly as he waved a hoof to the side, causing his Queen to walk out onto the stage and stand next to him, “before I introduce our Hippogriff visitors, I, we have an announcement to make.”

All eyes fell on him as he smiled proudly at everyone.

“Equestria,” he said with his head held high, “your beloved King and Queen are pregnant!”

The crowd went crazy as he placed a wing over his Queen, who just smiled blankly out at the crowd, waving her hoof in a circle.

After a few more words of self praise, he allowed her to walk off stage, returning to smiling out at everyone. “Now, I’d like the honor of introducing our esteemed guest from the Kingdom of Hippogriffia!”

Two Hippogriff’s stepped out onto the stage, looking very regal in their Royal attire.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lacy’s POV

“The Hippogriff Dignitaries are out on stage with Champion now,” Roxxy’s voice said from the communicator, causing Bronwyn to nod as she began to perform a ritual to use me as some kind of beacon that’ll lead them to their friends.

“Do not move, Lacy,” she said as we stood in the clearing, far from the cities or anyone else.

“Can do,” I muttered as the ground began to glow around me, Ego flying up and attaching to me. “Yep… not moving…”

“This will tell us exactly where to go,” she explained as the Ego increased in intensity. It was just the two of us, as the others were busy with their own task. But we should be enough since all of the threats will be in Canterlot for the ceremonies.

Suddenly everything stopped, causing me to frown.

“Did it break?” I asked, causing the tall woman to laugh.

“Oh no no, it worked,” she confirmed as she twirled her Dimensional Dagger in her hand. “And I’ve got the exact coordinates as well.”

“That simple?” I asked.

“That simple,” she replied with a wide smile.

“Well let’s get in there!” I exclaimed, “maybe we’ll get done fast enough to join up with the others.”

Bronwyn gave a nod as she ripped open a portal for us, jumping in as I ran in behind her.

Now I don’t know what I was expecting when I agreed to find their friends, but a room filled with red crackling cocoons was not on the list.

“Oh this is not good,” Bronwyn muttered as we scanned the room around us, seeing all the ponies stuck inside of the red cocoons as energy seemed to pump out of them and into the floor beneath us.

“What is this shit?” I asked as I looked into a cocoon next to me, seeing an unconscious pony floating within it.

“They’re harvesting their Ego…” Bronwyn began, but then she leaned forward and touched a cocoon. Her eyes went wide instantly, “no, not their Ego… they’re siphoning the Holy Energy from them!”

“This Holy Energy bullshit again?” I mumbled, shaking my head. I’d already faced a few dipshits in the past who were all about stealing the Holy Energy within myself and the other Bronies. The shit got old real quick, as that was all anyone ever wanted from us. Sad to see the trend continues even in this different dimension.

“We need to get them out and destroy whatever is collecting the energy,” she instructed, as she looked around quickly. “We need to start with Lance, as the moment we cut one, they’ll know we’re here.”

“Oh great,” I muttered, looking into each cocoon, looking for someone who looked like me.

Of course Bronwyn found him first, waving me over.

Upon stepping up to the cocoon I was surprised to see the occupant was awake and looking at us. He indeed looked exactly like me, all the way down to the fake eye, which was only noticeable if you knew what to look for.

“Ready?” she asked as she put a hand on her sword.

“Do it,” I said as Lance watched us intently, eyes locked on mine as I saw his two consciences appear on his shoulders.

But as she went to slice the cocoon, a loud pop sounded right behind us.

“Ah, we met again,” a charming voice exclaimed as we spun around to see a fairly built man in a very nice business suit. He raised an eyebrow at me, then looked to Lance, then back to me. “Now that’s a bit odd…”

Bronwyn lowered herself into a fighting stance, “Lacy, get Lance out.”

“What about everyone else?” I asked but then the man shot straight at us, causing Bronwyn to dash into his path and draw her sword.

“Get anyone you can!” she yelled as her sword flashed as the man used his bare hands to take swipes at her, laughing confidently as he did so.

Without a moment's hesitation I summoned my Ego greatsword and sliced the cocoon, causing Lance to collapse onto the ground.

“Interlopers!” a female voice roared as all the cocoons suddenly flashed away, much to our surprise. “How DARE you enter my personal space!”

“Fuck!” I yelled as I pulled Lance up, having only saved him .

“Are you me?!” he asked in confusion.

“We don’t have time for that!” Bronwyn yelled as she was thrown backwards by a heavy hit from the smiling man.

“Right!” We both exclaimed at the same time, spinning to face the well dressed man as he turned to face us, rolling his shoulder as he prepared.

“Got a weapon?” I asked as I held my large sword up effortlessly.

“I got my hooves,” he answered, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Well that’s useless as fuck.”

“Says the lady with the massive slab of iron,” he retorted, causing me to smirk.

“Just keep up with me stripy boy,” I chuckled as I spun my sword a few times so the tip was pointed at the approaching man.

“I’m not concerned about that,” he said smugly as he shifted into his own Apollyon form, “I’m more worried you won’t be able to keep up with me is all!”

To answer him I shifted into my own Apollyon form, sticking my tongue out of the corner of my mouth at him, “I’ll try my best, sweet innocent summer child!”

[Oh this shit is so much hotter than the whole Kill and Joy situation.] Break said as he rubbed his hooves together as he looked at Rake.
[Uh oh, we got a wannabe charmer over here ladies! Too bad I can feel the small dick energy from here!] Rake retorted with a smirk.
[Small dick energy!? Bitch I’m all Big Dick Energy over here!] Break yelled back angrily.
Dawn said, getting a roar of laughter from my three consciences.
[Pussy whipped little shit…] Break muttered, crossing his hooves.

The Day of Reckoning: Falling

Chapter 81

“Bronwyn and Lacy are in, we’re clear to begin Operation: King’s fall!” Nova’s voice yelled over the radio that was in Roxxy’s ear, causing her adrenaline to spike as she looked to the stage, watching as Champion shook hooves with the two Hippogriff Dignitaries.

As he moved to shake hooves with the second on, the large screen behind his head cut to static, not alarming anyone that much at first.

She looked around, seeing all the TV’s in the area that the Newscasters had set up for their respective News channels were also showing nothing but static.

Then it all cut to Nova, sitting in her office with the camera pointed right at her as she leaned on her desk.

“Hello, everypony. Equestria,” she said solemnly, causing the entire crowd to start murmuring. Champion turned to face the screen, clearly displeased as he seemed to be telling his staff to handle it, as all the servants on the stage rushed off.

“I have been painted as the villain of recent events, slandered beyond belief by my own brother,” she said calmly, keeping her composure. “I am here to set the record straight, to prove to the world that it was not the Bronies who killed the Princesses, but my own brother! Champion! A.K.A. Star Chaser!”

The crowd exploded into yelling, clearly not buying what she was selling as they yelled for the camera to be turned off.

“I have proof,” she suddenly said as the screen changed to show CCTV footage of a destroyed street, ponies running all around as Nova continued to speak. “This is footage from the battle that destroyed New Ponyville, a terrible day that only gets worse when you know the full truth.”

Champion was not moving as he stared at the screen, his breathing heavy enough that even Roxxy could see his chest rising and lowering from here.

“Champion, the ‘hero’ of our world showed up that day, but not to save everyone,” she said as the footage then cut to Azure Moon helping a few ponies out of the rubble.

This caused a few ponies to cheer, as they loved to see their Queen helping others on that fateful day.

Then the footage showed everyone just explode around them, then cut to Champion himself just punch ponies, turning them to bloody messes.

“Champion has lied to you all,” she yelled as the screen then showed him attack Lance unprovoked and killed an untold amount of ponies in the process. “He killed the Princesses and blamed it all on myself and the Bronies. The Apostles were never under anyone's control other than his own. They are not heroes. He is not a hero. They are villains of the worst kind!”

As she exclaimed this part, the camera shifted to a live view of Champion as he stared right into the camera. Once he realized he was being recorded he spun to face the crowd, not appearing as upset as she’d have expected.

He calmed his breathing and put on his trademark smile.

“Well, the wonders of video editing, huh?” he said, causing everyone to just stare at him in disbelief. Roxxy was thrown for a loop, as this was not the expected reaction at all.

“That video is WAY out of context,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Yes, I killed the ponies you saw on the screen, but they’re leaving out the fact that those ponies were Brony supporters who were apart of the attack that day. Everything else she said was to slander me and turn all of you against me.”

Everything fell silent as he stood there smiling confidently. Then slowly, ponies began to cheer his name yet again.

“Oh you got to be fucking with me,” Roxxy growled as she pulled out her PDA and hijacked the broadcast from Nova. The screen went to static again as Champion began to laugh proudly.

“Yes, I do only what is best for-” he suddenly stopped as he heard the loudspeakers around the area blare to life again.

“You’re going to be mine,” the Champion on the screen said coldly as he stood above an angry Azure Moon. Without warning he began to remove his pants, causing the crowd to gasp all around Roxxy.

“No,” Azure Moon said firmly. “No, that is not happening.”

“Yes,” came Champion’s response as his pants fell away.

“Star Chaser, no!” she yelled, fighting to get away from him.

“Just stop,” he ordered as he lowered himself onto her, the angle making it clear what was happening.

“If you… IF YOU-” she started to yell, but was cut off as she began screaming in pain.

The crowd watched in horror as the angle changed a few times to really set in what was being shown.

And the entire thing was shown, all the way up to him using some kind of item to take control of her mind.

Not a single pony spoke in the crowd as the camera returned to Champion’s face, which was blank of all emotion now.

Finally, someone in the crowd yelled out, “monster!”

With this everyone opened up, yelling their own insults up at the emotionless Champion as he stared out at them.

As the crowd let their new found hate for their King be known.

“Roxxy?! What have you done?!” Nova yelled over the radio.

“What needed to be done,” Roxxy responded as she pulled the ear piece out.

“Murderer!”

“Rapist!”

“Pig!”

All kinds of insults were thrown his way as the ponies behind him began to leave quickly. The two Hippogriff Dignitaries stayed where they were, more out of shock than anything else.

Finally Champion showed a sign of being alive as his eye twitched.

“Excuse me, but we’re taking our leave now,” the lead Hippogriff said as the pair began to back away from the twitching stallion.

“Stay. Right where you are,” Champion said in a monotone voice as he turned his head to them, then back to the angry crowd. “So that’s the game? Taking everything from me?” he asked, looking right at Roxxy and then to each member of Phantasm Troupe, easily picking them out of the crowd. “Okay, you win. I’m no longer the beloved King of Equestria.”

A sense of dread over took Roxxy’s body as he said that, a chill running so deep that she felt like shrinking down and never being seen again.

“But,” he said as he worked his jaw, “if I can’t be the beloved King of Equestria, then I’ll just be the hated ruler of the entire world.” With that he looked back at the two dignitaries, the camera still on him. “Starting with this,” he said as his eyes glowed as two beams came out and sliced the two Hippogriff’s in half. As the crowd looked on in shock, he turned back to them, eyes still glowing, “I am Champion, Supreme God King of all life.”

The crowd reacted instantly as his eyes flashed, cutting through the front few rows with ease, killing every single pony in the front.

Strawell, who’d stayed behind him, rushed for him, but his back hoof just shot up and caught her in the chest, sending her flying back into the massive screen, bringing the entire thing down behind him as he stopped his lazers, watching as the crowd rushed away from him in a panic. All those but the members of Phantasm Troupe, who knew they couldn’t run even if they wanted to.

“I really should’ve killed you brats long ago,” he said as he jumped down into the gore below, eyes looking between each of them as he moved forward.

Roxxy looked around briefly, taking note that most of the crowd was out of the area now, but Babel was still there, off to the side hiding behind a fallen cart. Literally the WORST place to be right now. But she couldn't do anything about that now, not with Champion’s intense aura bearing down on them.

Louie and Nova suddenly appeared as they jumped out of a portal, right in the middle of Phantasm Troupe as they all slowly prepared themselves.

“Star Chaser, stop,” Nova growled as she stared her brother down, who just smiled at her.

“Sister, this was the worst possible move you could’ve made today,” he laughed with a little too much joy. “Fine, you want to end this today? Then we will,” he said as he suddenly disappeared, only to reappear right by Summer Breeze.

She yelped as his hoof flew straight for her, but a forcefield appeared around her, causing her to be sent flying away harmlessly.

“Oh! Which of you can create the force fields again?” he asked, turning to look at each of them, a crazy smile on his face.

Of course no one gave him an answer as Nova walked forward, staring him down. “Are you scared of me brother? Face me first, then them, unless you’re a coward.”

“You’re trying to provoke me,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “No baby sister, you’re the main course. I’ll kill you last.”

He suddenly appeared right next to her, tapping her hip with his hoof, “see? I could kill you now.” He then zipped right up next to Roxxy, grabbing her roughly as he yanked her towards himself. “But I want to kill your little friends first.”

Roxxy glared at him as she gave her a wink, then unexpectedly threw her down as he returned to his original spot.

“I can kill each of you when I want, I’m just trying to decide the order,” he said as he looked between each of them.

The sound of rubble falling caused him to look back to see Strawell pulling herself out of the debris of the stage, eyes locked on him.

“Ah, I’m surprised she’s still alive. No matter, to the list she goes,” he laughs, turning back to everyone else. “Now. Eenie meenie miney…” he began to point at each of them in turn, a wide smile on his face.

“Oh screw you, fuckboy,” Nightstreak muttered under his breath, causing Champion to look at him with a crooked smile.

“Mo,” and with that he appeared right before Nightstreak.

“Yo,” Nightstreak said smugly as he reached out and grabbed Champion’s hoof, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

“Nightstreak! NO!” Dude yelled as Nightstreak threw a smile his way, followed by the two of them disappearing instantly as a portal opened right on top of them, closing not a moment later.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Champion narrowed his eyes at the smirking stallion as he looked around, a bit confused on the change in destination, as it’d happened instantly.

“What is this?” Champion asked as he took a few steps away from Nightstreak, not liking the energy of this place.

“Just a little place we created for you,” Nightstreak answered smugly, taking a few steps back. “I can tell you this now, but each and everyone of us had this little amulet,” he said, tapping his wrist where a little charm rested. “We all agreed that whoever could do it would sacrifice themselves to bring you here. Just ended up being me.”

“Hm…” Champion muttered, looking at him with a crazy smile. “You think this place will hold me?”

“I know it will,” Nightstreak countered. “I’m trapped here to fucker. This place was set up to be a one time enter, so no one else will be coming in here from now on. Just the two of us, unless you kill me that is.”

Champion pulled out his Dimensional Dagger and stabbed at the air, only for nothing to happen.

“See? You’re stuck,” Nightstreak laughed as he pulled out his own Dimensional Dagger and stabbed the air, followed by nothing happening as well.

This angered Champion further as he turned to face Nightstreak.

“Here, try mine, maybe it’ll work in your much more capable hooves,” Nightstreak mocked as he tossed the Dimensional Dagger at the Royal stallion, where it landed right in front of him.

But Champion kept his eyes on the young stallion before him.

“Ah, yeah, just gonna kill me then?” Nightstreak asked, his Ego Gauntlets appearing on his hooves. “Well, I won’t die easily, fuckboy.”

“You will,” Champion answered plainly as he stomped over to Nightstreak, not in a hurry as there was nowhere to go on this endless void of a plain.

Nightstreak stood before him, in a fighting stance as he focused on Champion.

The larger stallion came to a stop right before Nightstreak, a blank look on his face. “Die,” he said simply as his hoof shot up, flying for the younger stallion's chest.

Yet he didn’t move as he held the gaze of Champion, letting the attack fly for him without moving. Then, as it touched the fur of his chest, he activated his Ego. Everything happened at once.

Champion’s hoof passed through open air as Nightstreak’s body seemed to move on its own, his own hoof flying right for Champion’s face. A loud boom filled the air as Champion was sent flying away, spinning through the air trailing flames and slamming into the ground.

“YES!” Nightstreak cheered, jumping in place as Champion slowly stood up, shaking with anger.

That hit had his own power behind it, but multiplied!

Then he felt blood pouring down his face, causing him to bring out his mirror, and what he saw caused his blood to boil. His mane was ruined! It was burned away leaving only a few patches of hair.

“You PEASANT BLOODED FAG!” He roared, losing all sense of control as he flew towards a smirking Nightstreak.

“Gotcha fucker,” Nightstreak declared proudly as he was hit by the freight train that is Champion. Blood exploded everywhere as Champion came out on the other side of the stallion, looking back to see nothing was left but parts of his legs.

“AHHH!!!!” he roared, his rage not satiated after killing the one who ruined his mane.

He used his lazers to melt the remaining bits of the stallion then zipped over, grabbing both daggers for himself, all the while still screaming.

With a roar, he began punching the ground over and over again, creating a massive crater. Then, once he reached the climax of his anger, he shot straight into the endless sky, using his Ego to keep pushing his speed faster and faster, reaching a point he was basically moving faster than anything had in all of existence.

And he kept pushing himself, screaming in rage as he flew straight up. Then as he reached the point of Godly speed, he burst through a bubble like ceiling, appearing in a dark void with blinking lights all around him.

A place he knew of thanks to Lorenzo.

The In-between.

The space between dimensions. He growled as he grabbed Nightstreak’s Dimensional Dagger and flipped it around, accessing its last few travel destinations.

Still breathing heavily, he ripped open a new portal and flew into it.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“That idiot!” Dude cried as he sat on the ground, tears flowing down his face. “I told him I’d do it! But he just always has to be the center of attention!”

“It’s okay,” Summer Breeze choked out as she sat next to him, hugging him tightly. “He… knew what was doing…”

But the two quickly divulged into messy sobs as they held each other for comfort, having lost a brother and a partner.

Roxxy and Flippy Dew weren’t doing much better either as they leaned into each other, tears running down their faces.

“This was a disaster,” Nova said solemnly as she stood above all the dead citizens, looking over to the film crews to see they were still there, pointing their cameras at them.

“Is it safe to come out now?” Babel yelled to them as she peeked over the top of the overturned cart.

Roxxy wiped her nose and turned to her, raising a hoof, “Yeah… it’s safe to-”

A portal snapped open behind them, with screams filtering out of it as Calypso jumped out, dragging a heavily injured Kelmoon after her.

“Calypso?!” Nova screamed, watching as the mare stumbled and fell, her own wounds slowing her down.

“Fucking Champion…” she muttered as she pointed behind her at the open portal.

“How?!” Nova screamed as she saw a few different portals opening inside the Safe Dimension, where a few ponies seemed to be jumping through them. Then Champion appeared at the entrance of their portal, crazy eyes staring at them. He was covered in so much blood that he didn’t look Equine anymore.

He didn’t say a word as she stepped through the portal, causing it to snap shut behind him.

“How did you-” she started to say, but then he shot towards her, her own Ego barely warning her as she dodged his attack.

“Games over,” he muttered as his eyes flashed purple.

Roxxy was the first to move as his eyes locked on her and he zipped right at her. Her eyes went wide as a forcefield appeared around her, but he just smashed through it and grabbed her by the neck.

“Copy,” he growled as he stuck a hoof into her left eye and ripped off two legs, then threw her to the side. “Now you match.”

A multitude of attacks slammed into his back as he turned, eyes locked onto his next target. This time he didn’t have any comments as he flashed up to Dude, eyes burning with hatred.

“Your bastard did this to me,” he said simply, pointing at his head. Then as casually as possible his hoof shot forward, turning the stallion to a fine mist as he turned to Summer Breeze.

“STOP!” Nova roared as she appeared between them, eyes ablaze.

“Hm,” Champion muttered, clearly not there emotionally as he took a step forward, but a forcefield appeared around him, this one much stronger than the last.

“Which of you is doing this?” he asked, eyes turning to flippy dew. “Ah, of course.”

He slammed his hoof into the ground, sending a shock wave at Flippy Dew that slammed into her and sent her flying away, unconscious.

“Resilient brats,” he said in a low voice as he scanned the remaining ones, feeling like he had all the time in the world to pick his next victim. Then his eyes settled on Louie who was squared up with him currently. “You, canine.”

As he turned to him, his senses picked up something else, followed by someone flying into the area and landed right in front of him.

“Really now?” he asked as the stallion stood up, smirking up at him.

“Well hey there, Champion ol’ pal! Guess who swapped sides!” Jun laughed, his demonic form making him appear very imposing, despite the goofy look on his face.

“I know,” was all Champion said as he stepped up to the buffed stallion.

“Bet you didn’t expect this one, huh?!” Jun laughed as he powered himself up and sent out a shock wave, attempting to remove Champion’s Ego. “Got ya now!”

“Unlikely,” Champion replied as he punched Jun in the chest, causing him to explode.

Jun’s head soared through the air and landed next to Louie, blinking in surprise.

“Ah shit… I didn’t turn his Ego off apparently…”

“Dumbass,” Louie growled, not sure what he could even do here against Champion.

“I just need a few minutes…” Jun muttered, but Louie knew none of them had even a minute at this current pace.

“Goodbye, baby sister,” he said as he flew at her, but she dodged his attack, much to his annoyance. She dodged a few more, her eyes wide as she tried to keep his attention.

“How does this Ego of your work?!” he asked, not enjoying this at all.

“Like this,” she said as she suddenly lunged forward, the tip of her sword glowing brightly with Ego as she pierced through his right eye, actually doing real damage.

He let out a scream, like a young colt, and grabbed her Ego Rapier and yanked it out of her magical grasp. Then in one movement he snapped it in half, killing the weapon instantly, and the Soulbind.

Nova yelped in pain as part of her died, then he shot forward, wrapping both hooves around her neck.

He didn’t say anything as he slowly choked the life out of her, wanting it to be slow so he could watch her struggle. But she was lasting longer than she should. Then he noticed the Ego trail coming from Summer Breeze to Nova, doing her best to keep the mare alive.

Champion growled as he used his eyes to shoot a beam right at her. She dodged to the left, but lost her back leg in the process, as it was completely disintegrated.

She screamed and kept her Ego attached to Nova, ignoring herself.

An overwhelming presence appeared behind him, causing him to look back to see Strawell, fully powered up as large Ego filled wings shot from her back.

He didn’t get time to form a sentence as Louie landed on him, wrapping his legs around the stallion’s neck and throwing him towards the furious Strawell. She sprang forward and landed a heavy hit into his face as he flew at her, causing him to crash into the ground, an unamused look on his face.

But she wasn’t done as she hit him with a series of hits to the chest and neck, causing his body to actually seize up.

This caught him off guard as Louie landed next to him and grabbed his leg. With a grunt, he began to spin around as fast as he could. Then with a yell he sent Champion’s limp body flying through the air and over the Palace wall, where the cliffs were. The fall wouldn’t hurt him, but they needed as much time as possible here.

“Everyone!” Nova choked out as she raised herself off the ground. “Use your daggers to go to random locations on the Eternal Plains!”

Calypso, who was tending to both Summer Breeze and Kelmoon gave a sharp nod as she took Summer Breeze’s Dimensional Dagger and opened a portal, pushing the two into it immediately and followed them through.

“You’re out of here, Princesses,” Louie said sternly as he opened a random portal and began to push Nova into it.

“Not till everyone else is through one!” she yelled, but he ignored her as he shoved her through and forced it closed.

“We have two injured who may need help,” Louie said, turning to look at Roxxy, who was being dragged away by Babel, and to Flippy Dew who was just recovering, but still out of it.

“I’ll get the delimbed mare,” Strawell said sternly, but a boom caused them all to freeze as Champion reappeared, landing right in the middle of Louie and Strawell.

“You two…” he growled, cracking his neck as his eyes twitched, “are my personal playthings after that little… stunt.”

Without warning he flew right at Strawell, but a forcefield appeared around her, causing him to yell with rage. His head snapped to Flippy Dew as she stood there shakily, smiling at him.

“Hey, get out of here you two,” she said weakly, putting a forcefield around Champion as well, pushing all she had into it. “I’ll hold him down…”

“Kid, use your dagger too-” Strawell began, but Flippy Dew just laughed.

“Just go, it’s the least I can do,” she growled as Champion broke through her forcefield and began to stalk towards her.

Strawell looked at Louie and gave him a nod. It took him a moment to realize what she wanted, but once he did, he returned her nod.

“I don’t know how your Ego is strong enough to hold me back a bit,” Champion said coldly as he approached the injured mare, who kept putting up forcefields between the two. But he just smashed through each one. “But I’m going to fix that.”

She finally fell onto her haunches, unable to keep up her defenses. So she just smiled up at him, accepting her fate, knowing she’d at least saved the others from-

As his hoof reached out for her, a dark blur shot past him and snatched her up.

Strawell rolled across the ground, a portal ripping open in front of her as she rolled, and she tossed the young mare through it. The portal snapped shut as she turned to face Champion, who’d shot right up to her.

“You were supposed to leave too!” Louie yelled to her, but she just smiled past Champion, holding up the Dimensional Dagger in her hoof.

“I have your dagger,” she laughed as Champion shot a hoof out, grabbing her by the throat. “I wasn’t leaving you to die here alone.”

Louie exploded forward and attempted to grab Champion, but the stallion’s hoof shot out and grabbed him by the neck. He then dragged the two right up against each other, glaring at them.

“I don’t know you,” he growled at Louie as he turned to Strawell, “but you? I never expected you to betray me.”

“You made it easy,” she spat out as he squeezed them both together roughly. “You’re a rapist and a murderer. I’m ashamed to say I was ever on your side.”

“Well in a few years, you won’t care about that,” he said coldly, a sinister smile sliding onto his face. “What you saw on that video with my wife? That’s child's play compared to what I’ll be doing to you.”

“Ha! You’re threatening me with rape?” she laughed, causing him to narrow his eyes. “Go for it, young man! It's your mistake leaving me alive today!”

“Let’s see what kind of attitude you’ll have after a few hours under me,” he laughed.

“Wow! You really are the worst, aren’t ya?” someone said from behind him, causing him to turn around.

“Who are you?!” he roared in confusion.

The Day of Reckoning: Impact

Chapter 82

Earlier

Lacy’s POV

“This guy is annoying,” I grunted as Lance and I danced around the well dressed man, both of us doing our best to remove his limbs as he regrows them. Bronwyn had taken the distraction to attempt to locate the one known as Lilith, but I was sure she wasn’t having any luck since I kept seeing her reappear, looking frustrated.

“The annoying ones here are you two,” the man retorted, having lost his cocky attitude long ago when we just kept removing his limbs.

“I get that a lot,” both Lance and I said at once, causing both of us to start laughing.

[We should get a room! Am I right?] Break asked, flipping his shades up to wink at Rake.
[Sorry, I don’t bang weak men like yourself] Rake replied as she filed away at her fake nails, a shit eating grin on her face.
<(Ooooo!)> The other three all laughed at once, pointing at Break’s upset face.
[Man fuck all ya’ll!] Break complained, sitting down and turning away from the others.

As I spun towards the man, who I now knew was named Richard, he flipped his reforming hand, causing a gravity well to catch me and start pulling me away from the fight.

“Ah shit,” I laughed as I was pulled away, watching as Lance body checked Richard, sending him flying away.

I pushed my Ego into my sword, giving myself a spin to break the gravity type attack that was pulling me away. Once I was free I flew back towards the dueling pair, powering up my sword as I went.

So far I couldn’t figure out how to actually defeat this guy, and neither could Lance. Nothing we were doing could hurt him for long, as he seemed to be able to regenerate any damage we tossed at him.

Which didn’t leave many options for us.

The last ‘regenerating’ fucker I fought, I just had Gregoria just teleport them into deep space. Done deal. But this guy? Well I didn’t see a Unicorn anywhere nearby, and even then, I wasn’t sure if that’d actually stop him since he for sure had a Dimensional Dagger.

Yep, I got nothing.

[Just cut him into smaller pieces!] Rake suggested.

“… Let’s do it!” I exclaimed as I landed next to Lance, giving him a nod as I took over.

“Aren’t you tired yet?!” he asked, but I just answered him by powering up my sword and going absolutely ape shit, sending slices of Ego flying at him from all kinds of angles. I kept it up, watching him crumble into a little pile as I began to hit the pile with attack after attack, slicing it into even smaller pieces.

Finally I finished, leaving just a tiny pile of chunks left.

“Oh shit, did you actually get him?!” Lance asked in amazement as I turned to face him, smiling proudly.

“Hell yeah I did! The dude was a push over, I’m amazed you didn’t kill him earlier,” I laughed, flexing my arm a bit.

“Well I bow to you, oh female me,” he joked, doing a little bow.

“Yes, bow to me inferior Lacy,” I laughed as he stood up and gave me a nod.

“Seriously, good work,” he complemented.

“All in the wrist, ya know?” I said as I twirled my wrist around a bit.

“You two are idiots,” came Richard’s voice as he suddenly reformed behind us. “So close to a victory and you squander it.”

“Uh what?!” I exclaimed as I turned to face him dumbfounded.

His muscles bulged a bit as his power seemed to be increasing, “now, if you two are done-”

“We’re leaving,” Lilith suddenly said from somewhere unseen. “Champion has gone against our plans and we need to recover what we can.”

Richard sighed as he stared us down, “till next time, I suppose.”

“Nuh uh, you ain’t leaving till-” I began, but he just blinked out of existence. “... he just left before I could insult him!”

“Welcome to my life,” Lance chuckled as Bronwyn came running back towards us.

“We have a problem,” she said sharply as she ripped open a portal.

“What is it?” I asked, but she didn’t answer me as she rushed into the portal.

Lance and I looked at each other and rushed forward, as I saw the safe dimension beyond. But Lance just bounced off the portal.

“Ah yeah, I can’t leave Equestria,” he laughed sheepishly.

I frowned as I looked around the room he was in, “well that ain’t Equestria so how are you-”

But I was cut off as I heard screams behind me.

“I don’t make the rules, okay?!” he yelled, but then stopped as he heard the screams as well.

“Stay,” I said sternly as I spun around and raced towards the town, realizing it was on fire!

The sounds of breaking wood filled the area as I looked towards the end of the street, seeing who could only be Champion explode out of a house and fly towards an open portal.

What the fuck is going on?!

“Need a bit of help here!” Bronwyn called out as I neared the town. I quickly rushed over to her and saw she was holding up a support beam as a pony struggled to get out from under them.

“I got ya!” I yelped as I dove forward and yanked them out, allowing Bronwyn to drop the beam, followed by most of the house collapsing in on itself.

The pony I’d pulled free coughed a few times and pushed themselves up.

“Get to one of the exit portals, NOW!” Bronwyn ordered, causing them to nod weakly and stumble off.

“What’s happened?” I asked as we rushed to another building.

“Champion,” was all she said as we began to help a few more ponies.

We cleared a few houses as quickly as we could till a few ponies were able to take our place in helping those still alive. But sadly, it seemed there were only a handful of survivors, as most of the town was torn to pieces all around us.

From my count, only fifteen survivors out of the hundred that’d been brought here for safety.

Now free of our duty, we rushed back to Lance, who was still stuck on the other side of the portal.

“What happened?!” he asked, but I just held out my hoof, letting his consciences view a few memories really quickly. “Champion was here?!”

“Yep,” I said as we jumped through the portal.

“We need to get to the others,” Bronwyn said urgently as she held up some kind of small computer-like device, which seemed to be showing a broadcast from Equestria.

What I saw on that screen was not good. Not good at all.

“Let’s go then!” I roared, but she grabbed me. “What?!”

“I have a plan,” she said simply.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The tall cloaked pony sprang through the portal, scanning the carnage around them as they took it all in. Then their eyes landed on Champion as he held two others up in his hooves.

“Ha! You’re threatening me with rape?” the female pony said, causing Champion to stiffen a bit. “Go for it, young man! It's your mistake leaving me alive today!”

“Let’s see what kind of attitude you’ll have after a few hours under me,” he laughed in response.

“Wow! You really are the worst, aren’t ya?” the mysterious stallion called out, causing him to snap his head around to him.

“Who are you?!” he roared, clearly confused.

“Me?” the stallion laughed roughly as he pulled the cloak off, revealing a tall brown slender Alicorn body, “It is I! Your father!”

“Dad?!” he yelped, dropping the two he was holding and turning to face the newcomer fully, shock on his face. “But you.. DIED?!”

“My death was greatly exaggerated,” the stallion laughed out loud, giving Champion an award winning smile.

“No, you died!” Champion yelled back, but just got a laugh in response.

“You were lied to, son,” his father said simply, “I’ve only just figured out how to return to you.”

“This is very convenient timing, father,” Champion observed, narrowing his eyes. “Prove you are my father, right now!”

The stallion looked a bit conflicted before raising a hoof and saying in an accent, “it’s me, your father, eh.”

“Daddy!” Champion exclaimed, flying across the ground and wrapping his forelegs around his fathers neck.

“Whoa there!” his father exclaimed as he was forcibly hugged. “Don’t break your old man, kiddo!”

“I have so much to tell you,” he began, but his father cut him off.

“I’m sure you do, but before that, we are needed elsewhere,” his father said, breaking the hug and taking a step back.

“What?” Champion asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” his father began, striking a pose, “we are needed in the Nebula Quadrant, where an epic war is being waged right now, and I am caught up in the politics. I require my son’s help to finish the war so I may return home permanently.”

“But I can’t leave here,” he began, but his father just gave him a large smile.

“We’ll be in and out, a quick ten minute adventure!” his father laughed, “with those powers of yours, you’ll end the war in minutes! What do you say, my son?!”

“I say let’s do it, dad!” Champion said with a relaxed smile.

His father slapped his hoof down on his son's shoulder and spun around, using his Dimensional Dagger to open a portal to a bedroom. “Then come along, my son!”

Champion stepped halfway into the portal but stopped, “Wait, I need to lock those two away for later.”

He turned his head, eyes going wide as he saw Lance and Bronwyn dragging them into a portal. A growl escaped his lips as he began to turn out of the portal, but the sight of a massive sword taking up his view caught him a bit off guard, sending him tumbling into the room beyond the portal.

“Father?!” he yelped as he saw his father standing there holding a massive sword and a smirk on his face.

“Nah you little retard, I ain’t yo daddy!” he laughed as he flashed, revealing a woman who looked a lot like Lance. She pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at him as the portal snapped shut, leaving him in whatever dimension this was.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lacy’s POV

“We have like two minutes before he figures out he has to leave that house before he can use his Dimensional Dagger,” I announced as I put away my large Ego greatsword.

“Wow, you fooled him!” another Lance look alike said as he laid on the ground, slowly regenerating.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the demonic looking pony.

“I’m Jun!” he laughed. “I’m a good guy now!”

“Like hell you are!” Lance yelled, rushing towards him, only to be stopped by that one female pony, Strawberry I think?

“Trust me, he’s swapped sides,” she said confidently, causing Lance to frown.

“That guy will NEVER like me, so why would he-”

“Eh, I could care less about you now Lance,” Jun said as he stood up, only needing one back leg back. “I got a whole life planned out! Wife! Kids! The whole shebang!” he then smiled a bit sheepishly, “I just gotta find the wife part first, but then everything after that falls into place!”

“There’s no way,” Lance muttered, shaking his head.

“We do NOT have time,” Bronwyn yelled as she held up the item used to make Enforcer’s. “Are we bringing the Demon Lance or not?!”

“No!” Lance yelled.

“Yes!” I yelled even louder, smirking at him. “I like this fucker, got that goofy retard vibe about him.”

“Yeah I do!” Jun laughed, then frowned, “hey wait!”

“Then he’s coming!” Bronwyn yelled as she stepped up, performing the ritual on him.

“Don’t forget…” Louie began, but frowned as he looked around. “Roxxy and Babel are around here somewhere…”

“They’re probably gone now,” Bronwyn said as she put the item away. “Because we DO NOT have time, he’ll be here any second now!”

With that little push, we all rushed towards the portal that led to the Enforcer’s Order Hall, which thankfully subverted whatever hold Lance had over him, as he was apparently allowed there.

As we all jumped through the portal, I swear I heard another snap open and the roar of a VERY angry Champion. But with the portal closed, we were safe.

I looked at Louie and that Strawberry chick, grimacing, “is this all that survived?”

“No, most of us survived” Louie said solemnly, “we lost Dude and Nightstreak though…”

“Damn it…” Lance grunted as he turned and walked away, not looking to have a destination, just wanting to be alone probably. It’s what I’d want in a moment like this.

Bronwyn took off as well, moving for one of the many hallways that surrounded us.

That just left the four of us.

I looked the other mare over, raising an eyebrow as I took in her heavily damaged armor and bloody scars, “I think you need medical attention, Strawberry.”

She raised an eyebrow at me, but just put on a small smile, “I am fine. Actually, I feel a lot better than I look.”

“That’s my fault,” Louie chucked a bit nervously, “I attached my pain negating Ego to you the moment I saw you, so that’s why.”

“Oh,” she said with a little nod. “You may remove it now, I will be okay.”

“You sure?” he asked with a little smirk.

“I am very sure, Dogman, drop it now,” she replied, her own little smirk on her face.

“Very well,” he said as he removed his Ego from her, causing her eyes to bulge out immediately.

She stumbled a bit as her body began to shake violently.

“Want the Ego back now?” he asked.

She stayed silent for a moment before giving a sharp nod, “... Yes.”

He laughed as he reattached his Ego to her, causing her to sigh in relief and stand up straight.

“Ahem, where is the medical bay here?” she asked stoically.

“I’ll take you,” he said as he began to lead her away, leaving just me and the other Lance.

“So…” he began, shifting back into his normal appearance. “You’re a female Lance?”

“Bitch, you’re a male Lacy, get it right,” I countered with a large smirk on my face.

[Yeah you little betacucks! Tell us your names, now!] Rake demanded roughly, causing Jun’s two consciences to jerk back a bit.
the skinnier one said nervously, unable to look at them.
[Ooo, I’ve got a scared boner right now. Names Jreak!] The beefier one said, his shades on as he stared up at Rake and Moon.
[That’s gay! You just changed the first letters of your names!] Rake pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s lazy, bro,” I laughed, shaking my head at Jun, who just smiled weakly at me.

“Ah… yeah you’re right. Should we change them?” he asked carefully.

“Change them,” I confirmed.

[Sweet! Then I am Midnight!]

I just stared at him as my three conciseness floated around me, then we all burst out laughing.

[Fucking dorks!] Rake roared with laughter, pointing her hoof at them.

[Kinda gay! Right, Goldy?]
(For sure!)

Jun’s ears flattened as he crossed his legs, causing me to snort laugh.

“Do you have a fucking hard on, my guy?!” I asked, causing him to blush.

“No!” he yelled back, face burning as he took a step back.

“Okay, I REALLY like your goofy ass,” I laughed as I walked up and messed up his mane. “Cute little fucker.”

This caused him to fall onto his haunches, covering himself.

“Stay classy, Jun,” I said with a wink as I spun away, slapping his face with my tail and began to walk away, heading for a random hallway.

[... I don’t know how to feel about this!] Midnight yelled, causing my consciences to lose their shit with laughter yet again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Earlier

Roxxy groaned in pain as Babel struggled to drag her along the ground.

“You are REALLY heavy, Roxxy,” Babel grunted between tugs. “Even with the missing two legs.”

“Don’t remind me,” Roxxy groaned as she dug her free hoof into her pocket dimension, pulling out her Dimensional Dagger. “Babel, you gotta help me here.”

“What do you need me to do?!” she asked as she stopped dragging the heavily injured mare and ran around to the front of her.

“Sit me up,” Roxxy coughed out.

“On it!” Babel exclaimed as she tried to raise the young mare but, but was struggling.

Once she was finally up right, she sloppily opened a portal before them, leading to some random location on the Eternal Plains. “Push me through and come in behind me,” she instructed.

Babel grunted as she all but rolled Roxxy through the portal, falling in after her. The two rolled a bit, causing Roxxy to yell in pain.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Babel yelled, jumping up and bouncing from hoof to hoof as she looked around in a panic, finding that they were in some kind of abandoned looking housing district. “Oh not good! NOT GOOD!”

“Babel, calm down,” Roxxy said roughly as she rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky above. “Do you know first aid?”

“I can put a bandage on someone, and all that fun stuff!” she declared, “I learned a lot of it thanks to wanting to be like Calypso at one point! So I studied a lot of medical books and took a class! But I honestly do not remember most of it! Pony anatomy is weird and complicated, unlike LTD, which is simple and-”

“Please,” Roxxy said as she reached up and placed a hoof on the other mares mouth, “just use my first aid kit to stop the bleeding. I’m literally dying right now.”

Babel’s eyes went wide as she gave a nod, watching as Roxxy pulled a box out of her pocket dimension.

Working as fast as she could, Babel began to go through the box, picking out the items she’d need. “What should I do first?!”

“Bleedstop,” Roxxy muttered, starting to fade in and out. “Pour the powder on the stumps, make sure to apply pressure so it… stops bleeding. Then… wrap it with… bandage…”

“I’m on it!” Babel yelled as she ripped one of the Bleedstop packages open and began to pour the white powder all over one of her bleeding stumps. “This is just like when Scamp got ripped in half and had to save herself! But she didn’t have any of this stuff, she had to use that weird handicapped guy’s Ego to save herself. But she fought hard! Like SUPER hard! It had my heart beating so fast that-”

Roxxy slowly lost consciousness, listening to the rambling of the frantic mare above her as she worked to save her life.

A sharp pain brought her back as Babel squeezed a bit too hard, still ranting on about random lore from her books.

As she stared up at the slightly crazy mare, Roxxy couldn’t help but notice how the light reflected off of her. It might be the blood loss talking, but she found herself a bit comforted by the rambling of Babel as she worked.

Then her eyes fluttered as she finally passed out.

Messing with the clone

Chapter 83

“Ah gadzooks!” Someone exclaimed, causing Roxxy to snap awake. She sat up and looked around in a panic, eyes wide as she forgot where she was. The only thing playing through her mind was Champion, and what he’d done.

“Whoa!” Babel yelped as Roxxy hyperventilated violently on the floor. She rushed over and awkwardly stood next to the panicking mare, unsure of what to do.

Roxxy gripped her chest, eye locking onto the two bandaged stumps where her missing limbs used to be.

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what to do!” Babel yelled, jumping from hoof to hoof, “this is bad! Just like when Scamp and her friends fought Leem on the airship! He really messed them up and that’s when Scamp lost both of her legs just like you have! She was super hurt but all she cared about were her friends! But they had Doc to heal the wounds and we just have me, and I’m a terrible Doc! I did my best but-“

Roxxy just stared at her, no longer panicking, just listening to Babel ramble on and on. Her breathing slowly returned to normal as she calmed down immensely.

Babel continued on, changing topics just as quickly as she landed on them.

Instead of being annoyed by this, Roxxy found herself intrigued. Not by the topics Babel was talking about, but by Babel herself.

A slow realization over took her as a blush formed on her face.

“Oh crap…” she muttered as she stared wide eyed at the rambling mare before her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lacy’s POV

“So what is the plan now?” I asked as I sat at a table with Bronwyn, Lance, Louie, and Strawell. Jun was off somewhere, doing whatever it is a dum dum like him does.

“First things first” Louie began, arms crossed as he looked between all of us, “we need to get a message out to all those who survived the massacre in the Safe Dimension and get them regrouped. Then, we need to rally the ones who jumped to the Eternal Plains.”

“Why don’t they just use their Order Hall Daggers to return?” I suggested, but Bronwyn shook her head.

“We’ve deactivated all Order Hall Daggers for now, since Champion has one now,” she said with a sigh. “Meaning if we leave here, we can’t return till Luz turns them back on, which he will not do till we get the OHD back from Champion. Which will more than likely require us to kill him.”

“Well, you’ve been an Enforcer for a LONG time, how’d you guys handle threats like this in the past?” Lance asked, getting a few nods from the rest of us.

“In the past, we had the backing of the Central Dimension,” she answered, waving a hand towards the many corridors around us, “without them, we’ve lost access to the majority of our assets. That is why there are so many deadends here in the Order Hall, those used to be rooms that served specific purposes. For Champion, we’d have enacted a ‘Freeze Protocol’, which would put him in stasis. But that was something we could only do thanks to a member of the Central Dimension.”

“So basically, what you’re saying is,” I began, rubbing my chin, “is we’re shit out of luck.”

“Essentially, yes,” she answered grimly.

“Screw it, new dimension?” I asked as I leaned forward.

“We are not abandoning Equestria,” Strawell said sternly, glaring at me. Yikes, bitch has got one hell of a stare on her!

“If Champion is left to his own devices,” Bronwyn added, “then there is no telling what he will become. He has already achieved a level of power that far surpasses anything I’ve seen in the past. Our leader Wyntir was considered the strongest being to ever exist, outside of God’s, and even he would not be able to defeat Champion as he is now.”

“I dunno, we seemed to kick his ass back there,” I chuckled, but everyone just stared at me solemnly. “Eh… yeah sorry, he did kill a few of us… Which is why we should say fuck it and LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE!”

“We can’t,” Lance said with a shake of his head. “Bronwyn is right, we need to figure out how to deal with Champion, or more people will suffer at his hooves.”

“Fuck me,” I groaned, sitting back hard, rubbing my face. “Fuck you, you’re right… We gotta do something about him. Fuck!”

“The only question left now is,” Bronwyn said as she looked between all of us, “how do we do it?”

At this, not a single one of us had an answer, as we all remained silent.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later

That meeting solved nothing…

[Bleh, this shit is SO much more complicated than what we were dealing with. All we had to do was fuck a bitch up and then boom! Life would be better!]

[Geez, Moon, don’t be such a downer!]

I shook my head as I walked down the long corridor, heading for what should be the living quarters where all the Enforcer’s rooms were. A new room apparently appears every time a new Enforcer is made, giving them their own personal space within the Order Hall.

Honestly, I think that’s pretty fucking epic.

Upon reaching the end of the hall I found myself in another long ass room. This one though looked more like a prison cell block with how the doors were set up. They ran down either side of the room in both directions.

How do I know which room is mine?

Almost as if this place was reading my mind, I saw a door further down light up, seeming to call to me. Well shit, this just gets cooler and cooler.

Stepping up to my door, I watched as it shimmered a few different shades before taking on a new form. New decorations appeared on the door, looking to be street graffiti with my name on it.

[Aw fuck yeah! This door gets us!]

“Create a passphrase,” the door suddenly said in a monotone voice.

“Uh… what?” I asked, not sure what it meant.

“Create a password,” it said, changing what it’d said the first time.

“What?” I asked again, scratching my head.

“You must create a password to gain access to this room, Lacy Greenfield,” the door said, somehow sounding a bit annoyed.

“Uh… Pickles?” I said, causing the door to flash a few times.

“Password created, welcome to your personal quarters, Enforcer Lacy.” With that the door swung open, revealing a pretty bland room. Just a bed, a few tables, and some shelves. There were three doors as well, but I had no idea where they went yet.

I explored the room a bit, finding out one door leads to a pretty nice bathroom, while the other leads to a kitchen slash dining room. But the one I really like is the third door, which was a workshop slash armory, already filled with all kinds of tools and cool stuff! Of course I have zero idea how to use any of those tools, but I’d FOR SURE be playing with them in the coming days!

As of this moment though, I have nothing to do in here. But! There is supposed to be an armory in this place, so you know what that means?

[Go get a fucking awesome gun and let’s see if we can use these tools to make a even BETTER gun!]
{Hell yeah!}

With this new plan in mind, I quickly made my way out of my room and headed for the hallway. But as I walked, I saw a door that caught my eye. One that had the name ‘Jun’ on it.

[Screw that plan, let’s fuck with those idiots instead!]

Smirking, I stepped up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

“Passphrase?” the door asked.

“I don’t know, just open,” I said, shaking the handle hard.

“Passphrase?” it repeated.

“I don’t know the stupid password,” I growled, punching the door a few times.

“Passphrase?”

“Open damn it!” I snapped, losing my patience.

“Passphrase correct,” the door suddenly said as the door swung open, revealing Jun at a table eating a shit ton of food, a surprised look on his face as he turned to me.

“Yo fucker!” I exclaimed as I stepped into his room, a wide smirk on my face.

“Lacy?!” he yelped, eyes wide. “How’d you know my password?!”

“Because you’re big dumb and picked a stupid password,” I answered as I walked up to his table full of food, “this for everyone?”

“I mean, it’s MY food,” he said, but at my raised eyebrow he gulped, “but you can have some.”

“Good boy,” I chuckled as I pulled a chair up and sat down right next to him, causing him to shift around a bit. I began grabbing random boxes of snacks, ripping them open and eating them noisily.

He just looked everywhere but at me, fidgeting with his hooves.

“So,” he said after a minute of watching me eat, “you’re married in your dimension like Lance is here?”

“Why? You in the market?” I asked with a wink, causing him to shift around more. But I didn’t let him suffer, too long, “I was married. But my husband passed away seven years ago thanks to an cunt named Valerie.”

“Oh, that sucks, I’m sorry,” he said lamely, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Kids?” he asked nervously.

“What is this? A job interview?” I laughed, shaking my head, “yeah, one kid. But…” I let out a deep sigh as my mood threatened to drop. “She’s dead.”

He made the smart choice of not making a comment this time around and just went back to watching me eat.

“I’ve never had a wife or kid,” he suddenly said in a sad voice. “So I don’t really know what it’s like to lose one…”

“Well trust me, if you ever do get with someone and have a kid, don’t fuck around and lose them. Got that?” I said gruffly, taking a large bite out of the sandwich I’d unwrapped.

He just stared at me for a long moment before asking the question I knew he was dying to ask.

“Are you just messing with me? Or are you actually flirting with me?”

I let out a laugh as I smirked at him, “bro what do you think?”

“Messing with me,” he said with a sharp nod. “Yeah I thought so.”

“Fucking thick headed numbskull,” I chuckled as I finished off the sandwich. “You’re not very smart, you know that?”

“Neither are you,” he countered.

“Hey fuck you. For one, I am a fucking genius. And for two…” I stared at him hard, trying to think of a second thing. “... You don’t get to hear the second thing.”

We sat in silence for a bit as I just kept eating.

“Thanks for making them bring me here,” he mumbled, “Champion would have killed me for good if he’d come back and saw me.”

“What can I say,” I grunted, “you charmed me with that goofy personality you got. I like my men to be big and dumb.”

“I thought you said you were messing with me?” he asked as he cocked his head at me.

“Did I say I was messing with you?” I countered with a wink. “God you’re so fucking dumb.”

“You’re… confusing me,” he complained as he shifted around in his chair.

“That’s not hard to do apparently,” I said as I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Wait.. so you’re flirting with me?!” he asked with a wide smile.

To answer him I reached out and flicked his forehead, causing him to look super confused.

“I’m doing what I wanna do,” I chuckled as I pushed myself back and put my hooves behind my head. “Alright, bud, ask me some questions, because I know you’re dying to do so.”

“Are we going to bang?” he asked right off the bat, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Bruh, you can’t ask that shit, it ruins the fun. Come on, get your head out of your dick and ask a real question,” I chuckled, rotating in my chair a bit.

“Oh… uh…” he mumbled as he racked his brain for a question to ask. “Erm… how many guys have you-”

“Motherfucker, no sex questions, Jesus bro!” I groaned, giving him a kick with my back hoof. “And one, by the way. Since you just had to know.”

“Okay sorry,” he muttered, “Uh… Oh! Was there a Clone you in your dimension?”

“Finally a real question!” I laughed as I nodded, “yeah, I broke her neck when she tried to sleep with my husband and steal my kid.”

“Oh that's a bit scary…” he said, rubbing his neck. “Lance just beat me up…”

“Shouldn’t go after other people’s partner’s, dumbfuck,” I reached over and slugged his shoulder. “You’re lucky it wasn’t me, I’d have ripped your dick off and made you eat it if you’d tried that with my husband.”

He covered himself with a plate as he blushed.

“Geez, that made you hard?” I asked as I started laughing. “Fuck me bro, you’re a bit pathetic, you know that?”

“I’m not pathetic…” he grumbled as he looked away.

“Don’t worry,” I said in a low soothing voice, leaning right up to him, “I like it.”

His body stiffened as his face burned hotter.

“I have a question for you,” I said a bit seductively as Rake rubbed her hooves together maniacally.

“What is it?” he asked, eyes wide as I leaned right into his face.

“Top or bottom?”

He blinked dumbly for a moment before he realized what I was asking. “ERM! UH! TOP?!”

“No you’re not, Mr. Bottom,” I winked as I shoved him out of his chair, causing him to fall to the floor.

“Oh God, is this happening?!” he asked in a panic, facing going through all kinds of emotions.

“Wanna bone?” I asked, causing him to nod his head dumbly. “Aw, too bad,” I said with a sinister smirk, “I don’t bang on the first date, boyo.”

“... I’m confused again…” he muttered, face scrunched up.

“I’mma flirt with ya dumbass, and then MAYBE one day I’ll bang the shit out of your beefy ass body. But for now,” I said as I spun around, slapping his face with my tail and walking towards his door, swaying my hips as much as I could, “I’m gonna blue ball ya, for the lawls.”

“What the fuck…” he muttered, still not grasping the sudden change.

“Ain’t I a stinker?” I asked as I ducked out of his room, slamming the door.

[Nah that shit was golden!]
(The faces they were all making! Priceless!)
[Oh I can not WAIT to bed that fucker!]

[You’re looking too much into it, Moon! Just sit back and enjoy the show!]

Now! Back to the original plan!

[Fuck yeah! Weapons!]

Crushing hard for the LTD mare

Chapter 84

Roxxy growled in frustration as she tried to fix her Dimensional Communicator, which had been damaged when Champion grabbed her. She wasn’t having any luck due to only having one foreleg, but she didn’t give up as she just kept fidgeting and grunting.

“Can I try?” Babel asked as she suddenly appeared next to Roxxy, leaning face first towards the communicator.

With a sigh Roxxy shook her head, “I think this is far beyond your comprehension, Babel. This is tech from the Central Dimension, and I’ve spent a good amount of time learning it and I still don’t even understand it fully.”

“But can I try?” She asked again with a large smile on her face.

Roxxy blinked at her a few times before slowly handing it over to her.

“Ooo, it feels complicated!” She exclaimed as she rushed off to her little corner and began working on the device using her own set of tiny tools.

The injured mare couldn’t help but smile at the actions of the other mare. She was a great distraction from the depression that threatened to over take her at any moment. Losing two legs and an eye all in one go was not settling well with her, but she was tough. She’d pull through, one way or another.

All she wanted to do at that moment though was sleep, but her body was still too worked up and restless to allow her to do so.

Her ears suddenly perked up as she heard something scrap the floor out in the hallway.

Babel didn’t seem to hear it as she worked.

Roxxy’s eyes narrowed as her heart rate picked up, because she could clearly hear at least a few different set of footsteps walking down the hallway.

Low whispering could be heard, causing Babel’s ears to finally perk up.

“Shh,” Roxxy shushed her as she saw her about to say something.

The footsteps came right up to their door, then everything went silent.

Roxxy tensed as she knew whoever was out there was about to enter their room.

She looked across the room to where Babel was, much closer to the door than she was. But as she began to wave her over, the door swung open and three skinny bipedal reptiles rushed in. Snake like heads all locking onto them instantly.

Her eyes went wide, as these appeared to be some kind of hunters, with pelts and skulls hanging off of their belts and clothes.

“Jovial was right, he did see two Equids enter this building,” one of them said in a hollow voice.

“For once his old eyes weren’t play tricks on ‘em,” another said as he looked right at Roxxy. “Well that one’s no good, probably filled with infections and parasites, what with those injuries and all.”

“It does have wings, so nice trophy hunt at least,” the third added as they all looked to Babel, who was standing there in shock.

“Okay that one is to skinny, barely any meat on dem bones,” the lead one said as he shook his head.

“It’s at least dinner tonight, so don’t complain, Bevevel.”

Roxxy scanned each of them, not liking their odds. Not only was she injured to the point she couldn’t stand up, Babel herself couldn’t fight a fly, let alone one of these guys.

“Kill the lame one, I’ll hogtie this one,” the lead one grunted as he pulled out a length of rope and began to advance on Babel, causing her to back up till her flank hit the wall.

Narrowing her eye, she pushed herself up painfully, locking eyes with the reptile advancing on her with a drawn short blade.

“You know I’ve never seen a living Equid with wings,” the third one in the back said. “Kinda sad this one’s all ruined, we coulda used it for supply runs.”

“Stand back,” Roxxy growled, causing the one near her to chuckle.

“Uhoh, Bevevel, they’re sentient,” it said with a smirk.

“Too bad for them then,” the one named Bevevel said as he roughly grabbed Babel, causing her to let out a shreak of fear.

Everything happened at once.

The one standing in the doorway let out a panicked yell as he saw the one advancing on Roxxy suddenly split in half, followed by the one tying up Bevel to let out a pained wheeze as he collapsed back, head falling backwards, barely attached to his neck.

The last one attempted to go for his own weapon, but Roxxy flew past him, her Scythe flashing across him, causing his upper half to slide away from the bottom half.

With the three now dead, Roxxy landed roughly next to Babel, using the tip of her Scythe to cut the rope that was barely tied around her legs.

“Are you okay, Babs?” Roxxy asked as she pulled the ropes away from the other mare.

“That was amazing, Roxxy!” Babel exclaimed, showing she was clearly unaffected by what’d just happened. “Like main protagonist level awesome!”

“Yeah,” Roxxy muttered, looking around at the bodies, “I kinda lost it there for a moment…” she wobbled and fell onto her flank, head swimming, “I’ve never killed someone before…”

This caused Babel’s eyes to go wide, “you used your first kill to protect me?! You’re super duper amazing, Roxxy! A real hero!”

“Yeah,” she mumbled as that depression threatened to evolve into something a little more sinister. “We need to go, they mentioned others, which means we’re not safe here.”

Babel gave a salute as she rushed over to her stuff and packed it away, then ran to Roxxy’s side without being asked and began to struggle to lift her up, “then let’s get a movin’!”

With a hiss of pain, Roxxy stood up, throwing a wing over Babel to help steady herself as the other mare visibly struggled to support her weight.

“Just help me to the outside and I’ll take over from there,” Roxxy said, getting a strained nod from Babel.

The two slowly limped their way through the building, having to stop every so often so Babel could readjust or take a breather.

Once they finally reached the outside, Roxxy used her wings to lift off the ground, letting Babel fall on her haunches, breathing hard.

“I don’t know how you guys do this!” She exclaimed with a light laugh. “I’m exhausted after just that! But you guys will fight for a LONG time and barely be winded!”

“Cardio,” Roxxy answered with a small smile. “Just gotta wake up every morning and run a few miles.”

“Oh I’d never be able to do that!” Babel laughed, smiling brightly up at Roxxy, causing her to blush again, “I’m okay just sitting at my computer or reading! So much more fulfilling!”

Roxxy cleared her throat as she rubbed her face, trying to reduce the burning sensation she was feeling, “well, we need to go. Can you run?”

“Honestly?” Babel asked with a little sheepish smile, “no. Not at all. I look like a baby lamb who just got their legs! It’s silly and pathetic! That’s why I always skipped gym class!”

“Then,” Roxxy began as she lowered herself, “climb on, we need to get as far from here as possible.”

“Okay!” Babel said without needing any convincing, climbing onto Roxxy’s back and throwing her forelegs around her neck. “I haven’t done anything like this since my dad took me flying when I was a filly!”

“Well I’ll be careful,” Roxxy assured her as she took to the air, not struggling at all. She was very surprised at how light Babel actually was.

They flew in mostly silence as Babel spent most of her time making comments about the dead city below them.

It was here, seeing this decaying city, where Roxxy began to recall recent events. Her body began to tremble, which was starting to affect her ability to fly.

She needed to calm down, and fast.

“Babel,” she suddenly said, getting the other mare’s full attention instantly, “tell me about that DnD world you’ve created. The one you always talked about in school.”

Babel let out a loud gasp, followed by a squeal of delight, “you actually want to hear about my own personal world I’ve built?!”

“I do,” she replied, causing the other mare to start bouncing on her back a bit.

“Ooo! I don’t even know where to start! This whole world I’ve created is for DnD AND for a video game I’m trying to make! It’s about this race of Soul based entities who crash landed on an inhabited planet! These are the player characters and they are so COOL! Their lore is super interesting too! They’re-“

Roxxy smiled as she listened to every word Babel said, enjoying how excited she was. It had the bonus effect of calming her down and focusing her mind.

Somehow Babel was the only thing that grounded her and kept her sane. She didn’t know why, but she wasn’t going to question it. So she just continued flying along, listening to the mare on her back going on and on about her worldbuilding.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later, nighttime

“We’re safe here,” Roxxy announced as she hobbled into the little room only lit by the fireplace in the corner. “I walked all six floors below us, and we’re the only ones here.”

“Awesomesauce!” Babel all but yelled as she laid by the fire, still working on the communicator. “We don’t need anymore nasty villain’s just walking up on us like that again!”

“We should be fine now,” Roxxy assured her as she gobbled over and collapsed before the fire, her body finally ready to just give in and rest.

“We’re on the Eternal Plains, so we need to find you someone who can make you some new and awesome legs! Maybe even a new eye! We might even be able to get ones like Scamp’s! Now THAT would be epic!” Babel said, speaking fast as she never stopped working on the little communicator in her hooves.

Upon hearing this Roxxy’s ears dropped, “so you see me the same way everyone else does, huh? Just a smaller version of Scamp.” She let out a deep sigh as she waved her front stump, “well I guess now I am just a knock off Scamp.”

Babel looked over at her, giving her a weird look, “I’ve never seen you as a younger Scamp. You’ve always just been Roxxy to me.” With that she went back to cheerfully working on the little device.

That one simple statement however meant the world to Roxxy as she stared at Babel, a small smile on her face.

“Thanks, Babs,” she said, getting another weird look from the mare.

“For what?” She asked, seeming a bit confused. But Roxxy just chuckled in response and turned her head to the fire before her.

It didn’t take long before she started to get tired, letting out a yawn. She opened her pocket dimension and pulled out a sleeping bag, realizing it was the only one she had.

“Ah shit,” she muttered, getting the other mare’s attention. “I only have one sleeping bag… you can have it tonight,” she said as she tossed it to Babel.

In response she just laughed, rolling her eyes, “it’s freezing! We’ll share it, silly goose! Just like a slumber party…! Which I’ve never been too, but I heard you share EVERYTHING at a slumber party!”

Roxxy blushed again at the thought of sleeping that close to the other mare, but she wasn’t opposed to the idea either.

“Okay,” was the only thing she could get out as Babel smiled proudly.

“You know this is kinda like when Lance and Peter got stuck in the wilderness when they went to that ski resort! Except there’s no snow, or any avalanches bearing down on us. But! It is freezing, so we’re halfway there!” She said as she got more and more excited. Then she suddenly became sheepish, “actually I do need to warn you, I have to sleep with a body pillow at night because I need something pressed into me to sleep. Do you have one?”

Roxxy blinked a few times and slowly shook her head no.

“Ah drat…” Babel mumbled, fixing her glasses. “Well that’s no good…”

“Uh…” Roxxy said, eye wide as she began to say something totally out of character for her, “I… uh, can be your body pillow if that’ll help?”

“Hmmm,” Babel rubbed her chin, thinking, “you are about the size of my pillow back home… okay then! Works for me!”

Roxxy’s entire face burned now, as she couldn’t believe she’d just suggested that.

“You’re a good mare, Roxxy Bleak,” Babel said cheerfully as she went back to work, humming to herself as she did so.

“I’m not,” she murmured, thinking of recent events, “but thanks.”

She didn’t dwell too long on that thought process, as she was a bit excited to get to bed now.

Awakening

Author's Note

There is a video in this chapter. I highly suggest you watch it before continuing as it’s a animatic of the scene at hand.

Awakening

Chapter 85

Shayla’s POV

Late morning

A grunt escaped my lips as I landed on all fours next to Domitor, trying to move as unpredictable as possible, going for a leg sweep.

But he just jumped over my leg and landed on top of me, getting me into a headlock.

“Yield?” He laughed as we wrestled around on the ground, with me trying to break his grip and him doing his best to stay behind me.

“Eat shit!” I growled as I rolled hard to the left, attempting to throw him, but he just held on tightly. He suddenly applied a lot more pressure, dropping me to a knee.

“Come on, babe, yield!” He yelled as I just kept fighting.

“VofKai!” I roared as I exploded up, grabbing him and slinging him away from me. He skidded across the ground a few times before landing on his feet.

“Hey! Power ups are cheating!” He yelled as he stomped back towards me.

“Being in that Halwen body is cheating, dickwad!” I threw back as we got face to face, growling at each other.

We held our intense glares as our auras swirled around each other. Then I suddenly licked his face, causing him to recoil back.

“Blehg!” He yelped, wiping his face furiously as I began to roar with laughter. He wasn’t far behind as we both just stood there laughing like idiots.

“Damn it, Shay,” he said as we both slowly calmed down. “First you cheat, then you lick my face.”

“All out of love,” I said with a wink, or at least the best I could manage with a blindfold on.

He rolled his eyes, “sure, love. Definitely not because you hate losing.”

“I never lose,” I said confidently. He started to say something, raising a finger, “don’t even say it.”

He smirked at me, but remained silent.

With that said, we began to head back to the house, where my parents, Floria, and Vanilla sat around a bonfire. Talio was propped up against a nearby rock, sticking to himself as usual.

“You’ve improved a lot over the last few days,” my mother commented as we stepped up to them.

“Thanks, mama,” I said with a cocky smile.

“I was talking to Domitor,” she replied with a shit eating grin.

I grunted as I plopped down, causing the others to chuckle at my expense.

“Thank you, Mrs. Beltosh,” Domitor said politely as he sat down next to me.

“When’s Raffy and Spark supposed to get back?” I asked as I leaned into Domitor’s side.

My mom gave a shrug as she tapped away at her little video game, “they left an hour ago, so it’ll be a long while more than likely. I’m not sure how long he takes at the market, so who knows.”

Nodding I turned my Virtue Sight off, planning to take a little nap while everyone else just enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp’s ears perked up as she looked up from her book, scanning the forest's edge on the other side of the property. Her eye focused on every little detail and movement as her ears twitched.

“What is it?” Mallogory asked, taking notice of her wife’s actions.

She didn’t get an answer as Scamp dropped her book and stood up, still scanning the forest. She kicked her daughters foot, causing her to jerk awake, which also woke up Domitor, who she’d been practically laying on.

“Mama?” Shayla asked as she turned her vision on, looking mighty confused.

“Scamp, what is it?” Mallogory asked again as she stood up, also staring at the forest beyond the property.

“You two need to go indoors, right now,” Scamp suddenly said in a rough voice, nodding to Floria and Vanilla.

“What? Why?” Floria asked with a frown.

“Do it,” Scamp said back sternly.

Floria started to argue, but Vanilla just placed a hand over her mouth and pulled her up. Reluctantly the two quickly made their way into the house.

“Scamp?” Her wife asked, voice a bit strained.

“Lorenzo,” Scamp said flatly, causing everyone to jump up and spin to face the direction she was looking. There was nothing there, just the tall grass and flowers that made up the forest.

Just as everyone was about to question her again, they saw him.

In the most casual fashion possible, like he was out for a stroll, Lorenzo stepped out of the forest, whistling to himself.

He continued forward, alone. Even from where they stood they could feel his menacing presence.

The masked man came to a stop not that far from them, his whistling slowly dying down as they all stared him down.

“I have a simple question,” he said suddenly, his voice casual and calm. “Who,” he began, his voice lowering as a sinister aura over took the entire area, “killed Leem?”

The pressure coming off of him seemed to increase, causing everyone, even Scamp, to break out in a cold sweat.

His eyes snapped to Shayla, causing her to stiffen a bit, “you?”

“Yeah,” she deadpanned, a wavering smirk on her face. “I killed that overgrown lizard.”

“Well then,” he said as he raised his hands and began to clap, his intense aura never fading, “congratulations.”

Then his eyes rolled back to Scamp, a scowl easily visible on his face despite the mask, “I’m so happy you decided to come here yourself. Now the whole family is together. Not many get to pass away with their loved ones by their side. So very lucky for you three then.”

Scamp stepped forward, eye locked with his, “I should have killed you when you were parading around as Vicar.”

“You should’ve, you could’ve, but you didn’t,” he mocked playfully, “and that was your mistake. And it’s going to cost you.”

“Big talk for the man who runs when things don’t go his way,” Scamp retorted, but he’d already turned his eyes to Domitor, ignoring her now.

“I knew you’d betray me eventually, Domitor. I’m just disappointed it took you this long, you spineless child,” Lorenzo said as he tilted his head back slightly.

Domitor didn’t respond as he just clenched his fist, shaking in anger.

“I have a plan for each of you,” the man continued, looking each of them in the eyes, “especially you, Scamp.”

“Starting to sound a bit whinny, Lorenzo,” Scamp said with a smirk, causing him to chuckle.

“Ah,” he let out a content sigh as he threw his hands out wide, “I’m going to enjoy this.”

Before anyone could react, the entire area around them suddenly changed from the back of Raffy’s house to what appeared to be a stage. Curtains hung down just behind Lorenzo’s back as he stood there, arms still outstretched.

The area around them was blank with impossibly tall walls on all sides.

“Welcome,” he said grandly as the massive curtains pulled aside to reveal a completely packed opera house, with rows and rows of dark figures all staring up at them as spotlights flashed on, lighting up the stage they found themselves on, “to my domain!”

Scamp ran her eyes over everything around them, her mouth falling into a straight line.

“The perfect Thorn for a showman,” Lorenzo said proudly as he lowered his arms. “Theater.”

“Theater or whatever, we’re still kicking your ass,” Shayla growled as she cracked her knuckles. “I still owe you for shooting me,” she said as she held out her hand, a smug look on her face. However it quickly turned to confusion as she brought her hand back and stared at it.

“Ah I was waiting for this reveal,” he chuckled, “I control everything within this space, and I’ve turned off all pesky Thorns and Ego’s for all but myself. We’re dueling by my rules today.”

Both Scamp and Mallogory took a step towards him but he just spun around to face the crowd, throwing his hands up again. “Welcome to tonight’s showing of,” he spun around dramatically to face the two approaching women, “‘Scamp’s Devastating Choice’! Guest starring the Beltosh family!”

Scamp was the first to reach him as he stared wide eyed at her, arms still out. In one quick motion she sprang forward, watching his every movement as she sliced her claws towards him.

But a wall suddenly appeared right in front of him, blocking her attack. She jumped back as she heard him laughing somewhere in the area.

“Let me set the scene,” he announced as Scamp backed up to her wife. “Scamp and her family had finally arrived at the lair of the evil and dastardly Lorenzo! All their hard work and suffering was about to pay off! All they had to do was…” the lights dimmed as a few spot lights suddenly lit up the other side of the stage where Lorenzo stood, a sword in his hand, “survive.”

“Careful,” Scamp muttered to her wife as she looked over to Shayla and Domitor as they prepared themselves, “you two, stay together. Do not let him separate you.”

Shayla gave a thumbs up as tried to pull a weapon out, only to realize she could do that either.

“No powers. No weapons. Just good ol fashion fist and hooves, against my blade. I’m sure you’ll pull a victory out of thin air, just like you always do, Scamp,” Lorenzo yelled sarcastically.

The spotlights snapped off, causing everyone to go on alert as the area dimmed considerably.

No one could sense him, not even Shayla as she scanned the area with her Virtue Sight.

A few spotlights shone down around Shayla and Domitor as Lorenzo suddenly appeared before them, his sword already swinging for Domitor.

Shayla was the first to act as she dashed between the two and blocked the blade with her claws. There was so much power behind the attack that she was forced to her knees, all the while the man laughed happily.

“I love that I knew you’d do that!” He exclaimed as he flicked his sword around, watching as she skillfully blocked each attack with her claws.

Domitor came in from Lorenzo’s blind spot, attempting to get a solid hit in. But in one motion the man’s hand shot out and shoved Domitor away like he was nothing.

“Not now, son, I’m busy,” Lorenzo said in such a stern voice that Domitor was taken back to his bedroom for a moment. He shook his head, trying to get past those thoughts as he rushed back at his father.

“I said!” Lorenzo roared as he suddenly kicked Shayla, sending her flying into her approaching parents, “not now!”

He did not have time to react as his father turned on him, a sinister red glow trailing from his eye as he squared up with his son.

Domitor froze under the intense glare of his father, making him unable to react as Lorenzo slammed his fist into his son’s chest. Everything seemed to slow down as Domitor felt the punch make contact, followed by a massive pressure crashing into him.

He let out a pained yell as he was sent flying backwards, his shirt and jacket torn to shreds from the insane amount of excess power that exploded out of his body.

“Now then,” Lorenzo said as the lights flashed off, only to come back in right behind the other three as they quickly recovered from being knocked down. “On with the show,” he said as he snapped his fingers.

Chains flew in from all directions, latching onto both Mallogory and Shayla. They fought to break them, but it happened so fast, and with so many coming at once, that they couldn’t do much as they were pulled away into the darkness.

Scamp did not dwell on this as she forced herself to lunge for Lorenzo. He deflected her attacks as he used the tip of his sword to poke at her, keeping her at bay.

“Tsk tsk,” he clicked his tongue as he shook his head at her, his sword flashing as he continued to block her attacks, “you’re not much without your Ego or weapons, Scamp.”

As if to answer him she sprang forward and twisted her body at a weird angle, using her wings to hold herself up as she came in from below, barely slipping by his counter jab.

With a roar she slammed her mechanical fist into his groin, causing him to grunt in pain. Then in one quick motion she extended her claws and ripped a gash through his right thigh.

He flicked his sword at her as he sprang back, disappearing as the lights snapped off.

“Everytime I underestimate you, you pull a trick out of your hat,” he snarled from the shadows as she stood up tall, ready for him. “I think we should skip the filler arc and jump straight into the climax.”

A spotlight came on across the room, with Lorenzo standing there smugly , his leg already bandaged. She started to move towards him, but he held up a hand.

“Not so fast, Scamp. If you move too close, you’ll make the wrong choice,” he warned as two more spot lights came on on either side of the room, revealing both Mallogory and Shayla dangling above a pit of some kind of black liquid.

Scamp halted in her tracks, eye darting between the two as she took everything in. They were both hanging high above the vats of liquid, fighting to break free of the chains that were wrapped around them tightly.

“This is a classic!” Lorenzo clapped as he beamed at her across the room. “You get to make a choice: save your faithful and loving wife, or your brash yet endearing daughter. If you don’t choose, I’ll drop both. Clocks ticking, little pony.”

A growl escaped her lips as she looked to her wife, both of them making eye contact. Mallogory gave her a solemn nod, causing Scamp to clench her teeth as she turned to their daughter and launched herself straight at her.

“So predictable,” Lorenzo mocked as the chains snapped, dropping both of them.

With a grunt Scamp crashed into her daughter, catching her in midair.

“Mom!” Shayla screamed as she watched her mom drop on the other side of the room.

She yelped as her mother began spinning them around, roaring with rage as she sent Shayla’s bound body flying through the air.

Moments before Mallogory landed in the liquid, her daughter's body crashed into her and sent both flying away from the dark liquid. They skidded across the ground roughly, unable to stop themselves due to being tied up.

“Well done, Scamp! You saved both! I honestly did not think you’d be willing to risk your daughter like that, so I guess being a ruthless parent like me pays off,” he mocked as she flew over to her family and cut the chains with her claws.

“Shut the fuck up, Lorenzo,” she growled in annoyance as she pulled her wife and daughter up.

A light flashed on behind her as Shayla’s ears perked up, her own claws reaching out and yanking Scamp towards her as Lorenzo laughed like a mad man.

“So easily startled!” He exclaimed as he suddenly exploded into action, two swords in his hands as he took on all three of them at once.

Even with the three of them they were mostly on the defensive, as he was going for killing blows now.

It appeared the games were finally over, and the real fight was beginning.

Scamp used her mechanical claws to deflect his relentless attacks as she looked for an opening, but she was having no luck. Mallogory wasn’t having any luck either as she weaved around each of his strikes with ease, making herself a near impossible target to hit.

Shayla wasn’t having much trouble avoiding him either, but like the other two she wasn’t able to get an attack through. The threat of his swords was enough to deter any kind of risky attacks.

Behind him Domitor walked back into view, looking pretty bad from the single hit he’d received.

Lorenzo must’ve sensed him as he sighed, shaking his head, “kids am I right? They never listen.”

Shayla smirked as she saw the opening, her tail snapped out and caught his ankle. Before he could react she pulled her tail back, causing him to start to fall to the ground.

But as he fell his body twisted unnaturally and one of his blades rocketed towards her. She reached up and caught it with both hands, but not before it plunged into her neck.

“Got ya,” he whispered as he flicked his blade to the side, cutting through her neck.

“Shayla!” Scamp yelped as hot blood splashed onto her face as it spurted from the wound in daughters neck.

Mallogory growled as she dashed into Lorenzo, engaging him on her own as Scamp sprang on their daughter.

“Damn it, Shayla!” She yelled as she fell to the floor with her daughter as she struggled to hold the wound closed. “Listen to me! Calm you breathing!”

Shayla did as she was told, still twitching hard as she held the wound closed, using her Vacuole to try and stem the bleeding. She’d practiced this, but she was nowhere good enough to actually stop the bleeding completely. But with the help of her mother holding pressure to the wound, she was able to slow it down immensely.

Domitor was rushing towards them, eyes wide in panic. But as he neared them, Lorenzo suddenly broke from fighting Mallogory and dashed into Domitor, kicking him hard in the side.

With an explosion of energy he sent his son flying again, this time making sure to hit him hard enough to keep him down.

Mallogory moved to re-engage him, but he just threw his sword into the air and began to walk towards Scamp and her daughter.

Without warning the sword righted itself in midair and flew into Mallogory, catching her in the chest as it sent her to the ground. It buried itself deep into the floor, impaling her and trapping her there.

She hissed in pain as she grabbed the blade with both hands, but found she wasn’t able to move it, as it felt like it was actively fighting against her.

“This is the end, Scamp,” Lorenzo said solemnly as he approached them.

Scamp threw a hate filled glare at him as he came to a stop right above them, staring wide eyed down at her.

She started to lunge for him, but the moment she pulled her hooves from her daughters neck she started coughing, blood spurting up through her claws.

“Damn it!” Scamp yelled as she grabbed the wound again, unable to let go. Like Mallogory, she was trapped.

Lorenzo flipped his blade around a bit before thrusting it towards Shayla’s chest.

But Scamp’s hoof shot out and intercepted it, causing it to impale her hoof and come out the other side, only stopping as it got caught on a bone.

The man just laughed at this as he began to push against the blade, slowly inching it and her hoof closer and closer to Shayla’s chest.

Scamp fought as hard as she could to keep the blade stuck in her foreleg from reaching her daughter, but it was a losing battle as he had more leverage on her. She yelled in agony as she pushed every muscle in her body to keep her leg up and away from Shayla.

But the blade tip reached her chest and began to make shallow cuts as it jerked around violently due to the strain of Scamp’s leg wobbling around.

“Father!” Domitor roared as he ran towards them.

“I’m going to kill that kid,” Lorenzo said with a sigh, “they never listen, do they, Scamp?”

Scamp could only stare wide eyed at the blade as it slowly carved its way down. Her daughter was in no shape to do anything other than focus on not bleeding out.

Domitor neared them, aiming to tackle his father.

“Oh no,” Lorenzo said calmly as he suddenly pushed hard, sending the blade straight into Shayla's chest, causing her to jerk so hard they lost their hold on her neck, allowing blood to gush out freely.

The blade hit the floor below her, pushing deeper as Lorenzo pushed the blade through Scamp’s foreleg and her daughters chest, going till the hilt hit her leg.

He let go of the sword and spun around just in time to catch Domitor in the face with a punch as he attempted to tackle him. This sent him straight into the ground right next to Shayla and Scamp.

Lorenzo let out a sharp whistle as he looked at everyone. Mallogory was struggling to get free of the sword in her chest, grunting and snarling like a ravage animal as she stared at him with absolute hatred in her eyes. While Scamp just focused on keeping Shayla alive, both breathing violently and loudly.

“Well, time for the curtains to fall on this little play,” Lorenzo announced as the lights came back on. He stepped over the mother and daughter and grabbed his son by the leg, dragging him as he walked towards the front of the stage.

He tossed his son to the side and gave a bow to a roaring crowd, clearly enjoying himself.

The massive curtains slammed shut in front of himself as he stood up straight, his demeanor changing drastically.

“Alright, Domitor,” he said in a low voice as he turned on his son, who was just getting to his feet, “let’s get this over with.”

Domitor grunted as he stood up fully, facing down his father. His eyes snapped over to the others, his breathing picking up as he laid his eyes on Shayla and her mother. Scamp was currently trying to pull her leg free of the blade, working it up and down as she attempted to saw through her leg.

“The fact you’ve betrayed me due to that mare is the biggest slap to my face you could’ve done,” Lorenzo said with narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t betray you because of her,” Domitor said in a dangerously calm voice as he spat onto the ground next to him. “I did it because you’re an abusive monster.”

“I don’t know how you came from my seed,” he said with a massive sigh, “I gave you the perfect foundation, and you still turned out like… this.”

Domitor’s eye twitched, “I don’t think I could’ve ever reached your impossibly high expectations.”

“I picked the perfect vessel with the perfect genes,” Lorenzo continued, ignoring his son’s words, “I gave you only the best in enhancements and enchants. I spent month’s making sure you were born as the perfect specimen. And even after all that, all you’ve accomplished is proving that you were a mistake.”

This caused Domitor to close his eyes and clench his fist, “I don’t care anymore. I don’t need your approval, or your love, or your anything. I’m done with you, Lorenzo.”

“Oh? Using my first name now?” Lorenzo laughed, looking over to the mother and daughter. “I wonder how long she has before all that lost blood catches up with her.”

Domitor’s body jerked as rage pulsed through his body.

“Let’s find out, shall we?” Lorenzo asked with a sinister smirk as he cast his hand over to them, causing a light to shine down on them.

“Hmm,” he muttered as he made a show of reading the words that appeared before him. “Tsk tsk, she’s not got long, she’s-“ he stopped as he leaned forward, then devolved into a laughing fit. “Oh! That is priceless!”

Domitor’s only reaction was to start walking towards his father, not caring for his theatrics.

“Domitor, you don’t know?” Lorenzo asked, a sinister look in his eyes.

This did not slow him down as he continued his advance on his father, eyes locked with his.

“Well this just makes this all so much more satisfying,” Lorenzo said as two knives appeared in his hands. “You’ve done it, son.”

The mood shift of Lorenzo was worrying Domitor, causing him to slow slightly.

“Shayla,” Lorenzo began with a bit of a dramatic tone to his voice, “is pregnant.”

Those words caused Domitor to come to a stop, eyes going wide as his father howled with laughter.

“You didn’t know!” He exclaimed as he threw a dagger right into Shayla’s hip, causing her to suddenly let out a scream of pain.

This snapped Domitor out of his daze as he began sprinting towards his father, but he could only watch as his father sent two more knives flying at them. One embedded itself in Scamp’s right shoulder while the other impaled Shayla in the upper stomach.

“I’m going to take her womb, Domitor,” Lorenzo declared as the lights dimmed, followed by a spotlight coming on near them.

Domitor panicked as he looked over to see Lorenzo standing near them again.

“I’m going to raise your kid,” he taunted as his hand started to glow. “Maybe this one won’t be such a disappointment.”

“Get the fuck away from them,” he growled as his heart rate increased dramatically.

“Finally some life in those eyes,” Lorenzo laughed as he placed a boot on Scamp’s back and shoved her down onto her daughter roughly, causing Shayla to scream again.

His body began to tense up as he began to shake, “if you touch them-“

“You’ll what?” Lorenzo taunted as he threw a dagger straight down into Shayla’s leg.

“I said GET AWAY FROM THEM!” He roared so violently that Lorenzo actually stopped what he was doing to stare at the seething Domitor.

Domitor started to shake as the ground began to tremble under them. His breathing picked up as he felt something swelling up inside of him.

His father went silent as he watched on, a shocked look over taking his face.

Debris and pieces of the floor began to raise up all around him as he grunted and snarled. He tensed up as he felt something wash over him again, filling him with an intense pressure.

He threw his head back a bit as the feeling swelled, growling as the hatred he felt for his father continued to build up inside of him.

The ground beneath his feet began to crack as the pressure reached new heights, shattering the wood.

The pressure began to pulsate violently within him, threatening to crush him. Then he felt it. A massive surge of power rushed into his body as he began to roar with such ferocity that the ground below him was completely blown away, leaving only the foundations.

Energy swirled around him as he roared, building to a climax. Then with a massive gush of wind it came to an end, with a yellow glowing aura around him as he stood there. His hair a solid yellow color now. He turned his head to his father, an intensely focused look on his face.

Lorenzo could only stare in shock at his son as yellow energy flew up all around him.

The two stared at each other, neither saying a word.

“I was sure you hadn’t inherited that from Belle,” Lorenzo finally said, his shock slowly melting away, “but here we are.”

“Step away from them, right now,” he said firmly, eyes locked on his fathers.

Lorenzo narrowed his eyes as he raised his hand, attempting to use his Thorn to negate his son’s new form. But as Domitor suddenly appeared before him, he realized that was not a possibility.

The sound of an explosion filled the room as Domitor’s fist slammed into his father’s arm as he attempted to block. He was sent skidding back a bit, his eyes wide in shock and pain as he found himself missing an arm

Domitor didn’t relent as he appeared behind Lorenzo, a blank look on his face as he roundhoused his father, sending him flying away.

The area around them began to flicker as he zipped through the area and crashed into his father in midair, sending him straight into the ground.

With that the illusion completely faded away, leaving them in the yard before Raffy’s house.

Lorenzo coughed violently as he pulled himself out of the crater his body had created. His body was broken and one of his arms was missing. This was not good for him.

He shakily reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out his Dimensional Dagger and began stabbing at the air. But nothing happened.

The ground shook as Domitor landed right next to him, glaring down at him.

Letting out a pained sigh he rolled over and stared up at his son.

His left hand stares to raise, but Domitor just gives it a solid kick, ripping it from his body and sending it flying away.

Hissing in pain, Lorenzo’s insane eyes locked with Domitor’s, “if you want to-“

He was cut off as Domitor brought his foot down on his face, causing his head to explode.

Ego poured out of him and into Domitor, confusing him but he didn’t dwell on it too long. He zoomed across the ground till he came up beside Scamp and Shayla, who were both still conscious but clearly not doing very well.

He knelt down and placed his hands on them.

“Raffy,” Scamp gasped out, her coat a bit faded.

He gave her a solid nod as he looked up and saw Floria and Vanilla sprinting towards them.

“I’ll go get him,” Domitor said as he stood up and switched into his pony form, still flowing with yellow energy. He took off into the air, intending to follow the road till he found Raffy’s truck. They needed his healing abilities and fast.

A little self Q&A

Chapter 86

Lacy’s POV

I placed the final sword down on the table, admiring the three blades I’d picked out from the armory. And I must say, they are badass. Two of them are special blades that apparently can’t be used like normal swords, but can be used to channel Ego. They also teleport back to their sheathes after being used, so that’s useful!

With my Ego, I’m sure I can find some really wicked ways to use them. The third sword is just a sword. I just wanted a smaller blade to try out some new techniques with my Ego.

So a very productive morning in my opinion!

“You raided the armory too?” Lance asked as he stepped into the little common area I was in.

I chuckled as I turned to him, taking in his new hoof gauntlets he was wearing, “bro there is so much shit in there, I spent all night just trying to figure out what I wanted!”

He smiled as he stepped up to the table, looking at the weapons I’d picked out. “I know. But it only took me a few minutes to find these babies,” he said as he held up a hoof to show it off.

“I’m just saying, all the weapons you could ask for and you put on gauntlets that make you… what, hit harder?” I asked, taking his hoof and looking the gauntlet over.

“They do that, and one more little thing,” he said with a smirk as he pulled his hoof from me and turned around, looking around the room. “Hm, see that vase over there?” he asked, pointing across the room to a single vase with flowers in it.

“Yeah?” I asked, curious as to what he was about to do.

With a twist, he spun himself and threw a punch, causing the vase across the room to explode.

“Okay that’s fucking sweet,” I said, nodding my head as he turned to smile at me.

“I can reach out and hit things up to ten feet away,” he gave one of the gauntlets a kiss.

“Hmm… I wonder if there’s a sword in there that’ll do that…” I muttered, but then shrugged. My Ego could do the same thing with any sword, so no need to worry about it.

Lance then stepped over to a fridge and opened it, pulling out some food for himself.

“So I gotta ask,” he began as he went about making his food while I sat down to play with my new swords.

“Yeah?”

“What’s the deal with you and Jun?” he asked a bit cautiously.

This caused me to laugh as I looked over to him, a smirk on my face, “why? You worried for my safety?”

“Yes, I guess,” he sighed, “he’s… Jun. He can’t be trusted.”

“Look,” I began as I put a sword down and gave him my full attention, “I appreciate the worry. But you need to know; I can handle myself. Jun is a fucking idiot, and I can see the aggression behind his eyes. But he’s harmless, at least right now he is. He just wants in my pants right now, so I don’t think you need to worry about him ‘coming after you’.”

He put his food in a heater and turned to me, “and how do you feel about him trying to get in your pants?”

“I think it’s funny,” I answered with a chuckle. “Look, Lance, I joke around ALL the time. I’m sure you do too. I like to play around and flirt with big hunky guys and watch them stumble around dumbly trying to impress me. But let me make this clear,” I said as I narrowed my eyes a bit, “I am not a slut. I’ve only been with my late husband, Soarin, and that took us months to get to that point. I do not plan to act on any of my jokes when it comes to anyone. If you see me fawning over some big sexy hunk of beef, just ignore me. Let me have my fun, yeah?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding eye contact with me. “I’m not trying to be so… overbearing. I guess that shit comes with age. Just, I don’t trust him and watching you get so friendly with him worries me.”

“Well, old man, don’t worry about me,” I said with a wink. “I’m a big girl after all.”

“Fair enough,” he said as he pulled his food out and walked over to the table, taking a seat across from me.

“So!” I said with a massive grin on my face. “Let’s compare stories!”

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he began to eat.

“Like, let’s ask some questions and see how similar we really are,” I replied as I leaned on the table.

“Oh, I wrote this book you can read,” he said as he pulled a pretty large book out of his pocket dimension and slid it across the table to me.

I lifted the oversized book and frowned as I pushed it away from me, “I am NOT about to read that much shit. Let’s just do it my way, lazy asshole.”

“Okay, then how should we do this? Start with easy stuff? Or should we just dive into the traumatic shit?” he asked, finishing up his food.

“Traumatic,” I said with a firm nod.

“Grandfather’s farm, the horse,” he said simply, causing me to narrow my eyes.

“Oh so we’re starting there, huh?” I leaned back, crossing my forelegs, “alright then. What happened to you during that first heat?”

“Nothing good, I’ll say that,” he answered, “you?”

“I normally give a fake answer to that, but I’ll be honest with you. I became an apex predator, apparently. Luckily I just smashed through everyone at first and didn’t actually ‘do anything’ if you know what I mean. Soarin was able to lure me into a building and locked me away in a freezer till everything blew over.”

Lance’s eyes went wide at this, “locked you in a freezer? Couldn’t that have killed you?”

“Yeah,” I laughed, shaking my head at the memory, “he wasn’t a very smart man… but fuck did I love him.”

A smile graced his face at this, “okay, did your mom come to Equestria? Or did your dad?”

“My dad,” I answered, “he was always a bit… overprotective. And hella controlling. He tried to make me leave my house and come live with him when he finally found me. It was one hell of a fight too, and I really do not want to talk about him.”

“Wait, do you two not have a good relationship?” he asked with a shocked look on his face. “Me and my mom have a great relationship.”

“No, we did not,” I sighed, “my dad, Danny, never could let me go. He just kept trying to control my life and wanted me to do what he wanted, even after we came to Equestria.”

“Danny?” He rubbed his chin, “my mom’s name is Dana… wait, oh God. Let me guess, your mom is an FBI agent?”

“Yep, isn’t yours?”

“No, my dad is. So looks like EVERYONE in our two universes are gender swapped,” he chuckled as he pushed his empty plate away.

“Everyone but the ponies in Equestria,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, I don’t understand the rules there, but it’s still weird.”

“Next question,” I said as I moved the conversation forward, “Tree Frogs?”

“The fucking worse!” he exclaimed, causing both of us to nod.

“Good to meet a fellow ‘fuck those amphibians’ aficionado,” I said firmly.

He rubbed his chin as he thought up a question, “poison cupcake?”

“No idea what you mean,” I said, scratching my head.

“Oh, well I ate one by accident back in the very beginning and died,” he muttered, looking a bit unsure.

“Well I didn’t die from a poisoned cupcake, but I did die in the beginning when I tried to help a friend try to meet Big Mac and he accidently bucked me in the face.”

“How’d you manage that?” he asked, causing me to look a bit sheepish.

“Eh… he was bucking a tree so I thought I’d get his attention like Pinkie Pie would and I snuck up on him and jumped between him and the tree. I did not realize he could be so focused on his work…”

This just caused him to laugh loudly as I rolled my eyes.

“Alright, fucker, you walk in on your mom flicking the bean thinking you were her lover?”

He stopped laughing and stared at me, “not funny.”

“So that’s a yes,” I remarked with a smirk, “yeah, same here. Dad thought I was his marefriend, Songbird Serenade, and I saw way too much.”

“Whoa whoa WHOA! Your dad got with Songbird Serenade? THE Songbird Serenade? The popstar?!” Lance yelped, eyes wide as he leaned towards me.

“Yep!” I laughed, “I don’t know how, but he appeared in Manehattan and SOMEHOW pulled her attention when looking for me. They never told me how they met, saying it was ‘too romantic for my young ears’.”

“Damn! My mom got with the Captain of the Royal Guard, but Popstar beats that by a long shot!” He let out a whistle, “I guess now I should ask some of the fun questions. How’d giving birth to your daughter go?”

My smile faded away at this as unpleasant memories surfaced.

“Are you okay?” He asked, noticing my mood shift.

“Yeah. I love my daughter, but the memory is… unpleasant,” I answered, causing him to look a bit awkward. “Did a few of your enemies band together and attack you during Nightmare Night?”

“They did,” he replied, seeming a bit confused.

“Okay well they attacked us and killed a few of my friends. And I handed myself over to spare the rest of them,” I said slowly.

“Same here, they shoved me in a cage and stole my immortality.”

“Yep, and that’s where I suddenly went into labor,” I said, causing him to jerk hard.

“You were pregnant during that fight?!” He exclaimed in shock.

“Pregnant, cramping, and contracting. Then those assholes mocked me the entire time. Of course when they attempted to take my newborn from me I snapped and broke free, killing most of them before my friends caught up to rescue me.”

“That’s…” he shook his head, “just Jesus I can’t even begin to imagine that shit.”

“It was an experience, that’s for sure,” I muttered, then forced myself to change subjects, “so! How’d you propose to Twilight?”

A smile slid into his face, “ah, at the Grand Galloping Gala. I took her to a beautiful place out in the garden and proposed in the simplest way possible. But she loves it and the rest is history. You?”

“Mine is not as grand as the Gala, but it’s one of my favorite moments in my life,” I began, reminiscing on that day. “Soarin and I had been together for a bit by this point and I honestly wasn’t planning on marriage or any of that stuff. I was pregnant and just happy being with his goofy ass. He never brought it up either so I thought we were on the same page.

“Well a few months into my pregnancy I was having a REALLY rough week where I was in constant pain and complaining. He stayed by my side even though I was being a real BITCH to him the entire time. By the end of it I broke down thinking he’d leave me after how I was treating him. But that goof ball just gave me a little speech about how much he loved me and all that jazz, then pulled out a ring. He asked me to marry him even though I was standing there bloated and ugly as hell.”

“I never really knew Soarin,” Lance admitted, “but he sounds like he was a great guy.”

“He was the best,” I said a bit solemnly, letting out a small sigh.

“If you don’t mind, what happened to him?”

“Seven years ago,” I began, just hoping straight to it, “one of my enemies, Valerie, came back from the dead just to screw up my life.”

“Valerie? Is she a large Alicorn who you met at a place called Pleasant Fields?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You mean Val?” I asked, getting a nod. “No, different person. We’ll talk about that later,” I rubbed my face as I continued, “Valerie is a Diamond Dog who was a Brony who was angry we ‘took all the good’ stallions. I killed her after a few encounters, but some asshole brought her back to life years later and… she killed my husband as her first act, so I didn’t even have a chance to save him. One minute he was going to the store, and the next she was tossing his body through our bedroom window.”

“Fuck…” Lance muttered.

“I killed that bitch and I made damn sure she’d never come back again…” I growled, trying not to go off on another tangent like the last time I explained this story. “So that’s why I fucking flirt and joke around so much, okay?”

“Yeah, I get it,” he said slowly. “I’m sorry, Lacy.”

“It’s fine, I know you’ve probably got your share of trauma and shit,” I let out a sigh and leaned back. “For example, the cannibal?”

He shook his head at this, “yeah. You ever figured out what that was all about?”

“Nope, she came, ate me like a buffet table, and disappeared without elaborating. Weirdest shit ever,” I said as I rubbed my shoulder at the memory. That cannibal is one of the few things I never figured out.

“Huh, I’m almost afraid to ask this one, but did Luna be a bit aggressive in the beginning for you? LIke, almost raping you aggressive?” Lance asked, causing me to roll my eyes.

“No, but Blueblood tried to do that. Guy got his nuts kicked for that one, but he ended up not being that bad of a guy once all things were said and done,” I answered, shrugging.

“That sounds worse than what I went through,” he muttered, causing both of us to chuckle a bit. “Which I guess leads to this question: did you have a Brony Draconequus in your world that was the cause of all the sexual problems?”

“Yeah, a guy named Abel who went by Disarray,” I answered with a sigh. “He was a deviant and caused so much shit to happen. When we found out he was behind all the horrible shit we’d gone through, like the fucking Heat, I just straight up killed him.”

“Ours did the same shit, but we banished her to the moon,” Lance said as a sheepish look fell over his face. “But as it turns out she’s a rape victim and all that shit she did was a trauma response. So…”

“I don’t really care, not an excuse for what they did,” I answered firmly. “So fuck em. Anyways, Pleasant Fields?”

“Yeah, I got tricked and then captured. Huh… What’d Draco do to you in your dimension?” he asked cautiously.

“Draco? The gay guy? He sucked my friend's dick against his will, then I killed him when we broke out, not much to tell.”

“Wait, your friend was a guy? The one who came with me was a guy too. Does that mean you had a male Frederic?” he asked, a bit confused.

“Frederic? No, my friend was a guy named Vinny who could control plants and shit. Frederic was the guy I was pretending to be to trick Champion, right?”

“Yeah, that was him. He died when we fought the Watcher the first time. The guy was like a brother to me…”

I rubbed my chin, making a connection, “was Frederic killed on Earth like five or so years before the rapture by his mafia family?”

“Yep, his dad killed him.”

I frowned at him, “why didn’t you kill him during your first meeting with him?!”

“Because I was dumb and Frederic beat him after a short fight, so I thought we could just lock him away or something…”

“Well in my dimension he was a she and her bitch ass name was Rachel. She attacked us out of nowhere one night and was able to cut Fredia’s throat. If it wasn’t for my Moon and Rake, I wouldn’t have won that fight. You should’ve done what I did; stomp her head in.”

“Honestly I regret that decision every time he reappears, but he’s gotten to a point where he’s too hard to kill.”

“It was losing Frieda that turned me into the asshole you see before you today, Lance. Her death was… jarring to say the least.”

“Yeah…” he rubbed his chin as he thought of another question. “Did you also have a crazy person follow you to Equestria and try to kill you?”

“A crazy bitch named Kodi, yes. I killed her shortly after she surprise attacked my ass. Good riddance.”

“Well… mine is named Cody and he ended up becoming a reformed and amazing person who’s helped us overcome a few disasters in the past,” Lance said as I rolled my eyes again.

“I stand by my choices.”

“Not to be that guy, but maybe killing everyone who stood against you is the reason everyone you know is dead,” he said a bit harshly.

“What the fuck?” I snapped, “what’s with the sudden third degree?”

“Because sometimes you need someone to say the hard shit,” he retorted. “I’m not going to sit here and judge you, but I’ve only killed when necessary and things have gone relatively well for everyone I know.”

“Sounds like judging to me…” I grumbled, crossing my forelegs. “I did what I thought was right at the time, and I still stand by that…”

“That’s how I’ve always operated as well, so no, I’m not judging you,” he assured me.

“Well let me try a few questions then,” I began as I leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Roxxy limped down the deserted street, with Babel Yarn right next to her, scanning each building they walked past. They didn’t have much of a plan, as the communicator was still broken. Which meant the only thing they could do right now was try and find a place to buy replacement parts.

There was just one major problem with that plan. The place they’d appeared in seemed to be mostly abandoned and in a constant state falling apart.

Babel, in her infinite wisdom, believed this location's gimmick was post-apocalyptic.

But Roxxy wasn’t too worried about that, as she knew that as long as they stuck together, they’d pull through this terrible shit.

Her eyes drifted over to the other mare, who was currently smiling happily and humming to herself as they walked along.

Roxxy didn’t exactly know how they’d handle the upcoming challenges, but she did know for a fact she’d never let anyone hurt this strange mare.

With that she moved closer to Babel as they walked, pressing into her side a bit. Babel, being her oblivious self, just kept walking and humming, just enjoying life.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Shayla’s POV

“You shouldn’t be alive,” Raffy muttered as he sat back, watching me slowly stand up after he healed my wounds.

“She’s resilient, like her parents,” my mother grunted as she held her own wounds, which had not been healed yet as Raffy had to focus on me at first.

Raffy quickly moved to her, but she waved him off and pointed to my mom, “no, heal Mallogory first. I’ll be fine.”

“Between the two of you, YOU are the one who needs healing first. You’re wounds are terrible and-”

“Raffy, just do it for me,” she grunted, causing him to frown.

“All of you are stubborn,” he retorted as he moved to help my mom first.

My mother just smiled a bit as she sat down hard.

Once he finished with my mom he quickly moved back to my mother, who finally let herself be healed.

As he healed her, I turned to Domitor, who was still glowing yellow.

A wide smile appeared on my face as I stared at his aura with my Virtue Sight.

“What?” he asked as I stepped up to him.

“You’re a…” I began, reaching over and rubbing his face, “a fucking Saiyan?!”

“I don’t know what that is…” he admitted, causing me to gasp loudly.

“How can you not know?! They’re the main staple of Dragon Ball Z!” I yelled, causing him to smile sheepishly.

“I’ve… never watched it, Shay.”

“But I talk about it all the time!”

“And that doesn’t mean I know what you’re talking about, dummy,” he chuckled, reaching up and placing his hoof on my face. “But did you hear what he said? Or were you too out of it?”

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I kinda was wavering in and out earlier, what with all the blood loss and injuries. The only thing that pulled me together was seeing Domitor transform into a freaking Super Saiyan!

“So you didn’t hear him,” he said, seeming a bit nervous.

“Oh here we go,” my mother chuckled as all eyes landed on me suddenly.

“Uh… what’s going on?” I asked, not liking the looks I was suddenly getting.

“Okay, do not panic,” Domitor began, placing his hooves on my shoulders, “and do not overreact. Can you promise me that?”

“Uh… sure, I promise,” I said in confusion.

“Shayla,” he began, tightening his grip on my shoulders. “You’re pregnant.”

I stood there, slowly raising my eyebrows, “nah, I’m not. I’m sterile, remember?”

“Well, maybe not,” my mom said from behind me. “You may have actually gotten more pony in you than we originally thought.”

“Even then, I can’t be pregnant,” I countered with a chuckle.

“Shayla, use your sight. Do you see anything… odd about yourself?” Rosemary asked carefully.

Letting out a sigh I looked at myself using my Virtue Sight, looking over my body seeing nothing out of place.

“You’re overlooking it, Shayla,” she muttered, causing me to look again.

Reluctantly I looked myself over again, seeing my Soul radiation from my chest. Nothing out of the ordinary- okay yeah, there’s a second smaller part of my soul lower in my body. So what?

“Are you serious?” Rosemary groaned, causing Buu to start laughing. “Shayla, that second Soul is the beginning of a person being formed. That’s your womb.”

My body seized up as it finally hit me, and boy did it hit me hard.

“I’m fucking pregnant?!” I yelled, causing Domitor to squeeze harder.

“Apparently,” he confirmed as my breathing picked up. “How… are you feeling?”

To answer him I threw my hands up and broke his grip on me and spun around, heading for the house.

“Shayla?!” he called after me as I stomped away, holding a hand to my gut.

“I can’t be fucking pregnant!” I exclaimed angrily as I walked past everyone else.

He chased after me, but I ignored him as I stepped into the house and made my way to our room, slamming the door behind me and collapsing against it.

I grabbed my faceplate with my hands and began to shake as my mind raced.

What the fuck do I do?!

“Shayla, it’s going to be okay,” he said lamely from the other side of the door.

“Fuck off, Dom,” I snapped, slamming a fist into the floor next to me.

The sound of him sitting down against the door caused me to growl.

He didn’t say anything as we just sat there, our backs only separated by the door between us.

I punched myself in the face a few times out of frustration, my teeth gritted as I thought of all the shit I couldn’t do now.

“My parents told me I couldn’t get pregnant!” I finally roared, hitting myself a few more times. “I don’t want a kid, Dom! I wanna do what ever the fuck I want to do, not raise a fucking baby!”

“I know,” he said quietly.

“FUCK!” I screamed as I kicked my feet as I grabbed my faceplate again, pulling against it roughly. “What do I do?!”

“I don’t know,” he answered, not moving a lot on his side of the door.

“Dom, I really don’t want to be a mom,” I choked out as I started crying, my ruined eye sockets still somehow producing tears.

He didn’t reply to that one.

“I had plans! I wanted to explore all kinds of crazy dimensions and do all kinds of awesome shit! A kid ruins all that! And now I feel like a horrible mare because I’m considering…”

“Killing it,” Domitor finished for me, pain clear in his voice.

“Yeah…” I muttered as I pulled my legs into myself, hugging them. “I’m the fucking worst. The most selfish fucking bitch ever…”

“No, you’re not. You’re just… not sure how to process all this. I’m in the same boat, but we can get through this, together,” he tried to assure me, but I just hit the door with the back of my fist.

“Stop acting like you know how I’m feeling, you prick,” I growled, “I’m sitting here considering killing an unborn foal, you don’t know what I’m going through.”

“Whatever you chose,” he said slowly and calmly, “I’m here for you, Shayla.”

Tears and snot ran down my face upon hearing him say that, causing me to scream in frustration again. “Damn it, Dom! Be pissed! I’m sitting here talking about killing your unborn kid and you’re going to say you support whatever I do?! I’m fucking retarded, Dom! I make the wrong choices all the fucking time!”

“Shayla,” he began as he bumped against the door a bit, “I love you, with all my being. I’d love to raise a family with you, but at the same time I’m always going to support you. If you do not want this, we can figure it out. I just want you to be happy and have everything you deserve.”

“Fucking asshole,” I choked out as my nose clogged up, “just get mad at me, call me names. Please, just let me have it. I’m horrible, and I’d be an even worse mother.”

“You’d be a mess of a mother, Shayla,” he said, causing me to gag a bit as a short laugh pushed through the sobs. “But that’s okay. Because I know you’d love them no matter what, even if you’re fucking up left and right. You just have to remember, there’s two of us here, Shay. You wouldn’t be alone.”

“I don’t fucking know why you’re like this with me, Dom,” I said between sobs. “All I’ve done is hurt you and make your life a living hell. Just because we banged doesn’t mean you have to stick by my side. You deserve someone more loving and stable.”

“Oh, you’re so fucking dense, Shay,” he said a bit roughly. “I don’t feel this way because we ‘banged’, I feel this way because you are the one and only person in my life that I care about this deeply. I’ve always loved you, I just didn’t know how to process that emotion till that night. You are my everything, Shay, and I’ll stick by your side no matter how bad things get or what choices you make.”

“And I thought I was dumb,” I mumbled as I wiped my face on my pants. “Tell me what I should do, Domitor. Please…”

“I think you should take a step back and think about this longer than one day,” he said in a soothing voice. “Let your feelings form before you make a choice.”

“And if I chose to kill it?” I asked hesitantly.

“Then we’ll do it, and I will not ever hold it against you,” he assured, causing me to start crying again as I spun around and slammed my hooves through the door, grabbing him and yanking him roughly through it.

“Thank you,” I cried out as I pulled him into myself, burying my face in his neck as he wrapped his forelegs around my neck.

I don’t know what I’ll do… but having Domitor by my side made me feel like things would be okay, no matter what happens.

Back to Equestria

Author's Note

This chapter is a bit rough, but that's due to me forcing it out. Things should return to my normal pace and style by the next chapter.

Back to Equestria

Chapter 88

Two weeks later

Shayla’s POV

“So you are positive you’ve gotten everything?” my mother asked me as I finished putting the last of my stuff away in my Vacuole.

“I don’t have much,” I replied as I turned to her, seeing she was staring right at me.

“Not much huh? Tell me, why’d this just roll out from under your bed?” she asked, holding up… the Watcher’s old vial.

“Eh… no idea? What is it?” I asked, trying to act ignorant, but I swear she can read my thoughts or something!

“Yeah, no, this is the Watcher’s Vial. Where is he, Shayla,” she asked, a bit hostile, causing me to recoil back.

“You won’t like that answer…” I muttered, causing her eye to twitch.

“He escaped,” she said flatly, but I shook my head.

“No, not exactly…”

“What have you done?” she asked calmly.

“Mama, he's the one who figured out how to kill Leem!” I said quickly, causing her eye to go wide. “AND! He’s the one who gave me the Virtue Sight! And he’s been helping me through-”

“You allowed him into your head…” she said in a shaky voice. “You CAN’T be serious, Shayla! You… YOU…. GAH!”

She tossed the vial at me, growling loudly, “we’re going to find a way to get him out of your head, one way or-”

But she was cut off as Buu suddenly slid through me and out into the vial, staring at my mother.

This caught her off guard as they stared at each other.

“How’d you get him out so-”

“Mama, he did that himself,” I interjected, shaking a bit. I do not like being on this side of her wrath.

“Why?!” she snapped, looking right at him.

“I do not know, to be honest,” he began with a sigh. “Also, apparently, my name is now Buu. So please use that, Scamp.”

My mother clasped her hooves together, closing her eye as she groaned loudly. Then she opened her eye and looked at me, “okay. Tell me everything that has happened with… Buu.”

ooo000<^>000oo

We stepped outside just as everyone else was finishing up their preparations. I glanced at my mother as she continued to give me ‘the look’.

Even after hearing the whole story, she wasn’t happy about it, but she also didn’t make me change anything. Which is weird, as she usually is very set in her ways. Especially when it comes to the past.

This might be one of the few times I catch a lucky break, and I’m going to take it.

As we all gathered up, I looked back at the house where Raffy stood, drinking from a mug as he watched us.

“Are you sure you don't want to come?” My mother called out to him, causing him to laugh.

“Thank you for the opportunity, but my adventuring days are over,” he yelled back, raising his mug to us.

With that there wasn’t anything else for us here. We’d all spent the last day getting ready to leave and saying goodbye to Raffy. So my mom stepped to the front of the group, holding up my Dimensional Dagger.

“Ready?” she asked, getting nods from everyone else.

She stabbed the dagger into the air and pulled it down, causing a portal to open. One by one we stepped through, with me being the last one as I looked back to Raffy, giving him one last wave.

He smiled at me as he threw a salute my way.

I stepped backward through the portal, taking in Eris one last time before the portal snapped shut before me.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Scamp narrowed her eye as she stepped through the portal, taking in everything around them. They’d agreed they’d have the portal take them to their home, but the scene before them caused them all to come to a grinding halt.

“What the fuck happened to our house?!” Shayla yelled as she stepped forward, but Scamp grabbed her tail and yanked her back. “What?”

“Something’s… off,” Scamp muttered as she opened her pocket dimension and pulled out her cellphone. She held the power button, waiting for it to turn on.

The buildings around them were just… gone. As was their house, which was now just a pile of rubble, looking like an explosion had gone off right next to the building.

Spark let out a grunt, getting everyone's attention.

He stared at them wide eyed as he slowly raised a hoof, looking at it as energy began to radiate off of him.

“Oh crud…” he muttered as his eyes flashed a few different colors suddenly.

“Are you good?” Shayla asked cautiously as Scamp’s phone finally turned on, followed by it going crazy as missed text and notifications began to pour in.

“I just…” he began, looking conflicted and a bit worried, “... I just… gained access to my Archangel form.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t use that form unless you were fighting shit from that Collapse thing,” Shayla said as he just stood there growing more and more confused.

“That’s how it’s supposed to work… I can only use it against an Agent of the Collapse, whatever that means,” he mumbled as Scamp suddenly ripped open her pocket dimension again and pulled out her Dimensional Communicator, which could not connect to anything while they were on Eris.

“Mama?” Shayla asked as sweat began to coat Scamp’s face.

Scamp did not respond as she clicked through the Communicator frantically.

“What did you read?” Mallogory asked, but Scamp just kept clicking through the device.

It beeped as she raised it to her mouth and began to talk a bit frantically into it, “this is Scamp, do you read me, Bronwyn?”

There was a long pause before it blared to life.

“Scamp?! Where are you?!” Bronwyn yelled over the Communicator.

“We’re at my house,” she answered, looking at everyone else, who looked massively confused.

“Do not move!” Bronwyn ordered as the device turned off.

“What’s going on?!” Shayla asked as the group’s anxiety slowly raised with every passing second.

“We… shouldn’t talk about it right here,” she answered, looking a bit pale, which was very out of character for her.

Before anyone could ask any more questions, a portal snapped open right next to Scamp, startling everyone. Bronwyn leaned out, eyes wide as she frantically waved for them to come to her.

“We can’t leave this portal open for long!” she exclaimed in a panicked tone as she held up a strange device. “We need to grant you Enforcer Status, so please, gather around!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Now that we were safe in the Enforcer Order Hall I turned to face my mother and Bronwyn, not enjoying how in the dark we all were.

“Mama, WHAT is going on?” I asked a bit roughly, causing her and Bronwyn to look at each other.

“Come with me,” Bronwyn said a bit grimly as she began heading for the round table in the middle of the chamber. “I’ll explain everything.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

A tense silence settled over everyone as Bronwyn explained what's been happening since we’d been gone. She’d just told us about their failed operation to take down Champion, but she didn’t go into many details. They’d apparently spent the last few weeks gathering up everyone who got scattered during the fighting.

I glanced around to see everyone around us, watching with mixed emotions. The three Lance’s were throwing me off, but that wasn’t enough to fully distract me from the news we’d just received.

“Okay, we can figure this out,” I said as I stood up, placing my hands on the table. “Let me reconnect with my friends and we’ll get to work on Champion.”

But Bronwyn looked pained as she turned her gaze to me, “no, Shayla. You will not be going near Champion. None of us will be, he’s far too dangerous.”

“So? My friends and I are the Elements now, we can-”

“Shayla,” Roxxy suddenly said, getting my attention as she stepped towards me, “something has happened.”

“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Dude and Nightstreak,” she began, causing me even more confusion, “are dead.”

“...”

“Champion… he’s too strong, we tried to trap him, but it didn’t work. He killed both of them and did this to me,” she said, using her prosthetic to point to her eye.

“They’re…” I muttered, working my jaw as my mind got stuck on their faces.

“Yes,” Roxxy said firmly.

My neck jerked as I turned from the table and began walking for one of the hallways.

“Shayla?!” Domitor called after me, but I kept walking. I was about to break down, and the last place I wanted to do that was here. In front of everyone.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The group watched as Shayla quickly left the chamber, walking down one of the many hallways. Domitor tried to follow her, but Lacy waved him off and walked casually after Shayla.

As everyone watched the display, Spark suddenly slammed a hoof down on the table, startling everyone.

He growled, as he was still hung up on a few details that did not set well with him. “Star Chaser… he’s killed our friends and… Azure Moon… that’s unforgivable…”

“We’re looking into a way to defeat him, but we’re coming up empty in all regards,” Nova announced, trying to calm Spark down as everyone turned to her. “We just need to wait till we can-”

“We’re not waiting,” Spark said sternly. “I will deal with Star Chaser myself.”

“Spark, no, you will not be going near him,” Lance said as he stepped up to his son, giving him a hard glare. “There is not a single person in this room that can handle him.”

With a cold glare, Spark turned to his father and stared into his eyes, “I am the one and only person who can stop him.”

“No amount of training or-” Lance began, but his eyes went wide as energy began to pool around Spark.

His eyes flashed a bright yellow as stood up on his hind legs and slammed his forehooves together, causing energy to explode around him, sending everyone rolling away. His coat changed to a pure white, as did his mane and tail.

“Spark?!” Lance yelped as everyone stared in awe at him as he stood there, energy crackling around him as he stared at them all with a determined look on his face. “You’re an Angel?!”

“Archangel,” Spark answered in a serious tone.

“How?!” Lance asked, slowly moving back to his son.

“God,” was the only thing Spark said in response as he looked at everyone else. “We’re going to stop Star Chaser and the others who follow him. And we’re going to do it tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? That’s not enough time to-”

“Take me to this Time Chamber you mentioned,” he demanded. “I need to prepare myself.”

“Son, we-”

“This is happening, with or without all of your help,” Spark said harshly. “Star Chaser will be stopped tomorrow. One way, or another.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Shayla’s POV

I finally came to a stop, leaning against the wall as I placed a hand over my face.

My brain was not processing any of this very well, causing me to start to hyperventilate.

“Take a breath, kid,” someone said from behind me.

My breathing only got worse as I looked back with my Virtue Sight, seeing it was that female Lance. Great, that’s the last thing I need right now…

“Come on,” she said as she came up and leaned against the opposite wall of the hallway, “take a few deep breaths and count to ten.”

“That doesn’t work,” I gasped out as my two dead friends flashed through my mind again, “my mind is shit at handling this crap!”

“Same, kid,” she replied with a light chuckle. “Try this then; raise your hand and hold it in front of your face.”

“How does that help?” I asked between gasps.

“Trust me,” she said as she stepped over to me, looking serious.

Reluctantly I held my hand up in front of my face, “What now?”

“Open your palm and turn it towards your face,” she ordered.

I did as I was told, my breathing not improving, “okay, now wh-”

She cut me off as she slapped the back of my hand, causing me to smack myself in the face.

This shocked the hell out of me as my face twisted into one of pure anger as I lurched forward and grabbed her by the neck of her cloak, slamming her against the wall.

“What the fuck was that for you bitch?!” I yelled as I shook her a bit, but she just smirked at me.

“Fixed your breathing though,” she pointed out, which just pissed me off as I realized she was right. I shoved her to the side and backed off, glaring at her.

“Fuck you,” I muttered, turning my back on her.

She chuckled a bit as I started to walk away from her, “I know what you’re going through. Losing friends and all that shit.”

“You don’t know what I’m going through,” I growled at her.

“Sixty seven,” she suddenly said, causing me to look back at her.

“Huh?”

“Sixty seven, that’s how many friends and family I’ve lost over the last ten years,” she said with a serious look on her face. “So I THINK I have a pretty good idea what you’re going through, kid.”

“Call me Shayla,” I grumbled, turning fully to her. “How the fuck are you happy and able to joke around if you’ve lost that many people?”

“Fake it till you make it,” she admitted with a sigh.

“Okay? But why do you care how I’m feeling? You don’t even know me,” I said roughly.

“Look, running off to vent and cry is okay. I’ve done that. A lot. But I don’t want to watch another person make my mistake and spiral down a dark path,” she said in a calm voice.

“Thanks for the advice, but I don’t need it,” I threw back, causing her to chuckle again.

“Stubborn,” she muttered, then shrugged, “Take the advice or not. I’m trying to help you.”

“Well you’re not,” I grunted as I turned and started to walk away, but stopped as my shoulders slumped. “How… did you process these kinds of feelings?”

“I punched shit and screamed a lot,” she answered.

I clenched my hands as I began to continue walking forward. “I’m sorry for being a bitch…”

“Don’t worry, you should see me when I don’t eat!” she called after me, getting a light smile to appear on my face.

Of course, as I continued down the hallway, my emotions began to build again.

A thought hit me that caused my breathing to catch again, starting the whole process over again.

I’m… never going to see those two goofballs again…

Sins of the Past: Dreamcatcher

Chapter 89

The next day

Scamp stepped through the portal first, eyes locked on the Palace before her, a sense of nostalgia washing over her. This was not her group's target, but seeing it again in this context brought her back to a time she’d like to forget.

Her wife and daughter stepped out behind her, followed by Spark, who was in his base form.

“Spark,” she said as he stepped past her, causing his stern face to turn towards her. “Be careful.”

“I will,” he said stoically as he turned and began walking for the Palace gates, leaving them to their mission.

She turned and led her family down the street, towards the Inquisitor's HQ. They’d been disbanded by this point, as were most other forms of Government in the world.

In the few weeks he’d had to himself, Champion had brought the entire world to its knees. He was now the sole ruler of all, having killed all others who once held those positions.

Canterlot itself was in ruin, as he’d gone on a tantrum after losing his prey after the failed operation. As of now, there was not a single living being within the city, either due to him or leaving of their own volition.

The only building that was in use, outside of the mostly empty Palace, was the Inquisitor's HQ, which was now the residence of Nightmare. The reason for him using this building was simple; it was the largest building within the city.

As they neared it, she looked back, a frown appearing on her face. Talio had apparently tagged along, which was not part of the plan. But to be honest, he was left out of all the planning. The guy contributes nothing and just stands around watching everyone.

“Are you helping?” she asked a bit roughly, not slowing down as they neared their destination.

“And take all your glory? I think not,” he answered, getting a groan out of Shayla.

“If you’re coming, kill shit, damn it!” she growled, but he just pulled out Clackers and began playing with them.

Scamp ignored him, not caring that he was making so much noise. Nightmare for sure knew they were coming already.

She realized this was very similar to the first time she and Echo Team fought the Nightmare in her original Dimension. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to resort to the tactics they had to use that day to win.

The massive doors of the Inquisitor's HQ loomed up ahead, giving off a dark aura that was visible to the eye.

Scamp’s only reaction was a slight hesitation in her step, but she pushed through it as they neared the door.

“Stick together, and watch each other's backs. Do not let him possess you,” Scamp reminded them, as they’d gone over this plan at least thirty times. “Shayla, use your Virtue Sight to watch for his tendrils and cut them yourself, or warn us. We will work to create the opening you need.”

“You got it, mama,” she answered as she placed her hand on her sword.

“Mal, you ready?” Scamp asked, getting a confident nod from her wife, both of her swords held tightly in her hands.

With that she pushed open the door, sending a loud creak down the long hallway before them. It was filled with dead ponies, all in either Inquisitor's armor or civilian clothing. She grimaced, but pushed forward.

As far as they knew, the Inquisitor's tried to oppose the new ruler, but it… clearly did not end well for them.

The walls were covered in old flaking blood and gore, as it looked like a storm of blades had gone down the hallway.

“Fuck…” Shayla muttered as her sight made out all the shapes of the dead around her.

“Keep your mind focused,” Scamp advised her as they neared the door that led to the main lobby, the largest room within this massive building.

The moment they stepped into the lobby, they were hit with a wall of stench so strong it even made Scamp’s nose wrinkle up in disgust.

This room was the worst, as it was piled high with bodies, all the way to the ceiling, which was two stories high as this room had a second floor walkway that led further into the building.

“The infamous Beltosh’s family,” Nightmare called out as he sat on a throne of bodies at the other end of the room. He was in a more humanoid form, but tall and lanky as his dark tendrils waved all around him, sticking out of the massive pile of bodies he sat upon. “Ah… yes, I can feel my aura from you two. I AM within you after all. At least, a version of me.”

Scamp scanned the area, taking in all the tendrils that were around them, coming out of the piles of bodies as if they were vines growing out of piles of dirt.

Without warning Shayla slid past her mother, her Ego flaring as she slammed a fist into the ground, causing the ground around them to crack as her Ego spread below them, cutting through all of the unseen tendrils that were flying up to meet them.

“Interesting,” Nightmare muttered as he slid down the pile of bodies like a slide and began to stroll towards them, hands in fake pockets. “Looks like we’ll have to be serious here, does it not?”

Tendrils exploded out of every crack and crevice in the building, flying straight for the group. The whole room darkened immediately, all light being consumed by the incoming wall of tendrils.

As it neared, Shayla’s Perception Field spread around them as she grabbed her sword.

“VofKai,” she whispered as her power soared, causing her to move so fast her parents barely could keep track of her as her sword flashed all around them, halting the wave of death that had threatened to crash into them.

Mallogory locked her eyes on Nightmare through all of the tendrils that came down on them, ready to engage him directly.

Finally, the onslaught of tendrils halted as Shayla came to a stop, her sword glowing red hot as she’d been pushing herself and her weapon there.

The moment it all came to a stop, Mallogory dashed forward, flickering as she cut through any remaining tendrils that he sent her way.

A smile graced Nightmare’s face as his arms turned to blades, coming up to block Mallogory’s as she brought them down towards him. But her body flickered as her swords suddenly appeared on the other side of his own, slicing through him in an X.

The smile faded from his face as he reformed, attempting to strike back at her, but her flickering body prevented him from landing an attack as she kept removing his body parts.

Scamp stalked around the outside of the fight, watching every movement carefully as she flexed her claws, anticipating the moment to strike.

As for Shayla, she was standing still just out of range of the fighting, watching everything in the area with her Virtue Sight. Ever so often she’d send a disk of Ego flying through the air, where it would cut through any unseen tendrils that were trying to be sneaky.

Talio kept playing with his clackers.

Nightmare was getting a bit frustrated, as every time he attempted to possess one of them, another would cut the connection before it could take hold. They couldn’t kill him, but he knew they had a plan. Otherwise they wouldn’t have come to him in his own lair.

The sounds of slicing and dicing increased as Mallogory pushed herself, her body flickering so fast that she was starting to look like a high speed fan, leaving after images as her blades cut through the Nightmare.

He let out an annoyed yell as he grew in size, becoming more of a hulking gorilla than anything else. With a roar he attempted to swipe Mallogory away, but his fist just turned to a mist as it tried to approach her, as she was now going faster than he thought possible, becoming more of a blender than a swordsman.

Scamp’s eye shot open as she saw the moment she’d been waiting for. Moving fast and agilely, she spread her wings and shot upward, landing on his back as she sliced at the back of his neck, causing him to stiffen slightly at the sudden attack.

The moment Scamp had moved to engage him, Shayla dropped into a power stance, holding her hands together as she began to rapidly push Ego into her hands, preparing a Ego beam. This was all a part of their plan, and now it all relied on her.

Roaring like an angry beast from hell, Nightmare swiped at Mallogory as his tendrils attempted to take out the mare upon his back, but he was not able to accomplish either.

Scamp was moving around so much on his back, using her claws to keep herself attached, that he was losing his cool.

He started to shift forms, but the mare on his back suddenly grabbed his head and swung herself over him, flipping over him and slamming her hooves into his chest, causing them to embed themselves into him.

A cough erupted from his mouth, spraying her in black sludge, followed by him growling as he tried to grab her with his hands. But Mallogory just removed them in an instant with her blades.

Ripping her legs free, Scamp threw herself to the ground and clawed his leg off, causing him to collapse to his knee.

“Move!” Shayla suddenly yelled as a massive ball of Ego crackled around between her palms.

Both of her parents instantly shot to the side as she roared, throwing her hands forward and sending the massively powerful beam flying right for Nightmare, who wasn’t able to move in that moment.

His eyes went wide as the beam washed over him, causing him to disappear in the cyan blast. The beam continued past where he had stood and passed through the piles of bodies behind him and then through the wall of the building.

She let out a scream as she increased the beam, causing it to increase in both size and power. As soon as she saw her parents were now behind her, she pushed herself.

“VofKai times ten!” she roared, causing the beam to explode in power as the entire area in front of her, and for countless miles beyond, was engulfed in her Ego beam.

She held it as long as she could, but finally she let it go, ending the attack as she went to a knee, VofKai ending violently as she jerked, falling to the side.

Scamp descended on her daughter, grabbing her hand in hers as she patted her cheek.

With a groan, Shayla reached up and grabbed her mothers hand. “We get that bastard?” she asked, clearly exhausted after pushing herself far beyond her limits.

Scamp and Mallogory looked to where Nightmare had stood, seeing that there was nothing there, as Shayla’s beam had created a massive crater before them, going down at least a mile and extending further than the eye could see, clearing away all buildings and obstacles it’d passed over.

“I… think you got him,” Scamp chuckled, shaking her head at the sheer destruction her daughter had just caused.

“Fuck yeah,” Shayla muttered, doing a little fist pump as she passed out.

“She’s more impressive than I could have-” Mallogory began to say, but both her and Scamp’s heads snapped to the area where the Nightmare had once been.

A small ball of dark sludge was slowly reforming in the air, with little pieces flying up from all directions.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Scamp growled as she stood up as she and her wife stepped up to the edge of the drop off, watching the sludge grow in size.

“Immortal or not, I thought vaporizing would stop him,” Mallogory muttered as Scamp stomped her hoof.

“Damn it!” she yelled as she kicked a rock off of the cliff. “DAMN IT!”

“Very unfortunate,” Talio said as he stepped up next to them, causing Mallogory to growl.

“Keep your comments to yourself, useless tag along!” she yelled, eyes locking onto the growing ball in the air before them.

“How rude,” he said casually as he pulled out a large pair of orange scissors.

“Finally going to help?” Scamp snapped, causing him to chuckle as he broke the scissors apart, turning them into a pair of blades.

“Me? Oh no no no,” he chuckled as he flipped the blades around, holding the handles out to the two of them. “I offer you my blades, so you may have your victorious moment.”

“We have our own weapons, why don’t you just use them and HELP?!” Mallogory yelled, but he didn’t react to her.

“Your weapons are insufficient for the task at hand,” he said, giving the two blades a wiggle. “Think of mine as something akin to one of those fancy Ego weapons I’ve heard you all gushing about. A perfect counter to the vile villain you find yourself facing today. As for me helping, impossible. I forgot to do my morning stretches.”

“If they work like a Ego weapon, do they absorb parts of his Soul as we cut at him?” Mallogory asked with a raised eyebrow.

“In a way,” he answered simply.

Scamp grabbed one of the blades, eyeing him suspiciously. “I see. If that is true, then this will weaken him slowly as we fight him…”

“Preciously,” he says cheerfully as Mallogory takes his other blade, frowning as she holds it up.

“This would have been good to know BEFORE we made this plan,” she growled.

“You all seemed so confident in your plan, who was I to interject?” he asked, causing her to roll her eyes.

Scamp gritted her teeth as they turned to face the much larger ball as the sludge flying up to combine into it slowed down. Talio skipped backwards to his original position, pulling out an accord, providing them with background music. Even though it was massively out of tune, and he clearly did not know how to play the damn thing.

Finally the ball expanded as it took on a large werewolf form, eyes glowing with rage.

“Did you think you’d won?!” Nightmare growled as he floated towards them, body twitching and jerking as he neared them.

Neither of the women answered him as they backed up, giving him a place to land. He came down hard, chest heaving as he took a step towards the unconscious Shayla.

He did not get past a single step as both of her parents dashed into him, their blades flashing as they tore into him.

An unexpected pain exploded through his body each time their blades cut him, causing him to recoil away from them. They followed him as he retreated, cutting away at his body. Each of their strikes caused his flesh to disintegrate instead of regenerate. Dust like matter flew from his body as their blades cut through him.

With a large jump, he soared back, getting away from them as a new feeling swept through his body for the first time in his existence.

True unadulterated fear.

“Where did you procure these heinous blades?!” he roared, but they completely ignored him as they pushed their attacks. Each strike caused him to lose just a little bit more of himself.

His immortality was not helping him here. Instead, it was condemning him to a fate worse than death, as these blades seemed to be eating him, slice by slice. Piece by piece.

At this rate, he wouldn’t survive this encounter. And that terrified him.

With a roar, his body exploded, sending tendrils flying out in all directions. A last ditch effort to kill the two women attacking him.

But this accomplished nothing as both Scamp and Mallogory just cut away any that neared them, and even stopped all the tendrils that flew for their daughter.

With a quick dodge, Scamp suddenly sprang up, slamming her blade deep into his shoulder, pushing the blade all the way down into his chest.

Nightmare let out a pained yell as he fell to his knees, the blade inside of him seeming to absorb him from the inside out.

Mallogory did the same, coming up from behind and driving her blade deep into him, causing him to fall further down onto the ground. He no longer had it in him to send out any tendrils to ward them off.

“Stop!” he suddenly yelled out through gritted teeth as his body swapped forms rapidly, trying to dislodge the blades within him. But it was no use as the two women held tight to the blades, making sure they stayed within him.

He shrank down to a size that only one sword could stay within him, causing Mallogory to take her sword and start cutting away at him to speed up the processes.

“You need to stop!” he all but begged, but Scamp just smiled at him as he started to get smaller and smaller.

Eventually, there was nothing left, as the last of him was pulled into one of the blades.

They slowly stood up, looking around to make sure it was really over.

Mallogory raised the blade, eyeing it suspiciously, “these blades are way too strong for a clown like that to own. Why would he have these?”

“I found them in a dumpster, long ago,” Talio said with a chuckle as he stepped up, holding his hands out. “May I have my swords back?”

Scamp narrowed her eyes at him as she flipped the sword around so he could take them back. Mallogory did the same thing as he took his weapons back, putting them away in his Vacuole.

They stared at him, both clearly suspicious of him, but he just gave a bow and stepped back.

Before they could say anything else, they became aware of the sounds of explosions in the distance.

“We need to move,” Scamp said as they moved to their daughter, lifting her up and rushing for the hallway that led out of the building. They’d use their Dimensional Dagger to move to another area as soon as they got into contact with one of the other teams.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Twilight stepped through the portal right behind her husband and his two lookalikes, Lacy and Jun. Her eyes went wide as she saw all of the red cocoons around them, filled with both their friends and families, but also ponies she’d never seen before.

“Ah, round two, is it?” Richard asked with a laugh as he stepped out from behind a cocoon, smiling right at them.

“Fuck yeah, fuck boy!” Lacy laughed as she, Lance, Jun, and Bronwyn walked towards him. “I know your weakness now, fucker!”

“Knowing my weakness does not mean you’ll win,” he countered, but they didn’t seem to care as they continued to approach him.

“This way,” Nova said as she walked past Twilight, Louie and Strawell right behind her, “they can handle themselves.”

Twilight cast a glance towards the others, watching as they engaged with Richard in a heated battle. She knew they’d be okay, but there was still a sense of worry deep within her for her husband.

She quickly followed after the others, not sure she was ready for what was about to happen.

The four of them approached the center of the room, where a device laid with Lilith herself standing before it, her eyes locked on them as they approached.

No one spoke as they all approached her, a sense of dread falling over each of them as she just stared at them, unmoving and no emotions on her face.

“I do not know your game here, Lilith,” Nova yelled as they all came to a stop not far from her. “But I advise you to surrender.”

“Surrender?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” Nova said sternly as the fighting behind them picked up in intensity. “It is your best option.”

“My best option?” Lilith asked as she tapped her chin, a sly smile sliding onto her face. “I think I know of a better option.” Before they could ask what she meant, her horn flashed, causing all of the cocoons around them to start pulsing, causing everyone inside of them to start screaming in agony. The device next to her started to glow as it seemed to be powering up.

“Stop this!” Twilight yelled as she took a step forward, but Lilith just laughed.

“And what exactly will you do to stop me, my little pony?” she mocked as the device next to her dinged, causing all of the cocoons around them to pop open, spilling the ponies out around them. They were all unconscious and looking to be much skinnier than they should be.

The group began to move towards her, but she just laughed as she kicked the device, causing it to start to shake as energy began to pour out of it and into her.

Nova dashed forward first, attempting to impale the other mare with her new rapier, but her blade just hit an after image as she teleported away in an instant, appearing behind them.

“Coming here was a mistake,” she said with a smirk as her magic shot out towards them. Twilight and Nova used their magic to block her attack, but it still sent them skidding backwards. Strawell and Louie were not able to block the attack, being forced to take the attack head on. It caused both of them to get engulfed in cocoons similar to the ones around them, and were sent upward, out of the fight.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she planted her hooves, charging up an attack of her own as Nova teleported over and tried to attack Lilith again, but the other mare just teleported again. So Nova did the same, causing both of them to get into a chase where they teleported all over the room. Lilith just laughed the entire time, her body growing in brightness as she prepared another attack.

As she teleported her body sent out another wave of energy, catching Nova as she teleported over. She luckily saw it coming and blocked the majority of the attack with her magic, but it still sent her to her knees.

Twilight suddenly appeared right above Lilith as she sent a beam of magic straight down onto the other mare, actually catching her off guard. Once she finished the attack she teleported next to Nova, glaring at Lilith as she stood there, smoking but unhurt.

“That was almost impressive,” Lilith said as she dusted herself off with her magic, “very impressive for such an old mare.”

Before Twilight could form a response, a blue blur slammed into Lilith, sending her flying away with.

Twilight blinked in confusion as Lance stood there, smiling widely.

He looked at her and tipped his cowboy hat, “needing a little assistance, ma’am?”

This brought a smile to Twilight’s face as Nova grunted.

“Deal with Richard, we can handle-”

“Oh he’s dead,” Lance chuckled as the others rushed towards them.

“Yeah, turned his ass to dust,” Lacy laughed as they neared.

“And then I ate the dust!” Jun added proudly, his face smeared in what looked to be ash.

“Oh… wonderful,” Nova muttered as they all turned to Lilith as she slowly advanced towards them, not looking very pleased now.

“So what’s her deal now?” Lacy asked as she flipped one of her swords around her body.

“She’s filled with Holy Energy now,” Nova said as they all squared up with her.

“Ah, so she’s annoying now,” Lacy muttered, getting a nod from Nova.

Twilight looked up and sent a beam of magic up at the cocoons holding Louie and Strawell, breaking them out. She caught them with her magic and lowered them down, placing them down among the group.

“Well she can’t fight all of us at once,” Lance pointed out as he shifted into his Apolyon form.

“Do not underestimate her,” Nova warned as Lilith’s body began to glow again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Earlier

Spark walked down the long hallway of the Palace, keeping himself calm as he neared the Throne room, knowing Champion would be there. He knew his presence was known by this point, but he didn’t care.

The halls were empty, as he had not seen a single pony since they arrived in Canterlot.

As he neared the Throne room, he heard the sound of hooves clopping against the floor up ahead.

His eyes narrowed as they grew closer. They didn’t sound like a large pony, like Champion, but more like a smaller pony.

Upon reaching the doors to the Throne room, where the sounds were coming from, he pushed them open. Stepping in, his eyes narrowed even more as he saw something had not expected.

Azure Moon was dancing by herself at the bottom of the stairs.

He walked towards her, looking around the massive room, but seeing no one else.

“Azure Moon?” He asked as he neared her, but she kept dancing.

There was no sign of Champion, which did not sit well with him.

“Where is Star Chaser?” he asked as he reached out and tried to touch her shoulder, but she just danced away from him, seeming to not be aware of her surroundings.

“I know you’re under his control,” Spark said to her, not sure if she could actually hear him or not, “but I’ll break you out. I promise.”

“Making promises you can’t keep makes you a terrible friend, Spark,” a voice said from above him, causing his eyes to twitch as he looked up, now seeing Champion standing before the Throne.

He was wearing a completely new getup, one that made him actually look opposing. A royal cape, and a strange mask with a large smile plastered across it, sat upon him as he stared down at Spark.

“Star Chaser,” Spark said calmly as he walked over to Azure Moon, grabbing her hoof to stop her.

“It is Champion, you imbecile,” he growled as he walked down the steps, approaching Spark. “It’s a pleasant surprise to see you again, Spark.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Spark growled as he suddenly ripped a portal open and tossed Azure Moon through it, turning to Champion as it snapped shut.

“So that’s your plan? Come here and save Azure Moon?” he asked, letting out a little chuckle. “No matter where you take her, I will find her. So this was a hopeless-”

“Shut up,” Spark interrupted him, turning to face the larger stallion.

“What?!” Champion growled as he began to shake. “How dare you! I will-”

“I’m going to kill you, Star Chaser,” Spark said calmly, halting Champion in his tracks.

“You…” he said as he began to laugh loudly, stomping a hoof and causing the stairs to crack under him. “You’re going to kill ME? That is rich, Spark. I believe you are out of your league here. This isn’t the Equine Championship Tournament, there are no rules keeping you safe.”

Spark just stared up at Champion as he spoke, showing no emotions on his face. “I normally would fight for you, to try and redeem you. But the things you have done, the people you have killed… Azure Moon… there is no hope for you, Star Chaser.”

“Aw, have I offended the high and mighty Spark?” Champion mocked as he reached the bottom of the steps. “Let me tell you how this will go; I’m killing you with no flair, and then I’m going to find Azure Moon and kill anyone near her.”

When Spark didn’t react, he let out a little laugh.

“No reaction?” he asked in a sinister tone. “Okay then. When I find your wife, she will spend the rest of her life beneath-”

“Provoking me will not save you, Star Chaser,” Spark said, his voice wavering a bit as he tried to not lose his temper.

“There’s the Spark I remember,” Champion laughed, “the stallion who’s too good and conceited. Goodbye, Spark.”

With that Champion zipped forward faster than anyone could possible track, attempting to turn Spark into a pink mist in an instant.

But as he came to a stop, he stood there in confusion, realizing he didn’t hit Spark. He turned around to see Spark standing off to the side, having somehow dodged his attack.

“What little trick have you learned, Sparky?” Champion asked with a sneer as he turned to face Spark.

“Enough games, Star Chaser,” Spark said as he rose up, energy exploding out of his body as he changed into his Archangel form, causing Champion to take a step back in surprise.

“An Angel?!” he asked in shock, but quickly shook his head as he stood up tall. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing you do will ever allow you to stand on the same ground as me, you dunce.”

Without a word, Spark began to approach Champion, a determined look on his face.

“You dare approach me, Spark?” he growled as he began to walk towards Spark.

But Spark did not respond as they stalked towards one another, the tension increasing as they drew closer and closer.

Sins of the Past: Collapse

Chapter 90

The ground beneath Champion was demolished as he shot towards Spark, being more mindful of his attack this time. But as his hoof neared Spark, he seemed to effortlessly and casually move to the side, completely dodging the attack. With a growl, Champion threw a few more punches, but Spark just moved aside for each one.

As he dodged one of the attacks, Spark twisted his body and decked the other stallion right in the face, shattering his mask in one hit.

The hit surprised Champion, as he had not seen it coming, and was even more caught off guard by the power of the hit. He attempted to throw another punch, but Spark’s hoof just flew over his own and hit him in the face again, this time sending him rocketing backwards into the stairs that lead to the throne.

He crashed through them, sending rubble everywhere as he continued backwards till he blew out the other side and landed in the Palaces Gardens.

Spark landed before him as he stood up, his face twisted in pure hatred as he stared at the stripped stallion before him.

There was no talking as the two clashed again, with Champion yelling as he attempted to hit Spark, but found himself unable to. Ever so often Spark’s own hooves would zip forward, hitting Champion harder and harder each time. He kept himself from flying away as he focused on just landing one hit on Spark.

Out of nowhere Spark suddenly caught one of his punches, and yanked him forward and slammed a knee right into Champion’s snout. Then in one fluid motion he punched Champion right at the base of his horn, actually snapping it off and sending it flying away.

Champion roared in pain as he shot back in an instant, pulling out his mirror to look at his face, eyes wide at seeing he was now missing his horn. “You-” he began, but Spark’s hoof suddenly crashed through the mirror and caught him right in the jaw.

The sound of a thunderclap was heard as Champion shot backwards, flying through the Palace walls and crashing through a few buildings, landing out in a random street as Spark flew after him.

The royal stallion wasn’t fully ready as Spark slammed into him, pelting him with hits so strong that each one caused the area around them to get blown away, removing parts of the street and buildings with each strike.

Champion kept trying to land a hit on Spark, but the stripped stallion just kept moving around his attacks, much to his growing annoyance.

Without warning a massive cyan beam crashed through the city near where they were fighting, causing both to glance that way.

Spark caught Champion by the neck and without any effort threw the stallion right at the beam of Ego as it began to get stronger and stronger.

Champion began to use his speed to escape, but Spark just slammed into him with both back hooves, knocking the wind out of Champion and sending him straight into the beam as it reached its peak. The beam completely obliterated everything it hit as it seemed to grow larger and larger.

Once it finally came to a stop, Spark saw Champion floating there, body smoking as he glared up at the stripped stallion.

With a raised eyebrow, Spark looked over the now naked Champion, seeing something he hadn’t expected. “No cutie mark?”

“My greatness is too much for a simple cutie mark to summarize,” Champion growled as he floated up, body shaking in pure rage.

“No,” Spark said calmly as he got into a fighting stance, “you’ve rode on the coat tails of others your whole life. You’ve never once done a thing for yourself.”

“Stop acting like you know me, Spark!” Champion roared as he shot towards Spark, the two clashing yet again, but with no new results. Spark continued to dodge and deliver devastating hits to Champion while the others struggled to even scratch him.

No matter how much his Protagonist Ego powered up him to catch up to Spark, he always seemed to be just behind him in terms of power. It felt like there was no way to catch up to the stripped stallion, and that thought alone was causing him to become more and more enraged.

As for Spark, he was increasing in power with each dodge and strike he landed on Champion, but he wasn’t able to go all in, as he feared for those around them.

They floated through the city, each hit landed or missed causing untolds amounts of destruction to the environment around them.

With a roar of frustration Champion threw a punch, that was of course dodged, followed up by his eye glowing purple. A single beam shot for Spark’s face, but it only hit an after image as Spark ducked it and nailed the royal stallion in the gut, followed by a upper cut to his jaw that sent him upwards a bit before he caught himself.

Champion seethed with absolute hatred and rage as he stared at the annoyingly calm Spark.

His ears twitched as he heard the voices of those who could only be Scamp and her family. A smirk slid onto his face as he suddenly shot away, planning to kill them as a way to get to Spark.

But without warning, something caught up to him and slammed into his back, sending him straight into the ground with so much power that he created a mile wide crater instantly.

Spark flew down after him and slammed a back hoof into his head, causing the crater to almost triple in size as rocks and earth were sent flying out of the hole. The next few hits from Spark had similar results as the crater only deepened even further.

Champion dashed back away from Spark, his glowing eye the only light source for them as they were now so far below ground that the light barely reached them.

As the two stared each other down, the telepathic spell that linked him to the others blared to life.

“Spark, are you okay?!” Scamp asked, sounding a bit panicked.

‘You need to leave Equestria,’ he said back telepathically as Champion rocketed back at him, resuming their destructive dance. ‘If you can, you need to evacuate the entire planet, asap.’

“Evacuate the entire planet?! I don’t think that’s-”

‘This fight is going to get worse and worse, and I need to know everyone is safe,’ he said as he landed another hit to Champion’s snout, just seeming to anger the stallion even more.

“We’ll… look into it,” she responded as the connection ended.

Narrowing his eyes he rolled around one of Champion’s hits and elbowed him in the side of the head, sending him straight into the stone wall next to them. As the rocks exploded past him, Spark zoomed forward and crashed into Champion.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Evacuate the planet?” Mallogory asked as they moved down the street as quickly as they could, the ground beneath them shaking violently as the fighting seemed to be getting worse, just as Spark said it would.

“That’s what he said, but I’m not sure how we’ll do that,” Scamp replied, a deep frown on her face.

“I believe I can help,” Buu suddenly said as he left Shayla’s body and entered into his vial.

“No,” Scamp said simply as her eye twitched.

“Trust me or not, I can help,” Buu said calmly. “I can send the entire population of this planet to the copy dimension I created. It’s an exact copy all the way down to the seams of reality.”

“No, the last thing I’m doing is letting the Watcher-”

“Buu,” he interrupted her.

“... Why would you even want to help us?” she asked roughly.

“I’m invested in the ongoing story,” was his only response, which just annoyed both of the women.

“Take me to my domain and I will evacuate the entire dimension in an instant. Leaving those two to battle it out,” he said, staring right at Scamp.

“And then you’ll have access to all of your powers again,” Scamp countered.

Buu just sighed, “as much as I desire that, no, I will not gain my powers back. Again, you may not trust me or believe me, but I am offering you the solution to your problems.”

“I believe this strange jar being is telling the truth,” Talio pipped up from behind, but Scamp flicked her hoof back at him.

“The answer is no,” she said sternly.

“Mama,” Shayla suddenly groaned as Mallogory held her in her arms. “We can trust him, I promise.”

“Damn it, Shayla,” Scamp groaned as they continued down the street. “I am not-”

“I promise,” she interrupted, still seeming to be out of it.

Scamp grinded her teeth as she opened up a telepathic link to Nova.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Twilight grunted as she went to her knees, her horn burning after all the spells she’s had to cast in the last few minutes. She looked up to see the others engaged in battle with Lilith, not making much headway as she continued to evade them and hit them with devastating attacks of both magic and Holy Energy.

She wasn’t sure how they’d beat her, as this powerup she’d gained was far too much for them all to handle.

Lance skidded backwards, coming up next to her as he blocked an attack.

“You alright, Twi?” he asked as he held a hoof out to her.

“Mostly,” she answered as she allowed him to pull her up. “How are we going to beat her?”

“No idea,” Lance admitted as he shifted his shoulders. “Lacy and I are almost strong enough to beat her on our own, but she’s just out of our reach. Jun is close as well, with those shitty demon powers he’s got. But we’re just not enough.”

Twilight rubbed her chin, thinking hard, racking her brain for a solution.

She watched as Lacy in her Apolyon form moved in for Lilith, able to keep up with the overpowered mare as she used her swords to slice through all the magical attacks sent her way. But even then, she wasn’t able to actually get close enough to Lilith to land a blow.

The same could be said for Jun, who continued to get blown away, only to regenerate and dash back in, getting almost as close as Lacy was, but was clearly not fast enough to reach the mare.

Closing her eyes, Twilight ran through every fight they’ve had in the past, all the knowledge she’d gathered over the years, looking for a solution.

Then, like the snap of a whip, she had it. She knew what they needed to do.

“Lance, get Lacy and Jun over here, now!” she yelled, as her horn began to prepare a spell.

“On it!” he exclaimed as he spread his wings and flew towards the other two. He grabbed Lacy and Jun in one pass by and flew back to Twilight, dumping them down before her.

“Bruh!” Lacy growled as she jumped up, annoyed at being grabbed like that.

“I need you all to power up to your max’s right now!” Twilight yelled as her horn began to increase in brightness.

“Uh… okay?” Jun said in confusion as his Demonic form bulked up even more.

“Ooo, we're doing that one thing?” Lacy asked as she forced herself to enter into her Full Power Apolyon form, a transformation that she could only only hold for a few minutes max.

Lance did the same as Lacy, stepping up to them as they all looked at Twilight.

“You will have five minutes before the spell wears off,” she warned as her horn reached its max in brightness. “Lacy, you’ll be the one in charge!” she yelled, getting a frown from Lance. “I’m sorry, honey!”

With that she cast her spell on the three before her, causing them all to glow brightly as they seemed to morph together.

Once the light faded away, it revealed a new being standing before her, causing her eyes to go wide as she felt the power emitting off of them.

“Oh shit, this is weird,” Lacy muttered as she stood there, eyes wide as all of the consciences and the other two talked at once inside of her mind.

The form she took on now was much different from anything Twilight could have expected, causing her to stare in awe.

Lacy flexed, causing a burst of energy to explode out of her body, a smile gracing her lips. “Oh fuck yeah!”

With that she spun around and flew towards Lilith, who was currently teleporting around as she prepared another spell.

She barely took notice of Lacy as she flew into her, hitting her so hard it canceled out her magic momentarily. With a flash, Lacy threw two of her swords into the air as they glowed with her Ego. As they reached their peak, she swung her larger sword at the staggered mare.

Lilith threw up a Holy Shield that barely caught the incoming attack, but just barely as her shield exploded with the impact.

A smirk slid onto Lacy’s face as the two swords twirling above them sent two slices through the air, right at Lilith. She didn’t have time to react other than to teleport away, but the moment she appeared on the other side of the room she was hit with an unexpected attack from Nova, who had perfectly predicted where she’d appear.

She let out a cough as she looked down, seeing Nova’s rapier embedded into her chest.

With a grunt she teleported again, just to be met with the smirking face of Lacy as she appeared before her, her sword already flying towards her.

A Holy shield came up to stop the attack, but it suddenly fell away as Twilight cast a counterspell. Lacy’s greatsword sunk itself into Lilith’s side, causing everything to come to a stop.

Lilith grunted as she teleported to the middle of the room, staggering a bit. “Do you think this is enough?! I am Lilith! The first wife of Adam! I will not-”

But the group wasn’t going to let her speak as Twilight hit her with a spell that stunned her a bit as Lacy sent another Ego sword beam her way.

Not able to defend herself, she took the beam directly, losing part of her left side as she collapsed to the right.

As the group moved in on her, she gritted her teeth and flashed a spell, disappearing.

“Where is she?!” Lacy asked as she landed on the spot she’d just been laying.

Bronwyn frowned as she checked her little computer, shaking her head, “she’s not here anymore. She’s left the entire dimension.”

“What do we do then?” Twilight asked as everyone slowly gathered up.

“We have a problem,” Nova said grimly as she stepped into the middle of the group.

“Oh fucking great,” Lacy muttered.

“Spark has requested we evacuate the entire planet of Equestria,” Nova said as she looked around at everyone. “And Scamp is telling me the Watcher is offering to help.”

“The fucking Watcher?!” Lacy yelped, clearly having Lance speak through her.

“I’m being told Shayla is vouching for him,” Nova added, seeming a bit unsure, mirroring the reactions of the people around her. “Scamp is on board with allowing him to help. But she wants it to be put to a vote.”

“We can’t have the Watcher helping us!” Lacy/Lance yelled, but Nova sighed as she continued to listen to Scamp.

“The fighting between Spark and Champion is far more intense than we initially thought, and Scamp is asking that we hurry.”

“Fuck,” Lacy groaned as everyone looked around at all the unconscious ponies around them.

“Whatever we chose, we need to quickly get everyone in here to safety,” Nova said as she stood up tall. “Alright, let’s put it to a vote.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

‘Good work, Domitor,’ Scamp responded through her telepathic connection to Domitor. ‘Stand by for further instructions.’

She turned to her wife and gave a nod, “Domitor’s group has finished dealing with Lorenzo’s remaining men.”

“Well then,” Mallogory chuckled as the ground shook again, “with Nova’s group chasing off Lilith, that just leaves Champion.”

“Three for four,” Scamp said with a nod. “If only that meant we were almost done.”

They finally passed the gates of Canterlot, leaving the city.

As they moved quickly down the road, Nova connected to Scamp again.

“We’ve reached a decision,” Nova said solemnly.

‘And?’ Scamp asked.

“Do it,” she answered. “We will move the ponies here to the new dimension as soon as it is ready.”

Scamp closed her eyes and sighed, ‘on it.’

She turned to Shayla, who was walking with them but clearly still exhausted, and frowned, “tell ‘Buu’ that we’re allowing him to help.”

Shayla smiled at her mother and gave a nod.

Mallogory shook her head as she pulled the Dimensional Dagger out, “are you sure?”

“No,” Scamp replied truthfully, “but do it anyway. If anything, I’ll put my trust into Shayla.”

A smile appeared on Shayla’s face as Mallogory opened a portal to a place they’d all vowed to never return to.

Upon entering the Watcher’s Domain, he returned to his vial around Shayla’s neck, looking around.

“Have I missed this place…” he said with a sense of nostalgia, causing both older women to glare at him. “Take me to the console in the back room over there, I will guide one of you through the process.”

With that they quickly made their way through the massive room, heading for the only doorway in the room outside of the entrance.

“This will not take long,” Buu assured them. “It’s the simplest procedure.”

“So we’re sending everyone to my original dimension?” Scamp asked, not sure how to feel about this development.

“Yes. But it is void of life right now, as I, to put it simply, ‘turned it off’. So we will be filling it with the lifeforms of your current dimension. Of course I can’t change the dimension itself, so it’ll have all the structures and items that it did when I shut it down.”

“I see,” Scamp muttered as they entered the next room, seeing the massive console before them.

“I will relay the instructions to you, Scamp, you are the most capable one here outside of myself,” Buu said calmly, getting a grunt out of Mallogory. “Do exactly as I say.”

Scamp narrowed her eye at him as she stepped over to the large keyboard-like device attached to the console and rose up, hovering above it.

“Now, let’s begin,” he said as he began to tell her which keys to hit.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Champion yelled in frustration as he continued his pointless assault, still unable to hit the impossibly agile Spark. They were still underground, and had tunneled down so far he could feel an intense heat. But that didn’t matter to him, his Ego was able to adapt him to anything and everything that posed a threat to him. So he was not worried in the slightest.

However, the fact he still was behind in power to Spark was causing him so much inner turmoil that he was starting to lose himself in his attacks, just swinging widely. Each time he was countered just pissed him off more and more.

As they fought, a strange feeling washed over both of them, causing them to hesitate for a second.

“The dimension has been evacuated, Spark,” Scamp said solemnly as she connected to him. “Kick his ass.”

A sense of calm overtook Spark’s body as he jumped back from Champion. He reached down and broke the bracelets that had appeared on his forelegs when he transformed.

Champion stared at him in confusion, then went wide eyed as Spark’s power seemed to soar even higher.

“This ends now,” Spark declared as he shot forward, his hoof connecting with Champion’s face with so much power that the stone around them was blown away. The hit sent Champion ragdolling upwards, crashing through the earth and bursting out into the open sky above, a geyser of stone and dirt flying up around him as he soared into the sky.

He quickly righted himself as Spark suddenly appeared before him, eyes ablaze with fury as he reared back his hoof.

Champion attempted to beat him to the punch by pushing his speed to the max. But even moving in an instant, Spark dodged and countered his attack.

A massive boom of color filled the air as Spark’s hoof hit Champion in the chest and sent him careening away from the planet. He watched with narrowed eyes as Champion hit the moon for the second time in his life, shattering one of the halves into pieces.

As for Champion, he now found himself lying on a piece of broken rock, floating in space as he stared back at the planet with a blank look on his face.

‘This is impossible,’ he thought to himself as he lay there. ‘I am supposed to be unbeatable… So how is this pathetic weakling keeping up with me?!’

His Ego began to provide him with the solution, but he just growled, as that would go against everything he stood for. He was not going to let someone like Spark push him to evolve.

But his Ego pushed for him to do as it demanded, causing him to radiate hatred as he stood up.

‘Fine,’ he thought as he stared up at the distant planet. ‘If this will allow me to put him in his place, then I will accept it.’

His body began to glow as he took a deep breath and closed his eye, entering into a state of zen, only possible due to his Ego forcing itself upon him. It slowly ate away at his overly inflated ego and emotions, leaving only his pride intact. It did not take long before a controlled burst of energy erupted from his body, finishing off the rest of the moon around him, turning it to dust instantly.

‘Oh yes… this is it,’ he thought with a sense of calm as he felt his power rocketing higher and higher, reaching a point he’d never known was possible.

His Ego informed him of his new form he’d just achieved, causing him to smirk.

‘Unrivaled Ego…’ a smirk formed on his face as he saw Spark flying towards him at an incredible speed. ‘Perfection.’

He flew forward to meet Spark head on, the two approaching each other at a speed that no one outside of themselves could ever hope to follow.

As they neared each other, Spark threw a punch, only to hit an after image of Champion. His eyes snapped to the side as he saw a hoof coming straight for him. He dodged it, attempting to counter him, but a hoof suddenly caught him in the face and sent him barreling backwards at such a speed that he basically instantly moved from his current position to another.

Champion watched in glee as Spark was sent through the planet, causing the entire thing to implode and turn to nothing but rubble. Spark kept going as he disappeared into the vastness of space, causing Champion to chuckle to himself.

‘Now we’re back to normal,’ he thought as he watched the pieces of the planet rocket away in all directions.

Rolling his shoulders he shot forward, catching up to Spark in an instant and slamming his hoof into the other stallion’s gut, sending him flying away in another direction.

Spark gritted his teeth as he caught himself and came to a stop, eyes locked on the distant shine of Champion.

Something had changed, as Champion was now FAR beyond him in terms of power.

Reluctantly he reached up and broke the necklace off of his neck, unleashing even more of his powers. He’d hoped to avoid doing this, as he wasn’t sure this dimension could survive that kind of power.

But he didn’t have much choice.

Champion appeared before him, already mid attack as his fist tore through space.

Calmly Spark dodged the hit and delivered a hit right to Champion’s gut. This caused the royal stallion's eye to go wide as he returned the hit right to Spark’s face.

The two entered into a slug fest, with each hit that landed causing the space around them to waver violently. The shockwaves alone would be enough to destroy an entire planet.

It was impossible to tell who was winning or losing, as neither of them were showing signs of weakening. But it was clear that they were both steadily increasing in power with each hit.

Then Champion’s body flashed as he suddenly soared in power unexpectedly, his next hit sending Spark zooming away yet again. He basically instantly teleported across the solar system, crashing through at least one planet in the process. He finally came to a stop, finding himself inside of an asteroid field of some kind.

If he remembered his school studies, this was possibly the asteroid belt that surrounded their solar system.

‘Incredible…’ he thought to himself as he looked around, only able to see due to how his Archangel eyes worked.

Focusing his mind, he closed his eyes, running through everything he knew.

Champion’s Ego worked in a way that made sure he was the strongest one in any fight he engaged in. And it would adapt him endlessly to make sure he was never left behind. And now he’s achieved some kind of transformation that is rocketing his power up much faster than Spark could keep up with.

Which meant it was time. He’s come face to face with an unstoppable foe, so he’d have to become an unstoppable force as well.

He opened a connection to one of the others, ‘Roxxy. Are you near Shayla?’

It took her a moment to respond. “Huh, yes, we’re all gathered up in the new dimension. Why?”

‘Perfect, I need to make a bet,’ he said calmly. ‘I know she and Domitor gained a near infinite amount of Ego when they defeated Leem and Lorenzo, and I want them to give it to me. Right now. Does your Ego work over great distances?’

“... I’ve never tried, but we can give it a shot,” she answered. “Alright, we’re ready. They bet they can beat you in a game of Coin Toss. If you win you get all of their Excess Ego. So, heads or tails, Spark?”

‘Tails,’ he replied, eyes locked on a distant light approaching him.

“First try,” she chuckled, “Tell me if you notice anything.”

He floated there for a moment before he suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of power enter his body, causing him to grunt. He may not have an Ego, but excess Ego could still be very useful to him.

For example, unlocking a transformation.

Gritting his teeth, he began to tense up as his muscles expanded violently, followed by a massive flash of light erupting out of his body, casting a light that could be seen from the other side of the solar system.

Champion appeared, taking in the new form of Spark, but ignored it as he continued forward, crashing his hoof into the face of the striped stallion. The hit caused a massive light to flash as the asteroids around them were cleared away for hundreds of thousands of miles in all directions.

But Spark did not move.

His eyes slowly opened, locking with Champion’s in an instant as a sense of dread washed over the royal stallion for the first time in a long time.

Spark raised his hoof and brushed Champion’s hoof aside and floated past him.

“Die,” he said simply, his voice lost to the vacuum of space.

Champion blinked in confusion as he was suddenly hit with an untold amount of hits to his entire body as Spark simply floated away from him.

As the almost endless assault ended, Champion just floated there, twitching as his body for the first time seemed to want to give up on him.

But he wasn’t going to let it as he forced himself to turn and zoom towards Spark’s back. As he neared, Spark moved aside, allowing Champion to fly past him.

He didn’t have time to react as he was hit yet again with an unseen attack right to the throat and stomach, causing him to curl in on himself.

His Ego was going into overdrive as it tried to catch up to Spark, but it seemed hopeless.

With absolute calmness, Spark flew forward and threw what appeared to be a simple punch, hitting Champion in the side.

What followed could only be described as a Supernova to anyone who saw it from a distance, as the entire solar system was destroyed in an instant. All planets, debris, and even the sun, were wiped out in one hit.

The force of the hit caused Champion to almost instantly appear in a completely different galaxy, destroying anything and everything he passed by.

Spark was right on his tail, following him almost casually.

Champion forced himself to come to a stop, the momentum he carried continuing onward and completely obliterating a distant star.

He grunted in pain as he grabbed his side, finding he was actually really hurt suddenly.

Spark came to a stop near him, calm eyes locked with him.

Champion growled as his body flashed like crazy as his Ego desperately tried to get to the level that Spark was currently at. Using the power of that hit as a basis.

Watching Champion’s body flash, Spark just shrugged as his own body began to shine as he pushed his power to rise as well, much to Champion’s horror.

The two just stared at each other, both powering up. Champion in desperation, and Spark just to finally end this.

“Take this, Champion,” Lilith’s strained voice suddenly said into Champion’s mind, causing him to furrow his eyebrows. Then a portal snapped open before him as red and Holy Energy poured through, entering into him.

The portal snapped shut as Champion doubled over, clenching his teeth as the new power entered his body and intertwined with his Protagonist Ego. He was pissed, as he knew what she’d just done.

She’d not only given him all the Holy Energy she’d stolen, but she’d also forced her devilish powers into him.

He threw his head back as he roared, the vibrates of his voice breaking through the space around them and causing Spark to narrow his eyes as his calm demeanor slipped away.

Champion’s Protagonist Ego mixed with the devilish powers of the First Woman, causing him to transform yet again, reaching a level akin to a God.

Spark could feel this happening and he forced himself to gain power faster, not sure if he’d have enough for what was about to happen.

With a burst of energy, Champion slumped back forward, body heaving as a smile appeared on his face.

“I,” he began, his voice now clear despite them being in the vacuum of space, “am a God.”

Not allowing Spark to power up any more, Champion smiled widely and instantly appeared in front of Spark. The two threw a punch for each other at the same time, their hooves colliding.

The resulting collision collapsed the entire universe right at the point of impact, right between their hooves, causing a second Big Bang to occur.

Sins of the Past: No Redemption

Chapter 91

July 11th, 4 A.B.

“Move your flank, Spark!” Star Chaser called out as he flew ahead of Spark as he struggled to keep up with him as they flew down the forest path.

“I’m hurrying!” Spark yelled as he slowly fell behind.

The two colts flew down the path, with the lead colt mocking the slower one as they went.

As Star Chaser reached the end of the path, he came to a stop, landing and spinning around to watch as Spark slowly caught up.

“You’re slow,” Star Chaser mocked as Spark landed before him.

Spark just smiled as he looked at his friend, “well you’re just faster than me is all, Star Chaser.”

“And don’t forget it,” the royal colt laughed as he turned and began to trot down a side path. “Come on.”

The two trotted down a dark path covered by trees and vines, heading for the other side where a light could be seen.

Upon stepping out of the path, they were greeted by a humongous waterfall, with clouds all around the peak as multiple streams of water flowed over the cliffs, combining into one massive waterfall.

“Whoa…” Spark muttered as they both looked up at the miles high waterfall.

“Right?” Star Chaser said with a smirk. “I found this place, and I plan to bring girls here when I get into highschool.”

“That’s some long term planning,” Spark chuckled, causing Star Chaser to roll his eyes.

“Come on, you gotta see the bottom of this thing,” he said as he spread his wings and flew over the cliff, heading for the beach far below them.

Spark wasn’t far behind as they reached the beach, landing on the wet sand.

“This place is so beautiful,” Spark said as he stared up at the breathtaking sight above them, the sounds of the water crashing out in the lake almost drowning out all other sounds.

The two walked around for a bit, taking in everything. They played in the water for a while, but eventually they ended up sitting on a rock out in the middle of the lake, laying on their backs as they stared up at the falling water that crashed around them.

“Do you ever think about the future?” Spark asked suddenly, causing Star Chaser to snort.

“Of course,” he laughed as a smirk appeared on his face. “I’m going to take over as the sole ruler and let my family take a step back and enjoy life. Let me handle all the tough situations for once.”

“I don’t think your dad will ever step down,” Spark chuckled, getting a shrug out of Star Chaser.

“He keeps talking about how he can’t wait for us to grow up and take over the throne, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be more than happy for me to take over.”

“What about Nova?”

“She doesn’t want the Throne, so I’m not worried about her,” he said with a sly grin on his face. “What about you? What are you planning to do? Can’t be as cool as being the Ruler of Equestria.”

Spark just smiled as he stared up at the beautiful sight above him, “I honestly do not know. But I do know I want to help others and make sure everyone is safe. Just like my dad.”

“That’s a stupid goal,” Star Chaser mocked, shaking his head.

“Maybe,” Spark said with a chuckle. “But it’s what I want to do. I want to be able to stand up to anything that tries to hurt those I love.”

“You say that,” the other colt began with a mocking tone to his voice, “but we both know that if a threat appears in the future that it will be ME who stops it. You can’t even keep up with me in a race, so there's no way you’ll be able to handle a real threat.”

“I’ll get stronger,” Spark declared, holding up a hoof. “I’ll get so strong that nothing will hurt anyone ever again.”

“But first you’ll have to get stronger than me,” Star Chaser said as he sat up, placing a hoof to his chest proudly. “And that will never happen. You’ll never surpass me, Spark. So just sit back and enjoy life, let me, the real hero, stand up to the evil bad guys of the future!”

“You can help me,” Spark added as he rolled to his side to look at his friend. “We can get stronger together, that way nothing can beat us.”

“No offense, but I don’t want a weakling like you as a sidekick,” Star Chaser laughed. “I can handle anything the world has to throw at me, that way you can just play house with Starlight or whoever you’re with in the future.”

“I hope so, Star Chaser,” Spark replied as he laid back on the rock and stared upward. “But still, I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make sure everyone is safe. No matter how big the threat is.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Present day

Spark floated on his back, staring up into the endlessly empty space before him.

His body crackled with energy as he let himself soar backwards, not stopping himself. He wasn’t quite sure what exactly happened after they made contact, but he was sure of one thing. They weren’t in the same universe anymore. Same dimension, but definitely not the same universe.

He also was not sure where Champion was, as he couldn’t sense him anymore. This could mean a lot of things, but he was almost certain that Champion was still alive. He just had the feeling that that had not been enough to finally end the other stallion.

As if to answer him, Champion suddenly appeared next to him, following along with him on his back as they both stared straight up.

“I knew you’d survived that,” Spark said telepathically.

“You’re going to need to get a lot stronger to beat me, Spark,” Champion said in a calm yet mocking voice. “I want you to know the next time we clash, you’re going to die.”

“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” Spark said with a sly grin as he rolled himself around to face Champion.

“Oh?” Champion laughed as he slammed his hooves together, sending out a shockwave that pushed Spark back a great distance. “I’m afraid not.”

Spark calmed himself as he stared at his opponent, forcing all of the excess Ego within him to be devoted to increasing his power even further. Champion seemed to be doing the same as red energy crackled around him as a Holy aura began to spread around him, with a sense of absolute evil spreading out beyond the Holy Aura. He was an amalgamation of Pure and Evil, something that should not exist, yet here he floated.

A sense of worry seeped into Spark’s mind, but he pushed it aside, knowing he must be completely devoted to the idea of beating Champion, otherwise he wouldn’t stand a chance.

He used up the last of the excess Ego, which meant the access to a free power boost had ended. He’d have to rely on his own abilities from here on out.

Yet Champion seemed to be nowhere near his peak as he continued to soar higher and higher in terms of raw power.

But Spark wasn’t worried just yet, as he felt they were close to each other at this moment, so he’d have to end this quickly.

The two flashed out of existence momentarily as they clashed together. The very first punch Champion landed seemed to warp reality as the Dimension around them seemed to shudder.

And the moment Spark landed a hit on Champion, the entire dimension shattered, falling away as they now found themselves in the In-Between. The Space between dimensions.

They didn’t slow down as they continued to attack each other, their hits causing untold destruction as they flew past what appeared to be other dimensions floating in empty space. The shockwaves from their hits sent the little dimensions flying away, some of them just straight up exploding as they were hit directly by the two as they fought.

They both continued to climb in power, but it was never enough to overcome the other as they flashed all over the place, destroying countless dimensions as they did so.

At this point, Spark wasn’t able to hold back, so he had to push through the thought of how many countless lives they were ending in their fighting. If he stopped now, Champion would just continue his killing spree, as he had reached a point that no one else could handle.

They continued to flash all over the area, each time they reappeared countless dimensions would be destroyed.

Spark knew they couldn’t continue fighting here, but he couldn’t think of anywhere that could handle them.

But one place came to mind.

He suddenly disengaged from Champion, catching him off guard, and ripped open a portal.

Champion slammed into him, sending both of them through the portal, were they crashed into the ground on the other side.

The two jumped apart as their royal stallion looked around, raising an eyebrow.

“The Eternal Plains?”

“Yeah,” Spark answered as he rose off the ground, eyes locked with Champion’s. “I think this place can handle our battle.”

To answer him, Champion shot forward, causing the two of them to hit each other at the same time, their hooves crossing over one another. The resulting collision caused all of reality to collapse into them yet again.

Spark growled as they found themselves back in the In-Between, having destroyed yet another dimension in one hit. He had been SURE that that place could withstand them.

“I guess not,” Champion mocked as they resumed their battle, hitting each other with increasingly stronger attacks.

Dimensions were obliterated left and right as they continued flashing around the area.

Then without warning they were both teleported away from the In-Between and into an absolutely MASSIVE arena like room with strange beings sitting in the stands all around them.

The two of them finally broke apart and stared up at the assembly above them, seeing all the angry beings glaring down at them.

One of them that sat upon what appeared to be a Throne stood up, their bowl like head shaking as they pointed an accusatory finger at the two of them.

“Do you Wildlings understand the magnitude of the actions you have taken?!” it demanded, the incredible power of the being overwhelming the two of them instantly, causing them to go to their knees. “The Eternal Plains, our masterpiece, has been damaged! To restore it goes against all rules of the Ultimate Authority Dimension!”

Spark shook a bit in fear, as these were clearly much stronger beings than the two of them, and he did in fact understand the magnitude of their actions. His only solace in this moment was that it was over, and Champion would be stopped. Even if that meant he had to go down with him.

“There’s so much power here…” Champion suddenly said as a crazy look fell across his face.

This caused Spark’s eyes to go wide as he realized all of the beings around them pouring their auras down on them to oppress them was having the opposite effect with Champion.

“You need to stop!” Spark suddenly yelled, forcing himself to stand up and look up at what appeared to be the Ruler of the UAD. “Send us away, kill us! Just-”

“Silence!” the imposing UAD God bellowed, causing Spark to drop to his knees again as Champion giggled to himself, his Ego starting to adapt him to this new threat. “You two will be punished for your transgressions against Reality!”

“Then do it faster!” Spark all but screamed as Champion began to twitch wildly, slowly standing up.

“Kneel!” the UAD God demanded as he cast a finger at Champion, but nothing happened as Champion’s body flashed cyan.

His injuries healed themselves as he regained his eye and horn, along with the scars fading away. His coat was suddenly covered in cyan colored lines as they extended down his body, glowing brightly. Even his tail and mane gained the cyan lines, flowing in an unseen wind. Cyan colored smoke seemed to be pouring out of his eyes as he smiled upward at the assembly above them.

“Well well, thank you for the power up!” he stood up on his back legs, spreading his legs and wings, no longer affected by the aura pressing down on them. “Welcome to my final form; Full Authority!”

The UAD God seemed to register what was about to happen, but Champion simply shot through them, blowing out their back and continuing on as he tore through the entire assembly of UAD beings.

Spark watched in horror as he realized there was nothing he could do now.

“Wildling,” the downed massive UAD God choked out as they lay on the ground on the other side of the arena. “Come…”

Not hesitating, Spark flew over and landed before the drowned God, eyes wide as he watched as trails of Ego poured out of the UAD God, going straight up to Champion as he continued his rampage. He was absorbing them!

“You are an Angel of The One Who Sits Above All, yes?” the UAD God asked as they grew weaker and weaker.

“Yes,” Spark confirmed.

“Then you have to stop this… thing,” they said as they reached out with their hand and placed a large finger against Spark’s head. “Ask Him… to save us.”

With that Spark flashed away, and reappeared in a much different place. This one giving off a sense of… peace and love. The Holy Energy he felt was intense, causing his body to relax instantly.

“Things getting out of hand, my child?” a man asked, causing Spark to turn around to see a bearded man. This one was clearly not the one who’d turned him into an Archangel, but gave off a similar aura.

“We need to stop him, please, can you-” Spark began frantically, but the man just smiled at him, causing him to stop mid-sentence as he felt absolute peace wash over him.

“We know what has transpired. The Agent of the Collapse has reached a level we only feared he would reach. Thus leaving you behind in your current form,” the man said as he sat down on a bench. “But do not fear, for we will not let him continue down his current path.”

“What are you going to do?” Spark asked, breathing heavily.

“You are going to go back and finish this, Spark,” the man said simply.

“But… he’s too strong for me now!” Spark protested, but this didn’t faze the other man.

“Nothing is stronger than the love I have for you, Spark,” the man stated as he held his hand out. “Now take my hand, my child.”

Spark stepped forward and took the man's hand, not hesitating for a second. The moment he took the soft hand of the other man, he felt the feeling of Pureness entering into him, filling every corner of his being. All of his worry and doubts melted away as he relaxed completely, holding tightly to the other man's hand.

His body flashed and morphed, returning him to a more normalized pony shape. His coat and mane remained the same colors, but he no longer felt anger or hatred for Champion. Instead he felt remorse for what he’d become.

“My eternal love is now within you, Spark,” the man said calmly as he took his hand back. “Stand tall Eternal Archangel Spark, and bask in our everlasting love.”

Spark stood up, feeling like he could handle anything now. He smiled at the man before him and gave a nod, “thank you. Will you save the UAD as well?”

“What needs to be done, will be done,” was all he said as Spark slowly faded away.

He faded back into existence, finding himself back in the massive chamber of the UAD. All of the beings around him were now dead, even the UAD God who had sent him up above.

“I was starting to think you’d run away, Sparky,” Champion laughed as he laid upon the body of the UAD God, smiling brightly at Spark. “Hm… this new form of yours looks less impressive than your previous ones.”

“It’s over, Star Chaser,” Spark said with a sense of finality in his voice. “Come to me so we can finish this.”

“How about you come to me,” Champion said as he stood up and stomped his hoof into the back of the UAD God.

“Very well,” Spark said smoothly as he suddenly appeared next to Champion, hitting him with an elbow right to the ribs. The hit actually caught Champion off guard as the Ultimate Authority Dimension threatened to collapse in on them just like all the others.

Champion roared as the lines running over his body began to flash as his power shot up instantly to meet Spark’s new power. But when he threw a punch for Spark, he simply caught it, negating all the power of the hit as if he caught the fist of a small child.

This caused Champion’s eyes to go wide as his Ego continued to raise his power at an increasingly rapid pace, but it didn’t seem to be enough as Spark tightened his grip on Champion’s hoof.

“I’m sorry, Star Chaser,” Spark said as a sad look fell over his face. “I wish we could have saved you from yourself.”

In response, Champion threw a punch for Spark’s face. The hoof connected, causing the entire UAD to collapse instantly, leaving them back in the In-Between. But Spark’s facial expression never changed as he continued to stare into Champion’s eyes with absolute sadness.

“Let me go!” Champion roared as he continued to hit Spark over and over again. However, the shockwaves from his hits were no longer destroying the dimensions around them, as there seemed to be a shield around them, coming from the halo that had appeared behind Spark.

There would be no more death, as declared by Spark himself. There would only be one more death today, and he felt incomprehensible remorse for what had to be done.

“Even when you were at your worst, mistreating me and your other friends,” Spark began, letting Champion beat on his face with his free hoof, but was not affected by it as he continued speaking, “I still loved you like a brother. I saw the good within you, and I fought to make sure you saw it too.”

Champion just screamed into his face as he fired two beams directly into Spark’s eyes, pushing them past the point that they started to damage even him. But Spark just held his gaze, still seeming unaffected.

“But the things you’ve done, the countless lives you… we have ended today. There is no fixing that, there is no redemption for either of us. You are lost, Champion. And I am so sorry I couldn’t save you.”

“I don’t need saving!” Champion bellowed as he continued to try and break free, his Ego panicking as it just kept soaring higher and higher, but never reaching the top.

“Goodbye, Star Chaser,” Spark said as tears ran down his face. He pulled back his hoof, holding Champion’s hate filled gaze.

“My name is Champ-”

All of reality shook at that moment, even the heavens above all else threatened to come down.

As everything calmed down, the only sound that could be heard was the sobbing of a single stallion.

Part 5 Epilogue

Epilogue

“What do you mean he’s not coming back?!” Twilight yelled as my Mother stood before her, a frown on her face

“He told me he needed to wrap things up to make sure something like this never happened again,” my Mother answered her, watching as Twilight began to grow even more angry. “He will be back as soon as he fixes some of the damage from their battle.”

“He should come back right now,” Twilight growled, stomping away, leaving everyone behind as she joined Lance in helping those who were hurt during the final battle.

I stepped up to her, watching her carefully as she stood there, looking absolutely exhausted. “Are you okay, mama?” I asked carefully.

She turned to me, a tired smile on her face. “I'll be okay, honey. I just need to make sure everyone is okay, then we can get to work on everything else.”

“Okay,” I said as she placed a hoof on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze before stepping away, walking for the crowd of ponies.

Now that I was free, I turned to look for Domitor, who I hadn’t seen since the others joined us here.

It was not hard to spot him as he was standing next to Belle, who was in her human form now, no longer disguised. From what I know, his group wiped out Lorenzo’s remaining men with ease, but spared her. I don’t know how I feel about that, but she was his mom, so I guess it made sense.

I chose not to engage with them, as he seemed to be trying to talk to her. But neither of them were very good at that, since it looked like they were spending most of the time just staring at everyone around them. It would probably take a long time for them to start having a real relationship.

Which left me unsure of what to do next. We defeated all the bad guys, stopped Champion, and were now in a new dimension. I couldn’t just go back to my normal life either, not after everything I had done.

My hand reached up to my belly, a frown appearing on my face. I’m still on the fence about this baby business. I both loved the idea of being a family with Domitor, and at the same time I wanted to forget the whole thing and do whatever I wanted.

Shit was complicated. That’s for damn sure.

The most pressing issue I had right now was getting my eyes fixed. But Rosemary assured me the Shop in my Ego had an answer to that, so I would just need to wait till I had the time to dedicate to it.

But before anything else, I should check on my friends. Especially Floria and Vanilla, they’ll need help getting set up here in Equestria… shit, I need to figure out my own living situation.

“Ah fuck me,” I groaned, shaking my head as I trudged towards the gathered ponies, not looking forward to the coming days.

Author's Note

This Epilogue sat unfinished for months, while I wrote other parts for this story. So we're just saying screw it and doing a quick chapter to get it done with.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Recouping

Author's Note

Before Part 6 begins, we will have 1-3 side stories taking place. I would make a separate story for each of them, but really there's no point.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Recouping

Chapter 1

The portal crackled open as Lilith fell out of it, landing on the floor of her lair. Blood and energy poured out of her wounds as she forced herself up, eyes ablaze with fury as she stumbled across the mostly bare room to a lone door. Her missing right leg made it a challenge to move forward.

Champion had failed, just as she knew he would. That was part of the plan. But her losing to the ‘heroes’ was not part of the plan. She had expected herself to be able to handle a few ponies, but Lance’s wife, Twilight Sparkle, had proved to be more of a threat than Lilith had thought she could be. That counterspell she cast changed everything.

Pushing through the pain, she used her magic to throw open the door and stumbled through it. The room was filled with a light blue glow as a tank filled with Ego infused liquid sat in the middle of the room. It was currently unoccupied, as its occupant was elsewhere.

“Soon,” she grunted as she moved past the tank labeled ‘Kimaris’.This was just one of her projects she had put aside in favor of using Champion. It would appear she was going to need this project after all, but it wasn’t ready.

Instead she moved a large computer and began to type away at it with her magic. A hatch in the floor opened as a second, smaller, tank rose up, this one housing a mare’s body within it. Perfectly identical to her in every way. A husk.

“I detest this act,” she mumbled as she hit a button, draining the tank of its cyan colored liquid. The tank opened as she cast a spell on herself. Her body collapsed onto the floor, lifeless, as the one in the tank opened its eyes.

Lilith stepped out of the tank, checking her motor functions carefully. Once she was satisfied, she walked past her old body and used her magic to open a vent. The destroyed body was cast into the dark hole, followed by it slamming shut.

“Now then,” she said, her voice sounding much calmer now, as she moved to a large artifact in the room. Placing her hoof on it, it began to glow a light yellow.

“Holy Spirit Energy at ninety eight percent,” a faint voice said from the relic as she stepped back, satisfied. She’d only given Champion a small dose of the energy she’d stolen, leaving her with plenty for herself. Of course, she’d need a few more things before she could finally enact her grand plan.

But that’d come in time. For now, she just needed to make sure everything else went according to plan, at least somewhat.

With her other project not ready, she only had a few she could enact right at that moment.

One option stuck out to her, as she knew the person it involved had been wanting to make their move for a very long time.

A bit reluctantly, she moved to another ancient relic and interacted with it, causing a portal to open near her. She couldn’t leave through it, as she was restricted to this one and a few others, but she knew the person in question would know what its appearance meant.

It did not take long before a figure stepped through, covered in rags and armor. They seemed to take in the whole room before looking at Lilith, their face wrapped in cloth with a helmet atop their head. Only their eyes were visible as they stared at her.

“Finally calling me home?” he asked, resting a hand on one of his two blades. “Does that mean something has happened?”

“You could say that,” she answered, not giving him any further details. “Have you had your fill of dimension hopping?”

“I had my fill years ago,” he replied gruffly. “I’ve been wanting to return for quite a while now. It’s because of your insistence that I’ve stayed away this long.”

“Should I remind you,” she began, raising an eyebrow at him, “that it was your plan to involve the Watcher, despite my warnings.”

“He played his part,” the man countered. He looked her over, taking note of the Holy Spirit radiating off of her. “It was thanks to my plan that you have suddenly gained all of this Holy Energy.”

“The Watcher is a turncoat. He helped them during the most recent altercation, and now I do not know what his motives are.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the man said with a shrug. “As I said, he played his part. He was out as soon as he was defeated. I can handle him if need be.”

She narrowed her eyes as she held his gaze before shaking her head. “Richard and Champion are dead, if that matters to you.”

“It’s unfortunate,” the man said, seeming to not care. “Those two were just pawns in the grand scheme of things.”

“Nightmare as well.”

This seemed to cause him to pause for a moment. “How?”

“A newcomer provided support during the battle, and somehow brought an end to him.”

“That is a… tragic loss. But no matter, we can go forward without him.” The man walked past her and stopped before the tank, staring up at it. “And this one, is she ready yet?”

“Not yet,” Lilith answered as she stepped up next to him. “I have her in a training dimension at the moment, getting her used to her abilities.”

“How long till I can use her?”

“Depends on if you want her at her full potential or not,” Lilith said as she shook her head. “I fear we’ll have to scrap her though, her mind is… a bit broken.”

“A broken mind is easier to manipulate,” the man countered as he moved away from the tank, walking for the other tank in the room where Lilith’s new body had been stored. “I see you had to resort to swapping bodies.”

“There’s three Lance’s now,” Lilith said, causing him to laugh. “The one named Twilight Sparkle is a problem.”

“I warned you,” he said with another chuckle. “Alright. I’m assuming the plan is the same as it’s always been?”

“It is,” she assured him.

“Good,” he said with a nod, turning his attention to the computer as he seemed lost in thought.

She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue, but he remained silent. “Yes?”

“Ah, sorry,” he mumbled, snapping out of it. “I haven’t been back to Equestria in a long time. Just got lost in thought.”

“Did you at least accomplish all your tasks?”

“I did,” he replied with a sharp nod. “It was worth it, in the end. A convoluted plan, but it was the best course of action.”

“Then you know what you have to do next,” she said firmly, getting a nod from him.

“I do. They’re all dumb and gullible, they’ll take me back without a single thought. I’ll be able to get the final items I need and I’ll finish them all off myself.”

“There are a few fresh faces you’ll need to be weary of,” she warned. “I’ll transfer you the knowledge once you’re ready.”

He gave a nod as he tapped a finger against one of his sword handles. “Is my one lackey still around?”

“She is,” Lilith confirmed. “However, she’s been depowered and has swapped sides as well.”

“Oh has she now?” he asked with a sinister tone. “I’ll have to do something about that. Has she told anyone anything?”

“I’ve kept tabs on her. She remained silent, due to her broken mind.”

“Ah, you just gotta love a broken mind,” he laughed. “So easily manipulated. It’s unfortunate she’s swapped sides, but I’ll deal with her. I should have done so a long time ago, anyway.”

“Finally, the elements have new bearers,” she continued. “But two of them have died recently.”

“Perfect!” he exclaimed. “That makes it so much easier. Any other developments?”

“Plenty,” she said with a nod. “However, the only important fact you need to know right now is that Champion killed the two Princesses.”

“He did? Both of them?” he asked, seeming a bit surprised. He wavered for a moment before shrugging. “Now that is VERY unfortunate. Complicates things for sure.”

“That’s your only reaction to that?” she asked, a sly smile on her face. “Cold.”

“Can we turn off Ego’s and Ego weapons?” he asked, moving to the next topic of discussion.

“Only for a short time,” she answered. “And only once. The artifact is cracked and only has one use left in it.”

“Better make it count then,” he mumbled, raising a hand to start undoing the cloth around his face, slowly unwrapping it.

“If we perform this next act, I need to know, are you able to deliver?”

The cloth hit the floor as he turned to her, giving her a smile, his face scarred from years of travel. “Haven’t I always delivered in the past? I kept everyone in check and made sure everything went as you wanted. The only hitch in the plan was a certain someone getting caught and getting banished. But as I said, I’ll deal with her when I can.”

“How much do you know of the one known as Scamp? Did you do the research like I asked?”

“She’s a problem, yes,” he said with a nod. “But only when she has access to powers. Right now, she shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The woman is my granddaughter, so I want her alive.”

“That’ll be easy, trust me,” he assured her. “She may be hard to fool, but I’m already an established member of their group. She won’t suspect a thing.”

“If she does become suspicious, even for a moment, your cover would be blown. You understand that, correct?”

“You worry too much,” he chuckled, removing his helmet, letting his long hair fall behind himself.

“You’ve been gone a long time. You will not be able to-”

“I’ve got it covered,” he interrupted her. “Lance alone is the most gullible. He’ll vouch for me even if the others don’t.”

“You are too sure of yourself.”

“Well of course,” he said with a smirk. “I am their Prince after all."

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: No need for a seance

Chapter 3

Twilight took a step back as her spell ended, a look of relief on her face. “He’s the real Frederic,” she declared, having confirmed his identity with magic.

“Thank you, Twi,” he said with a wide smile.

“I just can’t believe you’re alive!” Lance exclaimed for the tenth time as he stood among the only ones who stuck around. Most of the others had left while waiting for Twilight, as they had little investment in this reunion.

“How are you alive?” Scamp asked as she continued to look him over.

“I’m sorry, but we haven’t met,” Frederic said as he held a hoof out to her. “I’m-”

“Prince Frederic, long time friend of Lance and the others. You died fighting the Watcher, or so we thought,” she interrupted as she shook his hoof. “Scamp.”

“It’s good to meet you then,” he chuckled. “To answer your question, he didn’t kill me or the others, just teleported us to a different location.”

“Peter and the others are alive?!” Lance exclaimed.

A pained look over took Frederic’s face. “I’m sorry, Lance… they died in that dimension with the strange creatures I just escaped from.”

“How did you escape?” Scamp pressed.

“Years of work,” Frederic said proudly. “I’m an inventor after all, so I spent all my time trying to build a way to get home. And I just recently finished it, but I was attacked as I tried to leave. As you all saw.”

“We’re just happy you’re back,” Lance said as he hugged the other stallion again.

“As am I!” Frederic laughed. “I’ve missed so much, so I need a refresher on what’s happened.”

“Oh, I got you there!” Lance said as he pulled out three books. “We’ve published our adventures in these books.”

“Oh, nifty!” Frederic said with a smile as he levitated the books to himself. “I’ll give these a read through later then.” He put them away in a pocket dimension as he turned to everyone else. “Now, I’m sorry but I would like to see my family now.”

At this everyone cringed, averting their eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“Sit down,” Scamp said firmly, causing him to slowly lower his flank to the floor.

“Why?”

“Frederic,” she began bluntly, letting out a sigh. “Luna and most of our friends were killed by your son, Star Chaser.”

A wave of emotions washed over Frederic’s face as he sat there, finally settling on confusion. “My son would never do that.”

“He did,” Scamp said firmly. “And much worse as well.”

“Scamp maybe we shouldn’t tell-” Lance began, but she held up a hoof.

“He needs to hear this now rather than later,” she countered, keeping her eye on Frederic.

The stallion sat there in stunned silence as tears began to run down his face. “But I just got back… I wanted to see them…”

“I’m sorry,” Lance said as he and Twilight hugged him. He pulled them into himself and began to cry loudly into them.

A few others left at this, also becoming emotional, leaving only the Beltosh’s, Greenfields, and the still unconscious Annabel.

The trio continued their embrace, letting the larger stallion cry out his sorrow.

As this happened, the doors blew open as a mare rushed in, dropping writing supplies and books as she went. “Is it true?! THE Frederic is back?!”

“Babel, wait up!” Roxxy yelled as she rushed in after the excited mare.

The pair came to a stop a few feet away from the emotional scene, both looking a bit surprised.

“Oh!” Babel exclaimed as everyone looked at them with looks of confusion. “Did you just tell him his family is dead?”

“Babel!” Roxxy yelped as she pulled her back.

“What?” she asked with a look of surprise on her face.

“Remember what we talked about?” Roxxy said quietly. “You need to not approach sensitive topics with that much energy.”

“Ah! Yeah yeah! My bad guys!” she laughed as she dropped all of her supplies and fell on her flank. “Give me a minute to get ready!”

“Ready for what?” Frederic asked as he wiped his face, releasing Lance and Twilight.

“I’m out,” Shayla announced as she spun on her heels and left the room abruptly.

“What’s about to happen?” he asked again, looking around at everyone.

“I’m sorry, pal,” Lance whispered as he backed away. “That one is kind of… our biggest fan?”

“We have fans?”

“Oh you’ve missed a lot…”

“SO!” Babel suddenly yelled out, scooting across the ground on her flank to sit before Frederic. “Why did you bring Luna’s wedding dress to Pleasant Fields?”

“... What?” he asked, blinking rapidly in surprise.

“It’s one of the biggest questions my fellow Dreamers ask all the time on the fan website!” She answered, holding up her notebook. “So? The answer?”

“Huh…” he rubbed the back of his neck, seeming to be at a loss. “It was so long ago-”

“Yes, but it’s important lore. Think HARD please!”

Frederic looked at those around him, getting a few looks of sympathy in return. “Eh…”

“Tell her, Freddy,” Lance snickered.

“Oh fine, just don’t post this anywhere, off the record, alright?” he said, getting a smile from Babel. “I liked to wear the dress, okay?”

“Noted!” she said as she wrote that down.

“Hey I said off the record!”

“Mhm! And I didn’t agree!” she said with a happy smile. “Next question! I’ve read Lance’s old notes, he mentioned your mother. What happened with that?”

“My mother?” Frederic asked, glancing at Lance.

“Oh, yeah, I may have put one of our private conversations in my notes… that she got her hooves on,” Lance said sheepishly.

“Of course,” he said with a sigh before regarding the small mare before him. “There’s not much to tell. She appeared in Equestria and we banished her to some pocket dimension.”

“Was she straight evil?”

“Eh… yes?” Frederic muttered.

“Babel, let’s change that topic,” Lance said, knowing this was a sore topic for his friend.

A frown appeared on her face as she adjusted her glasses. “But this is a very important line of questions. The Frederic mom theory’s are-”

“Babel,” Roxxy said from behind her, causing her to sigh loudly.

“Fine, next question,” she groaned, chewing on her pencil as she thought to herself. “Ah yes! I read a line in Lance’s notes about Pleasant Fields, and an off hand comment you made that didn’t make it into the actual book!”

“Oh shit,” Lance snickered, trying to hide his smile.

“Lance, you didn’t write that down!” Frederic growled.

“Did you in fact say,” Babel began, checking her notes. “I’m a bit miffed that he chose you over me. Am I not good looking as well?” she quoted, looking up at him expectantly.

“Why’d you record that comment, Lance? I was drunk when I made it!”

“It was funny,” Lance countered with a laugh.

“So you DID say it,” Babel mumbled as she made some notes. “The shippers will love that one.”

“We have SHIPPERS?!” he exclaimed, causing the others to laugh again.

“That is a large portion of the fandom actually,” she answered. “What are your thoughts on-”

“Babs, can you hold back on any more questions till after he’s settled in?” Roxxy asked, patting her back.

“But we need to know all this! The fans on the new website are already asking for more lore updates!” she whined, slapping her hoof against her notebook. But Roxxy’s raised eyebrow got her to let out a loud exasperated sigh. “Can I ask ONE more?”

“Yes,” Roxxy said as she took a step back.

“Awesomesauce,” she said as she looked Frederic right in the eyes. “Hard hitting question, one that’s bugged me for YEARS!”

“Go for it,” he said, a bit nervous.

“Anarchy, aka Annabel, turned out to be the one behind EVERYTHING the early Bronies dealt with, especially all the sexual junk. And then it was recently revealed she actually has a butt load of trauma that caused all that. My question is: did you know?”

“About?” he asked, looking very uncomfortable.

“Any of it.”

He shook his head slowly, “no… I did not know any of the stuff she was up to. Especially that she was behind all the… sexual stuff.”

“But how?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve gone over EVERYTHING. You two were very close on Earth, from when you two were kids. If I’m correct, you met her when you were twelve and she was seven, correct?”

“... yes?” he answered, his discomfort increasing visibility. “Family friends, it’s not weird.”

“I didn’t say it was,” Babel chuckled, then became serious again. “With everything I know, you were there for the Lakeside Stalker incident, yet you NEVER brought it up during your time in Equestria. That information would have saved Annabel all those years ago. So why did you keep that to yourself?”

This question actually caused everyone to look at Frederic, which caused him to start sweating.

“I…” he stuttered. With a deep breath, he composed himself. “It wasn’t my place. She made me promise to never tell anyone.”

“Yes, while that could be true, why didn’t you break that promise to save her from banishment?” Then her eyes went wide, “wait, if you knew of the Lakeside Stalker incident, why didn’t you put two and two together when all the sexual things were happening? Like the Heats?”

“That’s a good question,” Lance muttered, looking at his friend with a frown.

Frederic looked between Babel and Lance, a tear rolling down his face. “I… didn’t want to tell you all this… because despite everything, I still care about Annabel. But… she used mind magic on me to keep me in line.”

This caused a few glances to be cast back at the still unconscious mare.

“So, let me get this straight,” Babel mumbled, making a few notes. “Annabel used her chaos magic to force you to comply, and it even persisted well after she was banished?”

“That’s the gist of it,” Frederic replied, looking a bit shameful. “It faded away after a little while, but by that point, I couldn’t bring myself to talk about her. It… hurt too much.”

“I understand that, Fred,” Lance said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “I think that’s enough, Babel.”

Babel frowned, but stood up, still making notes. “I still have a lot of questions about you and Annabel, but I GUESS I can wait till later to ask them.”

“I’ll await you then,” Frederic said with a bow. “But I do have one question.”

“Sure, ask it!” Babel exclaimed, excited as she held up her notebook again.

“How did you learn all this?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh, I spoke with Annabel a few times and she told me,” she answered as she smiled up at him. “I have a book filled with questions if you want to-”

“Babel,” Roxxy interjected, causing the excitable mare to deflate.

“I plan to talk with you more later, young lady,” Frederic said, giving her a nod.

“Perfect then!” Babel said as she began to gather up all her supplies.

As she and Roxxy left, Frederic turned to the others. “No one has mentioned my daughter. Is she…?”

“Nova is alive,” Lance confirmed, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

“Where is she right now?”

“The Palace, she’s been very busy lately,” Lance answered. “Do you want to go see her?”

“Of course,” Frederic answered with a smile. “Alone, of course. I’ve missed her deeply over these past few years.”

Scamp raised an eyebrow at him, seeming to sense something as he spoke, causing him to feel a bit nervous.

“Uh… Scamp? Are you okay?” he asked directly.

“I am, why do you ask?” she said, her eyebrow raising even more.

“Sorry, I guess I’ve just been out of social interactions for too long,” he said with a forced laugh.

“Hm,” she said with a nod.

With that he walked past everyone and knelt next to Annabel. “I’m going to bring her with me, I need to apologize for… everything I guess.”

“She’s going to be excited to see you,” Lance chuckled. “I mean, seeing you caused her to pass out, so at least she seems to have missed you just as much.”

“Childhood friends,” Frederic said with a smile as he put a hoof on her. “I’ll be seeing you guys soon, after my family reunion.”

“Good luck, Freddy,” Lance said with a nod. “Just don’t overwhelm Nova. She’s been having a rough time due to…”

“I know how to approach my daughter,” Frederic assured him with a wink. He gave them a salute as his horn flashed, causing both him and Annabel to disappear.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Loose ends

Chapter 4

The door to the study opened, causing Nova to groan as she continued going over the paperwork before her. She didn’t even look up to see who had entered, assuming it was one of her assistants. “Yes?”

“Hey, sweetie,” a familiar voice said, causing her to freeze.

Her head snapped up, her eyes going wide as she saw her father standing in the doorway, a bright smile on his face. A bright light flashed as she cast a spell on the stallion, shock overtaking her as she confirmed it was indeed her father and not a trick.

“D-dad?” she stuttered as he walked further into the room. “But… you…”

“I know,” he said as he walked around the table and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been here for you guys. I was fighting so hard to get back to you all.”

The shock she felt kept her from having a strong initial reaction, but as she was hugged by her father, she finally let it all out as she wrapped her forelegs around him. Burying her face into his neck she finally let all the stress out as she cried into him.

“Shh, it’s alright,” he said in a soothing voice, patting her back. “I’m here now.”

They held the embrace for a long moment before she finally pushed herself back, staring at him with a tear stained face.

“We needed you! Mom needed you!” she yelled, all of her emotions finally showing after years of hiding them.

“I know, I didn’t choose to leave you all like that,” he said calmly, his own tears running down his face.

“Star Chaser needed you!” she all but roared as she shoved him back roughly. “Why did you have to play hero and go fight the Watcher?! Lance was the only one who should have gone!”

“Mistakes were made, all I can say is I’m sorry,” he said just as calmly.

“Mistakes?!” She snapped, walking away from him to stare out the window. “Mom and Star Chaser is dead, and you say ‘mistakes were made’?”

“I’m… having trouble processing everything that has happened,” he admitted, stepping up next to her. “I’ve spent the last thirteen years alone fighting monsters, my emotions are… dulled.”

She just scoffed at him, shaking her head. “I looked for you,” she suddenly said, staring out the window. “As soon as we gained access to Dimensional travel I left to see if I could find you. Because I just had this feeling you were alive.”

He did not answer as he stared at her, letting her speak.

“Know what I found?” she asked, turning her head to him.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yeah. You already know,” she said, shaking her head. “I thought that was a fake you, or an alternative. I guess it was you after all.”

“Why didn’t you contact me then?”

“Because I was so sure you, the real you, were dead. Because there was no way you would be alive and not come back to us. So that HAD to be a different version of you.” She turned to him fully, her own eyes narrow as they stared at each other. “So you’ve lied to me, saying you were trapped in a dimension fighting monsters. You were out adventuring and doing whatever you wanted, without a care in the world.” She took a heavy step up to him, getting face to face with him. “I KNOW you knew what was happening here. So tell me, why?”

“Nothing I say will appease you,” he said with a sigh. “Can I explain myself?”

“No need,” she said bluntly. “Get out. I’m done with you. You abandoned this family, willingly, for whatever reason, and let Star Chaser go down a very dark path. If you’d been here… he would not have gotten to that point.”

“Star Chaser did exactly what he was supposed to do,” Frederic suddenly said, catching her off guard. “You’re the one who strayed from the path.”

“What… are you saying?” she asked, her eyes twitching.

“There’s no need explaining it,” he said with a sigh as his horn flashed and an object appeared next to her. “At least Star wasn’t a disappointment,” he said coldly as the object flashed, causing her to collapse. Once she hit the ground, he turned around and kicked the table in anger. “Fucking damn it. Why’d she have to get my smarts?!”

A groan behind him caused him to turn around and take on a more caring expression.

“What?” she muttered as she slowly pushed herself up, looking a bit dazed. “What happened? Dad?”

“You passed out when you saw me, you were so excited to finally have your dad back in your life that you overloaded,” he said calmly.

“I did?” she mumbled, still out of it.

The object flashed a few more times as her eyes took on the same color as the flashes. “Yes. You also told me about an alternate me you saw, but you realized it was a different me. I’ve been stuck in a different dimension this entire time, and you believe me.”

“I of course believe you, dad,” she replied.

“Good, and you’ll always believe me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good good,” he said as he tossed the object back into his pocket dimension.

After a few moments she blinked and smiled as she stared up at him. “Dad!”

“Hey, sweetie!” he laughed as they hugged again. “You okay? You fell kinda hard just now.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him as he pulled her up to her hooves. “I’m more worried about you! You just got back from fighting monsters?”

“Yes, fighting monsters,” he confirmed.

“Come on, Dad, let’s get you looked over first before we do anything else, okay?” she said, waving for him to follow.

“No,” he said firmly, causing her to turn to look at him. “I’m okay. But I do need something, if you can help me, honey.”

“Of course, dad,” she replied, turning to him. “What are you needing?”

A smirk took his face. “The Elements of Harmony.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

A groan escaped Annabel’s throat as she slowly came to, her eyes opening to reveal nothing. Confusion overtook her as she tried to look around, but realized she was in a dark room, on a hard floor. She moved her hoof to her face and heard the sounds of chains on a metal floor, causing her entire body to seize up. Her breathing caught as she sat there, not moving.

“How much did you tell them?” a voice echoed around the room, startling her.

“F-Fred?” she all but whimpered, her eyes darting around in the darkness.

“How much did you tell them?” the voice repeated, less patient this time.

“Freddy I’m sorry! I promise I didn’t tell anyone anything!” she screamed, her panic taking over as she began to hyperventilate.

“That annoying mare seems to know a lot about me,” he growled, seeming to be close to her.

“I told them about my stuff, not yours!” she yelled. “I didn’t tell anyone you were directing me!”

“Shut up,” he hissed with a stomp. “Why would you reveal anything to them? They’re not your friends. They hate you.”

“I-I know! But a few of them are trying to help me-”

“Out of pity, they feel sorry for you. Unlike me, they don’t care about you at all. If it wasn’t for me, you’d have died all those years ago when you tried to OD,” he said as he stepped up to her in the darkness. “Do you really think they’ll ever accept you? Did you think pushing the blame on me would make them like you?”

“I swear, I wasn’t going to tell anyone about you! I kept it out of my diaries and-”

“You kept diaries?” he growled. “Great, what do they know about me?”

“Nothing! They still love you, Fred! I promise!”

“Not my Daughter,” he muttered as he flicked on a light, revealing they were in a shipping container, with her chained to the floor. Very similar to the situation she’d been in all those years ago.

“No no no no,” she began to mutter as she curled in on herself. “Not here, please, Fred…”

“I wouldn’t have had to do this if you’d stayed loyal to me,” he said coldly. He used this as a punishment to keep her in line, as it always worked in the past. It had become his go to after she was rescued from the Lakeside Stalker all those years ago.

“I… swear I didn’t betray you… You’re my only friend, I wouldn’t do that…” she mumbled, eyes wide as she laid there in the fetal position.

“Lies, if you really considered me your only friend, you wouldn’t have done this to me,” he snapped, punching the wall and shaking the whole container.

“Fred…” she winced as she shut down and began to mumble to herself.

“Maybe a night down memory lane will fix your loyalty issues,” he said as he spun around and walked for the other end, leaving her there. He glanced back, watching her have one of her break downs, and rolled his eyes. “Drama queen,” he spat out as he shut off the light, plunging the room into darkness yet again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So, Fred’s back?” Jun asked aloud as he piled more food onto his plate. “That’s neat I guess.”

He spun around and walked back to his table, dropping his food onto it and sitting down.

“I wonder where he’s been,” he said, nodding to his companion. “Probably fucking off doing who knows what,” he mused. “That guy was always up his own ass anyways. No idea what they all see in him.”

Letting out a loud burp he glanced around before leaning across the table, “what do you think? You think he’s up to something?”

His companion, his body pillow of the late Queen Twilight, did not provide an answer to him. He’d ‘found’ it in an abandoned store a few days ago.

Despite the body pillow not responding, he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I also never trusted him. I may have been the ‘villain’, but he always made me uncomfortable when I was in the same room as him. Weird ass guy.”

Laughing to himself, he leaned back, looking around his messy trailer. A moment of sadness flashed over him, but he quickly recovered and went back to being cheerful.

“Oh well, at least I’m not alone, right, Queenie?” he chuckled, playfully slugging the side of the pillow. This caused it to slump over and hit the floor, leaving him sitting there with a blank look on his face. “... fuck I’m pathetic.”

“Pathetic and a traitor,” a cold voice said from behind him.

“Shit,” Jun cursed as he tried to jump forward, away from whoever was behind him, but he found himself caught in a strong magical grasp and was thrown through the wall of his trailer. His body bounced across the ground a few times before crashing through a tree, bringing it down onto his trailer, finishing it off.

“Oh come on, I JUST got that place set up!” he groaned as he pushed himself up, just in time for his assailant to appear before him. His eyes went wide as he looked up at the stallion before him, a sheepish smile appearing on his face. “Fred! You gotta know I was just talking out my ass, trying to impress my lady friend.”

Frederic only raised an eyebrow as he stared down at the smaller Pegasus.

Then his earlier words hit him as he stood up fully before the Alicorn. “Wait, traitor? I haven't betrayed Lance and them. I mean they’re ignoring me and treating me like trash, again, but I haven’t done anything against them for it.”

“I’m not talking about them,” Frederic said calmly. He then leaned down to the confused stallion, putting his mouth next to his ear. “You betrayed Lilith.”

“Fuck,” Jun hissed as he transformed into his Demon form just in time to take a direct hit to the face. The trees behind him were demolished as he crashed through them as the Alicorn followed after him.

Jun landed on his hooves, spinning to face the incoming threat. The next hit landed on his face, but his body didn’t move this time as he held his ground, muscles rippling.

The two locked eyes as Frederic sprang back, seeming to rethink his approach.

“What the hell, bro? When did you switch to Lilith’s side?” Jun asked, heavily confused by this new development.

“Day one,” Frederic answered.

“That figures, you always were kinda gay,” Jun countered with a chuckle. “Guess your dad was right about you.”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll hold your tongue,” Frederic growled, two swords appearing next to him, held in his magical grasp.

“Nah, fuck you,” Jun laughed, flexing at Frederic. “Yo daddy said you cried when he caught you sexually harassing your mom.”

“Lies from a spiteful old man,” Frederic yelled, seeming to lose his cool.

“I saw the memories, you inncest freaky boy. Your dad killed your dumb ass for fucking your mom,” Jun threw back, still flexing on him. “So come on, hit me with your best shot.”

“I have a better idea,” Frederic said with a sinister smile as he teleported them closer to town.

“Why are we-” Jun began, but Frederic dashed into him and jammed both blades into his chest, which only caused Jun to laugh as he grabbed the hilts and held them in place. “Bruh, come on, you know that won’t kill me, right?”

“Guys! Help!” Frederic suddenly yelled out, surprising Jun. “Jun’s gone crazy and is trying to kill me! HELP!”

“Bro, what are you doing?” Jun asked, raising an eyebrow as he continued to hold onto the blades.

“What the fuck, Jun?!” Lance’s voice called out from behind him, startling Jun even more.

“Lance?” he asked, starting to turn, which allowed Frederic to pull his blades free and slice across Jun’s throat, cutting his voice off. This of course wouldn’t kill him, but that wasn’t his plan here.

“What’s going on?!” Lance demanded as he, Lacy, and Twilight rushed towards the pair.

“I don’t know!” Frederic exclaimed, dashing back. “I ran into him and he asked how I got out of the Watcher’s trap, and then started spouting nonsense about some woman named Lilith and how I’m too great of a threat to keep around!”

His words seemed to hit each of them differently as they looked at Jun as he struggled to reform his injured throat, but the wounds seemed to be healing much slower than normal.

“He also said something about me getting in the way of their plans, whatever that means!” Frederic added, which seemed to be enough to get Lance’s mind working.

“Explain yourself, Jun,” Lance declared as all eyes fell on the Demonized Jun.

He turned to Lance, coughing as he struggled to heal the wounds, locking eyes with the other man. He started to approach them, but a strange feeling overcame his body. Without warning he launched forward against his will and his hoof struck out for Lance.

“Jun?!” Lance yelped as Lacy intercepted and kicked the incoming stallion aside, sending him crashing through some brush.

“I told you!” Frederic yelled to them as he spun his swords in the air.

“Is he possessed by something?” Lacy asked, glancing around suspiciously.

“Possibly,” Twilight mused, a grim look on her face. “But I think our fears have come true. He may not have ever truly been on our side.”

“Yes, exactly!” Frederic added as he rushed past them. “I’ll handle him, go get the others!”

“I’m coming,” Lacy stated as she dashed after him, much to the Alicorn’s displeasure.

“I can handle him on my-”

“Don’t care, I need to speak to this dumb ass,” she growled as she cut him off.

“Very well,” Frederic relented as they burst through the foliage to find Jun sitting there with his hooves up.

“What the fuck is up with you?!” Lacy screamed in anger as she landed a few feet away from him.

“It’s… not me,” Jun choked out, his voice still gravely from the damage he’d received.

“You attacked Lance, looked like you to me,” she snapped, bonking him on the head with her hoof. “You possessed or some shit?”

“Yes!” he forced out.

“By who?”

“Frederic!” he yelled, pointing past her at the stationary Alicorn just watching them.

She narrowed her eyes, locking them with Jun’s as she read his reactions. A long moment passed before she gave a nod to him. In a flash her large sword appeared next to her and she spun to confront the Alicorn behind her. But as she turned she found herself face to face with some kind of floating orb.

“You Lance’s are always a troublesome bunch,” Frederic said as the orb flashed and she collapsed.

“What the fuck?!” Jun growled as he forced himself.

“You’re done, clone,” Frederic said calmly as he moved closer, kneeling next to the slowly recovering Lacy. He whispered something in her ear, causing her to ridge and jump up, her eyes locking with Jun’s.

“Uh… you good, Lacy?” Jun asked as complete rage took over her face.

“You tried to…” she began, her sword flashing to her side as she squared up with the worried looking Jun. “... I thought we were becoming friends.”

“We are?” he said, turning to the smiling Frederic.

“What have you done?”

“Me?” Frederic asked, feigning shock. “You’re the one who tried to take advantage of her after you knocked her out.”

“What?” Jun deadpanned with an amused look on his face.

“You’re fucking dead,” Lacy said in a low voice as she took hold of her weapon.

He looked between the pair, a look of defeat and pain on his face. “... fuck this shit. Fuck all of you,” he said as his wings flared and he shot backwards, disappearing into the forest.

Lacy started to go after him, but Frederic stopped her. “No, you need to go get looked at, he hit you rather hard after all.”

She spat onto the ground as she took a step back, turning to the sounds of someone coming their way.

Scamp burst through the foliage, landing before them as she stood up straight, a pissed off look on her face as she glared at Frederic, then to Lacy. “What happened? They said Jun attacked you guys?”

“Guys lost his shit,” Lacy hissed, kicking a rock into the forest. “He fuckign tried to… fuck, he tried to do shit to me when he knocked me out!”

“...” Scamp looked to Frederic, who only sighed and nodded his head. “How could he knock you out?”

“I-”

“She tried to talk to him and he hit her unexpectedly,” Frederic interjected, getting a slow nod from Lacy.

“Yeah, I guess I fucked up big time or something,” she grumbled as she rubbed her head. “I’mma kill him for… trying that shit on me.”

“Get to Calypso,” Scamp ordered as she walked past them. “I’ll go after him and figure this out.”

“I’ll come as well,” Frederic offered.

“Yes, you will,” Scamp said firmly, giving him a side eye. “Lead the way.”

“Can do, Mrs. Scamp,” he said with a bow, taking the lead as Lacy stood there, seeming confused.

“Lacy,” Scamp said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Go get looked at.”

“I’m… going,” she said, seeming to be trying to work something out in her mind.

Scamp gave her a reassuring nod as she followed Frederic, her eye narrowing at his back side. Things weren’t adding up in his favor.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Imposter amogus

Chapter 5

The pair moved along in silence, following the trail of broken branches and disturbed bushes, slowly catching up on the fleeing Jun. Scamp was watching him closely, gauging him and his actions. She wasn’t enjoying the vibe he was giving off, but she was trying to give him at least the benefit of the doubt. This courtesy was only due to his connection to Lance and the original book, as most others she would have put under the lamp by this point.

“We’re getting close,” Frederic announced as they heard the sounds of distant crashing.

“Question,” Scamp suddenly said, causing him to slow momentarily.

“Yes?” he asked, quickly recovering and moving forward at a steady pace.

“The dimension you were trapped in,” she began carefully. “Why did the Watcher put you there?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” he admitted with a sigh. “I never even got to see the guy after he sent us there.”

“It’s just a bit strange he sent you and the others to a different dimension, instead of adding you to his collection,” she pressed, a nonchalant tone to her voice. “Just not his M.O.”

“I really don’t have an answer here. He wanted Lance, not us.”

“Then he’d have killed you,” she added, stepping over a fallen tree. “He wasn’t the kind of foe to mess around.”

“You don’t trust me, do you?” Frederic asked, not slowing down.

“I do not,” she confirmed plainly.

“What can I do to gain your trust?” he said as he turned his gaze to her.

“Want the quick way? Let me into your head to view your memories,” she replied, side eying him hard.

He frowned, but gave a nod. “Okay. We can have Twilight do the spell when we get-”

“Can’t you do the spell?” she asked, her lip curling into a sly smile. “If I remember correctly, Lance has said you could cast it with ease.”

“I don’t think we should do it out here while hunting for a murderous clone,” he countered, but she just shrugged.

“I’ll risk it.”

He clicked his tongue as he started to say something, but an angry yell from up ahead drew his attention. “Hold that thought!” he exclaimed as he rushed down the newly created path.

Scamp narrowed her eyes as she ran after him, his responses not helping his case at all.

They came into a clearing to find Jun punching a lone tree, seeming to be taking his frustrations out.

“Jun!” Scamp called out to him, causing him to stop and turn to them.

His angry expression melted when he saw her, but reignited when he looked at Frederic.

“Scamp, you gotta listen to me, he’s not-” he started to say but he suddenly rocketed towards her and attempted to attack her with an outstretched hoof.

With practiced ease she deflected his attack and allowed him to sail past her, not attacking him. “Hm,” she turned to face him, squaring up with him. “Jun. Tell me exactly what this is about.”

He started to talk, but he launched for her yet again. This time Frederic jumped between them and made a few slices as he flew past, removing one of his front legs and cutting his throat again.

Jun hit the ground and rolled a few times before catching himself, seeming extremely frustrated.

“I got you, Scamp,” Frederic declared, giving her a wink.

“How about you stop ‘helping’ and let me handle this,” she said with a hint of anger in her voice as she dashed towards Jun, who remained where he was and held his remaining foreleg up.

Coming to a stop before him, she grabbed his foreleg and held it firmly. “Now’s your chance, Jun. Speak.”

A gurgling sound escaped his lips as he used a wing to point at his throat.

“Okay. Take your time recovering,” she said, not letting him go and turning them so she could watch Frederic as well.

“Scamp,” Frederic called out.

“What?” she asked, keeping her eyes on both of them.

“I think the best course of action would be to finish him off right here and now. He’s always been a major threat to us in the past, he’ll-”

“Let me handle this,” she interrupted him, watching as the wounds slowly healed, taking note that they were taking longer than they normally did.

“I am, but I’m offering you the best solution to this new threat. Jun will never-”

“Frederic, if you want me to trust you,” she snapped, turning her attention to him. “Then you need to let me handle this the way-” a sharp pain caused her to stop talking as she grunted loudly, turning her eye back to a shocked Jun, his suddenly fully regenerated foreleg outstretched and gripping her now broken wing.

She reacted on instinct as she punched him in the face, sending him skidding back as she sprang back, trying to access her damage.

Jun jumped up and started to move back towards her, but she stopped him with a glare. “Do not move! No one move!” she bellowed, her anger bursting forth as she grimaced at the feeling of her left wing hanging loosely at her side.

“Scamp! Are you-” Frederic started to say, stepping towards her, but she pointed her good wing at him, her eye ablaze with fury.

“I said do not move!” she roared, stopping him in his tracks. “I do not know what the fuck is going on here, but we’re not moving till I figure it out!”

Coughing violently, Jun looked at her, “S-Scamp, I didn’t-”

“Silence for one minute!” she demanded, trying to reel in the situation. This situation had taken a turn and she needed a moment to regain her composure. She’d let her guard down, and now she wasn’t so sure what was going on. Jun seemed to be under some kind of outside influence, but she wasn’t sure if it was from Frederic or Lilith.

“I’m always the fucking bad guy!” Jun exclaimed as he suddenly spun around and took off running into the forest again.

“Jun, freeze!” she yelled, but he continued forward. “Damn it!”

“I got him,” Frederic declared as he took off after him.

“No, you freeze as well!” she ordered, but he just threw a salute towards her and continued after the fleeing Jun.

Gritting her teeth, she knew she needed to chase after them to make sure neither of them killed the other. There were questions she needed answered, and having either of them dead would not help her in the slightest.

Jun led them on a chase through the forest, staying just ahead of them Frederic didn’t seem to be trying to catch up, as he kept pace with Scamp. She kept her attention on him, as her suspicions of him had increased dramatically at this point.

They began to go uphill as Jun tore through anything in his past.

“What is your plan?” Frederic asked as they continued upward.

“My plan?” she hissed. “When we catch up to him both of you are calming down and we are teleporting back to town, then we’ll figure this out with the others.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said with a nod. “I’m sorry if I’ve been difficult, I just do not like being attacked like this. Jun is an old enemy of mine and there’s a lot of history between us.”

“Mhm,” she mumbled back, keeping her eye on him.

Finally they reached the top, where Jun came to a halt right at the edge of a cliff, with a steep fall before him with nothing but forest below.

“Jun, stop,” Scamp ordered as they neared him.

“Scamp, Frederic is the bad guy here, not me!” he yelled as he backed up to the ledge. “I’m being framed.”

“If that’s true,” Scamp said firmly, watching Frederic’s reaction. He remained stoic. “Then lay down and let us take you back to town. We’ll sort everything out then.”

“No one will believe me!”

“If what you say is true, I’m willing to hear you out,” Scamp assured him. “I’ll have them check your memories.”

“You promise?” he asked, his shoulders slumping slightly.

“I promise,” she replied, causing him to start to smile. Then without warning he seemed to spring backward and rocket away into the forest below.

“Damn it!” she cursed as she took a few steps forward, watching him disappear into the trees below. Then she cursed again as she realized she’d taken her eyes off of Frederic.

Spinning around, she found herself face to face with a floating orb.

“So close, Scamp,” Frederic chuckled as the orb began to flash. “Biggest threat my ass.” His smirk slowly faded however as Scamp remained standing, her furious eye locked with his. The orb flashed a few more times as he tried to use it against her, but nothing seemed to happen as she suddenly hit it with her metal hoof, causing it to shatter into tiny shards of glass. A yelp escaped him as he stumbled back.

“So that’s what you did? Mind controlled Lacy?” she snarled, stepping towards him. “I knew there was something up with you.”

“Now, Scamp,” he began, but she pounced on him, taking him to the ground in an instant. Despite his larger size, she was much more skilled than him and she quickly subdued him, holding his hooves behind his back as she pressed his face into the dirt.

“Fuck me, you’re a strong one,” she grunted as he fought against her. “Stop resisting!” she yelled as she elbowed the back of his head. His horn began to glow as a few items appeared around them, but she instantly grabbed his horn with her metal hand and jerked it violently, breaking it at the base.

A loud scream filled the air as Frederic began to thrash about violently, the items dropping around them.

“If you don’t stop, I’m not liable for-” she began, but she suddenly stopped talking as she froze in place.

“You bitch!” Frederic yelled as she shoved her frozen form to the side and rolled to his hooves, grabbing at his stub of a horn. “My horn?!” he roared, his wing holding a runed item in its grasp.

Scamp’s eye was locked on him, confusion mixed in with the anger.

“Fuck!” he yelled out again as he paced around. He then held up the item in his wings grasp. “I bet you’re wondering what the hell just happened, huh?!” he asked angrily as he stepped up to her, waving the item in front of her face. “Well you just made me waste the only one I had! Say hello to being paralyzed for the next five hours!”

He then began to hit her repeatedly, cursing loudly as he did so. “Not that it matters!” he yelled as he continued his ruthless attack. “You won't be alive for it anyways!”

Once he was satisfied, he hefted her up with his hooves and threw her over the cliff's edge.

“For good fucking measure,” he growled as he grabbed one of the items on the ground and twisted it, causing it to glow. He pointed it downward, causing a massive ball of energy to shoot straight down after her.

He couldn’t see if it hit her, so he kept firing it, destroying the entire forest below him. Once he was sure she and possibly Jun were dealt with, he grabbed a second item and tossed it over the ledge. He then teleported away, and moments later a massive explosion destroyed the forest below, and the cliff they’d been on.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: I'm your best friend

Chapter 6

A massive mushroom cloud formed in the distance as an explosion rocked the town, causing everyone to begin to panic.

“What the hell just happened?!” Lance said as he ran to the edge of the town, staring at the distant cloud of debris and dirt that were thrown into the air.

“Is that from them fighting Jun?” Shayla asked as she and Domitor stood off to the side, having been getting ready to go after her mother and Frederic.

“I don’t think Jun had an attack like that,” Lacy muttered, her mood still sour.

“We need to get moving then, they clearly need our help!” Lance yelled as he spread his wings, preparing to take off.

Just as he was about to take flight, a portal opened near them, and a wounded Frederic flopped out of it, hitting the ground with a groan.

“Fred!” Lance yelled as he rushed over and lifted his friend. “Someone get Calypso!”

Domitor dashed off as Shayla stepped forward, eying the portal as it lingered for a moment. When it snapped shut she worked her jaw, glancing to the heavily wounded Alicorn.

“Where’s my mother?” she asked roughly.

Frederic winced as he forced himself up into a sitting position, holding his side where a shallow cut sat. “Jun got a power up from that woman he called Lilith and he almost killed me,” he groaned. “I got the upper hand and was about to beat him, but then he decided to self-destruct… he…”

“What?” Shayla asked roughly.

“I’m sorry,” he said with a wince.

“Why are you fucking apologizing?!” she demanded. “Where is my fucking mother?!”

“She… saved me,” he finally said, going limp as seemed to pass out from his injuries.

“No…” Lance muttered, turning his gaze towards the slowly dissipating cloud in the distance.

“There’s no fucking way Jun would be able to take her out,” Lacy said in disbelief.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Shayla asked with a snarl, not catching the hint.

“Scamp, she…” Lance began, but he hesitated.

“Frederic is saying she died,” Lacy deadpanned, causing Shayla to seize up.

“No, he’s fucking wrong. Guys a fucking failure, can’t even fight Jun. My mother wouldn’t get taken out like that,” she said with a growl, her muscles twitching as she clenched her fist.

“I agree with you,” Lacy said, nodding her head towards the cloud in the distance. “Let’s go see if Scamp needs our help, yeah?”

“Let’s go,” Shayla said as she flared her wings. The two of them took off, leaving Lance and Frederic alone.

As soon as they were gone, Frederic gasped out, seeming to just be waking up. He started to get up, but Lance held him down.

“Stay down, buddy,” he warned. “You need to wait for Calypso to check on you before you move around.”

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I’ve only made things worse since I came back.”

“No you haven’t,” Lance assured him. “You exposed Jun while the rest of us were fooled by him. If you hadn’t been here, he would have done who knows what.”

“But Scamp…”

A pained look overtook Lance’s face. “Are you sure she…”

“I’m sure,” he replied, tears running down his face. “She saved me, Lance.”

Lance could only nod as tears ran down his own face.

“We need to take down this Lilith character, as soon as possible,” Frederic said with a determined look on his face.

“Don’t worry,” Lance said. “We’re going to get her.”

“If you don’t mind,” Frederic began with a pained smile. “I actually have an idea on how to handle her.”

“I’m all ears,” Lance said, eyes narrowing. “Tell me what you need and I’ll make it happen.”

“Thanks, Lance,” he said with a smile. “There is something you can do for me…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Frederic stepped out of the portal into the vacant dimension that used to be his old home dimension, before the Rapture emptied it of all life. The perfect place to hide things he wanted out of sight. As he strolled away from the flickering portal, eyes locked on the container ahead, he failed to notice someone else slipped through behind him.

A loud metallic grinding sound was heard as the doors to the shipping container were pulled open, casting light onto the curled up form of Annabel. She let out a whimper as Frederic stepped into view, walking towards her.

“It’s been six hours, do we need to do the full twenty four?” he asked as he knelt down next to her.

“No no, please,” Annabel mumbled, staring up at him desperately. “I-I-I never betrayed y-you, I promise!”

“Hm,” he hummed, tapping his hoof against the floor as he pretended to be considering something. “If I let you out right now, what would you do?”

“What e-ever you wanted!”

“Good, so you’re willing to go back to how things were?”

“Yes!”

“You’re not going to try and spill any secrets you think you know about me?”

“I swear I won’t! I’d never do that to you!”

“Hm…” he hummed again. “Maybe we should finish out the full twenty four hours…”

“Fred please…” she begged as she began to cry again. “I’ll do whatever you want, just stop this, please!”

“We’ll see,” he chuckled as he stood up. “Tomorrow.”

“Fred!” she screeched as he turned around, eyes going wide as he saw someone peeking in at them. They pulled away as he dashed forward.

Upon exiting the crate he saw a portal sitting open as someone, a woman with black hair, jumped through it. He vaguely recognized her from Lilith’s memories, which meant she was a problem.

“Fuck,” he growled as he rushed back in and stood above Annabel. “You want to prove yourself and never come back here?”

“Yes!” she cried out.

“Then you’re coming with me, and you’re going to do as I say, got that?!” he roared as he began to undo her chains.

She could only frantically nod her head yes as he hauled her to her hooves.

“Good,” he snapped as he pulled out a rune and touched it to her, removing all the dirt and grime from her, making her appear like she’d just woken up from a refreshing nap. “If you so much as act out of character even once, I will leave you here for the rest of eternity, do you hear me?!”

“Yes, Fred!” she said a bit eagerly, trembling as she desperately wanted out of this place.

“I swear if you betray me,” he snarled, but left the threat in the air as he dragged her out of the container and opened a portal. “Now, the story we’re going with is-”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Annabel and Frederic appeared outside the Mellowed Pie and casually walked inside. Frederic was tense as he expected to see the woman in question, but she was nowhere to be seen, just Lance and the other Bronies. Plus a few others who apparently had Holy Energy within them as well.

“Ah there you are,” Lance said as he quickly made his way over to Frederic and Annabel. “I got most of the Bronies, plus a few of the others who have been near God as well. Was there anything else you needed for this plan?”

“Yes,” Frederic said, still looking around a bit nervously. “Nova should be bringing the rest by soon.”

“So what is this plan you have for dealing with Lilith?” Cody asked as he stepped over to them, his signature scowl on his face.

“I’ll explain it once my daughter gets here,” Frederic assured him as he walked further into the room. “First, however, I need to discuss something I’ve just found out with all of you.”

He looked at each person, making note of the ones he needed to deal with, as requested by Lilith. Twilight Sparkle being at the top of that list, however she was not here, even though he had requested for her to be.

“What’s up?” Greg asked as he wheeled around the room lazily.

“I’ve found another agent of this Lilith here in this town, or rather, Annabel found them for me,” he said, getting a few solemn looks from those around him.

“Great,” Lance muttered. “Who is it this time?”

“Annabel, go ahead and tell them,” Frederic said, causing everyone to look at the meek mare.

Her body trembled as she tried to recall what she’d been told to say, forcing herself to do as she’s told. “I-It’s… Erm… Belle…”

Lance clicked his tongue in annoyance as the others showed their own displeasure in different ways. “I fucking knew she’d be a problem,” he growled.

“I told you we should have locked her ass up!” Louie exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. “Strawell told all of you as well that she shouldn’t be allowed to do whatever she wanted!”

“We didn’t touch her out of courtesy to Domitor,” Cody interjected.

“Well now look where we are?! Scamp’s dead and Lilith has her little agents among us, unchecked!” Louie roared as everyone else began to yell as well.

“Everyone!” Frederic boomed in his Royal Canterlot voice. “Cease this bickering. We just need to proceed with my plan and she won’t be a problem for much longer.”

As if on cue, the doors opened as Domitor stepped in, flanked by his mother in her human form.

“Speak of the devil,” Cody muttered as everyone got up and advanced on the pair who’d just entered.

“Guys,” Domitor began, taking note of the hostility they’d walked in on. “I know how we feel about her, but my mother just told me-”

“Step away from her, Domitor,” Lance ordered as everyone flanked them. “She’s working for Lilith.”

“No?” he said, a bit dumbfounded. “She just told me Frederic has Annabel trapped in another dimension as a prisoner.”

“Oh is that so?” Frederic said as he stepped aside to reveal Annabel. “Annabel, are you trapped as a prisoner anywhere?”

“N-No…” she muttered, averting her eyes from everyone else.

“Clever…” Belle said under her breath, her baggy eyes and tired expression never changing. “Should have come here first.”

“Domitor, for your own good,” Lance said carefully. “Step over here with me. She’s not on our side.”

Domitor looked at Annabel, then to his mother, a conflicted look on his face. He’d told her he’d give her a chance to prove to him she cared, and then she pulled something like this. And now he was being told she was working with Lilith.

“Damn it,” he hissed as he stepped away from her. “Is that true?”

“Would you even believe me?” she asked in an almost whisper, her slumped posture still unchanging.

“I honestly wish I could,” he said after a few moments. With that he joined the others, leaving her alone and surrounded.

“You tried,” Frederic said a bit smugly. “And you failed. Working against the people who took you in? That’s low.”

“You’re a piece of work, aren’t ya?” Belle asked as she looked around at the ponies around her. “This man is a manipulator. I don't know what he did to her, but she’s scared of him. Just open your eyes and really look at him.”

“If you tell us all you know about Lilith, we’ll let you leave the dimension,” Lance said, seeming to not care for her words. “That’s the only deal you’re getting right now.”

A sigh escaped her lips as she lowered her head. “I’m just ‘that one lackey of Lorenzo’ to all of you. That’s all you see when you look at me. You look past everything else about me and hyper focus on that… okay.” She looked to the smiling face of Frederic, “this will end badly for you.”

“It won’t,” he said with a growing smirk. “Because with my friends, nothing can stop me.”

“Ugh,” she groaned as she suddenly exploded with energy, pushing everyone back as she transformed into a Super Sayian and shot through the roof.

“Oh shit!” Lance yelped as he spread his wings. “Don’t let her-”

“No, let her go,” Frederic said, stopping everyone in their tracks. “She’s just a lackey, we’re going after Lilith herself. No need to split up now when we’re so close.”

Reluctantly, Lance lowered his wings, chewing on his lip. “... You’re right, Fred.”

“I know,” he chuckled as a flash behind him caused him to smile widely. “Perfect timing!”

“I’m sorry everyone,” Nova announced as she levitated a box up onto a table. “It took me longer than I thought it would to get the Elements gathered up. Shayla’s room was a mess and she had hers buried under a pile of clothes and trash.”

“You did good, sweetie,” Frederic praised her as he stepped over to the table and flipped the box open, his eyes gleaming as he looked upon the familiar Elements. He pulled an item out of his pocket dimension and smiled at it. An item he spent years trying to find. “You performed perfectly, honey.”

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Broken Pedestal

Chapter 7

“What is that thing?” Lance asked as Frederic held up the item in his wing.

“This?” Frederic asked, holding up a horn from some kind of beast. “Nothing special, just the single most important item to exist that will help us achieve our goals.”

“Rad,” Greg chuckled. “Whats it do?”

“I’ll show you soon,” Frederic assured him.

“Also what’s the plan, dude?” Louie asked.

“It’s simple,” he began cheerfully. “I will use this item to empower the Elements, while all of you willingly give me all your Holy Energy. That way I can temporarily become strong enough to track down and kill this Lilith.”

“Didn’t she take all of our Holy Energy, though?” Greg questioned.

“I don’t think so,” Lance replied. “From what I know there is only so much someone can take against your will, which is why she apparently tried to make deals with everyone in the past. Like she did with Malbatorus.”

“That’s basically it,” Frederic confirmed. “If you willingly give it to me, I can take it all at once.”

“How do you know that?” Louie asked with a cocked head.

“Because I’m smart, Lou,” Frederic answered smugly.

“Hm, fair…” Louie muttered, rubbing his chin.

“So when do we begin?” Lance asked.

“Now’s good,” Frederic answered as he put on a necklace. “If everyone will form a circle around me, we can get this ball rolling.”

The group quickly did as he asked and surrounded him while he placed the horn on top of the Elements. A glow began to emit from the box as the six Elements of Harmony began to float into the air, along with the horn. They circled the dark horn and began to slowly spin around it as lights flashed from each of them.

“Fucking awesome,” Greg commented as a few dark wisp of almost transparent smoke poured from them and connected to Frederic.

“Alright guys,” he announced as he posed in the middle of them. “Hold out your hooves and open yourselves to me. I’ll take all the Holy Energy you got.”

Without hesitation the group held up their hooves and paw. Yellowish trails of energy began to pour from them and enter Frederic, causing the necklace to begin to glow brightly.

“There we go guys,” he praised as he began to float into the air. A smirk appeared on his face as he watched Annabel shrink back and try to hide under a table.

However the door to the Mellowed Pie being kicked open roughly wiped the smirk from his face as he saw an unexpected sight walk in.

“Everyone stop what you’re doing!” Scamp bellowed, her body covered in so many cuts and bruises that it was hard to understand how she was still standing.

“Scamp?!” Lance exclaimed happily as Shayla and Lacy walked in behind her, followed by a just as angry Jun. “Jun?!” Lance hissed as the energy continued to pour out of him and the others.

“Stop giving him your energy, now!” Scamp roared, her swollen eye emitting so much fury that everyone before her cowarded.

“Why?” Cody asked, deeply confused.

“Why is Jun here after he tried to kill you?!” Lance demanded.

Scamp locked eyes with the smirking Frederic. “It wasn’t Jun. Frederic tried to kill me after his mind control failed to manipulate me.”

“What?!” Everyone yelped at once.

“So fucking stop giving him energy, you dumbasses!” Lacy screamed, her anger almost rivaling Scamps.

“Oops too late,” Frederic laughed as he slammed his front hooves together, causing light to burst out of each Brony around him, dropping them to the floor instantly. A bright glow over took his body, blinding everyone momentarily.

Once it vanished, they found themselves looking at a completely restored Frederic, his horn back along with all the wounds on his body healed.

“Whew!” He laughed out, still floating. “Thank you all for being just as retarded as I remember you being.”

“What the fuck is going on, Freddy?!” Lance yelled up to him as he struggled to push himself up, but seemed to have no strength left in his body.

Frederic just rolled his eyes as he seemed to disregard Lance. “I’m not lowering myself anymore to speak to you.”

“Shayla,” Scamp said calmly, eye still locked on Frederic. “Cook his ass.”

A devilish smirk overtook Shayla’s face as she lowered herself into a practiced stance and held her hands low next to herself. Her Ego began to gather in her palms as she prepared to finish this fight before it even started.

“Cute,” Frederic said coolly as an item appeared next to him and shattered. Everything dimmed slightly as the Ego forming in Shayla’s hands faded away.

This left her staring stupidly at the floating Alicorn as he just smiled back at them.

“Fuck,” Scamp hissed, realizing immediately what must have happened.

“There is no point trying to fight me,” he said with a smug smirk. The Elements behind him changed into twisted versions of themselves, taking on a red hue that pulsed sinisterly. Yet they still seemed to be changing.

“Frederic, are you being possessed?!” Lance called out, getting a snarky laugh in return. “Because this isn’t you! You’re all about doing good!”

“You’re seeing the real me, Lance,” he said happily. “I’ve always been like this. Better than you all in every way. It just took selling you out to the Watcher to finally start getting what I deserved.”

“I refuse to believe it,” Lance growled as he continued to try to get up. “You’re like a brother to me! You’re a good man, Frederic! Just fucking tell me you’re under a spell or something and we’ll fix it!”

“I could play around and pretend I am under a spell, but I’m done waiting around to get what is owed to me.” He puffed up his chest as he beamed a smile at everyone around him. “I am a God who only lacked the power, but now,” he said as the Elements continued to spin behind him, now glowing with crackling crimson energy. “I have the means to gain my destined Godhood.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re such a faggot,” Greg spat out as he glared up at Frederic.

His words seemed to strike a nerve as the Alicorn spun to face him. “Greg fucking Campbell. You’ve been the biggest bane to my existence. I was so happy to hear that you became a cripple fighting that pretender.”

“I might be a cripple but at least I’m not you,” Greg countered with a smile.

“You wish you could be me,” Frederic said coldly. “A God unmatched.”

“Frederic, please,” Lance said, getting him to turn back to him. “We can still fix this. Lilith is the-“

“Lilith is nothing,” Frederic declared proudly. “The short sighted ‘First Woman’ is just a pawn in MY game. She thought she was the one in charge, but she’s not. I AM!”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Lance growled as he finally found his footing, wobbling as he stared up at Frederic.

“Then finish.”

“Lilith is the real threat here. She’s influencing you to-“

“Shut up!” Frederic bellowed as his temper flared. “You do not understand! I AM the one in control, not her! All of my actions are my own and everything is going the way I want them to go! Every single thing that has happened to you pathetic fuckers was be causing of me! The Heats?! Me! I made Annabel do them! She’s my bitch dog and she does EXACTLY what I say, when I say it! Every villain we’ve fought?! I made sure they would be a threat and I made damn sure they did what I wanted! All the rapes?! You all fucking deserved it, so I made them happen as payback for what you’ve done to me! None of you are my friends, just pawns in my grand scheme to get what I am owed! I could have had all this DECADES ago, but you all are selfish and narcissistic monsters! Keeping me from my destined Godhood! I should kill all of you right now, just for how you treated me all those years! I am the victim here! ME! I am the good guy! Do you not fucking get that?! You all think you’re ‘heroes’ but you're just monsters! Every single one of you! We’ll I’m done being your victim! I’m done letting you walk all over me! I have corrupted the Elements with the Horn of Satan and I am going to ascend so far that none of you will be able to touch me! You’re all the worst! The fucking worst! Always prancing around saying ‘we need to save the world!’ and ‘oh the power of friendship will save the day!’! It’s annoying! You’re all annoying and retarded! I can’t stand knowing you’re all still alive all the damn time!”

“Oh my god he’s fucking losing it,” Louie muttered as everyone stared on in uncomfortable silence as the Alicorn seemed to be having a mental break down.

“Me! I am the hero! Not all of you! I hate all of you! I HATE YOU ALL! You all had unlimited choices of what to be and you all chose fucking Pegasai! Fucking Pegasai! The ONLY good one of you was Graze, and then you all banished him for NOTHING! No more! I am done! Fuck you!” The Corrupted Elements began to spin around him as he seethed with unending rage. “I am THE God now! And you all will fucking respect ME and WORSHIP ME! Do you fucking hear me?! Now get out of my sight till I summon you!”

With that final scream of rage the six Corrupted Elements slammed into his body, causing him to shoot up through the roof and into the sky above.

“That guy has gone bat shit crazy,” Shayla exclaimed as everyone slowly recovered from the shock they’d just received.

“All of you stay down,” Scamp ordered as the ones who’d been affected by Frederic continued to try and get up.

“You’ll need our help,” Domitor grunted as he almost got himself up, but failed as he collapsed. “Ugh, he took a lot more than just Holy Energy.”

“Dom you dumbass,” Shayla growled as she stepped towards him.

“No, we need to deal with Mr. Tantrum first before anything else,” Scamp said as she rushed out the door followed by Jun, Lacy, and Shayla.

Upon stepping outside they found themselves face to face with Babel and Roxxy, who were both staring straight up into the sky.

“I don’t get what’s going on,” Babel remarked as everyone joined them in looking into the sky where Frederic was still floating and apparently still ranting. “Is Frederic evil now?”

“Mhm,” Scamp grunted. “Always has been.”

A frown appeared on Babel’s face, “oh, this is going to really affect my shipping charts…”

“What’s the plan here?” Lacy asked. “We don’t have Ego or our weapons, and he’s all hopped up on powers and shit!”

Scamp kept her gaze on the Alicorn above, her mind running through their options. With Ego gone, and Lance and Domitor down, they didn’t really have that many heavy hitters left. She was not only depowered, but also injured, so she wasn’t sure what she could do against something like this.

The same for her daughter. Without her Ego, she was still a formidable fighter. Yet she wasn’t comfortable letting Shayla try her luck against this level of a threat. If her wife was here, she’d be able to do something, at least. But she wasn’t sure where Mallogory was at that moment, probably out looking for her in the forest.

“This is a fucking mess,” Scamp growled as she settled on a course of action. “Jun, Lacy, go ahead and power up.”

The pair nodded as they transformed.

“Shayla,” Scamp began, sounding a bit reluctant. “I’m too hurt to do anything, and you’re not smart enough to do something like this on your own.”

“Gee, thanks, mama,” Shayla grumbled.

“So I’m going to need you to trust me and… fuse with me,” she said as she pulled out two earrings from her pocket dimension.

“No way! Are those Potara Earrings from Dragon Ball Z?!” Shayla said as excitement took over her and she bounced in place.

“Yes,” she deadpanned. “One of the only useful things I picked up from that show you like. With my experience and your… strength. We should be able to handle this.”

“Give me give me!” she begged, holding out her hands for one of the earrings.

“I’m going to regret this,” Scamp groaned as she dropped one in her daughter's outstretched hand.

Shayla immediately began to put hers on, still jumping from foot to foot. “Ooo! Put yours on! Put it on!”

“Calm down, Shay,” Scamp said firmly as she looked at Babel and Roxxy. “You two, get to safety.”

“But I need to see this!” Babel insisted. “This is historical! The new cast is fighting the old!”

“Fine, Roxxy keep her contained,” Scamp sighed, getting a nod from the younger mare. “You two, get up there and see what you can do about him.”

As Lacy and Jun took to the air she held up the earring, seeing her daughter's excited face out of the corner of her eye. “This is a one time thing,” she stated. “These come back to me after this is over.”

“Just put it on, mama!”

“Hmpf,” Scamp shook her head as she put the earring on.

The moment it was on the pair of earrings began to pulsate, getting brighter and brighter with each passing second. Then it yanked them towards each other.

“This is just like the show!” Shayla exclaimed as they hit each other, the flashes increasing in intensity, fully enveloping them.

As the lights dimmed, both Babel and Roxxy stood there dumbfounded.

“Oh this is a new one!” Babel said excitedly as she brought a camera up and took a picture. “Straight to the scrap book and fan website!”

“Huh,” the fusion muttered, looking at its two clawed hands, one flesh one metal. “This feels… weird.” A smirk over took their face, “but awesome!”

“Ooo! Name it!” Babel yelled, holding up her notebook.

“Name?” the fusion asked, its wide shark-like grin spreading across its face. “Call me… Shrimp.”

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Narcissus

Chapter 8

“Shrimp?” Roxxy asked.

“Names recorded, and I’ll add it to their profiles when I get access to the internet,” Babel announced happily.

“AH fuck!” Jun yelped as he hit the ground next to them, spraying all three of them in blood.

“Wonderful…” Roxxy sighed as she wiped her face clean.

“Gadzooks!” Babel exclaimed with a wide smile on her blood covered face. “My first blood bath!”

“Congratulations,” Roxxy said as she used her hoof to wipe Babel’s face clean.

“You good, Junny?” Shrimp asked as she walked over to the slowly reforming Jun as he pulled himself off the ground.

“No,” he groaned. “He just swept me away like I was nothin’.”

“Probably because you’re weak and shit,” Shrimp teased, slugging shoulder.

“... I don’t know how I feel about this fusion,” Jun moaned as he fully reformed.

“Fucking help me, you assholes!” Lacy yelled from above as she flew down to them, covered in wounds from her short bout with Frederic.

“Yep, on it,” Shrimp said with a toothy grin as she shot upward, followed by Jun.

The trio approached Frederic as he just kept on ranting to himself, the energy and lights emitting from him only growing stronger with each passing moment.

“Alright, you two hit the sides, I’m going up the middle!” Shrimp ordered in an overly excited voice.

“Who’s in charge here, Scamp or Shayla?” Lacy asked with a touch of worry. “Because that really affects how I react to her orders.”

“That’s the cool part!” Shrimp laughed. “Potara Earrings make a whole new person! I’m both of them in one! I’m cooler and more badass than either of them!”

“... I like her,” Lacy said with a smile as she and Jun split, flying for either side of Frederic.

“... fucking all of you just don’t know! You just don’t KNOW how hard it is being me!” Frederic yelled as he thrashed around, having a full on tantrum in the air.

“Oh wah! Cry me a river, Fredick!” Shrimp laughed as she neared him, just as Lacy and Jun reached him.

“You Lance wannabes are so damn annoying!” Frederic roared as he dodged both of them at once and caught them by the throats. “I just want to be done with you all!”

“You bitch a lot for a man,” Lacy choked out.

“This guy? A man?” Jun forced out, causing both of them to laugh.

Frederic growled, but then realized he didn’t see the third one anymore. “Where’s the incest fusion?”

“At your back!” Shrimp suddenly yelled as she put Frederic in a headlock, yanking back hard enough to cause him to let go of the other two. “All this power and you can’t even defend against a highschool level wrestling move!”

“What are you calling yourself?” Frederic asked, his voice suddenly a lot calmer than it had been.

“Shrimp, ya fuck,” she laughed. “Now let’s get serious, yeah?”

“You don’t want that,” Frederic said with a smirk as he reared back and kicked Jun away as he attempted to get in close, turning him to a bloody mist. Lacy dodged the kick that came her way and backed off momentarily. “One minute.”

“Till what?” Shrimp asked as he broke free from her grasp and spun on her. His hoof flew for her, but her speed kept her safe as she ducked it, returning her own punch to his face. Yet he was unaffected as he just stared at her.

“My destined Godhood, of course,” he answered as he suddenly jerked, his hoof seeming to teleport as it slammed into her, sending her spinning away with a spray of blood.

“Ah fuck me,” Shrimp muttered as she stopped herself and saw she was now missing her mechanical arm. “That thing was kinda irreplaceable.”

“Want me to go all out?” he asked. “You would die instantly. I’m above you. I’m above ALL of you! And I’m not even at full power!”

“Fucking just kill me then,” she groaned, making a talking motion with her hand. “You talk so fucking much. So much fuckin’ whining, bro.”

“I am not ‘whining’, I am telling you-”

“Wah wah, I’m Frederic and I’m sad my daddy didn’t like me,” Shrimp mocked, making a fake crying face at him. “Boo woo, either kill me or kill yourself, ya prick.”

He just stared at her with a cold rage behind his expression. “I think I can live with killing just you. You’ve overstayed your usefulness in my new world.”

“Fuck, you really are Star Chaser’s fuckin’ father,” Shrimp groaned.

Frederic sneered as he flashed out of sight, only to reappear with his hooves already around her neck.

“You’re fast, I’ll give ya that at much,” she choked out as Lacy flew in from the side.

“I’m more than fast,” he said as his wing whipped out, catching Lacy in the face. “I’m God.”

“Fuck, you keep saying that shit,” Shrimp whinned, patting his foreleg. “I’m a God! I’m a God! I’m a God! That’s you! A fucking broken record!” Her eyes flicked to the side, seeing that Lacy was falling away, clearly unconscious. “Ah that’s not good.”

“I’m not A God,” he said with a holier than thou smile. “I am GOD!”

“Ugh, fine, just kill me,” she said, throwing her hand up.

“No,” he said as he began to glow even brighter, his eyes becoming black orbs. “I think you should see the future before you die.”

“Sounds kind of gay,” she grunted.

“Insult me all you-” he was suddenly cut off as a fist seemed to materialize right next to his face, sending him flying away from them.

“You came back?” Shrimp coughed out as she rubbed her throat.

“Yeah,” Belle muttered, her energy flaring as she watched Frederic right himself, holding his jaw.

“You’re one bad chick, ya know?” Shrimp complemented, getting a grunt from Belle.

“I guess,” she replied as the two of them squared up with Frederic.

“Women,” Frederic growled. “You hit hard, but fuck, are you bad with the follow through.”

“Damn, how’d you make being sexist lame?” Shrimp asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said as the light coming from his body suddenly cut out. “Times up. Welcome,” he said as he held his hooves out to the side. “To your new God.”

Before either of them could react, a bright light exploded from Frederic’s body, sending both of them flying away.

“I got ya!” Jun yelled as he caught both of them at once, but instead of stopping them, he found himself flying backwards with them. “Oh shit, never mind!”

“Nice try,” Shrimp grunted as she and Belle caught themselves, coming to a stop as Jun continued backwards. “How are we going to deal with-” she started to say, but her voice caught in her throat as they both stared back towards Frederic. “Oh…”

Belle’s expression finally changed as her eyes widened slightly.

“What the fuck?! He’s a fucking dragon thing now?!” Jun yelled as he flew up next to them.

“More like an overgrown lizard with daddy issues,” Shrimp commented. “What’d ya think, Belle?”

“It’s an odd sight,” she said in a low voice.

A roar caused the air around them to vibrate as a massive dragon shaped creature floated where Frederic had once been. Energy of all colors flickered off of its body as its metallic plated arms and wings flexed out. It rotated its head around on its long neck as it seemed to be adjusting to its new form.

“Ah yes!” an overly loud, guttural voice rang out as the dragon flexed, sending out a shock wave that pushed them back even further. “This! THIS is the power of your new GOD!”

“Great, he’s even more up his own ass,” Shrimp groaned.

The oversized dragon pointed its hand towards a distant mountain, causing it to explode. “Not impressive enough!” it roared as it looked up, then pointed towards the moon that was faintly in the sky. Just like the mountain, it also exploded, disappearing from the sky. “I can do better!”

“We just got that fuckin’ moon,” Shrimp muttered, rubbing her face.

“Guess we can’t have nice things, huh?” Jun joked, looking to her for a laugh, but she just shrugged.

“So he’s a big fuckin’ dragon now, probably a lot stronger to boot. What are we doing about it?” she asked, glancing between her two companions.

“I got nothing,” Jun muttered. “Lacy would say something smart, like going up its ass or something.”

“Let’s just wing it,” Shrimp offered, then hissed. “No, that's a retarded plan.”

“Or you could accept your fates,” the dragonized Frederic roared at them.

“Shut up, Frederic,” Shrimp shot back, flipping him off.

“I am no longer just Frederic!” he roared back at them. “From this point forward, I am THE God of Good! Of justice! Of STEEL! I am Omnius!”

“... did he just steal Nathan’s name?” Jun asked, dumbfounded.

“If I didn’t already hate the fucker, that’d do it,” Shrimp grunted, hocking a loogie to the side.

“Narcissistic,” Belle added.

“Say what you will, your words no longer affect me,” Frederic called out as a massive portal began to form behind him. “I am a forgiving God. All your past sins against me have been forgiven.”

“Get bent, you wannabe God,” Shrimp called out to him, her eyes running over the portal, planning their next move.

“Words from mortals can not hurt a God,” he laughed.

“Fag! Retard! Slut incest fag!” Jun began calling out.

“Jun, I forgive you for-”

“Your hairdo is gay!”

“You don’t- Don’t you ever fucking say that to me again! I will fucking end you!” Frederic bellowed, energy exploding out of his body more violently than the last time.

“Struck a nerve,” Belle muttered, a smile gracing her face.

“That’s it!” he roared as he began to float backwards into the portal. “I was going to be a BENEVOLENT GOD! But now I’m going to be the God you all deserve!” He continued to yell, but was cut off as his head entered the portal. The moment he was fully through, the enormous portal began to slowly close.

“Oh shit, do we go after him?!” Jun asked.

“We-” Shrimp began, but was cut off as they saw someone fly up from the ground and enter the portal. “... looks like we’re going in.”

“Who was that?!” Jun asked as the three of them flew towards the portal.

“Beats the fuck outta me!” Shrimp answered. “I just hope it was someone useful and not weak!”

The trio barely made it through the portal as it snapped shut behind them.

“What the fuck is this place?” Shrimp asked as they found themselves floating in a dark void.

“A blank dimension,” Belle answered simply.

Despite there being no light, they could still see each other as if they were under a lamp. They could even see Frederic in the distance as he floated in place, limbs outstretched as he laughed like a maniac. Between them and the oversized dragon was the person they saw enter before them.

The person appeared to be a costumed Alicorn, most of their features hidden beneath all of their clothes. A mask was pulled over their face and their hair was also concealed in cloth, completely hiding their identity.

“And who the fuck are you?” Shrimp asked roughly as they flew up to the mysterious newcomer.

“Someone looking for vengeance,” they answered in a feminine voice, turning to face them and revealing a broken heart across the front of their mask.

“Ew,” Shrimp said with a fake gag. “More edge, just what we needed.”

“Are you playing superhero or something?” Jun asked as they all observed Frederic finally stop his maniacal laughter.

“I’m here for him,” the costumed Alicorn grunted, nodding to the dragon. “For personal reasons.”

“Whatever your reasons are,” Shrimp began. “Can you pull your weight in a fight? Against someone like him?”

“Easily,” they answered as their eyes narrowed at Frederic.

“Then let’s get this fucker,” Shrimp said with a wide toothy smirk. Then her face became serious, “Jun, distract him. Belle, I’ll create an opening for you. Costume girl, try to hit him from behind after I make contact.”

They all gave an affirmative as they took off, spreading out as they rocketed towards Frederic.

His massive form turned to face them, a look of amusement on his large face. “You all will be the first to witness the birth of my Heaven!” He roared as he squared his body up with them as they approached. “And you shall be the first of many to become my personal servants!”

Unlike before, none of them acknowledged his ranting as Jun pulled ahead and propelled himself towards Frederic’s smiling face.

“You can not hurt me anymore,” Frederic laughed as he swiped Jun away with a clawed hand. “I have ASCENDED!”

As Shrimp neared him, his tail whipped towards her. To his surprise she easily deflected it and continued towards him. He didn’t get a chance to process this impossible feat as the costumed Alicorn elegantly evaded his claws and hit him with a glowing hoof. The hit, empowered by some form of magic, caused Frederic to flicker momentarily. His eyes went wide as he grabbed his chest, his claws digging into himself as he clenched it tightly.

“What have you inflicted upon me?!” He roared. “My heart feels like-“

Belle crashed into his back with an explosion of Ki energy, cutting him off and sending him rocketing past the others.

“Nice hit,” Shrimp complimented with a thumbs up.

“Thanks,” Belle muttered as she slammed her fist together, her power rising even more.

“He seems a lot fuckin’ weaker now, doesn’t he?” Shrimp asked as they regrouped quickly.

“Yeah, he hit me a lot harder earlier!”Jun added as he worked his neck. “What the fucks up with that?”

“Simple,” the Alicorn answered. “This power he’s playing with is too much for him. He overestimated his capabilities.”

“His mental state seems to be degrading,” Belle observed as Frederic began ranting again, screaming into the void.

“I think that’s just him being a baby,” Shrimp chuckled. “I think we can finish him off before he can do anything actually destructive.”

“Oh, we’re actually just gonna kill him?” Jun asked with a smile. “No stupid mercy and hope he learns his lesson?”

A conflicted look fell across Shrimp’s face as her two halves found themselves in conflict over the idea of killing Frederic.

“He dies today,” the Alicorn said sternly. “One way or another.”

“I would like him to be dead,” Belle added.

“Well fuck yeah then!” Jun exclaimed happily.

“You’re not killing me!” Frederic roared as he finally returned his attention to them. “You got lucky! I was holding back for your sake! But no more! NO MORE!”

“Geez, wah wah am I right?” Shrimp said with a snort.

“Careful,” Belle warned. “He’s still a threat.”

“Yes I am!” Frederic bellowed as he blinked out of sight, only to reappear right on top of four of them. His massive form dwarfed them as the level of energy pouring from him increased drastically.

With a flurry of motions he attacked all of them at the same time, causing them to go on the defensive momentarily.

“The fact you all think you will win sickens me!” He roared as Shrimp took a hard hit, sending her flying into Belle. “I!” He continued, whipping them away with his tail. “Am!” Energy exploded out of his eyes and hit Jun, causing him to scream in agony. “GOD!” His large head suddenly snapped forward and caught the Alicorn in his mouth. He attempted to crush her, but she fought against him as she strained to keep his mouth from closing.

Belle and Shrimp flew back in to attempt to help, but Frederic’s attacks continued as he fired a beam from his eyes, barely missing Belle as she was forced to change course. Shrimp, however, continued forward and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Frederic’s jaw.

But that didn’t free the Alicorn as he laughed and head butted her, sending her flying backwards.

Frederic just continued to laugh as he snatched the still withering Jun and crushed him in his fist.

Fortunately for Shrimp she was caught by Belle, saving her from being sent into the void.

“Fuck,” she groaned as they floated there. “That was like getting hit by a fuckin’ mountain.”

“He’s going to kill them,” Belle stated, her facial expression both awake and filled with determination.

Shrimp stared at the other woman, both halves of her fighting against one another. Finally they seemed to get on the same page as a sigh escaped her lips.

“Belle,” Shrimp said, getting the full attention of the woman. “I know we’re not on good terms, but I need you to do something for me.”

The other woman looked at her, her thought’s impossible to read.

“This is asking a lot, but I need you to push yourself past your limits and throw me.”

“Hm,” she looked towards Frederic, then back to Shrimp. “For Domitor, I’ll do it.”

With a firm nod she held her hands out to the woman.
Belle gripped them firmly, and with practiced ease began to power up. Her power level quickly surpassed her own limits as a look of pain flashed across her face. Yet she kept pushing herself, clearly giving it her all.

“End this,” she said through clenched teeth as energy violently crackled around them. With that she began to spin, almost instantly becoming a blur to anyone watching. Soon they were leaving after images as she hit her peak. Just as her body and mind gave out she released Shrimp, sending her towards Frederic as she fell to her base form. Unconscious.

“Oh fuck yeah!” Shrimp exclaimed as she barely was able to register what was happening as she almost instantly reached Frederic.

She was moving so fast that he didn’t even notice her as she hit his chest, arm outstretched before her.

His eyes went wide as everything slowed down. He could feel her tearing her way through his chest at a speed he could barely comprehend. The moment she exploded out his back, all the force caught up with her and hit him, causing the hole she made to expand even further. His muscles spasmed, which allowed both Jun and the Alicorn to break free of him.

Even more force hit him, causing him to lose control and get swept away in a tornado like effect, spinning him wildly after the still rocketing away Shrimp.

It took her longer than she would have liked, but she finally caught herself and came to a grinding halt. Frederic, however, wasn’t able to replicate her success as he spun past her. It took him much longer to bring himself to a halt.

“Not looking so good there, Fredick,” she mocked as she caught up with him as he floated in place, breathing heavily as parts of his body dropped off of him.

“These are mere wounds of the flesh,” he hissed out, clearly barely holding himself together. “This means nothing good for you!”

“Nah, this is it, Freddy,” she laughed. “You’re done.”

“I am far from done!” He screamed as he shot a beam at her, but she evaded it with ease. “I am Omnious the God of Good and life! I will not be mocked by bugs!”

Two more beams flew past her as she continued to laugh, enjoying herself as she pissed him off even more.

“Laugh at this!” He roared as time seemed to speed up momentarily.

“Oh wow, you’re fast forwarding us. So scary-“ her eyes went wide as she realized what he was doing. “Oh fuck!”

She started to fly towards him, but her body began flashing as the fusion ended. Both Scamp and Shayla fell away from each other, flapping their wings as they tried to right themselves.

“Shit,” Scamp hissed as she caught herself, turning to Frederic just in time to see him snap his claws. There was a tiny explosion next to both of their heads as the earrings were destroyed.

“Gah!” Shayla hissed in pain as she swatted at her blackened ear. “How the fuck did he break the fusion?!”

“They have a thirty minute time limit,” Scamp answered with a frown as she extended her mechanical arm, relieved it came back after the fusion ended.

“Since when?!” Shayla exclaimed loudly as she gestured angrily with her hands.

“They’ve always had that limit according to Goku,” Scamp said with a grunt.

“Not according to… wait, have you fucking met Goku?!”

“That’s not important at this moment, Shayla,” Scamp sighed as she watched Frederic jerk a few times as he tried to use his powers to fix himself. But everything he fixed would immediately start falling off again.

“It is very important, mama!”

“Shayla, priorities,” Scamp snapped, getting a groan from her daughter.

“I shouldn’t have played along with your delusions,” Frederic grunted out, his body still falling apart. “I’m just going to need to try again.”

The mother and daughter prepared themselves as Frederic sluggishly moved his body, trying to move despite the state he found himself in.

“I don’t think you’re gonna get a second chance here,” Shayla said with a smirk.

He just growled as his hand shakily came up. “Oh, I’ll get more than a second chance. You two just won’t be around to see it.”

“We’ll see,” Scamp said as her pocket dimension appeared next to her. As her hoof reached up to retrieve a particular item it came to a halt just outside the opening. Her muscles strained as she tried to reach in, but she quickly realized she couldn’t move her foreleg. Nor could she move at all.

“We’re not playing anymore,” Frederic growled as his left arm sagged and fell off of his body. “You two are going to either die here, or serve me. There is no third-”

“You enjoy speaking, don’t you, Frederic Bourdages,” Lilith said from behind him as she floated around him.

“Lilith,” he growled. “How’d you enter my domain?”

“Your domain?” she asked as she came to a stop before the frozen mother and daughter. “Hm, granddaughter. Great granddaughter. We finally met.”

Neither of them could speak, so no response was given, but the glares were enough to get their feelings across.

“Betrayal, Mr. Bourdages?” Lilith asked calmly as she turned to face the melting Frederic. “I expected more from the son of Richard.”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” he roared, causing her to scoff with a smile.

“Disappointing,” she muttered.

A deep guttural growl escaped his throat as he fired a beam at her. Lilith remained still, watching as the beam neared her without any reaction. Instead of hitting her, it bent around her, missing her completely.

“Despite the betrayal, you’ve done exactly as you were supposed to,” she said as she raised her hoof.

“Lilith, I think it's time I dropped the act,” Frederic said in a forced formal tone. “I’m stronger than you now.”

A little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as he said this.

“I’ve been using you since day one,” he admitted proudly. “I used you to get everything I deserved, and you never even realized it.” His tail twitched and fell off of him. “Do you know what your problem is, Lilith?” he asked with a smirk. “You think you’re smart. You think you’re the most brilliant person in any room you walk into. All these plans you’ve made have failed, while all of mine have succeeded. And look where we are now. I’m the God and you’re the little witch who has to have others do her bidding.”

The entire time Frederic was speaking Lilith was just humming to herself, letting out little laughs whenever he insulted her. “Are you done?” she asked once he finished speaking.

“No,” he said as his body began to glow as he powered himself up. “But you are.”

“Okay, Mr. Bourdages,” she said with a smile as he grew in strength.

“Goodbye, Lilith the failed Witch,” Frederic growled as parts crumbled off of him.

“Yes, goodbye, lackey,” she said calmly as she waved her hoof, causing the power building up within Frederic to instantly snap off.

He blinked, surprise finding its way onto his face as his mind tried to comprehend what had just happened.

“Amazing,” she said in awe as she looked at her hoof, watching as it began to glow with the same energy that Frederic had been emanating. “You lasted longer than I thought you would with this much power flowing through you. Surprisingly, I’m impressed by you. Somewhat.”

“What did you just do?!” he roared as he began to fall apart at a much faster rate.

“Thank you, minion,” she said with a mocking smirk. “For warming it up for me.”

“Give it back!” he screamed as he moved forward, his legs shattering from his body as he tried to float towards her.

Instead of responding to him, she spun back to face her two family members. “Scamp,” she said while floating close to the clearly seething mare. “You and I aren’t that much different. If things had gone the way I had intended, you would have had a much better life than the one you were settled with. Regardless, you have two options going forward. One leads you and your little family to safety and happiness. And the other…” she let a laugh escape her lips. “Well, I don’t think we need to explore that second option.”

“Lilith! Give it back!” Frederic cried from behind her, but she ignored him.

“A time will come very soon where you will ask for my help,” Lilith said calmly. “And that is when you will choose.” She then waved her hoof. “You may speak now.”

The moment the magic restraining her vocal cords ceased, Scamp let out a hoarse laugh. “I’m not going to ever need to ask you for help, so take your ‘offer’ and shove it up your ass.”

“Damn, mama!” Shayla laughed.

Lilith waved her hoof at Shayla, silencing her again. “Okay then. We’ll see each other again, very soon, granddaughter,” she said as she turned and began to casually float away.

“Next time we see each other, things will go a lot differently for you,” Scamp assured her.

“I know,” Lilith said as she floated past Frederic as he lay in a pile, barely able to move.

“If you do not give back my Godhood, I will-”

“Hush now, Frederic,” she said in a firm tone as she waved a hoof, causing him to return to his original pony form, just a simple Unicorn. “There is no resentment from me to you,” she said as she side eyed him. “Because this is exactly how I knew our time together would end.”

“Bullshit!” he hissed as he struggled to right himself, but failed as he began to cough violently.

“I’m not one to gloat,” she said, still not fully looking at him. “But everything that has happened up to this point? All a part of my vision. You’ve played your part, and it's now time for you to exit the stage.”

“You can’t kill me,” he growled.

“I’m not going to,” she said with a small smirk. “But you will wish I had.” With that, she faded away as a portal opened near Scamp and Shayla.

“Get back here!” Frederic screamed as he glared after her, watching her disappear. The moment she was gone, he began to thrash his hooves around as he started having another tantrum.

The two mares found they were able to move again as they looked at each other, both sharing a smile.

“Mama, you’re still a badass,” Shayla said proudly.

“Still?” Scamp laughed. “Did I ever stop?”

Shayla beamed a smile at her as they both turned to face the now crying Frederic. “So… what are we doing with him?”

“I know what I want to do with him,” Scamp said coldly, but saw the look her daughter was giving her, causing her to sigh. “But we’ll decide it as a group.”

“Thank you, mama,” Shayla said with a relieved sigh.

Right at that moment Jun and the mysterious Alicorn arrived, having finally caught up with them.

“Did we miss all the fun?” Jun asked as he shifted the still unconscious Belle around on his back.

“Pretty much,” Scamp chuckled as the Alicorn moved towards him. “Hey, Miss Costumed Mare, we’re not touching him right here and now. We’re going to drag him back and deal with him as a group.”

“He’s not yours,” the mare said coldly as she walked towards the adult Unicorn having a full blown toddler tantrum.

“Hey!” Scamp yelled as she flew in front of the larger mare, halting her in her tracks. “He’s going to get what he deserves, but just killing him, right here right now, is letting him off easy. Do you want that?”

“I’m not going to let him slip away,” the Alicorn growled.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Scamp assured her.

“He has magic, he can-”

“Oh for the love of,” Scamp groaned as she kicked back with her hindleg, expertly kicking Frederic at the base of his horn and shattering it. He began to scream in agony as his tantrum turned into thrashes of pain. “Happy?”

“Very,” she said, appearing a bit stunned at what had just happened.

“Fuck,” Shayla whispered, nodding her head as she watched her mother turn and haul Frederic up.

“I’m going to kill you… all of you…” Frederic whimpered as blood covered his face from the jagged stump where his horn once sat. “I am your… Prince…”

“I didn’t vote for you,” Scamp said with a smile as she forced him to move towards the portal.

“Are we just going to trust this random portal that Lilith left for us?” Shayla asked nervously.

“Do you have your Dimensional dagger in your Vacuole?” Scamp asked her.

“... I let Domitor hold onto it,” Shayla muttered.

“And I left mine with your mom,” Scamp said as she shoved Frederic through the portal, then pulled him back out, checking him over. “Well, he didn’t die so we’re just going to have to trust it.” Before anyone could protest, Scamp walked through the portal, dragging the crying Frederic after her. A few moments passed before she stuck her head back through. “We’re good, come on.”

The rest of the group quickly moved forward and entered the portal, leaving the blank dimension behind.

Side Arc: Sins of the father: Epilogue

Epilogue

“That’s heavily fucked up and disturbing,” Lacy commented as Scamp finished retelling the events of delivering Frederic to Satan.

“Are you good, Scamp?” Lance asked as all eyes turned to the mare in question.

She let out a laugh and waved him off. “I’m fine, not like I haven’t seen some fucked up shit in the past.”

Everyone in the Mellowed Pie just exchanged looks, but no one said anything else as Scamp sat back down with her wife.

Lance stood up and walked into the middle of the room next, a solemn look upon his face. “Well guys, I honestly don’t know what to say about all of this.”

“What is there to say?” Greg commented as he sat with Pinkie Pie.

“Does this mean all of our relationships were… meaningless?” Rainbow Dash asked, a hurt expression on her face.

This caused those gathered to lower their heads.

Scamp glanced around, seeing everyone’s forlorn faces and sighed. “You idiots,” she announced, startling everyone. “Who cares if Frederic meddled in your love lives and picked who you fell in love with.” Her gaze turned to Lance. “What about you, Lance? Do you love Twilight?”

“I-I do,” he answered with a slow nod.

“Do you wish you’d gotten with someone else?” she challenged.

“Of course not.”

“Then there you go,” she said with a smirk. “At this point it doesn’t matter why you all got together, just that you love each other. That goes for all of you.”

Her words seemed to help those who had doubts, letting everyone relax.

“That brings me to this then,” Lance continued, turning and looking to the back of the room where both Belle and Jun stood. “We all owe both of you an apology. For not believing you when you tried to warn us about Frederic.”

The pair shared a look after hearing this, frowns on both of their faces. Without a word they both walked to the middle of the room with Lance.

Jun was the first to speak. “I swapped sides because you all offered me the chance to do better, to not follow the shitty path I stumbled onto.” He ran his eyes over everyone. “But you all only care about me when there’s fighting that needs to be done, and the moment it’s over, you ignore me. Treat me like a nuisance.”

“That’s not true, Jun,” Lance countered, but this just caused Jun to look even more upset.

“It is though!” He snapped. “The moment we got back after defeating Richard and Lilith, you all ignored me. I tried to help or spend time with any of you, but I was told over and over again I wasn’t welcome.” His eyes landed on Lacy, “and one of you thinks it’s funny to flirt with me and then laugh at me behind my back for it.”

Lacy shrank back in her seat, not even attempting to defend herself, because it was true.

“I can handle that,” he said with a crack in his voice. “But what I can’t handle is how you all treated me when Frederic attacked me. None of you even tried to get to the bottom of it, you all instantly treated me like I was the bad guy. You didn’t even question it, you acted like you were just waiting for me to go back to being a villain.” Then he looked at Scamp, his expression lightening. “Only Scamp was willing to hear my side, unlike the rest of you.”

“Jun…” Lance began, but Belle cut him off as she started speaking, her tone low but filled with emotion.

“I know no one trusts me,” she began. “I’ve always been passive. I let Lorenzo use me and I did nothing to stop him. But I tried to be useful after my gut told me there was something going on. I tried to warn everyone.” She went silent for a few moments. “You all turned on me so easily. Even my son. That’s too painful, too much.”

The assembled group didn’t seem to know how to respond to this.

“We’re just ‘the bad guys’ to all of you,” Jun said bitterly. “No matter what we do.”

“That’s not true,” Lance countered.

“Till I see it, I don’t believe you,” Jun said as he and Belle turned and walked for the exit. Even after all that was said, no one tried to stop them.

“They’re right,” Scamp announced just before the pair reached the door. “You’re all your worst enemies sometimes.”

Belle stopped and looked back to Scamp, giving her a small smile before she and Jun left the building.

Everyone remained silent as they contemplated all that they’d heard. Finally, Twilight cleared her throat and stepped up next to her husband.

“Frederic hurt all of us, some more than others. But we can move forward, and continue being happy. That is the best way to spite him now.”

“You said it, Twi,” Greg said as he raised his drink into the air.

“Yeah,” Cody said with a firm nod. “Despite his attempts, we all ended up in happy situations. If anything, we can thank him for our children.”

At this both Lance and Twilight’s eyes went wide as they turned to each other. “Fawn!” They both yelped at once.

“That monster!” Twilight hissed angrily. “I never even realized we were neglecting her!”

“We’ll fix it!” Lance said in a desperate tone. “We’ll figure out what city she moved to and we’ll make things right!”

“Lance, it's been twelve years since she left!” Twilight exclaimed. “We haven’t spoken to her once in all that time!”

Tears ran down both of their faces as they started to move for the exit.

“She’s not in another city,” Scamp suddenly said, stopping both of them.

“You know where she’s at?!” Lance asked with a look of relief on his face.

“Yes,” Scamp confirmed as they rushed towards her. “Do you both remember the events that unfolded twelve years ago when Greg’s evil clone returned and attacked us with the help of another dimension?”

“Oh yeah, that mess,” Lance said with a nod. “What about it?”

“Fawn was saved by one of those creatures that helped us, after you two left her behind,” Scamp continued.

They both appeared sheepish at this, as they remembered leaving their daughter behind to check on their son.

“Wait…” Lance began as a realization came over him. “You’re not telling us that Fawn is…”

“Oh no,” Twilight muttered.

“She went back with Sonic and Shadow?!” Lance yelled, disbelief on his face.

“Yes,” Scamp deadpanned.

“Oh that’s just great,” he muttered, rubbing his face.

“Open a portal, now,” Twilight demanded.

Not having it in her to argue, Scamp flicked out her Dimensional Dagger and stabbed it into the air. A portal flickered to life but then faded instantly. Trying again yielded the same results.

“Uhhhh… that’s new,” she mumbled as she tried yet again, only to get met with no portal this time.

“What’s that mean?!” Twilight yelled in a panic, looking at everyone around them. “What’s it mean?!”

“Don’t panic,” Scamp said calmly as she ran over the options in her mind, landing on one that made her frown. Opening her pocket dimension she removed the Watcher in his jar, holding him up. “Okay, tell me, what does this mean?”

She stabbed the air, causing only a flicker this time.

An amused look appeared on his face as he looked at her. “You steal me from my companion, throw me in a very stodgy place, then pull me out to ask a question about a simple to understand concept?”

“Just answer the question,” she grunted in annoyance.

“Hmm,” he hummed with a smug expression. “It’s simple, that dimension is either locked down, or it was erased.”

“Erased?!” Twilight cried out. “Lance, what if her dimension was one of the ones destroyed during the fighting?!”

“Is there any way to know for sure?” Scamp asked, doing her best to be ‘nice’ to the Watcher.

“No,” he answered with a growing smile. “At least not normally. From my domain, I can check its status and maybe unlock it if there is a lock over it.”

“We’re not going back to your domain,” Scamp started firmly.

“Scamp,” Twilight began, wiping her face. “We already let him use his domain to get us here, and he did nothing malicious. If he can get Fawn back to us, I’m willing to trust him.”

“I don’t know,” Scamp mumbled.

“I can also remove that pesky dimensional lock on Lance,” the Watcher added. “With the UAD gone, there’s no one left to enforce their rules.”

“All the more reason to not let him near his domain,” Scamp pointed out.

“We’ve already ruined our relationships with Belle and Jun,” Lance stated with a sigh. “Let’s not keep up that pattern and ruin another one. We have to extend our trust to him and not hold his past over him.”

“Lance, this is the guy who killed your daughter in front of you,” Scamp said flatly.

“… yes, but he’s changed,” Lance countered.

“He really has, mama,” Shayla added from the back.

“We should not trust him, it’s as simple as that,” Scamp said, opening her pocket dimension.

“Scamp wait,” Lance said as he and Twilight shared a look.

“There is no discussion,” Scamp said with a shake of her head. “We’re not entertaining his plan. We’ll wait for Bronwyn to get back and ask her.”

“That could be months from now,” Twilight said as she and Lance stepped closer. “I’m sorry, Scamp.”

Before she could ask why, Twilight’s horn flashed, causing both her and Lance to disappear. But not only them, but also the Watcher’s jar and her Dimensional Dagger.

She stood there in stunned silence before her face lit up with pure rage. “Shayla! Give me your dagger!”

But the sound of a portal opening and closing revealed that her daughter had already left the room, possibly following Lance and Twilight.

“Someone bring me a fucking Dimensional Dagger, NOW!” she yelled, causing everyone to shrink back.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Interesting change in direction,” Lilith muttered to herself as she watched Scamp angrily move around the Mellowed Pie. With a flick of her hoof she changed the scrying orbs view to another area in Ponyville.

It now showed Bella and Jun walking together, both of them silent as they walked towards the edge of town.

“Those two will be a problem,” she observed, not liking the idea of them joining forces. The orb shifted over to another figure, this one standing on the roof of the Mellowed Pie. The costumed Alicorn. “This one is also worrying.”

She took a step back, deep in thought. The failure of Frederic was not unexpected, but it did complicate her plans going forward.

Author's Note

This entire arc was inspired by the real Frederic/Iron Clad. A lot happened behind the scenes back in 2012, and he ended up not being who he said he was. I will not air old laundry here, though.

Oneshot: Black Heart

Black Heart

During the trial of Frederic

Twilight Sparkle watched the scene before with a shocked expression on her face. The costumed Alicorn was currently stalking through the courtroom, having just attacked Frederic at the latest reveal that he personally killed their friends who attacked the Watcher. This included her brother.

She tore her eyes from Frederic as a pained look flashed across her face.. “I need to step out,” she said, getting a nod from her husband.

“Do you want me to come?” Lance asked, placing a hoof on hers.

“No,” she replied as she stood up. “One of us needs to be here for this.”

He gave a nod as she moved down the row, moving past their family and friends.

“You good, Twi?” Greg asked as she moved past him. She gave him a reassuring smile and nod as she entered the aisle and left the courtroom.

Upon stepping outside, she took a deep breath, looking straight up into the sky above. She stood there for a long moment, calming her nerves.

She’d long ago come to terms with her brother's death at the hands of the Watcher. But to find out he was killed by Frederic, someone she once considered as a brother, it tore open those old wounds. No tears came forward though, as she just did not have it in her.

As she stood there, she took notice of the unmoving form of the costumed Alicorn standing a few feet away, also staring up at the sky.

“I hate being right,” the mare suddenly said in a gruff voice, seeming to know Twilight was staring at her.

Twilight blinked a few times before stepping closer to the costumed mare, her interest piqued. “Did you know about Frederic before all of this?”

The mare turned to her, her heart shaped mask hiding her expression. “I had a hunch,” she said, turning her gaze back to the sky. “Twelve years of searching, and the answer to my questions suddenly shows up in my home dimension.”

“Who are you?” Twilight asked.

“Black Heart,” the mare answered simply.

Twilight racked her brain, but she couldn’t recall anyone in her past with a name like that. Let alone an Alicorn. “Are you a brony?”

“Hmpf,” Black Heart grunted, shaking her head. “I don’t answer prying questions.”

Before Twilight could say anything, the door to the courthouse burst open as Shayla stomped out, an enraged look on her face. She looked at Twilight and Black Heart, huffed loudly and then took to the air, leaving them without a word.

“This is a rough day for everyone,” Twilight finally said. “Frederic… this level of betrayal isn’t something I’ve seen before.”

“He’s hurt countless people,” Black Heart began. “Despite my level of hate for him, he’s not the real threat.”

“Lilith,” Twilight muttered, getting a single nod out of the mare.

“She’s the mastermind,” Black Heart said with a nod. “She’s trapped in the Equestrian Dimension’s, but I’ve seen her influence in places it shouldn’t be.”

Twilight looked the costumed mare over, questions still swirling around in her head. “What’s your connection to all of this?”

The Alicorn remained silent, mask to the sky. “They killed someone close to me,” she suddenly said.

“Who?” Twilight asked, but the mare only grunted in response. “I lost my brother and a few friends to Lilith and Frederic,” Twilight continued after she realized the other mare wasn’t going to elaborate. “To hear him admit all he has done… it’s opened a few old wounds.”

“I look forward to his punishment,” Black Heart said, her voice unwavering.

“I’m sorry for the questions, but,” Twilight began, looking the mare over once again. “But why the costume?”

“It’s who I am,” the mare replied. “I am Black Heart.”

“Who are you under the costume?” Twilight asked, causing the mare to turn her masked face back to her.

“Black Heart,” was the only answer she received.

“Who were you before the costume?”

“No one.”

Twilight frowned at this, as the urge to know the answer was tugging at her mind. “There’s no reason to hide your identity. At least not around us.”

“Drop the subject,” Black Heart said in a stern but calm voice. “There is no one under this mask, just vengeance.”

This caused Twilight to cringed slightly, as this sounded like something her husband would say if he was dressing like that one bat superhero he liked. The other mare clearly saw her reaction, but said nothing.

“I have my reasons,” Black Heart added.

“Okay,” Twilight said, rubbing her chin. “What will you do now?”

“Lilith,” the mare answered. “I’m going to find her and kill her.”

“I’ve fought her,” Twilight said. “And from what else I know of her, stopping her will not be so simple. We thought we beat her after our battle with her, but now I’m thinking we only played her game.”

“She’s cunning and incredibly smart,” Black Heart commented. “But that’ll be her downfall. Her narcissism causes her to believe she’ll come out on top in any encounter, and she’ll eventually make a mistake. And when she does,” she turned her head back to the sky. “I’ll be there.”

“With you helping us, we should be able to-”

“I work alone,” Black Heart interrupted her.

“You can get more done with others helping you,” Twilight countered.

“Working with others only leaves you open to manipulation. Lilith thrives on turning people against one another and using them for her own gain.”

“Well, fighting her alone is both dangerous and stupid,” Twilight said bluntly. “If you work with my friends, you’ll have access to more-”

“I will continue forward alone,” Black Heart said as she began to trot forward. “As I always have.”

“I advise against that,” Twilight said after her.

But she didn’t get a response as the mare continued forward.

The sounds of a commotion from within the Courthouse drew Twilight’s attention, causing her to let the mare walk away and return inside.

Christmas Special: A very Beltosh Christmas to all

Author's Note

This is mega late, but oh well.

Christmas Special: A very Beltosh Christmas to all

Christmas special

3 A.B.

“This is a really really bad idea, Lance,” Peter muttered as he and the striped stallion finished decorating the room in human styled Christmas decorations, just like the kind they’d had back on earth.

“Hey, I brought you in on this because you’re always down to clown. Don’t start putting negativity into this, bro,” Lance warned as he twirled a candy cane in his hoof, a smirk sliding onto his face as he tossed it into the air and caught it between his lips. “Besides, what about this could be bad? This is a SOLID plan with ZERO drawbacks.”

“I mean, for one, what if he comes out evil? Greg’s track record for this kinda stuff is pretty… eh?” Peter said, taking a step back to make sure everything was in place.

“Evil?” Lance said with a dismissive laugh. “Ain’t no WAY he’d come out evil. And if he does, we’ll just try again and again till we get it right. Right, Greg?”

They both looked over to Greg as he lay sprawled out on an office chair, slowly spinning in a circle as he stared at the ceiling.

“It’s piss easy,” Greg mumbled, seeming to be drunk on the nog. Something Lance had encouraged as a way to set the mood.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Lance chuckled, stepping over to the table where some clothing sat. He’d had Rarity working for weeks to produce everything he requested, as it was completely necessary.

“I still don’t know why we have to do this,” Peter began, still not fully on board even after weeks of Lance pestering him.

“Because,” Lance said, glancing at him. “I want Spark to experience the real Christmas, not this pony Hearth’s warming stuff. That’s a fake holiday. I want Christmas, and the kids of this world will want it as well once they fully understand it. Since only us three and Rarity know what we’re doing, it’ll be just like on earth.”

“True, but-”

“No buts about it, Christmas is probably the only important holiday to ever exist, and we can’t have it without the big man himself.” Lance stepped over to Greg and nudged him. “It’s time, Greg.”

“Yippie,” Greg said in a tired voice as he stumbled to his hooves, looking barely conscious.

“Let’s say it all works out,” Peter began. “He comes out not evil, no flaws. How will we know he’ll do what he’s supposed to do?”

“Well duh, we’re literally just making a copy of our world's Santa and porting him here. Stupid simple,” Lance said, rolling his eyes.

“Wait, what? That’s the plan?” Peter asked dumbfounded. “There’s nothing to copy, Santa’s not a real dude, bro.”

“We got a non-believer over here, huh Greg?” Lance said with a smile, giving Greg a shoulder nudge.

“Hehe, what a dumbass,” Greg snickered, shaking his head at Peter.

Peter looked between them even more shocked. “You two… still believe in Santa?”

“Hell yeah, I saw him with my own eyes,” Lance said proudly. “I sat on his lap at the mall once. Dudes real.”

Mouth open, Peter shifted his gaze to Greg, who only nodded lazily.

“I saw his sleigh once fly across the sky while I was smoking a new brew,” Greg said as he looked off dreamily.

“Oh my God…” Peter mumbled, rubbing his face. “Okay sure, yeah. Let’s just get this over with.”

“You heard the man,” Lance said as he poked at Greg. “Work your magic, bro!”

“Hehe, yeah man. Just let me…” Greg said, suddenly grabbing his spiked eggnog and drinking the entire carton. Once he was done he threw it aside and stumbled to the side, his horn already starting to light up.

“Oh this is for sure the brightest idea we’ve ever had,” Peter said as he stepped back, picking up his ballistic shield he’d brought just in case.

The room began to fill with a bright light as the sound of bells could be heard from somewhere in the distance.

“Yes…” Lance muttered, eyes wide in glee as he watched the center of the room expectantly. The light grew brighter as a deep jolly laugh could now be heard. “YES! Come to us Santa! COME!”

He couldn’t help himself as he stood on his hindlegs, forelegs spread wide. A figure began to form before them. “SANTA!”

A sudden boom sent all of them flying backwards, crashing into walls and random decor.

With a groan, Peter crawled out from under the couch he’d slammed into, rubbing his head. As he looked to the center of the room, his jaw dropped.

Before them, looking very confused, was a naked, fat, old man with a large gray beard and shocked eyes.

“Holy fucking-” Peter began, but was cut off as Lance exploded from the debris, landing before the large man.

“Santa! You’re here!” Lance exclaimed, jumping before the man. He didn’t seem to realize his right foreleg was broken, a result of the explosion.

The man just stared wide eyed at Lance, then at the room around them. He said not a word.

“Greg, are you seeing this?! It’s Santa!” Lance yelled, looking back for his green friend. But all he saw was Greg’s leg sticking out of some of the trash and furniture that’d been thrown with him. At this Lance just shifted his attention back to the man. “Alright! I know you’re probably really confused, but just know, you’re the man!”

Peter slowly walked up behind the excited Lance, eyes locked on the man. “He’s…. Actually real?”

“Duh, weren’t you paying attention?” Lance said with a shake of his head before looking back at the man. “Now for you- ouch, what happened to my leg?” He finally noticed his leg hanging loosely. “Ah Twi’s gonna kill me.”

The large nude man blinked a few times as he shifted his gaze to Lance’s leg. Without a word he reached out and pointed a pudgy finger at Lance’s leg. Yellowish sparkling magic flowed forward and swirled around the broken leg. Moments later it dissipated.

“Oh my holy fucking night,” Lance exclaimed, flexing his now fixed leg. “Christmas Magic!! He’s not evil!”

“He’s real… like real even on earth…?” Peter muttered, still unable to grasp the situation. “I… this doesn’t make sense.”

Excitedly, Lance rushed to pick up the clothing and brought it over the large man. “Here’s all your cloths!”

“Clothes…” Peter corrected, mind slowly turning.

Peter wasn’t the only one who was confused. The large man, Santa Clause himself, looked completely lost. Yet he still put on the clothing, just to not be nude before them. Lance squealed like a girl when he saw the man in the suit, now fully resembling Santa Clause.

Yellow magic swirled around the man, seeming to enchant the clothing and causing it to form fit to him. A large red sack even appeared in his hands.

“Oh this is the coolest thing ever…” Lance muttered, watching everything with excitement in his eyes.

Without warning, the wall near them exploded inward as an entire sleigh suddenly crashed through it, with a whole team of reindeer leading it. Scaring Peter and causing Lance to giggle like a crazed man.

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out two boxes, wrapped in beautiful wrapping. He gave one to Lance and tossed the other to Greg, where it landed next to his hoof that was still sticking out of the rubble. The hoof fell on the box and began to pat it, followed by the sound of muffled laughter.

Then Santa turned to Peter and shook his head. He pulled something out and tossed it to Peter.

Peter caught it and stared dumbly at the lump of coal in his hoof.

Lance just laughed as he hugged his present, looking like a happy child as he kept his eyes on the jolly old man.

Santa stepped away and climbed into his Sleigh, giving them all a wave as he grabbed the reins. And just like that, he gave them a mighty whip, causing the reindeer to surge forward, crashing through the other wall and taking to the sky.

The pair watched him leave, one with pure joy on his face, and the other just looking lost.

“But…” Peter began, trying to compose himself. “Where’d the bag come from? And where the fuck did that whole ass Sleigh and team of reindeer come from?! Why is Santa packing a massive hog… AND WHY’D I GET COAL?!”

To answer him, Lance just turned to him, a tear in his eye. “Bro… Christmas Magic.” With that he began to walk away, like in a trance.

Watching him leave, Peter blinked before stomping his hoof. “That didn’t answer any of my questions!”

But Lance ignored him. He’d just witnessed Christmas coming to Equestria, and there was nothing else on his mind.

15 A.B. Christmas Eve

“Thirteen more hours till Christmas morning!” Shayla, age 3, yelled as she rushed around the living room, stopping randomly to stare at the TV that was playing a random episode of DBZ, only to immediately go back to running around the room. Her parents sat on the couch cozied up together, drinking their eggnog.

“I love her excitement,” Mallogory commented, a content smile on her face.

“Makes me wish this Christmas stuff was around when I was a kid,” Scamp replied, sipping her beverage as Shayla zoomed around the room, knocking stuff over in the process. “Shayla, calm down,” she warned.

“Do you think Santa got my list?!” Shayla asked as she jumped on the coffee table in front of the couch, giddy with excitement as she danced before her parents.

“Which one?” Mallogory teased. “You’ve sent…. Seventy?”

“A hundred and fifty four,” Scamp corrected.

“I’m sure he got at least one,” Mallogory confirmed, causing their daughter to let out a squeal as she zoomed back to the TV, coming to a stop as she stared blankly at the screen.

Leaning into her wife, Mallogory asked in a hushed tone. “Did you get everything on her list?”

“Yeah, everything but two things,” Scamp whispered. “I couldn’t find a life sized Goku doll. And I was not going to give our daughter any kind of superpowers. No matter how many times she begged in those letters for her to learn how to do a… I’m not even going to try and say that word.”

“She’ll be alright,” Mallogory said as she pulled her wife into her. They both stared at their daughters back as she watched her TV show. “We made that.”

“Unfortunately,” Scamp jokes, getting a playful slap on the shoulder from her wife.

Suddenly Shayla let out a gasp and turned around, eyes wide. “What if he doesn’t know where we live?! Last year we were on vacation, so what if he doesn’t know I exist?!”

“He knows, honey,” Scamp assured her.

“But how do you know?!”

“Because she’s your mother, she knows everything,” Mallogory pointed out, getting a confident nod from Scamp.

“Exactly. Don’t worry, sweetie. Santa isn’t going to miss our house.”

“Promise?!” Shayla asked as she zoomed up to the coffee table, staring at them with intense eyes as she seemed to be panicking. “Because if he misses us, I won’t get any presents!”

“Breath, baby,” Scamp said calmly, reaching out with a bag leg to shake the table, causing her to wobble about. “He’s not going to miss us. I’ve spoken with him personally, he said he knows where you live.”

“You’ve talked to Santa?!” Shayla asked in astonishment.

“Yep,” Scamp said with a sly smile. “But he did say that if you didn’t take a bath and brush your teeth before bed that he’d skip the house.”

“What?! NO!” Shayla shrieked as she barreled through the table, sending it flying as she flew down the hallway, followed by the bathroom door slamming shut.

“Don’t lie to our daughter,” Mallogory said, trying not to laugh.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Scamp snickered, getting up and taking their cups to the kitchen.

As she refilled the cups, she heard her wife let out a laugh.

“What?” Scamp asked, a smile on her face.

“Nothing. I just miss feeling like she does on Christmas Eve, and being able to believe in something like Santa Clause,” Mallogory said as she stepped into the kitchen as well.

“Eh, I enjoy playing along,” Scamp admitted. “Pretending there’s a fat jolly human man flying around delivering presents to all the kids in the world is actually pretty fun. Absurd as hell, but fun.”

“She loves it,” Mallogory said as she began to prepare some food for everyone. “Absurdity is fun for children her age.”

“Honestly she’ll believe anything we tell her,” Scamp chuckled. Then a look flashed across her face. “Oh boy, we could really fuck her up couldn’t we?”

“Oh for sure,” Mallogory agreed. “But there’s nothing wrong with her thinking Santa is real. Right?”

“I mean…” Scamp began, tapping her hoof. “She did create an altar to him last week.”

“Ah yeah, she was praying to him like he was a God. We might need to figure out how to fix that at some point.”

“She’ll probably forget about him after Christmas, or at least till next year. So I say we let it play out.”

The two women shared a look before breaking down into laughter.

This was cut short as their daughter rushed into the kitchen, soaking wet with soap spuds still clinging to her body.

“GUYS!” she screamed, looking to be in a panic again. “What if he forgets my life sized official Goku action figure?!”

“Yikes…” Scamp muttered as she and her wife moved to try and control their daughter. Again.

Later that night

Scamp slowly creaked the door open, peeking her head into her daughter's room. She was pleased to see Shayla was sound asleep under her large pile of covers and pillows. Slowly she pulled out and closed the door, then moved across the hall to her and Mallogory’s room.

Upon entering the room, she saw her wife laying in bed, playing a video game on the TV that sat at the front of the bed.

“She down?” She asked as Scamp slid into bed next to her.

“Out like a light,” Scamp confirmed, lifting up her book she’d been reading.

“When are you going to go put her presents under the tree?”

“I’ll give it an hour, after I read a few chapters,” Scamp answered. “That way she doesn’t hear me and walk in on me.”

“Good call,” Mallogory said as she focused on her game.

Later, 12 in the morning

Scamp jerked awake, sitting forward breathing heavily. Her book, which she’d fallen asleep reading, was sent flying as she looked around the dark room. Mallogory was asleep next to her, with not another sound to be heard in the house.

The moment she saw the time she sprang out of bed, rushing for the door. “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!” she muttered, worried that her daughter might have woken up early in her excitement. But to her relief, she found Shayla still passed out in her bed.

Relieved, she moved into the living room and opened her personal dimension, slowly pulling out all the presents they’d gotten for Shayla. She carefully laid them out below the tree, making sure they all said ‘From: Santa’.

Taking a step back, she admired her handy work. A nice little pile of presents, just waiting for the little monster known as Shayla to come and tear into them.

The thought brought a smile to her face as she moved to the kitchen to pour her some more eggnog. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of some of her alcohol.

“Don’t mind if I do,” she muttered to herself as she took it and poured a bit into her nog.

She just stood there, eyes closed as she slowly sipped at her drink, just enjoying the moment.

But a sound made her ear twitch. Something strange seemed to pass through her mind, seeming to make her tired, but her mind resisted the sudden urge to just fall asleep. Blinking, she caught the slightest glimpse of swirling golden magic trailing away from her and into the living room.

Her eye narrowed as she gently put her cup down, stealthily moving towards the door to the living room. Something felt off to her, but she pressed forward.

As she reached the door and peeked in, she saw a large figure standing before the lit up Christmas tree, seeming to be going through a bag.

Her eye narrowed, as anger filled her at the thought someone had the audacity to not only enter her house, but also to seemingly be trying to steal her shit.

Without a sound, moving so swiftly she didn’t even disturb the clutter on the floor, she moved on the figure.

The figure spun on her just as she reached them, landing a powerful kick to its midsection. The powerful hit sent the figure flying through the living room and through the window, sending them into the darkness outside.

The sound of Shayla letting out a panicked yelp was heard, but Scamp didn’t care as she jumped through the window, prepared to continue the fight. But instead she found the intruder buried in the snow, only their red suit visible with their limbs being the only thing sticking up.

“What the fuck?” she muttered, realizing it was someone dressed as Santa Clause. “Hey, fucker, you alive?” she asked, giving his boot a kick. But she didn’t get a response. “Ah shit,” she said, shaking her head. She may have hit them a bit too hard.

“Whoa!” came the voice of her daughter from the window. “Is that Santa?!”

“Stay inside, Shayla,” Scamp ordered, but her daughter ignored her, jumping out and landing beside her.

“You killed him?!” she shrieked, eyes wide.

“I didn’t kill him,” Scamp said as she grabbed his boot and began to shake it. “Come on, buddy. Up and attem.”

“You killed Santa Clause!!” Shayla exclaimed.

“No, I killed someone DRESSED like Santa,” Scamp reasoned, but at the look on her daughter's face, she added. “But I didn’t kill him. He’s just… sleeping.”

“But he looks dead to me…” Shayla mumbled, reaching out and touching the boot.

“Well he’s not. Now head back inside so I-” Scamp began, but her head snapped up as she heard something on the roof. She and Shayla moved around the house to get a better view.

“What the…” Scamp began, confusion on her face as she was faced with a strange sight.

“It is Santa!” Shayla cried out. “You killed Santa!”

“No I didn’t!” Scamp yelled, eye locked to the full team of reindeer attached to a sleigh on her roof. This didn’t make sense to her rational thinking mind.

Shayla took off running back around the house to the downed intruder, followed by Scamp. But when they returned, they found nothing but the man’s clothing laying in the snow. As if he’d just faded away leaving them there.

“Where’d he go?” Shayla asked, poking at the clothing.

Scamp looked around, her gaze narrowed. “This freak is running around here naked somewhere…”

“Momma, look!” Shayla said, pointing at an envelope with Scamp’s name on it.

Slowly, Scamp lifted the envelope and opened it to reveal a letter.

“What’s it say?!” Shayla asked.

“You’ve done a naughty act tonight, Scamp,” she began, reading the note with a skeptical tone. “To fix your mistake, you must finish my duty before the day's break, or Christmas will be finished forevermore. Don the suit, and the reindeer will do the rest.”

“What’s that mean, momma?”

“It means we’re calling the police. There’s a naked creep running around,” Scamp said, grabbing her daughter to take her inside.

“But the note!” Shayla whined, but Scamp ignored her.

However, before she could drag her daughter inside, a bag fell from above and landed in front of her.

Shayla gasped. “Santa’s bag!”

“No, a burglar's bag,” Scamp corrected, but her daughter ignored her as she lunged for the bag, pulling it open and stuffing her head in. She began to pull out all kinds of boxes of different shapes. The more she pulled out, the more Scamp realized something was up.

“Look momma! It’s magical!” Shayla exclaimed happily, still pulling out boxes as the bag remained the same size.

“No, it’s probably got dimensional tech built into it,” Scamp pointed out, but this didn’t sway her daughter’s excitement. “Now go inside before I-”

She was cut off as her daughter jumped up and flew to the roof, leaving behind the pile of boxes.

“Great,” Scamp muttered, turning around and picking up the discarded clothes. “Just what we needed.” Once she’d gathered the clothes, she jumped up to the roof, watching her Daughter run around the docile reindeer.

“This is amazing, momma!” Shayla yelled, eyes wide with glee as she ran under the large beast.

“Get away from them,” Scamp warned. “They could be dangerous, and I don’t want to have to kill them to protect your dumbass.”

Almost to mock her, one of the reindeer leaned down and licked Shayla’s head, leaving a large cowlick.

“You just bathed,” Scamp groaned, dropping the clothes and moving towards her daughter. “Now, go inside.” But instead of listening, Shayla jumped into the sleigh itself. “Shayla Beltosh,” Scamp said in a stern tone.

“But momma!” Shayla whined. “It’s Santa’s sleigh!”

“No it’s just a cheap replica,” Scamp said, stepping up and seeing the fine workmanship of the wood itself. “Or someone just has too much money.”

“Look!” Shayla said, lifting a scroll. “It’s the list! THE LIST!”

“The list,” Scamp repeated, her patience wearing thin.

Shayla opened it, causing a light to shine from it as it listed her name and all her deeds. “Whoa! I’m on the nice list!”

“Shocker,” Scamp muttered. “I don’t know how when you don’t listen. Now, inside!”

“But-”

“Shayla Parker Beltosh!” Scamp said sternly, causing her daughter to finally listen. Head hung low, the young filly jumped down from the sleigh. She slowly walked past her mother, eyes down.

“I’m sorry, mother…” she said quietly, trying to hide her sniffles as tears began to flow.

Scamp watched her slowly walk to the edge of the roof, letting out a deep sigh as she looked to the sky. “Fuck,” she muttered before looking back to her daughter. “Stop, honey.”

Shayla looked back, sadness still on her little face.

“If I put on the damn suit, would you feel better?”

This brightened her daughter's face instantly. “Does that mean you’ll listen to the letter?!”

“No,” Scamp stated. “Just the suit. Take it or leave it.”

“Put it on!” Shayla exclaimed, her sadness seeming to be completely gone now.

Reluctantly, Scamp picked up the red jacket with white puffy trim. “I mean this shit is for a human, it won’t fit a- I’ll be fucking damned,” she said in surprise as she put it on, finding it to somehow fit her exactly. The same thing could be said for the pants and boots. “This shit is fucking stupid…”

“It’s Christmas magic, momma!” Shayla pointed out, jumping with glee.

The moment she put the hat on, the bag from below shot up to the roof and landed next to her, as did the scroll Shayla had found. The scroll floated before her and opened, revealing a few locations. The words “Nice List” were written at the top.

Her daughter flew up and landed on her back, peering at the scroll over her head. “Are those the houses you have to deliver presents to?!”

“No, because that’s not happening,” Scamp said, swatting the list away. But it came back, now displaying a new message.

‘If you fail, Christmas is over. Forever.’

“Momma no!” Shayla cried out. “Don’t kill Santa AND Christmas! Please!”

“Shayla, there’s no way I’m-”

The list changed again to say, ‘Yes, if you do not do this, you will have killed Christmas.’

“Sassy fucking scroll, aren’t ya?” Scamp mumbled, taking a deep breath.

“Please momma?” Shayla begged, hugging her mother. “Don’t kill Christmas.”

“Fucking hell,” Scamp groaned as she spun around and grabbed the bag. “Guess we’re doing this.”

“Yay!” Shayla yelled, jumping from her mothers back and rushing for the sleigh.

As she tossed the bag into the sleigh and climbed in, she had the thought of letting Mallogory know what was going on. But then she realized she’d have to be seen wearing these clothes, and that was enough for her to forget that thought.

“Where are we going first?!” Shayla asked as she bounced around the seats of the sleigh.

Grumbling, Scamp looked at the floating scroll. “Well?”

Instead of answering her, the reindeer lurched forward, taking to the sky without warning. While Shayla let out a joyous scream of delight, Scamp just sat there, looking more like the grinch than a Santa Claus.

It wasn’t long before they landed on a house, coming in faster than Scamp would have thought possible. Yet they had no trouble as the sleigh came to a stop.

“Now what, oh magical scroll?” Scamp asked, glaring at the floating paper. To answer her, the bag lifted up, seeming to wait for her to grab it. “Alright,” Scamp sighed, looking at her daughter. “Just stay here and do not leave. Okay?”

“But I want to come with you!” Shayla protested.

“Maybe at the next house, just let me figure out how this works,” Scamp said as she grabbed the floating bag.

Golden magic flowed around her as she lifted up and began to hover towards the tiny chimney. Upon seeing the tiny hole, she sighed. “This’ll either hurt, or look really stupid.”

Shayla only clapped excitedly as her mother was suddenly sucked into the hole, leaving nothing but a puff of yellow particles.

Moments later Scamp found herself in the middle of a dimly lit living room, a large Christmas on the other side of the room. She grumbled to herself as she trudged towards the decorated tree, kicking any object in her way. As she reached the tree she grabbed the bag and reached into it, finding a box readily available.

Without a care she pulled it out and threw it under the tree, sending the other presents already there scattering across the floor. Turning to leave, she felt the bag tug her back to the tree. This just annoyed her as she rounded on the bag, glaring at it.

“What? What else do I need to do?!”

To answer her, the bag opened, revealing a few more presents.

In frustration, she grabbed the bottom of the bag and dumped the presents all over the floor, using her hoof to kick them under the tree. As she turned to leave, the bag got caught on the tree, causing it to fall towards her.

“Yeah, of course that happens,” she growled as she began to kick and punch the tree, taking her frustrations out on it. She flung it back against the wall and began laying into it, sending ornaments and pine needles everywhere.

“Santa?” came a small voice behind her, causing her to stop her assault on the poor pine.

Cursing under her breath, she turned to see a small colt standing in the doorway to the living room, a confused look on his face. He looked from her to the tree, which was missing the majority of its branches and decorations at this point.

“What happened to our tree, Mr. Santa?” he asked innocently. Before she could respond, the colt flicked on the light, fully revealing the room. “Wait, Santa isn’t a girl…”

“Er, you’re right, kiddo,” she said quickly, using her back hoof to stand the tree back up fully. “I’m his number one helper, I step in to help when he’s busy. And he’s VERY busy tonight,” she lied, fully turning to face him.

“What’s wrong with your face?” The colt’s expression suddenly changed from confusion to horror. “You don’t work for Santa! You’re the Grinch!” He began to scream like a siren, causing Scamp to panic.

She moved to stop the kid by giving him a present or something, but the sudden appearance of two adults coming up behind him stopped her.

“Lil’Jambal, what’s wro- WHO ARE YOU?!” the stallion yelled as he and the woman pulled the kid back and got in front of him.

“How’d you get in our house?!” The mare yelled, both fear and anger on her face.

“It’s the Grinch, it broke in and is stealing Christmas!” the colt yelled from the back, trying to push past his parents.

“A burglar?! ON CHRISTMAS?!” the stallion roared as he stepped towards Scamp, who was currently standing there awkwardly.

“I’ll ring the police!” the mare yelled as she whipped out her phone.

“Now don’t do that, let’s talk this out, reasonably,” Scamp said, holding up a hoof.

“The only talking you’re doing is to the cops!” the father yelled as he moved towards her.

“I’m literally Santa right now,” Scamp reasoned, but the moment she said it she cringed, as it was probably the stupidest thing she’d ever said.

“And I’m the Queen of Equestria! Get on the ground!” the stallion ordered as he picked up a bat that’d been by the couch.

“Okay I’m done,” Scamp mumbled as she reached into her pocket dimension and withdrew a gun. “You get on the ground.”

This caused everyone to freeze, eyes wide as she pointed the gun at them.

“Yeah, I didn’t want it to come to this. Drop the bat, old man,” she ordered, causing him to throw the bat to the side and jump back to grab his family. “Phone too, lady.” The mare tossed the phone to Scamp, who just crushed it with her mechanical hoof. “Alright, get on the couch. Move.”

Once she had them on the couch, she restrained them. With that done, she moved back to the tree. The terrified family watched her set it back up fully and put the presents under the tree properly.

With that done she walked to the table that held the milk and cookies, picking one up to eat it.

“Hey, those are for Santa!” the colt yelled.

“I am Santa, tard monkey!” she snapped back, tossing the cookie at the family, causing them to flinch away. Chugging the milk, she moved to the chimney, turning to face them one last time. “Merry Christmas.”

With that, she tugged on the bag, sending her flying back up the chimney, landing before an excited Shayla.

“What was it like, Momma?!”

Scamp rolled her eyes, moving her daughter towards the sleigh. “It’s dumb, honey.”

“Being Santa can’t be dumb though!” she protested, getting a chuckle out of Scamp.

“You’d be surprised,” she said as she lifted the scroll. “Where to next?”

The list showed a location, causing the reindeer to take to the sky.

2 hour later

Scamp let out an annoyed groan as they took off again, heading for the next house. Every single house she’d gone to was the same thing.

She’d at least figured out how to actually use the scroll to pick the next person on the list. But that didn’t really help her, as she could care less who she went to next.

However, unlike the last few hours, the list wasn’t showing her the next house.

“Are we done? Can we go home now?” Scamp asked, shaking the list, waking up Shayla who’d fallen asleep next to her on the sleigh.

“What?! No! I haven’t gotten to see you do Santa stuff yet!” Shayla protested, looking mildly panicked.

To answer them, the scroll changed to red, with the words at the top changing to ‘Naughty List’. New names and locations appeared on the list.

“This was not part of the deal,” Scamp deadpanned, shaking the list. But the list did not change, causing her to groan. “Fine.”

“Yay!” Shayla exclaimed happily. “Can I PLEASE come with you this time?!”

Scamp closed her eye, taking a deep breath before nodding.

“You’re the best momma ever!” Shayla screamed, jumping in to hug her mother.

“Remember that the next time I need you to clean the house,” Scamp said with a small smile as the sleigh came down on the house.

The list displayed the name ‘Alvin Nebcake’, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. The name was familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she’d seen it before.

“Alright, come on,” she said as she jumped from the sleigh, followed closely by her excited daughter. The pair made their way to the chimney, and in the usual flair were lifted up and taken down into the house below.

Coming into the living room, Scamp saw a dirty room filled with beer cans and old food. Clearly the home of a slob.

“A kid lives in this shit?” she hissed. Looking around she didn't even see a tree. Reaching into the bag she pulled out a tiny christmas tree and a lump of coal. “Well that’s fitting at least,” she commented as she gave the two items to her daughter. “Go put those in the corner.”

“On it, momma!” Shayla said with a cute salute as she took the items and flew to the corner where she began clearing trash to set up the tree.

While she did that Scamp moved around the room, shaking her head at the state of everything. “Who could live like-” she stopped as she saw a picture of a stallion hanging on the wall. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized them as someone she’d seen on the news. “Alvin fuckin’ Nebcake,” she growled. “Shayla, take your time, mommy needs to do something.”

“Santa stuff?” Shayla asked as she continued her work.

“No, mommy stuff,” she said as she entered the hall and walked towards the one room that had sound coming from it.

Pushing the door open she saw a stallion laid out on the bed, beer cans all around him as he snored. Eye narrowed, she stepped up to the bed and yanked the stallion onto the floor roughly, causing him to yell and flail around on the ground.

Once he recovered, he jumped up to stand face to face with Scamp. “What the fuck?! How’d you get in my fucking house?!”

“Alvin Nebcake, convicted rapist and child abuser,” Scamp said coldly as her hoof shot out, sending him flying back into his TV, shattering it and his back legs in the process. “Bonded out and disappeared without a trace.”

The only response she received was his screams of pain as he held his broken legs.

She lifted the list, seeing his name and all his misdeeds. Her frown deepened as she read. “You’ve… been busy,” she growled. Slamming the scroll shut.

As she advanced on him, he held up a hoof, eyes wide in horror, “wait wait wait! I got money!”

“Cool,” she said as she grabbed his head in her hooves. Moments later her suit became a bit redder.

A few minutes later

Scamp returned to the living room to see her daughter finishing up her task.

“Look!” Shayla yelled, proudly showing off the tree and lump of coal under it. “I got it just right!”

“Good work, honey,” Scamp praised as she waved for her daughter to come to her.

“Can I do the next one, too?” Shayla asked as they moved for the chimney.

Scamp thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure, honey. In fact, you can help on all the following houses.”

“Really?!” Shayla yelled as they shot up onto the roof. “Thank you, momma!!”

Scamp only nodded as she pulled out the list, inspecting each of the names on the naughty list, noticing they all seemed to be just as bad, if not worse, than the guy below.

“Oh, this is going to be great,” Scamp muttered, a devilish idea hitting her as the sleigh took to the sky.

The moment they landed at the next house, she took her daughter down with her, sending her to do the same as the last house. This one was not as dirty, but Scamp didn’t care as she made her way to the bedroom.

Kicking the door open, she caused the stallion on the bed to let out a scream of terror.

“Like touching kids, eh?” she yelled as she lifted a small christmas tree. “Guess where this is going!”

His screams were barely heard by little Shayla as she worked, putting the tree up and placing the lump of coal beneath it. She stepped back and admired her work, moving forward to fix a few of the branches till she had it right.

Soon, her mother returned and they returned to the sleigh. She took notice that her mother seemed to be in a much better mood now, which made her happy.

At the next house, Shayla was given the little tree and the coal as her mother picked up a fire poker, heading for the back of the house. Shayla didn’t know what she was doing, but she had her own job to do.

With her job done, she heard her mother laughing as she returned to the living room.

“What’s funny, momma?” Shayla asked.

“I just made a really good joke is all,” she answered, still giggling to herself.

“What’s the joke?” Shayla asked innocently.

“You’re not old enough for that one,” Scamp chuckled as she scooped her daughter up and flew out the window instead of taking the chimney. They returned to the sleigh and Scamp all but forced the reindeer to take to the sky, looking very happy.

Shayla was not used to seeing her mother this excited about anything not related to her or the dojo, but she liked it.

“Best Christmas ever,” Shayla mumbled as she leaned against her mother as they flew for the next house.

Hours later, almost sunrise

“Aw… no more names?” Scamp asked dejectedly as the list now showed no more names on the naughty list. “Come on, there has to be more.”

“I dunno, momma. We did like what, a hundred houses with naughty ponies in them. That has to be all of them, right?” Shayla asked, her tired eyes barely staying open.

“1,302 actually,” Scamp muttered, having kept track of each one. Turning the list over, she sighed, realizing the fun was over. She’d really cleaned up that night, but she knew there had to be more ‘naughty ponies’ out there. Either she got them all or the list was holding out on her.

The sleigh came down again, and she was disappointed to see they were back home.

“So we’re done?” Scamp asked, shaking the list. “You give me the best night ever and then you dump me? Typical magical scroll behavior.”

She tossed it over her shoulder, letting it land in the back of the sleigh she picked up her daughter and jumped down.

“Tonight was amazing, momma,” Shayla mumbled, already giving in to the sleep.

“Oh, it was the best,” Scamp agreed, a smile on her face. As she reached the edge of the roof, she looked back to see the sleigh was gone. Seeming to have just disappeared, leaving only a few traces of golden magic in the air.

“Hm.” She continued inside, going through the shattered window and taking her daughter back to her room. Carefully she laid Shayla in her bed and left her room, returning to her own.

Mallogory stirred the moment she opened the door, sitting up and raising an eyebrow at Scamp.

“Why are you dressed as Santa Clause?” she asked.

“Long story,” Scamp chuckled as she took a seat on the bed.

“Next question,” Mallogory began, looking her over. “Why are you covered in gore?”

“You’ll love the answer to that one,” Scamp assured her with a wide smile.

“Worrying, but let’s hear it,” Mallogory chuckled.

“Starting this off, apparently Santa is real and I was him tonight,” Scamp said.

“Huh, you’d make a terrible Santa,” Mallogory teased. “But wait, WHY were you Santa tonight?”

“Oh,” Scamp said, waving her hoof at her wife. “I think because I killed Santa I became him? I’m not really sure on the rules there.”

“Scamp…” Mallogory whined, shaking her head. “You’re not supposed to kill Santa. What would Shayla say if she knew?”

“Oh, she was there for it,” Scamp laughed, getting a deadpanned look from her wife. “Oh she loved it! Best time of her life!”

Mallogory stared at her for a few moments before sighing, trying to hide her smile. “And you left me out of this apparent adventure.”

“Eh, yeah,” Scamp said sheepishly as she rubbed her neck.

“So, where’d the blood and guts come from?”

At this, Scamp smirked. “Now THAT is the fun part.”

Later

“The police are calling last night's massacres an act of vigilantism,” the news reporter said, reading from their notes. “Reports of a crazed mare breaking and entering dressed as Santa Clause are thought to be connected to the murders. Multiple families are traumatized as they say they were terrorized by a mare some are describing as ‘a ghoul from the pits of hell’, while some are calling her the ‘worse than the Grinch’ as she stole Christmas from many tonight. She left presents addressed ‘from Santa’ but in the process she left mental scars on all those she encountered.”

Mallogory raised her eyebrow at Scamp as they sat on the couch in Lance’s living room as the kids ran around before them, opening presents. Scamp just smiled innocently at her as everyone else kept their eyes on the TV.

“What kind of sick fuck would do this,” Lance growled. “On Christmas of all days! No offense, Cody.”

“Why would I take offense to that?” Cody asked from his seat.

“And they murdered over a THOUSAND ponies on top of that!” Lance continued.

“Eh, maybe the ones who actually died deserved it,” Scamp pointed out, getting a sour look from Lance.

“No one should die on Christmas,” he grumbled, sitting back down and going back to staring at the TV.

“Momma!” Shayla whined as she and Dude ran up to her and Mallogory. “Dude doesn’t believe me when I tell him you were Santa last night!”

Scamp’s eye widened as she leaned towards her daughter. “Now, honey, you can’t tell anyone about last night.”

“What?! WHY?” Shayla yelled, getting everyone's attention.

“Because,” Scamp said, pulling her close to whisper in her ear. “If you do, you’ll never get any more presents on Christmas OR your birthday.”

“No…” Shayla whimpered. “You can’t do this to me…”

“Sorry, kid. Santa rules, we can’t go against them,” Scamp said as she sat back, causing everyone else to go back to watching the TV.

“Fineeeeeeee,” Shayla groaned, turning and leaving with Dude who began teasing her about what she’d said.

“Close call,” Mallogory said, getting a nod from Scamp.

“It’s better if we for-” Scamp began, but looking past her wife she saw Santa himself standing outside the window, waving at her.

“Son of a bitch,” she mumbled, looking at her wife. “Cover for me.”

“What do you-” Mallogory began, but Scamp had already dove over the back of the couch and was sprinting for the front door.

“... she has to take a dump?” Mallogory said as everyone looked at her.

“Ah, yeah, I get it,” Greg said, nodding his head in understanding.

Outside, Scamp rounded the house to come face to face with the jolly fat man.

“Mind explaining something to me?” She asked in an angry tone. When he didn’t respond, she continued. “You have a list with all the really bad ponies on it, yet you just give them coal? Every single one on your naughty list was some of the worst ponies in Equestria, most of them on the run from the police. And you do NOTHING with that info?!”

Santa just smiled at her as he held up his list, showing both the nice list and naughty list. The nice list was filled with names, while the other was now devoid of any names.

“That didn’t answer- Wait you’re not dead!” Scamp yelled, pointing an accusatory hoof at him.

This caused him to let out a hearty laugh, which only angered her further.

“What the fuck was the point then?” She asked.

To answer her, he just tapped the side of the scroll with the naughty list, a wide smile on his face.

Realization dawned on her. “No fucking way… did you just use me to do what you couldn’t do?” At his wink, she laughed. “You sly dog. You didn’t have to do the whole show, I’d have gladly done it without all the extra work.”

Santa just closed his list and pulled a box out, tossing it to her.

She caught it as she kept her focus on him. “What’s this?” she asked, flipping the top off the box to reveal a piece of cloth. Pulling it out, she realized it was the new headband she’d wanted, one with her Dojo’s logo. The idea of this being her reward for her actions that night caused her to start laughing loudly, tears falling from her eyes as she laughed harder than she had in a while.

“Scamp, are you okay?!” Lance asked as he ran up behind her.

“Yeah I’m-” she began, looking up to see Santa was gone now. “I’m good. Just thought of a funny joke.”

“Oh cool, mind telling me?” he asked, but she stood up and walked past him, patting his shoulder as she passed.

“Merry Christmas, Lance,” she said, heading back inside.

“Okay, but what was the joke??” he asked, appearing confused.

As she reached the front door, she saw Santa standing next to it.

“Same time next year?” she asked.

He just smiled and faded away in a puff of golden magic.

“Scamp, what was the joke??” Lance asked as he caught up, but she ignored him as she entered the house, closing the door behind her. “Come on,” he groaned as he looked to the ground. But the sight of a box with his name on it brightened his day.

Like a child he grabbed it and ripped it open, happiness on his face. But a frown appeared as he looked into the box. Tipping it over a lump of coal fell out.

He fell to his knees before the coal and threw his hooves to the sky. “I brought you into this world! STOP GIVING ME COAL EVERY YEAR YOU FAT FUCK!”

In the distance jolly laughter could be heard as Lance roared at the sky in anger.

Living the Dream: Jumanji

Author's Note

I wrote this chapter solely for enjoyment. It's canon, but it's meant to be a fun read, so I hope it tickles your fancy.

Living the Dream: Jumanji

Living the Dream: Jumanji

Lance stepped into the Mellowed Pie with a pep in his step. He was excited; after the events with Frederic and the disastrous reunion with Fawn, he was itching to do something. Anything other than housework. That was for sure.

To his surprise, Greg had requested his presence—post haste. It must be important!

“Yo, Lance!” Greg called out as Lance entered the kitchen, rolling around in his fancy-ass wheelchair. “You came fast as fuck, I just sent you the text.”

“I’m just looking for an excuse to get out,” Lance admitted, taking a taco from a plate and downing it.

Greg gave him a blank stare. “Bro, don’t eat my customer's food.”

“They shouldn’t have left it there,” Lance countered, getting a laugh out of Greg. “Now, what did you need?”

Greg rolled over and picked up the plate, returning it to the prep area to replace the stolen taco. “So, I have a favor.”

“Fuck yeah, what’s up?”

“So, you know how I always used to take those yearly trips?”

It took Lance a moment to recall what he was talking about, but then he remembered Greg did indeed head out for a few weeks at a time every year back before the Watcher arc. He never asked why, though. It was just Greg shit, probably.

“What about them?”

“Well,” Greg said, spinning to face him. “I would go check on my clone and make sure he wasn’t up to anything. But after the fight with the Watcher, I couldn’t do it in person, so I had to send a third party to check on it. Some little shit kid I’d pay a few bits to. Well! It turns out the kid is a slick little fucker because I just found out he’s NEVER even left this damn town. He’d take my money and then go hide for a few weeks, then lie to me about what my clone was up to.”

Lance just had to chuckle at this. Classic Greg, indeed. “So what’s that mean? Good? Bad?”

“Dunno, but I need you to go check on him. He’s probably up to some skim or some shit. Could be anything since he’s had zero supervision all this time.

“Hm,” Lance thought for a moment. This was a chance to get out and not have to deal with any of his current problems. “Fuck it, I’m in.”

“Sweet,” Greg chuckled as he tossed Lance an envelope. “Location is in there. Report back to me with any news you find out. And if he’s being retarded or some shit, break whatever he’s doing and bring him home if you can.”

Lance saluted him and turned to rush out, thoroughly excited for the first time in weeks. A thought hit him, and he knew what needed to be done.

Guys trip!

ooo000<^>000ooo

It took a little bit of work and convincing, but Lance was able to gather a FEW people to bring with him on the adventure. He was a bit depressed, as it was now that he realized just how many of his friends were no longer around. Unlike in the past, he didn’t have a lot of guy friends. So he compromised a bit here and there.

“Holy shit, I’ve never been on a guy's trip before!” Jun exclaimed, clearly excited. He hadn’t been happy to see Lance after everything that had happened, but the moment Lance told him he was planning a guys-only trip, Jun broke instantly and agreed.

“Same!” Louie said, just as excited. “I’ve been a fucking dog this whole time and NEVER got to do anything! GUYS TRIP!” He and Jun slammed heads together, knocking each other to the ground.

Domitor stared at the two idiots and sighed. “I’m regretting this already,” he said, rubbing his face. He’d declined, but Floria and Shayla started making fun of him for being an ‘anti-social pussy’, so he didn’t have much choice.

“Cheer up, kid,” Mark said, slapping his back. “Guy trips are ALWAYS fun. You’ll go home and wish you were back with the boys. Guaranteed.” He was back in his pony form, more for Lance than himself.

Lance smiled at his group, he could work with this.

“Why the fuck am I here then?” Lacy asked, looking unamused.

“Because,” Lance said in a tone that implied the answer was obvious. “You’re basically a dude.”

“Thanks, bro,” Lacy deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah!” Jun added. “You like girls just like us, so you’re cool!”

“I’m straight, you dumb fucking retard,” Lacy countered, confusing Jun.

“But,” he said, looking to Lance for help. “I’m not gay. If she likes men, does that mean WE like men?”

Lance started to make fun of him, but he stopped, rubbing his chin. “Uh… no?”

“No, you morons,” Lacy groaned. “Because with that logic, I’d have to like woman, and I…” she trailed off, suddenly perplexed. “Oh fuck… AM I supposed to like women?”

The three regular guys stared at the three stripped idiots, not even looking phased by this interaction. After allowing the three stripped ponies to have an actual identity crisis, Mark finally spoke up.

“Alright, alright, enough, we checking on this Greg clone or what?”

This broke Lance from his stupor and he smiled. “AH! Ye! We should get going, we can finish this conversation on the airship.”

As everyone began walking away, Jun stayed looking at his hooves. “What if,” he muttered, looking to the sky. “I am gay?”

“Then you kill yourself,” a little colt said from a nearby bench.

Jun thought for a moment and gave a nod, throwing a bit to the kid. “Keep slaying, kid.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Two days later

Lance and his crew walked down the street, following signs pointing them toward a place aptly named Kushville. They’d landed in the port city nearby and did not have a hard time at all figuring out where Greg’s clone was. Everyone knew who he was, since he was the governor for this region.

“Greg as a governor,” Louie said aloud as they neared a town ahead. “Sounds like the worst idea ever. At least, old Greg.”

“Yeah, but it’s all good, we’re here to put a stop to him,” Lance pointed out.

Domitor frowned at this. “If I can raise a point, but what if he is doing a good job as governor? In that case, wouldn’t we leave him alone?”

“Nah, Greg’s clone can’t be a governor, it’s not right,” Lance countered. “So no matter what, he’s getting taken down.”

“To be fair, bro,” Mark began. “We should at least see how things are going. Dismantling a whole government for the lawls is fun and all, but think of the repercussions.”

Lance rolled his eyes but nodded. “We’ll listen for one minute, then we’re jumping his ass. Good?”

“Perfectly good,” Mark agreed.

But Domitor just shook his head. He would just go along with whatever they wanted to do at this point.

Soon, they came upon the front gates of Kushville, which resembled a compound more than an actual town. No one was in sight, either, so the crew just walked in unimpeded. They took in the area, noticing it at least looked clean and nice, much better than expected. Lance, for sure, thought weed shit would be everywhere, but other than the name, there wasn’t anything of the sort. In sight, at least.

Finally, they reached the largest building, with the words ‘Governor’s office’ above the door. Stepping inside, they were greeted by a sweet-looking old pony. She waved at them and ushered them forward.

“Hello!” She exclaimed in an old, gravelly voice. “Can we help you?”

“Yeah, we’re here for Dank Kush,” Lance informed her.

The old lady nodded as she checked her computer. “Do you have an appointment?”

“Nope.”

“Hm, then I’m afraid you’ll have to set one up and come back in a few years. He’s very very busy after all.”

“Lies,” Lance countered, slamming both hooves on the desk, startling her. “I am Lance Greenfield. THE Lance Greenfield! I don’t make appointments.”

“Sir, please don’t be aggressive. Otherwise, I will have to use this,” she said, reaching for something under the desk.

Louie panicked instantly as he saw a tiny piece of something being pulled from the desk. “GUN!” He roared as his John Cena brand training kicked in, and he round-housed the old lady and the entire desk, sending both flying across the room and through a wall.

“Woah!” Lance exclaimed, slapping Louie on the back. “Good save, bro!”

Domitor flew over quickly and moved some debris off the old lady. She was still buried in the rubble as she held her hoof up, holding up a frowny face sticker.

“I was just… going to threaten… to give you a bad colt sticker…” she said before passing out.

“Guys!” Domitor yelled, looking back at the group in shock.

“Fuck!” Lance yelled, looking at Louie again. “Good call with that attack, bro.”

“I got your back, man!” Louie said proudly.

“Please don’t hurt the staff,” a soft and slightly nasally voice said from behind them. They all turned to see a tall figure standing on two feet, staring at them. The figure threw them all off, as it resembled a Kejtdra in body shape, but it was more pony than Kejtdra. It had red stripes all over its body, just like the striped trio. It even had white splotches over it’s dark green fur that reminded them of Grace. And its face was shaped just like a pony. The only true Kejtdra feature it had was the tail. Its hair was exactly like Frederic’s when he was in his Darksteel Edge form but colored like Richard’s, a fact that made Lance frown.

“This guy sounds like a pussy,” Lacy commented.

“You are what you eat,” the weird figure said.

“What?” Lacy asked, taken aback.

“Please don’t hurt the staff members,” he repeated.

“Or what?” Louie asked.

The large man looked straight at Domitor and smiled awkwardly. “You have nice features.”

“Uh, thanks?” Domitor said, perplexed.

Before the conversation could continue, a pair of doors at the end of the room burst open and Dank Kush himself rushed in.

“What is going—LANCE?!” he yelped, seeing Lance and his crew standing there. “Did Greg send you?!”

“Yep!” Lance laughed, ignoring the odd figure before them and focusing on the clone. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

“I have,” he said, composting himself. “I am a leader now. I am, as you’d say, reformed and a much better version of myself.”

“Shut up, Danky,” Jun interjected, getting a laugh and a hoof bump from Lance.

This irked the clone. “I am Governor Professor Dank Kush,” he snapped before calming himself. “I am sorry. Now, why are you here? Just to check on me and make sure I’m not ‘evil’?”

“Yep, evil clones tend to be evil,” Lance said with a confident nod. “So what evil shit you up to?” He said, looking over at the guy just standing there staring at them. “Is this guy part of some evil plan?”

“I’m not up to an ‘evil plan’,” Dank sighed. “And this,” he said, waving a hoof toward the tall guy. “Is Jumanji. He is my son.”

“Nah, you ain’t fucked nobody,” Lance countered, getting another hoof bump from his brother. “You made that fucker in a lab or some shit.”

“No shit,” Dank groaned, rubbing his face. “But I’m not arguing the point.”

Lance looked back at Jumanji, frowning. “So you named him after a movie?”

“Is this all this visit will consist of?” Dank asked. “Questions of a low caliber?”

“And if it does?” Lance shot back.

“Then I’d rather give you a tour so you can see all is well, and you’ll be on your way.”

“Yeah, let’s do the tour,” Lance nodded.

“Very well, come along,” Dank said, waving for them to follow.

The clone, clearly annoyed, led them further into the building. He pointed out a few decor pieces he was proud of, but not one of the group seemed to care—except Domitor, who politely tried to make nice comments about everything they were shown.

But to Lance’s annoyance, he saw nothing overtly evil. He was a bit disappointed.

As they walked, Jumanji followed them from behind, stoic and a bit meek. Louie let out a surprised yelp as he felt a hand petting his head, causing him to turn to look at the tall man. Jumanji, who was just as tall as Louie, was patting his head.

“Bruh,” Louie said, swatting his hand away.

“You have very soft fur,” Jumanji said.

“Bro stop that shit, I’m a man not a fuckin’ dog,” Louie said in annoyance.

“Bitch said what?” Jumanji said in his nasally voice.

“What?” Louie exclaimed in surprise.

“Good doggy,” Jumanji said, patting Louie again before falling behind the group again.

Louie stared slack-jawed at the guy before moving over and leaned down to speak quietly to Mark. “Yo, this guy is weird!”

“You are a dog, though,” Mark pointed out.

“That’s not the point!”

“So what’s Jumanji’s story?” Lacy asked.

“Like I said, he is my son. I made him from DNA from all of the greatest fighters in this world.”

“Yeah, but he came out sounding and acting like a little bitch,” Jun said, getting a nod of approval from Lance.

“It happens,” Dank muttered in response.

“So you just made a son and plan to use him for evil?” Lance asked, getting another sigh out of Dank.

“No, you moron,” he retorted. “I’ve planned to bring him to your town eventually so he can find a mate. You know, like a good father should do.”

“Does he have a type?” Lacy asked.

Jumanji appeared in the middle of the group. “I like your orange hair,” he said to Domitor, startling the poor stallion.

“He likes what he likes,” Dank answered.

“Well if it turns out you’re not evil,” Lance said, giving a nod. “Then I give my blessing for him to court Domitor here.”

“Lance, you can’t make that decision,” Domitor shot back. “I’m already with—”

“I’m Lance,” Lance chuckled. “So hope for the best here, Jumanji.”

“I promise I’ll treat you well,” Jumanji said.

“I shouldn’t have come,” Domitor groaned.

“Anyway,” Dank said from the front of the group, “this is the main room. This is where I host all my events.”

The room they entered was just a large room; there was nothing special about it. There were just a lot of chairs stacked in one corner and a stage on the other side of the room.

“Lame,” Lacy commented.

“Yes, it is, but this area has a pretty cool feature. I’ll show it to you,” Dank said, clearly annoyed. “In the meantime, feel free to mingle. I have to set everything up for you.”

“You do that,” Lance said, watching Dank move to the stage area. With him gone, everyone turned to look at Jumanji, who just continued to stare at them.

“So what, how’s it being a freak?” Lacy asked.

“Your Lance DNA makes me hate myself,” he responded.

“Good,” Lacy said before blinking. “Wait, you have MY DNA in you?”

“Lol, look Lacy, your long lost kid!” Jun mocked before getting punched in the face by the mare. “Lacy! WHY?!”

“Don’t be a pussy,” she said, looking back to Jumanji. “I guess that makes sense. I am one of the greatest fighters in the world.”

“He said Lance DNA, he’s grouping all three of you together,” Domitor pointed out. “So, not your DNA. Right, big guy?”

“You’re so smart,” Jumanji praised, stepping up to stand over Domitor. “I like your name, Domitor.”

“Thanks?” He said a bit awkwardly.

“But I’ll be the dom,” Jumanji said, causing the others to laugh while Domitor frowned. “You smell like you bathe regularly, too.”

“This is great,” Mark chuckled. “I’m so happy we came here.”

Lights from the stage came on, filling the air with dazzling lights that spelled out Dank’s full name on the far wall. “Pretty epic, right?!” he called out to them, but they just stared back at him unimpressed. This was the cool thing he wanted to show them?

“Fucking sick,” Lance said, impressed at the awesome light show. “Yeah, I don’t think he’s evil anymore.”

“I’m convinced,” Jun agreed.

“Well I’m happy you’re not as dumb as I thought and can see the obvious,” Dank said as he approached them. “I really have turned over a new leaf.”

“Okay, but riddle me this,” Mark said, gesturing to Jumanji. “Why make this skinny fucker using only the greatest fighter's DNA?”

“Because it’s cool?” Dank reasoned.

Mark stared at him hard for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, it is pretty fucking cool. Can’t fault you there.”

“So we’re good?” Dank asked.

“I think so,” Lance chuckled. “Sorry for being a dick earlier.”

“Wait, so a simple light show convinced all of you he’s not evil?” Domitor asked, getting nods and ‘duhs’ from the group. He just sighed and threw up a hoof. “Okay, just making sure I understood the situation.”

Lance started to say something but he saw a weird necklace on Jumanji. “Cool bling, bro. Mind if I try it on?”

“No, that has to stay on,” Dank said. “It controls his inner thoughts for me.”

“Wait,” Lacy said, frowning now. “You're using mind control on him?”

“No,” Dank countered. “I’m just making sure some of his impulses stay in check.”

“Sounds like mind control to me,” Lance commented.

Jun nodded, thinking back to his time with Lilith. “Yeah, bro, controlling someone like this is wack. Be ashamed, fag.”

Lacy made a show of sneezing and let out a violent sneeze, falling toward Jumanji. “Whoops!” she called out dramatically as she grabbed the necklace and ripped it off. “I broke it!”

“You fool!” Dank yelped as he jumped for Jumanji, trying to reconnect the broken clasp of the necklace.

A weird look befell Jumanji’s face as he looked at everyone, but his face twisted into pure rage when he saw Lance and the other two stripped ponies.

“Someone help me, quick!” Dank yelled, failing to fix the necklace. “If you don’t, we’ll all—” he let out a choked cough as Jumanji grabbed him and threw him aside.

He then turned back to the group, seething in rage. “You…” he said, body shaking. “You nasty red stripes!”

“Woah, buddy, don’t be stripist,” Lance said, holding up a hoof.

“You retards!” He roared, his body starting to shift and bulk up. “It’s all your fault, Lance!”

“This dude is starting to sound like Frederic,” Jun pointed out.

“Probably the Freddy DNA in him,” Lacy agreed.

For some reason, no one in their group did anything to stop Jumanji as he stood there, getting angrier and angrier.

“LANCE!” Jumanji roared as the energy burst from his body, his muscles bulking even more.

“What’d I do?” Lance asked, looking at his friends. Before anyone could answer him, a fist slammed into his face and sent him flying away, crashing through a wall.

“Oh, holy shit!” Jun screamed as Jumanji turned for him. “He’s aping out!” The large man’s body shot forward as he kicked Jun straight into the sky, sending him through the roof. Lacy and Louie started to react, but Jumanji grabbed them both and slammed them together, sending them flying in separate directions.

When he turned to Mark and Domitor, the pair jumped back.

“Wait, I need to stretch before we fight!” Mark yelled as he quickly started stretching, but Jumanji zoomed across the ground like he was in an old video game and bodied Mark, sending him sprawling. Finally, he turned to Domitor.

“Shit,” Domitor said as he jumped forward and punched the man in the face with all he had. But when his face didn’t move even an inch, Domitor landed before him and smiled awkwardly. “I would like to apologize for—”

A kick to his face cut him off, but instead of being sent away, Lance caught him.

“Well, this got weird fast,” Lance muttered as Jumanji began screaming again, seemingly getting stronger.

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Lacy said as she and the others regrouped around Lance. “He just got lucky with that surprise attack.”

Jun and Lacy transformed into their strongest forms, while Lance could only go into an improved form of Breaking Dawn, thanks to Frederic. Domitor shifted into his Super Saiyan form, while Mark just flexed harder.

“Hold on,” Lance said, shooting across the room and dragging an injured Dank back to them. “Alright, bro, what’s up with this guy? Why is he going crazy?”

“I can’t believe I have to explain this,” Dank groaned. “He has the DNA of everyone you know, and that includes Frederic, who, as we all learned recently, is a full-on psycho. I noticed that early on, but I didn’t realize it was Fred’s DNA causing my son to be evil.”

“So why not just kill him and make one without Freddy DNA?” Jun asked.

“Would you kill your son?” Dank countered.

“If he was just a knockoff Fred? Ye.”

“Then you’re clearly a fool.”

“How do we stop him?” Mark asked.

“You don’t,” Dank replied. “He’s too far above any of you. I will have to make a new necklace. So… distract him for me.”

“Bro,” Lance said, but Dank flashed away with a pop of magic, leaving them with the still-screaming Jumanji. “Screw it, we can take him.”

With another explosion of energy, Jumanji stopped screaming and turned to face them, his face stoic with a smirk on it. He was now a totally different person, as he was now built like a brick shithouse. Pure muscle and malice.

“Yeah, I don’t think we can,” Mark countered.

“We just have to rely on each other,” Lance assured him.

Louie cheered loudly. “We got the power of friendship on our side, bros! He’s got nothing!”

“He’s just a lonely fag who thinks he’s cool!” Lacy added.

“Exactly! We believe in each other; nothing can stop us!” Lance yelled.

“Yeah! I believe!” Jun roared as he shot forward, followed by everyone else.

As they neared, Jumanji remained stationary, a smirk forming on his face. “Yes, come to me,” he said, his voice suddenly very deep and rough. “I will make you wish for rape.”

“Wait, what did he just say?!” Jun yelped just as a large hand closed over his face and yanked him hard.

Jumanji began swinging Jun around like a weapon, crashing him into Lacy and then using him to fend off an attack from Lance. With a roar, he leaped forward and pinned Louie down, and with a crazy laugh, he began beating the dog man with Jun’s body.

Mark jumped on the muscular man's back, but Jumanji just jumped into the air and slammed his back into the ground, imbedding Mark into the ground.

“Fuck,” Mark groaned. “I’ve done my back in…”

“Catch!” Jumanji yelled as he threw Jun toward Lance, but Lance just sidestepped, letting Jun splatter against the ground.

“Jokes on you!” Lance laughed, “I don’t care enough to catch him!”

“Then catch this!” Jumanji said as he held his hand up and sent a powerful ball of energy rocketing toward Lance.

“Bro, not fair!” Lance yelped as he was hit by the attack and exploded. When the smoke cleared, he was lying in a crater in the Family Guy death pose in his base form.

As Jumanji laughed in victory, Domitor flew in and delivered a powerful kick to the side of his face. But just as before, the large man only moved an inch before turning sharping to face Domitor.

“Why am I even here?” Domitor groaned as he was grabbed and slammed into the ground, landing directly on the already hurt Mark.

“Yo, fag,” Lacy called out, drawing his attention. “Try this one on for size, why don’t you!” she said as she raised her massive sword, fresh from her pocket dimension. It began to glow with Ego as she readied her ultimate attack. “Behold my Watcher Buster!” she exclaimed, spinning her entire body and sending a wave of sharp Ego at Jumanji.

The Ego hit the man and shattered like glass, leaving him just smirking at her.

“Well that’s never happened before,” she muttered as he suddenly appeared right in front of her. “For real this shit is unfair,” she complained as he slapped her away, sending her to the ground and landing just like Lance had.

Jun rocketed back in, reformed and angery. He began pelting Jumanji with hits as he powered up more and more, his anger fueling his attacks. Finally, he began to push the large man back.

“I got your back!” Domitor yelled as he joined in, his attacks helping break through force Jumanji to start defending himself.

Louie barked as he joined them aswell, focusing on hitting Jumanji in the crotch as much as he could.

“Yes!” Jun roared as Jumanji’s defense broke, and he began taking hits freely. “Power of friendship, bitch!”

With lightning speed, Jumanji spun, roundhouse kicking all three of them at once and sending them tumbling, causing them to all get tangled up with each other.

He stepped over them and picked them up at once, roughly squeezing them together. “Friendship powerups are shit,” he mocked as he threw them up and kicked them away like a soccer ball. They soared through the air and went through the hole he’d made earlier with Lance.

Coughing behind him brought his attention to Lance as he stood up, still in his base form. “You think I’m done?” he asked, holding up his hooves. “I didn’t hear no bell, bring it!”

Jumanji zipped over and kneed Lance in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He then kicked him in the side and sent him flying into Lacy as she stood up.

The pair lay together, groaning. “I’m getting too old for this,” Lance admitted.

“He just keeps throwing us into each other, it’s retarded,” Lacy complained.

“Then let me get serious,” Jumanji said from above them as energy began building in his hands.

“Wait, no, let's not get serious!” Lance yelled as he tried to get up, but he was too late. Energy exploded from Jumanji’s hands, engulfing both him and Lacy. When the smoke cleared, they were now in a deep crater, badly hurt.

“Get away from my baby brother!” Mark yelled from the roof, having climbed up there at some point. “Take my ultimate attack!” Mark exclaimed as he jumped from the roof and flipped through the air till he angled his back hoof for Jumanji’s face. “Greenfield kick!”

Right before he landed the kick, Jumanji caught his leg and lifted him up, legs spread before him. Mark’s eyes went wide as the man pulled his fist back. “WAIT A MINUTE!” He yelled before the fist connected with his balls, causing him to let out a girlish scream. Jumanji spun him around and tossed him away like a broken doll.

“Is this all?” Jumanji called out, hands up as he spun to look around the room. “I expected more!”

“Then take all I have!” Domitor roared as he landed on the floor and began powering up even further. “You want strong! Then I’ll give you strong! AHHHHHH!!!” Energy cracked around him as he began to break his limits and enter Super Saiyan 2.

“You’re wide open!” Jumanji yelled as he suddenly appeared before Domitor and punched him so hard in the gut, he reverted back to his base form.

“Damn it,” Domitor groaned as he slumped over the fist still connected to his gut.

“You smell of axe body spray,” Jumanji commented with a big whiff.

“Fuckin’ Shayla…” Domitor groaned.

Before he could be attacked further, Jun zoomed by, saving Domitor and landing nearby.

“We’re literally getting killed out here,” Louie said as he ran up, out of breath after having to run back in due to not being able to fly.

“Nothing we do hurts this fucker,” Jun said, patting Domitor’s back. “If Scamp or Shayla were here, he’d be fucked.”

“Good idea, call her,” Domitor said as he lifted his cellphone, but let out a whimper as it grumbled to dust the moment Jun touched it. “So cruel…”

“We gotta do something,” Jun said as she pulled a few capsules from his pocket dimension. “Eat this shit, it’ll fix us.” They each took one, their wounds slowly healing. “Be lucky I had a few of those left, but I only have enough for each of us. After that, we’re fucked.”

“Try again,” Jumanji called out as he threw Lance and Lacy to the group. Jun quickly gave each of them the last two capsules, restoring them back to full.

“Okay,” Lance said, stretching his legs. “New plan. We’re fusing and kicking his ass.”

“Ooo, we’re doing that again?” Lacy asked as Lance pulled a sealed spell from his pocket dimension.

“You know it! Full power, boys!” Lance said as he and the others powered back to their most powerful forms. With a cheer, he crushed the seal, casting the spell. A light spread over the three of them, pulling them together and morphing them together.

When it was over, Lance stood there proudly, happy to be the one in charge this time. “Oh fuck yes!” He yelled, raising a hoof in praise of the massive power boost he felt. He then frowned as he was assaulted with all six consciences at once. “Okay, not fuck yes. But I can make due.”

Now, in the new form, Lance turned to face Jumanji along with Louie and Domitor, who was only in his first transformation. “This is it,” Lance called out to the beast of a man. “Behold the true power of friendship!”

But Jumanji just smirked at them as he stood waiting for them.

“You think you can beat us now?” Lance said confidently, flexing as he increased to his max power.

“No,” Jumanji replied. “I’m going to kill you.”

“At least he didn’t say rape this time,” Louie said just as Jumanji appeared before them.

They all panicked and jumped at the man, exchanging a fury of blows that broke the ground beneath them. Louie was the first to get hit, dropping instantly. Next was Domitor, who was send tumbling backward.

Lance held his own, his attacks actually effecting the large man. “Wanna see some cool shit?” Lance asked as he suddenly disappeared as a punch hit his afterimage. He reappeared behind Jumanji and kicked him in the side, actually sending him sliding to the side. But he stayed upright as he shot back for Lance.

But just as before, his fist hit Lance’s afterimage, followed by another kick hitting Jumanji in the back. Roaring in frustration, he began to lose his composure as he swung and grabbed for Lance, but missed every time as Lance teleported around him.

With a burst of power, Jumanji caught Lance just as he came out of a teleport, surprising him. Jumanji headbutted Lance and then slammed his face into his knee, dazing him as he began beating the absolute shit out of the fusion.

Screams from behind Jumanji made him stop his assault and turn, seeing Domitor finally finish his transformation into a Super Saiyan 2.

“Finally,” Jumanji said as he held Lance out and dropped him to the ground, eyes locked on Domitor.

“Yeah, now see how you can handle me,” Domitor said, his expression stern.

“You’re flirting,” Jumanji said.

“I most definitely am not,” Domitor retorted.

The smirk on Jumanji’s face became more prominent. “Time to become official.”

The vibe Jumanji gave off caused Domitor’s stern expression to falter as his eyes widened. “Oh shit… Lance, get me the fuck out of here!” He yelled, but looking to Lance for help was pointless, as the man’s tongue hung out of his mouth as he stared off into nothingness.

Jumanji shot forward and punched Domitor in the face, but he held his ground and returned his own punch. The pair began dancing around the room, destroying anything that they came near. The power of their hits overwhelming.

“Surprise attack!” Louie roared as he attempted to stab Jumanji with a broken table leg. But Jumanji just sprang back, his body hitting Louie and knocking him out cold, sending him into the stage and completely destroying it.

A flaming hoof then slammed into the side of Jumanji’s face, making him stumble. “Yeah bitch, now you’re in trouble,” Lance exclaimed as he joined Domitor in beating down Jumanji.

Together, they finally started to come on top in exchanges with the larger man. But somehow, he was keeping up with them and returning hits that staggered them when they landed.

Suddenly, as Domitor tried to dodge a punch, a hand grabbed the back of his head and yanked him forward. “Hold this,” Jumanji said as he shoved a massive ball of energy into Domitor’s chest and sent him soaring away with a deafening explosion.

This left just Lance fighting him, putting him back on the winning side. Lance, even fused, couldn’t handle him alone. Just as he started to take too much damage, a hoof slammed into the side of Jumanji’s head.

“Greenfield kick!” Mark roared.

This distracted him long enough for Lance to slip his hoof through his defenses and grab the man by the face. He spun his whole body and slammed Jumanji straight into the ground, burying his head. Ego and energy built around Lance’s hooves as he performed many quick movements with them, mostly for show, and threw them forward.

“Localized Shadow Blast!” he roared as he threw his hooves forward, obliterating the ground and building before him. The blast flew forward, destroying the building and everything beyond, tearing away the ground before him in massive chunks.

When he stopped the attack, there was nothing before him but an actual canyon.

“Holy shit, what was that?!” Mark asked, floored by what he’d just witnessed.

“I don’t know, I made it up just now,” Lance admitted, smiling proudly at what he’d just done.

“Okay, but what if there were people in the buildings you just destroyed?”

“Nah,” Lance said dismissively. “I got the fucker; all that matters in the end.”

A pop behind them made them turn to see Dank, holding a new necklace. “I have returned with—YOU MONSTER!” he screamed, seeing the destruction before him.

“Don’t worry,” Lance said with a laugh. “I gottem.”

“You destroyed everything! And killed my son?!” Dank roared.

“You’re welcome,” Lance said proudly.

Dank withdrew a gun from his bag and pointed it at Lance.

“You think a gun will hurt me?” Lance chuckled. “Go ahead and shoot your hero. I’m waiting.”

Dank let out a pained cry as he pulled the trigger, but as the gun fired, something came crashing down on him, splattering him all over the area, including Mark and Lance.

“Shit…” Lance muttered as he looked back, seeing a naked and scared Jumanji standing there, looking pissed.

Jumanji took a step forward but looked down, seeing the gore all over him and the fully intact, degloved face of his father lying on the ground. “You killed my dad!” He screamed.

“Nah, fam, that was all you,” Lance laughed.

Jumanji let out a sorrowful scream, grabbing his face as energy shot form him, destroying anything it hit.

“Great, we’re doomed,” Domitor groaned as he landed next to them, holding Louie’s unconscious body.

“No, I can handle him,” Lance said confidently.

A new aura rose from Jumanji as he finally stopped screaming, now peaking out at them through his fingers. “Life is too good for you. Let me take it.”

“Bring it,” Lance laughed as he got into a fighting pose. Only to then defuse and all three of them fall to the ground.

“Fucking bad timing there,” Lacy groaned.

“Great, now Mr. One Liners will kill us faster,” Mark said, shaking his head. “Fuck it, I had a good run.”

“No, you didn’t,” Lacy remarked.

“Fuck, I know,” Mark said, deflating.

Jumanji took a step forward, his aura alone, breaking the ground.

“There’s only one thing to do,” Lance said, looking at Domitor. “You gotta fuck him.”

In response, Domitor just stared at Lance with a deadpan expression.

“Selfish prick,” Lance grumbled.

Just as Jumanji neared them, a shot rang out and a glob of goo hit him in the face, completely covering it and blinding him.

The group looked around in surprise just as a man entered the room.

“Why am I having to be the one saving your sorry asses?” they said.

“Cody!” Lance exclaimed in glee. “How’d you know we needed help?”

“We didn’t; you idiots just produced so much damn energy we took notice,” Scamp growled as she landed next to them.

“Oh, thank God,” Mark exclaimed. “The A-Team is here!”

“We are the A-Team!” Lance protested, but even he didn’t believe that.

Jumanji continued to roar next to them, tearing the goo off his face.

“Right,” Scamp said, waving a hoof. “Shayla, do your thing, please.”

The muscular hybrid crashed down before the rampaging Jumanji and pulled back a fist, Ego bursting from it. With a yell, she hit the man in the chest. Ego exploded through the area, and he was temporarily stunned.

“Wow, this fucker is actually stronger than me!” she yelped, realizing her attack didn’t take him down like she thought it would.

“Improvise then,” Scamp called out.

Shayla nodded, pulling out her dimensional dagger and ripping a portal open before the stunned man. She then dashed around him and kicked him through it, closing it behind him. “Enjoy Candyland, dumbass!”

“Good work,” Scamp praised as she turned back to the group, raising her eyebrow at Domitor, who was staring at Shayla with a blush and a noticeable hard-on. “Come on, kid, don’t be that damn obvious.”

“Shit,” he cursed, shifting his form into his Halwen form to hide his arousal easier.

“So who’s going to explain this mess?” She asked, looking at the destroyed area around them.

Everyone pointed at Lance, who just smiled sheepishly. “Well, it’s a pretty funny story.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lance stepped out of the Mellowed Pie, letting out a sigh. Greg hadn’t been happy about losing his clone, but he’d get over it. Lance knew he would.

He flexed a bit, feeling excited as he recalled the fighting. Sure, they didn’t beat Jumanji, but he felt like if he’d done a few pushups in the weeks leading up to that fight, he would have mopped the floor with that guy! No need to fuse. He was out of shape, and he still kicked ass!

Off to the side, he saw his friends covered in bruises and cuts from the fighting. A thought hit him: maybe this could be his new group for adventures?

He’d just have to convince Domitor, and he knew the others would follow.

“So that was crazy, huh?” Lance said as he approached them. “Almost makes you want to do another adventure, right, Domitor?”

“If it’s all good with you,” Domitor began. “I never want to be alone with you ever again.”

“Come on, one more adventure. It’ll be short!”

“Yeah, no. You offered me up to a monster; I think I’ll take my chances with my pregnant wife.”

“Good fucking luck,” Lacy laughed. “Shayla gonna be a scary one to deal with when those hormones kick in.”

“Don’t remind me.”

Lance looked to the others. “Come on, the rest of you can come along.”

Louie started to say something, but then he just slipped away, making a run for it.

“Come on, Mark. Lacy,” he said, giving them puppy dog eyes.

“Bro, I love you, but I’m just a normal dude. I only survived that shit out of pure luck and sheer determination,” Mark said, turning and giving him a peace sign as he left.

“I’m just going to be straight and say fuck no,” Lacy said, shaking her head. “Love ya, Lance, but I ain’t adventuring with you. Won’t end well.”

As she left, Lance let out a sad sigh, hanging his head.

“I’m down for more!” Jun exclaimed, jumping with excitement.

“I guess that’s it then,” Lance said as he walked away, head down. “Can’t adventure without a party.”

“I said I’m down!” Jun called out, but Lance continued on. “Bro. Wtf? Get hearing aids! I’m saying I’m down!”

Once Lance was gone, Jun huffed. But then he saw Belle leaning on a building nearby and his mood perked up.

“Hey, Bella! Adventure time?”

New life (Updated)

If you do not have it in you to make it past Part 1, it is recommended to skip to the start of Part 3. The story improves there immensely and will make part 1 more bearable if you ever want to go back and read it.

(EDIT: 2022) if you are just arriving here because of the new updates, I must warn you: the first 140 or so chapters were published back in early 2012. So as stated later, grammar leaves a lot to be desired. Also this has some very offensive content sprinkled throughout, because the early chapters were written by a teenager. This story is pure 2012 cringe, but part 3 and onward is brutal and fun. Good luck.)

Here is a link to an ongoing Let's Read of this story. It's better than the story itself, trust me.

Here is an animation of the first two chapters. Well worth a watch.

And here is a trailer made in 2012 for this story:
Living the Dream - Official trailer

Chapter 1

"Do you think it will happen?" Asked Jan.

"I have no idea, probably not," I said with a slight grin.

It was around 11:59 P.M., December 20, 2012. The day the world was supposed to end.

"Yeah, don't worry, guys, it's not going to happen." I laughed.

James looked at me. "Dude, it will happen. We are a few minutes away from the end of the world."

I laughed again. "Let's just watch the clock. Once it's 12:01, I'm going to bed and leaving you guys here."

"Well, we are about to find out. Almost 30 seconds left." Said Jan excitedly.

I laughed at her. "Why are you so excited about this."

She twisted around to face me and glared. "The world is going to end. I've been waiting years for this day."

I stood up and looked at the clock. "Looks like about ten seconds. You guys are about to find out how stupid you are."

"Shut up, Lance. You should wait till it happens," James said with a little anger in his voice.

"I'm going to laugh my ass off once it passes 12:00."

I grinned and looked at the clock. Three seconds left. I couldn't control myself; I started to laugh but stopped long enough to see the second hand pass twelve.

I closed my eyes and fell back laughing, "I told you guys it wasn't going to happen."

I open my eyes to see nothing but whiteness all around me. I jumped up to my feet.

"What? Hey guys are you here." I said in confusion.

Then a loud booming voice said, "Silence, young one. You have survived the rapture, and now a chance to live again."

I blinked in confusion, "Wait, so it was real? The world ended, and I survived it?"

"Yes. You lived a wonderful life, thus earning you a reward."

I looked around; I couldn't see where the voice was coming from. Then what he said hit me.

"Wait, what do you mean I have earned a reward?" I asked, confused.

"You have three choices: you can go straight to heaven or straight to hell."

"I can chose where I go, wait whats the third choice?"

"With the third choice, you get to choose a world to live in. It can be the world of your dreams."

I smile at the third choice. I know where I want to go.

"Can you send me to Equestria, as a Pegasus?" I questioned, hoping that He could do it.

"Yes, I know the world you speak of. A world that you and so many people have come to love."

I almost passed out from excitement. I steadied myself before speaking. "So I can really go there?"

"Yes, you will appear there at your current age of 17. No one will know you; you will live there till you die again."

"Will I still have my current memory?" I asked. I hope I do; I already know everything about it and the ponies there.

"Yes, you will keep your current memory. Now close your eyes, and when you open them. You will be in Equestria."

I closed my eyes as fast as I could. When I opened them, I was standing in a forest. I look around excitedly.

I looked down at my hoofs, which had boots and something like arm bands on them. My fur was a light blue, cyan, maybe? My tail was black with a thick red streak in it, so that means my mane was also black with a red streak.

I looked at my wings excitedly and stretched them out, surprised that I could do that without thinking about it. I then looked back at my flank, but a small black cape-like coat and a tight suit covered it.

"This is so awesome?" I said to myself. I reached up to my face and felt something like goggles.

I then looked back at my wings and smiled; I wondered how easy it was to fly. Let's find out.

I flapped my wings slowly, then faster. I rose a few feet.

"Nice, let's see what I can do." I flapped my wings hard and went straight up into the sky.

I looked down into the forest below. I wonder if that's the Everfree forest. I scanned the landscape before me, looking for any buildings or towns. To the north is a town; that must be Ponyville. Past Ponyville is a farm, which should be Sweet Apple Acres.

"Umm, looks different in the show. I could head towards Ponyville or just stay here and practice flying."

I hover in place for a few seconds, thinking about what I should do.

I descend slowly to the ground. I take a few steps, amazed at how natural it feels to walk on all fours.

Wait, I need a name, I can't use my real name, ummm how about Girokon? I used that name before in a few fan fictions and I kind of look like him. Yeah that sounds good, Girokon the fastest pegasus alive, or maybe second.

I should learn how to fly before going anywhere else. I flap my wings again and go straight up above the trees. I think I know how to do this.

I will myself forward like I do when I walk, and I fly forward slowly. I smile, "Let's go faster." I will myself forward, and I start flying straight ahead, fast.

I stopped when I saw a small blur of color far ahead of me in the clouds. Then I looked down and saw a yellow-looking pony walking along a trail with a few small animals around it.

Hmmm, who should I talk to first? The pegasus or the yellow pony, which I think is Fluttershy. I guess I'll go to Fluttershy since she's closer.

I flew down and started walking her way. "Hey, what are you doing?" I said once I was a few feet away.

She jumped and let out a small scream, which also scared me.

"Ahhh!" I take a step back, "Are you okay?"

She looks away, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I let out a small laugh and straightened up, trying to look tough. "What? Me scared? You just surprised me. So what's your name?"

"Fluttershy." She said lightly.

"What? Sorry I didn't hear that."

"Flutershy." She said a little louder.

"Oh, that's a nice name. Well, my name is Girokon, but you can call me Giro. Nice to meet you, Fluttershy." I put my hoof out for her to shake.

She reached out slowly and shook it lightly.

"I'm sorry, but I must get those animals to the pond so they can drink, " she said in a small voice.

"That's okay; I saw another pony I would like to meet," I said as I rose into the air.

"Okay. It was nice meeting you." She said as she trotted away, the small animals in tow.

I smiled and took off towards the second pony, already knowing who it was.

Once I was where I had seen the second pony, there was nothing around except for clouds. Then I looked up and saw a colorful tail hanging off a cloud.

There she is, now, to make it look like I was just flying by. I flew back a little and flew upwards toward the cloud with the pony on it.

Once I was close, I went just a few feet above the cloud. I looked down and saw her lying there, probably either asleep or relaxing.

I stopped and said, "Hey, are you that pony who is the best flyer in all of Equestria?" I said, trying to sound impressed.

She opened her eyes, looked up, and grinned, "Yes, I am. You are looking at the fastest and bravest pony in Equestria."

I landed on the cloud. "So I heard right. You can also perform a Sonic Rainboom, right?"

"Yep, that's right, I'm the only one who can do it."

"I can tell," I say, almost a little bored.

She looked me over. "Nice clothes; what are you supposed to be?"

I thought for a second before coming up with an idea. "Oh, those clothes? I'm just a retired guard, is all."

She looked unimpressed. "I know too many retired guards. You're nothing special. I'm heading up to my house. Don't follow."

I tried to hide my disappointment. There goes my chance at impressing Dash. "Well, okay, nice meeting you then, I guess."

With a heavy sigh, I jumped off the cloud, twisting mid-air, and flew toward the small town.

A day in the mind of a stoner brony

Chapter 12

I awoke with a smile on my face. The tension and pressure from the past few days gone. Waking up to no worries is the best. But the best part is waking up with my lover next to me, snuggled up close and hoof over my chest.

I smiled to myself, remembering last night. That was my first time, and with a pony! I don't care, still felt great.

I looked over at Twilight, still asleep. I nudged her with my nose.

She slowly opened her eyes and blinked at me. She began to smile brightly, "Good morning Lance."

I smiled back, "Morning Twilight." I gave her a peck on the cheek.

She blushed, "Last night was interesting."

I smiled, hell yeah it was, "It sure was. I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime." I said as I stroked her slightly messed up mane.

She smiled and sat up, "Oh no! I forgot I told Spike I would be back before it became to late!"

I sat up next to her and put a hoof over her, "I'm sure hes okay Twilight."

She looked at me and smiled, "Maybe, but I still need to get back to check on him."

I nodded, "We can go back to Ponyville, I have nothing to do today."

"Thank you Lance, now let me get my hair done and we'll head out."

"Alright, I'll be down stairs." I said as I stood and left the room.

When I closed it behind me and turned, I was greeted by David, grinning from ear to ear.

I looked at him strangely, "What?"

He nodded, putting on a smirk, "I heard you and Twilight last night."

My eyes widened in surprise, "What! I mean.. What are you talking about."

He laughed at me, "Dude, I heard her screams and moans through the walls. I also heard you moaning."

I shook my head, "No! I wasn't moaning, she was the one doing the moaning."

He smiled victoriously, "So you admit to having sex with her then."

Damn it! He tricked me into answering him, "Well, that's one thing you don't have and probably won't get."

David smiled and laughed loudly, "Oh yeah. I have something you don't."

"What would that be?"

He turned his flank to me to reveal a... Cutie mark! It was a paint brush with a canvas next to it.

"How did you..."

He smiled, "I figured out that I was great at drawing. Then this baby appeared. To bad you don't have one."

And I'm still a blank flank, "I'll have one soon."

"What are you good at then?"

I have no idea, "I'll figure it out."

"Of course you will." He said while slugging me in the arm playfully.

_________________________________________________________

Greg's eyes popped open.

Where Am I?! Did I forget to... Oh that's right. I'm in magic talking pony land, sweet.

He nodded his head lazily and stood up. Books about magic falling off him.

Wow man! What was I doing last night? That's right, learning magic to bring my magic plant here. Once I figure it out...awww yeah!

Greg walked over to the door and turned the nod and pushed. The door didn't open.

What the hell man! Why won't this damn door... Oh, its pull not push. He pulled the door open and walked out into the hall.

He heard two voices coming from the stairs. But who cares, he needs to get out into the environment and find that purple plant that was in that one book.

He walked over to the front door with a lag in his step. He looked up the stairs to see Lance and David talking.

Greg shrugged and opened the door and left the house.

That magic plant grows in... umm.... what was that place called... That's right! It grows in... shit I forget. Maybe if I walk to around, I may see the magic plant.

He began walking down the street.

A white mare walked up to him and looked at him strangely, "I do say, but what are you doing here in Canterlot.'

Greg looked over at her and got a stupid grin on his face, "Dude! A talking marshmallow! Fucking sweet!"

The mare looked him over, "Are you right in the head?"

Gregg let out a messed up laugh, one drunk person would use, "Right in the head? I think... I think I should be asking you if you was... what was that again... Shit! Oh that's right... How much for five minutes?"

The mare looked at him like he was crazy, which he seemed like, "I beg your pardon?"

He reached into his saddlebag David gave him and pulled out two bits that Lance had given him, "Here, that should cover it... you don't look like your worth more than that."

The mare, finally understanding, backed away in disgust, "Sir!"

Greg stood on his two back hoofs and waved her off with his top two, "Awww, screw you. You seem like the stuck up kind anyway."

She turned and put her head in the air and walked off.

Greg laughed loudly, so that everypony could hear him.

He put another stupid grin on his face and began walking away. Magic plant that increases a unicorns powers, I'm on my way.

______________________________________________________

Winona paced back and forth. She stomped and stomped her paws against the ground.

Stupid Louie, doing that and running away. How dare that mutt! She stopped her paws again and barked loudly.

If I have pups, I'm sending them all his way!

________________________________________________________

Greg stood in the library of Lance's home, holding the purple plant the book said would increase a unicorns powers and give them all knowledge of magic for a short time.

He smiled to him self, now to just eat this magical plant and I'll be able to bring my magic plant here.

He swallowed the purple plant whole and coughed. That taste like crap!

Oh wait a second, whats this strange feeling in my stomach! I think its... its.

A pop came from behind him. Greg started laughing crazily. Awww man, just gas.

His head started to spin out of control. Wow man, it feels like I'm high.

There was a pulsing in his brain, followed by a cold feeling.

He looked straight up and yelled, "I know every thing!"

Greg looked over at the plain old plant on the table and focused his new found magic on it. The plant glowed and disappeared for a second. It reappeared as something a different kind of plant. Marijuana.

Greg smiled to him self. Hell yeah! I've brought weed to pony land!

He nodded to himself a few times before smiling. Idea! He picked up a pile of scrolls and placed them on the table. Once again focusing his magic on them. They to disappeared and reappeared. This time as something different.

Greg jumped with joy. I brought blunts here to! I can now have an endless supply of them.

His head began to spin again.

He shook his head and blinked. Awww, there goes my magic pony powers. But at least I have the weed!

A smiled formed on his face, "Party time!"

_______________________________________________________

I walked up the stairs to my room. I'm so glad to be home.

After taking Twilight home, I went to work for over time. Which was harder than normal work. Then had to fly home, in a damn wind storm. That is hard as hell to do.

I sighed and walked up to my door. I put my hoof on the nob but stopped. I smell smoke, but not just normal smoke. Smoke with a scent behind it. Kinda like...

I walked over to Greg's door and opened. I was met with a wall of smoke that blew out of the room and into my face. I coughed loudly.

"Lance, buddy, amigo, dude! How ya.... what was I saying... Who am I talking to?"

I looked in the room to see Greg, a blunt in his mouth. Where the hell did you get that?! "Greg! Where did you get that thing?!"

He laughed, "Magic book told me to go to forest and pick magic purple flower. It... it gave me something... Oh yeah, it gave me magic to bring my magic plant here."

I knew I should have locked the library last night. "Greg, put it out. Its unhealthy for you."

He shook his head, "Have you seen the news man! It can save... save... save something."

I shook my head and walked in, "Give it."

He turned his head, the blunt still in his mouth, "No!"

Damn, its like talking to a child, "Hand it over. Now!'

He turned to me, "Want it, come get it." He stood up and made a brake for the door. But was to out of it to know where the door was and slammed into the wall, hard.

I smiled to my self, "Now, hand it over."

He looked up at me dazed, "You'll have to dig it out." He said as he swallowed the blunt, still light.

I winced, that had to burn going down.

Greg shook his head and looked up at me, "Get it now."

I laughed, I couldn't help it, "Dude, I hope that burns your ass coming out."

I walked out of the room laughing.

If only I was watching where I was going. The smoke must have made me sort of high, because I didn't see the stairs coming up.

I tripped on the top one and began to roll down them, my head connecting with each one.

A loud slam singled me hitting the bottom floor.

David ran out of his room and looked down, "Shit man! You okay."

I looked up, my vision doubled. "What do you think!" My head slumped back and I passed out.

EARTH: INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, NEW YORK CITY.

I opened my eyes and gasped loudly. I sat up quickly and looked around. A hospital? Good, David was able to get me to one.

I put my hands to my face... HANDS!

I looked down at myself. Human? I'm human again, what the hell is going on?!

"Lance! Your awake!" Said a familiar voice.

I looked over to see Jane. But how? "What the..."

She put her hand on my back, "I know, you want to know what happened."

Unsure of what to do, I nodded.

"When we was at the party, you fell back laughing when the clock struck twelve. But you didn't get back up. Luckily, you was just in a sort of coma."

A coma? A fucking coma! But, Equestria. The ponies. Twilight. It all looked and felt so real. This can't be!

I shook my head and pushed her hand off my back.

She smiled, "I know what your going through. Can I do anything?"

I looked at her blankly, "Leave."

She looked confused, "What?"

I looked back, slightly angered, "Leave now! Please."

She nodded and left the room.

How could all that be a dream. I could feel everything, see everything, taste everything! Please tell me god decided to take back the rapture!

I pulled the IV's out of my arms and stood. If that's true, then I don't want to live. I want to go back to Equestria!

A weird feeling came over me, like everything around me was sped up. Weird?

A voice, sweet and loving echoed through the room, "Lance, please be okay."

Twilight? Was that Twilight?

The feeling returned, this time it felt faster.

Again the same voice echoed through the room, "Lance, I found out something. Please wake up soon."

Whats going on here?

The feeling appeared again, this time more distressed, "Please, please wake up. I love you."

Then everything stopped, no sound, no movement, no nothing. Just me in a empty hospital room.

I walked to the window and looked down. Ten stories up huh?

The same voice, this time struck with a sadness that broke my heart, "If you don't wake up.. I don't think I can live much longer without you. I've been by your side this whole time, I can't bring my self to leave you."

I fell to my knees and started crying. Crying harder than I have ever before. I looked down to the street below. Nothing moving. A frozen world.

I shook my head, I can't keep going, not without her.

I stood and wiped my nose with my arm.

The voice returned, "I love you Lance."

I picked up a chair, and charged through the window.

I began falling, fast. As I fell, I had but one thought. I'm better off dead than with out her.

My body hit the concrete, but no pain was felt.

EQUESTRIA: PONYVILLE MEDICAL CENTER.

I felt my self coming to, like I was asleep for days.

Where am I? Please don't tell me I survived that fall.

"Lance!" Said a familiar, sweet and loved filled voice.

I looked over and almost screamed in delight. Twilight!

Tears filled her eyes, "Lance, they kept telling me you would never wake up. I knew they was wrong." She said as she jumped up on the hospital bed and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.

Whats going on? "What happened?"

She pulled back, a smile of joy on her face, "You was in a coma for awhile."

"How long is a while?"

She looked down then back up, "Almost two months."

I opened my eyes in shock. Two months! So I wasn't back on earth, it must have been a dream. A horrible dream.

"Two months!"

She nodded, "I haven't left your side since. I just couldn't bare leaving you in this small room alone."

I smiled and wrapped my hoofs around her, "I know, I think I heard you in a dream I was having."

She nuzzled my neck, "A dream?"

"Yeah. More like a nightmare."

She sat back, "A nightmare? What was it about?"

"I was back on earth, and this place was just a dream. I couldn't live without you, so I jumped..." I let my voice trail off.

Twilight smiled and pulled me into a tight hug, "Its okay Lance. Your back here, and I'm going to make sure you stay here."

I smiled and joined her in the embrace, "Thanks Twilight."

She then sat back and looked uneasy.

I looked at her, "Whats wrong Twilight?"

She gulped, "Lance, I have to tell you something the doctors told me a month ago."

What could it be? "What did they say?"

She looked down.

I put a hoof over her, "You can tell me."

She nodded and looked me in the eyes. "I'm pregnant."

New inventions

New inventions

Warning: I don't know if I'm going to write or not. Since its Christmas and all. So, no chapter update tomorrow, well, unless I feel up to it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Chapter 30

Malbatorus stood outside of Fluttershy's cottage. Well, he stood over it.

He had been staying in the forest next to Fluttershy's, and helping her out when ever he could. He loved going to Ponyville from time to time.

The ponies there use to hide in their homes when he came, but now they come out to greet him. They all know he's harmless.

Everything was going his way, except for one thing. Fluttershy.

He may like her and want to be with her, but she just views him as a friend and helper. Nothing more.

He sighed. Being a dragon hadn't been one of his best ideas.

_________________________________________________________

"Wake up!" Said a loving voice, which was accompanied by something not so loving. A pillow to the face.

Aaron groaned and sat up, and looked at Vinyl with fake anger, "I'm up! I'm up!" He crawled out of bed and groaned again. To damn early.

Vinyl laughed at him, "I told you not to party late last night."

He held up a hoof, "I know I know." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "Why did you wake me up early, and why are you up early? You usually sleep half the day before waking up."

She smiled, "We have a gig."

Aaron looked straight at her and grinned. Finally! A gig! He had been waiting for the chance to do a gig with Vinyl.

After their first night together, she had invited him to stay at her house for a while. While he was staying, she caught him singing. Long story short, she asked him to be her new singer. She DJ's and he sings.

"Sweet, where is it?" He said with a large smile on his face.

Vinyl grinned, "Are you ready for this? We are going to perform at Princess Luna's wedding!"

Aaron's eyes widened, "Really?! That would be like the biggest gig ever. Well, next to Princess Celestia's, but I don't think she'll be getting married anytime soon."

Vinyl nodded, still smiling, "This will be my... Our biggest gig ever. What are we going to play there?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow, doing a half smile and chuckled, "Oh, I know the perfect song."

"What is it?" She questioned.

He smirked, "I'll have to teach it to you first. Trust me, with me singing it, it will be awesome."

She took a step closer, "I trust you. Now, I want you to start teaching me the song now."

Aaron raised an eyebrow, "Why start learning it now?"

She smiled, "Wedding is in two days."

Aaron was shocked, "Two days?! Well, follow me. We need to start learning."

She laughed and put a hoof over his neck, "Come on teacher."

_________________________________________________________

I was laying down on the couch downstairs at my house. Bored out of my mind.

Peter had taught me a little, but had to leave early. Now, I'm here with no one to keep me entertained. Even Twilight had to leave, something about helping Pinkie Pie.

Today was going to be boring as hell. Like seriously, there's no video games or computers here.

I began to hear a loud noise outside. I've heard something like it before, but I can't place my finger on it. After listening to it for a few more seconds, I noticed it was the sound a fighter jet would make. But there's no jets in Equestria.

I sat up and walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back a little. At first, there was nothing in the sky. But then I saw what looked like a pony flying. But not a Pegasus. This pony had a black box on its back and large metal like wings on either side. A sort of engine was on the back, giving it more speed.

Strange, I didn't know they made those here.

The pony looked my way and seemed to adjust its goggles. It turned towards my house and sped towards it.

When it was close to the ground, the wings snapped back into the box. And the pony skidded to a halt outside the door. Soon came the sound of knocking.

I grinned, I knew who the pony was. I walked to the door and opened it, "Well hey there Frederic."

He was looking at me strangely and smiling, "Now how did you get your body back?"

I laughed and moved aside for him to enter, as he walked in, I answered, "Lets just say don't allow Greg to perform spells on you."

Frederic chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind."

I looked at the device on his back, "So, whats with the fancy flying machine."

He looked back at it and grinned, "This here is a new project I've been working on. It will allow all ponies to fly, even if they aren't Pegasus."

I looked it over, "Must have taken a while to build."

He nodded, "It did. Four years of work. I just finished it the other day, this was just a test flight. And I must say, it's performance was excellent."

I nodded, very impressive. I looked at his goggles and saw a small button on the side, "What's with the goggles?"

He smiled proudly, "Those goggles are a new design by me. They can zoom in and out and see in fog and darkness. Their limit is over a mile, which would be impossible without magic. I love being a unicorn. Anyway, I made them for the Wonderbolt's. Their manger was complaining about them getting injured during training and shows due to nighttime darkness or heavy fog."

I was impressed, "Can you get me a pair like that?"

He smirked, "Do you know how much those cost to make?"

Damn, "No, probably a lot."

He nodded, "A lot indeed. They are to expensive to just give away to just anypony." He reached into his bag with his magic, "But your not just anypony." He threw a pair of red tinted goggles at me, which I caught. "Your my friend."

I smiled, "Thank you Frederic, is there anything I can do to repay you?"

He nodded, "Just one thing."

"Alright, what do you need me to do?"

"Come to my wedding. I need a best man."

Best man! Why me, he barely knows me. "I would love to be your best man, but why me? Why not one of your other friends."

Frederic chuckled, "Do I look like I have other friends? I mean, I've been in that workshop almost the whole time I've been here. You are my first real friend I've made here."

I held out my hand for him to shake, "Well then, I'll be there."

He reached out and shook my hand, which felt strange. I mean, have you tried to shake a ponies or horses hoof? "I'll pick you up a before the wedding, also, try to wear something nice. Those clothes are... how do I say this nicely... Stupid."

I laughed, "I know, I'll try to get some before the wedding."

He turned for the door, "You better, I'll tell Luna to tell Celestia about your appearance. I am now off, time to test this baby out some more."

When he walked out of the door and closed, a loud boom was heard as he took off.

That device he has is pretty awesome.

I looked down at the goggles in my hands. Just like the ones I wear as a pony, just a little heavier.

I tried to put them on, but they was to big. They would only fit a ponies head. Damn.

I walked up stairs to my room and placed them on my desk. I picked up one of the books I had recently grabbed from the library and began to read about the pony and griffin war. It seems that there had been a war over a thousand years ago, or to be more precise, it was one thousand two hundred and eighty three years ago. A very interesting subject.

I wonder where the griffin territory is now? I mean, I know their out there, but where? Maybe me and my friends could go searching for it in the near or distant future.

I laughed at the thought of me and the other bronies going through the wilderness, facing who knows what and finding the lost, okay maybe not lost, city of the griffin's.

I shook my head and continued to read.

living Their Dream! Part two

Living their dream crossover: Part 2

Chapter 44

[Lance's P.O.V]

Me and Omnius walked in silence back to town. It was strange that he was silent, since he's usually talking.

Before we reached Ponyville, he stopped. I looked over at him, "What?"

He began to rub his beard, and thoughtfully said, "We've been to your house and Fluttershy's. Where are we going now?"

I scratched my head. "I have no idea actually. I can't think of any other places to show you."

He pushed his glasses back up, "Well, we can go to Sweet Apple Acres."

I nodded, I haven't been there in a while. "Alright." I unfolded my wings, "Race you there."

He smirked, "You're on."

I held up a hoof, stopping him, and said, "First, some rules; no human form, no weird alien technology, no powers, and no cheating."

He frowned, "That's no fun."

My turn to smirk, "It's fair."

He sighed and undid his wings, "Fine."

We lined up and he began to count down, "Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven..."

"Just say go!" I said a little annoyed.

"SixfivefourthreetwooneGO!" He said at a Pinkie Pie speed.

I shot ahead at a break neck speed. I wasn't going to lose this time.

I soon reached the streets of Ponyville, dodging ponies and stray objects.

I saw a cart being pushed by an old pony and yelled, "Get out of the way!" Well, the pony jumped out of the way, but they left the cart in the street.

I slammed into it and burst through it. I swayed in the air, dazed. That wood hurts!

The world around me spun and swayed. But I continued to fly towards Sweet Apple Acres.

When I glanced behind me, I didn't see Omnius. Poor guy couldn't keep up.

I finally reached the farm. I pushed myself and flew down a row of apple trees. When I few out of them and into the open, I just pulled my wings in and let myself slam into the ground.

The momentum I had gained sent me skidding across the ground.

When I finally came to a rest, I began to try to control my heavy breathing.

As I lay there, somepony walked up to me.

I looked up to see Omnius, smirking.

"Beat ya Lance."

I shook my head, "No, I beat you. There's no way you could have gotten here before me."

He nodded, grinning, and said, "Yeah there is. Magic."

I looked at him confused, "What? I said no magic!"

He smirked, "You said no powers. You didn't say anything about magic."

I stood and panted, "Well, how can you use magic then?"

"Simple. I became a unicorn when you weren't looking," he said pointing to a horn pointing out of his head.

I looked at his sides and saw he didn't have wings. "But how?"

He shrugged. "I'll tell you later." He turned and looked towards the barn. "What do you say we go see Applejack?"

I nodded, "Sounds good to me. Lead the Mr. Roboto!"

He laughed loudly, "Finally! A sense of humor from you!" He started walking towards the barn, "Follow!"

I chuckled and began to follow Omnius towards the barn.

[Omnius's P.O.V]

I trotted down the path, wondering if what I suspected was true. Wait, you didn't see my thought process because you were looking at Lance's thoughts, right? I should explain what I was thinking then.

See, I was a little worried. If the Timber Wolves were out and about in the forest, does that mean that they're headed towards the farm? It might just be the worries of an old fool, but I still wanted to make sure that everything was alright. They might not be the Apples I know and love, but in a way, they still are!

…Remember that little intro summary I put for this? Yeah, to reiterate: Just because I Travel through Time, Space, and Matter, it doesn't mean I understand it!

Anyways, we came up to the farm, and I spotted Applejack, who was unsurprisingly relieving a tree of its apples with a well placed buck. I grinned, glad that this was still as I remembered it in all four worlds (yeah, a fourth one revealed itself to my memory. As if things weren't conflicting enough as it is).

Lance waved at Applejack, and called out, "Hey A.J!"

She stopped mid-buck, and looked at us. Smiling, she wiped some sweat off of her brow, and trotted over to us, saying, "Well Howdy Lance! It sure is good to see ya again! Who's yer friend?"

"The irony of that statement," I muttered under my breath, a small smile on my face. I held out a hoof, and said in a louder voice, "Name's Omnius! It's a real pleasure to meetcha!"

She took my hoof, and before she could violently shake it, I quickly shook her hoof as hard as I could, keeping the same friendly smile on my face. Applejack seemed to take that as a challenge, and she started shaking my hoof in return.

After a few minutes of both of us shaking the other's hoof, Lance decided to intervene by saying, "Hey, what's Apple Bloom doing with that hammer?"

Both of us stopped, and quickly turned in the direction of the barn. Not seeing anything except for Big Macintosh pulling a huge cart load of apples, I looked back at Lance, and said, "She's not there!"

"Wait, how would ya know what Apple Bloom looks like?" Applejack asked suspiciously.

Cripes! Activate Excuse Plan Alpha-Niner! "Well, it's just that there's no pony there except for the big pony, and Apple Bloom sounds like a filly's name, doesn't it?" I said quickly, raising an eyebrow for effect.

"Hm, I reckon you've got a point there," Applejack conceded, shrugging. Phew, that's another crisis averted!

XHXHXHXHXHXHX

We ended up staying for a couple of hours, just chatting about random things in general, and thankfully, no sudden animal disappearances (although I was kind of shocked to hear that Willie had puppies now) ruined the friendly moment.

I can't say the same thing about the voices in my head though.

"Hello? Traveler, can you hear me?"

I nodded at something Applejack had said, and silently thought, "Oh great, I thought I got rid of those voices in Akapoko!"

"What?"

"Just a small joke," I thought, smiling. "Princess Celestia, I presume?"

The presence in my head seemed to smile, and answered, "Yes. I am sorry to trouble you, but I need to speak with you, here, in Canterlot."

I sighed, and said/thought, "Hey, Giro, I just remembered, Princess Celestia needs to see me up in Canterlot." I turned to Applejack, and said, "Sorry to cut this short, but hey, duty calls, you know?"

She nodded, and then asked, "Wait, you work for the Princess?"

"Um…yeah, I'm the, uh, Royal…Ooh! I'm the Royal Traveler!" I spat out, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Royal Traveler?" Both Lance and A.J said at the same time.

"That's right! I go around and make sure that things are working smooth, and I take care of any baddies that might show up," I said, nodding.

"Nice save," Princess Celestia mumbled in my head.

"Quiet you!" I said out loud. The other two looked at me strangely, and I added, "Is what I would say to a villain I just caught! Anyways, it's a fairly new position, so you probably haven't heard of it. Welp, I'm off!"

"Hold on, I'm coming with you," Lance said, following me as I galloped away. "You just made that up!"

"Quiet you!" I repeated, smiling. "Technically, I do work for the Princesses! Anyways, I just heard Celestia in my head," I explained, going at a break-neck trot, which Lance easily kept up with. Show-off.

"You what?"

"Long story, anyways, she wants me to come up to Canterlot to speak with her," I replied, shifting into Pegasus form. "Now come on, let's fly!"

"Alright," Lance said, looping in the air. "Let's break wind!"

I laughed, and said, "Lance, keep up that humor, and we'll get along just fine!"

We flew to Canterlot, flying as fast as we could (Okay, I flew as fast as I felt like going, and Lance just easily kept up with me…Shut up).

As soon as we hit Canterlot, we stopped in front of the gates to the Royal Palace…place. Damn it, I forgot what it's called! I really should start writing these down.

The gates magically opened, and I looked at Lance. He did a mock bow, and said, "Age before beauty."

"I hate it when people use that," I mumbled. I walked in, Lance close behind, and we walked up the great stone steps.

[Lance's P.O.V]

As we entered the palace, Omnius turned to me, "I'm going to talk to the Princess, alone. Uhhh, meet me here... I guess when ever you think I'm done."

I shrugged, "Alright, you better not leave." He chuckled, "I won't." He then began to walk up the large stairs.

I looked around, where is Frederic?

I walked up the stairs and looked into the ballroom.

Frederic wasn't there, but I did see somepony that I've been wanting to talk to. Octavia.

I smiled, finally, I get to talk to her. I adjusted my goggles and walked towards the stage.

I jumped up on stage and smiled, "Hey."

She jumped slightly and turned to look at me, "Uhh, hey."

I looked at her cello, "What are you doing?"

She looked at her cell and smiled, "Oh, I was just practicing for a garden party in a few weeks."

I nodded while smiling, "Cool." What? I'm at a lose for words right now.

She looked me over and grinned, "Now I remember you. You and your band played at your wedding, right?"

I chuckled, "We're not a band, we was just doing that since it was a special occasion."

She nodded, still grinning, "You were pretty good up there. I loved the song you sang, I've never heard it before."

My smile brightened, she was complementing me! Me! Thank you Peter for the guitar lessons, "Thanks! I worked really hard to learn that song. It's very difficult to play."

She nodded again, "I know what you mean. It takes me hours sometimes to learn a new song."

Hours? damn, she learns fast. It took me a few days of constant practice to play/sing Paralyzer. "Hours? You learn fast, huh?"

She chuckled, "Well, it is my talent. Music just comes natural to me."

"Lucky, you have a useful talent. Mine isn't something to brag about."

She cocked her head, "What is your talent?"

I smiled sheepishly and reached back to my flank and moved the clothes around till my cutie mark was exposed.

Octavia looked at it and put a hoof over her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh, "A test dummy? How did you get that as a cutie mark?"

I laughed, "Well, I guess because I'm always the one who has to try everything first. I would rather have a instrument or something cool as a cutie mark instead."

She let out the laugh she had been holding, she then looked at me and smiled, "I like your cutie mark. It's exciting and adventurous."

I grinned, "I hadn't thought of it like that." Coo, so I'm considered exciting and adventurous? I like it.

She put her hoof to her chin, "I have a idea."

I raised an eyebrow while smiling, "What is it?"

She put her hoof back down and smiled excitingly, "I was thinking, what if you and I got together sometime and performed together. you and your guitar, and me and my cello, what do you think?"

I almost jumped with excitement at the idea of playing with her, (Keep those dirty thoughts out of your heads!) this was something I've always wanted to do. "Yes! I think that is a great idea. When can we get together?"

She shrugged, "I don't really know, I'll contact you when I find a place where we can perform. Also, could you teach me one of the songs you know?"

I smiled, "Sounds good. And yes, I'll have to do some digging around, but I'm sure I can find a song we can play together on."

She clapped her hoofs together, "Excellent! I can't wait!"

I laughed at her display of happiness, "It will be awesome. Do you want some help with anything?"

She chuckled, "Oh I'm fine. I was just about to leave the Palace and return to my home. Would you mind escorting me to the door?"

I smiled brightly, "It would be my pleasure madam."

She giggled and picked up her cello, and strung it over her back. How she was able to carry it, I do not know.

We walked out of the ballroom, down the stairs, and to the large doors.

I turned to her and bowed, "Have a good evening."

She smiled, "You too." She opened the doors and turned, "I forgot to ask, but what is your name?"

I chuckled, "Girokon, but you can call me Giro..." Maybe I can try this, "Or Lance if you want."

She grinned, "I like that name, Girokon. Very interesting sounding. Mine is Octavia."

I nodded and smiled, "You can call me what ever you want, Miss Octavia."

She giggled and walked out the door, "I'll contact you when I find a place to perform."

As the doors closed, I turned and watched the stairs, come on Omnius!

Twenty minutes later, he finally came down them.

He walked up to me and smiled, "Where to now?"

I cocked my head, "What did the Princess have to talk to you about?"

He shrugged, "Just about the Rapture and how everyone was spread out all over Equestria. She also told me about Luna's new husband, and new God of Good."

"God of Good?"

He smirked, "I'll tell you about them later. Right now, I'm starving. Know anywhere?"

I smiled, "Yes, there's a nice restaurant here in Canterlot."

He nodded, "Lead the way my striped friend."

I shook my head with a laugh, "Okay, follow me my goat bearded friend."

As I walked out the door, I heard him mumble, "I'll get him for that one."

I just smiled and continued out the door, Omnius close behind.

Crossover of consciences: The Assassin's games, part 2

Crossover of consciences: The Assassin's games, part 2

Crossover with 'Three of Me Vs School Society' by Killjoy.

Graze
[My conscience Kill writes in the brackets and bolded]

< My conscience Joy writes in these and Italics>

{ I respond in these}

Lance

[ My conscience Break writes in these bracket and bolded]
< My consciences Dawn writes in these and italics >
{ I respond in these }

Note: KillJoy couldn't write today. Well, he wrote the first scene, but the rest is my doing.

Chapter 56: Crossover of consciences :The Assassin Games

Graze's POV

While Lance and Drax boarded the doors and the windows, I was on the balcony scoping out the area and taking out any passerby's.

[ Okay, this is really boring]
< Yeah! There are barely any ponies left!>

I looked through the telescope which was usually placed outside for stargazing when suddenly, something had caught my interest," Fuck.... Cody and Ditzy"

[ YOU BUCKING SERIOUS?!]
< HOW DID THEY SURVIVE UP TIL NOW?!>
{ Luck I guess}

I entered the house from my previous scanning of the area, progressing down the stairs where Lance and Drax were talking," Hey guys, I'm going to go out for a little while."

Lance looked at me," Are you mad?! There are ponies who are probably hiding around every corner waiting for some ass to walk by!"

" Lance, I'm sure he has a good reason... Don't you Graze?" Drax supported me.

I nodded and lied," Some ponies with some tactical grenades... Might be useful, so I'm going to scavenge."

".....Alright bro, just remember no violence," Lance allowed me to leave.

[ Kill, good luck with whatever you are going to do] Break said.
[ Don't worry brony, I'm gonna be back] Both of them shared a bro-hoof.

< Joy! Don't do anything stupid, that is Kill's job> Dawn said.
< Ha! I know, we're gonna come back, don't worry > Joy replied.

I then closed the door exiting the tree house.

" I don't trust Graze with this one," Lance said," Something is off about what he said."

" C'mon bro, give him a chance," Drax said as Lance walked up to the balcony," Hey where are you going?"

Lance didn't reply as he was busy looking through the scope," DRAX! WE NEED TO GO! GRAZE IS HEADING AFTER DITZY AND CODY!"

" What!"

" I know Graze, he is going to let Ditzy live and he will be eliminated if he doesn't shoot!"

" C'MON WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!" Drax said pushing Lance out the door.

I ran quickly away from the house covering a lot of ground between my two teammates," I'm going to eliminate them."

[ There is more to it than the game isn't it]
{ I need to get rid of Cody and talk to Ditzy! Something important!}
< GRAZE! NO VIOLENCE! >
[ Yeah, as much as I hate too admit with Joy, I want that prize and what could be so important? ]
{ Heh, my anniversary.}

I ran to the spot where Ditzy and Cody had been seen and luckily, they were still there.

Should I just pop a cap in his ass and talk to Ditzy? Nah... too simple.

I rushed and hid in a nearby bush rustling it attracting attention to myself.

" Hey Ditzy? Did that bush just move?" Cody asked.

[ C'mon Graze, think of something ]

I had a reoccuring idea from my previous hunting match where my friends were game, I chuckled reminiscing of the moment and imitated some animal noises.

" KAW! KAW!" I mimicked the sounds of a crow.

" That's strange, what is a bird doing in that bush?" Cody asked himself. I facehoofed remembering Peter in the other fake bushes doing this same trick," Stay here Ditzy and keep a lookout."

Ditzy then turned her back protecting Cody's flank and walked backwards as he progressed to my bush..... ha... my bush.....

Anyways.

Cody then looked closer into the bush and saw my two eyes, I whispered for only him to hear," Fuck you," shooting him with a magical rounding and sending him to the loser's booth.

" HUH? CODY?!" Ditzy panicked.

I then too pulled her in the bush and disarmed her and walked outside in the open.

'' GRAZE! YOU JUST SHOT CODY!" Ditzy shouted.

" That's the point of the game, anyways, I wanted to ask something really important."

Her rage subsided as she paid close attention to this happening conversation," What do you need?"

" Well you see, it kinda has been well over a month since Ditzy and I were going out and I wanted to get her a gift."

"Mhmmmm"

" And since you are her, would you mind telling me what type of jewelry you like?"

" That's so sweet, well, I like--" She then disappeared.

My mouth opened in shock as I was now about to get probably the most vital piece of information.

" GRAZE! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" Lance shouted," YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SHOT!''

Honestly, I wanted to rip Lance limb from limb and feed him his legs," Lance.... I FUCKING DISARMED HER!" Showing him the bracelet.

Lance's POV

I smiled awkwardly, "Oops... my bad."

[Lance... you're an idiot...]
{I know...}

Graze stomped his hoof, "I was asking her a very important question!"

As I opened my mouth to say sorry, a ball of magic flew past my face.

I jumped back and saw Peter and David, hiding behind a trash can, carefully rolling it towards us.

Graze screamed in rage, still pissed at me, "I'm going to win this!"

I saw Peter take aim at him, "Fucking move!" I jumped into him, knocking him out of the way just in time.

I looked back to see Drax running towards them, dodging their quickly fired shots. He jumped over the barrel and turned to face Peter, "ONE!" He shot Peter in the chest.

[See ya Peter!]

Drax shifted his aim to David, "TWO!" David jumped up, but couldn't avoid the shot at that close range.

I nodded, "Good job Drax."

He walked over, "All in a days work my friend."

I held up my hoof, "Brohoof. You've earned it."

Drax smiled and raised his hoof, but seconds before it made contact, he disappeared.

"I got somepony!" The pony responsible for shooting Drax yelled out.

I looked over to the one who did it and my mouth hung open. The Mayor!

[Well that was unexpected...]

I raised my hoof, "VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE!" I fired twice.

[Rule number two: The Double Tap.]
{Will you be quiet! I need to concentrate!}

The first shot missed, but the second hit her left leg.

I turned to Graze, "Now its just us."

He sighed, "Damn..."

We began walking along the buildings, staying low.

As we passed a small store, I looked in and smirked. "Wait, I just found two targets."

Graze stopped, "Who is it?"

I smirked again, "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

He chuckled, "The filly's?"

I nodded, "They're mine."

[Child molester!]

[Yeah, but I can still say that!]

I rolled my eyes and took a few steps back.

Graze looked at me, "What are you doing?"

I grinned, "Being a jackass!" I ran forward and jumped through the window, shattering it in the process. I landed on a small table, standing straight up.

Both of the filly's screamed in surprise.

I aimed at the first one, Silver Spoon, "I fucking hate you!" I fired, hitting her in the face.

I shifted my aim to Diamond Tiara, "I FUCKING HATE YOU MORE!" I fired three times, all hitting her.

[OVERKILL!]

Graze stepped inside the store, "Dude, what the fuck was that?!"

I smiled, "I just hate those two."

He looked at me strangely, "Why?"

I shrugged, "Lets just say they mad fun of my looks."

He chuckled, "I see... We should run now."

I looked at him, "Why?"

He pointed out the broken window. "Aaron and Zorrow."

I looked out, "Damn, they've teamed up!"

Zorrow and Aaron

Aaron walked along side Zorrow, let him protect him.

They had teamed up, mostly because Aaron had no weapon and Zorrow did.

Aaron sighed, "This sucks man."

Zorrow nodded, "I know right?"

"I FUCKING HATE YOU MORE!" Somepony screamed out from a nearby store.

Zorrow looked that way, "What the... Was that Lance?"

Aaron nodded, "I think so."

Zorrow began moving towards the building, "Come on, lets get him."

As they advance on the building, Lance and Graze burst out, running at full speed towards Sugar Cube Corner. As they ran, Graze dropped a bracelet.

Aaron's eyes opened wide and he made a mad dash for the fallen bracelet.

He scooped it up and put it on.

"Nice, now we will win this." Zorrow said as he walked up behind him.

Aaron smirked, "You mean, I'm going to win this." He spun around and fired.

Zorrow didn't have time to react as the ball of magic hit him in the chest.

Aaron smirked, "Now to get Lance and Graze."

Lance's POV

I jumped through the door and moved aside as Graze ran in after me, "Damn that was close!"

I slammed the door shut and slumped against it, "Now what?"

Graze shrugged, "I have no idea."

Suddenly, we heard somepony whimpering.

I stood, "Who's here?"

Graze walked between the roles of tables, "Dude, its Fluttershy!"

I ran over to see her on her stomach, hooves over her eyes.

I looked at Graze, "You do it, I can't shot her."

[She's so cute!] Kill said.
Joy remarked.
[...Fuck you...]

Graze raised his hoof and looked at her. He held his hoof in the air for a few seconds, "I can't do it!"

[Pussies. Let me do this.] Break said.

My hoof suddenly raised and fired.

Fluttershy vanished.

{WHAT THE FUCK BREAK!}

[I give no fucks about what you two say!]

Graze chuckled, "That was pretty damn funny!"

I rolled my eyes, "Why did I have to be the one to do it?!" I turned and walked for the door.

I opened the door and walked out. The second I stepped out, a magical ball (PERVS! GET BACK I SAY!) flew past me and hit the door frame.

Aaron stomped his hooves, "So damn close."

I chuckled, "Work on your aim." I shot him, sending him to the losers box.

[YES! We are just to awesome!]

Graze walked up, "Was he the last one?"

"THERE ARE NOW THREE PLAYER'S LEFT!" Frederic said in his booming voice.

I looked over to Graze, "Ready for a hunt?"

He smiled and... a ball of magic hit him in the face. He instantly vanished.

I looked around, where did that shot come from?!

I began to panic and began to fire in every direction.

[WHERE IS THE SHOOTER!]

Suddenly, I saw a ball of magic flying towards me. I smirked, easy dodge. I jumped to the side... right into the path of the magical ball.

Shit!

[FFFUUUUU!]

The ball hit me, sending me to the losers box.

Graze ran over to me, "Who got us!"

I shrugged, "I don't know!"

Spike

Spike lowered his arm and smiled. He did it! He took out the last two players! He wins!

Iron Clad appeared in front of him, smiling, "Well, you winning was unexpected."

Spike scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I though I would get out." He then became excited, "So, what did I win?"

Iron Clad chuckled, "Have you ever wanted to go Skiing?"

Spike shrugged, "Maybe..."

Iron Clad smiled, "Well, you've just won a all expense paid trip to a local Ski Resort in the mountains. You're allowed to bring as many friends as you want."

Spike smiled, "Sweet! Thanks Iron Clad!"

Iron Clad grinned and turned, "No prob. Now, to just return everypony back to their homes."

Next day: Lance's POV

I watch Graze get ready to leave.

He looked over at me, pissed, "I can't believe Spike won!"

[What'a twist!]

I nodded, "I know right! Damn, we was so close."

[Fuck that! We should have won!]

Graze sighed, "Well, I'm about to leave."

[Like hell you are! Me and Kill have a score to settle. Right Kill?!] Break said pointed at Kill.
[Oh hell yeah! Graze, we are staying to fight!]

Graze shook his head, "Nah, I'm to tired to fight Lance."

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah me to. I'm just going to lay down."

[Fuck you two then! Break, lets take control of their bodies and fight! Just me and you! No one else!] Kill said with a smirk.
[Lets do this! Sorry Lance, but this must be done!]

I sighed, here we go again.

Break rolled his eyes and smirked, [Ready Kill?]
[Ready!] Replied Kill.

Suddenly, I felt Break take full control of my body, pushing me back.

The same happened to Graze.

Our consciences were now in full control of our bodies.

{Can you two at least go to a open field? I don't want Dali's house destroyed.}

Kill smirked, "Yeah, besides, more open area for me to kick Break's flank in."

Break chuckled, "Oh fuck you, lets hurry and do this!"

They both jumped into the air and flew out the front door.

Joy said.
{I agree with you.} I said.

Break let out a loud whoop, "The battle of the century is about to take place!"

Back to school

This is a great chapter! I had fun writing it! It also sets up a whole new plot :D

This is the newest audio reader's for this story. Check out their work on chapter one, they're pretty good. Also, the voice used is now Lance's official voice.

Chapter 69... 69 XD

Two days after Vine tricked Lance into rubbing Poison Joke on himself

"Go to sleep Lance!" Said Twilight as she watched me pace back and forth at the end of the bed.

I looked at her, but kept moving, "I can't Twi! If I go to sleep, the Poison Joke will take effect!"

She sighed, "Come on Lance, it won't be that bad."

I held up a hoof, "Oh, that's what you think. For all we know, it'll turn me into a mare! Or worst! It may take away my dick!"

She facehoofed and shook her head.

I had been awake for the past two days, not wanting to be affected by the Poison Joke. Once I go to sleep, boom, I'm screwed. I can stay awake for as long as I need.

[*Yawn* Dude, if we don't sleep *Yawn* We're going to have a repeat of the Russian Sleep Experiment.]

[... We'll see...]

Twilight exhaled, "Lance, its unhealthy to stay awake this long."

I waved her off, "I'm find. Its not effecting me in anyway."

She tilts her head back and sighed, "You went on a long rant about how the chair in the living room is to hard. You yelled at Zorrow for a whole hour just because he bumped into you. Face it Lance, you need to sleep."

I raised a hoof and made a motion, "Nag nag nag. That's all you do. Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Nag isn't here leave a fucking message!"

She glared, "That's it! I didn't want to do this, but you need your sleep!" Her horn began to glow.

[Lets go down like a pro!]

"*Yawn* Bring it! Come at me bro! I'm ready for ya!" I screamed out, standing on my hind legs, forelegs outstretched.

She pointed her horn at me and shot out a small purple beam.

It hit me in the chest and I felt it wash over me, I tried my best to shake it off, "You mad bro?"

*Thud* *Crash*

Twilight shook her head.

I had passed out while standing up and feel backwards, hitting the door and taking it off its hinges.

The next day, 7:43 AM

I opened my eyes and held my head, "My head... Shit..."

I sat up painfully and looked around. It looked to be about morning, early morning probably. I yawned and stretched my wings and legs out.

I jumped off the bed and landed on the floor... why is everything so big?

The bed is bigger than me... what the fuck...

"Whats going on here..." I started to say, but stopped when I heard my voice, "My voice! Why is it so... high?"

I sounded like a little kid, what the fuck!

I galloped over to a mirror and looked at myself. I gasped at what I saw.

I was a colt, a young one. I stretched out my wings and sighed in disappointment. They were just normal wings now, not so special anymore.

[Hahaha, you look like a... Oh fucking damn! My damn voice sounds like a annoying ten year old!]
<... Mine too...>

I hate Poison Joke... I hate it so fucking much!

I looked myself over again and sighed, "I look like a freaking wimp! Look at my legs, they're noodles!"

"Who's there?" I heard Twilight ask from the hallway.

Oh shit...

She walked in and looked around, when her eyes landed on me, she looked shocked. Then, she smirked, "See, I told you it wouldn't be that bad."

My mouth hung open, "I'm a freaking kid!"

She rolled her eyes, "You're not that young. You look like your Apple Bloom's age."

I facehoofed, "That's pretty damn young Twi! How old is she?"

Twilight thought for a second, "I think she's four."

My eye's widened, "Four! That is young!"

She chuckled, "Maybe in your world, but here, once you reach three, you're able to attend school."

I rub my chin, "How?"

She sighed, "You see Lance, ponies here mature very fast. Take Spark for example, he'll be up and talking within a year or so."

"A year... that means, he'll be as mature as a six year old in my world? Damn, they grow up so fast..."

She nodded sadly, "I know, but hey, he'll be around for at least twelve years before he's able to move out and go to collage."

Twelve years of enjoyment with my son... not enough time. "That sucks..."

She nodded, "It does, but hey, we get to watch him grow up."

I smiled, "True, I'm looking forward to it."

Twilight then scratched the back of her head, "Wow, its pretty strange talking to you like this Lance."

I smirked, "It is huh?" I then smiled smugly, "Oh Twi, I want to tie you to the bed and buck you all night long. I want to taste your..."

"Lance!" She screamed out, her face turning red, "Stop it... its creepy when you're a colt."

I laughed, "Wanna fuck a young school boy like myself?"

She glared, "Okay, that's it. I'm going to go to Zecora's and get that potion made for you."

I smiled and trotted past her, "You do that. I'm gonna try and enjoy my day."

Twilight sighed and prepared her teleportation spell.

I raised my head and ran back in, "Wait Twi!"

She stopped and looked at me, "What?"

I did the puppy dog eyes, "Can you send me to Ponyville?"

She sighed, "Yes, but only because it'll put you closer to me."

She then pointed her horn at me and concentrated.

There was a flash and I felt myself surge forward. When everything came into focus, I could see all the ponies around me.

Good, I'm in the center of Ponyville.

"Holy shit, Lance, is that you?!"

I turned and cursed my bad luck.

Peter ran up to me and looked down at me with a smirk, "That's what you get for spying on me and Rarity."

I smirked, "Oh yeah, I actually enjoy this! Besides, Vine did this to me, not you."

He continued to smirk, "Oh yeah? I can do a better prank, watch this."

He leaned down and wrapped his forelegs around my waist and lifted up.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled out.

He chuckled, "You'll see."

Peter then flew forward, holding me tight so I couldn't escape.

He flew for a few minutes until I could see a red building coming up... oh shit! Its the school!

"Peter! Let me the fuck go! Or I swear, I'll make your life a living hell!"

He laughed loudly, "I'll take my chances."

I began to flail around, trying to break his grip. But damn, his pie throwing legs must be strong!

He landed at the door, holding me in one hoof and walked in.

"What's up everypony?" He said with a smirk.

All the filly's and colt's turned towards us. Miss Cherilee looked away from the black board and smiled.

Peter sat me down and rested his hoof on my head, "I got you a new student."

She smiled and walked over and leaned down, "And who might you be?"

[Ow ow! Say your name is Isaac or something awesome!]

"Uhh... I'm... uhhh, I'm Stripes." I stuttered.

[*Facehoof* You freaking idiot! Couldn't have said Isaac, I hate you...]

[You would...]

She smiled brightly, "Well Stripes, welcome."

I try to smile, but I'm pissed at Peter for doing this, "Look, I'm not suppose to be here. I'm to old for school."

She and all the other ponies laughed.

One pony, Diamond Tiara, leaned over to her friend, Silver Spoon, "To old for school. Today is going to be fun!"

I glared at them and mouth the words, 'Touch me and I'm going to fuck you up!'

They rolled their eyes and went back to talking.

On the other hand, Miss Cherilee was beaming at me with happiness, "Okay honey, take a seat. There's an open spot next to Blitz."

I looked to the back and saw a Blue colt, a amused look on his face as he looked at me, "No, like I said. I'm not suppose to be here."

Peter gave me a nudge... it was a damn kick! "Go on, enjoy the day Stripy."

I turned and glared, "I hate you!"

He smirked and walked out of the school.

[I so want to kill him!]

I shook with anger, but held it down and walked back to the seat I was assigned. I'm going to get him back for this!

Once I was sitting down, Miss Cherilee continued, "Now, like I was saying. When you take 3 and multiple it by X squared, you get..." She looked around the room for a volunteer.

Oh God! Algebra! My one true enemy.

[Luckily, she won't pick the new kid.]

"Aha, how about you Stripes?" She asked, looking at me.

Shit!

I bit my lower lip, "Uhhh, ten?"

Everypony began to laugh.

Miss Cherilee shook her head, "No, that isn't the answer. Anypony else want to try?"

I laid my head down, I hate school.

The pony next to me, Blitz, nudged me.

I looked over and he held out a piece of paper.

I grabbed it and looked at it. It was a crappy drawing of four colts, one on the ground, and the others standing around him. There was a caption, New kid gonna get his flank kicked.

I looked at him and saw that he was smirking. I smirked back and wrote something down on the back of the paper.

After I was done, I handed it back to him, this is what it said:

Dear Blitz,

I hate to inform you, but after today, you won't have any genitals left. The colt Stripes is going to kick your bucking ass and rip off your stallion hood and make you eat it.

The colt who gives no fucks,
Stripes

P.S. Tell your mom I left my pants in her room.

He growled and glared at me, and whispered, "Your dead!"

I smiled, "Bring it bro."

He exhaled and looked to the front of the class.

I sat back and smirked, he's not going to do anything.

Two hours of sitting in class and listening to a boring explanation on math later

I sat there at my desk, my eye twitched every few seconds. I never could sit still, not even for twenty minutes. This was driving me crazy!

Suddenly, a bell rang.

Miss Cherilee looked at the clock and smiled, "Okay everypony, time for lunch."

All the ponies began talking and stood up. They then began walking for the door that lead outside.

I sighed and jumped out of my seat and turned to walk outside... only to run into a filly.

We bounced off each other and I fell back, landing on my haunches.

I rubbed my head and looked up, "Watch where you're going!"

The filly in front of me stood, rubbing her head, "I'm sorry... Ummm, wanna eat lunch with me?"

I eye her up and down.

[Oww, you do get the bitch's!]
{Quiet, both of you! I don't think she likes me, may just want to be friends with the strange new kid.}
[Oh my God! Lance, you're doing it again!]
{What again?}
[Remember when we got here, you was all naive to Twilight liking you. You're doing it again!]

I sighed, "Sure... just one problem, I have no food."

She gasped, "No food!" She reached down and picked up a paper bag, "Here, the orphanage always gives us enough food for two."

Orphanage? "You're an orphan?"

She looked saddened, "Yes..."

"What happened to your parents?"

She looked saddened, "I don't want to talk about it..."

I nodded, understanding her pain. I remember when I lost my dad.... Yeah, I'm not going to talk about it! "I'm sorry."

She looked up, "Don't be sorry, its okay." She then put on a fake smile, "My names Little Fawn."

I smiled, "Nice name. Can I just call you Fawn?"

She nodded, a smile on her face, "Yes of course!"

I chuckled and heard my stomach growl. I put a hoof to it and chuckled, "Guess I'm hungry."

She smiled happily and turned, "Come on, let's get a seat and we'll eat."

I followed her outside and through the small crowd of ponies. She sat down at an empty bench and I sat across from her.

She opened the bag and pulled out a few food items: Apples, hay, bread, something I think was jam, and three bottles of something.

She smiled and gave me half of it, "There you go Stripes."

I picked up an apple and took a bite, "Thanks Fawn."

She grinned and began to eat her food.

We sat there in silence for a few seconds before I broke it with a question, "So, what's it like at the orphanage?"

She smiled, but I could sense sadness in her voice, "Oh, its great. They let us go out when ever we want and give us plenty of toys to play with. Its fun, I mean it..."

I shook my head, "I can tell you're not really happy there."

She looked to be holding back tears, "No, I really do love it there... very much. Who needs parents." A single tear rolled down her face.

I reached across and tapped her hoof, trying to comfort her, "Its alright, you'll be adopted soon."

She looked up, tears in her eyes, "No... no I won't! Every time somepony comes there, they just look at me and shake their head. I'm unlovable.."

I felt my heart break. Ponies shouldn't feel like this, they're ponies for crying out loud! "Don't say that, you're not unlovable."

She shook her head, "Yes I am! All the others pick on me because of it, especially Diamond Tiara. She's the worst of them all... I'm a failure.."

Another tug at my heart, plus a little anger. This kid sounds like me when I was younger, "Don't say that, your not a..."

"That's him guys. The one who things he's all big and bad." I heard a familiar voice behind me.

I exhaled and turned, "What the hell do you want?"

Blitz smirked, "Okay tough colt, lets see how tough you really are.'

[FIGHT THEM!]

{Sorry Break, but I'm going with Dawn on this one.}

I shook my head, a dead stare on my face, "No, I don't want to hurt you three."

They all three laughed, "You hurt us? That's rich! Hardhoof, Butch, grab him."

Butch and Hardhoof smiled and walked forward and pulled me off the bench. They grabbed my forelegs and held them out and made me stand on my hind legs. Exposing my underside.

Blitz walked up, a smug look on his face, "Here, I'll give you a chance. Say your weak and a wimp and we'll let you go."

I looked at him, a blank stare, "Meh, do your worst."

He smiled, "I was hoping you would say that."

Butch's and Hardhoof's grips tightened.

Blitz's slammed his front hoof into my gut, knocking the air out of me. He then spun around and bucked me in the chest, hard.

Butch slammed his free hoof into my face, busting my lip.

Blitz's laughed and bucked me again, right in the groin.

My eyes widened as the sharp searing pain shot through my body.

[Fucking fight Lance!]

Hardhoof chuckled and brought his hoof upward, hitting me in the chin.

Blitz smiled and walked up, "You had enough colt cuddlier?"

I glared, "That's nothing. You guys don't know what real pain is."

Blitz laughed and looked around, making sure no ponies or teacher had saw this. He then looked back at me and smiled, "I love it when they ask for more."

I heard Fawn scream out, "Leave him alone!"

[Kinda late, don't you think?]

Blitz looked past me and at Fawn, "Shut it you foal!"

I clenched my teeth, "Leave her out of this. Your problem is me, not her."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "So, your weak point is her? Butch, Hardhoof, make him watch this."

I felt anger boiling up inside me, "Don't you fucking touch..."

Blitz slammed his hoof into my face, followed by a punch from both Butch and Hardhoof.

My vision blurred from the hits and Blitz laughed.

"This is priceless! Make him watch me hurt his filly friend."

He walked past us and began to walk around the bench.

They turned me to face them and I saw Blitz push Fawn.

*Mental snap*

{Break, Dawn, let's kick some ass!}

I forced myself to concentrate.

*Breaking Dawn mode!*

I growled and tensed my forelegs and pulled them forward. Butch and Hardhoof held tight to my legs, perfect.

When my hooves connected, so did their heads. They bounced off each other, falling to the ground.

Blitz looked at me, "What the!"

I growled angrily and jumped over the bench, propelled by my wings, and slammed into him.

We rolled around till we came to a stop, and I was on top. I glared down and pulled back my hoof, "YOU DO NOT..." I slammed my hoof into his face, causing a small amount of blood to pour from his lip, "HURT FILLY'S!"

I punched him again, causing a little more blood to come out of his mouth.

Before I could hit him again, something grabbed me and pulled me off him.

Butch turned me around and punched me in the chin.

I glared and grabbed his shoulders and slammed my head into his. He staggered back and fell to the ground, unconscious.

I turned and jumped on Blitz, and began to repeatedly hit him.

I stopped and stood, I reached down and pulled him up to my face, "Listen to me and listen good: Don't you ever try and mess with me or anypony else! Got that?!"

He rolled his head lazily.

I shook him violently, "Got that!"

He nodded.

I threw him to the ground, "Good."

I concentrated and forced myself out of Breaking Dawn.

I turned to see Fawn, curled up in a ball.

I bit my lip, shit.

She was trembling slightly.

I began to walk over, but suddenly, something slammed into me.

I flew to the ground and looked up. Fuck! I forgot about Hardhoof!

He galloped over and slammed his hoof into my gut.

He then grabbed my my head and glared, "Listen to me you freak! You're going..."

My eyes caught fire and my hooves turned red, smoke rising from them.

Hardhoof's eyes widened, "What are you?!"

I smiled a corrupted smile, "Your mom!"

[YEAH! ALWAYS TIME TO JOKE!]

I slammed my head into his, then again, and again, till his eyes rolled up in the back of his head.

I dropped him and smiled, easy.

I forced myself out of Raging Breaking Dawn and calmed myself.

Then, I walked over to Fawn and leaned down, "Are you okay?"

She looked up, tears in her eyes, "Yes..."

I stood and looked around. Damn...

All the ponies were standing in a circle around us, looks of horror on their faces. Even Miss Cherilee was frozen in place at what she had just seen.

I bit my lower lip and rubbed my hooves together, "So yeah, that's the main reason why you don't hit filly's."

They all gulped and continued to stare.

Shit.... this is awkward...

Twenty minutes later, school building

"He hurt three other students! One of them can barely talk!" Miss Cherilee yelled as Peter stood there, a worried look on his face.

"Look... I don't really care..." He started.

She held up a hoof, "Hold up, what do you mean you don't care?!"

He gulped, "Because, he's not my kid..."

She glared, "What!"

I smiled, that's what you get Peter.

Ouch... my face is sore. I held a hoof to my face and gently rubbed it.

After a few minutes, the front doors opened.

I looked up and became relieved, thank God! It's Twilight!

She walked over and looked me over, a worried look on her face, "Lance! What happened to you?!"

I chuckled, "Oh you know. Bully hits me, I hit him, his friends gang up on me, I beat them down, and repeat."

She sighed, "You need to stop fighting."

I shrugged, "They started it."

"They did!" I heard Fawn say, who was sitting a few feet away.

Twilight turned to her and smiled, "And who are you?"

Fawn smiled, "I'm Little Fawn... Are you Stripes mom?"

Twilight cocked her head, "Stripes... Oh yes, I guess you could say that."

Fawn smiled, "Its nice to meet you."

I tapped Twilight's shoulder, "Potion?"

Her head snapped up, "Oh yeah! Here you go honey." She levitated a small bottle over to me.

Oh yeah, back to normal here I come.

I put the bottle to my lips and chugged it. Once it was empty, I threw it and said, "Back to normal!"

A few seconds passed, then a minute, "Ummm, Twi, why am I still a colt?"

She looked very worried now, "Oh no... Lance, how big was the Poison Joke Vinetion gave you?"

I thought for a second, "Pretty big. It had a few purple and red dots on it and it had a single green leaf."

Her mouth hung open, "Oh no... OH NO!"

"What?! What is it?!"

She gulped, "Lance... That was a more advanced type of Poison Joke.... It's effects last a month... or forever."

My eyes widened, "NO! That can't be!"

Fawn looked at us, "What's going on?"

Miss Cherilee walked in, a glare on her face, "Yes, what is going on?"

Peter followed behind her, his ears down.

Twilight gulped, "I think we have a major problem."

I bit my hoof, "I'm so screwed!"

Miss Cherilee glared at me, "Watch your language!"

Twilight's horn began to glow and it encased me and her. Second's later, we appeared in our room at Dali's.

Twilight ran over to a book and began flipping through the pages, "There has to be something here to help us!"

I, on the other hand, was freaking out.

This can't be! I have a kid to take care of! I can't be a kid also!

[Oh my God! I'm going to kill Vinetion!]

I heard Twilight gasp.

I looked over there, "What is it!"

She turned, a tear in her eye, "There's no known cure..."

"What are we going to do?"

She looked down, "Hope... All we can do is hope that this ends in a month..."

I fell to my haunches, "It better, I hate this body... and school..."

Twilight walked over and sat down in front of me. She then wrapped her hooves around me and pulled me into a hug, "It's going to be okay Lance. I promise."

I smiled and rubbed my face into her neck, "Thanks Twi, you always know how to cheer me up."

She leaned back and smirked, "So, who was the girl?"

I smiled, "What, you jealous of her?"

Her eye's widened, "NO! I mean, no, I'm just curious."

I chuckled and pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek, "Don't worry, you're the only mare in my life."

She returned my hug, "I know..." She then backed up, "Like I said earlier, this is strange with you being so young."

I laughed.

She then smiled smugly, "No sex."

My mouth hung open, "Wha?! How about a bedtime story!" I said with a smirk.

She shook her, "Nope, no bedtime story either."

I sighed, "Well damn, there goes my fun at night."

She chuckled and stood.

I stood also and looked out the window, "What time is it Twi?"

She looked at the clock, "12:57, why do you ask?"

I smiled, "Oh no reason. Just wanted to do a few things. Can you send me back to Ponyville? You kinda took me out of school."

She raised an eyebrow, "You want to go back to school?"

I shrugged, "No, but I have to. There's a few things I need to do."

She sighed, "Fine."

I kissed her cheek, "Thanks."

She giggled, "Still creepy."

I waved her off, "You like it."

She rolled her eyes playfully and charged her magic.

Seconds later, I was standing in the class room. All the ponies in the room looked at me, a mixture of fear and respect on their faces.

I smiled awkwardly, "And that's how Equestria was made..."

They all looked at me strangely, a few laughed, a few shook their heads.

Miss Cherilee glared at me, "Stripes, take your seat. Now."

I nodded and walked down the roll of seats, but stopped for a second at one. A seat owned by a filly, Diamond Tiara.

I glared at her, "Leave Fawn alone, got that?"

She smiled smugly and stuck her tongue out.

I smiled, "I'll pull that tongue of yours off and make you eat it."

Her eyes widened, but she kept up her act.

I rolled my eyes and continued to my seat.

Once there, I looked over at Blitz.

His face was swollen and purple, and he had dried blood on his cheeks.

I chuckled, "How you doing Blitzy?"

He turned towards me and glared at me with hate filled eyes.

I smiled and looked to the front. Hey, if I'm going to be a kid, might as well enjoy it.

Oh yeah! That was fun to write, took me all day but so worth it! Now, about Fawn. You all know I don't go to the trouble of making pictures of OC's unless they're important, so keep an eye on her XD

Stallions VS Breaking Dawn

Shit... I kinda got side tracked. So, I'm going to speed through some of this, sorry.

Chapter 80

Shadow Breeze galloped down the streets of Ponyville. It had been three hours since he was teleported back to Ponyville, and he was now trying to get to Greg.

He felt sorry for the poor guy. He must be traumatized.

So, as he stepped up to the bakery doors where he knew Greg was, he prepared himself for the worst.

Greg would probably need a should to cry on. Some one to talk to.

Shadow braced himself for the tears he was about to endure and pushed open the door.

On the other side, he saw nothing but blackness. So, he forced himself to walk in, braving the darkness.

*Blam*

Shadow jumped as he accidently knocked over a chair. He took a deep breath and continued.

When he looked towards the stairs, he saw a little light. Found Greg!

He half galloped, half tripped, his way to the stairs. He piratically flew up them and landed outside the door that had the light coming from under it.

He put on a smile and pushed the door open.

But, instead of being greeted by a crying Greg. He saw Greg... mounting Pinkie Pie.... doing it doggy style.

Shadow's eyes went wide, and he felt the taste of bail in his mouth. This was sick!

He began to slowly back away from the two lovers.

Greg turned and smiled, "Wanna join?"

Shadow's mouth hung open and he slammed the door shut.

He then flew down the stairs and for the door.

Once he was outside, he flew for the first cloud he could see.

He curled up into the fetal position and began to rock, and began to repeat, "They're just wrestling... they're just wrestling..."

Day three

"Be quiet!" I hissed as David began to yell out in pain after stomping his hoof against the fire.

He bit his lip and nodded.

Vinetion picked up Graze and threw him over her back. She then turned to me, "So, mister guy with the plan, what are we going to do?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I guess we'll try and find all the teleport's and get the hell out of here."

Zorrow nodded, "I agree. I say we just make a break for it and run straight to it... who knows where it is?"

Peter smiled, "I know where it is. I read the clue. Its next to the community pool."

I nodded at him, "Good job Peter. Now, lets get to moving."

Seth turned from the door and shook his head, "We're not going anywhere."

David looked at him, "What do you mean?"

Seth looked at him, "Looks like your little yell attracted them here."

I furrowed my brow, "How many?"

He hung his head, "Lots."

"Shit..."

[*Clears throat* Breaking...]
<...Dawn.>

I facehoofed, "Of fucking course!"

Everyone looked at me, "What?!"

I looked up at them, "I could have gone Breaking Dawn and got us through all that shit!"

Zorrow held up a hoof, "Yes, but you didn't. We still made it, right?"

I shrugged, "Yes, but then Aaron would still be... wait, he chose to get raped." I then looked at them with determination in my eyes, "But, I'm not going to let anyone else get touched by a stallion."

My eyes caught flame, burning with determination and slightly anger towards the stallions. My hooves went burning red, smoke curling up from them.

I looked at everyone and smiled smugly, "Everyone, welcome to the controlled version of Breaking Dawn." My voice echoed with the voices of Break and Dawn. Three voices mixed into one, sounds pretty cool

Vinetion cocked her head, "Controlled version?"

I nodded, "Yep. You all know that when I use to go into Breaking Dawn, I would be pretty pissed off or something, right? Well, this way, I'm in control of my emotions and won't do something stupid."

Seth smiled, "I like this form of you. Looks badass!"

I grinned and smiled proudly, "Thanks..." I then frowned slightly, "Shit, that's not good."

David looked confused, "What?"

I sighed, "I just noticed that Break and Dawn also have more influence on my actions. Its bad because of break."

[I'll behave, I promise.]

[Enough talking! Lets get this on!]

I cracked my neck and began walking for the door, "Follow me, try and keep away from the stallions. I'll do my best to hold them off. Peter, get everyone to the first teleporter."

He nodded, "Got it."

Vinetion shifted Graze's weight and followed, "Right behind you guys."

I took a deep breath and kicked the door open.

All the stallions turned my way and smile. I wonder what I look like to them?

As they began to charge towards me, I smiled, "Come on! I'm ready for ya!"

I charged towards the group, a large smirk on my face.

Seth watched as Lance charged out the door towards the large crowd of stallions.

"GO!" Peter yelled out as he ran out of the building.

The rest of the group ran after him.

As they ran outside, they could see Lance in the middle of the crowd, throwing stallions left and right. He seemed to be enjoying himself... maybe a little to much.

Seth kept pace with Zorrow, who was lagging behind, "Come on dude! We gotta keep up!"

Zorrow looked at him and rolled his eyes, "I'm working on it dude!"

Seth sighed and looked ahead, content on staying with the group, but also staying with his best friend.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a stallion running towards Vinetion. SHIT!

Seconds before he reached her, a red hot hoof grabbed the stallions tail, "Oh no you don't! Never touch a mare like that!"

Lance then spun around and threw the stallion into the growing crowd.

Vinetion looked over her should, "Thanks Lance."

Lance just saluted and ran back towards the crowd.

Ten minutes later

Well shit!

I was chasing after my friends, the large group of stallions behind me.

I was able to keep them distracted, but now I'm exhausted. Oh God! My sides are killing me!

Everyone else wasn't to far ahead, I had been running and fighting after all. But geez! This is to much for me to handle.

Up ahead, I heard Peter yell out in joy, "FOUND IT!"

Thank you!

I picked up my speed and ran up to the group. Which was now standing out side a locked building.

Peter was kicking at it furiously, "Come on! Open damn it!"

I ran forward, "Back!"

He jumped back as I slammed my hoof into the large deadlock. It broke off and hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Behind us, the crowd was getting closer.

I looked at everyone, "Get inside! Quickly!"

As everyone charged in, I took a quick look at the building.

It was fairly large, but only a one story building. It sat alone away from all the other buildings.... which means the damn stallions can surround us! With any luck, we can get at least one person out of here.

After everyone was in, I ran in, slamming the door shut as I passed by it. I looked around and saw a small desk. I then pushed that small desk in front of the door.

As I began to follow everyone, I heard loud bangs coming from the door. Now, there's no going back.

I ran down the small hall and into a cafeteria of sorts. It was large enough to easily fit two hundred ponies. What was this place?

{No, to busy checking out the lay out of the building.}

I looked upward and saw a large poster... of... Trollestia?! What the hell?!

"Lance, you might want to see this." David said over his shoulder.

I walked forward, towards everyone else. They were all gathered in the middle of the cafeteria, looking at something.

Once I was next to them, my mouth hung open. On the floor was six teleporter's.

Zorrow began bouncing up and down, "Yay! We're all saved."

I held up a hoof, "No, we're not all saved. There's only six teleporter's, but there's seven of us."

Zorrow hung his head, "Oh..."

Vinetion sighed, "I'm sorry to tell you this Lance, but if we all want to get out of here, we have to leave Graze behind."

I shook my head, "We can't leave him! I want to get to the bottom of this little multi-dimension thing."

She sat him down and sighed, "Either he stays, or I don't go. I don't want you all to get raped."

I sighed in defeat, "Fine."

Zorrow jumped on one, "I'm outta here!"

*DING*

Seth and David did the same, "Peace!"

*DING* *DING*

Peter jumped on one and twisted, "Back to the future!"

"That's out of place dude."

*DING*

Two teleporter's left.

Vinetion looked at me, "I'm sorry Lance, but it must be this way."

I nodded in response.

She then stepped on the teleporter.

*DING*

I sighed and looked at Graze. Poor guy.

*Crash* *CRASH* *CRASH*

The sounds of glass breaking and doors being knocked down filled the building as the stallions began to flood into the building.

I hung my head and looked at Graze, "I'm sorry."

..........
......
.........

*DING*

Vinetion appeared on the hill over looking Ponyville, the other bronies were next to her, talking about their escape.

She sighed, she knows it was hard for Lance to leave Graze, but it was necessary.

David looked up and smiled, "Oh yeah! That was epic!"

*Loud bang*

Peter smiled and stood, "Hell yeah, Lance is here now.... Lance?"

They all turned to look at Lance... or where Lance should have been. Instead, it was Graze, laying on the ground with his binds cut.

Vinetion growled, "Lance! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!"

Seth walked forward and looked at Graze, "Uhh, guys. I think we have a problem."

"What's the problem?" Zorrow asked.

Seth stepped out of the way to show off Graze, "Graze is a mare."

Back to Lance

I stood on a table in the middle of the cafeteria, the stallions on all sides of me. The damn things had broke in and surrounded me in seconds. I only had time to cut Graze's binds and roll him onto a teleporter.

The stallions around me where talking excitedly, all examining my body.

[This is sick! Kill them all!]
{Wait for it.}

I cracked my neck and rotated my shoulders, preparing myself.

"Wow! Look at that nice flank!" One said.

"Mmm, I'm gonna have some fun with this one tonight!"

"I call the mouth!"

I exhaled and smirked, "Well? Come at me!"

They all laughed happily and charged towards me. Damn, its like a crowd of zombies.

As they reached the table, I jumped off, delivering a kick to ones face. As he fell, I twisted and slammed my head into another's.

One grabbed my flank and jumped on me. OH NO YOU DON'T!

I jumped into the air and angled myself, putting my back to the ground.

I slammed into it, slamming the stallion into the ground, along with two others.

One jumped on my front, and prepared to try and penetrate.

"Get the hell off me!"

I grabbed his head and slammed my opposite hoof into it, knocking him off me with great force.

I then quickly jumped up and bucked another one in the jaw.

One grabbed my side, trying to pin me to the ground. Bad choice.

I reached back and grabbed his mane. I then yanked him forward, slamming him into three others.

As I was doing this, another took the opportunity to wrap his hooves around my neck.

DAMN IT!

I stood on my hind legs, picking him up off the ground. I then pushed out ward, sending him into the growing crowd of stallions.

While I was on my hind legs, one jumped at me. Luckily, I was ready.

I caught him in mid air and brought him down with me.

*Crack*

I hope his head is okay.

Suddenly, I felt something slide into my.... you know what.

[OH GOD!]

I spun around with great force. A loud popping sound was heard.

The stallions eyes widened as his member hung loosely.

[Serves him right!]

Time for my favorite move!

I grabbed the nearest stallions forelegs and began to spin. This caused his body to spin with me, hitting all the stallions around me. Very effective, but also makes you dizzy.

I let the stallion go, sending him towards another.

I began to stumble as the dizziness began to take affect. Damn...

One stallion ran towards me, but I luckily had the coordination to strike out and hit him across the face.

Screw this! I can't keep fighting like this, I need the high ground!

I looked around and saw a small stage, at least five feet tall. It'll have to do.

I charged through the crowd, knocking them out of the way.

Damn! Frank West makes this look so damn easy in the game!

Once I broke through the crowd, I jumped up on the stage. Sweat was pouring down my face and coated my body. I don't know how long I can hold this form.

The stallions crowded around the stage, a few began to pull themselves up.

I ran forward and began kicking the brave ones off. But, with every one I knock off, another takes his place. Damn... I'm so screwed.

Suddenly, a large stallion slammed into my side, taking me down with him.

My saddlebags flew off from the impact, and me and the stallion skidded for a few feet.

The stallion positioned himself on top of, a smirk on his face, "You're mine sweetie."

I used everything I had to just hold him back, "No! I'm not yours!"

The stallion began forcing his lower half closer. I'm going to be fucking raped!!

I looked over to my side to see the book Twilight had sent me, it was laying only a few inches away from my head.

Thank you Twilight!

I reached over and grasped the book, "See ya in the pages!" I then slammed the book into the side of the stallions face.

The stallion slumped to the side, out cold.

I pushed his body off me and stood, holding the book my hoof, "Bring it you colt cuddlier's!"

They began to run up on stage.

Ponyville, twenty minutes later

"Oh God! Lance, why?!" David yelled as they waiting for Lance to appear. They all knew he was going to get raped, it was the only way for him to get back.

"Its his own fault!" Vinetion yelled back, furious with Lance.

*BOOM*

They all turned, expecting to see Lance. But what they saw instead confused them.

Mr. Bleak stood there, a unconscious Lance on his back.

Lance looked battered, but otherwise okay.

"What the fu-" Peter began.

Mr. Bleak held up a hoof, "I know, you all want to know what the hell is going on."

They all nodded.

Mr. Bleak smiled, "Okay then, I'll explain this in simple terms: Mrs. Sparkle came to me a hour ago and told me about her husbands situation and asked if I could help him."

Vinetion looked confused, "Why would she ask you?

Mr. Bleak chuckled, "Because she knows about the fight me and Lance was in. It was pretty interesting to say the least."

Seth furrowed his brow, "But, what happened to Lance? Was he raped?!"

Mr. Bleak shook his head, "No, he's fine. Hurt, but fine. I arrived to find him about to fight a large crowd of stallions. So I stayed in the background and watched. I intervened when he was knocked out my a large stallion. I must say though, that was a fun fight to watch, and a fun fight to perform. I haven't had that much fun in centuries!"

Peter scratched his head, "Centuries? How old are you?"

Mr. Bleak's eyes widened, "I must take Lance home. Mrs. Sparkle is worried sick about him."

Vinetion shook her head, "Wait, how old..."

Mr. Bleak opened his strange wings and jumped into the air. He then shot off for Canterlot, at a speed Rainbow Dash would gawk at.

Seth looked at everyone, "What the hell?"

Mr. Bleak flew in silence, Lance still on his back.

He sighed, he had told them to much about his past. Even if it was only one thing.

He looked back at Lance and shook his head, "If only your son wasn't so special, I wouldn't have become friends with you." He then let a small smile appear on his face, "But I'm glad we're friends."

After that, Mr. Bleak flew in silence. Thinking of all the friends he's had. Sadly... Lance is the first.

Competition for Fluttershy's heart

Chapter 96

[Hell yeah! Last night was fucking awesome!]

I opened my eyes and smiled, last night was awesome!

Twilight, was still laying next to me, her back to my front and my left arm over her.

She wasn't kidding when she said she would make last night the best night of my life! Because it was!

[I loved every fucking minute of it!]

I chuckled lightly and snuggled up to Twilight. I intend to just enjoy this moment.

"How was your night?" Asked a female voice from across the room.

My eyes went wide and I sat up quickly. I looked around till I saw the owner of the voice... Grace?!

"What the fuck are you doing in here?!" I said, trying to keep my voice down.

She giggled and jumped up from the chair she had been in, "I'm here to make sure you keep a promise you made to me."

"Promise?"

She grinned, "Yes, a promise. Remember? You said you would get me a marefriend."

I shook my head, "I don't remember..."

"Either you help me, or I beat the crap out of you. Your choice." She said with a smirk.

I sighed, "Fine, I'll help."

She smiled, "I knew you would."

I rolled my eyes and slowly climbed out of bed.

"But first, put on some clothes." She said with a smirk.

"What.." I looked down to see that I was totally nude... nothing on....

"FUCK!" I half yelled as I grabbed a pillow and covered myself.

Grace giggled, "You're just lucky I'm not into males, or I'd be all over you."

[Oh God, this is all kinds of wrong!] Break said while shaking his head.
[Oh really? You didn't think that when we first met.] Kill said with a smirk.
[... Fuck this.]

I chuckled and looked around for my boxers... where are they?

I looked down and chuckled. There they are.

I bent down and picked them up and looked at Grace, "Could you turn around?"

She sighed and turned around.

I dropped the pillow and quickly pulled on my boxers, "Now you can turn around."

She sighed again and turned, "You ready to go?"

I shook my head, "I can't go anywhere really, I have a contest to judge."

[Did you just now remember that?]
{Yeah, I remembered when I was putting on my boxers.}
[You're a weird kid Lance...]

Grace growled, "But you promised! We just went over this!"

I held up my hand, "I know, but I can still help you."

She raised an eyebrow, "How?"

I smirked and turned around. I picked up the notebook I kept by the bed and wrote down a address, "Here, go here and talk to this mare. We use to hang out a few months ago, and during that time, I found out she liked mares. I think you have a chance." I then walked over to Grace and held the paper out to her.

She furrowed her brow, "Who is it?"

"Octavia." I answered with a smile.

Grace took the paper in her mouth and eyed me, "If this doesn't work, I'm coming after you."

I nodded, "It'll work, don't worry. She'll be all over you." I hope.

Grace smiled slightly before walking out of the room.

[I don't know, and I don't want to know.]

I turned back to the bed and smiled. I might as well enjoy some extra cuddling before heading out.

[Do it!]

Four hours later, Ponyville, town square

[Do we have to do this?]
{Yes, I told Seth I would.}

I was nearing the center of town, and I could already hear the cheers of a large crowd of ponies... how many ponies wanted to see this? Why do they want to see this?

When I finally reached the center, I could see a large stage with a equally large crowd in front of it... why?

"Lance!" I heard Seth yelled out.

I looked towards the back of the stage to see Seth waving at me.

I sighed and made my way over to him, "Dude, really?"

He smirked, "Yes, really. I have good news!"

"Good news? The only good news I need is you're calling this off."

He shook his head, "Nope, not that. Remember, I'm paying you to do this."

I rubbed my face, "Then what's the good news."

He smiled, "I have a another judge for the contest. I think you'll like her."

Another judge? "Who?"

He chuckled, "Follow me, I'll lead you to the judges booth."

I sighed and allowed him to lead me to the judges booth, which was just a table with 'Judges' written across it.

Seth jumped up on the platform and began talking to somepony.

I pulled myself up onto it and looked over to Seth and.... oh you got to be kidding me?!

Seth pointed to me, "This is Lance, the guy I was telling you about."

I face palmed, "Dude?! How did you get her to come here?!"

Seth smiled, "I have my ways."

"Lance Greenfield, we meet again!"

I glared at her, "Shut up you fucking tramp!"

Seth gawked at me, "Dude?!"

I pointed my hand at her, "Fuck you Trixie!"

Trixie laughed, "Your temper has risen since the last time we meet."

I slammed my hand on the table, "Bitch! Why the fuck did you agree to come here?!"

She smirked, "Because, Trixie want's her revenge for that little show in Manehattan."

I gritted my teeth, "You stupid bitch! Stop talking in the third person! It's fucking annoying!"

[Don't you remember Dawn?! This bitch messed with us back in Manehattan! Lance, kick her ass!]

Trixie laughed in that annoying way of hers, "Does it bother you when Trixie talks like this? Well to bad!"

"Stop it! What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Seth yelled as he looked between us.

I pointed to the stage, "Get ready for the show!"

He shook his head, "But dude..."

I growled, "Go, or I will take points off!"

His eyes widened and he jumped off the judges platform.

I glared at Trixie, "Me and you are going to try and get along during this stupid competition. Got that?!"

She smirked, "Sure thing, Trixie will try and be nice to the ape."

Ape... ape! That bitch!

I exhaled and sat down, "Just judge the damn contest!"

[Two things: One, that bitch better be glad Twilight isn't here! Two, where is Malbatorus?]

{Wait, where is he?}
[Beats the fuck out of me.]

"Trixie will!" Trixie said taking a seat next to me.

I put my hands to my face, "Damn bitch..."

"Ummm, excuse me, Lance?" Said a small voice below me.

I looked up and looked downward to see Fluttershy. I smiled nicely, "Oh, hey there Fluttershy, what's ya need?"

She hid behind her mane, "Oh, well... Seth told me to come to you before this started... is that okay?"

I chuckled, "Sure, it's okay... wait, do you even know what this contest is about?"

She jumped up onto the platform and shook her head, "No, he just said be here."

Wow.... this contest is a contest for her, and she doesn't even know it.... just wow.

"What is she doing up here?!" Trixie growled.

My eye twitched and I twisted to face her, "You will be nice to her or I will beat the living fuck out of you!"

She lifted her nose into the air and huffed.

I looked back to Fluttershy and smiled, "Just sit next to me if you want... don't mind her."

Fluttershy nodded and slowly sat down.

"Psst! Lance!" I heard somepony whisper yell.

I looked towards the stage to see Seth peeking out from the curtains, "Can we start?"

I sighed and waved my hand, "Go ahead."

He smiled and ran back stage. A few seconds later, I could hear the sounds of whispering and a few things being knocked over.

Suddenly, Spike was pushed through the curtains and onto center stage. He looked around and sighed. He then lifted up a mic and smiled, "Welcome everypony to the first ever 'Brony win a heart'. There will be three events. The comedy act, the... the sexy act, and the musical act."

Oh God, I should have seen this coming.

He pointed to the curtains, "First up for the comedy act is Seth!"

Seth ran out onto stage and bowed.

"Hey Ponyville!" He said happily.

I leaned forward, "You have one minute, and it started ten seconds ago."

His eyes went wide, "Damn!" He looked around and quickly picked up a board off the stage, "Watch and be amazed!"

He then slammed it into his face... repeatedly.

"Times up." I said leaning back.

He collapsed, "My score?"

"Two!" Trixie yelled out.

"Meh, not that funny. But its funny because its your face. Four!" I said with a smirk.

Fluttershy gulped, "Uhh... one. I don't like ponies getting hurt."

Seth groaned and rolled back stage.

"Next up, Alexander... oh sorry, Silver Charger!" Spike announced.

Alexander walked out onto stage, pulling tow large walls behind him. He sat them apart in the middle of the stage and smirked. "Watch this." He then shot some kind of magical balls at each wall.

He reached behind his back and picked up a fish. He then threw it through one of the portals and it began to continually go from one portal to the other.

Alexander smiled and put his face in path of the fish.

*SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK* *Thud*

Alexander fell to the ground with a heavy thud after taking many hits to the face.

Trixie laughed, "Nine! You amused Trixie!"

I crossed my arms, "Ten, because its funny to get hit with a fish."

Fluttershy shook her head, "One."

Wow, she really doesn't like ponies getting hurt.

As Alexander crawled back stage, Spike announced the next contestant, "Next up, we have Shadow Breeze."

Shadow slowly walked out onto the stage and gulped, "Hey..."

Nervous much?

He rubbed his hooves together and gulped again, "Uhhh, I will... uhhhh..."

No act planned out... wow.

He looked around and then looked my direction... wait correct that, he looked at Fluttershy.

*Thud*

Did he just pass out?

[Yes... yes he did.]

"Oh my! Is he okay?!" Fluttershy said standing up.

I put my hand on her shoulder, "He's fine. Don't worry."

"Five, because that is funny!" Trixie said with a smirk.

"Zero, because he had no act planned."

"TEN!" Fluttershy yelled, scaring the crap out of me.

"Wow there!" I said to an excited looking Fluttershy.

She looked at me, "Lance, give him a higher score! He hurt himself!"

I sighed, "I can't Shy, I already gave my rating."

She began to glare...

"TEN!" I yelled out, fearing the Stare.

As Shadow was drug back stage, Spike walked to the center of the stage, "Next up is the... *Sigh* the sexy act." He then walked back to the side and announced the first one up, "First up, Seth!"

Seth walked out... wearing his normal clothes.

I put a hand to my face, "Explain?"

He smiled, "I'm already sexy!"

"Zero!"

"Zero."

"Zero."

Ouch! Three zero's!

Seth sighed, "Damn, I knew I should have worn the dress."

Once he was back stage, Spike announced the next one, "Next up, Silver Charger!"

Alexander walked out wearing a red full body suit with a some blue on it. He had on black... mare shoes. He also wore a little hat and a small pair of black tinted glasses.

He smirked, "How sexy am I?!"

"Ten!" Trixie yelled out, a strange look on her face.

"Meh, four."

"Three."

Alexander smiled and began to walk back stage.

"Look at that flank..." Trixie whispered.

I looked at her, "What?!"

She shook her head furiously, "NOTHING!"

"Okay?"

"Next up is Shadow Breeze!" Spike announced.

A few seconds pasted, and nothing...

"GET OUT THERE!" Somepony yelled back stage.

"PLEASE NO!" I heard another yell.

Suddenly, Shadow was pushed through the curtains... OH MY GOD! BWAHAHAHAH!

Shadow stood there awkwardly, biting his lip. He was wearing a Wonder Woman suit... and to top it all off, he had a big red bow on his head.

"Uhh.... Three?"

"Dude! That's so damn funny! Eight!"

"Ten, you look so cute!"

Shadow smiled awkwardly and ran back stage.

Spike walked to the center of the stage and sighed, "Next up is the musical act."

I leaned over to Fluttershy, "Let's see who sucks."

She glared at me, "Be nice!"

I leaned back to my spot.... wow.

"First up is Seth!" Spike announced.

Seth galloped out and yelled, "Lets do this!"

He picked up the mic and smiled. He then began to sing 'Story of the year'.

Once he finished, he bowed.

"Four!"

"Three."

"Six."

He hit the ground, "Damn!"

When he was back stage, Spike announced the next one up, "Next up is Alexander."

Alexander ran out and chuckled, "Let's get this song going!"

He then began to sing 'Gotta keep your head up'. (I think I just messed that name up.)

Once he was finished, he smiled happily, "So?"

"TEN!" Trixie yelled out.

"Meh, seven."

"Four."

He smiled and walked back stage.

Fluttershy smiled, "Next up is Shadow!"

I nodded, "Uhhh... yeah?"

"Hey! Fluttershy!" Somepony yelled.

We looked over to see Greg, a smirk on his face.

"What?" She asked nervously.

"Did you know this contest is for who gets go date you?" He said with a smirk.

"What?!" She half yelled. She then smiled, "Really?"

He nodded and jumped off the stage.

Fluttershy turned back to the stage and smiled happily.

I smiled, I think she's okay with this idea.

She looked at me, "So, next up is Shadow?"

I nodded.

"Yay!" She said happily.

I wonder what Shadow has planned.

I'm not gay!

I apologize for the beginning, but hey, things like this happen all the time in real life, (At least, in my town XD )

Chapter 117

....

[*GROAN* Thank God we passed out! I don't want to remem... where are we?]
<...I don't know.>

I opened my eyes to see a white ceiling... where am I?

I was on my back... in a bed... with something on me. Yes, I'm confused as hell right now.

Something moved slightly on my chest.

I looked down and saw Tovy. He had his forelegs wrapped around my waist, and his head on my chest. He was asleep, and had a large smile in his face...

<{[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!]}>

I brought my hooves up and pushed him off of me and literally flew out of the bed.

I landed a few feet away and twisted to see Tovy, a large blush on his face.

"WHAT THE HELL DUDE?!" I yelled, in total freak out mode.

He gulped, his blush growing larger, "I-I'm sorry.... it's just... you looked so cute asleep...."

I waved my hooves in front of me frantically, "Whoa! That doesn't mean you have to kidnap me!"

He shook his head, "I didn't kidnap you Lance. You passed out and I didn't know where to take you. So, I brought you to my house..."

[WHAT DID HE DO TO US WHILE WE WERE ASLEEP?!]

"Why were you on me like that then?!" I yelled, backing up to the door.

He gulped again, "I... I just wanted to hold you... and... cuddle up to you... and..."

"No! Just no! Listen to me Tovy! I don't go that way, I'm married! To a mare!" I yelled as I stomped my hooves against the hard wood floor.

He winced at my words and hung his head, "I'm sorry."

I sighed, trying to stay calm, "Listen Tovy, I'm not that mad, but still, you shouldn't have done that."

He looked up, "You're not mad?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm kinda pissed, but not mad. I'll forgive you, this time."

[KILL HIM!]

He smiled happily, "Really?!"

I shrugged, "Yes, really. Just don't do it again."

"I won't, I promise!" He said happily.

I gave him the best smile I could at a time like this, "Good."

I then turned and walked down the hall and to the front door.

Once I stepped out, I heard Tovy running towards me.

"Wait Lance, one more thing!"

I spun around, "What do you-MMMGGGGHHHHH!"

Tovy ran up and planted a large kiss on my lips. He then jumped back, "See ya Lance!" Then he closed the door, leaving me standing there, eye twitching.

[....]
<...>
{....}
[....]
<...>
{....}
<{[WHAT THE FUCK!!!]}>

"AHHHHHH!!! FUCK!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I slammed my face into the dirt and began to shove dirt into my mouth.

[HE KISSED US!]
<THAT WAS SICK!.
[I NO LONGER WANT TO LIVE!]

I rubbed the dirt around on my lips, still screaming out random cuss words.

I then jumped up and yelled, "I NEED TWILIGHT!"

*BZZZT*

I appeared at the door to Dali's house and pushed it open. Inside, I saw Twilight and her mother sitting on the couch, talking.

I ran up to Twilight and picked her up in a tight embrace, holding her like you would a baby, "Sorry Velvet! But I need your daughter for a very important matter!"

Velvet raised an eyebrow, "Which is?"

"TO PROVE I'M NOT GAY!" I then flew down the hall and into our room, where I saw Night Light looking at one of my books, "YOU GOTTA GET OUT NIGHT LIGHT! TWILIGHT'S ABOUT TO PROVE I'M NOT GAY!"

He looked at me strangely, "What do you-OOF!"

I picked him up with my hind legs and carried him to the door. I dropped him and grabbed the door, "Sorry Light! But this is important!"

*Slam*

I then held Twilight out in front of me and smiled, "You know what time it is?"

"What time is it?" She asked, confused.

I smirked, "It's...." I flew towards the bed, a determined look on my face, "... Adventure time!"

[Nice one Lance!]

[Because he used it at the right moment.]

Spark's POV

I trotted down the street, watching Nova and her coltfriend walk and talk.

I don't like her coltfriend. Yeah sure, he was five, but come on!

No, I'm not jealous, I'm only.... oh who am I kidding! I'm jealous! BUT WHY?!

I was keeping my distance from the pair, trying to stay out of sight. But, I could still hear them, kinda.

Nova was telling him about the Wonderbolt's, but he didn't seem that interested.

When Nova asked him a simple question, he turned on her and yelled something about her shutting up, plus a few other things.

Nova yelled back, telling him that she only wanted to know who was his favorite.

Then, he did something that sent my anger over the edge. He slapped her and told her not to yell at him like that again. (They're still kids, what the fuck? Oh wait... he's older than they are... shit.)

Before he could make another move, I yelled out, "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSE TO HIT FILLIES!"

He looked up in time to see me flying towards him, hatred in my eyes.

I slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. I grabbed him by his mane and held him up in front of me, "YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO TREAT FILLIES WITH RESPECT!"

I then slammed my head into his, instantly breaking his snout. I then drug him across the ground to one of the trash bins and slammed him into the side of it. I lifted him up and put his head between it and the lid. I then began to slam the trash bins lid into his head, yelling at him about how to treat a filly.

Once that was done, and I could see that he was barely conscious, I lifted him up and dumped him in the trash bin.

I spat on him and glared, "Now you're where you belong, with the trash." I slammed the lid shut and let out a ragged breath.

I looked over to Nova, to see her standing a few feet away, smiling slightly, "Thank you Spark."

I trotted over to her, "He shouldn't have hit you."

She wrapped her forelegs around my neck and gave me a tight hug, "He was a jerk, always been one. I just thought I could change him. Guess I was wrong huh?"

I chuckled and returned her hug, "You can't change ponies like that."

She broke the hug and smiled, "Want to come over and play with me and Star Chaser?"

I smiled happily, "Yes! Can we check out the maze?"

She nodded with a grin, "Yes, I've been wanting to go in there for a while!"

"Let's go!" I yelled, racing ahead.

I wonder if she'll go out with.... Why did I just think that?

I'm confused right now...

And that's how Spark kicked a older colt's ass XD

Nightmare Night

If you did not send me a costume, I just gave you a random one. Sorry.

Chapter 121

I pulled on the last piece of my costume and looked in the mirror.

Nice, I look awesome!

[Yeah, it's a good thing Twilight was able to change the style and color of our mane.]

I reached over to the table and picked up the glasses that went with the costume. I placed them over my eyes and looked back at the mirror.

[Adam Jensen, the most badass dude I can think of at this moment.]

I smiled and turned around to face Twilight, who was helping Fawn and Spark get their costumes on.

Twilight was dressed up as... a book. Yes, I said it, a book. And, I must say this, she's the sexiest book I've ever seen.

[When we get back, we're so reading that book!]
<{Agreed.}>

Spark was dressed up a a Wonderbolt. That suit really does suit him.

Fawn was dressed up as an apple, a very adorable apple.

And lastly, and the funniest of them all, Kara. Twilight tried to get the costume on her, but she kept fighting her. But, when I tried to put it on, she let me, but she glared at me the whole time. Kara was dressed up as a chicken.

<[HAHAHA! That's still funny!]>

I chuckled and trotted over to Spark, "You ready for your first Nightmare Night?"

He looked up and smiled, "It's going to be awesome! Is Nova going to be there?"

I couldn't help but laugh, all he can think about is Nova being there? Oh man, that's funny and cute at the same time!

"She may be there." I said as I popped my back.

"And there you go!" Twilight exclaimed as she finished putting Fawn's costume on.

Fawn looked in the mirror and smiled happily.

I turned to the doorway where Dali was, "Are you sure you don't want to come? Drax will be there."

She chuckled and shook her head, "No, I good. I will see Drax tomorrow."

I shrugged and turned back to my family, "You guys ready?"

"Yes!" Fawn and Spark yelled out excitedly.

I looked at Twilight and smiled, "When your ready Twi."

She smiled back and nodded. Her horn began to glow, causing a light to engulf all of us.

Five minutes later

I trotted down the street, looking at all the ponies in costume. To be honest, it's pretty funny.

I was currently just walking around, looking for my friends.

Twilight and the kids just ran off on their own, which is fine with me. I just wish Kara had flown off to do her own thing, because she's still on my back. Not the funnest thing in the world, but meh, gotta love that Phoenix.

"Lance!"

I winced at the voice. Why? Why do you hate me so?

I turned to see Tovy, galloping towards me, a large smile on his face.

When he stopped in front of me, he struck a pose, "So, what do you think of my costume?"

I looked him over and chuckled, "Nightmare Moon?"

He nodded and stood up normally, "Yep! Do you like it?!"

I nodded and turned to keep walking, "Yeah, it looks good on you."

[.... You just gave him the wrong complement.]

I heard a squeal behind me and saw Tovy sprint past me. He ran ahead and turned a corner, yelling out 'Yes!'.

I sighed and kept walking.

After a few minutes, I came to town square and saw Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Frederic up on the stage.

Princess Celestia was talking to Luna, and Frederic was writing something down on a scroll.

I trotted over to the stage and looked up, "Hey Frederic."

Frederic looked down and smiled, "Hey Lance, nice costume."

I chuckled and looked him over, "Is that the engineer's suit from Team Fortress two?"

He shrugged, "I guess, Annabel suggested it. I've never even heard of it before."

"Probably because you died before it came out." I suggested.

He tapped his chin, "Huh, I guess that could be it."

I began to say something, but Luna called for Frederic.

He turned around and trotted over to her, leaving me behind.

I shrugged and twisted around and scanned the crowd for anyone I would recognize.

I couldn't see anyone right off the bat, so I just trotted forward and into the crowd. I weaved my way through it, passing a few ponies that I did recognize.

A pony put their hoof on my shoulder and spun me around to face them.

"What?" I asked as I looked them over. It was a light blue stallion with a cloak's hood pulled over his head. His face looked rough and beaten, and scared. Good costume.

He didn't pull his hood up, but responded, "I need to talk to after the party."

I raised an eyebrow, "Huh, okay?"

He gave a nod and began to back up into the crowd till he was out of sight.

Weird?

[Yes, that was weird.... very weird.]

I shrugged and twisted around and continued to walk till I arrived at the edge of the crowd.

And, not to my surprise, I saw Greg. And again, not to my surprise, he was dressed up in a green robe with yellow lining and a red fluffy collar. The hat was green with a red top. And, to top it all off, he had a cane and a belt of blunts running across his chest.

He smirked when he saw me and ran over, "What do ya think of my costume?"

I raised an eyebrow, "A pimp?"

He nodded, "YEP! What to see the best part of this costume?"

I shook my head, "I'd rather not..."

He brought his hoof up and back hoofed me across the face.

"Bitch slap!" He yelled out as he fell on his back laughing.

I glared as I rubbed my face, but then I smirked, "Wanna know the best part of this costume?"

He stopped rolling around on his back and looked up at me, still on his back, "What?"

I raised my hoof, "It has steel boots!" I then brought my hoof down on his family jewels, causing him to coil upward.

I began to laugh as he rolled around, groaning.

"Consider that pay back for the first time." I said as I trotted away.

"I will have my revenge!" He yelled after me.

"And then I will take your balls if you do!" I yelled back, still laughing.

[BWAHAHAHA! Revenge is awesome!]

So, what now? I got my revenge, and talked to a few ponies.

{Good call Dawn.}

I looked around and saw Applejack, still running the same thing from the episode, bobbing for apples.

I trotted over and smiled, "Hey AJ."

She twisted around and waved, "Howdy Lance... Nice costume, what are ya?"

I struck a small pose, "Oh, I'm only one of the coolest guys around, Adam Jensen."

She tapped her chin, "Huh, never heard of the feller."

I walked over to the large bucket of water and looked into it, "I'd be surprised if you had." I slammed my face into the water, but came up with nothing, "Drat!"

Applejack chuckled, "Gotta get them in yer teeth Lance."

I rolled my eyes playfully, "Yeah, I know." I looked back at the water, "You're mine apple!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zorrow trotted down the street, towards the place Seth said Applejack was at.

After careful planning, he's finally decided to make his move... again. This time, there's no one who could interrupt them.

He hoped she would like his costume. He had decided to dress up as a vampire, fangs and everything. Hopefully, she'll like it.

When Zorrow reached the place where she was set up, he saw her and Lance chatting while Lance kept throwing his head into the water of a bucket, complaining when he missed the apple.

Zorrow chuckled and steeled his nerves. He trotted over and waved, "Hey... Applejack... Lance."

Lance pulled his head up and spun around, sending water everywhere, "Hey Zorrow! How ya doing?"

Zorrow smiled slightly, "Oh... I'm doing great... keep bobbing for apples."

Lance laughed and turned back around, "On it! I'm not coming up this time till I get an apple!" He then slammed his head into the water.

Zorrow looked at Applejack, who was talking too a young filly.

"Uhh, yo, Applejack." He said, his voice slightly shaky.

Applejack patted the filly on the head and turned to face him, "Yeah? What'ca need?"

Zorrow smiled the best he could, despite the feeling of nausea that just passed over him, "Ummm, I have to ask you something... Something important."

She smiled and adjusted her hat, "Alrighty then, shoot."

Zorrow began to scratch his neck, "Well, I've been wanting to ask you this for a long time..."

She nodded, but when he didn't continue, she made a gesture with her hoof, "Well, go on."

He gulped and waited a few seconds before continuing, "I've been trying to find the best time to ask this, but... I've been having a hard time...."

Applejack chuckled, "Well? Are ya gonna ask it, or are ya going to go on and on about it?"

Zorrow wiped his hoof across his forehead, "Okay.. Applejack, will you..."

Applejack held up a hoof and looked at the bucket, which Lance was still slumped over in, "How long has his head been in that bucket?"

Zorrow shrugged and looked at him, "I don't... Oh shit."

They both ran over and pulled Lance's head out of the water, and put him on his back.

Lance began to cough up water and he looked up at them, "Let me guess... I passed out in the water?"

They both nodded.

Lance chuckled, "Thought so. Lucky for me, I can't die." He turned over and stood up, "But you could have left me in there, I would have come to eventually, then I would have had that apple."

As Lance trotted away, Applejack turned back to Zorrow, "So, you were saying?"

Zorrow smiled, "I was about to ask if you would go..."

"Come on Zorrow! They're doing the pumpkin toss!" Seth yelled out as he ran past Zorrow and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him behind him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! SO CLOSE!" Zorrow yelled out as he was drug away.

When they came to stop, a few yards from the pumpkin toss, Zorrow jumped up and stared his friend down, "Dude!"

Seth turned and struck a pose, "What? You can't handle the Chuck Norris?"

Zorrow facehoofed, "Dude, just because you're dressed up as Chuck Norris, doesn't mean you have his strength."

Seth smirked, "Oh yeah?" He stood up on his hind legs and made Zorrow do the same.

He then pulled his hoof downwards and brought it up, slamming into Zorrow's chin, "SHORYUKEN!"

Zorrow was then sent straight up, flying at a high speed.

Seth began to laugh and yelled, "I'll see you when ever you land!"

------------------------------------------------------

"Really Peter?" I asked as he finished asking me a question.

He nodded, "Yes! Please, I need a test dummy for this move!"

I shook my head, "No, just because you're dressed up as Alex Mercer doesn't mean I'll let you try that weird arm thing on me."

Peter sighed, "Don't worry, it's fake, only hurt for a second."

I sighed, "Fine, just hurry."

He smiled happily and jumped back, "All hail my mighty blade!"

His foreleg suddenly changed into a large blade... that was fake? How the hell is that fake?

"How is that thing fake?" I asked wearily.

He laughed, "It's enchanted, so it won't cut threw flesh."

"Oh... goodie... shit." I muttered as he pulled it back and slammed it into me... which hurt like hell!

I stumbled to the side and coughed, "That did hurt!"

He smiled sheepishly, "Oops... I thought since it couldn't cut it wouldn't hurt you... Guess I was wrong."

"No durr!" I yelled out as I trotted off. I then sighed, "But, it's still pretty cool. Tell Omnius he did a good job on it."

I then began to walk towards Spark, who was talking to Nova. D'awww, she's dressed up as Daring Do! The cuteness has been doubled!

As I walked, I heard somepony yelling out above. A second later, Zorrow fell out of the sky and landed on a cart, which broke under his weight.

I walked past him and gave him a wave, "Hey Zorrow."

His head was rolling side to side, but he responded, "Oh... hey Lance..."

I laughed and kept walking till I reached the two adorable kids.

Spark was the first to notice me and gave a wave, "Hey dad! Doesn't Nova look awesome?!"

Nova smiled and spread her wings, showing off the full costume.

I chuckled and nodded, "She sure does. Great costume Nova."

She began to bounce around happily, "Thank you!"

I laughed and looked around, "Where's your brother."

"I don't know." She sang out as she continued to hop around.

[Meh.]
<... Shut it Break.>

Nova jumped onto Spark's back and caused them to fall to the ground, both laughing.

I chuckled and looked across the street to see Grace.

"You two don't get into to much trouble." I said as I trotted that way.

"We'll try not to." Spark said, still laughing.

Hmmm, I wonder where Twilight is... and Kara. Huh, strange, she was on my back before I got to Applejack. Must have flown off or something.

Oh well, at least she's no longer on my back.

When I was within talking distance of Grace, I yelled out, "Yo, Grace!"

She spun around and pulled down the hood of her assassin's cloak. I wonder who told her about that game... probably Peter.

"What have you been up to?" She asked, looking me over.

I chuckled and stopped in front of her, "Oh you know, surviving."

She smiled and looked me over again, "So, who are you suppose to be?"

I struck a pose, "I'm the one and only, Adam Jensen."

"Never heard of him." She said with a smirk.

I shrugged, "I didn't expect you too..." I then smiled, "So, how's you and Octavia?"

She giggled, "Don't ask a girl about her sex life."

I raised an eyebrow, "But I didn't... I asked how you two were doing."

She facehoofed, "Oh... Well, we're doing great. That's all I'm going to say."

"Fair enough..." I said as she began to back up nervously.

[Ask her how many times Octavia can make her orgasm!]
{Break.... no... just no... that's not something you ask a girl.}

I sighed and looked around, looking for the one pony I wanted to see: Omnius.

I have something important to ask him.

Something moved off to the side of the crowd, drawing my attention.

[... Lance, don't follow it.]

I turned in that direction and trotted towards it.

[And you don't listen to me.]

Yeah, I never listen to Break. But hey, who would?

[...]

I chuckled and pushed my way out of the crowd and into the open.

Now, where did it go?

I looked around and saw something moving down an alley.

I normally wouldn't follow something down an alley, but, it's Nightmare Night. Need I say more?

I trotted towards it, but when I turned down it, I saw nothing.

That's a disappointment...

... Wait a second...

I looked up just in time to see a pony wearing a business suit drop on me.

When it landed on me, it knocked me to the side and lifted up on... tentacles?!

I stood up and looked up in awe.

The thing was suspended in mid air, using its tentacles to hold onto the building.

I gulped, "Oh shit..."

I focused my gaze on one of the tentacles... and laughed.

The creature cocked it's faceless head and descended.

When it was in front of me, I smirked, "What's up Vinetion?"

The creature facehoofed and pulled off it's face, or, as I should say, it's mask.

Vinetion shook her mane out and looked at me, "How did you know?"

I chuckled, "I saw that the tentacles were vines."

She sighed and looked back at them, "I knew I should have painted them black."

I gave a nod and smirked, "If you would have done that, then I would have thought you were Slenderpony, but otherwise, no."

[Fail.]

Ten minutes later

Frederic swayed to the music that was pouring out of the large speakers, a large smile on his face.

He was having a great time, even if he wasn't with all of his friends.

He looked over at Celestia, who was still talking to Luna.

He looked away, but then looked back, his brow up in curiosity. He smiled and trotted over to them.

"Celestia?" He yelled over the music, which was blasting away off to the side.

She looked at him and held a hoof to her ear.

He took a deep breath and yelled out, "When are you and Vinetion going to make it official?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow and held a hoof to her ear again.

Frederic sighed and yelled the same question out again, "When are you and Vinetion going to make it official?"

Celestia made motion to speak up.

Frederic inhaled and yelled out in his royal Canterlot voice, "When are you and Vinetion going to make it official?"

But, before he could yell out, the music suddenly cut off, causing his voice to be heard by all.

Yes, everypony heard him yell this.

Celestia's eyes widened and she trotted over to him.

She shook her head and slammed her hoof into the back of his head, sending his hard hat flying, "Good job Fred."

Frederic smiled sheepishly, "Oops..."

"FREDERIC!" Vinetion yelled out as she stomped towards the stage, her vines snapping at the air above her.

Frederic's eyes widened and he looked at the royal sisters for help.

"You're on your own with this one." Celestia said with a smirk as she back tracked.

"Sorry honey, but I don't feel like getting my flank kicked by my future sister in law." Luna said slyly.

Celestia glared at her sister before looking back at Frederic, "Good luck."

Frederic looked back at Vinetion as she stomped up on stage.

"You're going to need it."

---------------------------------------------------------

"I'm... I'm free! That fool!"

*Clank* *Metal grinding against metal*

"Ah, the night sky."

*Chains falling to the ground*

"Now, to get this plan underway!"

Edit: Sorry, forgot to include this last part. But, here it is.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

*Crunch*

"Damn! *Sigh* No problem, I can fix that later."

*The sound of hooves against a stone floor*

"Ah."

*The sound of a heavy door being kicked open.*

"Halt! Who goes there?!" A pair of guards yelled out.

"Huh, don't you recognize me?"

"Oh, sorry. Carry on then." One guard said.

*More hoof falls against stone.* *Heavy doors being pushed open.*

"Aha! Freedom!'

*Sounds of hooves against dirt*

"I'ma coming for ya Lance!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir! You're back!"

"*Cough* Gather the others."

"Why?... Sir! You're hurt!"

"I know! Get the others! I want all the magic you can spare!"

"Why?"

"I'm going back for him."

"Sir?"

"Shut up and do as I say!"

"Yes sir!"

*Sound of hooves running off*

*Cough*

"It's all over Lance... all over!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aha, I finally got out of that fool Peter's body! Thank you Nightmare!"

"Don't thank me yet, we still have a job to do, Violent Inferno."

"Yes, yes we do."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Sound of a wall breaking down*

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I hope you like the new horn."

"*Pants* Yes... Thank you.. master."

"Get up, we have a job to complete... Val."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Hissing*

"Yes, we need your help."

*Hissing*

"Great. Meet us at the Nightmare Castle."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This... This is great!"

Heat 3: Three Nights at Freddy’s

Author's Note

Originally there was never going to be a 3rd Heat chapter, but Yamston just couldn't live with that so he wrote it himself. With him being an expert on LTD, and me going over everything, this chapter is indeed CANON.

o7

Heat 3: Three Nights at Freddy’s

~Section added circa 25 A.B. as a result of the court case 'Frederic v. Ponykind, 6 EQ. 189, 154 (25 A.B.)'~
Heat 3: Three Nights at Freddy's
One week later, Frederic’s Bunker

I sat on one of the couches in the Lounge, Spark at my side, as the rest of my friends were being teleported in by Frederic. He just finished the bunker a few days ago. Thank God! I did not want a repeat of last year, not when Spark is here this time.

[Think of the pussy! Spark will be safe with Frederic and our other friends!]
{Not doing it, Break. I don’t want a bunch of kids running around because God fixed my balls, one kid is enough for now.}

[Oh right, you count Kara for some reason.]

[...Didn’t we have a dog?]

“Where’s Mom? Uncle Frederic said this was going to be the best sleepover ever, “ said Spark, fidgeting right next to me.

I forced out a chuckle, “It’s a guy’s night out thing. She said we needed some father son bonding.”

Spark pointed a hoof across the room, “But Mrs. Ditzy is here.”

I looked over to see a visibly pregnant Ditzy huddled next to Cody, who was busy comforting her. She shouldn’t be affected by the heat, so I think it’s fine to keep her here. Though, there was last year with Luna and Twilight…

I waved it off, “She’s going to have a colt… I think. Totally counts.”

He tilted his head to the side, “I guess that makes sense.”

“Attention everypony!” Frederic announced on the bar counter,” Oh! And make sure to cover Spark’s ears real quick, Lance.”

Frederic paced back and forth, “Unfortunately, Heat season came early this year. However! Unlike last time, we have this bunker. For the next 3 days all of us will be holed up in safety as mad mares ravage the land for seed! I know many of you will miss your partners and other family, but there was no other choice. This is for the best.” A projector lit up on the back wall, showing the building layout. Jesus! That’s fucking huge! “Now then, here’s the plan..”

I looked around at the group as Frederic talked about rules or whatever. Among my friends were Peter, David(And his two foals too. brutal), Aaron, Seth, Zorrow, Drax, Alexander, Cody, and Ditzy.

…Wait… Where the hell is Greg?

[He’s upping his pussy game! With us gone he’s got bitches for miles!]
{Of course. That’s so Greg.}

[That on top of her in heat? I salute the poor bastard.]

“...Everyone got that?” Finished Frederic, “Alright, enjoy yourselves now, eh?”

Great, now I can stop pretending to listen. I’ll just ask Spark to ‘remind’ me later.

I took my hooves off of Spark, “Got all that, bud?”

Spark shook his head, “got what, dad?!”

Crap! Oh well. Time to find my room and settle in.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Outside of Ponyville

Malbatorus trotted, yes, trotted, down the road to Ponyville in his sexy new pony body. Well, it is not really new, he had had it for the past few months, in fact. Nevermind that, why didn’t he just become a pony in the first place? Yeah, the dragon form was neat, but no one really wanted to be his friend… well he had ‘friends’, but no one cared enough to visit him all the way in the forest.

But he was a new stallion now! And all he had to do was give away his holy energy to that red witch. Not like he needed it.

As he neared Ponyville he began to smell a very odd stench. Must be an event he wasn’t invited to… as usual.

Where is everypony anyway? It’s like a ghost town- oh! There’s a mare right over there.

He waved over to her, “Hey miss?! Is there something I’m missing?! I’m a bit late to the party!”

The mare snapped her head right towards Malbatorus, staring deep into his soul with glassy eyes.

Then from around the corner another mare stared at him. Then one from the window… then another… and another.

That’s a lot of mares… this is awkward.

He tried to laugh it off, “Hehe, so what’s th-”

“STALLION!” All of them screeched at once.

Before he could collect his thoughts he was tackled by the horde. On all sides he was pinned down . His pony body must be working already! He didn’t even need Fluttershy! Wait? What are they doing? Getting a bit forcefu- STOP! NO NOT THERE!

His screams were one of many that day.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Several hours later, Frederic’s Bunker

“That looks great.” I said through a forced smile.

“Thanks Dad! Can I put it on the fridge?” Spark said as he hopped around.

I shamefully put down my own drawing. I thought I’d try to distract Spark by doodling with him, but not only was he pretty good, he was better than me!

“Sure thing. Gimme,” I said as I stuck the piece of art on the fridge door, only for it to fall down to the floor, as Frederic neglected to buy fridge magnets.

“Hey Lance! You mind helping me out here? I really need a break. “ Said a voice, who turned out to be a disheveled looking David holding his two newborn foals, Azure Moon and Lightning, both of which spent the last 30 minutes crying, much to everyone’s discomfort.

[Gay!]

“Yeah, be there in a sec!” I yelled. I turned to Spark, “Stay here for me, bud.” He nodded and stared at his fallen picture, then I walked over to David and took Lightning from his hooves, calming the foal with the rocking motions Twilight drilled into me months ago.

A few minutes later Azure passed out alongside her brother. David slumped over in relief, “Thank god. You’re a lifesaver, Lance. Being a father is just… UGH! No one else gets it.”

I laughed, “True. Can’t really say Frederic is experiencing the troubles of fatherhood when he has Luna and the castle staff taking care of all of it.”

“I can hear you!” Yelled Frederic, who was across the room, almost waking up the foals, “You have a problem with my parenting, say it to my face! Bit of a hypocrite when Greg aged your kid past all the hard parts, eh?”

Yeah, don’t remind me. I know who I’m tripping first if worse comes to worst.

[He’s not fucking here, remember?]
{I forgot...}

I turned back to David, “You’ll get used to it. I mean, look at me! Being a dad at 17 wasn’t so bad… thanks to Twilight.”

David set down Azure in her stroller and rubbed his eyebags, “Yeah, you have Twilight… “ He looked down at the ground, a solemn look painted on his face, “...But with Dash… She’s… I don’t know if I can do this alone. This whole thing is just… I’m not ready to be a dad. I get no sleep, and… and I feel like I don’t know what to do. Taking care of two foals? Me?! I don’t know how to handle this. What if I fuck them up horribly?! All I know how to do is draw porn! Not like I can do that anymore! Dash made me take down all my art and gave away my hoodie! I mean, like… I get it! But my one hobby is gone and Dash is off in heat a-and I just miss her! Only a few hours and I already feel like I’m falling apart! I’m just… what do I do? Dash is f-fucking and I’m just… fuck…” He rested his head in his hoofs, trying not to tear up, “Sorry I’m just… tired…”

[Holy shit dude. Unprompted trauma dump.]

[Hold the fuck up! Did he say he got rid of all the pony porn?! Fucking BOOOO!]

[I showed Spark memories of Twilight jumping on our fat dick and he seems fine.]
{Dawn, replay the memory of seeing our mom’s… you know.}

[Wait don’t you fucking dare!]

Ignoring them, I put my hoof on David’s shoulder, causing him to still, “You’re not alone here, David. All of… Most of us are going to be here. Bronies stick together, right?.” No reaction, different approach,” And it’s only 3 days, you’ll see her soon.”

“I guess…” He mumbled.

I slid down on the wall next to him.There wasn’t anything I could think of to say, so I sat there waiting for him to open up.

A minute later he lifted his head up a little, “How the fuck do you do it, man?”

I glanced over to him a bit confused, “Do what?”

David lethargically waved his hoof around, “Anything really. You go into a coma and wake up like nothing happened. You get raped, several times from what I’ve heard,and are fine a few hours later. You keep getting attacked by these evil motherfuckers and bounce back up like it didn’t happen. You DIE and it’s no biggie. I just don’t… are you stupid?”

I laughed, “Yeah, a bit. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I gotta do it. Quitting’s not my thing.” I put my arm in a brohoof gesture, “I know I got my bros with me. Same thing for you.”

He bumped my hoof, “Yeah, best bro-nies.”

[Lance, can I hit him? Like for real.]
{Come on, guys! Don't be haters.}
[Oh, I'll show you a real fucking hater!]

I grabbed my gut as I felt a really painful bloating sensation, "Oh god, sorry David I have to go!" I wailed, waking David's kids.

He watched me in disbelief as I ran off, now having to deal with two very upset twins.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Secret Shelter, Ponyville

A young mare sat alone at a table in the corner, lamenting the loss of a thing most dear. Even a year later the bitter hatred gnawed at her heart, but it was okay, the wrath kept away the numbing apathy that dared consume her.

It was because of them, those filthy Bronies, that she suffered so. Thanks to HIM, she lost her innocence, her childhood cut down by the same blade that took her father.

In due time she would join the Equestrian Army and forge her body and mind into the perfect vessel of justice to bring HIM in.

He WILL fall to her hoof. It is not a declaration, it is an inevitability. By Celestia, even by the Brony God, she will bring C…

“Lunch is ready! Get in line before it runs out! Hon hon hon,” Called a voice from the kitchen.

…n to Hell itself! Oh, it appears the luncheon is on.

A quick glimpse at the line told her that it would run out before she was even halfway through it. Do not mistake her as ungrateful, it is a miracle that the shelter was able to house most of Ponyville’s youth on such a short notice, let alone feed them a reasonable quantity. But there were only so many adults to keep things in order, as most stallions had already fled the town when the news of the Heat arrived.

A shift in the seat across from her revealed a blue colt, about half her age, started grumbling, “Bucking stupid line. I never get any of La Fluky’s cooking! It’s always that loser Omnius’ food. I hate nutrient paste!”
She shook her head, internally, for appearances, and moved to correct him for such a foolish mindset, “I would be grateful for any kind of food, regardless of taste, or lack thereof.”

The colt started squirming, “Who bucking asked you, bitch? Bet you’re here because your daddy bailed on you!”

The young mare’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull, the urge to demonstrate justice on this brat nearly took her, but she reeled in control. She will save her fury for HIM; for now, she will deal with this in a more delicate matter

“My father was murdered.” She stated simply

The colt deflated, “Oh… yeah, I get that.”

She turned to look back at the corner, her favorite corner of the past few hours, “Not many do.”

The colt tapped his hooves together in contemplation, struggling to make a decision.

“Speak. If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, don’t.” She said without looking back from the corner.

Gathering his resolve, he spoke about the thing bugging him, “Do you, uh… know about the school thing?”

“Be more specific. I can not read your mind.” A simple request, she hated wasting time. Not when HE still roams free.

“Um... okay. I meant the… massacre. My Dad was one of the guards... “ he muttered, uncomfortable about bringing up the event.

She snapped back to him. Now he had her attention,” You mean when a rogue brony slaughtered an entire squad of guards? The one from a year ago? The March 1st massacre?”

He nodded

“Who was your father? I’m certain he was a brave stallion.” She asked. She finally found someone who could relate to this pain that plagues her soul. Respecting one of her own father’s men is the least she could do.

“He was Blitz. A Corporal. Corporal Blitz!” He stated, cheering up a little.

Corporal Blitz… Ah yes, she remembered her father compending the stallion’s tenacity. He was in position to be promoted, one that he would never live to see.

She straightened her back, “Corporal Blitz was an admirable soldier. You should be proud to be his son.”

He punched the air in imitation of a guard,” Hell yeah! I’m gonna be a guard just like dad and beat up all those bronies!,” He stopped his play fighting and turned quizzically to her, “How’d your dad die?”

She folded her hooves and laid her chin atop, “By the very same brony. That night my father, Lieutenant Brink, was killed by a monster in pony’s skin”

“Who’s that?” He asked, not really knowing who that was.

Breathe in, breathe out. It hardly matters, she supposed, “A great stallion. Now, may I inquire about your name?”

“I’m Blitz!“ When she didn’t react, he continued, “Everyone in my family names their coolest son Blitz. Me, My dad, my pappy, and some other old people are called that.”

“Interesting,” she said. It truly was, but she didn’t know how to react to such information, “My name is Strawell. Pleased to meet you.”

“Hi, Strawell. You’re pretty cool- Oh buck, Omnius is coming over here, I gotta bail.” He said as he ran off into the countless other colts and fillies running amok.

Just like that, the punished soul was alone again, left to think of the day she would bring the one who murdered her father to justice. Your days are numbered, Cody Benson.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Evening, Frederic’s Bunker

I finish tucking Spark in, the little tyke having passed out a little while ago. Thankfully this year’s heat is going great, WAY better than last year. Without Greg here it didn’t immediately go to shit.

[Yo Lance! Let’s go the the bar and get fucking wasted!]
{I’m an angel now. We’re not supposed to drink… I think.}
[Don’t be a damn square! When was the last time God actually punished anyone? If Frederic’s Dad and Cody got second chances then it sure as hell is okay if we drink one fucking beer!]
{I guess you’re right. It’s okay if an angel does it.}

[Dawn, you know neither of us knows what the fuck that means.]

With that I made my way to the bar in the lounge. Upon arriving I spotted Drax on one of the stools and sat next to the quiet guy. Like, when’s the last time I talked to Drax?

Noticing me, Drax spoke with a cheer, “Ah, Lance. How is everything going? Spark doing well?”

“Fine so far.” I said. Picking out one of the bottles, one with a fancy name I didn’t know how to pronounce, and poured myself a cup of the stuff, “It’s busywork trying to keep Spark entertained, but he doesn’t know about all the stuff going on outside. I want him to keep his innocence as long as possible.”

I took a sip… and spit it right back out! Gross! Why is there a bottle of lime juice in the bar?! I hate lime!

Drax barked out a laugh before roughly patting me on the back, “Yes, that would be for the best. The heat is not something one so young should have to go through. Why, I remember my first heat. It was… hmmn.” He said as he scrunched his brows

“It was what? Don’t leave me hanging.“ I said as I went to grab another non-lime drink from the bar.

He sat in a thinking pose for a bit, before relaxing and going back to his own drink, “Well, I do not recall my first heat… or the ones after that, but I suppose I blocked them out. The adult mind is not so forgiving.”

“I wish I could forget my first heat…” I said as I drank from my new bottle. Wait, this is pineapple juice… pretty tasty!

[NO! Don’t drink the fruity femboy booze! Drink like a real fucking stallion!]

[Noooooo! That bitch Frederic betrayed us!]

We spent the next few minutes talking about guy things. Well, it was mostly me talking about things I did on earth, Drax isn’t the partying type.

I gulped down the rest of my juice. I’m sure Twilight will thank me for it later. Satisfied, I turned back to Drax, “So.. how’s it going with Dali?” I asked. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her… despite living in her house for a while.

A whimsical look spread across his face, “Ah Dali, my gleaming siren. She is so beautiful that I fall in love with her all over again every time I see her…” An embarrassed look popped onto his face,” …but to answer your question, everything is going well. We’ve been thinking about starting our own business lately.”

A business? That sounds interesting. I get all my money from Frederic, so I haven’t had to work since I got fired from the cafe. Fast food work is just… not for me.

[I can’t believe Freddy is our sugar daddy…]

{I’ll think about it.}
[No the hell you aren’t! We can read your mind, dumbass!]

Done with my bottle, I went to throw it away, but because I wanted to be cool about it, I tossed it across the room to the trash bin.

*Crash!*

It missed, shattering on the wall to the left of my target. I quickly turned to Drax. I'll let someone else deal with that mess, “What kind of business?”

He shook his head, “Lance…” He started, before deciding to ignore my antics, as most do,” We were planning on going into real estate, it was her idea actually. She said ‘with how often the buildings get destroyed, the housing market must be booming!’”

Damn, didn’t know Dali was such a vulture.

As if reading my thoughts, Drax quickly followed up, “She means it in the best possible way, of course. Dali could never take advantage of someone…well, when she’s not in heat, that is.”

Ooo, poor Dali. The Heat is especially rough for her. If I know anything about her culture it’s that they are very touch starved, “Did you set up all the chains before you left?” I asked.

Drax let out a nervous chuckle, “Oh no, we had to upgrade. This time she’s locked herself into a safe… and if that’s not enough she has an electric collar to pacify her if she leaves the basement.”

Why didn’t I think of doing that with Twilight?

[Magic.]

Oh right. I stretched and let out a yawn, “Nice catching up with you Drax, but I’m done for the day.” I said as I walked back to my room.

He waved, “See you later, Lance.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Night, Canterlot Royal Dungeons

Red Storm lay in his cell, head resting on his hooves, as he counted the tiles in the ceiling for the… well he lost count, but it was a lot.

“I need some diiiiiick…” someone drawled from the cell next to his

How did it come to this? Locked in a cell wasting away isn’t what Storm wanted, and the harassment from Draco didn’t help things.

Oh yeah, money. Not many know this, but the reason he became a minion for Val, and eventually Nightmare, was just for monetary gain. Well, it wasn’t just greed motivating him, but desperation as well.

“Storm! Just slide that dick through the bars. Come on! I’m hungry!” Whined Draco, lustful as ever.

Storm never thought himself as very smart, and to be honest was a bit of a bum. After his parents kicked him out, he stayed at his friend’s place… until they kicked him out too. Storm never got around to the whole job thing, mostly because he couldn’t. He needed an ID and would need to know how to file taxes. He certainly tried, but the second he tried looking at legal documents his mind would glaze over… the whole thing just left him feeling very confused and stupid. Others tried to help, but he felt like a lost cause.

So, if he couldn’t exist within the law, then he might as well live outside of it. Not long after he was employed by Val at the Pleasant Fields station. He wasn’t exactly proud of working there, but at least he didn’t have to look at paperwork.

“Please! I’ll be quick with it! I’m so horny!” Shouted Draco as he tried to shake the bars.

Whenever he does get out of here, he should try getting his shit together. Maybe he’ll ask Lance for help.

If only so he would never have to see his cellmate again.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Morning of the second day, Frederic’s Bunker

“Dad, I’m so boooooored!” Said Spark as he tried to do a hoofstand (Handst-?

[Do not.]

H-hoofstand against the back wall. Clearly at his wit’s end.

[Fucking tell me about it. This place is a fucking BORE!]
{Yeah, I know… but I’d rather not let me or spark get raped.}
[Where the hell are Frederic’s kids anyways? He’s not holding out on us, is he?]
{I’ll ask him later.}

“I’ll find something for you to do, bud. I’m sure Uncle Frederic has something.” I said as I opened the door, “Just stay patient for a little longer.”

“O-okay… dad.” Spark muttered, struggling to stay upside down. I should leave before he hurts himself.

I left my room to go to Frederic’s office. Now to just find it.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lance’s House, Canterlot

It was quiet as Fawn sat alone in the dining room, with the occasional crunching disturbing the peace as she ate her cereal.

‘I should really learn to cook’ she had thought to herself. With her mother off in Heat, and her Dad forgetting to take her with him to the bunker, she only had the most basic of foods to eat.

It’s not like she blamed them for leaving her behind. She’s too young to be in Heat, and wouldn’t be a target like her brother might be. If anything she would be taking up their space.

Fawn sat thinking about the current problem running through Equestria. The Heat was something of an enigma to her. It just didn’t make any sense, biologically or culturally, but perhaps she was too immature to understand such things.

Even if she didn’t understand it, the heat just felt so out of place. After overhearing what happened to her Dad last time, she wanted to make sense of it, but she couldn’t find information on it anywhere. Not a single book talked about it, not even in those biology books she snuck home.

Perhaps the strangest thing is that she has memories of it always being a thing, like it was always there, even when it was proved otherwise. Sure she witnessed the catastrophe of the Heat last year, but nothing before that.

Back when she was with her parents… her REAL parents, she couldn’t recall a single moment of such a thing. But then this feeling tells her it did happen.

Fawn shook her head, finished with her breakfast. What did she know? She was just a kid.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Back at Frederic’s Bunker

After a few minutes of wandering around the complex, I found a door with ‘Frederic’s Office’ stamped in bold letters. Below that was a sign saying ‘Do Not Enter’ in bright red.

‘Must be for the other bronies,’ I thought. Frederic was like a brother to me, so I entered without knocking.

Inside the room was a pretty cozy looking office. Frederic was in a chair facing towards… a bunch of monitors? Frederic had tv and didn’t even tell me?!

As I walked forward I saw what Frederic was intently watching. It appeared to be… Ponyville? And is that Canterlot? I think I can see my house in one of the shots.

[Is he watching the heat go down?! He should’ve invited us!]

I didn’t really like the idea of a camera pointed at my house, but I’m sure Frederic had a good reason.

“Yo Frederic!” I yelled, causing Frederic to jump out of his seat in shock… Oh God, is that his wang?!

Catching his bearings, Frederic looked pissed, “Lance! I said to not go into my office! Can’t you read?!” He said as he tried to cover up his lower half.

I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment, doing my best to not look at that, “Guess not…”

“What the hell do you want, Lance?! I’m busy here!” Snapped Frederic, clearly wanting to get rid of me.

[Yeah, ‘busy’. We’re going to come back here later to ask for the tapes.]

Right, I wanted to ask something, “Is there anything to do around here? Like any board games?” I asked.

“That’s it?” He yelled. Suddenly his horn glowed and a flash enveloped the room. A bunch of boxes were shoved into my hooves, “There, now get the hell out of here, eh.”

I was then covered in a green glow and teleported back to my room. Shortly after I heard a gasp and a thud. Looking over I saw a fallen over Spark, face red from being upside down for so long.

Picking up a box at random, I showed it to Spark, “Who wants to play Marenopoly?”

Spark did a sick flip and snatched the box from my hooves, “Yay! Marenopoly!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Nightmare Castle, Giro’s Dimension

Giro stood before the throne of the demon that ruined his world. Long mummified bodies of countless ponies decorated the vile room, twisted and molded into mockeries of furniture, with those he held most dear unified as the chandelier.

Nightmare himself hadn’t reacted as Giro marched forward, merely glancing at him as an insect not aware of its impending demise.

“Nightmare!” Giro raged, stomping and cracking the stone tiling, “This is the end! This is the day you die!”

Just as before, Nightmare didn’t react, at first, but soon a low rumbling permeated the room. The demon burst out into an ear splitting cackle that echoed through the lifeless halls of this forsaken castle.

“You have failed before, insect, and will fail again!” Taunted Nightmare as his presence shook the walls. His previous expression of boredom long gone, now replaced by a hungry glare, “But since you saved me the effort of hunting you down, I will personally reunite you with your fallen comrades, permanently!”

Giro’s response was to use his new transformation, the one he asked Lance’s version of Greg to unlock for him. His muscles bulged forth, his mane roaring in a red and blue flame, the occasional bolt of lightning surged around his body. This was it. Even if he wasn’t an angel like his counterpart, this power fed off his anger, and trust him, that was in abundance.

Nightmare rubbed his claws in amusement, “OH? What’s this? Yet another gimmi-”

*POW*

Giro’s flaming hoof was embedded deep within Nightmare’s face, interrupting his monologue. The force of the punch destroyed the throne and the wall behind it. They continued to crash through several walls before both tumbled into a barren courtyard, smoke and ash obscuring them both.

Giro stood at attention, having his two new consciences, New and Moon, watch his back. He could not be caught lacking, not with Nightmare. Even the slightest mistake could mean this was all for nothing.

“Hey asshole!” The beast roared in the deathly fog. Found him, “I didn’t get to finish-”

Once again Giro shot forward, intending to end this as quickly as possible.

*Boom*

The concussive force of the hit cleared the ash cloud, revealing that Nightmare had caught Giro’s hoof. His arm strained and left eye swollen, but still in the fight. A manic grin threatened to split his face in half, “As I was saying, it’s rude to interrupt a monologue, but a brute like you never had the taste for theatrics.” He pushed his arm forward, causing Giro to slide back against his will, “Mindless as you may be, I will enjoy painting my new throne with your greymatter, fool!”

Not good. Giro had to get out of this stalemate. In a panic he used his other hoof to destroy the floor beneath them. The unstable footing caused Nightmare’s grip to lessen, giving Lance just enough time to jump back.

Giro ducked as ink colored claws slashed above him, followed up by a pair of jaws lunging for his neck. With the little time he had, he shielded himself with his front leg, wincing as he felt jagged teeth punctured deep into his flesh and through his metacarpal.

Nightmare tried to pull back, tearing Giro’s leg even further, but couldn’t unstick before Giro used his right hoof to bash the demon’s snout, sending him back flying with a trail of shattered teeth and blood.

Giro shakily stood back up, his front left leg hovering above the ground, rendered useless from the brief exchange.

A quick glance at Nightmare showed he had it worse. His snout was completely broken, flopping against his chin as the bone was effectively dust. Black ichor poured downward, staining the stone beneath.

With a gargled howl, Nightmare charged forward on all fours, his all consuming rage that anyone could pose a threat to him reverting him to a feral beast.

Giro flapped his wings, sending him upwards just in time for Nightmare to crash into the wall behind him, collapsing it and the ceiling, trapping him.

Taking advantage of the brief pause, Giro quickly wrapped his shredded leg with a roll of bandages. It wouldn’t save it, but it would slow down the bloodloss.

Without warning, the rubble exploded. A black streak crashed into Giro and launched him into the top of a surrounding spire before he could register the attack.

He was completely numb. Giro looked forward with blurry vision, Nightmare stood above him, wing-like appendages flowed out behind him. His eyes pierced him with an unrelenting fury.

A sharp pain let itself be known. When Giro looked downward, he saw Nightmare's arms crushing down on him… and his claws speared right through his chest. He lost…

A second mouth formed on Nightmare’s chest and cackled, “Once again, I stand victorious! It’s always the same, Lance! You could not win, and now you will DIE!”

Yeah, he would die… and he would take Nightmare down with him. With his fleeting consciousness he gave a mental command for New and Moon to start the countdown.

Before he left Lance’s world, he talked to Omnius and demanded he build a similar explosive to the one in Lance’s bionic eye. The Traveler at first refused, but Giro said it would only be a last resort, and he promised that he would return.

A promise he had no intention of keeping.

Giro, willing the last bit of life in his body, clamped his hooves around Nightmare’s arms, much to the demon’s amusement.

“It’s no use, insect.” Gloated Nightmare, ignorant of his fate, “Your will persits, but your dying body can not. Embrace the eternal darkness that awaits you.”

Weakly, Giro said what would be his last words, “Just… reassurance… for when I… DRAG YOU TO HELL!” He yelled, knowing what was to come.

Before Nightmare could respond, the world was consumed by a blinding light. The explosion destroyed the castle and surrounding landscape, with the scorching heat melting what little remained.

…And Equestria was left empty. Not a soul lingered. Nightmare, having killed even his minions for amusement, had unknowingly left himself without a means of resurrection.

From the few pockets of vegetation left, the world would regrow. It will recover…

…Without pony or brony alike.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Hours later, Frederic’s Bunker

“Dad… I don’t like Marenopoly…” Spark droned, splayed out on the ground.

“Yeah, me neither. I forgot I hated this game.” I said, just as done with this as Spark was.

[How the hell does a game end with both players bankrupt?!]

[Fucking bankers, man]

I looked at the game I was planning on playing next, Bronopoly, but decided that wasn’t the best idea right now.

Who could I bug for things to do? David and Cody are busy dealing with their families, Drax is kind of boring, I just don’t like Aaron, and Peter is a bit too extreme with his pranks… Aha! I’ll ask Alexander for those portal bracelets.

[Do we really have to talk to that guy?]

[Fucking annoying?]

ask
I poked Spark in the shoulder, “I’ll go talk to Alexander and see if we can borrow his bracelets. That sound fun?” I asked

Spark jumped to his hooves and ran around me, “Yippee! I always wanted to play with those!” He then suddenly stopped and looked at me a bit confused, “But mom said to never talk to that guy.”

Honestly, good move on her part. What would I do without her? I patted Spark on the back, “I’m the one that’ll talk to him, so it’s fine.”

“Okay!” He yelled as he ran out of the room, leaving me behind. Better catch up with him.

After a few minutes we knocked on Alexander’s door, but he wasn’t there. A little while after we found him in the kitchen baking a cake. When we entered he waved.

“Hello Lance, great day we’re having… WAS WHAT I WOULD SAY… THE HEAT IS UNBEARABLE!!” Alexander said in his… special way.

How does that bitch Trixie put up with this? Nevermind, I want to get this over with.

“Hey Alex…” I said as I pointed to Spark,” I was wondering if we could borrow your bracelets. Spark has been begging me all day if we could use them.”

Spark looked at me confused, but I gave him a look that said ‘go along with it’.

An expression of worry and shock was plastered on his face like a half n’ half bukkake, “Okay Lance… BUT JUST THIS ONCE!!” He said as he hesitantly slid the accessories off his forelegs and passed them to me.

As soon as I had them I turned to go back to my room, “Thanks man!”

“Just remember to give them back… AND DON’T BREAK THEM… THEY’RE ONE OF A KIND!!” He yelled out before I could leave.

“Got it!” I replied. A minute later me and Spark were back in our room. He sat patiently as I fiddled with the bracelets. How do these work?!

Oh, that makes sense. I slid one on and pointed it at the wall. When I flexed my hoof a blue portal appeared on the wall

“That’s so cool!” Yelled Spark in excitement.

I smirked, “If you think that’s cool, then watch this.” I said as I shot one portal on the ceiling and one directly below it on the floor. I then jumped into the floor portal and entered an infinite free fall.

Spark watched in amazement, “You’re going so fast, Dad!”

[Ugh.. I’m getting a little dizzy here]

Wanting to finish off this in a cool, but safe, way, I would need Spark to set something up. “Spark, put the mattress up against the wall!” I yelled.

“Okay Dad!” Spark said as he struggled to lift the bed up. When it was ready, I shot a portal on the opposite wall to launch me into it.

Only I used the wrong portal, causing me to smack into the floor with a sickening thud. Ouch! That hurt like a mofo!

Spark ran up to me in panic, “Are you okay, Dad?!”

“Never… better…” I mumbled into the concrete floor.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Salisbury Hospital, Griffinstone Kingdom

Jun lay completely still in his dirty hospital bed bored out of his mind as he waits to fully recover. After that fake bitch Lance, Giro, threw him off that cliff, he barely escaped by floating down a river that led him all the ocean, before being picked up by a griffin fishing boat.

The griffins were a very gruff group, but they treated him better than any of the ponies did. They even brought him all the way back to their homeland so he could be treated there… not like they knew how to treat ponies well.

[This is fucking bullshit! Why did they have to wire our fucking jaw shut?!]

{Jreak! Jawn! Shut up! I’m getting another headache.}
[That’s called brain damage, retard!]

[Since fucking when?! It’s 2014!]

That’s how most days went. Endless ranting between his consciences occasionally broken by a check-up with the staff.

Jun was trying, and failing, to sleep the time away, but the door opening caught his attention. A tall red unicorn made her way inside and stood at the foot of his bed. Her red snake eyes looked over him with mild intrigue. Jun could swear he saw a star shape flicker in her iris.

She gracefully swept back her long white mane before speaking, “You would be Jun, correct?” She asked

[Whoa mama! I’m already at half chub!]

Jun, unable to talk with a fractured jaw, could only nod his head sheepishly.

A devilish smile appeared on her face, “You are just the stallion I was looking for. I have an offer of sorts, if you are interested. I can offer you the power to surpass your oafish counterpart.”

[Ah hell no! This bitch is just wants to scam us!]

Jun shook his head. He was done taking deals. Nightmare offered the same thing and look where that got him. They treated him like shit, a fucking errandboy, and now he’s stuck in a hospital in a foreign country.

The mare didn’t take offense to the rejection. If anything she looked ready to press onward, “Your hesitance is expected. Why, after working for someone as single minded as Nightmare, even I would not trust so easily.” She then looked into his own eyes, freezing him in place. Scary, “But there is more to it than that, is it not?”

Unsure how to respond, Jun shrugged.

Her horn began to glow, and Jun felt like a hot wire was being ripped from his gums.

[AAAAH! That fucking hurt!]

[Why couldn’t this have happened after we got better?!]

With a burst, Jun was now off the bed in his Jreaking Jawn form ready to kick ass, “You whore! I’m going to enjoy beating… the shit… out of…”

…What happened? He could talk! And that ache in his rib was gone. Just who was this witch?

The mare herself hadn’t moved. Floating next to her was the contraption that silenced Jun for the past few months.

“Think of this as a gift… and a fraction of what those who join my services get.” She said simply, as if his outburst didn’t even happen.

“Now.” She continued, “I have an offer, if you please?”

Jun, confused with how everything is turning out, only nodded.

“You may call me Lilith. I have heard tales of your plight, clone of Lance Greenfield…” She trailed off

At the mention of that name he growled, but with a look she shut him up and continued.

“Brought into this world without a choice, with the same thoughts and memories as your counterparts… the same love for his wife and child… only to be told none of it mattered. Why would the feelings of a mere clone be of any consideration?” She said, tearing up old feelings inside of Jun, causing his head to droop.

Lilith walked forward and raised his chin with her hoof, “But you’re more than that, aren’t you? You’re just as real as he is, if not more so. Lance never had to lose his family, never had the experience of complete isolation as you have. That you would still fight for your wife and your son after all that proves you as the superior, do you not agree?”

That.. yeah! Fuck that poser Lance! He shouldn’t have to lose everything because he’s not the first one! He would not just forget everything HE did for Spark, Twilight, and Fawn! They should be with him, not Lance!
[Fuck yeah! We’re going to get our family back!]

[Me too, Jawn! Oh God, I think I’m starting to cry.]

Jun was determined to do anything to beat Lance. He stood proud, ready for what’s to come, “Yeah! but I need something strong. I didn’t get angel powers like Lance. My Jreaking Jawn form was barely enough to beat Grace… and she sucks!”

[Shhh. Let us have this moment]

At the mention of angels, Lilith’s smile grew sinister, “Oh yes, that would be a problem… for most…”

He nodded his head in anticipation, “Yeah?! yeah?! What is it?!”

Lilith’s horn began to glow, and the star, no, pentagram in her iris glowed brightly, “How would you like the power to kill an angel?”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Morning of the 3rd day, Frederic’s Bunker

Spark and I spent several hours yesterday messing around with the portals before Alexander frantically asked for them back. Bruised and battered from our activities, we went to bed afterwards

We woke up to an announcement by Frederic asking everyone to head to the main lounge. He apparently had something important to show all of us.

By the time we arrived everyone else was already in the room sans David, who appeared shortly after we did.

Frederic glanced around the room. Confirming that everyone was here, he started his announcement, “Hello everypony! It’s our last day in the bunker, eh. Is everything going well?”

The group mumbled in agreement, but clearly tired of just sitting around doing nothing.

“Okay, I know morale is a bit low, so that's why I-” A bright flash interrupted Frederic, who turned back in shock.

{It can’t be?! Not her!}
[Pussy time!]

Next to me Alexander started panicking, “Oh no, it’s Princess Luna… SHE’S GOING TO RAPE US!!”

Frederic hesitantly got in a battle pose, “Everypony run! I’ll hold her off!”

Before anyone could run to safety, a dark blue glow grabbed all of us, cutting off all means of escape.

With a crazed look in her eye, Luna slowly dragged all of us to her, “It was about time I found you, Frederic! Forgot about our mind link, didn’t you? Time for you boys to-”

*KABOOM!*

From my outstretched hoof, Luna was sent hurtling and violently impacted into the back wall, slumping over unconscious.

[Pow! Back to the kitchen with you!]

[My bad. Ahem, may you please go back to the kitchen?]

{Shut up you two fucking idiots!}

Frederic looked like he had a heart attack, “JESUS LANCE! What did you do to my wife?!”

I left my Holy Dawn form and put a hoof on his shoulder, “I had to do it. She put all of us in danger.”

As Frederic went to make sure Luna wasn’t too hurt, I heard tiny hoofsteps behind me, “Dad? What’s going on? Why was the princess so… different?” Asked a scared Spark.

Aw fuck. Now I have to explain this to Spark. This is going to be difficult.

“Well… Luna was… under mind control!” I exclaimed. What? I’m not giving him THAT talk just yet.

“M-mind control?” Asked Spark, now terrified.

I hugged Spark close, “Yeah, there's a bad guy out there who’s taking control of all the mares and making them do bad things.”

Spark started shaking, “E-even mom?”

I looked away, “Yeah… even mom.” I hugged him tighter, “But don’t worry, bud. Tomorrow everything should be back to normal.”

A pissed off Frederic popped up behind us, “Now’s not the time for your sh- malarkey, Lance. Stop lying to the kid. “ Said Frederic. Come on man, I was hoping the lie would last a little longer than that. He turned to Spark, “Luna was in Heat. It’s a natural part of the reproductive cycle where all the mares hunt down and breed with the stallions. You’ll be part of it one day too, for better or for worse.”

I glared at him, but he glared right back. Fuck you Frederic. I was trying to keep Spark’s innocence. Whatever remained of it, anyways.

The laugh of a mare pierced through the room, followed by several others. My eyes widened in shock. Fuck! There’s more! Luna must’ve told them where we were!

A latch on the ceiling burst open, mares spilling all over the floor. I had to do something.

[Remember what Twilight said! Sacrifice one of the homies!]
{Great idea!}

[Oh it’s fine. I’d be jumping in there right now if Lance wasn’t being such a bitch!]

I frantically scanned the room to see who would be the first. There! I flew over to their corner of the room.

Zorrow looked over to me while panicked, “Lance! What do we-”

“Not you!” I snapped. Moving forward, I hefted Aaron above me.

“”L-lance?! What the hell are you doing?” Screamed Aaron as he squirmed in my grasp.

“It’s for my kid!” I yelled as I threw Aaron into the still tangled pile of mares. The second he landed they dragged him in before he could get a scream out. Eh, he’s already been raped in the two previous heats. I’m sure he’ll be fine.

With the mares distracted with their current prey, I bolted over to Spark and put him on my back, ”SCATTER!” I yelled as I went down one of the hallways, leaving my other friends behind.

For a full minute I ran nonstop down the corridors of the bunker, trying to any place I could safely protect Spark in. Damn it! Why did Nightmare take away my ability to teleport! I would’ve been long gone by now.

I ducked when I saw something fly at me. Good thing I did, cause the steel wall caved in from my unwanted stalker’s attack. Hold on, is that Grace?!

[Yeah, uncomfortable horny! It’s like the one time you can fuck a lesbian and get away with it!]
<...You’re sick in the head.>
{Huh. That makes me wonder how Tovy is holding up.}

ooo000<^>000ooo

Somewhere, Canterlot

Tovy screamed, “No! You can’t do this to me! I’m gay!”

The mare on top of Tovy laughed, “Hi Gay! Now give me that dick!”

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Back to Lance

[I’m sure he’s got it handled]

“Stallions…” Grace droned. She lowered herself, getting ready to charge again.

I can’t fight her and protect Spark at the same time, he’ll get hurt! But I can’t leave him alone either…

“Spark! You need to keep running. Can you do that for me?!” I yelled, getting into a fighting stance.

“Stay safe, Dad!” said Spark as he jumped off my back and ran out of sight. Perfect. Now I don’t need to golf back.

I entered my Holy Dawn form and charged towards Grace, “Bring it on!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Elsewhere in Frederic’s Bunker

Seth and Zorrow galloped down the many corridors of the oversized safehouse. Both of them were breathing heavily and sweat coated their bodies. They lost sight of everyone a little while ago, but they had to keep running.

Right when they turned a corner, they slammed into something solid… yet furry. When they looked up they saw… oh fuck…

“Celestia?!” Seth and Zorrow screamed in unison, despair rocking through them.

Seth took a shaky breath, “I know that I haven’t been the best friend to you man…” He turned to Zorrow, ”but you’re all I… what the fuck?!”

Zorrow was already long gone. Just as he turned a corner he could hear Seth yell, “ASSHOLE!” at the top of his lungs.

‘That’s payback for leaving me at the mercy of Big Mac!’ He thought.

But before Zorrow could get much further, he felt something wrap around his back leg. Losing his balance, he tumbled on the floor and hit his head.

Gathering his bearings, he saw a green pony surrounded by vines.

Just before the vines could grab him, he dove out of the way and ran back to where he ran from, ‘I take it back! Vinetion is SO much worse than Molestia!’ He thought, more exhausted than ever.

“Get back here so I can tear you apart!” Roared Vinetion, right on his heels.

No way in hell was he letting that happen. He remembered what happened to Lance… he shuddered at the thought.

For the third time that day, Zorrow crashed into a pony, and this time it was… Seth? If he’s here then that means Celestia is…

Zorrow gulped. No matter how he looked at it, he was surrounded. Celestia blocked the path in front with Vinetion behind them.

Seth realized the same thing, his previous anger dying down to a whimpering simmer.

In the last moments the two remain unviolated, they shakily hug each other, waiting for the pain to start.

…

…

Seth and Zorrow hesitantly peeked at their captors, but both hadn’t moved yet. In fact, they were completely ignoring them.

“Celly..?” Vinetion struggled to say, almost as if it was being actively repressed.

“Vinetion..?” said Celestia in a strained voice.

The two stood still for what seemed like forever. But then, without warning, the two mares jumped into each other, lips locked.

Seth and Zorrow’s jaws dropped at the sight of them exploring each other out in the hallway. The prior feeling of dread now replaced with just confusion… and a little bit of horny, if they had to be honest.

“I think we should leave. Before they get any ideas…” Said Seth.

“Yeah… let’s go do that..” Replied Zorrow.

The two ran off without much fanfare.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Wherever Peter is, Frederic’s Bunker

‘This is kind of boring’ Thought Peter as he piledrived a random pony, Berry Punch if he remembered correctly, through a table. The mare became a rag doll the second her head smacked against the ground. Peter got up and tossed her aside, ready to fight the next mare that jumped at him.

This time it was Carrot Top that lunged at him. Peter quickly spun on his front hooves and bucked her right in the jaw, sending her flying spitting teeth and blood.

This Heat was a lot more boring than last year. The threat level of horny mares doesn’t stack up well to super forms. Don’t get him wrong, he absolutely did not want a repeat of last year, but this whole event just felt really underwhelming.

Speaking of super forms, how could Peter still use Violent Inferno after Lance killed him on Nightmare Night? Uh… he didn’t really know, but his transformation did feel a lot weaker than before.

‘But not THAT weak!’ Thought Peter as he used a stray frying pan to bash in a mare’s snout, spraying blood across the room.

“Hey, watch it!” Yelled David as he shielded his young foals from the violence, “I DO NOT want to explain to Dash why Azure and Lightning have blood stains on them.”

Peter dodged another mare, his leg jutting outward, causing the mare to trip and fall into the nearby oven. Peter locked the oven door, trapping the mare inside, “I’m trying my best here, but they won’t stop coming!” He replied as two more mares fell from the ceiling. He simply stepped to the side as they cracked their heads against the floor, knocking them out cold.

With David as a noncombatant, on top of needing to take care of two very young foals, he was a sitting duck. But Peter could fight as long as he needed to. He won’t leave a friend behind.

“Watch out!” Warned David, but it was too late. Peter felt a rope tie its way around his foreleg. A quick glance showed it was Applejack. She may be strong, but he’s a Joki Knight! He would know a thing or two about lassos.

Pulling the rope with all his strength, Applejack was launched in his direction. He moved right out of the way as she shot past him… and right into a cabinet full of plates. The sudden force weakened the reinforcements, and the entire structure collapsed onto the cowgirl, glass shards and sharp utensils alike.

Peter started sweating when a crimson pool inked out from the rubble.

“Oops.” Said an embarrassed Peter, “Hope Rarity doesn’t get too mad at me.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Fucking somewhere else in this Bunker, I didn’t map out anything

Spark ran as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. He didn’t know what was going on. The Heat didn’t make ANY sense! Why would ponies turn on each other like this?!

He’s scared. He wants his dad… He wants his Mom..

Spark skid to a halt when he saw a pony in the dark. He couldn't tell who they were in this light, but as he turned around he heard them speak.

“Spark? Is that you?” He heard a very familiar voice call out.

He turned back instantly, face alight with relief, “Mom!”

From the shadows Twilight stepped forward, revealing her form. Her face was a bit red and something in her eyes looked wonky, but compared to the other mares he’s seen today she looks fine.

Twilight rubbed the top of his head, a sweat smile on her face, “Oh I’ve missed you, Spark. But I have something very important to ask… Do you know where your father is?”

Spark’s head popped up, “Dad? He’s this way! Follow me!”

As Spark ran off, Twilight followed with enthusiasm. She just HAS to see Lance.

ooo000<^>000ooo

One of the many pointless storage rooms Frederic built into this place. Maybe he’s compensating for something.

Cody and Ditzy had found refuge in one of the side rooms. They had spent the past several minutes barricading the door with loose bits of furniture scattered around. He would’ve preferred to keep running, but the pregnancy had taken its toll on his wife, so they had to make do.

Ditzy was gasping heavily, exhausted from the brief workout that normally she could do without a sweat.

Cody leaned up against Ditzy, letting her relax into him, “It’s going to be okay. We’ll be safe here.”

She nuzzled his neck, “Cody… you could’ve left me behind. It’s you they want.” She muttered.

“I could never,” He comforted, “You saw how feral those mares were. What if they trampled you? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you or the baby got hurt…”

Ditzy giggled and put a hoof on her bump, “I’m so happy our foal has such a strong sexy stallion to look up to.”

Cody blushed at the comment, but then jumped when he heard a bang against the door.

He jumped to his hooves, “Ditzy! Get behind me!” Cody yelled in panic.

The barricade proved useless when the door exploded. In the doorway stood a blue unicorn, horn glowing with malicious intent.

“Found one!” The intruder yelled, no doubt alerting any nearby mares.

Cody looked around for something, anything, to use as a weapon, but before he could grab a nearby chair leg he was pinned down by a yellow aura. The mare jumped on him not long after, drooling all over his face. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t move!

“Get off of him!” he heard Ditzy yell.

It was like the unicorn didn’t even hear her. She began to hover herself over Cody’s groin, much to his discomfort. Thankfully, before she could do anything, she was thrown off of him by none other than Ditzy.

The aura keeping Cody bound disappeared, and he rolled back onto all fours. He ducked as another mare had entered the room and tried to tackle him. This wasn’t good. They need to get out of here!

The blue mare had recovered, and she was absolutely pissed, “What’s your problem, you bimbo?!”

Cody felt some grab at his back leg and trip him. Looking back he saw the second mare, a pale orange one, crawling her way up onto his back and pinning him. He tried to gently kick her off him without hurting her too bad. He knew they weren’t in their right mind.

A chill ran down his spine when he heard Ditzy scream out in pain. Snapping his head over to where he heard the scream, the sight made his blood run cold.

Ditzy was on the ground crying. Above her stood the blue unicorn… and her horn was impaled right into her stomach… right where their baby was…

Something in Cody snapped. With a roll Cody threw the orange mare off of himself. He didn’t care about where she was at the moment, he NEEDED to get her off of Ditzy.

As he bolted over to the unicorn, he picked up a broken chair leg from the long obliterated barricade and jammed the splintered end right into her neck.

Cody didn’t care if the mares weren’t in their right mind anymore. He didn’t care if he promised to never go back to his old ways. NO ONE hurts his family.

The mare fell to the ground desperately grabbing at her punctured throat, clinging to a false hope that if she holds tight enough she won’t die. Whimpering on the floor, blood pooled around her as crimson bubbles and snot foamed around her mouth. As the mare’s twitches slowed to a cold stop, for just a second the fog in her eyes cleared, regaining her senses in her last moments, before the spark in her eyes faded, and she lay lifeless.

Cody walked back to the orange mare, who was still dazed on her side, and jumped on the back of her head. With a meaty crack her head split open, staining him and the floor a familiar red.

Quickly running back to Ditzy, he hugged her. Both trembled in each other’s grasp.

“It’s going to be okay… it’s going to be okay… it’s going to be okay.” Was all he could think to say to comfort Ditsy… and himself.

Multiple hoof steps could be heard approaching. Cody reluctantly let Ditzy go and pulled out the chair leg from the corpse's throat.

As more and more mares poured into the room, he brandished his makeshift weapon. He would kill all of them if he had to.

“No one EVER touches my family!” Cody roared, “If you want me! COME GET ME!!!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Town square, Ponyville

Louie slumped over on the porch, tied to the railing with an annoyingly tight leash. Whose house was he at? It didn't matter, none of this mattered.

Why did he become a dog again? Was it to schmooze up to Twilight? Great fucking idea that was. His one chance at paradise and he shot himself in the foot before he could even start walking.

He… made due with the problem by hooking up with Winona, but that never was supposed to be a long term relationship. Even when she had pups, he just gave them away to his dumbass friends to get rid of the responsibility. Applejack would've done it anyway if he hadn't.

Louie unfortunately never got to learn their names before they disappeared one day. Apparently it was caused by something Winona told them, but she refuses to tell him out of spite. He can't talk with the bronies either, they declawed him when he wouldn't stop scratching up the floor, and they didn't really care enough to watch him paw at the dirt for several minutes.

At least he had an amicable relationship with his other two children. Stephen was a nice kid, but he didn't inherit the human smarts his siblings did. No different from a regular dog. Betty on the other hand was, sadly, his greatest accomplishment since coming here. She talks about leaving the farm one day to pursue her own adventures, but she's held back to spend time with that filly Lance says is his sometimes.

Louie shook his head, bringing him back to the present. You would think the Heat would be a goldmine for someone like himself, but apparently nobody wants to fuck a dog. Not a single mare would look his way, and when he tried to join in they tied him to this damn porch! With a bowl of treats, sure, but still!

Now he's just forced to sit here and watch while getting none of the glory. He even saw Malbatorus of all people in action. The ferris wheel-like contraption they put him in didn't make any sense, but he'll take that any day over being stuck in the cuck corner.

With nothing to do but spectate, Louie put his head down to try to sleep through all the ruckus.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Back with Lance

I dusted off my hooves and reverted back to my base form. To my left was an unconscious Grace, who’s upper body was embedded into the wall. I didn’t want to fight her, but she’s one of the few I can’t ignore.

[For all the shit she talks, she’s not even close to Graze!]

[Bitches ain’t shit, duh.]

Now to go find Spark. He shouldn’t be that far away. The fight was only like, what, 40 seconds?

Trotting off into the direction I told him to run off to, I eventually saw two shadows, one small and one not as small. Shit! He’s not alone!

Flying as fast to Spark as I could, I entered Holy Dawn and prepared to deck the bitch who cornered my son. Only to stop my hoof inches away from her… TWILIGHT?!

“Dad! It’s okay! It’s just Mom!” Spark barked out in a panic. Whoops, scared the little guy.

“Twilight… What are you doing here..?” I squeaked out. Wasn’t she supposed to be in heat? She looks a lot more lucid than the other mares he’s seen today.

“Oh… it’s nothing much…” Twilight said. Then her horn flashed, “ I just wanted some alone time with my favorite stallion~”

After regaining my vision, I saw Spark was nowhere to be found. What did she do?!

I dodged when Twilight suddenly jumped at me, “Where’s Spark?!”

“I teleported him back home… Now make love to me!” Twilight said as she grabbed me with her magic. Flexing myself I was able to break out of her hold.

[Lance! Come on! Twilight’s our wife!]
{No! Not like this! I’m not fucking her when she can’t think straight!}

[Yeah, smartass! We can’t fuck her, and we sure as hell aren’t beating on her, so what the fuck do we do?!]
{I don’t know!}

For the next 5 minutes I jumped around Twilight as she tried to force herself on me. Meanwhile I wracked my brain for any ideas on how to knock her out without hurting her. Wait… that could work.

[The mind link? I forgot we even had that!]
{Yeah, me too. Can you guys use that to go into her mind and turn her off?}

‘I’m sorry for doing this, Twilight.’ As soon as I felt Break and Dawn leave my mind, Twilight screamed and fell to the ground clutching her head. Each time she screamed, I winced. After thrashing for a bit she slumped over, and I felt my consciences return.

[That has to count as some sort of war crime.]
{Thanks, you two. That couldn’t have been easy to do.}
[Nah it was piss easy. We’re just that fucking annoying.]

After picking up Twilight and putting her on my back, I ran back to the lounge. Spark must be terrified right now, so I have to fly back to my house as fast as I can before something happens to him.

3 minutes later I found myself back in the lounge. Frederic was there, just fine. Many of the mares from earlier were unconscious and stacked near the wall, and a shivering Aaron could be seen hiding on the opposite side of the room, glaring daggers at me.

Frederic turned to me, “Hey Lance, I got the entrance sealed up tight. There shouldn’t be any more surprise mares today.” Upon noticing Twilight on my back, he deadpanned, “Did you deck her too, Lance?”

I scratched the back of my head, “Nah, I just let Break and Dawn run around in her head for a bit.” At that bit of info, Frederic cringed, “By the way, I'm sorry for punching Luna earlier, but you of all ponies should know how dangerous an alicorn is.”

Frederic sighed, “It’s fine, Lance… It was only minor damage.” A look of unease showed itself on his face, “We should try to round up the last of the mares, eh?”

This is going to suck, “Lead the way…”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that night

Over the past several hours we gathered the rest of our friends and knocked out any stray mares along the way.

Seth and Zorrow somehow remained unmolested. After a brief rundown of what happened, we decided that the east wing was best left alone for tonight. According to them, Celestia and Vinetion were ‘planting sunflowers’, and no one wanted to get between that.

Drax, unfortunately, had been caught fairly early into the chase. By the time we found him he’d nearly been sucked dry, but after dealing with the mares and giving him some water he recovered fine.

Aaron… Well, he got the thick of it. After I tossed him in the mares passed him around harder than a dollar bill. His sacrifice did help me and Spark get away, so I don’t feel that bad about it.

Peter had been found holding exhausted nearby piles of debris and unconscious mares. The whole time he fought them off while David shielded his kids. Peter did get a bit rough with it. Many of the mares had broken bones and injuries that wouldn’t fully heal. The biggest surprise was finding Applejack with lacerations across her body, but she should be back to full health soon… except for her face, there’s no fixing that.

Alexander just escaped the whole bunker itself. Somewhere in the chaos, he must’ve shot a portal outside and booked it. He was found 3 days later ranting about black holes or something

Shadow Breeze was... OH SHIT! We forgot to send him an invite! I'll have to send him one of Twilight's self help books. Sure needed it for my first time.

Cody was just… holy shit. When we found him he was muttering “It’s going to be okay” to a crying Ditzy. The entire room itself was caked in gore. When we found out about Ditzy’s stomach wound she was instantly rushed to a hospital. Unfortunately, her baby did not survive.

After counting up the bodies the best we could, we concluded that at least 47 mares had been killed by Cody alone, with Peter having injured at least 80 others. Both were dragged off by Frederic to Canterlot, with only Peter putting up any resistance.

Upon hearing the news, Grey Byte was distraught to learn that his wife, Colgate, was one of the mares Cody killed, and that his other wife, Berry Punch, had her neck broken by Peter, rendering her comatose. That sucks.

Once I got tired of helping clean up at the bunker, I rushed back home to check up on Spark... I forgot about the little guy being alone. As I flew into my street, I glanced over to Dali and Drax's house and stopped in my tracks. The entire front wall looked like is was blown open... from the inside? And if I squinted my eyes I could swear I saw a chewed up shock collar on the front lawn. Oh... oh god, is that why her culture has that no touch rule?! I knew I should've paid more attention to her stories, but I droned out around the sand part.

...I'm too tired for this.

After shaking myself from my stupor, I glided my way to my house and got in as quickly as I could. When I saw a strange figure with Spark, I was about to charge in and punch their head off before I saw it was just Fawn. Huh, so that's where she ran off to. Anyway, luckily Spark just played here the entire time, that's one load off my back.
Hours later, after the kids had fallen asleep, I found myself holding a bottle of alcohol, real alcohol. Today had been awful, and I didn’t want to think about everyone’s reaction to the casualties tomorrow. I didn’t want to think about the many ponies that would be crippled for the rest of their life. I didn’t want to think about the god knows how many kids Cody orphaned again.

I took a swig of my drink, the liquid burning as it went down.

How could something like the Heat exist in a nice place like Equestria?

I heard the door opening, but I didn’t bother looking.

“Lance…” Said Frederic behind me, “How are you holding up?”

“Not good…” I muttered. I took another sip, “I just… I don’t get why the Heat exists… It’s done nothing good for anyone…”

Frederic put a hoof on my shoulder and let out a deep breath, “Lance. Sometimes it’s not our place to understand the nature of things.”

I growled, “Screw nature. Just because it’s ‘natural’ doesn’t mean we have to put up with it.”

Frederic removed his hoof and turned to leave, “You’ll understand one day Lance.”

He stopped when he was halfway out the door. His head tilted in my direction, but his expression was hidden from me, "Fate's a bitch, eh?" He muttered with an almost misplaced mirth before disappearing into the nighttime air.
With that, he shut the door, leaving me alone in the dark.

…

Melodramatic much?

The winner takes it all

Chapter 13

With a grunt and a cough, Scamp dragged herself to her feet, turning to face the Queen after being thrown around again.

“You have far too much fight in you,” the Queen said with a smile as she trotted a circle around Scamp, using her magic to help the heavily injured mare stand back up.

This only infuriated Scamp as she stood there hunched over, breathing heavily as blood dripped from multiple cuts on her face from glass shards. Her back left leg having trouble supporting any of her weight, she just couldn’t tell if it was broken or just sprain.

Scamp hissed and teleported next to the Queen and tried to buck her but her legs gave out on her and she fell to the ground.

“Oh you poor thing,” the Queen mocked, lifting one of Scamp’s syringes and injecting it into her.

The pain receded, but just barely as the drugs were starting to lose their effectiveness.

As the pain faded she teleported up in front of the Queen’s face, performing a drop kick on top of her head.

The Queen screeched in surprise and anger as her magic flared and grabbed Scamp as she teleported away. Her magic followed her as she appeared nearby and was slammed into the ground a few times before being tossed into the throne.

Scamp landed awkwardly on the throne, laying across the arms. She tried to get up but the abuse her body had been receiving was finally catching up to her.

Her wing unfolded involuntarily, exhaustion wrecking her body.

“Oh, what’s this?” The Queen asked with a tone of a mother catching her foal with their hoof in the cookie jar. She pulled the flash bang away from the fold of Scamp’s wing and shook it at her. “Naughty naughty. You could hurt somepony with this thing, sweetie.” She flung it over her shoulder, trotting to Scamp.

“Nothing to say for yourself?” She asked in a scolding tone.

Scamp’s only response was to flash away and appear on top of the Queen, grabbing her midsection and roaring as she put all she had into lifting the large Alicorn. The Queen let out a yelp as Scamp surplexed her, sending her slamming into the ground behind her face first.

She stumbled forward, the pain flowing through her almost unbea

rable, but she couldn’t stop yet. With a grunt she flashed next to the Queen as she sat up, and bucked her straight across the face.

This didn’t have the desired effect as the Queen just roared and her horn flashed.

A pain pulsed where her heart was and she stumbled to the ground, gasping as her heart felt like it would explode.

“You insolent, foal!” The Queen wailed as she pulled a mirror over to herself, examining the hoof prints on her head and cheek. Rage flashed across her face as she whirled on the small mare before her, who could only gasp and clench her chest in agony.

The Queen watched for a few moments before sighing, “A heart attack is too good for a monster like you.”

Her horn flashed and the pain in Scamp’s chest disappeared, leaving her still gasping and wide eyed.

But despite this, and to the Queen’s annoyance, Scamp shakily stood and turned to face the large tyrant.

“Yeah, I’m the monster,” she said in a raspy voice, blood pouring out of her mouth as she spoke.

“I think the bodies you left in my hallways speak to that,” the Queen snapped, her loving demeanor wavering.

Scamp flicks her wing at the Queen, splattering blood across her purple face.

A snarl flashed across her lips as her horn flared, snapping Scamp’s wing at the base, causing it to hang at her side.

To her credit, she only yelped and fell to her knee and stump, not giving the Queen anymore satisfaction.

She knew she was going to die here, but she just needed to hold out as long as she could so the others could finish the mission.

“You’ve killed more innocents than I have!” Scamp hissed through her clenched teeth, trying to get the Queen talking to buy time.

“I have never taken an innocent life,” the Queen declared. “I am above those kinds of actions.”

Scamp spat out some blood and stared up at the tyrant, “You killed my mother. She was innocent and a devout follower of you!”

“Your mother,” the Queen said with a sour look on her face. “She was the lawyer who fought for that crazy pony who killed my husband. She was far from a good pony.”

“Your husband was a misogynistic asshole,” Scamp smiled through bloody cracked teeth. “Lance did the world a service killing him.”

The Queen burst into flames, rage literally exploding from her body as her stared down at the mare like a God to a fly.

“You dare?!” She exclaimed, taking a forceful step towards Scamp.

“Oh you bet I dare,” Scamp said defiantly, accepting her fate.

The Queen suddenly shoots her head down towards Scamp, impaling her on her long slender horn and lifting her up. She then threw the smaller pony across the room with such force that she left an indentation in the wall.

Scamp crumbled to the ground, but didn’t stay down as she forced herself to sit up and look down at the new hole in her gut.

“Oh crab apples,” she muttered as she looked across the room at the Queen stomping towards her, ready to go in for the kill.

“Oi, cunt!” A stallion's voice suddenly yelled out from the other side of the room.

Both Scamp and the Queen turned to the source, where a lone Greg stood in the doorway, a lazy smile on his face.

“Damn it, Greg,” Scamp muttered under her breath, hoping to have been the only one killed here.

“Stay out of this, insect!” The Queen roared as she sent a spell flying directly for Greg.

Greg’s horn flashed and the spell deflected upward into the roof, “My Twilight would have done better than that.”

The Queen stared at him wide eyed, as no one alive could rival her magic, let alone deflect it so easily.

Scamp was also stunned, but she recovered first, her mind going into overdrive as she flashed away and appeared next to the discarded flash bang.

She kicked it into the air and caught it by the pin, ripping it free. And in one fluid motion she spun and bucked it with her one good leg towards the Queen’s face.

The Queen’s horn flared as she prepared to stop the flash bang from reaching her, but Greg’s own horn flashed as well. Her horn was covered in a green glow as her magic seemed to stop working momentarily.

This was enough time for the small flash bang to hit her forehead and bounce back, going off right in front of her face. Blinding and deafening her instantly.

She roared backwards as her hooves came up to her eyes.

Scamp didn’t waste time as she appeared right in front of the Queen in midair. In one quick motion she grabbed the Queen’s horn in her remaining front foreleg and snapped her body to the side, using the Queen’s own neck as a support by wrapping her back legs around it.

A loud snap, like a large branch being ripped from a tree, sounded through the room, followed by a pain-filled scream of absolute agony from the Queen.

The Queen suddenly grabbed Scamp in her forelegs, screaming as she began to try and crush the small mare against her chest.

Scamp let out a scream of her own as the pressure was overwhelming. Then she did the only thing she could; she reared her head back and slammed it forward, clamping her teeth around the Queen’s throat.

The Queen’s scream went hoarse as Scamp’s teeth closed her airway, then punctured it. The Alicorn began to panic as she tried to pull the savage mare off of her, but Scamp only chewed harder, swallowing what she could as she kept biting and ripping with her teeth.

With staggering steps, the Queen fell forward as blood gushed and sprayed past Scamp’s face as she clamped down one final time.

A mournful gasp escaped the Queen’s lips as she collapsed sideways, the life leaving her eyes.

With a cough, Scamp shakily stood up and looked down at the large Alicorn’s body. She didn’t know how to feel in that moment, covered in both her and the Queen’s blood.

“Fuck,” Greg remarked as he neared. “That was gnarly, Scamp.” He kinda kicked at the leg of the dead Queen, looking a bit disturbed.

She didn’t respond as she leaned down and took the Queen’s dismembered horn in her mouth and walked towards her discarded things.

“Are,” Greg began, watching her limp on basically just two legs, her left wing hanging at her side. “… you okay?”

Scamp just grunts at him as she drops the horn and begins to check her belt that lay cut in half on the floor. She lifts her IFAK and shakes her head as she just barely has enough to make a dent in her wounds. She decides the only thing she can do is stop the bleeding in her gut and the new hole.

Once that’s done, she lifts two emergency tablets from the IFAK and tosses them into her mouth, chewing them before swallowing. Those would help her body start replenishing lost blood at the cost of her energy levels. But it was necessary so she wouldn’t pass out.

“Weren’t we supposed to avoid her?” Greg asked as he watched her lift the horn back up. “Wasn’t Lance supposed to kill her?”

“Yep,” she grunted in response as she limped over to him. “Teleport us to the prison, next to Shadow Breeze.”

“But you’re hurt, dude. We need to rest or something,” Greg started to say more but Scamp only placed her hoof to his mouth to shut him up.

“Just do it.”

“I don’t like this,” Greg stated, but his horn flashed anyway, causing them to disappear from the throne room. Leaving the corpse of the Queen to be found by the first pony to come looking for her.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The Bronies broke free of their restraints as the Unicorn’s in the group started using their magic to attack the Enforcer’s and officers.

Jero’s own cuffs were released by magic and he shot forward, propelled by his wings and slammed into Strawell. He’d tried to shoot the approaching Pegasus, but Jero had knocked his hoof up as soon as he fired.

They tumbled together, coming to a stop with Jero on top. He began slamming his hooves into the ponies helmet, releasing his anger into his hits. He kept the other stallions left hoof away from him, keeping the gun pointed away as he beat him.

Realizing he wasn’t making the progress he wanted, he gripped the helmet and ripped it free, revealing the shocked face of Strawell looking back up at him.

The next few hits bloodied his face, a few teeth breaking in the onslaught of hooves.

Strawell heaves with all his might and sent Jero off to his side where he then pounced on him. Now on top, he slammed his armored hoof into Jero’s face, but the snarl never left his face even when getting punched over and over again by the armored pony.

A white blur flew into Strawell, knocking him off of Jero.

Calypso stood up quickly and swiped Strawell’s hooves out from under him, sending him to the floor. She jumped into the air and slammed both of her back hooves into his face, drilling him into the hard floor, his jaw breaking.

He roars as he seems to gain a second wind as he shot up like a snake about to strike and bucked Calypso in the chest.

Jero was on him in an instant, halting his attack on Calypso from continuing. The two head butted and slammed into each other over and over again, neither yielding.

Calypso joined the assault and the pair wailed on Strawell, his armor being his only saving Grace.

Suddenly he landed a solid counter on Calypso, sending her stumbling back. This gave him time to point his pistol at Jero, stopping him in his tracks.

“Stop!” He gurgled, his broken teeth and jaw making it hard to understand him. “I get why mother would marry you over dad,” he grunts as his hoof wobbles as he stares Jero down. “You’re soft, like she was.”

It was at this moment Jero realized Strawell was the son of Fluttershy and her husband in this timeline. This stunned him, just as Strawell knew it would.

“Well,” Jero said with a small smirk. “You’re nothing like mine and Fluttershy’s son. My son wouldn’t monologue at a moment like this, he’s smarter than that.”

A stripped hoof slammed into Strawell’s head and sent him flying across the room and into a wall, his armor breaking violently.

Jero watched in awe as Lance leaned back up after throwing his punch as he turned to face Jero, pushing his mane out of his eyes with a single hoof, “Nice of you to show up, Shadow.”

He couldn’t help himself as he ran to the much older Lance and hugged him, “I’m so sorry it took us so long! Time was accelerated in this dimension, we came as soon as we could!”

“I know,” Lance comforted him as he patted his back. “But you’re here, that’s all that matters.”

Calypso stood nearby, staring at the two with mixed feelings. She then moved to Dribble’s body and slumped down next to him, checking his pulse. Clenching her eyes when she doesn’t find one.

“Blasted idiot,” she cried softly. Using her hoof she closed his eyes and wiped her own. “At least you’re with your family now.”

A flash filled the room as Greg and Scamp appeared, catching everyone’s attention.

The fighting had come to a stop as the Bronies had been able to overcome the remaining Enforcer’s and officers. Magic was the great equalizer for this fight.

“Scamp!” Calypso screamed as she saw her friend in an absolutely wrecked state.

As she ran to her, a bullet hit the ground near her.

“Not finished,” Strawell gasped, standing shakily with blood pouring out of a few broken sections of his armor.

“Yes,” Scamp muttered, appearing next to him and jamming the Queen’s horn downward into his neck and down into his chest. The top of the horn stuck up by his face as he stumbled, falling to his side. “It is finished.”

He shakily looked at the horn sticking up by his face and let out a pained whine. “My Queen…!”

“Yeah, the bitch is dead,” Scamp said in a cold voice as she stood over him, watching the life leave his eyes.

She turned to the collected ponies, some looking on in awe and others fear.

Her eyes landed on Lance, standing by Jero, a perplexed look on his face.

Scamp teleports in front of him, startling the old Brony, “Mr. Greenfield.” She holds out her stump for him, “it’s amazing to finally meet you.”

Enter the arena!

Chapter 14

I recoiled back, breathing heavily. This fight was turning into more of a endurance battle, with the three of us on the losing end as he just kept reverting back to a fresh battle ready state.

Bronwyn stumbled back from blocking an attack, blood pouring down her face from a gash where he’d almost taken her head.

Lance didn’t look any better, but was not winded at all in his Angel/Demon form. He was the only one who kept up the onslaught on Leem.

Despite everything we’ve thrown at him, even with my Ego attached, he’s been able to find a way to save himself. This was starting to look hopeless.

“Come on, you guys are looking a bit tired! We just started!” he laughed, blocking Lance’s attacks with ease.

“This is the power of a top ranker,” Bronwyn muttered, wiping blood from her eyes. “He’s too far ahead of me for me to be of any help.”

“No, we can do this,” I reassure, standing up fully and teleporting behind him, going for a surprise attack. But he had learned our fighting styles well over the course of the fight, and a blade came over his shoulder and blocked me.

“Bring out, Scayla!” Bronwyn yelled as she rejoined the attack, getting put on the defensive almost immediately.

“No!” I yell, trying to get around his defense. “We don’t need her!”

“Yes we do!” Lance yelled, deflecting blades and trying to find an opening of his own.

Something inside of me begged to be released, to handle this lizard man itself. But I grimaced, not liking the idea.

“Scamp please!” Ayla yelled from a few feet away. “He’s going to end up killing one of us if we don't do something!”

I grind my teeth as I fly backwards away from the fighting. “Fine!”

Ayla smiled in relief as we touched hooves.

Just as before, the dark energy swirled around us and consumed us, much faster than the last time we did it.

Ayla gave me a reassuring smile as the darkness took over.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Ah!” I said loudly as I came too, standing before the others' battle. “I was starting to think she’d never let me back out!”

“Scayla, assistance!” Bronwyn yelled, barely deflecting a slice of the swords.

“Everyone back!” I yelled, causing Bronwyn and Lance to dash away from the lizard man. “I can handle him alone.”

“Oh! Confident, are we?” he said, squaring up with me.

I didn’t need to respond as my Ego flared out of my body, multiple tendrils floating around me.

“Interesting,” was his only response as they all flew towards him.

Leem cut most of them out of the air, but a few slipped through, impaling him. His body began to flash rapidly as I began to spin my Ego around him, shredding him.

Despite basically dropping him into a blender of death, he just kept flashing and restoring his body. Seemed he could indeed withstand being cut to pieces and still save himself.

Now that is annoying.

He began to push against my attack, flashing so fast that the moment I cut through him, it fixed itself.

As he neared, I changed tactics, swooshing my wings towards him as a magical barrier slammed into him, knocking him backwards.

I sent two tendrils into the two bodies around me, taking control of them and pulling them towards myself. They may not have their Ego or weapons anymore, but I had other uses for them.

Pushing them forward, using my tendrils to keep him distracted, I used the two corpses to latch onto him, holding him in a tight embrace.

Now that he couldn’t move, I sent a tendril straight through his eye and down into his body. He screamed in agony as he fought against the corpses, but more of my Ego began to wrap around his body. Constricting him like a snake.

My Ego trailed through his body as it flashed Cyan over and over again, trying to save himself.

It didn’t take long for me to spread my Ego’s tendrils through his body.

With a smirk, I released my tendrils from around him, letting him go free. But instead of him being able to do anything on his own accord, I began to move him around like a puppet.

“Get out of me!” he screamed in both anger and panic.

“Look at me, I’m a stupid lizard boy,” I mocked, making him dance around, throwing his blades aside.

He roared, body still flashing.

“Looks like you need to do that whole ‘return home’ thing you got for yourself,” I mocked, laughing at his angry face.

With a twirl, I made him dance over to standing before me, my head at the same height as his.

“So where’d all that confidence go?” I asked with a fake caring voice.

He glared at me, then a smile twitched onto his face. “I think someone's a bit too confident in themself.”

“That’s what happens when you’re stronger than your…” my eyes widened as I felt a strange sensation shoot up my body.

“SCAMP!” Bronwyn screamed as she sprinted towards us, Lance not far behind her.

I glanced down in a daze, seeing a pair of new arms sticking out of Leems stomach, holding my now severed left foreleg in their claws.

“Probably should learn the full extent of the people you fight before bringing them so close,” he mocked, a new arm shooting out and grabbing my antler.

A new sensation took over my body as I felt everything lurch backwards.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The feeling of needing to vomit took me over as I rolled onto my side and threw up whatever contents were inside my stomach. I heaved a few more times, puking a few more times.

I did this for a few moments before I ended in a dry heave, coughing raggedly.

Once I was sure I was done, I finally looked around. Nothing made sense. The last thing I remember was fusing to make Scayla, then winning against Leem…

Wait, we didn’t win.

I looked down at my left hoof and felt sick as a stump greeted me, cut off right below the knee.

The PDA in my right leg was gone as well.

Forcing myself to stand, despite how dizzy I felt, I looked around. I was in a small stone cell, and a loud sound could be heard far in the distance. Like a cheering crowd.

“You’re probably confused,” Leem said, stepping into view on the other side of the bars.

With a grunt, I sprung for him, but the bars stopped me, a faint cyan glow surrounding them and the walls around me. Just like the train.

“Anyone I teleport with always gets knocked out,” he said as he strolled to a table and held up my severed foreleg. “Now, this symbol here is pretty interesting. Giving you all those sweet powers. Teleportation and time control? I see why Lorenzo wanted those gone.”

“Where are we?” I ask, staring daggers at him.

He just smiles and throws a set of his arms wide, “My home! The Colosseum at the end of the Plains!”

I just stared at him, “I thought the Plains were endless?”

“They are,” he conceded, looking my leg over. “It’s just a figure of speech. We’re so far from a teleporting hub that we’re basically at the end of the Plains.”

With a glare, I looked around.

‘Ayla?’

Seeming to know what I was doing, he chuckles. “Oh don’t even try to use any Ego or your Ego weapons. Everyone here but myself and a select few have their Ego’s turned off. Keeps things fair and entertaining.”

“What are you even talking about?” I asked in annoyance, face pressed into the bars.

He just chuckled and waved my hoof at myself. “You’ll see very soon. If you survive, you’ll join the general populace and fellow competitors. It’ll be hard though, seeing as you’re down a leg.”

I don’t like where this is going.

With a wave of my foreleg, he pointed down a long hallway, “Here shortly, my trusted guards will come and take you to face your death. I do hope you win though,” he says, taking a meaty bite out of my leg, chewing thoughtfully. “So I can watch you suffer and fight for survival longer. Consider it pay back for using me like a puppet for your amusement.”

Snorting, I spit a wad of mucus at him, landing on his foot. He just flicks it off and walks past me, munching on my leg still.

“Good luck, horse, you’ll need it.”

Once he was gone, I sat back down and grabbed my stump, hissing. I was no longer wearing any of my clothes from before, so I had no makeshift bandage to wrap around it. Luckily, it looked like someone had already burned the wound, so it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

“Fuck,” I muttered, the gravity of my situation still not fully hitting me yet.

I just hope Bronwyn and Lance are okay. I barely remember anything, but I remember them trying to get to me before I blacked out.

Damn it, Scayla! This is why I didn’t want to let her out! Not only do I not trust her, she just seems so off! She let this happen to us!

A sound caused me to look up, seeing a strange owl-like face looking at me from the other side of the bars.

“What the fuck do you want?” I snap, not wanting to put up with anyone else at that moment.

The strange creature started to rise, revealing a long body. Hindlegs like a kangaroo, and a scarf of feathers around its neck. Many different healed scars covered its body, a few worse than others.

It didn’t say anything, just held onto the bars and blinking at me.

“What?!” I yell, standing up and pointing my stump at it. “Gawking at the wounded mare?! Liking what you see?!”

Without a word, the creature reached into a pouch slung over itself and pulled out a small object. It held it through the bars to me, offering it to me.

I eye it warily, not sure I’m up to trusting anyone else now.

The creature shakes the object at me, looking confused that I won't take it.

Rolling my eyes, I stand to my hooves and hobbles over, taking the little box.

Using my wings, I open the box, eyes widening a bit. A simple sandwich greeted me.

I look up at the creature, its beak shaped into a smile.

“Uh, thank you?” I say, taking it out of the box and taking a bite, surprised it tasted good. I quickly shoved the entire thing into my mouth, followed by a cough as I choked on the dry bread.

A little bottle of water was offered to me, which I took and gratefully chugged.

“I’ll admit, that was good,” I say, causing the creature to look very happy. “But why? Do you work here?”

It shakes its head and steps back, pointing to itself, then to me. Then made a gesture like it was behind bars.

“Ah, a prisoner like me?” I asked, getting a nod. It was at this moment I realized the creature was a she, as the outline of breast showed through the cloth draped over its shoulders.

“What’s your name then?” I asked, but she shook her head, pointing to her throat, making an X.

“Mute?” I offer, which she nods to.

“Ah, sorry then,” I replied, looking her over.

She reached into a bag and pulled out a chalkboard, then wrote something on it, turning it to face me.

I leaned forward and read it, “Remi? That’s your name?”

She nodded happily, holding out a clawed hand to me. I eye it a bit before reaching through the bars with a wing and shaking her hand.

“Scamp,” I say, offering a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, despite the situation we’re in.”

Remi nods, but her ears perk up, looking down the hallway.

“What? Someone coming?” I asked, listening, but not hearing anything over the distant crowd.

Then, I heard it, heavy footsteps in armor coming our way.

“Fucking hell! That Nuble got out of its cage again!” one of them yelled as they came around the corner.

Remi held up her hands, but a field of energy hit her, dropping her to the ground.

“I told them we needed to move it into a private cell,” the other complained as they walked up and put some kind of handcuffs on Remi’s limbs, being a bit rough.

“Hey, assholes,” I said, pressing through the bars a bit, swinging a hoof at them. “No need to be so damn rough with an unconscious prisoner!”

Without looking at me, one threw his fist back, smashing me in the snout and throwing me back a bit.

“Shut up, fresh meat. You haven’t even proven yourself yet,” one said as he stood up and opened the bars, stepping in with me.

I smirk as I lower myself into a fighting position. Despite not having any of my powers, I knew I could handle myself with just my raw skill alone.

Springing forward, propelled by my wings, I aimed for his midsection, eyes on his neck.

A little pulse of energy shot from the eye slits and caused me to go limp, slamming into his chest and collapsing to the ground.

“They always try that,” the other commented, standing up with crossed arms.

“Yep,” he said as he leaned down and heaved me over his shoulders. “Get that Nuble and take it back to its cell. I’ll take this one to the starting area.”

“Aye,” the other said as he began to drag Remi away as the one carrying me took me further down the hall. The crowd seemed to get closer as we went.

I couldn’t move or speak, so I couldn’t voice my opinion of the guard or his manhood.

After a bit of walking, he dumped me in a new cage and slammed the door. Another pulse hit me and I lurched forward, able to move again. I slammed into the cage wall and glared up at him.

He just laughed as he walked away, not indulging me with any banter.

With an annoyed sigh, I turned to the front of the cage, which looked like a large door that would swing open. Which is probably exactly what it will do.

Outside that door, I could hear the crowd clearly, cheering wildly. An announcer could also be heard now.

“That’s it folks! The new challenger, Eight Eyes, has failed to over take the weaker opponent, Lil Angel, and has perished as a result! What a pathetic show of skill!”

I frowned. I do not like this at all.

“Next up is the next challenger, from the large cityscapes of Bowldow comes, Lazy Eye!”

The crowd explodes in boos. “Can he beat Lil Angel? The weakest opponent we’ve ever seen?”

More boos followed as I heard the sounds of a little battle taking place, followed by a scream of terror. Then a loud crash.

“Oooo! Lazy Eye is now Dead Eyes! Lil Angel is on a roll today!”

The gate before me began to open and the wall behind me began to push me forward.

“Coming up next is a strange one! From the depths of the mystical forest comes, Stumpy! The flying horse! Will she be able to overcome the sweet and innocent Lil Angel?”

I stumbled out into the bright arena, eyes going wide at the massive scale of it. The stands were filled with creatures of all kinds, and extended high into the sky, seeming to go up for miles. Large TV screens floated all above, allowing those higher up to still see what was happening down below.

“I’m sorry, little horse,” a tiny gnome-like girl said, standing on top of the body of a dead challenger.

Looking around, I saw weapons of all kinds were attached to the walls, but not many of them looked like I could use them, having hooves and all. Just another annoyance.

“I’ll make it quick,” she said, sliding off the dead creature and sprinting towards me.

Not having much choice, I charged forward as well, not sure what to expect. My music implant still worked at least as techno music began to play.

I stumbled awkwardly as I ran on just three hooves. As we reached each other, I went for a headbutt. But the little lady creature slid under me and stabbed me rapidly with little daggers in her hands.

Groaning in pain, I flare my wings and spin around, slamming a hoof into her face, shattering her jaw with ease.

Flapping my wings hard, I tackled her and bit down on her neck. She started stabbing me, but I began to shake her around violently, like a dog getting a hold of a small animal.

I felt her neck snap in my mouth as I clamped down hard, causing her to go limp.

“I don’t believe it! The new challenger Stumpy has killed Lil Angel!

The crowd was a mixture of boos and cheers as I spat out the limp body and looked up at the crowd, a look of displeasure on my face.

“But can she beat today's final challenger? From the jungles of Tarth, Fat Ape!”

A door opened and a large overweight gorilla rolled out, looking super pissed off.

“The winner of this bout will join the general populace, and will join the normal gladiator games going forward!” The announcer yelled, getting roars of approval from the crowd.

“Shit,” I mutter, seeing the gorilla stand and look at me, eyes ablaze with rage.

He began to barrel towards me, propelling himself with his front arms as he went.

My eyes darted around, seeing a spear a few feet away. Using my wings, I fly over and grab the spear, and in one fluid motion, flung it at the charging gorilla.

The spear hit its mark, but did not do the damage I was hoping for as he continued towards me unfazed.

I took to the air, flying out of his reach just in time. Flapping hard, I aimed for the distant roof that I could just barely see. But as I climbed, I hit a wall of some sort, shocking the shit out of me as I touched it.

“OOO! Stumpy found the Ego barrier! Can she recover before falling to her death!?”

Rolling my eyes, I right myself and continue to soar through the air, looking along the wall for a weapon I could use.

It didn’t take long for me to spot something of use. But a glint caught my attention, just in time to perform an evasive maneuver as a spear flew past me, cutting some of my mane away.

Keeping my momentum, I dove for the wall and snatched the weapon from the wall, then flew towards the gorilla, staying close to the ground.

The gorilla roared as he threw more spears and bladed weapons at me, but I just agile swerved around each one as it came at me, my eyes set on him.

As I reached him, I spun mid air and slammed my back hooves into his gut, causing him to gasp. Rolling with the momentum, I slammed my hoof into his mouth, pulling it out just as he bit down.

Backflipping away, I landed unsteadily on my three hooves, smiling up at him

He roared, then coughed, grabbing his throat.

I held out my wing, a little pin dangling from it. “A classic.”

He looked confused, but that confusion was soon replaced with horror as his gut exploded from the grenade I’d shoved down his throat.

The gorilla moaned as it stepped forward, then collapsed.

The crowd went ballistic. “Stumpy! What amazing moves and thinking! You’ve earned your place among the gladiators!”

“Let me go!” I roared, the crowd almost drowning me out.

I couldn’t see the announcer, but I could feel a smirk on his face as he spoke, “Take her to her new home! As for everyone else, tomorrow is the beginning of the preliminaries! Place your bets on the Net, and we will see you tomorrow!”

Six guards approached me from all angles. But before I could do anything, they all shot pulses at me, putting me down.

The crowd roared. “STUMPY! STUMPY! STUMPY!”

A guard grabbed a back leg and began to drag me out of the arena and back into the dank tunnels beneath the stands. They dragged me roughly till we entered a large room, with floor after floor of cells extending high into the sky.

“Welcome home, Stumpy,” one laughed as they threw me into an empty cell and slammed it shut. One hit me with a pulse, allowing me to move again.

As they walked out, I could hear the sounds of the others in the surrounding cells stirring.

“New meat!” someone yells, causing everyone around me to start throwing slurs and insults my way.

I had to admit, a few were pretty good, but I wasn’t in the mood.

Stepping up to the door to my cell, I saw lots of others staring back at me from across the room. Scanning each one, I found Remi, waving at me. I couldn’t help but return her wave.

“Don’t worry about them,” someone in the cell to my right says. “They haze you in the beginning, but we get a new guy every week.”

“I’m not worried about them,” I responded, getting a chuckle in response.

“New girl, not a lot of women make it through the opening round like that.”

I roll my eyes. “Where am I exactly?”

“I’m not surprised you don't know,” he says, tapping his bars. “The Dome of the Dead. Owned by one nasty fucker. I’m assuming a bounty hunter grabbed you and dropped you here, that’s how a lot of us got here.”

“No, a lizard named Leem brought me here,” I replied, frowning.

There was a pause. “The big man himself? Brought you here personally? That’s rare.”

“How do we get out?” I ask, pressing against the bars.

“Get out?” He asked, chuckling again. “You don’t. You’ll have to win the tournament, then beat Leem in one on one combat, or get sold. And I’ll be honest, neither happens at all. Just winning the tournament alone is impossible. Then to face Leem himself. No one has done it yet.”

“I’ll be the first,” I say confidently, causing those around us to laugh mockingly.

“Yeah, I said that too,” someone above me said. “Got TKO’d in the final round of the tournament, and my opponent got eaten alive by Leem. It’s not worth it, fighting that hard just to face him.”

“It’s part of the show,” another says. “We fight each other, then the winner is sacrificed to Leem to boost his image and Ego. That’s both Ego and his over inflated ego, just so we’re clear.”

A frown touches my lips as I look across at Remi, who can’t hear us, but is still looking at me.

“What about that thing over there? The Nuble?” I ask, “She’s escaped her cell, right? So we can get out of here if we do to.”

“Her? Yeah, she escapes sometimes to check on the new meat, but actually escaping this place is impossible. With the guards and Ego locks. Just settle down and get some rest.”

Remi waves at me again, getting me to look at her. She just gives me a thumbs up, smiling.

I nod back to her, then slump back into the cell, sitting on the uncomfortable bed.

“Don’t be down,” the guy on my right says. “The food is decent at least, especially before a tournament.”

“At least there's that,” I muttered, looking at my stump.

“As for that missing leg, Doc will look at it when they let us out for Rec Hour, he’ll get you fixed up.”

I nod to no one as I rub a wing over the stump. This is the second time I’ve lost a limb, not counting my wings. But this time it took my Mark of the Outsider with it, which as far as I know severs me from those powers.

That’s just great.

With a grunt, I laid back on the bed and looked up at the dirty stone ceiling, a faint cyan color to it. My mind drifted again to Bronwyn and Lance, wondering what they were doing and if they were okay.

Family bonds

Chapter 29

I flapped my wings as I flew the way Lance had walked, my head reeling after getting a major info dump from the others revolving around the current situation.

Yes, we had a way to kind of fight the Watcher, but that little UAD fairy guy is very adamant that he can’t do it alone, that he can only provide support during the fight. So I’m not very hopeful about winning this fight. At least, not in our current state.

We’ll need to prepare a lot more before we’re ready.

It didn’t take long till I found Lance, leaning on a railing overlooking the crash site of my ship.

“Hey,” I said as I leaned up next to him, putting him on my right side so I could see him.

“Scamp, I’m so fucking sorry,” he said, tears resuming to fall from his eyes.

“Ain’t nothing to be sorry for,” I said in a playful tone as I punched his shoulder, trying to cheer him up.

“I abandoned you, I chose not to save you, and look at you; you’re disfigured and missing two legs! And half blind!” he choked out, snapping his head away from looking at me.

I raise my eyebrow, smirking, “Come on, I’m not that ugly, am I?”

He lets out a sobbing laugh as he turned back to me, “I’ve just been using you, Scamp. You want to help me for some reason, and I’ve just been taking advantage of that. When you were taken, I told Bronwyn you could handle yourself and that I didn’t need to go after you. But in reality, I didn’t want to give up on my goals just to save you.” His face was a mess as he spoke, “I like to pretend to be this great, caring guy, but I’m just a selfish prick who thinks of himself as the main character and all of you as supporting cast.”

Ouch, his honesty actually did hurt to hear. But regardless…

“Lance, you are the biggest asshole I’ve ever known,” I start, causing his shoulders to slump. “You do everything to serve your own needs, and don’t even get me started on that inflated ego of yours.” I then reach out with a wing and lay it on his shoulder. “But that’s not all you are. You are loyal, caring, loving, and very supportive. Sure, you got flaws. But guess what, so do I. We all do.”

He didn’t cheer up as he just frowned at me, “I don’t know what’s with you, Scamp. You’ve put yourself through hell for me, and all I’ve done in return is send you further into hell. That’s all I do to those around me, and yet you all just keep following me.”

“Just something about you,” I reply, smiling at him as I flick some tears from his face with my wing. “This self loathing you’re doing right now is ugly, and selfish. Buck up, be the stallion I know you are, and get back to leading us. We need you to be stable. You are what is holding everyone together, if you give up, then we all will.”

A smile finally tugged at his mouth as he looked at me, “Now you’re acting like the parent between the two of us.” He reached over and pulled me into a hug, my one back leg struggling to keep me up. “Thank you, Scamp. I don’t deserve any of this, but I promise I’m going to treat you better going forward.”

I pat his back awkwardly as I return the hug, “Honestly, it’s okay. I’ll be fine no matter what.”

“You deserve better,” he replies as he breaks the hug, helping to steady me back onto the railing for support. “We need to get you new legs, you look ridiculous trying to stand on one leg.”

“Tis the plan,” I joke back as I lean my weight on the railing. Then smile at him. “I’m still here for you going forward, Lance. I meant what I said earlier, I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back to your family.”

He leans back on the railing again, “I just wish I could take back letting you get taken earlier. That arena must have been terrible. The scars speak to that.”

I smile as I look out at the many firefighters and vehicles trying to contain the spreading flames from the crash site. “It really wasn’t that bad, if I hadn't gone, I wouldn’t have met my new friends.”

“They are a bit weird looking, kind of a grab bag kind of group,” he joked. “Especially that lizard chicken lady. Weird creature.”

“Careful what you say there,” I jokingly warn, hitting him with my wing. “She’s not weird.”

He looked at me with a wide grin.

“What?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Leaning towards me, his grin only widening.

“Lance?!” I yelped, eye wide at his strange actions.

“You like her,” he said simply, causing my eye to twitch and my face to turn red.

“N-No?” I stammer back.

“Oh shit! You do!” Lance laughed, slapping my back. “I was starting to wonder if you had it in you. I thought you were going to stick to the whole ‘no time for love, must fight!’ motto you seemed to be living by.”

I look away from him as I stare out over the fiery scenery. “I do not have time for things like that. Especially right now. We need to focus on the Watcher and how we’ll fight him.”

“Yes, but we can’t neglect ourselves here,” he said with a smirk. “Take it from me, don’t let happiness slip by.”

“Lance,” I reply with a sigh, “No. She’s not interested, we just met recently. Just because I have a little crush doesn’t mean I need to jeopardize everything just to satisfy a juvenile crush.”

“Twilight and I fell for each other right from the beginning. It happens,” he says, trying to convince me.

I just chuckle, “That’s actually not a good thing to do. You two got lucky, but going all in on someone you barely know like that is a terrible idea. So I think I’ll stick to doing things like this my way.”

“And what’s your way?”

“Avoid the topic and move on.”

He sighed at this, “Spoken like someone who’s never been in love.”

“I have been in love, once,” I said a little colder than I meant to, causing him to recoil slightly.

“Oh, I just kind of…”

“Assumed?” I finished, then smiled sadly at him. “It’s complicated. I know you know who the members of my team were. Parker and I had feelings for each other, but never acted on them. Not even one date. We didn’t want to stop working together, so we decided to act indifferent to each other so no one else would realize.”

“Scamp,” Lance said in a caring tone as he put a wing over me.

“Yeah, sucks, right? I met the one person out there that I just fell in love with, and I never did anything about it. We cared too much about our positions on that damn team.” Wiping a tear that suddenly appeared on my face, I looked at Lance, “So, let me do this my way. Let this little crush die so I can focus on killing the Watcher.”

“Sounds like you’re making the same mistake here that you made with Parker,” he suddenly said.

I spun on him and punched him in the face. The two of us fell to the ground, me because of balance issues, and him because of the sucker punch I’d just given him.

Neither one of us tried to get up as we laid there on the ground, eyes staring straight up into the sky.

Lance made a groaning sound as he rolled over and sat up, looking at me as he rubbed his cheek.

My lip trembled as I squeezed my eye shut. “Just…. Please, I don’t want to experience that pain again. Watching Parker die… it killed a part of me. And if I fell for someone else and that happened again, I don’t think I could go on.”

He didn’t reply right away as he sat there, staring at me. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that the way I did.”

I didn’t respond.

“I think you should think about it at least,” he says carefully. “Living with that pain is something I hope I never have to face, but you deserve to be happy.” He placed a hoof on mine. “You said you have my back, well, I have yours. You’re family to me at this point. I’ve been a terrible family member to you, but I will make up for that.”

“Trying to be my dad?” I ask, opening my teary eye as I looked back at him.

He just laughed in response, “No, there’s no way I could be a Darkest Bleak.”

“I don’t need a dad,” I say as I push myself up and wrap a leg around him. “I just need someone who’s on my side and won’t die on me.”

“Yeah, that I can do,” he said as he returned my hug tightly.

“I’m not sorry for punching you by the way,” I say as we broke the hug.

“Fair,” he replied with a smile. “So, what of your little crush?”

I sigh and roll my eyes, “I’ll think about it, okay? Happy?”

“Very,” he said as he stood and held his hoof out for me. I took it, being pulled up and leaning onto the railing again.

“You’re a persistent asshole, you know,” I say with a smirk.

“Damn straight,” he laughs as he starts walking back to the group. “Coming?”

“Nah,” I reply, staring out over the chaos of the amusement park trying and failing to stop the fires. “I think I’m going to watch the beautiful scenery for a little while.”

“Beautiful scenery?” he parroted back as he turned to leave, chuckling to himself.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Some time had passed since Lance went back to the group, and the sight before me had developed into a full blown firefighting operation. Ego and water flying everywhere as the massive wall of flames just kept burning on.

Sure, a lot of people are dying down there, but nothing I can do about it.

“There you are,” Moxxi said from behind me.

Turning, I saw my friends approaching.

“That Lance guy said you were over here,” Reinhardt said as her cloak flowed in the wind.

I smile at them, “I just needed some alone time to think.”

“Great place to do some thinking,” Mallogory said as she looked out over the chaos.

“Poor fucks,” Reinhardt chuckled, leaning next to me on the railing.

I look at each of them, sighing, “Well, you all accomplished your goal. I’m back with Lance’s group. You’re free to do whatever you want now.”

“You keep trying to run us off,” Moxxi laughed, sliding up beside Reinhardt. “It’s like you want us to leave or something.”

“Oh no,” I say, grinning at the little goblin, “I love having you guys around. But you see how dangerous it is around me, I don’t want you all to get hurt.” I frown, “Like Drake.”

Everyone lowered their heads at this.

“That damn idiot, he always wanted to be swept off his feet. Guess he got what he wanted, even if not exactly what he meant,” Moxxi said with a half hearted chuckle. “I miss him, is that weird?”

“No, he was a peculiar guy,” Beans said, clicking. “But he was a great person to have around. He acted like he didn’t care, but he did. He always made sure we had what we needed.”

“I should have forced him to follow you, Beans. Instead I let him linger by that window…” I said, slumping.

“Stop that, right now,” Doc said sternly. “Don’t blame yourself. He was his own man, and he made his choice. Playing the ‘what if’ game will only hurt you and not change a damn thing.”

The bluntness surprised me, but I nod to him. “Thank you, Doc. I needed that.”

“I don’t know about everyone else, but you’re stuck with me,” Mallogory said, making a finger gun at me and winking.

Trying not to blush, I turned to Reinhardt, who just flexed her arms and struck a pose.

“Oh, you already know I’m in for the long haul! Being friends with you brings all the fighting to me!” She held up her arm that was severed at the elbow. “Plus I get this cool battle damage to show off!”

I can’t help but laugh at her actions as Remi slithers up to me, holding up her board. ‘Best friends don’t leave each other’ and there was a little picture of the two of us cheering together.

Reaching out with my wing, I patted her shoulder, causing her to bristle happily.

“You all have grown on me, so you know, stuck with me and all that,” Moxxi said as she kicked a stone over the railing. “Just don’t think that means I’m going to be all mushy and shit.”

“I’m afraid if I leave you’ll all kill yourselves,” Doc said with a smile. “And I think of you all as my real family.”

Despite myself, I wiped a tear from my eye as their words were pulling at strings I didn’t know I still had.

“I love you guys,” Beans said in a crying voice as he reached out with his mandibles and hugged all of us together.

“Gah! No group hugs!” Moxxi yelped, but didn’t fight that hard to get out of the hug.

“Oh silence little greeny,” Reinhardt laughed as she threw her arms around all of us, helping Beans give us a massive hug. “Enjoy the family love!”

“Little greeny is racist!” she called out, but wrapped her arms around myself and Remi.

“I don’t do hugs,” Mallogory said, but Remi just pulled her into all of us even harder. “Geez! Fine!”

We all squeezed each other, the hug not actually feeling awkward.

Slowly, we all broke it and stepped back, looking at each other.

“Wow, so this is what it's like to have a family,” Reinhardt suddenly said in a serious tone.

Moxxi smiled slyly, “If this is a family, who’s the parents?”

“No one, but you’re definitely the baby sister,” Doc chuckled as he ruffled up her hair.

“Oh you bastard!” She snapped as she tried to fix her hair while the rest of us laughed at her.

My eyes lingered on Mallogory’s laughing face.

Damn it, Lance.

Confronting the consequences

Author's Note

This chapter was hard to write for some reason, so I'm sorry if it seems lacking when compared to previous chapters. Luckily, its all up from here!

Confronting the consequences

Chapter 39

Trudging along, the high winds pelting us with snow, we followed behind Bronwyn as she led us up a large hill.

It’d been a few hours since we’d arrived there, and we’d been walking non-stop since then.

“So,” Greg started from behind me, “when you said ‘he’s close’ you didn’t mean right around the fucking corner, but on the other side of the world!”

Bronwyn just glanced back at him, her face hidden behind her scarf, “trust me, it could be worse.”

“Sure,” Greg mumbled unhappily, upset he couldn’t smoke due to the high winds taking every joint he tried to use.

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I looked back, making sure my Ego was still attached to everyone. I was feeding them as much extra Ego as I could, since I now had more than I could ever use after killing Kelman Utop.

“We’re going to be too tired to fight when we find him at this point!” Reinhardt complained, the mostly uphill walking slowly taking its toll on her. On all of us.

Bronwyn held up a little bag, giving it a shake. “I have a solution for that, so don’t worry.”

“You better,” she replied, grumbling to herself.

“Someone is approaching,” Castor suddenly said from atop Greg’s head, causing all of us to stop and look around.

Then, out of nowhere, a large red blur slammed into the snow near us, sending debris everywhere.

We all turned and squared up with the attacker as they slowly stood, steam flying off of their body as snow was thrown into it by the winds.

“Shit,” Bronwyn muttered as she saw who it was. “This fight will cost us…”

The large creature stood up, flexing hard, sending a shock wave out from its body. The snow around it melted immediately.

“Is the one called ‘Greg’ among you?” the large red creature suddenly said, stepping out of the crater it made.

“Balgore?” Greg suddenly asked, finally getting a good look at him. “OH shit, man! I’ve been wondering if we’d see you again!”

The large creature smiled, “I was hoping you would be here, small friend.”

“What is going on?” Bronwyn asked, her sword slowly lowering in confusion.

“Greg got high with this guy, and now they’re friends, I guess,” Lance said, facehoofing.

“My boss, Lorenzo, sent me to kill a few of you,” Balgore said, causing everyone but Greg to tense up. “But, I don’t think I’ll be following that order.”

“Fuck yeah, bro!” Greg said as his horn flashed and a large blunt appeared before the demon. “Toke up, fucker!”

Balgore laughed as he took the oversized blunt and took a massive hit, seeming to exhaust the entire blunt in one breath.

“Yeah!” Greg cheered happily.

The demon let out a content sigh and tossed the used joint away. “If you all do not mind, I’d like to join you.”

“To fight, Lorenzo?” Bronwyn asked in an unsure voice.

He looked at her, smirking, “I thought that was you, Brownie. Long time no fight, huh?” At her annoyed grunt, he laughed, “Yes, to fight Lorenzo. I think it's about time I pay him back for the countless eons of mistreatment.”

“This makes no sense…” Bronwyn groaned, getting a reassuring bump from Lance.

“Power of friendship, and all that junk, ya know?” he said, rolling his eyes with a smile.

“Things are so much simpler when you just fight your problems,” she sighed. “Befriending them is… weird.”

“Welcome aboard, Balgore!” Greg yelled as he ran forward and the two grasped hand to hoof, shaking hard.

“I love this group,” Reinhardt chuckled, getting a nod of agreement from Remi.

“Lorenzo is very close,” Balgore announced, pointing to the top of the hill. “Right over this ridge and just a few miles away.”

“Perfect! That I can do,” Greg said as he and Balgore joined the group.

Bronwyn shook her head and began walking again, the rest of us following after her.

As we reached the top of the hill, Ayla appeared next to me, looking perplexed.

‘What is it?’ I thought to her.

“Do you not… hear that?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

I listened hard, but could only hear the heavy winds around us.

‘No?’

She frowned, “It’s like… something or someone is whispering deep inside of us. But I can’t make out a word of it.”

Right then, I thought I heard a males voice speak deep within me. But like she said, I couldn’t make out anything it said.

“I don’t like it,” she grimaced.

I felt something stir deep within me, causing me to gasp out loud.

“Scamp?” Mallogory asked, hearing me over the winds.

“I’m good,” I replied, sweat starting to form all over my body despite the chill. “Just… tired.”

She definitely did not buy that as she narrowed her eyes at me, but she didn’t push it further. Just kept her eyes on me as we trudged along.

“This feels ominous…” Ayla mumbled, the feeling within me only increasing, causing me to grimace in pain.

‘I should say something, this… hurts,’ I think to her, the pain spreading and building.

But just as I was about to say something, it all came to a halt, and relief washed over me.

What the fuck was all that about?

Deciding not to worry anyone, I pushed on, leaning against Mallogory a bit for comfort.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“We’re here,” Balgore announced as we stepped up to a rocky wall.

“Bro, this is a rock,” Greg snickered. “Think the weed is messing with you.”

Not responding to him, Balgore reached out and placed a hand on the wall, causing a door to appear before them, right against the rocky wall.

“Ah, I take that back,” Greg says, nodding in approval.

“He told me he had an ace up his sleeve to handle you all, but he didn’t say what that meant. But,” Balgore said as he pushed the door open, “I do know it's just him and his pet in there.”

“His pet?” I asked, starting to shake a bit as I thought of Leem. Mallogory, noticing my reaction, placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, one of them at least. Belle, his little soul worker. She’s able to manipulate any soul that allows her to do so. She’s not a threat to any of you, as long as you do not allow her to access your soul. Without permission, she can’t touch you.”

“Sounds like a useless ability,” Reinhardt comments.

Balgore only nodded, “It is, he just uses her to make changes to his soul, or to any of us when he wants something changed.”

“Such a great guy,” Jero growled, twirling his blade.

“Shall we?” Balgore asked as he stepped in, taking the lead. “I’ll go first. My body is an Ego weapon, so I can’t be damaged that easily.”

“Sweet!” Greg said as he followed him in.

Slowly, we all filed in behind him, finding ourselves in a long hallway leading straight down.

As we walked down the hall, Bronwyn opened her bag and handed out some kind of little dough balls. “Eat these now, it’ll restore all of your stamina and make you feel refreshed.”

Plopping mine into my mouth, I bit down into it. It tasted absolutely terrible, but I pushed through. A pulse suddenly shot through my body, removing all the pain and fatigue I had been feeling. My eyes went wide as I felt like I’d just woken up from a refreshing nap.

“Oh this is amazing!” Reinhardt said loudly, flexing hard with a laugh.

“You all can remove those heavy clothes now,” Balgore announced. “This place has its own regulated temperature.”

“Finally,” I groaned as I stripped out of the heavy clothing, happy to not be restricted anymore.

Everyone else did the same, returning to their normal attire.

“Now,” he said, looking a bit solemn, “when we step through that door at the end of the hallway, we’ll be in the main room. He’ll be there.”

“Mallogory and Scamp,” Bronwyn said, looking at us. “This would be the best time to fuse.”

“On it,” I say, winking at Mallogory.

I pour my Ego into her as we begin our dance, swirling and spinning around each other, finishing with a kiss. A bright flash fills the hallways.

ooo000<^>000ooo

As the light receded, I stood above the party, now the tallest member. Only Balgore stood close to my height.

“I wonder if Pinkie and I could do that…” Greg said in awe, looking up at us.

I just chuckled, but before I could respond, Bronwyn interjected.

“Are you two in control? Or just one of you?”

“Both of us are in control right now,” I responded, smiling. “As long as we’re not in conflict with one another, we’re able to act as one and maintain this form.”

“Interesting,” she mouthed, rubbing her chin. Then she stood up straight, “I think we’re ready.”

I smirk, “oh, we’re ready alright.”

We all slowly made our way over to the door, letting Balgore take the lead again. He pushed the door open and stepped through, followed by everyone else.

Upon entering the room, I took note of just how large it was. Like a football field, with a high ceiling.

“Balgore,” a voice called out from the other side of the room, “You swapping sides now?”

Balgore growled as he flashed a bright smile, “Aye! Decided to make things interesting!”

“That you have,” Lorenzo laughed loudly, standing tall with a small woman next to him, who was sitting on the ground looking distracted as she messed with the dirt.

Bronwyn and I stepped up on either side of the large demon, staring across the room at the man.

“Ah, Bron, and… you are new,” he said, looking at me.

I flashed a toothy smile his way, “Good to finally meet you, Lorenzo.”

He returned my smile, looking a bit crazed, “Scamp. I should have known. What is this thing? A combination of you and another creature?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, my Ego blades coating my teeth and claws, my wings also slowly began to become coated in my Ego blades.

“Hmm,” he smirked slyly. “So, you all turned one of my own against me? Well, have I got a surprise for you then!”

He reached down and yanked the woman up by her hair, shoving her towards us. “Do it.”

The woman, head pointed down, began to emit Ego out of her body.

“One of your very own has betrayed you,” he said, pulling his face mask up and tilting his tricorn hat down.

“Not one of us would do that!” I yelled to him, causing him to laugh in response.

I turned and looked at my friends, all of them looking just as taken back by what he said.

Who would betray us?!

Looking back, I saw the woman was slowly raising into the air, her Ego growing around her.

It suddenly shot towards me like a wall of darkness.

Trying to block it did nothing as it just passed right through my Ego blades and slammed into me, but nothing happened.

I blinked, rubbing my claws over myself.

(What just happened? Are we good?)

My eyes went wide as an intense pain shot through me, like something was clawing its way out of me. Then, with an audibly loud bang and flash of dark light, I exploded backwards, slamming into the group and sending them flying in all directions.

Even Balgore and Bronwyn were sent flying from the explosion that had happened.

After regaining my composure, I looked at my friends, glad to see they all seemed to be okay, just shaken up from the sudden explosion.

Looking to myself, I was happy to see I was fine, still fused and no damage to be seen whatsoever.

Then what just happened?

“Finally,” a familiar voice said from the middle of the room, causing my eyes to go wide as I snapped my head in the direction of the voice.

There, looking very pleased and happy, stood Scayla.

“I’m free from that prison,” she said, looking herself over. Then she looked at me as I slowly stood up. “Hello, Scamp and Scamp’s whore, pleasure to meet you on the outside.”

I narrowed my eyes, clenching my fist. “What is this?!”

She laughed, looking back to Lorenzo and the woman, who was now crawling back to his side. “He made me a deal. He’d free me, if I agreed to kill you two myself. And, how could I say no to that? It’s not like you were on my side or cared about me.”

Gulping loudly, I stepped forward, squaring up with her, “Scayla, you are me. How could you side with this… man?!”

She rolled her eyes, “I am not you. All I ever wanted was to be appreciated and allowed out from time to time, but you constantly put me down and threw negative emotions at me. Tell me why I’d consider you anything but a warden with how you’ve been treating me since the moment I was born?!”

I frowned, as what she said was true, I had been neglecting her.

“You only allowed me out when it was convenient for you! When you needed me to do something only I could do! And then you’d lock me away the moment I did what you wanted!” she screamed, sounding like an upset teenager.

“Scayla,” I said in a low voice, “I am sorry. You deserved better than-”

“Shut up,” she growled, her Ego flaring, the dark tendrils rising above her.

Glancing back at the others, I close my eyes. This was not going to end well.

“Scayla,” I finally said, turning back to her. “Let’s do this.”

She smiled widely as she reared up, “I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve put me through!”

“Yeah,” I exhaled as I lowered into a fighting stance, “you can try.”

With a roar, she slammed her hooves down, sending her Ego tendrils flying towards me.

Scamp's traumatic mind blowers

Chapter 46

“Why?” the little colt asked as he stared up at me. “Why’d you murder me?”

I shook as I stared down at him, my body covered in gore as he cocked his head.

“Why, Scamp?” bloody tears began to run down his face as his face started to split into three slices. “I was just a child.”

I turned and began to gallop away, teeth clenched as I tried to run from the phantom of my past. But I was stopped by a griffon wearing a military uniform, a massive smirk on his face.

“Prisoner 493, where do you think you’re going?” he asked, two electrical cables in his talons, sparking crazily as he tapped them together.

Taking a few steps back, I bumped into something. Turning my head, I saw a mutilated Parker staring at me.

“You burned us, Scamp. We trusted you, and you killed us,” he said, his jaw barely working as he spoke. “I thought you loved me?”

I fell to the ground, covering my face with my hooves as I screamed into the void.

ooo000<^>000ooo

I sat up, still screaming, startling Mallogory as she jerked awake next to me.

“Whoa! Shh, it’s alright, Scamp!” she yelped as she grabbed me and pulled me into herself as I shook violently. “The dreams again?”

The only thing I could do was nod my head as I pressed myself into her. Apparently I didn’t drink enough at the party to suppress them.

She stroked my mane as we sat there, “are you going to go see Calypso?”

“Yes,” I responded softly, clenching my eyes. “Can I just have a little bit to drink? Just tonight?”

Mallogory frowned as she held me tighter, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please, Mallo,” I begged, trembling, “Just tonight, then no more. I just don’t want to see any of them again tonight. Please?”

She looked at my face, looking a bit pained. “Okay.” With reluctance, she got up and went to the kitchen. After a minute she returned holding a cup of one of Greg’s stronger liquors. Without a word, she handed it to me.

I took it and greedily drank it, eyes stinging from the strength of it. Once I finished it, I placed it on the bed side table and smiled at Mallogory. “Thank you, love.”

She just sighed and got back in bed, pulling me back into herself. “Scamp, I just want you to be happy and not to be suffering like this.”

“I know,” I replied softly as I snuggled into her. “I’m trying to get better.”

A sad sigh escaped her lips as she pulled the covers over us and held on to me. “We’ll get through this together.”

“I love you, Mallo,” I said softly, letting myself drift back to sleep slowly.

“I love you too, Scamp,” she cooed.

ooo000<^>000ooo

With a frown, I stepped up to Rarity’s house, where Calypso and Doc were staying till they also figured out a living situation.

All of us needed to figure something out. As much as I love Greg and Pinkie, sleeping in their spare room isn’t ideal. And I definitely do not like waking them up with my constant night terrors.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped in.

“I was worried you wouldn’t actually come,” Calypso said from a chair as she watched me enter the room.

Looking around, I realized this was Rarity’s sewing room, with all the cloth and sewing machines scattered about the room. Calypso was sitting in the middle of the room, a couch beside her.

“Come have a lay down,” she said, patting the couch.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I rolled my eyes. “Oh, so we doing the entire ‘therapist’ skit are we?”

“Just lay down,” she said in her stern tone that I loved her for.

“On it,” I said as I trotted over and plopped down on my back on the couch.

She just shook her head as she leaned back in her chair. “I need you to take this seriously, Scamp. We’re here to help you, and it won’t work if you make snide little jokes all the time.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I rubbed my face with my hoof, “Yeah, you’re right. How are we doing this?”

“Well, this is all going to take more than one session,” she began, placing her hooves together, “so, I was thinking we’d start from the beginning.”

“Oh boy, my favorite part,” I joked, getting a glare from her. “Sorry.”

“Now,” she said, pulling out a little charm of some kind. “The best way I’ve found to start with a new patient is to see the trauma for myself.”

“No,” I suddenly said, causing her head to snap to me in surprise.

“No?” she repeated back to me.

“Yeah,” I said slowly, frowning. “I don’t want you to see any of it.”

“Scamp,” she said in a caring voice, “I’m your friend, and no matter what you’ve done or experienced will change that.”

I looked away from her, biting my lip, “do we really have to? Can’t we just talk about my feelings or some shit?”

“We could,” she conceded, sighing, “but, this is the best way to tackle your trauma and get past it.”

Staring at the side of the couch, I thought about it, not liking the idea at all. But, finally, I nodded.

“Okay, just don’t judge me…”

Calypso reached over and patted my shoulder, “I would never, Scamp. Are you ready?”

Reluctantly, I nodded.

Raising the charm between us, she said a few cryptic words, which caused the charm to glow bright.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Blinking, I found myself back in the void that is my mind. The little computer sitting there, waiting for us. A feeling of loss passed over me as I didn’t see Ayla here. I don’t think I’d ever get over losing her.

Calypso put a hoof on my shoulder and gently guided me to the little computer.

“So,” she began as she stepped up in front of it. “I’ve learned the best way to find all the traumatic memories and combine them into one file so we don’t have to search for them.”

“Awesome,” I said with a frown, watching her work her magic as she typed in all kinds of terms into the computer. After a moment, a new list popped up. Looking at them, my heart began to race as I read their labels.

“They’re in order of when they happened,” she said, looking at me with soft eyes. “Are you ready? We won’t do that many today. It’s better if we start small and work our way through it at a steady pace.”

Staring at the first one, I cringed, “I don’t know…”

She looked at the label and gave me a reassuring pat, “you can do this, Scamp.”

“I don’t want to see that guy again…” I replied, reading the title. ‘Bully: First regret’.

Calypso didn’t push it as she patted my back, “take your time.”

Biting my lip, I forced myself to slap the enter key, changing the scene around us to a school playground.

We were back when I was still very young, just a few months after getting my cutie mark in fact. A younger version of me sat on the swing set, talking with another filly.

Calypso looked at me as my eyes darted to a slightly older colt making his way to the younger me.

The filly young Scamp was talking to looked behind her and ran away, not even warning her of the approaching colt. As young Scamp yelled after her, the colt suddenly head butted her out of the swing.

“Blazing Star,” I muttered, getting Calypso’s attention. I watched as he mocked and picked on the younger version of me, getting more and more physical. “He was two grades above me and loved picking on me. It got worse after I got my cutie mark, since he was still a blank flank.”

We watched as he pulled young Scamp to her hooves and shoved her backwards.

“Today was the day I finally had enough of him and fought back,” I mumbled, ears flat to my head.

Young Scamp stood up tall and said something back to him, which caused him to yell and buck her in the face. But instead of going down, young Scamp jumped back on him. The two rolled around as she wailed on him. As they came to a stop, she hit him just right that he went limp.

But, she was too young to know when to stop as she kept attacking him, bucking him over and over again.

Adults finally arrived and pulled her off of him as she cheered in victory.

“I didn’t know it,” I said slowly, sitting down on my flank, “but he never recovered from that beating. He ended up in a long term care facility, unable to do anything for himself.”

“Scamp,” Calypso said as the memory faded away. “You were young and he was hurting you. You reacted like a kid would, there’s no way you’d know how it’d affect him.”

“Does it matter?” I asked, “he still lost out on life because of my hot head. He was a kid too, and had some tough shit going on in his personal life. He didn’t deserve that.”

“Kids make mistakes,” she assured. “If you’d like, can we stop for now?”

“No,” I reluctantly say as I step back up to the computer and look at the next item on the list. “I need this.”

Next on the list was one I’d rather skip, so I did. Moving to the next one, I saw the first time I killed someone. Pressing it, the scene changed to the one Lance and Bronwyn had seen the last time I was here.

The scene played out the exact same, ending with me pressed against the wall, face in my hooves.

“That one was justified, it was war,” she said, watching the scene fade away.

“I know, but I still think about it from time to time,” I replied, sighing.

She leaned over and looked at the screen. “You passed one.”

I looked at her, a pleading look on my face. “Not that one.”

With a caring smile, she nodded, “Okay, not that one.”

Looking back to the screen, I saw the next one was another I dreaded seeing again. “I want to skip this one too…”

“We can’t skip all of them,” she said as she looked at it, then her ears flattened a bit. “Oh… I didn’t realize you were a POW during the war…”

“Yeah,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head. “After that last memory, I was captured by the enemy and was held for a week in their camp till it was overrun and I was freed. But they pushed hard for information the entire time I was there.”

My hoof hovered over the button, tears in my eyes. “I don’t have it in me to see myself like that…”

“Then we won’t,” she said, stopping my hoof. “Not all trauma has to be relieved to be healed.”

“Thank you,” I said in a little voice, falling back onto the ground and hugging myself.

She sat down next to me and pulled me into her side, “I think we’ve seen enough for today.”

“Mhm,” I mumbled.

She said a few words and we slowly faded from my mind.

ooo000<^>000ooo

As I found myself back on the couch, I sat up, letting out a relieved sigh.

“Now, let’s talk about what we saw in there,” she said, holding up a notebook.

I cringed as I laid back down, “is this part also necessary?”

“It is. It’s more important than actually seeing the trauma,” she said, writing something down. “Now, tell me more about Blazing Star.”

I sighed as I put my hooves to my face. I hate therapy.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“How’d it go?” Mallogory asked with an expectant smile as she watched me walk towards her as she sat on the front porch of Greg’s house.

“You know,” I said, forcing a chuckle. “We talked, I cried, the whole process.”

“Did it help?”

I let out a heavy sigh as I sat down next to her, “I guess.”

She gave a nod as she reached over and took my hoof, “It’s going to take more than one day to get better, you know that right?”

“I know,” I say with a small grin. “I’ll get better, for you and everyone else's sake.”

“Do it for you,” she replied with a loving smile on her face.

This caused me to relax as I stared into her eyes.

I could put up with anything as long as she was by my side.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“So, this is the cheapest we have on the market right now,” Drax said as he lead us through the slightly run down house. “The previous owners kinda did a number on it, as you can see.”

I opened a door, causing it to fall off of its hinges and hit the ground. “I see what you mean.”

“It’ll take a lot of work, are you sure you want this one?” he asked, looking at us as we examined the ruined walls and missing windows. “The Princesses are offering to buy you any house you want. You can pick one of the much nicer ones.”

“No, we like this one,” Mallogory said as she ran her claws along a cabinet. “It’s right by the forest, on the edge of town. Plenty of privacy. It’s honestly perfect.”

“Plus,” I said as I pushed another door over by accident, “we would love to have something to do while you find us a building to use.”

He nods as he watches us, holding up a clip board, “and how big are we talking? I can commission any kind of building you want, I just need the basic’s to get started.”

Mallogory and I smiled at each other.

“Drax, do you know what a Dojo is?”

Let’s make a mistake

Chapter 65

June 24th 12 A.B.

Lilly nervously stepped through the doors of the Dojo, unsure if they’d welcome her the same way as they did Scamp the day before.

The moment she stepped in all eyes turned to her, causing her to freeze in fear.

“Well?” Vicar asked from the top of the stairs, already waiting for her as he’d apparently seen her coming.

“She…” Lilly began, gulping a bit. “She bought it.”

Vicar stared at her for a long moment, gauging her. She stood firm, doing her best to remain confident.

“Welcome to Wolverine Kamae!” He suddenly announced, followed by all the kids cheering and coming forward to congratulate her.

She smiled nervously as they all roughly shoved her around and slapped her back.

“Ollie, we’re going to hold off on unlocking her potential for now. Let’s see how Viper Claw training stacks up against ours,” Vicar called out as he stepped back into his office.

The olive mare smirked at Lilly as all the kids continued to give her their praise.

This didn’t set well with the young mare.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Mallogory frowned heavily at me as I held our sleeping daughter. I just smiled back at her with absolute certainty and calmness I could muster.

“What you’re telling me goes against all the evidence,” she stated, the almost invisible black smoke still radiating from her.

“Yeah, I know. But Mallo, you know I’d never lie to you,” I say, rocking Shayla gently. “Vicar faked the video and they’ve done something to you. The black smoke coming from your head is evident of that.”

She rubbed her face, “I haven’t even spoke to or seen him in a long while, Scamp. There’s no way he could have done anything to me.”

I stared at her with sad eyes, causing her to sigh.

“You’ve suffered a head injury, and-“ she began but I cut her off.

“Stop, please,” I say, not able to hear it all again. “Let me just do what I do best.”

She stared at me hard, then sighed loudly as she stood up and hugged me and our daughter. “Okay. I don’t like any of this, but I trust you. Just don’t burn us, love.”

My eye widened as flashes of the past plagued my mind, causing me to lock up for a moment.

“Scamp?” She asked as she leaned back, seeing my expression.

“I’m good,” I lied. “I’m just so happy to have your support.”

She gave me a look that said she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t push it. “Just know; if you get hurt again, or endanger Shayla in anyway, then it’s over. There will be no more chances. You’ll have to choose between us or this damn rivalry.”

I blinked at her, taken aback by her words, but I give a sharp nod. “I won’t fuck this up.”

“I know you’ll try not to,” she said as she kissed me and gently took Shayla. “Now, enjoy class tonight.”

With that she walked out of the office and past all my students as they slowly started to line up. In the back I saw Lance laying on a beanbag chair, playing on his computer. Twilight sat next to him in another chair, looking a bit displeased.

I meant for them to come after class, that way Spark could be here. Well shit.

Stepping into my doorway, I waved for them to come into my office.

As they stepped into my office and I took my seat behind my desk, Twilight frowned.

“You need a favor?” She asked, seeming more upset than I anticipated.

“I do, and I need both of you to help with it,” I replied, gesturing for them to take a seat on the couch.

Once they were seated I continued, “as you both probably know, I’ve suffered a bit of brain damage and can’t remember a few days of my life.”

“Well you attacked them and brought that on yourself,” she said harshly, but sighed. “I’m sorry, Scamp. But it’s hard for me to feel sorry for you right now. We’ve all seen the video, and it’s clear who the aggressor was.”

I sighed and rubbed my face, “The video is a fake. It’s not actually me in it, and I'm going to prove it. But I need both of your help.”

“You got it,” Lance said before Twilight spoke her opinion. “What are you needing?”

“Break and Dawn,” I said grimly.

“What? Why?” He asked in confusion.

“Because they know how to navigate lost memories, and I'm desperate enough to deal with them,” I said, the grimace on my face only growing.

He rubbed his neck and sighed, “if you’re willing to go through it, then they’re willing to help.”

“Thank you, Lance,” I said as I turned to lavender mare. “Twilight, I need you to perform the swapping spell.”

She looked between us, a perplexed look on her face. “Scamp,” she finally said, “I trust you. If you’re saying the video is fake and think you can prove it, then I’m behind you.”

I jumped out of my chair and ran around the desk, pulling both of them into a tight hug, catching them off guard. “You two are amazing friends, thank you!”

They returned the hug.

“I just don’t envy you,” Twilight said as she sat back as we broke the hug. “Having those two in your head… things must be pretty bad for you to willingly wish this upon yourself.”

“Trust me, I know,” I chuckled as Lance just frowned a bit at us.

“Lance, are they ready?” Twilight asked as she stood up and took a stance facing us.

“Break is practically begging for this to hurry up,” Lance chuckled, causing me to frown.

“You sure about this, Scamp?” She asked, giving me one last chance to back out.

“Do it before I can change my mind,” I replied through gritted teeth.

Twilight’s horn began to glow as she pointed it at us.

As it grew brighter, my resolve wavered, “actually I change my min-“

Her horn flashed brightly as I felt a cold sensation slam into me.

[Fuck yeah! Scamp’s fucking mind!]

[Is that fucking slow jazz?! What the fuck, Scamp! You’re the Death Metal singing mare and you have jazz music playing in your head?! Fucking gay!]

Oh I am regretting this already.

“You already look dead inside,” Twilight snickered, causing me to facehoof.

“How do you live like this, Lance?” I asked, looking to him for an answer.

“Eh you get used to it,” he chuckled.

[Yeah! Like a cancer!]

[Nah.]

Twilight looked at Lance and made a gesture for the door.

“Oh, eh, we actually have somewhere to be. My stepbrother Jeff is having a baseball game, and we promised my Mom and Barehoof we’d be there,” Lance said as Twilight began nudging him for the door.

I blinked at them, and frowned, “yes, leave me alone with these two.”

“You got this!” Lance said as he was pushed through the door.

Great.

[Turn on some real tunes!]

I growled loudly as I thought inwardly.

{You both are only here to try and fix my memories. Can you do it?}

[Yeah, just allow us full access and boom, we work like rats!]

[You ever see one of those fuckers clear a maze for some pussy?]

I slammed a hoof into my face as I looked out and saw my students lined up and waiting.

{Stop. You have full access, just fix this.}
[Fuck yeah! The memory bank! I’m gonna watch some cool shit!]
<Break! Don’t watch her private memories!]

I let out a frustrated yell as I punched a hole through the wall with my metal paw, scaring the shit out of my students.

{Fuck it! Break, get it out of your system! Watch what ever you fucking want! Just do your damn job afterward!}

They both remained silent for a moment.

[Well if you insist!]

{I don’t fucking care anymore. Just get it over with.}

Composing myself, I step out and look at my worried students.

“Jumping jacks! Move!”

ooo000<^>000ooo

As the last student walked out the door, I turned and walked into the locker room, still pissed off. They’d remained mostly quiet during class, but Break kept making comments about shit I was saying.

This is almost not even worth it at this point.

I let out a ragged sigh as I turned on the shower.

{Dawn you’re the good one, so I’m sorry but you apologizing for him means very little to me.}
<… That’s fair.>

After a quick shower, I walked back to my office and plopped down on the couch, groaning into the pillow that lay on it.

[No fuck you! I’m just so pissed and sad at this shitty slow jazz!!]

[I filtered them to show only the traumatic shit so I could see some badass fighting, but there was barely anything cool in there!!]
{Welcome to my life. Have fun getting tortured? Or how about giving birth to a dead foal in a dirty back alley bathroom?! Ya like that you prick?!}
[… no, I did not like that...]
{Yeah, fuck you. You got what you fucking deserved.}

This at least brought a smile to my face.

{Good, now get to work.}

[Okay.]

Now that everything was quiet in my mind, I closed my eyes to take a nap, not having it in me to go home right now.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next morning

Groaning, I sat up and rubbed my sore back. Looking out the office window I saw the morning sun shining through the Dojo’s front windows.

“Shit, did not mean to sleep the entire night,” I muttered as I rolled off the couch and made my way to my mini fridge, pulling out a few burritos.

[Scamp.]
{Let me eat before I deal with you two.}

I threw them in the microwave and turned it on.

{I don’t care.}

Once it was done, I pulled them out and began eating them almost whole. They were still cold in a few spots, as usual, but I didn’t care as I ripped through them.

Burping loudly, I shoved the plate into my full trash can and walked for the bathroom.

[Scamp.]
{Shut up till I’m ready.}

Once I finished in the bath room I walked for my desk and fell back in the chair, sighing.

{Now, go ahead.}

There was a pause.

[Scamp I’m sorry.]
{For what? Being a prick? Looking at my private memories? Being a creep? I can go on.}
[All of it. My whole thing is being the badass with an attitude, but holy fuck, the shit I had to experience as you was fucking horrible!!]
{No one made you, asshole. You honestly deserve to feel bad. I do not accept your apology by the way.}

[Eh, she’s right. Dawn, tell her what we found out.]

{Get what you can, it all helps.}

With that settled, I jumped up and entered the Training Hall of my Dojo. Might as well do my morning exercises while I’m free.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The door to my Dojo burst open as I was mid push up, causing my head to snap up at the rude visitor. The sight of the stallion in my door brought a frown to my face as I glared at him.

It was one of the teachers from Wolverine Kamae, Lemon Tape.

“The hell you want?” I yell as I roll to the side and square up with him.

He looked straight at me, seeming to be thinking hard on something.

“Spit it out!”

“I don’t know what it is,” he finally said, grinning at me. “But you are a very interesting, woman.”

I raise my eye at his choice of words, “you and all your buddies at Wolverine Kamae are hiding something. I just want you to know that I know something is up. You’re all acting very weird every time I interact with you.”

He just chuckles, not acting like I’d expect. “There’s nothing to hide. You’re just as weird as we are, to be honest.”

“Why are you even here?” I ask, not letting my guard down.

“To check up on you,” he said, giving a small bow.

“Well, I’m alive. So go tell your Boss and leave me the fuck alone!”

[Yeah! You tell that bitch!]

“You misunderstand,” he chuckles, placing a hoof on his chest. “I came to check on you on my own accord, because I found myself worried about you.”

“Wut?” I said, completely taken off guard.

“I don’t know what it is about you, probably your determination and strong will, but I feel something towards you,” he said with a wide grin.

“Bruh, I’m married for one, and two, the only thing I feel towards your ass is hate,” I said, spitting onto the ground between us.

All he did in reaction was smile wider. “That’s exactly it! Your attitude, it’s so refreshing!”

[Oh fuck this weirdo.]

I frown, not wanting to get into a prolonged fight right now.

…

{So, can we transform?}

{Ye.}

[Fuck yes! Let’s give it a try!]

Lemon Tape stared at me, waiting for my response. Oh he’d get one, that’s for sure.

But after a second, nothing happened.

[Yeah we can’t.]

{Well how do you force Lance to transform?}

{Well shit I got plenty of that in reserve. Watch this.}

Planting my hooves, I glare at Lemon Tape as I begin to force myself to think about all the bullshit I’ve been dealing with recently. It did not take long at all for me to start shaking with rage.

[Oh fuck… this shit feels more violent than Lance’s…]

It did not take long at all for me to feel both Break and Dawn suddenly slip deeper into my mind. The air around me seemed to explode as I felt energy erupt from my body, causing me to let out a roar in a deep guttural voice.

Once everything stopped, Lemon Tape stared at me in appsolute shock and terror.

“Get the fuck out of my Dojo!” I boomed, my voice sounding like it does when I’m singing Death Metal.

The music in my mind changed. Ooo! New theme song unlocked!

[Oh shit! Now this is what I’m talking about!]

Lemon Tape took a step forward, “wow… you are just full of beaut-“

My flaming hoof hit his face, sending him flying out my door as the midnight colored flames exploded around us from the impact.

He flew straight back and smashed through a tree, toppling it and the one behind it. I lost sight of him among all the trees and bushes of the forest beyond.

[Holy fucking yes! YES!]

I smirked and looked myself over. I looked nothing like Lance when he’s in Breaking Dawn, but I definitely look more violent than he does.

[You look like the fucking villain of comic book, bro!]

With a flash, I easily came out of the transformation and returned to normal.

I just smiled as I pulled my Dojo doors closed and returned to my exercises.

Part 5 Act 1: Prologue

Part 5 Act 1

Prologue

March 2nd 24 A.B.

I stepped through the front door of my house and flexed my wings, the morning sun glaring down on me. With a flick of my wings, I flipped my Pit Viper’s down, blocking out the sun's rays.

Stretching my back, I leap forward and take to the air, flying lazily towards the Mellowed Pie.

Now that I’d finished High School, I didn’t really know what to do with my time. I spent most of my time at the Dojo, but honestly that was getting repetitive and boring. My friends, or as we love to call ourselves, the Phantasm Troupe, have been trying to figure out if they’re going to college or not.

Me? Nah, college life is not for me. Which will suck, since my friends may end up leaving.

Secretly, I’m hoping they all get rejected and we all just continue going on adventures together. Can never outgrow adventures! I mean, look at my moms, they did all kinds of cool shit!

The sound of a sonic boom sounded above me, making me frown as I saw the local douche, Champion, land on the hill next to the Mansion that overlooked the town.

That guy has an ego problem. But everyone loves him, since, ya know, he’s ‘The Hero of Equestria!’ and the royal prince. Bleh.

I could probably take him, if I had a cool Ego or Thorn like he had. But my moms forbid me from even leaving this dimension till ‘I’m ready’. No fucking idea when that’ll be though, since they won’t tell me.

As I neared the Mellowed Pie, I saw the one pony I didn’t want to see. Domitor. The little prick who just won’t quit. I’ve kicked his ass more times than I can count, but he just keeps getting back up. I don’t know what his fucking problem is at this point.

I thought it was because he wanted to be friends with me and my friends, but one day he just sucker punched me, so nah, fuck 'em.

He was walking down the street, kicking rocks out of his way, and appeared to be heading for the Mellowed Pie as well.

Great.

Landing at the door, I looked back and watched him walk my way with his head down.

He looked up suddenly and sneered, “Shayla.”

“Domitor,” I said back, squaring up with him. “We doing this? Because I just want to eat.”

He looked around, then turned to leave, “I wasn’t hungry anyways.”

I rolled my eyes at his overly dramatic ass and turned to head inside.

As usual, the place was packed, with the Pie family rushing around taking orders and throwing plates around.

“Ah, Shayla, the usual?” the owner Greg said, getting a smile out of me.

“You know it!” I yelled as I jumped over a booth and landed in the seat.

He laughed as he wheeled himself towards the kitchen.

Glancing around, I saw the usual crowd. A few of my friends were here, and they were quickly making their way over to me.

“What up, Shay?” Dude asked as we bumped fist to hoof.

“Food, that is what’s up,” I chuckled, smiling as they all took a seat in my booth. Looking at each of their smiling faces, I realized we weren’t kids anymore. We were all Highschool graduates and able to move forward with our lives. Damn, my parents were right, time really does fly.

“Any plans before the next college semester starts?” Summer Breeze asked, picking at her food.

“Nah, just hang with you fuckers,” Dude replied.

“Wait, you got into a college?” I ask, trying to not sound disappointed.

“I did!” Summer Breeze exclaimed happily. “I start in September!”

“Anyone else?” I ask, putting on a fake happy smile.

“Eeyep!” Nightstreak replied, beaming with pride.

“Me too,” Flippy Dew said, grinning as she picked at her food.

“Failed it all,” Dude laughed, just shrugging as he kept eating.

Roxxy shrugged, “I dunno if I want to go.”

I sighed in relief, at least she and Dude would still be around.

But… that’s still half of my friends, gone at some point. What if college changes them?! Oh holy fucking shit, what if they find new better friends and DON’T come back?

“Shayla? You good?” Dude asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “You’re looking kinda pale. Which is saying something for you.”

I blink, realizing they were all looking at me. “OH! Eh, yeah, just sick as fuck I guess.”

“Ew, get the fuck away from me then,” Dude exclaimed, shifting over to the other side of the booth.

A smirk forms on my face as I fake cough right at him.

“Bro!” he yelped and fell out of his seat, causing all of us to start laughing hysterically.

Maybe it won’t be so bad… Plus, we still have MONTHS before college starts for them. A lot can happen, they may even change their minds!

Author's Note

Very short, as I needed a starting point for Part 5. Just to help everyone, I will now list the characters, their current ages at this point, and who their parents are. This should help anyone who's confused:

Lance Greenfield and Twilight Sparkle

Spark (23) and Fawn(28)

Scamp and Mallogory

Shayla (13)

David(DEAD) and Rainbow Dash

Azure Moon(22) and Lightning(22)

Greg and Pinkie Pie

Jelly Bean(17) and Dude(14)

Peter(DEAD) and Rarity

Blaze(22)

Drax and Dali

Kelmoon (18)

Frederic(DEAD) and Luna

Nova(23) and Star Chaser(23)

Shadow Breeze and Fluttershy

Nightstreak (colt)(14) and Summer Breeze (filly)(14)

Aaron and Vinyl Scratch

Duke Venture(18)

Cody Benson and Ditzy

Flippy Dew(14)

Grace(DEAD) and Octavia (DEAD)

Mango Loco(16)

Alexander and Trixie

Flashy Flash(16)

Darkest Bleak and Adry

Roxxy (13)

Captain Barehoof and Dana

Jeff (21)

It begins here

Chapter 25

A loud knocking at the front door sounded through the house, getting everyone's attention.

“Lance, can you get the door?” Twilight yelled as she worked in the kitchen, making lunch for herself and her husband.

“Busy,” he muttered from the living room as he laid on the couch playing some kind of online video game.

The knocking resumed, louder than before.

“Lance Greenfield,” Twilight said sternly, causing him to sigh and put his computer down on the coffee table.

“Okay, going,” he said in defeat as stood up and walked to the front door.

He pulled it open and forced a smile, “Ah! Champion, what brings you here?”

The costumed stallion stood there, a blank look on his face. An over the top beautiful mare stepped up next to him, smiling sweetly at Lance.

“Oh, who’s your friend?” Lance asked, holding a hoof out to the mare. “The name’s Lan-”

Faster than anyone could see, Champion swung his hoof forward, slamming it into Lance’s face and sending him rocketing backwards. The force of the punch alone blew the entire house away with him, leaving nothing in front of them but a pile of rubble and a three mile long trail of debris that stretched out before them.

“A lot of power just to knock him out,” Lilith said with a giggle.

“He’s unpredictable, I wasn’t leaving anything to chance,” Champion said as he walked forward, scanning the debris for Lance. He had to walk for a bit, following the trail of destruction as he looked for the distinctive stallion.

The power of his punch had not only destroyed the Greenfield household, but also all of the houses behind it, so there was a lot of rubble to look through. Luckily for Champion, he could sense heartbeats, so it didn’t take him long to find the only heartbeat in the area, under a pile of broken wood and stone.

He slammed his hoof into the rubble and gripped something, and with a violent tug, he pulled Lance out of the debris by his back leg.

“Good work,” Lilith said happily as Champion turned and tossed the unconscious stallion to her.

“I’m going to start on my part of the plan,” he said, raising into the air. “Don’t screw up and lose him. He’s slippery when he wants to be.”

A ball of crackling red magic formed around the prone stallion as she smiled up at him. “He’s not going anywhere.”

Champion gave a nod as he turned and stared at Canterlot in the distance.

This was his time.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Domitor was the first to make a move as he exploded towards Shayla, attacking her as aggressively as he could. Yet she was easily keeping up with him as she blocked and deflected all of his attacks, a smug look on her face as she shifted and slammed an elbow into his face, sending him stumbling to the right.

Before she could capitalize on the moment, Floria appeared between them, slamming a closed fist into Shayla’s face. She’d used her Thorn to approach her unnoticed and was able to land a surprise attack.

Shayla growled as she dropped to the ground and swept the legs out from under the short Kejtdra, and then in one smooth movement, kicked her in the gut, sending her flying into Domitor.

The two got tangled up as they tried to get up, causing Shayla to laugh.

“Come on, guys! Two on one, you’re supposed to win this!”

“This bitch,” Floria muttered, standing up and helping Domitor stand up next. “We gotta work together.”

Domitor gave a nod, sensing something had changed in Shayla since their last fight. She was certainly faster and stronger.

“Follow my lead,” he said, turning to the smug looking mare, who was just waiting for them to attack her again.

Wiping his nose, he smirked at her as he shot a tendril right behind her and zipped right past her. Her eyes never left him, following him as he was pulled along by his dark tendrils. As she turned with him, she winked at him. He was confused as he prepared to attack her, but she suddenly spun around and slammed a fist into Floria’s face as she tried to approach from behind.

He shot a tendril onto Shayla’s back and yanked her towards himself, catching her off guard. He slammed a hoof into the back of her head, sending her stumbling forward just as Floria returned and slammed her knee into the mare’s gut.

Shayla let out a gasp as she started to double over, but then seemed to move in a blink of an eye, slamming a fist into both of their faces in the same instant. Domitor and Floria stumbled away from her, the sudden attacks catching them off guard.

She spun on Domitor and laid into him, getting two hard hits in before he was able to get his hooves back up and block her attacks.

Mid block he suddenly zipped to her left, dodging one of her attacks as he grabbed her jacket and roared as he lifted her over himself and slammed her down onto the ground. Yet she didn’t slam into the ground as she threw her hands up and caught herself, then using her upper body strength, threw him over herself instead.

With a thud he crashed into the ground as she wrapped her back legs around one of his legs and grabbed it, trying to break it at the joint. Panic took over as he fought to save his leg, memories of his father flashing through his head.

“Let him go, ya damn bitch!” Floria yelled as she slid up behind Shayla and grabbed her in a headlock, trying to choke her out.

This got her to release Domitor, who rolled away as fast as he could. She then reached up, grabbing the other woman’s arm as she slowly began to pry it off of herself.

“How are you this strong?!” Floria yelled, struggling to maintain the chokehold she had.

“I’m just built differently,” Shayla grunted out as she was about to break free of the arm around her neck.

But just as she was about to break free, Domitor sprang forward, slamming his back hoof into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Now that she wasn’t fighting as hard, Floria was able to get a better hold on her, squeezing as hard as she could.

Domitor grabbed her arms, trying to hold them down as she continued to fight them.

Then her eyes flared in absolute rage as her hand broke from his grasp and grabbed him by the face. He yelped as she almost effortlessly threw him to the side, then with a ragged roar rolled over, bringing Floria with her as she held tight.

Forcing herself to her feet, she reached over herself and grabbed the short Kejtdra by the edges of her faceplate and pulled hard, breaking her grip on her neck. With a loud battle cry, she pulled the woman over her head and slammed her into the ground in front of her.

Floria gasped in shock and pain as the ground knocked all the fight out of her momentarily. Her eyes went wide as Shayla raised her foot, wanting to knock her out of the fight as fast as possible.

But a dark blur tackled her just as she started to bring her foot down, sending both of them skidding across the ground. As they came to a stop, Domitor found himself on top for once. He straddled her chest and began to wail on her, trying his best to knock her out. But she just kept up her defenses, blocking his hits.

A smirk appeared on her face as she bounced her back legs and raised them up, wrapping them around Domitor’s neck. He let out a yelp as she pulled him backwards and slammed his head straight into the ground. Once she unwrapped her legs from his neck, she jumped up, seeing Floria sprinting towards them.

She laughed as she jumped forward and kicked Domitor towards her, causing the other woman’s eyes to go wide as she stopped running towards her and stopped to catch the incoming stallion.

As she caught him, Shayla shot forward faster than her eyes could track and plowed her fist right into Floria’s unguarded face. This caused her and Domitor to go flying backwards, hitting the ground with loud grunts. But Shayla wasn’t done as she dashed forward and grabbed both of their legs.

“Get ready!” she yells as she tightens her grip on their legs as they both fight to break loose, “we’ll be spinning at high speeds!”

With manic laughter, she began to spin around, forcing her two victims to come along for the ride. She spun faster and faster, to the point both of them felt like their legs were about to rip off of their bodies. Then, laughing like a maniac, she began to slam them both up and down into the ground as she spun, even into a lamp post that was nearby.

She didn’t let up, spinning faster and faster as she slammed them all around herself, her laughter reaching psychotic levels.

Finally with one final slam, she released them, sending them flying in opposite directions. Domitor slammed through a building, crashing through the wall. If it hadn’t been for his magically reinforced body, he’d probably have died from that impact alone.

Floria collided with the side of a car, knocking it over as she was flung over it and into a building as well.

“Whew!” Shayla exclaimed, stumbling a bit as she regained her balance after that move. “You two down now?”

Domitor groaned as he pulled himself up and out of the hole in the building, staring at her with an intense look on his face.

“Ah, of course you’re still up,” she said as she rolled her shoulder. “Well come on, Domitor. Let’s get this finished.”

“Yeah,” he said, jumping down and walking towards her, a determined look on his face.

“Can’t believe Lorenzo is your father,” she said as she glared at him.

“Trust me,” he said, spitting some blood onto the ground next to himself. “I can’t believe it either sometimes.”

“You assholes tried to kill me,” she said, slamming a fist into her chest. “Well I ain’t that easy to kill, fucker!”

“I didn’t know he was going to try and kill you,” Domitor admitted, stopping a few yards away from her.

“Bullshit,” she spat out, narrowing her eyes on him. “If that was true, why are you hunting me?”

This caused him to pause, as he hadn’t actually thought about that yet. He was just following Lenrick and his fathers lead, but he wasn’t out here to get her killed.

What was he doing here exactly?

“Well?” she asked with a sneer.

“I don’t actually know to be honest,” he conceded. “I won’t fight you anymore if you promise to stay out of my fathers way.”

“Fuck you,” she said as she raised her hand and flipped him off. “I’m killing that asshole for shooting me.”

Domitor closed his eyes, as he had hoped she’d see reason. “Fine then.”

They launched into each other, attacking more violently than before, emotions pushing them along. They were equal at first, neither able to land a hit, but that quickly changed as Shayla seemed to move faster than he thought possible, and rammed her hoof right into the underside of his jaw, sending him flying upwards and back.

She grabbed his leg as he flew upward and yanked him back down hard, causing him to crash into the ground.

He groaned in pain as she stepped over him and put a foot to his throat, a range of emotions playing on her face as she looked down at him.

“I can’t believe you actually are helping him,” she said, eyes ablaze with fury. “I’ve never liked you, but I never pegged you for an evil piece of shit.”

“I ain’t evil,” Domitor spat out, choking a bit as she applied pressure to his neck.

“Coulda fooled me,” she deadpanned.

“Get off of him,” Floria said from across the street, having trouble standing as she held her large rifle in her hands, struggling to keep it up and on Shayla.

“Yeah, you two aren’t evil at all,” Shayla hissed as she released her foot from Domitor’s neck and squared up with Floria. “Big gun for a little kid.”

“I’m not a fucking kid,” Floria said weakly, eyes locked on her.

Her eyes flickered down to Domitor, who was shaking his head at her. This caused her to growl as she stumbled back a bit, leaning against the overturned car for support.

“You think you can fire that and hit me before I reach you?” Shayla said as she took a step towards her.

“Just… stay right there,” Floria said as she coughed a bit.

A smirk played on Shayla’s face as she began to advance towards the hurt Kejtdra.

“Damn it,” Floria said as she lowered the gun, deciding to listen to Domitor.

“What are you-” Shayla began to say, but a wave of tendril-like arms made of magic flew up at her from the ground, pulling her down roughly. “What the fuck?!” she screamed out, fighting against the now invisible bonds. But it was useless, as she couldn’t move at all now.

“Gotcha bitch!” Lenrick roared with laughter as he walked into the area, a little item in his hands. “Knew I saved this restraining magic for something.”

“Get this shit off of me!” she yelled, still fighting to get free.

“You good, Domitor?” Lenrick asked as he approached the restrained Shayla.

Domitor let out a sigh of relief as he rolled over and sat up, rubbing his neck. “I’m good. Thanks, Lenrick.”

“I told you, I got your back,” he said with a laugh, ignoring Floria as she leaned against the car, breathing heavily.

As he neared the prone Shayla, he pulled out the camera and set it up a few feet away from her. “Now, let’s get back to business,” he said as he hit the record button. “Gotta get that video recorded for mommy after all.”

“Damn it you pricks!” Shayla roared, her hate filled eyes locked on the man.

He walked over and stood over her, smiling down at her with a crazy look as he pulled out his sword.

She stopped fighting, glaring up at him. “Wanna kill me? Then do it, fucker! Right in the face!”

This caused him to laugh as he looked over to Domitor. “She’s just like her mother, isn’t she?”

Domitor just shrugged, not wanting to be a part of this part.

“Yeah, just like your mother…” he said as he stared down at her. A creepy smile suddenly appeared on his face. He turned his head to the camera, giving it a wave and putting his sword away. “Well well, Scamp, looks like you should have taken my offer all those years ago. Guess little Shayla here will just have to take your place.”

“What the fuck are you talking ab-” Shayla began to say, but the sight of him undoing his belt buckle caused her eyes to go wide. “Wait, what the fuck are you doing?!”

He smirked as he stared into her eyes, no longer talking.

“HEY! HEY! What the fuck are you doing! HEY!” she screamed in a panic, already knowing where this was going but not wanting to accept it.

With a bit of flair he threw his pants down and kicked them to the side.

“Lenrick, what are you doing?!” Domitor yelled, eyes wide as he watched his friend.

“If you don’t got the stomach for this, Dom, might want to turn away,” he said with a snicker as he kept his eyes on Shayla’s panicked face.

“But, all we have to do is kill her… not-”

“Shut up!” Lenrick suddenly snapped. “Just turn around, Dom. Walk away if you gotta, just shut up.”

Domitor looked to Floria, who was looking just as panicked as Shayla, as she looked to be in shock. Her eyes were locked on the scene before them, her eyes wide and her whole body shaking as she took deep breaths.

Lenrick pulled off his jacket and shirt next, never removing his eyes from Shayla’s.

“J-Just stop you fucking prick!” she roared, voice shaking for the first time in her life. But he didn’t stop as he grabbed his member, making a jerking motion as he prepared himself. “STOP!”

“Yeah, keep talking,” he said in a seductive voice as he kept going, getting the blood pumping.

Once he was ready, he licked his lips.

Domitor shook as he watched. This was… wrong.

Lenrick went down to a knee and grabbed at her belts, undoing them.

“Please stop, just fucking stop!” Shayla screamed, fighting as hard as she could.

He flung the belts open and grabbed the top of her pants, smiling at her as he yanked them down.

“HELP!” she roared, causing him to laugh as he kept yanking her pants down. Eyes tracing down her body as the pants went lower and lower.

Then without warning, something latched onto his back and slammed a blade into the top of his right shoulder, ramming it all the way down to the hilt.

Lenrick roared in shock and pain as he pushed himself away from the restrained mare and tried to grab at the person attached to his back. “One of you get this thing off of me!” he roared to his two companions.

Finally, the person on his back jumped away and landed behind him. With an angry sneer, Lenrick spun around, holding the sword still embedded in his shoulder and down into his chest.

“Who do you-” his eyes went wide as he saw his attacker. “Domitor?! What are you doing?!”

Domitor stood there, crying as she squared up with Lenrick. He didn’t know what to say, so he just stood there sobbing as he prepared to finish off his friend.

“You little ungrateful horse!” Lenrick screamed, ripping the blade out of his shoulder and stumbling towards him.

A massive boom filled the area as both of Lenrick’s legs turned to a pink mist, causing him to fall face first onto the ground.

Floria, who’d fired her rifle for the first time, was laying on the ground now, having been thrown back by the unexpected power of the weapon.

“Domitor, come on, this is stupid,” Lenrick said through clenched teeth, holding himself up with his elbows. “I need you to do me a favor, in my pants is a item that’ll stop the bleeding, please, get it before-”

“Shut up!” Domitor screamed, his face coated in tears as he walked forward and kicked his sword into the air, catching it with his hoof. Lenrick began to speak again, but he just screamed even louder, “SHUT UP!”

He looked over at Shayla, who looked scared and confused, her body shaking as her adrenaline crashed.

“You’re… a bad person, Lenrick,” Domitor said in a detached voice.

“We’re all bad, kid, even you!” Lenrick countered, trying to get the stallion to listen to him. “Now hurry, get my-”

He was cut off as Domitor’s sword pierced through his forehead and out the back of his head, cutting through his spine as well, the tip of the blade embedding itself into the ground below his chest.

With the man now dead, he stumbled over to his pants and grabbed the little item that was being used to restrain Shayla. He fumbled with it for a moment before he figured out how to turn it off, and the moment he did, she curled in on herself, pulling her pants back up as she trembled.

“Shayla, are you… okay?” he asked, slowly approaching her.

Her eyes snapped to him as she suddenly jumped up and slammed a knee into his snout, sending him flying backwards. She then turned around and sprinted away as fast as her legs would carry her, leaving the scene far behind her.

Domitor didn’t give chase as he lay there, looking up at the sky above him.

The gravity of the situation slowly dawned on him as he looked over to the nude body of Lenrick, his sword keeping his head up, staring up at the same sky as him.

He’d just killed someone.

He’d just killed his friend.

It didn’t matter if that friend ended up being the worst kind of person, he had still been a friend. And Domitor had killed him.

It was necessary, but that didn’t make him feel any better about it.

Floria stumbled over to him and fell to her knees next to him.

“Are you good, Dom?” she asked carefully, making sure she was between him and the body.

“No,” was the only thing Domitor said as he returned his gaze to the sky. “I don’t think I’ll ever be good again after today.”

She stared at him with a sad, yet knowing, look on her face. “Yeah, I’ve been there…”

Level 5 stuff

Chapter 33

Domitor stepped out of the clinic, a sour look still on his face.

“Cheer up, it could have been worse,” Floria commented as she walked out past him, taking note of his face.

He didn’t respond as he began to walk down the street, not really having a destination in mind. It was nighttime now, so most of everything seemed to be closed. Which was fine by him, since he didn’t want to be around other people at that moment.

Being in that clinic was hard enough with all the questions they kept asking him.

“We can head back to my place?” she offered, but he just shrugged a bit in response. “Erm…”

“I’m sorry,” he finally said, letting out a deep sigh. “I just need some time to process what just happened today.”

She put her hands in her pockets as she looked at him as they walked, a conflicted look on her face. “Would it make you feel better if… we went and found Shayla?”

This caused him to take a half step, stumbling a bit as the memories flooded back in. Should they find her? Make sure she was okay? Or should they give her space? Would she even want them around? She did attack him when he tried to check up on her.

“I don’t know,” he finally muttered. “I don't like her, and she’s been a major problem in my life, so I’m not even sure if I want to help her.”

“I get that,” she said, looking up at the night sky. “We should sleep this day off, and start over in the morning. What do you think?”

He gave a small nod, “yeah, I’d love to reset all this.”

“Then come on, Dommy,” she laughed, returning to her happy self.

“I’m sleeping on the couch this time,” he stated, causing her to flip him off and stick her tongue out.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Again, I advise against this course of action,” Rosemary said as she watched me buy a hotel room for the night. “We have a perfectly fine room back at your grandparents house.”

I thanked the receptionist and took my key, mostly ignoring Rosemary.

“Shayla, we-”

‘It’s Shane now,’ I thought to her, fully embracing my new identity. ‘And I don’t want to see them right now, I feel all awkward and shit.’

“Okay, Shane,” she said with a sigh, “if you want to spend some time alone, then that is okay. Just don’t close everyone out.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said aloud as I reached my room and used the key to open the door. Stepping in I found a very simple and bare room, with just a single bed and chair in the room.

It was enough for me.

All I wanted to do was take a bath and sleep for days.

I began to strip off my clothes, heading for the bathroom. As I stepped in, I looked in the mirror, seeing my uncovered face staring back. I stared at myself, following the curves on my face, then I traced my gaze down my body.

A growl escaped my lips as I slammed my fist forward, shattering the mirror and putting my hand right through the wall behind it.

My eyes widened as I realized the reaction I just had, stepping back and looking down at myself again.

“Oh shit… I am broken…”

Before Rosemary could appear to say anything, I whipped around and turned on the shower, moving past what just happened.

After a long and emotional shower, I stepped back into the room, drying my hair as I walked over to the bed. I tossed the towel aside and stood there on all fours, stretching out my wings. I let out a groan of relief as I felt my body release some of the built up tension of having to walk around on two legs all day.

As I stood there, a weird feeling fell over me. I did not like the sensation of not wearing clothes, which is super weird since I NEVER wear clothes normally.

I jumped into bed, pulling the covers up over myself, which made me feel better.

Some time passed as I just stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep my thoughts away from the day's events. Luckily, I began to think about home and all my friends.

I laughed out loud a few times, thinking of a few random funny moments we’d all had together.

This relaxed me as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The next day

I leaned against the half wall, arms crossed as I watched the area around me. This was the meeting area that I was supposed to hand over the data at, but I’d been here an hour, and I’ve seen no one that looked like they worked for Rig.

Letting out a grunt, I adjusted my position and opened my stats menu, looking everything over. I’d finished my daily quest earlier, and I’d dumped all three skill points into Strength again, much to Rosemary’s annoyance. But now I had a grand total of twenty two points in Strength, and I could definitely feel the difference.

Honestly, I probably should listen to Rosemary and increase other stats, but every point in Strength just made me feel better.

After a few more minutes of waiting, I finally saw a group of Kejtdra walking towards me, with Rig Fanden in the middle.

I frowned, since there were way more of them than the first time we met up. There were six of them walking right behind the well dressed Kejtdra.

“You work fast, Mrs. Beltosh,” he said with a chuckle as they reached me.

“Mr. Beltosh,” I corrected in my gruff voice, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “I have your data right here,” I said as I pointed at the port on my wrist.

“Oh? You were able to actually access that contraption?” he asked, sounding a bit impressed. “Well, what are you keeping the data on?”

“I need someone to transfer it to,” I said, pulling the cable from my wrist.

“Pardon me?” he asked in a confused tone.

Sighing loudly I gave the little cable a shake, “I’m able to transfer the data to one of you, or a device if you got one. So how do you want it?”

He glanced at one of his men, who shook his head at him. “Right. So I’m assuming you actually could not get the data.”

“No I got it,” I insisted in an annoyed tone. “I just have to connect to one of you.”

“So you're telling me,” he said, a smirk on his face. “That you used that little cord on you to take the data, and that you can ‘transfer’ it to one of us? Just like that?”

“Pretty simple, isn’t it?” I grunted, shaking the cable again. “So? Come on, I need that access card pronto.”

His one guy leaned over and whispered in his ear, causing Rig to chuckle. “Alright, I’m going to humor you. ‘Transfer’ this data to my man here, and if you’re telling the truth we’ll proceed. If not…” he let that threat hang in the air.

I just shrug and hold out the connector to the guy he motioned to. The guy frowned as he stepped forward, looking unsure of me.

Reaching forward I connected the cable to his neck, letting Rosemary handle transferring the data.

“I’ve gone over the data,” she said as we waited for it to finish. “It’s mostly banking info and transactions between this city and a few others. I’m assuming they’ll use it to either blackmail someone or try and intercept some of the transactions.”

“You’re thinking too small,” Rig said as I realized his eyes were glowing amber again. “It’s not very beneficial to pry into others' business.”

Rosemary frowned as she disappeared, not liking that he could see and hear her. He just smiled slyly as he looked back at me, waiting to see what happened next.

Finally I finished transferring the data and disconnected from the guy before me. He was wide eyed, seeming to be processing everything we’d just dumped into his head.

“Well?” Rig asked in a slightly intrigued voice.

“Boss…” the guy began, blinking a few times. “I don’t know how, but I know EVERYTHING about all those banks and the money.”

This caused Rig to look impressed as he took on a more relaxed stance, smiling at me, “well well, looks like you weren't lying after all.”

“Yeah,” I replied as I stared him in the eye and held out my hand. “VIP access card.”

A little card appeared in his hand as he smiled at me, “of course. That was our deal after all.”

He didn’t walk towards me, so I slowly advanced on him, keeping my eyes on all of them. But as I reached out for it, he pulled his hand back.

“First, I have to know something,” he said with a smug look, causing me to growl a bit.

“What?”

“Why are you pretending to be a guy now? Last I saw, you were a tough chicka. Now you’re playing masculine man,” he asked, causing me to take a half step back, eying all of them.

“That’s my business,” I grunted, flexing my hand as I held it out. “Card.”

“Your business is my business,” he stated, my contract appearing in the air next to him. “If you read the fine print, you’ve agreed to work for me till I cut the contract. Now I’ll ask you again; why are you pretending to be a man?”

“Fine print?!” I growled, attempting to snatch the contract out of the air, but it just faded away as my hand passed through it.

“Answer the question,” he pressed with a wide smirk as he then added, “would you kindly?”

I glared at him, not wanting to tell him the truth, but then my mouth spoke on its own. “To not get sexually assaulted again.”

“Oh, I see,” he said, shrugging as he placed the card in my outstretched hand. “Did not expect that as an answer.”

Quest complete! 4 skill points awarded!
Level up!
Level 5 reached! Access to Passive Skills unlocked!
Access to Gear Shop unlocked!
You have 7 unspent points!

“What the fuck?!” I growled, angry at myself for just revealing that.

“If he uses that phrase, then you gotta answer him,” one of the men behind him said. “And if you don’t, then the contract makes ya.”

“I did not agree to that kinda shit!” I snapped angrily.

“But you did,” he said as he stared at me. “Always read the fine print, kid.”

I stowed the VIP access card in my pocket and turned away from them, not wanting to be near any of them after having revealed that little bit of info.

“Where are you going?” he asked in a stern voice.

“I’m done here,” I said firmly.

“Well we’re not done here,” he said as I heard them start to walk after me.

“I don’t care, I don’t have a reason to do any more shit for you.”

“You do if you want that card to be activated,” he said in a smug voice, causing me to stop walking and turn to him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You just wanted a VIP access card, you didn’t ask for a functioning one,” he said with a shit eating grin on his face. “I haven’t had that one activated yet.”

I pulled the card out and shook it at him, “you’re telling me this thing is useless unless you activate it?” At his nod, I began to shake with rage. “You tricked me, you fucking asshole!”

“Calm down,” he said with a grin on his face. “You just have to do another job for me and I’ll activate it.”

“I don’t trust you,” I growled.

“I’m very honest with people I work with,” he said in an offended tone. “But you have to be specific when making deals, otherwise things like this will happen to you. You should have asked for an activated VIP access card, and then that’s what you’d have gotten.”

“I didn’t know that was a thing!” I yelled, causing him to hold up a finger.

“No yelling,” he said as he put his hands behind his back. “I need you to go to the Cloud District and kill a few officials that are currently there.”

“I’m not killing anyone,” I stated firmly, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Then that card won’t be able to be activated,” he said simply. “You have three days before this offer expires. After that, the next job I give to you will be non-negotiable.”

Despite myself I raised my hand and flipped him off, which just caused him to chuckle as he turned and walked away, his little posse following after him.

Once they were out of sight I let out an angry roar and slammed my hoof into the little half wall next to me, breaking a large chunk off of it. I hit it a few more times, the anger not leaving my body fast enough.

“Shane,” Rosemary said slowly, getting my attention for a second as she looked at me with a worried look. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I just keep getting fucked and taken advantage of!” I snapped, shaking the useless card at her. “He tricked me!”

“I know he did,” she said with a sigh. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now. I suggest we move on and find someone who can activate that card for us.”

Grumbling to myself I put the card away again and opened my skill menu, deciding to focus on something else now.

“I wasn’t paying attention earlier, but what'd it say about reaching level five?” I asked a bit aggressively.

Rosemary appeared next to me as she pointed to a new window on my menu. “Okay, so every five levels you are able to pick out a new Passive Skill, which provides all kinds of benefits. Right now you won’t have access to any of the good ones, but there’s plenty of useful ones.” She tapped against the window, wanting me to open it for her, “but after level fifty you only get them every fifty levels. Then at level one thousand you get a new one every thousand levels.”

“Level one thousand?” I asked with a frown, tapping the window as requested. “How many fucking levels are there?”

“Infinite,” she chuckled, causing me to sigh. “So, which skill do you want?”

“I dunno,” I mumbled, not really feeling up to doing this right now. There was a small list of Passive Skills, all of them seeming a bit stupid.

None of them really caught my eyes, as most seemed to focus on a specific thing, but one did make me pause.

“Ah, that’s the best one to choose early,” she pointed out, knowing which one I was looking at. “Take it, because the list of Passive Skills changes every time you see it, so you may never see that Skill again.”

“Fine,” I sighed as I clicked it.

New Passive Skill added!
‘Double Down! All stats receive a permanent x2 modifier!’

“That honestly seems a bit too powerful,” I commented, getting an excited nod from her.

“I know right?!”

Her reaction caused me to smile at least. While I had the menu open, I decided to use my skill points. Rosemary had a begging look on her face, so instead of dumping it all into Strength like I wanted to do, I put a three into both Reflexes and Perception, and one in Defense.

I hit accept, causing everything to take effect at once. I felt a massive difference in my body almost immediately, as the times two modifiers doubled everything.

“Fuck,” I muttered, flexing my muscles as I felt a lot more powerful than before. If I’d been like this earlier, I’d have easily kicked Lenrick’s ass.

A smirk appeared on my face as it felt like my confidence was coming back.

“Now,” I said, going back to the main menu and seeing the other new window. “What’s this Gear Shop thing?”

“You’re going to love this,” she said as she watched me click on the shop menu.

It opened up to reveal a large selection of gear, ranging from weapons all the way down to simple clothing. “What is all this?”

“That,” she said, rubbing a hand over the menu before me, “is all of the gear that Loric and I have owned over the years. After we were done with it we were able to store it away in our Ego, which adds it to the shop. And every so often you will unlock the shop and be able to pick out one single item for yourself.”

“Oh, that’s actually something cool then,” I said with a smile as I scrolled through the wide selection of gear.

“Grab one of our weapons, it’ll help you out greatly!” she exclaimed, clearly very excited to see what I’d pick.

I ignored her advice, not really sure what I wanted. But as I scrolled through some armor sets, I began to realize what I wanted. Reaching up, I touched my covered face, not liking that the only thing keeping my gender hidden was a simple scarf.

“Is there anything in here that could make me look more like a guy?” I asked, causing her to frown. “Or disguise my voice better?”

She let out a deep sigh as she signaled for me to keep scrolling. After a few moments of swiping, she stopped me and pointed at one armor set.

“That one. It’s my old Oni Assaulter armor. It’s durable and flexible, so it won’t bother you to move around in it. And just as requested, it changes your voice to a very gravely man’s voice. It also will make you look more masculine in the way it presents your body, which I hated when I wore it, but that’s what you’re looking for.”

I clicked the picture and expanded the image, raising an eyebrow. The armor was very out there in its design, very eye-catching with its red and gold coloring. I’m trying to not draw attention to myself though…

But then a thought hit me as I looked at the fierce face of the helmet, causing me to smirk. It looks so intimidating and out there, that no one would think I was a push over or weak. It also would make me not look like a woman, which is exactly what I’m wanting right now.

“Screw it, how does this work then?” I asked, glancing over at her.

“Well, click the picture and hit accept. It’ll sit in a side inventory till you’re ready to bring it out,” she said as I performed the steps as she described them. After hitting accept, it swapped to a different window that simply read ‘Standby Inventory’.

The Gear Shop was gone now, so I guess I’d have to level up till I gained access to it again. I think that might be the only weird system of this Ego that I like straight out the gate.

Glancing at the picture of the armor one more time, I realized it was going to be a bitch to put on. Ah well, too late to worry about that.

“Shay- Shane,” Rosemary said as she looked at me. “Have you put any thought into finally picking up a weapon?”

“Nah, I got my fist,” I replied as I held up a fist. “Don’t need anything else.”

“Hm, yes, but the right weapon will-”

“No,” I intrupted her. “I’m not going to start killing people just because I’m all fucked up mentally now.”

She blinked at me, raising an eyebrow, “I do not understand how you can be so self aware of what’s wrong with you, yet so resistant to taking the steps necessary to fix it.”

“Eh, call it a feature I got from my mother,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, I read the book Lance’s conscious Break wrote that followed their adventures in the Eternal Plains, and you saw how she handled shit.”

“She got it handled and fixed it from what I recall,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Yep, and so will I, in my own time,” I replied as I began to walk away.

“Okay, if you are against weapons to kill, why not one that’ll at least give you an edge in combat?” She pressed as she walked next to me.

“My fist are my edge,” I reiterated.

She groaned loudly, shaking her head, “just get a blunt weapon, for my sanity.”

I rubbed my face as I slumped my shoulders, “fine. I’ll get a blunt weapon, happy?”

“Very,” she said cheerfully as she faded away, leaving me to walk alone.

Guess I need to find a shop before I-

A piece of paper suddenly slapped hard straight into my face, startling me as I recoiled and swatted at myself. I grabbed the paper and pulled it from my face, staring at it in confusion. It was just a simple piece of paper with a few words on it.

It read; ‘Need to achieve the impossible? Want something no one else can give you? Then good news; a tournament is being held on Ephemeris Island, home of Galben. The prize is a favor from Galben, who can grant you almost anything you can think of.’

I raised an eyebrow, as this was not an official poster or something like that, it was just a simple piece of paper someone wrote on. So I just shrugged and tossed it over my shoulder, ignoring it.

After walking for a minute, another piece of paper hit me in the face, just as hard as the last one. This time I growled and snatched it off of my face, looking around. It felt like someone was slamming the paper into my face! That shit hurts!

Looking at this one, it was just like the other one, written on normal paper in pen. It just read; ‘Seriously, a favor from Galben, once in a lifetime. Never get this opportunity again. Take this seriously.’

Well, I know one thing for sure, I’m not just going to blindly trust paper that mysteriously keeps hitting me in the face.

Just like before, I threw it to the ground and moved on, watching my surroundings more carefully. If another piece of paper tried to hit my face, I’d be ready to sto-

“Fuck!” I screamed out as another one rammed right into my face, even harder than the first two. “Who the fuck is doing this?!”

I yanked the paper off of my face and read it angrily. ‘Stop being dumb and listen to the paper. Look into getting to Ephemeris Island. It will be floating by the city tomorrow afternoon. This is your only chance at getting the answers you need.’

Okay, someone is obviously watching me and talking to me through papers. But who? More importantly, why are they trying to help me?

Reading the last paper once more, I sigh. I’ll at least look into this floating island and tournament, but that didn’t mean I’d go to it.

I put the paper away in a pocket, knowing I’d forget the name of the island otherwise. Now that this little weird event was over, I decided to head back to my hotel room to-

Something crashed into my chest, knocking the air out of me as I stumbled back and fell on my ass.

“Why?!” I yelled out as I tried to get up, only to realize something had been pushed into my arms. Blinking in confusion, I raised a sheathed sword with a note attached to it.

Grabbing the note, I flicked it open, reading the words within it, “heard you talking to yourself about wanting a weapon, so I hope this one serves you well. From T.” I grunted as I took the sword and pulled it from its sheath, finding it to be a wooden katana. This was a lot better than I thought it’d be, since I thought it was an actual sword at first.

“Uh…” I said, looking around. “Thanks I guess?”

No answer came, so I slowly stood up, gripping my new sword by the sheath.

“Just, erm, don’t hit me with any more papers, okay?” I said aloud to the empty street around me. Carefully, I began to walk down the street, jumping and flinching at any noise I heard, fearing I’d receive another surprise delivery. Luckily, it seems that little event was over, so I shouldn’t have to worry about any more surprises.

Quest accepted! ‘Rank B: Go to Ephemeris Island!’

Oh wow, thanks Ego. Not like I was undecided about doing that, but sure, do your own thing.

Black and White Boxing

Chapter 43

“Your move,” the man before me said smugly.

Rosemary appeared beside him, holding her hands up, “okay, you can win this, Shane. You just have to play this smart, do not just-”

I flicked my fist right at him, aiming to knock him out in one hit. But his arm came up, followed by a loud boom sounding throughout the area as he blocked the attack.

My eyes flared open in anger as he continued to smirk, “another point for me.”

“Shane!” Rosemary snapped, “think before you act! A child could’ve seen that attack coming with how you telegraphed it.”

Taking a deep breath I slowly forced myself to relax, letting the tension leave my shoulders and neck.

“Alright, asshole,” I grumbled, raising my fist. “Your move.”

The man smiled as he got set up, staring into the eyes of my mask.

“Watch his movements, the way he flexes his muscles, his eyes,” Rosemary said calmly as she pointed at each feature of the man, “each of those will give away what he’s planning to do.”

Taking her advice, I paid attention to each of his movements. His neck flexed, followed by his right arm and both legs. His waist began to twist as he threw a punch, which I could clearly tell was going to have some power behind it.

As it neared me, I smirked at him as I raised my arm and blocked the attack, which hit with such force that it moved me back slightly.

“Point,” I said as a little number one appeared on my chest.

He just shrugged, “good for you. You still need two more while I’m about to win.”

“Well get ready then,” I said as I prepared to attack him.

A little smirk played on his face as I began to tense up, obviously preparing to throw a very powerful punch.

I twisted my body as I continued to tense up more and more, my body giving away what I planned to do. I then threw a punch that seemed to rocket towards him.

The man simply raised his arm to block the attack, looking absolutely smug as he looked into my eyes.

Then my fist lightly tapped against his arm. A White Fist.

“Point,” I said in a smug tone to match the one he’d used earlier.

“What the crap was that?!” he yelped, shock taking over his face.

I just shrugged at him, an unseen smile on my face, “dunno what you’re talking about. You just suck at this game.”

“That was clearly a Black Fist! How’d you stop your attack like that?!” he asked, clearly wanting to understand what just happened.

“Come on, bro, take your turn,” I said, holding my fist up.

“Game point,” he grumbled as he raised his fist.

Doing the same as before I watched his body, watching as he tensed only his neck and threw a fast punch towards me. I did not block as his fist lightly bounced off of my face, a White Punch.

“Point,” I laughed as the two little pins disappeared off of his chest and appeared on mine.

“How?!” he asked, looking very upset, like he was about to throw a tantrum.

“I’m just better than you, chump,” I replied, flexing and kissing both of my biceps.

He made a frustrated sound and spun around, walking away while cursing loudly.

“Holy shit,” Floria said in awe as I turned to them, giving them a little victory pose. “That was amazing!”

Domitor also looked impressed, “I don’t understand how you threw that second punch. Even I thought it was a Black Fist.”

I just gave a bow, “it’s called having complete control over your body.”

They both just rolled their eyes.

“That was an excellent maneuver, Shane,” Vanilla complimented, giving me a little clap that both felt genuine and condescending at once.

“Thank you, I think?” I said as I looked at her face, her eyes hidden behind her goggles.

“You are welcome, sir,” she said with a little nod.

I really can't gauge her at all.

“You and me, let’s go,” someone said from behind me.

Turning around I found myself face to face with a large Halwen, who was slightly taller than me, but had much larger muscles. He had two pins on his chest, which was exactly how many more I needed.

“You’re on, my guy,” I replied as I squared up with him. “Wanna go first?”

“Yes,” he said sternly as he raised his fist and stared me down. I wasn’t sure how to read him, so I might lose a point here just so I can get a feel for him.

His entire body tensed up as he appeared to double in size, throwing a punch with so much power I could feel it coming before it even reached me. My eyes went wide as I raised both arms to block the attack, and even with that I was sent skidding backwards as he landed the blow. My arms felt like they’d been hit by a freight train!

“It appears his tactic was to just knock you out in one hit no matter if you blocked or not,” Vanilla observed, pointing out the obvious.

“You think?!” I yelled back to her as I returned to my spot, rubbing my arms as they seemed to scream in pain.

“I’m surprised you can still stand after that,” the large Halwen laughed, flexing his muscles to make them dance around his body.

“Eh, I’ve had worse,” I said as I prepared myself.

“Well come on then,” he said smugly, “get your turn finished with, because I guarantee the next one is your last.”

“Okay,” I said with a smirk. “I’m going to throw a Black Fist.”

He laughed as I began to throw a very relaxed punch towards his face.

“You’re an idiot, no one falls for reverse psychol-” he began to say, but my fist suddenly slammed into his face, sending him flying backwards and tumbling across the ground.

“What the fuck was that?!” Floria screamed as she jumped up, bouncing in place as she held her head. “For real! What the fuck was that?!”

“Whew, that shit hurt,” I said as I shook my fist out.

Looking in the direction I sent the large Halwen flying in, I saw he was just laying there, not moving. After a few moments I saw two little pins flying through the air, followed by them slamming into my chest next to the other ones.

“Shane, for real, what was that?” Floria asked as she ran up to me, shaking my shoulders. “You threw a punch so slow I had time to yawn!”

“It was nothing,” I laughed, but she shook me even harder, eyes begging me to tell her. “It was just my own variation of the One Inch Punch. All you need to be able to do is explosive movements and shit.”

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” she exclaimed as I laughed nervously and pushed her back a bit.

“Yeah, thanks, Floria.”

Vanilla strolled up to me next, looking just as impressed as Floria was acting, “I will admit, in all my years I’ve never seen movement like you just displayed. Well done, Mr. Shane.”

“Beltosh,” I offered, “last name is Beltosh.”

“Shane Beltosh?” she said, tapping her chin. “I see. I’m not familiar with the name, but you must come from a well off family to have skills such as those.”

“I come from a GREAT family,” I threw back, taking offense to her words even if she meant well by them.

“You are clear evidence of that, Mr. Beltosh,” she said with a smile.

… I really can’t tell if that is an insult or not.

“Anyways,” I said, turning for the massive door covered in yellow energy, “let's get to the actual tournament.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Quest complete! 7 skill points awarded!
You have 36 unspent points!

“This place is so much bigger on the inside,” Domitor said in awe as we walked down a long hallway, a few others ahead of us and coming up behind us.

“Yeah, this Galben guy must like big shit,” I commented, getting a giggle out of Vanilla.

“Galben is a Zmeu, and a very proud one at that. It will do you well to treat him with respect if you are ever face to face with him. Leaving the cursing behind would be of great benefit to you as well,” she said in her annoyingly proper voice as she walked with her hands behind her back.

“Thanks, princess, I’ll keep that in fucking mind,” I said with a smirk, watching as she frowned at me a bit.

“How brash of you,” she said in a low tone as she pursed her lips.

“Yeah, get fucked Skankhurst,” Floria laughed as she spun around and flipped the Halwen off with both hands. “We don’t need your advice up in here!”

“Be nice, Floria,” Domitor said without looking back at them. “Vanilla, while being a Cakehurst, did explain the game back there for Shane. If not for her, we’d have to go off of your version of the game. Which, as you said, was very different.”

“Why are you sticking up for her?” Floria asked as she shoved her hands in her pockets and looked a bit upset as she looked up at the ceiling.

“Because she hasn’t given me a reason to dislike her yet,” Domitor admitted.

Vanilla smiled towards him, “thank you, strange creature.”

“It’s Domitor,” he mumbled as he picked up his pace.

“Ah, Domitor. Means tamer, or vanquisher, depends on the translation,” Vanilla mused, tapping her chin. “A very strong name.”

“It’s a very stupid name,” I pointed out.

“I think it is a very nice name for one such as himself,” she countered boldly, “a very attractive name that will attract a mate of a high calibur.”

As he heard her words, Domitor tripped over his own hoof and slammed face first into the ground, causing me to burst out laughing.

“What happened, Domitard? Get a bit flustered there? First time getting a compliment from a hot chick?” I mocked, laughing very loudly as I slapped my knee a few times.

“Screw off, Shane,” he grumbled as he pulled himself back up to his hooves and continued walking, leaving us behind.

“Hot chick?” Vanilla asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t flatter yourself, I say random shit sometimes,” I replied, continuing on my way.

Floria just stuck her tongue out at Vanilla as she ran to catch up with Domitor.

“My, these are strange people indeed,” I heard the Halwen say from behind me as she began to walk after us.

The four of us continued forward, walking till we came to the end of the hall, stepping out into a massive and open arena. With high walls all around us with seats going all the way up to the sky.

A bit excessive in my opinion.

The people who’d beaten us here were all standing in the middle of the dirt arena, looking unsure of what to do. So we just walked over and joined them, also not sure what we’re supposed to do.

About twenty more minutes passed as more and more people slowly trickled into the arena, all of them looking unique and weird in their own right.

To be honest, everyone who was winning the Black and White Boxing matches seemed to be the types of people you’d see in a comic book or something. All dressed very colorfully and walking with so much confidence that I felt out of place, and that’s saying something.

If I had to guess, I’d say they were all also Thorn users.

“Wowee wow wow!” Came the overly excited voice of Flavio over some loud speakers as he stood on a floating platform high above us. “We’ve got some strong competitor’s for today's event, wouldn’t you say so Galben?”

Movement on one side of the arena drew everyone’s attention to a massive and Royal looking pavilion jutting out on one of the arena's walls. A massive, buffed as fuck, creature sat there staring down at us, with a snake like body wrapped around himself.

“We do not see a single worthy being among this gathered mess of flesh,” Galben said in such a pretentious tone that I had a visible reaction.

I hate him already.

“Oh be nice, Galby! These groovtasic people are here to fight for your favor, so show them some love!” Flavio exclaimed over the loudspeakers, causing Galben to lean back and wave his large hand. “Look at that, folks! A hand wave from the great Galben! You should be as jestapitcal as I feel!”

What the actual fuck have I signed up for?

“Now cast your beautiful eyes up here to see the leaderboard!” Flavio called out as some floating text appeared next to his platform, displaying the tournament brackets with everyone’s names listed on them.

“This tournament will be super simple! With two even simpler rules!” He continued, moving around his platform flamboyantly, “rule numba one; have fun! This is a flemflamish once in a lifetime event!”

I facepalmed at this, as I was slowly losing hope in this being a serious event.

“Rule numba two: no flying around! Galben is grumpy today and would rather you all stay planted on the ground!” He came to a stop and struck a pose as he pointed down at us, “and that’s it! The tournament itself is a basic beat ‘em up! Fight till you knock out your opponent!”

“Can we kill them?” Someone yelled out, causing Flavio to come to a grinding halt as he looked over the platform, searching out the speaker.

“You want to kill your opponents?” He asked, then shrugged as he resumed his overly happy mood, “well yes my dubious friend! You can kill your opponents! Just know that’ll make you very unpopular with your fellow contestants!”

From the reactions of the people around me, they didn’t care for the approval of any of the others here. Which meant I’ll be fighting people willing to kill me to win this.

Well, that’ll make things more interesting at least.

“But we do have a treat for you all!” Fabio yelled out as a spotlight came down on a door on the other side of the colosseum. “An amazing standby area provided by the great Galben! If you’ll all head that way now, we’ll finish preparations for today’s event! For all those here to spectate, feel free to find a seat anywhere!”

The doors opened as a few more spotlights shown on it. Slowly the crowd began to drift towards them.

“So do we go with Shane or…” Domitor asked as he looked around.

“We can either go with him, or find a place above to watch,” Vanilla replied as she waited for us to make a decision.

I just shrugged as I began to walk towards the doors, following the crowd. Behind me I heard the others come to an agreement and come after me.

This place better have some good ass food.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Princess Nova,” a little voice called out, stirring her from her restless sleep. “Nova!” Someone barked from right in front of her face.

She gasped awake as she grabbed whoever it was with her magic and sent them flying across the room.

Louie yelped as he soared across the room, about to slam into a wall. But just as he reached it he was engulfed in magic, halting him moments before impact.

“Lou, have you never learned to not startle a sleeping Alicorn?” Nova asked as she pulled him towards herself and sat him down on the floor before her couch.

“I don’t know many Alicorn’s,” he chuckled as he scratched behind his ear. “Why you so jumpy?”

“Take a wild guess, my canine friend,” she replied as she stood up and stretched, groaning as she did so, the pain in her chest still present.

“Yeah, Champion is scary,” Louie agreed with a sigh. “Guys given me night terrors.”

Nova gave him a sad look as she walked towards the kitchen, ready to finally try to eat something.

“So something bad happened,” Louie said sheepishly as he watched the mare open the fridge.

She sighed as she pulled out a few items with her magic, glancing at him as she used her magic to start making herself some food. “What’s happened?”

“Well,” Louie began as he jumped up on the counter next to her, “you know how we told you a new group was being formed by Champion?”

“Yes, I believe their name was the Inquisitors, correct?” She asked as food items floated all around her.

“Yep, those guys,” he confirmed with a solemn look on his face. “Well they’re formed and already out hunting Bronies.”

“As one would expect,” she muttered as she finished preparing her food and used her magic to start heating it. “Is this the bad news?”

“Eh no, it’s part of it though,” he said sheepishly. “You know Barehoof and Jeff?”

“Of course,” she said as she checked how her food was doing, then stopped as she realized something. “Wait, are they okay?”

“Erm, yesish?” He said as he scraped his foot at the countertop.

“Small Lou, tell me,” she said as she turned to him, stern look on her face.

“Barehoof tried to make contact with a friend of his in the Inquisitors, but she betrayed him and now they’ve been arrested,” he replied, looking everywhere but at her.

She let out a frustrated groan as she used her magic to carry her food into the living room. “More reasons for me to get healed. I need to be out there helping, not laying around here.”

“What’s your plan?” He asked as he followed after her, jumping into a chair as she resumed her place on her couch.

“It’s quite simple,” she replied as she began to slowly spoon food into her mouth. “I’m going to meet up with all the members of Phantasm Troupe and they’re going to grant me access to their Enforcer’s Order Hall so I may use this training chamber.”

“Then what?”

She let out a sigh as she glanced towards him, “then I try and fix everything.”

“I guess if anyone can, it’d be a Princess,” he said with a nod. “If you’re going to become an Enforcer, can you convince them to make me one as well.”

“There’s no need for that,” she replied as she finished off her food. “You’re safer as you are, hiding in plain sight.”

He frowned as he whined a bit, “Nova, can I be honest and serious with you for a moment?”

She raised an eyebrow at him as she turned her full attention to him, “you may, my small friend. What’s on your mind?”

The small dog stared back at her, his little mustache twitching, “I’ve been a background character all my life with my friends. While they’ve been off fighting and dying, I’ve spent the past twenty something years just screwing around. I want to change that, I want to help fix all this crap.”

Nova nodded along with him, listening intently.

“But no one is listening to me, as always,” he continued, pawing at his ear, “so I’ve just been playing recon dog, just running around and spying on the enemy.”

“And that’s incredibly important work,” Nova assured him.

“I know that,” he sighed as he began to scratch at the chair beneath himself, “but I was there when Barehoof and Jeff got arrested, and all I did was stand there and pretend to be a dog. Nova, I can’t just stand by like that and watch all my friends get taken. I want to be able to actively help them.”

The mare didn’t respond as she leaned forward, looking deep in thought as she stared at him.

“I want to get an Ego and I want to save my friends. I don’t want to just keep being Louie the Brony dog, the deadbeat dad,” he let out a whimper as he pawed at his face a few more times. “For the first time in my life I want to be proactive instead of just coasting through life.”

“Luke,” she said calmly, using his real name, “I understand where you are coming from. But you do understand the risk, correct? To join the actual fighting could mean your death.”

“I don’t care,” he said firmly, “I’ve been on the sidelines my entire life, it’s time for me to step up and take on some real responsibilities.”

Nova nodded at him, a little smile on her face, “if you feel this strongly about this course of action, I will see what I can do.”

His body relaxed as he laid down on the chair, “thank you, Princess Nova.”

“Please, just Nova,” she said with a smile. “I’ve never liked being called a Princess, nor wanted the title.”

“Well I’m sorry to tell ya,” he laughed as he scratched his ear, “but everyone here is already referring to you as our new leader. You know, since you’re the Princess and super powerful.”

“Wonderful,” she mumbled, clearly not a fan of this revelation. She’d wanted to just get healed and then deal with her brother and his goons, not have everyone relying on her to lead them.

“We need a real leader, Nova,” Louie began, clearly seeing the conflict on her face, “all we have right now are the young members of Phantasm Troupe, and they’re great ponies, but they’re way too inexperienced to lead something like this. And Calypso is trying her best, but she’s stretched thin.”

Nova sighed and fell back onto the couch, rubbing her face.

“Everyone loves and respects you, Nova,” he said as he stood up and struck a confident pose, “they were all relieved to find out you were alive, and they want you to lead us. Just think about it, for us.”

“I shall think on it,” she grumbled, still not a fan of the concept.

“Awesomeness,” he said with a smile as he yawned and laid back down.

She stood up and left the room, deciding to at least get her house set up in the meantime. Plus her clothes needed to be washed, and repaired.

Vanilla's Mind Blowers

Author's Note

Dark chapter ahead.

Vanilla's Mind Blowers

Chapter 59

“You sure about this?” I asked as I connected both of the cables in my wrists into Domitor and Floria.

“Yes,” Domitor said firmly as I stepped over to Vanilla.

“And you?” I questioned as I pulled the cable out of the port behind my ear, holding it in my hand as I looked at her.

She just nodded as she held onto Creampuff like he’d disappear at any moment.

“Once you connect to her, I’ll do the rest,” Rosemary said as she stood beside me.

Carefully I pushed the connector to the side of her neck, watching as it slid into her skin seamlessly.

Before I could announce that we were ready, I felt a jolt shoot throughout my body, causing me to fall onto the floor before Vanilla.

Everyone else must have felt the jolt too because they all looked to be a bit shocked. Then everything went dark as I felt myself get pulled forward violently.

Slowly my sight returned as I found myself standing in a void filled with the kind of static you’d see on an old TV.

Behind me I heard Domitor groan, so I turned to see the others looking just as confused as I felt as they looked around the static filled area.

Then they took notice of Rosemary as she appeared between us.

“Rosemary?” Domitor asked, staring up at the woman as she stood there, an uncomfortable look on her face.

“This isn’t good,” she said slowly, looking around at the flickering static void.

“How so?” Domitor asked as Floria took a step away from Vanilla as she sat on the ground, hugging herself since Creampuff wasn’t here.

“This static is either a sign of mental illness, or severe mental trauma,” she explained, looking at Vanilla with a pained expression. “I think it’s a little bit of both…”

“Let’s just see this stupid memory,” Floria growled, just wanting to get to the point.

Rosemary sighed at her as she concentrated, “her mind is too… broken. I’ll have to create my own access point.”

After a minute a plain looking computer began to rise up out of the ground, blinking to life and displaying a long list of presumably memories.

“Oh my…” she muttered as she scrolled through them, looking for the one we needed. “Dear God…”

“What?” I asked, stepping up to her.

But she didn’t answer me, just shook her head at me. “I believe I’ve found the one we need. Just… be respectful.”

I didn’t understand what she meant by that, but then she pressed the play button and it felt like I was pulled into my own head.

It felt like I was sitting in an old-timey movie theater, as there was a large screen before me. I however couldn’t look around, as my eyes seemed to be permanently locked onto the screen before me. A projector roared to life behind me as crudely drawn images appeared on the screen.

They looked like crayon drawings a kid would make, but they were animated somewhat.

A voice began to talk, seeming to narrate what was happening on the screen.

… she has a narrator for her memories?

ooo000<^>000ooo

Memory: Friends

The scene faded in, with scratchy crayon markings indicating the background. A crudely drawn child version of Vanilla appeared.

“This is Little Vanilla, age five, proper and refined, as a Cakehurst is supposed to be,” a very fancy male voice narrated. “Today is a very special day for her, as this is the day she’s finally decided to run away from her evi-loving sister.”

The Narrator’s voice seemed to glitch near the end there, changing its tone when it attempted to say a certain word.

“Cocoa had forgotten to lock the door to her room, which allowed her to sneak out of the family mansion for the first time in her young life.” The scene progressed along as he spoke, acting out everything he was saying. “This would be the first time she’s been out in the world without an escort, allowing her to go anywhere she pleased.”

“Of course,” the Narrator said with a sigh as the scene showed a lot of dirty and crudely drawn people passing by Vanilla, “the people of the city were not what she’d expected. She was used to the hustle and bustle of the inner city, but she’d never been in the outer city.”

Many images of angry people flashed by, with a scared looking Vanilla running through the crowds, “it was around this time she began to think; ‘have I made a mistake?’. But it was far too late to go home now, as her sister would surely be very upset with her. Her crue-wonderful sister only wants what’s best for her, and running away was the bes-worse thing she could’ve done.”

Then the scene left the crowded streets and changed to a dark alleyway. “As nighttime approached, little Vanilla needed a place to sleep, to hide away from the world till morning. It was here, in a dark alleyway, she met an unlikely friend.”

A small crudely drawn Kejtdra child stepped out from behind a dumpster, with the two standing before each other. “Another child, covered in bruises and scars, with loose fitting clothing she’d clearly found in the trash. The two were weary of one another, with Vanilla giving a fake name to hide her true identity. Orchid was the name she gave. The child before her gave the name Dahlia, which was a name Vanilla herself became very fond of in the coming days.”

Scenes featuring the two running around together, getting into mischief and just having fun in general, began to play. It seemed to be a few days worth of fun, with a few of the animations showing them sleeping together in a storm drain.

“The two found in each other comforts they’d never known before, with Little Vanilla finally being able to be herself without fear of punis-disappointing her wic-amazing sister.”

Both children on the screen seemed to be very close now as they were always presented being right next to one another in every scene that played.

“On the sixth day of their friendship reached a new milestone, as they finally seemed to fully trust one another. Little Vanilla, currently known as Orchid, decided she wanted to take a major step in their friendship.”

The little drawing of Vanilla held out a golden ring in her small hands as the image of Dahlia stood before her. “The concept of giving another a ring was one she didn’t understand, but she knew it was a significant step in a friendship. ‘When you give someone a ring,’ she had said quietly, ‘that means you become super duper friends.’. Of course, neither knew the meaning behind the rings, but that didn’t matter to them.”

Upon taking the ring the little Kejtdra child pulled out one of her own. “Her little friend was very excited at this prospect, so she produced her own ring, telling little Vanilla that it belonged to her mother and that it was her most prized possession.” The two little crudely drawn children hugged, their facial expressions changing from blank looks to happy ones.

Everything changed as they now appeared to be back in their storm drain home. “After the exchanging of rings, the two became even closer, now fully trusting one another. Things were startling to look up for Little Vanilla, as she no longer had to worry about being punis-loved by her sister everyday.”

The scene became darker as it showed Vanilla walking down the street alone, carrying bags of food. “But all things draw to an end eventually,” a new character appeared on the screen, one colored red and appearing to resemble a nun. The scene also began to glitch and become scratchy as her face flickered from a bright smile to an angry scowl. “Cocoa found Little Vanilla one day as she was going home. Cocoa was very ang-worried about her sister, and was very pleased to finally have found her. She dema-asked Little Vanilla to return home, which she did without hesitation.”

Everything got darker and more scratchy as the scene changed to Little Vanilla sitting in a room by herself, looking very scared and worried. “Cocoa had been so worried about her, so for her own good she was locked away in her room again. At first Little Vanilla was upset with this, but then Cocoa returned to her, having gone to confront Dahlia. She explained that Little Vanilla had made a grave mistake, as the other child had already sold their father’s ring. For drugs no less. This tore Little Vanilla apart, as she’d thought she could trust the other child. But her sister knew best, and so she accepted what came next, as she deserved it for losing their father’s ring.”

An image of the two sisters standing there faded onto the screen, with Cocoa looking very pleased, and Little Vanilla smiling widely. “Cocoa wanted what was best for her sister, and Little Vanilla knew she had done wrong. So when Cocoa pulled out a lightbulblbulbbulbbulbbbbbulllllllll-”

ooo000<^>000ooo

As the memory ended the entire group let out a collective gasp, as the experience had been a bit intense, as the ending of that memory seemed to imply something dark was about to happen.

No one seemed to know how to respond to what they’d just witnessed, as Vanilla herself just curled up on the ground.

Finally, Floria let out a grunt, “that makes zero sense. I never met this Cocoa bitch. The way I remember it, Vanilla left to get food, came back empty handed and told me she found something I needed to see. Then she led me right to my father who… this shit makes no sense.”

Shayla seemed to be even more confused, as she just sat on the ground, scratching her head.

“It makes sense if you accept that her sister may actually have been dressed as Vanilla,” Domitor pointed out, causing Floria to growl. “It’s clear from that memory that Vanilla didn’t do it.”

“Play another memory,” Floria demanded, walking over and pointing to the screen.

“I do not think that will be necessary,” Rosemary replied, shaking her head.

“Do it,” Vanilla suddenly said from behind them. “I… please.”

Reluctantly Rosemary reached out and clicked on a different one.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Memory: Disappointment

A dining room faded onto the screen, just as crudely drawn as the last memory. A family dinner was in progress, with a large number of people sitting around a large table. Little Vanilla sat near the middle, her sister beside her.

“Today was a special day, as it was the meeting between the Cakehurst family and another very prominent family. A bachelor had arrived at the Cakehurst’s mansion to meet with them and to be paired with one of their many available bachelorettes. So far, everything had gone off without a hitch, but Little Vanilla was very bored, as she was far too young to have any interest in this part of the family’s business.”

The people at the table all seemed to be having a good time as they spoke with the bachelor. It was at this point that the focus shifted to just Vanilla and her sister. “Cocoa poked at Little Vanilla, telling her to run to their room and wait. She did as she was told, even if she didn’t know the reasons behind it, as her sister was never wrong and knew what was best.”

As the scene followed Vanilla as she ran down the hallways, she came to a stop, seeming to need to go to the bathroom as a little toilet symbol appeared above her head. “While she knew she needed to listen to her sister and do as she was told, she was sure she’d understand if she stopped at the bathroom first. So off she went, taking a little detour on the way to her room.”

After a few moments of a dark screen it came back to her standing outside of a door, looking happy. “With that business finished, she quickly made her way to her room. But along the way she saw something strange. It was Cocoa, standing by a mirror in the hallway.” The scene showed Little Vanilla hiding behind a corner as Cocoa stood before a mirror, smiling brightly. “Before Little Vanilla could ask any questions, she watched as her sister’s clothes changed. She now looked just like Little Vanilla, right down to the smallest detail. This confused her, as she had no idea why her sister would dress like her.

“But she knew better than to question her sister, so she ran off, doing as she was told.” Little Vanilla was now in her room, sitting on a chair, waiting patiently for her sister to come get her. “Some time passed, and no one came for her. But she knew better than to leave her room, as Cocoa would be very ang-upse-disappointed in her.”

Without warning the door to the room burst open and four very angry looking adults rushed in, grabbing her before she could even react.

“‘How could you do this?!’ her mother roared as the others yanked her out of her chair. ‘You’ve ruined everything!’ she continued to yell, causing great confusion in Little Vanilla,” the adults holding her did not look to be very gentle as they yanked her around. “‘What did I do?!’ Little Vanilla asked in desperation, wondering if leaving the dinner had been against the rules. ‘You know what you did! That marriage was supposed to bring in a lot of money, and you ruined the entire deal with your shenanigans!’ her mother yelled, striking her across the face. Little Vanilla wanted to protest, but her sister entered the room, dressed in her normal clothing again.

“‘Sister, I thought better of you,’ Cocoa said in a disappointed voice, causing Little Vanilla to stop fighting. Maybe she had done something after all… the bathroom break, she hadn’t listened to her sister and had not gone straight to her bedroom. Little Vanilla told them she was sorry and that it was her fault, which ended with her being stripped and thrown in ‘the closet’.”

The scene now showed Little Vanilla sitting curled up in a small dark room, rocking back and forth. “Four days. Four days of ‘the closet’ was to be her punishment for what she’d done. Costing the family money was something a Cakehurst must never do, and she’d done just that.”

Light entered the room as Cocoa appeared in the doorway. “‘Have you learned your lesson, sister?’ her sister asked, causing Little Vanilla to nod her head yes. But clearly, she had not learned her lesson, as four days were never enough. ‘Liar,’ her sister laughed, holding up a small item. ‘For lying, you must leave this in your mouth for another four days. You break it, tsk tsk, then you know the punishment.’”

The entire memory began to shake and tear as Cocoa moved forward, the little item in her hand becoming clear. A lightbulb.

“Little Vanilla knew this was deserved, as she’d done something unspeakable. Cocoa grabbed her sister’s head and began to push the lightbu-”

ooo000<^>000ooo

The memory ended abruptly, causing everyone to jerk roughly.

This time, everyone looked right at Vanilla as she held her head, hair tangled in her fingers as she rocked back and forth.

“Shit…” Floria mumbled as she stood up and walked over to Vanilla. Seeing that last memory was a major eye opener, as it showed that her sister did indeed dress like her. She sat down next to Vanilla and began to fidget with her fingers. “I’m sorry, Vanilla.”

Vanilla didn’t respond as she just kept rocking back and forth, eyes wide and mouth clenched shut.

As for the other two, they just sat together, not really knowing how to react to what they’d seen.

Carefully, Floria reached out and put an arm around Vanilla. “I… I shouldn’t’ve said all that shit to you. It wasn’t your fault for what happened to me.”

“Yes it was,” Vanilla muttered, “my memories can’t be trusted. They lie.”

“Your memories are broken, but they are not fake,” Rosemary explained as she stood before them. “I can see about fixing them, so we can see them without the glitching.”

Floria gave her nod, “do it.”

Rosemary turned to the console as she began to work her hands over it.

In the meantime, Floria pulled Vanilla into her side, patting her shoulder. “Your sister… fuck, she’s horrible.”

“I’m killing the bitch if I ever see her,” Shayla growled, clenching her fist in anger.

“My sister…” Vanilla mumbled as she clenched her eyes shut. “She’s… great.”

“Are we all watching the same fucking memories?” Shayla asked roughly, causing Floria to glare at her. The mare frowned but backed off.

“I get it,” Floria sighed, “it was hard for me to accept the things my father was doing to me. My mother died trying to protect me as an egg, so my father always held that against me. So my mind rationalized what he was doing to me as something I deserved…”

This seemed to get through to Vanilla as she turned to look at Floria, “you did not deserve that, you know that right?”

“Oh I know, but I can say the same to you,” Floria countered gently. “Nothing that your sister did to you was normal or your fault.”

“It was…” Vanilla replied, seeming to be trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

“Don’t be a dummy,” Floria muttered as she wrapped both arms around Vanilla, hugging her tightly. This fully caught the woman off guard, as she was not used to this level of affection.

“Look,” Floria began, holding Vanilla against herself, “I don’t know the full extent of the shit you went through… but I’m here for you.”

“Okay, I think I’ve removed a lot of the mental blocks on these memories,” Rosemary announced as she turned back to the group. “But, are you sure we need to watch anymore?”

Vanilla was the one to speak out first, “yes…”

“I’ll…” she began, shaking her head, “set up a queue of them to play.”

ooo0000<^>000ooo

Memory: Montage

Everything was different now, as everything was clearer, sharper, and a bit more detailed. The very first scene to play was of Little Vanilla getting punished, but now there was no narrator, nor was anything being left out. Gone was the filtering of the previous memories.

“You made me look bad!” Cocoa hissed as she fought to hold Vanilla down as she raised a lightbulb over her sister’s face. “You think scoring a single point higher than me on a test makes you better than me?!”

“I’m sorry!” Little Vanilla wailed as she fought against her sister. “I didn’t mean to!”

“Shhh!” Cocoa hissed as she forced the lightbulb into her terrified sister's mouth. “Not another word out of you!”

Once inserted, it was nearly impossible to remove the lightbulb without breaking it. Or using Alchemy, but that was forbidden by her sister.

“Now, if you can keep that intact till morning, then I’ll remove it,” she growled as she stood up. “Now, go to your room.”

As Little Vanilla slowly stood up, being careful not to apply to much pressure to her jaw, Cocoa knocked her hand out from under her, causing her to fall face first onto the ground. Bursting the bulb.

“You clumsy girl,” Cocoa laughed as she watched her sister lay there, blood pouring out of her mouth. She pulled out yet another one and leaned forward, smirking as she went to put it in her mouth yet again. “Let’s start over.”

—---------------

—---------------

Ten more scenes played out, each worse than the last. All of them portraying Vanilla being tortured by her sister, usually for the smallest offenses. And almost every one of those offenses being something that Cocoa herself did not like.

During one scene it is revealed that Cocoa used her Thorn to make it so none of the injuries she inflicted on her sister healed. Of course, these seemed to be restricted to those inside the mouth and upper body, as those could not be seen while wearing normal Cakehursts attire.

A few more scenes played that showed clear manipulation of Vanilla and her memories, as Cocoa drilled her own narrative into her sister's brain, severely affecting how she viewed herself and the world around her.

The final memory that played was the worst, as it opened up on the eight day mark of a punishment, where Vanilla had been starved, sleep deprived, and on the verge of death after being deprived of even water. Only being allowed sips to make sure she stayed alive.

—---------------

“Have you learned your lesson, Vannilly?” Cocoa asked cheerfully as she entered the room, revealing a prone Vanilla as she laid on the ground, a decent amount of blood around her face due to failing to keep the lightbulb intact multiple times.

Of course, Vanilla couldn’t respond, so she just shakily forced herself up to her knees, giving a nod to her sister.

“Good,” she said with a caring smile as she stepped in front of her sister. “Think before you speak next time,” she warned, reaching out and placing a hand gently under his sister's chin.

Vanilla didn’t have it in her to respond much more than nodding again, just wanting this to be over.

“I am the OLDER sibling,” Cocoa said coldly, a proud smile on her face. “So I never want to hear you say ‘we’re the same age’ again, you hear me?”

Again, all she could do was nod in response.

“Speak when spoken too!” Cocoa snapped as she popped her hand against Vanilla’s chin, breaking the lightbulb.

Vanilla groaned in pain as she fell forward, spitting out the glass. Some of her blood dripped onto Cocoa’s dress.

“Oh you clumsy girl,” Cocoa laughed as she grabbed her hair and lifted her back up, “you were almost done, then you had to go and get blood on my favorite dress. Four more days should atone for this.” She laughed as she raised another lightbulb, restarting the punishment.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Fuck this shit,” Shayla yelled as they all came out of the memory, standing and stomping around the room. “Oooo I’m killing this skank!”

Domitor seemed to hold a similar opinion to Shayla as he sat there, grumbling to himself.

Floria’s reaction was more tame, as she just held onto Vanilla as she shook violently. “I got you, Vanilla,” she said softly as she held her tightly. Vanilla responded by wrapping her own arms around Floria, now freely crying into her.

“Vanilla, what can we-” Domitor began, but Floria shook her head at him.

“Get us out of here,” Floria said, looking at Rosemary.

She gave a nod, fading away. Moments later all of them felt themselves being pulled backwards.

ooo000<^>000ooo

The group now found themselves back in Floria’s bedroom, all of them experiencing a mix of emotions.

Vanilla was still clutching onto Creampuff, who was doing his best to comfort her as she cried into his side. The moment she collected herself, Floria rushed over to the crying woman, dropping down and wrapping her arms around her.

“I’m such an idiot…” Vanilla choked out, still crying into Creampuff as Floria held her.

“No, you’re not,” Floria said in a comforting voice. “Your psychopathic sister is the cause of all this shit you’re dealing with. It’s not your fault ANY of that happened to you.”

Not knowing how to process that, Vanilla just kept crying, pushing herself and Creampuff into Floria’s embrace.

“But it’s over. That bitch is never coming near you again,” Floria stated firmly.

“Yeah, because she’ll be dead,” Shayla added, clenching her fist as she raised her real sword above her head.

“Vanilla, I promise that your sister will never bother you again,” Domitor said, an angry but serious look on his face. “After what I just saw… I’ll personally be the one to kill her.”

“Get in line, Domitard,” Shayla remarked, flexing her right arm.

“Guys,” Floria snapped, “not now, please.”

Shayla and Domitor frowned as they shut up, clearly wanting to say more on this subject. But they decided to let it go as Vanilla cried softly into Floria.

“Come on, Shay, let’s go clean up dinner,” Domitor said, biting her belt as he began to drag her backwards.

“What? Fuck that, let’s-” but she was cut off as he pulled her through the door and slammed it shut.

Floria let out a sigh as she continued to hold onto the now sobbing Vanilla. She’d gone from liking this woman, to hating her, and then right to feeling bad for her. It was an emotional rollercoaster that even she wasn’t prepared for.

But after everything she’d seen and now knew, she had new feelings for Vanilla, ones she wasn’t ready to feel. Watching those memories, and the things that Vanilla had to endure, just hit her too hard. They took the feelings she already had for her and just beat them into submission, making everything sensitive now.

“I just…” Vanilla choked out between sobs, “I just want to be happy.”

“Yeah,” Floria said as she rocked back and forth with Vanilla. “Me too.”

Creampuff meowed loudly as he rubbed his face against Vanilla’s.

“Thank you, Creampuff,” Vanilla said as she tried to stop crying, but not succeeding. Seeing those memories, unfiltered, had been a lot for her. They made her question everything she knew about her childhood. Everything she knew about… Cocoa.

This would take some time to process.

Vanilla tilted her head up to meet Floria’s gaze, “don’t think badly of me, but…” she wiped her face with her sleeve, having trouble keeping her thoughts straight as her mind swarmed. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“I got you,” Floria assured her as she rubbed her back.

Creampuff purred loudly as he continued rubbing against her.

“And Creampuff’s got ya too, so you’re good tonight,” Floria chuckled, getting a smile out of Vanilla as her sobs turned to just soft whimpers.

Floria waited for her to stop crying before she readjusted her grip and stood up, grunting as she lifted the taller woman and the Reng.

Not knowing what to say to this, Vanilla just remained quiet, holding onto Creampuff tightly as the short Kejtdra struggled to walk them over to the bed.

“You could try not being dead weight,” she mumbled as she reached the bed and laid the other woman down.

“I’m sorry…” Vanilla said quietly, taking the joke a bit more seriously than Floria thought she would.

“Stop saying you're sorry, Vans,” Floria laughed as she flipped over her and landed on the bed beside her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Vanilla murmured as she stared at Floria.

Floria just rolled her eyes as she held her arms out to the other woman as she held onto Creampuff, “just come up here and get comfortable, dum dum.”

This was entirely new to Vanilla, as she was not used to having someone care for her, let alone actually being in the same bed as her. But that didn’t stop her as she crawled up and laid directly on top of Floria as she wrapped her arms around her.

She jerked a few times, as this was not something she’d experienced before, but Floria held onto her, providing a comfort she’d never known before. She didn’t know what she could say at this moment, so she said nothing, just letting herself be held as Creampuff curled up next to them.

She could get used to this warm feeling of being held.

Yet another hopeless battle

Chapter 72

Domitor groaned as he forced himself up, pushing all kinds of debris off of himself. He grunted as he stood up, his chest feeling like it’d been hit by a train. But to be fair, it basically had, with how strong Leem is.

Looking up, he saw Shayla struggling against Leem, clearly not doing so well against his halberd.

He needed to get back out there, to help her. But a sense of uselessness over took him as he saw her dodging and weaving his attacks, something he wasn’t so sure he could do. To make matters worse, his sword was gone, lost when he got hit by Leem.

“Damn it,” he muttered as he began to walk for the hole. He may not be able to do what Shayla can, but he’d definitely do his best to help her.

But as he neared the hole, a light, like a spotlight, shone down right on the rubble in front of the hole. Followed by an altar slowly appearing before him.

He stared at it dumbfoundedly, not sure what it was. But the longer he looked at it, the more it dawned on him. He DID know what this thing was, Shayla had talked about them once.

A Scapil, the thing that gave people their Thorn’s. But they were supposed to have a high mortality rate as well.

For a moment, he thought about ignoring it, but then he saw Leem grab ahold of Shayla. This made up his mind as he rushed forward and slapped his hand down on the top of the Scapil.

A spike pierced his hand, causing him to grunt in pain as he yanked his hand away, body rocking as he was pulled into his mind.

He was confused at first, as he had no idea what the process for getting a Thorn was outside of getting your hand stabbed. Then, after a brief moment, images of him appeared, performing all kinds of attacks and techniques using… ink? Pens?

Blinking in even more confusion, it took a few more images for him to realize his Thorn had something to do with using his art skills to perform attacks.

While the images played, a few items appeared before him, namely the kinds of tools you’d use while making art. He lifted up a pen and looked back to the images, which showed him drawing in the air.

So he did just that, attempting to draw on the air before him. To his surprise he drew a squiggly line and it became solid, falling to the ground the moment he finished.

Some of the images showed him performing sword-like strikes, which sent out attacks of some kind. So he took up a sword stance and made a cut through the air, which sent a blade-like wave of what appeared to be ink flying across the room.

Performing a few slices in quick succession had the same effect, bringing a smile to his face.

He then spent some time going through all the images, trying out a few skills. Once he was satisfied, the mindscape began to fade away, bringing him back to real life.

It took him a moment to realize no time had passed as Shayla was still in the process of being grabbed by Leem. Meaning he did not have the luxury of taking his time.

As quickly as he could, he pulled out two pens from his Vacuole and jumped up into the opening of the hole. To his horror he saw Leem slowly going in for a bite on one of Shayla’s legs.

His grip tightened on his pen as he sliced it upward, sending a blade of ink flying towards them. To his great relief it cut right through the neck and limbs of Leem, allowing Shayla to get away from him.

However his relief was short lived as Leem growled and turned on him, sending four arms flying towards Domitor.

But Domitor was prepared as he performed a few moves in front of himself with both hands, creating a solid net like object. He grabbed the edge and gave it a spin, turning the net-like object into a spinning wheel of death. Then with a thrust of his hand, he sent it flying forward.

The four arms were blended away instantly as the spinning net flew right for Leem, who did not move as his upper body was basically liquified by the spinning net.

As Leem reformed, he had a smirk on his face, “now that is an interesting Thorn, Domitor.”

“Yep,” Domitor replied, not wanting to engage in conversation with him.

“Remember how I said I liked you?” Leem asked, flexing his muscles. “This is your one and only chance to leave. I’ll tell Lorenzo you were the one to kill Scamp’s daughter.”

Domitor looked over to Shayla as she readied herself, her body trembling in fear.

“The old me would have taken that offer, Jerry,” Domitor replied, turning his eyes to Leem’s, “but that’s not who I am anymore.”

“Character development,” Leem chuckled, shaking his head, “it’s ruined better men. Alright, Domitor, you want to stick by her side? Then you better be ready to face the consequences of your choices.”

With that, Leem’s body pulsed as he rocketed towards Domitor.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Leem launched himself towards Domitor, clearly going for the kill as he had no weapons in his hands. Domitor was preparing an attack of his own, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough to slow this monster down.

So I did the only thing I could in this moment, I shot forward and intercepted Leem, hitting him right in the chest with a Ego powered fist. Luckily I had enough Ego to send him off course and into a few decorative boulders.

Landing on my feet, I saw Domitor readjust his attack, sending it flying towards Leem as he pulled himself up.

The crocodile let out a roar of anger as he was impaled over and over again by spear-like rods.

“I’m not even going to ask how you got a Thorn,” I chuckled as I focused my Ego into my sword.

“It’s actually really simple,” Domitor replied as he drew a sword in the air before himself, creating a new weapon for himself. “Scapil showed up and I touched it.”

“Wicked,” I said with a nod as Leem raised a large boulder and flung it right for me. As it neared me I performed four slices, causing it to fly past me harmlessly.

“Do you even need Ego?” Domitor asked as he rushed to my side while Leem stalked towards us.

“I desperately need my Ego,” I replied, my fear clearly showing on my face and in my voice.

He reached up and touched my face, calming me down immensely. “We got this.”

That was exactly what I needed to hear as a smirk slid onto my face.

“I need you to focus on his legs, I’m going to focus on his arms,” I said as we spread out a bit.

“What’s the end goal here?” he asked, causing me to shrug. I did not have a end goal.

“Fighting without an end goal is foolhardy and will end in both your deaths,” the Watcher commented.

‘Then come on into my head and figure something out, smart ass,’ I thought as I grabbed his vial and pushed Ego into it.

“That is the most foolish thing you’ve ever done, Shayla,” he said as he stayed in his vial.

Leem was within striking distance now. ‘Just get in here!’

“Very well then,” he replied as he followed my Ego, entering into my mind where Rosemary is. Or where she is when she’s able to talk with me.

‘Figure this shit out,’ I thought as Domitor began to cut away at Leem’s legs while I focused on his upper body. Domitor was using both his new sword and his pen to perform all kinds of creative attacks, while I just flashed my sword as fast as I could.

Our team work was effective as Leem was having trouble reaching either of us, but this just caused him to get more and more furious. If he entered his rage state, we might not be able to handle him.

“Shay, catch!” Domitor called out as he tossed me a sword he drew. I caught it and smirked as it felt perfect for me.

Now with two swords again, I was able to increase my attacks against him, now making it incredibly hard for him to do anything but lose body parts.

“I hate teamwork,” Leem growled with a scowl as he locked his eyes on me. “I’m killing you first, spawn of Scamp. Then I’m dismembering you, Domitor, and taking you back to your father.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” I grunted as I poked out his eyes just to screw with him, “but you gotta win first.”

“Oh I’ll win,” he said with a nasty smirk. “I always win in the end, no matter how long it takes to get there.”

“Yeah yeah,” I replied as I sliced away a few arms.

As we fought against him, I started to notice something. Something was coming up from beneath us, as I saw what appeared to be long souls flying upwards towards us. Then I noticed Leem’s own Soul seemed to extend far into the ground…

FUCK!

I didn’t have time to warn Domitor, so I just stopped my attacks as I spun on him and kicked him as hard as I could, sending him flying away as a multitude of Leem’s arms shot up around me and grabbed hold of me.

Attempting to free myself, I swung my blades around, cutting down as many as I could, but it was hopeless as he finally fully restricted me with all his arms.

Domitor wasn’t just letting this happen as he used his sword and ink attacks to slice through the forest made of arms. But it was clear he was on the losing battle as Leem grabbed him as well and yanked him right up against me. He wrapped us up together as the majority of his arms returned to his body.

“Well, that was at least somewhat entertaining you two,” he mocked as he squeezed harder, causing us to groan in pain.

I could see that he was restricting Domitor’s hands so he couldn't use his pens to free us.

This… was not good at all.

Leem just kept adding more and more pressure, slowly starting to crush us together. I knew thanks to my body and Egonetic’s that I’d end up killing Domitor before I died, and that’s a terrifying thought.

“I’m sorry for this, Shay,” Domitor apologized as his face was twisted into a look of agony. “I hope you’ll forgive me!”

“What are you-” I started to say, but one of his hands suddenly flipped around and grabbed hold of my thigh. I felt something pulling on my chest as the ink of my tattoo was pulled out of me and began to spin around us, cutting through the arms.

They slacked just enough for me to push my Ego into my muscles and break us free. I grabbed Domitor as he used his shadowy tentacle to pull us all the way out of Leem’s grip.

He roared as he shot a few hands after us, but I just cut them away as they neared us, sticking my tongue out at Leem as we flew through the air.

“This is not going well,” Domitor muttered as we landed on the ground, turning to face Leem as he sheeted with rage.

With warning, he let out a massive roar, holding it for a good ten seconds. It had the desired effect of making me not want to go near him ever again.

“We need to run,” I said in a shaky voice.

“Agreed,” Domitor said, his voice also quivering as we both took a step back.

“Come here, children,” he yelled, going down to all fours and rushing towards us. He was moving way too fast, as there was no way we’d be able to outrun him.

Nor could we defend against him.

“Damn it, Dom,” I muttered as I took his hand.

As he neared us, we raised our swords, planning to at least go down fighting. But a blur suddenly appeared between us, catching Leem as he charged towards us, grabbing him by the head and flung him right over us.

This was such a sudden change that I wasn’t able to process it, but slowly, I began to realize who was standing before us. I couldn’t see them physically, but I could tell who they were just by seeing their Soul.

“Spark?!” I yelped as he turned to us.

“You two alright?” He asked as he began to walk past us, heading for Leem as he recovered and began to rush back towards us.

“What are you doing here?!” I asked as he chuckled.

“Your mother,” he said simply as he dashed forward, engaging with Leem. The stallion was somehow able to dodge every attack Leem threw at him, returning the favor as he slammed his hooves into Leem’s large body. It wouldn’t stop him, but damn was it slowing him down.

“Wait…” I muttered as I saw two people walk into the edge of my Virtue Sight. “My parents are here?!”

“I’m fucking kicking your little ass after this is all over,” my mother yelled, her parenting side taking over as she stomped right over to us, while my mom just trailed behind her.

As they neared, I smiled awkwardly. “Hey guys…”

“Is that Domitor?!” my mother growled as she finally got right up to us. “Why is he-” she stopped, as I could see she was looking right at my face. “Why are you wearing a blindfold?!”

“So funny story,” I said sheepishly, “Um… uh…”

She didn’t wait for my answer as she stepped up and pushed the blindfold up. Both of them let out a gasp as soon as they saw the wounds where my eyes used to be.

“What the hell happened, Shayla?!” my mother roared, grabbing my shoulder as she pulled me down to all fours.

I was at a loss here, as I had not expected to see my parents. Let alone having to explain myself to them.

“This is not a good time, we should wait till-” Domitor tried to interject, not knowing how my mother operates.

“You, take ten steps back, now,” my mother ordered, locking her eye with him. He didn’t listen, much to her annoyance. “I do not know how you lost your damn eyes, Shayla. But you are a fucking-”

“Hey!’ Domitor growled, coming to my defense.

Poor guy…

“She lost them trying to help a friend,” he stated, squaring up with my mother as Spark and Leem battled it out behind us.

My mother sized him up, then looked at me, “you do know that he is the son of Lorenzo, correct?”

“Yes, mother,” I muttered, “you’re late to the party on that one…”

“Now, step back, Domitor,” she said firmly.

“Scamp, this can wait,” my mom said, trying to get my mother to back off.

But my mother is stubborn as fuck as she stood up on two legs and stepped up to Domitor, getting face to face with him. “I do not know your end game here, kid. But if you cross my daughter,” she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in close, “I will end you.”

“Get back, mother,” I growled as I pushed them apart, getting right up between them as I put my face right in front of hers. “I’m only alive because of him, so you will BACK OFF!”

Her soul flared angrily as we stared each other down.

“Scamp,” my mom warned, causing my mother to take a step back.

“Fine, but he’s up to something, I can feel it in my gut. And my gut,” she said coldly, eyeing him now, “is never wrong.”

“Guys!” Spark called out as he clocked Leem in the jaw, “this conversation can happen at any other time!”

I took a step back and stood next to Domitor, much to my mother’s displeasure.

“Let’s go,” she said sternly as she turned to leave.

“What about Spark?” I asked as Spark almost casually just dodged everything Leem threw at him.

“Talio, can you help him?” I heard my mother ask, confusing me.

“To help would be to lessen his experience,” a voice said, clearly Talio as he had a very distinctive voice. He sounded to be not that far from me, at least a few feet. But I couldn’t see him!

My Virtue Sight was picking up no one else outside of the four of us, and the two fighting. What the fuck does this mean?

“Spark will catch up with us, he’ll be okay on his own till then,” my mother said as she began to walk away. “Now move.”

“Shayla, I think I have an idea of how to handle Leem,” the Watcher suddenly said, causing me to stay right where I was.

‘Go on,’ I said as my mother turned to look at me, annoyance clear on her face.

“Listen carefully, I will explain this so a toddler could understand it,” he said a bit harshly as he began to explain his idea to me.

As he spoke my mouth slowly began to drop open.

‘But… that is so… simple!’

“Sometimes the simplest solution is the least obvious one,” he replied, “now do it.”

“Ah geez,” I said aloud as I turned to the two fighting. “This is going to suck…”

Here together

Chapter 87

A little over a week later

Shayla’s POV

I flipped the cap off of my drink and began to drink it, eyes locked on the yard before me, with the house right behind me. It was late afternoon, and I was just wasting time at this point, as I had nothing to do. Training was done, and so was all the chores, which just left me with nothing but free time.

The worst shit ever. I need to be active, otherwise I’m just suffering.

“Having fun over here?” Domitor asked as he stepped up and sat down next to me on the bench.

“Sure, tons of fun,” I muttered, getting a laugh out of him.

“If you want, we can train some more,” he offered, trying to cheer me up.

“Maybe,” I replied with a smile.

“Room for one more, fuckers?” Floria asked as she jumped over the bench and sat on my right, putting me in the middle. “We doing anything, or just sitting around?”

“Sitting around and being bored,” I answered, looking back towards the house. “Where’s Vanilla?”

Floria shrugged as she leaned back, “she’s feeling a bit sick. Something with her stomach, I’ve spent all day taking care of her, and she just fell asleep.”

“Need anything?” Domitor asked as he leaned around me to look at her.

“Nah I’m good,” she assured as she let out a yawn. “Where’s everyone else?” she asked as we all looked over to Talio, who was the only one in the area. He was just doing what he’s always doing, playing a random instrument, badly.

“They’re around here somewhere… I think they’re helping Spark with some kind of training that requires Raffy’s healing, for some reason,” I said, shrugging.

We continued talking about nothing in particular, as we were all three clearly bored and just wanting something to do.

About an hour of this passed, ending with both of them passing out and leaning against me.

I just sat there, thinking about all the new developments in my life. Mainly being pregnant. I was still undecided on how to handle that information. On one hand I liked the idea of starting a little family with Domitor, but on the other, I’m giving up ALL of my dreams and plans for the future.

I’m stuck on what to do…

The sounds of Vanilla suddenly screaming caused me to jerk hard, waking up the others, who also heard her screaming.

“Vans!” Floria yelped as she flew over the bench and took off running for the house, with me and Domitor right behind her.

We burst into the house and ran down the hallway to their room, all the while with Vanilla still screaming.

Floria smashed through the door, rushing into the room, “Vanilla?!”

She finally stopped screaming, just curled up on the bed in her blankets, eyes wide as she looked at the spot next to her.

I came in and looked to where she was looking, raising an eyebrow. “Is that an egg?”

For some reason there was a small egg laying next to her, about the size of my palm.

“What is this?” Floria asked, eyes wide as well. “Did someone-”

“I’ve only been with you,” Vanilla muttered, eyes locked on the egg next to her. “I don’t understand this…”

“What am I missing?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as I walked in and went to pick up the egg.

“Don’t touch it,” Floria hissed, causing me to recoil back a bit.

“Eh… why? It’s just an egg,” I asked in confusion.

“It’s not just any egg,” Vanilla began, still looking to be in shock. “It’s my egg.”

“What?” I asked, not grasping what she meant.

“Halwen’s lay eggs instead of giving birth,” Floria muttered, slowly stepping up to the bed.

“Wait, that came from Vanilla?!” I asked, mouth falling open. “Does that mean you have a dick, Floria?!”

“Oh for sure, I got a massive ladydick,” she answered in a forced joking tone.

“Please be serious right now…” Vanilla said quietly.

“Are you okay, Vans?” Floria asked, sitting down before the other woman.

“How did I lay an egg? We’re not supposed to be compatible!” she whined, leaning into Floria as she wrapped her arms around her.

“Looks like our ass’s got Divine Interventioned,” Floria chuckled, reaching over and gently lifting the egg and pulling it to her chest as they leaned into each other. “Oh shit, we’re gonna have a kid…”

“Ha!” I laughed, pointing a finger at them. “I’m not the only one who’s screwed then!”

“Shhh,” Domitor hushed me as he pulled me back a bit.

“But we can’t have a kid yet!” Vanilla exclaimed as she gently placed her hand over Floria’s, cupping the egg. “We’re not married! We can’t have a kid out of wedlock!”

“It’ll be okay,” Floria assured her, but Vanilla just whined even more. A light chuckle escaped her lips as she reached up and placed her other hand on Vanilla’s face. “Is it really that big of a deal to you?”

“Yes!” Vanilla groaned, pouting a bit pathetically.

“Then marry me, Vanilla,” Floria said smoothly as she pulled her hand back to reveal a ring grasped in her fingers.

Vanilla’s eyes went wide as she stared dumbfoundedly at the ring, then at Floria, “but I don’t want you to marry me just because we have a-”

“Shut your cute little mouth,” Floria said sweetly as she pressed the ring to the other woman's lips. “I want to marry you because I love you, not just because of our egg. This is just the perfect excuse to propose. So what do you say? Wanna marry me?”

Vanilla’s lips quivered as she leaned into Floria, giving her a kiss. “Yes,” she whispered as she leaned back, tears running down her face. “I of course want to marry you, Floria.”

“Bleh,” I muttered, getting a slap to the back of my head from Domitor.

“Be nice,” he warned with a little smile on his face.

“We’re never doing that,” I pointed out, getting a nod from him.

“I’m okay with that, just as long as we’re together,” he said as we watched the other two start kissing again, their hands still cupping the egg.

“By the way, how long till that thing hatches?” I asked Domitor in a love voice, getting a shrug from him.

“I believe I heard it was two months or so,” he answered.

“Damn, that means it’ll be out and about very soon,” I pointed out, shaking my head, “what a nightmare, huh?”

He just grabbed my hand and gave me a smile, causing me to feel a bit funny.

“Stop that,” I muttered, causing him to just wink at me. “Stop trying to influence my decision with our baby.”

“You just said ‘our baby’ so I don’t think I need to say anything,” he said with a wide smile, causing me to groan as we stepped out of the room, leaving them alone.

“I didn’t mean anything by it! I’m still undecided on all that shit!” I hissed, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Whatever you say, Shay.”

I growled a bit as I pulled from his grasp and headed for our room, wanting to be alone for a bit.

“I love you, Shayla,” he called after me as I grabbed the door to our room and looked back at him.

“... I love you too, Domitor,” I said back as I slammed the door.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Lacy’s POV

“This list is kinda long…” Lance muttered as he looked over the list of those who died during the massacre at the Safe Dimension.

Bronwyn just gave a solemn nod as I leaned over Lance’s shoulder, seeing a few were highlighted.

“Why are those highlighted?” I asked.

“As bad as this’ll sound, those are the notable ones we lost,” she answered grimly.

I looked at the highlighted names, not sure who they all were exactly, but by the reactions of the others I knew this was bad.

The list contained the names; Aaron, Applejack, Blaze, Beans, Dali, Drax, Doc, Flashy Flash, Lightning, Rarity, Remi, Seth, Trixie, and Vinyl Scratch.

… Oh fuck.

“They’re gone, just like that…” Lance muttered, dropping the list and getting up.

“Where are you going?” I asked as he walked towards one of the hallways in the main chamber.

“Anywhere but here,” he muttered. “I’ll… be in my room.”

As he disappeared I turned to the others, seeing they were having similar reactions to Lance.

The only ones not reacting heavily to it were myself, Jun, and Strawell. The latter just put a hoof on Louie’s leg as he stoically tried not to react to the news.

“What’s the plan?” I asked as I looked to Bronwyn, who just stood up, turning to leave as well.

“I don’t know.”

ooo000<^>000ooo

Three days later

“Are you sure you don’t want to do this when we can… I don’t know, set up a real ceremony?” I asked as I helped Floria adjust her suit.

“Nah, we don’t need any of that shit,” she chuckled as she smiled at me.

“I mean, I’m not sure how any of this works, but wouldn’t you two want more people here? Make it not look so,” I asked as we both looked out at the ‘crowd’ that consisted of my parents, grandparents, and Raffy, “empty?”

“Shayla, we’ve talked about it,” she replied coolly, “all we need are you and Domitor. Anything else is just extra.”

A smile graced my face at this, but then I looked at Talio, who stood right next to us. “Alright, but we could’ve done better for a priest.”

“I’m ordained,” he said simply and cheerfully.

“Best we can do,” Floria chuckled.

I frowned as I looked at the strange Halwen in his overly complicated priest outfit, “okay then…” I turned back to her with a shrug, “whatever makes you two happy I guess.”

The door at the end of the dining room opened, followed by Domitor walking in with Vanilla at his side.

“Oh…” Floria gasped as she took in Vanilla and her dress, which even caught me off guard.

It was kinda like a wedding dress, but more… gothic? With spiderwebs on it to add accents.

Behind them was Creampuff, walking proudly in his own little suit.

They walked to the front where Vanilla stepped up before Floria, a massive smile and blush on her face. Creampuff sat down beside them, acting as the best man.

“Hi…,” Floria said softly, a dumbfounded look on her face

“Hi,” Vanilla giggled as she pulled at the dress a bit. “Too much?”

“You’re perfect,” Floria answered as she took her hands.

Talio began the ceremony, getting a little into his ‘preaching’ but I mostly ignored him as I looked at my two friends, enjoying the way they were looking at each other. As corny as it sounded, I could feel their love for one another. I could see their Souls reaching out and entangling themselves together, latching onto each other and holding on tightly. They were connected in this moment, both Soul’s melding together momentarily.

So this is what love looks like in its base form…

As he reached the point for them to exchange rings, I watched with a little flutter in my chest as they put the rings on each other.

My attention lapsed for a moment, missing a few words as they suddenly leaned in to kiss each other. And the moment they did, their Soul’s flared to life, over taking everything else in the room.

Even their egg, which sat with my mother, seemed to glow a little bit more.

I found myself reaching up and placing my hand over my stomach, where I could see the little Soul within me flickering.

…

It was at this point I realized Domitor was staring at me, a happy look on his face.

I dropped my hand and went back to standing there as casually as I could, but it was pointless, he was now just smiling at me as our friends broke their kiss and began saying sweet nothings to each other.

Seeing them this happy, and seeing the way Domitor was looking at me, made me want to get back to Equestria. Back to my home and friends…

Author's Note

Due to real life, I'm skipping a LOT of filler arcs. No point in prolonging anything.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Long Lost Brother

Chapter 2

1 weak after the Fall of Champion

“Why are we here?” Annabel asked Shayla quietly as she looked around the room at all the gathered Bronies and their friends.

“Beats the fuck outta me,” Shayla answered gruffly as she chewed on a stick of jerky. “Pinkie Pie wanted everyone to meet at the Mellowed Pie for a ‘surprise’.” She snorted grossly, getting a few stares from the others around them. “Honestly I’m only here because you asked for me to come.”

“Thank you,” the meek mare said, looking around at all the others. The Bronies were giving her side glances, but none were saying anything to her. “I didn’t want to be here alone…”

“I got ya,” the large mare assured her, giving her a rough shake with her tail.

“Oooo! You’re all here!” Pinkie exclaimed as she appeared from the kitchen, her fading pink mane bouncing around her. “None of you are going to believe who I found! So go on! Guess!”

“Pinkie, just show us who it is,” Lance called out as he laid his head on a table, appearing exhausted.

“Oh come on! Just throw out some guesses! It’s an old friend of ours!”

“That can be anyone,” Cody said, rubbing his forehead.

“Second hint! Lance will be the happiest to see them!” she exclaimed, bouncing in place.

“Don’t tell me it's that prick Razor Graze,” Lance groaned, slamming his head on the table.

“Nope! Try again!”

“Pinkie, just tell us!” Shayla yelled out, startling a few people.

“Guess!” the up beat mare countered, causing everyone to groan.

“They’re not going to play your game, Mrs. Pie,” a voice said from the back as someone stepped out of the kitchen.

Most didn’t react, as they didn’t recognize this new arrival. But those who did jumped up, eyes wide.

Lance was the first to react as he sprang up and flew across the room, tackling the man to the ground. “Bro! Long time no fucking see!”

“Jesus, Lance!” Mark yelped as he was taken to the ground. “You’re a fucking heavy horse! Don’t tackle me like this!”

“Well you should have stayed in your pony form, then you wouldn’t have to worry about that!” Lance laughed as he jumped up, offering a hoof to his brother. “Now where the fuck have you been?”

“Everywhere,” Mark answered as he took Lance’s hoof and was pulled up. “I heard my nephew took down that asshat Champion and I decided it was time to come home.”

“You should have come back sooner, I’ve missed ya,” Lance said with a wide smile.

Shayla leaned down to Annabel, a confused look on her face. “Is that Lance’s real brother? Or just another ‘brother’?”

“That’s his real brother,” she answered quietly. “He left the dimension a long time ago with Omnious, so I think this is the first time they’ve seen each other in maybe twenty years? I wasn’t here for a long time, since I was, you know, banished to the moon.”

“Good to know,” Shayla muttered back as the two brothers continued talking. “Can we bounce?”

“Yeah, we can,” she nodded. “I didn’t know Mark very well back then, and I don’t feel like-”

“Mark Lyon Greenfield!” came the loud and angry yell of another woman as the doors to the restaurant blew open. Everyone turned to see Dana walking in, her eyes ablaze. Behind her was her husband and third son, Jeff.”

“Oh shit,” Mark cursed as he stood up and waved to his mother as everyone else backed away, even Lance. “Hi mom.”

“Don’t you ‘Hi mom’ me, sir! It’s been,” she looked at her bare hoof. “Fifteen long years since I last saw you! Explain yourself!”

“I…” he began, looking at the people around him. None offered him any help as they all took a few more steps back. “... I love you?”

Dana’s eyes narrowed as she stood up on her hind legs and put her hooves on her hips. “You do, huh?”

Annabel saw two ponies backing out of the crowd and slipping out the back door, seeming to want to avoid notice. “I think we should follow Lacy and Jun, Shayla.”

“Nah, I gotta see this,” Shayla said with a wide smile, clearly enjoying the show.

“If you loved me,” Dana continued, face to face with her oldest son. “Then you would have at least called.”

“Ma, you can’t call across dimensions,” Mark countered, causing her to glare even harder at him.

“Don’t give me that,” she said as a sly smile took over her face. “I’m not as ‘out of touch’ as you think. I’ve been learning how all this hoopla around dimensional stuff from Bronwyn, and I KNOW you can easily travel wherever you want. AND make calls.”

“Why are people teaching you new things like this?” Mark complained, causing his mother to smile proudly. “Would you believe me if I told you I personally do not know how any of that works?”

“Not for a second.”

“Drat. Okay, I’m sorry for not calling,” he said, holding his arms open to her. “Hug it out?”

The older mare narrowed her eyes at him before grabbing him roughly and pulling him into a hug. “You’re staying with me while you’re here. That’s final. Got it?”

The groan that escaped the man could be heard all the way in the back of the room, but he threw his hands up as she hugged him.

“That’s fair! I guess.”

“Good,” Dana said as she broke the hug and stepped aside. “Now talk to your baby brother, he hasn’t seen you since he was six.”

Jeff just stood there awkwardly as he and Mark stared at each other. “Eh, yo, big bro?”

“Yeah, yo, little bro,” Mark said back as they hesitantly bumped fist to hoof. “Yeah, brother power and all that.”

“Yeah…” Jeff muttered as they continued to stare at each other.

Shayla snickered to herself, “and I thought I was bad with social shit.”

Dana’s head snapped towards them, glaring right at Shayla.

“Ah shit she heard me,” Shayla yelped as she lowered herself behind the ponies ahead of them. “What’s with that woman?”

“It’s best to just… not talk about her, yeah?” Annabel offered as she hunkered down as well.

“Good call.”

“Lance,” Dana said as Mark and Barehoof had an just as awkward interaction. “Where is Twilight? I want a family dinner, pronto.”

“She’s at home,” Lance answered carefully. “I don’t think she’ll be up for anything, not till Spark returns from wherever he is.”

“I’ll talk to her then,” Dana declared, spinning in place and walking for the door. “Be at my house in three hours. Both of you.”

“Yes, mom,” both Lance and Mark said at the same time.

Once she was gone, Mark turned to Lance as the people around them slowly relaxed. “Speaking of your kids, where’s my niece?”

Lance blinked at him for a few moments before his eyes went wide. “Oh Fawn! Yeah, she’s off in the big city, I think.”

“You think?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well yeah, she left like ten or so years ago. Didn’t say anything, just went on her way.”

“... You didn’t… check on her?”

“She’s an adult, bro. She’s alright,” Lance said, waving him off.

“She’s not in ‘the big city’,” Scamp suddenly muttered from beside Shayla, scaring both of the two mares.

“Geez, mama!” Shayla hissed, as she stood back up fully. “Why’d you sneak up on us like that?”

“I’ve been here the entire time,” Scamp answered, shaking her head.

“What did you mean she’s not in the city?” Annabel asked with a cocked head.

Scamp turned her head to the two of them, a frown on her face. “I’m going to tell you two something, but you can’t go off and tell anyone else. Okay?”

“Pfft, I promise, mama,” Shayla chuckled, rolling her eyes.

Annabel only nodded in response.

With a sigh, Scamp lowered her head as the other two leaned in. “Lance’s daughter, Fawn, ran away to another dimension almost twelve years ago. Lance and Twilight, for all the good they’ve done, weren’t the best parents to her. Kind of… ignorantly neglectful towards her.”

“Get fucked, I guess,” Shayla chuckles, getting a deadpan stare from her mother. “Ah… I’m sorry.”

“Where’d she go?” Annabel asked.

“Twelve years ago we were attacked by one of Lance’s old enemies, a clone of Greg. He teamed up with some character from another dimension and the pair laid waste to this town. However two creatures from that same dimension came along as well and helped us defeat the pair. One of them saved Fawn after Lance and Twilight… accidentally forgot about her.” Scamp sighed as she shook her head. “Once it was over, Fawn jumped through the portal with them, and her parents didn’t notice for a few months. And when they did, they assumed she ran off ‘to the big city’.”

“Are they really that stupid?” Shayla asked.

“No,” Scamp answered, then frowned. “I hope not at least. Lance is just…” She went quiet as she seemed to be at a loss for words. “... I can’t defend him here. This is just his major flaw.”

“I guess,” Shayla mumbled, seeming to not really care one way or another.

“Is Fawn okay though?” Annabel asked. She may not have paid any attention to the kid back then, but she still didn’t like the idea of her being abandoned.

“She’s okay,” Scamp replied with a nod. “I went in after her a few months after she left and helped her deal with a few problems. When I left, she was happier than I’d ever seen her before.”

Shayla just gave a thumbs up to that. “Good for her then.”

Scamp turned her attention back to the front where Lance and Mark were still talking, seeming to have moved on to a different subject. “I love Lance, but damn is he an idiot.”

“I-” Annabel started to say something, but the sound of a pop was heard, causing everyone to tense up.

A few more pops were heard as a portal began to form in the center of the room, causing everyone to move away.

“What now?!” Lance exclaimed as he and a few others took up positions around the forming portal.

“Great,” Scamp muttered as she sprang forward to join the others around the portal.

“Aw hell yeah!” Shayla laughed excitedly as she rushed forward. “Some action!”

Annabel, however, hung back as she moved around the back of the crowd, keeping away from anything that was about to happen.

The portal crackled with energy as it flickered violently.

“Get ready, guys!” Lance called out. “Anything could step through this thing!”

As if on cue, a large stallion fell out of the portal and crashed into the floor, startling everyone. A strange eldritch creature followed after him, its many tentacles grabbing at the fallen stallion.

“Oh shit!” Mark yelped as Scamp dashed forward and kicked the creature back into the portal, just as it snapped shut.

“What the fuck was that thing?!” Lance yelped as Scamp knelt down to check on the stallion.

“Uh… Lance?” she asked as everyone turned their attention to her. “Is this… who I think it is?”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked as he stepped forward, his eyes widening as he slowly came to a realization. “It… can’t be…”

“No fucking way…” Cody mumbled as he fell on his haunches, looking dazed.

The stallion on the ground coughed violently as he rolled onto his back, his wings spread out as he smiled up at the ponies around him. “Oh… I made it! I made it!”

“Frederic?!” Lance exclaimed in shock as the stallion turned to him.

“Lance! Brother!” the stallion yelled as he seemed to find his strength and jumped up and hugged Lance tightly.

“But!” Lance bega, eyes wide as he was hugged. “You DIED!”

“I thought so too!” Frederic laughed, tears running down his face. “I’ve been stuck in a weird place all these years, trying to get back to you all!”

Lance’s face went through many emotions before he finally settled on crying, wrapping his forelegs around the other stallion. “You fucker! I’ve thought you were dead all these years!”

As the pair had their reunion, everyone stared on in mixtures of confusion and happiness. All those except one mare, who sat at the back with wide eyes, her breathing increasing rapidly.

Annabel’s mind was going crazy as she stared through the crowd at the pair, her eyes locked on the side of Frederic’s face. Her chest tightened as tried her best not to have a panic attack.

Frederic turned his gaze to her, locking eyes with her as a smile appeared on his face. His eyes pierced her as he winked at her, causing her to lose it. Her body gave out on her as she collapsed, unconscious.

Side Arc: Sins of the Father: Frederic's Inferno

Chapter 9

“Give me that bastard!” Louie yelled as he and the others stomped towards Scamp as she held onto Frederic. “I’m going to fucking kill him!”

The others yelled their own threats as they neared.

“Back,” Scamp ordered as she jerked Frederic around as he continued to cry.

“He said he was behind all the rapes!” Cody snapped, his eyes ablaze.

“He did,” Scamp confirmed as she yanked the crying Frederic back behind her. “And we will deal with him,” she said as she got between him and Louie. “The right way.”

“The right way?” Louie growled. “He deserves to-”

Frederic suddenly twisted and broke from Scamp, taking off at a dead sprint away from the group.

“Fucking idiot,” Scamp muttered as everyone ran around her, chasing down the fleeing man child.

“Get back here!” Zorrow yelled as they gained on Frederic.

Suddenly, Lance flashed into existence right in front of him, Twilight’s magic flickering around him as he stared down the approaching Frederic.

“Lance!” Frederic cried out, running straight for him. “It wasn’t me! I swear! Lilith made me do-”

He was cut off as Lance suddenly launched forward, hitting him right in the face with a burning hoof. Frederic was sent flying backwards, getting caught by Louie. With a roar, the dogman lifted the panicking pony into the air and slammed him into the ground, then with a yell of anger flung him into the air.

Lacy was there to meet him, flying right into him and kicking him straight back to the ground.

“I got ya fucker!” Zorrow yelled as he jumped up and performed a perfect flying roundhouse, catching Frederic in the side and sending him skidding across the ground.

Before he could come to a stop, Jun rocketed into him, hitting him so hard Jun broke his own hoof. This caused Frederic to fly upward in an arch, landing hard on the ground. He coughed as he tried to stand, but Cody tackled him. He laid into Frederic, hitting him over and over again in the face. Finally he stood up, spitting on the coughing and crying stallion.

Frederic rolled over and began to crawl away, hiccuping loudly as he sobbed. But the wheel of a wheelchair rolled up in front of him, blocking his path. He looked up to see Greg glaring down at him.

Without a word, Greg let out a grunt as he stood up, turning to Frederic. Despite being weak, he jumped into the air and brought his back hoof down onto Frederic’s groin, causing everyone in the area to wince.

As for Frederic, he let out a silent scream as he curled into himself, finally out of the fight.

With that task done, Greg fell back into his wheelchair and casually rolled away from the sobbing wreck of a ‘God’.

Scamp walked over, shaking her head. “Shouldn’t have run, you were safer with me.” She got no response as she grabbed his tail and began to drag him across the ground. “Nova,” she said as she neared the Mellowed Pie, where Nova and a few others had been, watching the entire thing take place. “Are you able to be the judge for a little trial?”

“For him?” she asked with a frown. “Gladly.”

“Fuck you, you monster!” Jero yelled as he ran out of the crowd and punched Frederic while he was down.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Scamp said as the man stood up and gave one more kick before backing up into the crowd. “We need to do this the right way. No vigilante justice.”

“A trial?” the costumed Alicorn asked with a growl. “It happens today, or not at all.”

“Are you able to set it up now?” Scamp asked, getting a nod from Nova.

“I don’t think anyone will object,” Nova said, casting a disgusted look at the downed stallion. “I wouldn’t want to wait anyways. This needs to end. Today.”

“Nova, please,” Frederic choked out, his jaw clearly broken.

“Drag him to the courthouse, I’ll prepare everything,” Nova said as she spun around and walked away, not giving her father any more attention.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Later that night

“Do we really need to do a whole court thing?” Lance asked as he watched Scamp go over her notes.

“It’s the best way to handle this,” she answered.

“And the TV crew are necessary?” he asked, looking into the gallery where a few ponies were finishing setting up their cameras.

“Nova wants the world to know what he did,” Scamp said as she finished sorting her paperwork.

“Okay, sure sure,” he said, glancing at Frederic. “But is that necessary?”

Scamp turned her head to the front where Frederic was set up, strapped to a chair with a metal mask secured to his face. “... I think it's appropriate.”

“And it’s a funny reference,” Greg added as he leaned on the railing behind their table.

“I just think we should skip all this and just go straight to punishment,” Lance said with a sigh.

“Lance,” Scamp said, turning to face him. “Once you hear everything I discovered when going through his memories, you’ll understand why we need to do it this way.” He frowned at this, but didn’t protest anymore. “Now, get into the audience. And try not to have too big of a reaction to anything you hear. Okay?”

“I can't promise anything, you know that,” he said as he hopped the railing and joined Greg and the others.

Now that she was alone, Scamp took a moment to look around the courtroom. Nova sat at the front, in the Judge’s seat, looking stressed as she read over some notes. Next to her, standing stock still was the masked Alicorn, their eyes locked onto Frederic, who was sitting on the opposite side of the Judge’s seat. He had been healed, for the only purpose of having him presentable to the public. And so he could be mentally present for the trial ahead.

Her attention drifted back to her table, a frown on her face. She’d gone through his memories and compiled a list of evidence. But at this point they were more just talking points, since the only thing left to do was reveal everything Frederic had done. He’d basically already admitted to everything during his outburst.

Finally, after a long wait, Nova slammed her gavel a few times, getting everyone's attention.

“If everyone is ready, we may begin,” she said in a formal tone, turning her gaze to Scamp. “Has all evidence been compiled?”

“It has, Princess,” she confirmed, staying professional and using Nova’s title.

“News crews?” she asked, looking into the camera as it pointed directly at her.

The Griffin working it gave a thumbs up to her.

“Very well then,” she said as she sat up straighter. “It is very unfortunate that this trial must happen,” she said in a practiced regal tone, he’s locked on the camera. “But it has come to light recently that one of our own, of the Royal Family, has committed atrocities so grim that I hesitate to allow them to be broadcasted on Live Television.

“Yet, I feel this is necessary,” she said as her eyes flickered momentarily to the disgraced Frederic, who was looking at her with pleading eyes. “The former Prince of Equestria, once thought to be deceased, has returned. We once thought of him as a hero, due to his many acts of bravery and selfish sacrifices.” Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward in her seat, “and it has come to light that all of it was fake. Manufactured by him and the Witch Lilith.”

“Your Highness,” Scamp suddenly interrupted. “If I may add something to that last part.”

“You may.”

Scamp cleared her throat as the camera shifted to her. “After going through his memories, I have determined that the Witch Lilith only provided him with the means, not the motivation. Everything I will show today was done by Frederic, and only Frederic. Lilith herself was not involved in any of his actions.”

“I see,” Nova said with a shake of her head. “The Prince we all mourned and loved was false. An act. Today, we are going to reveal all of his deeds, and then we will sentence him appropriately.” Leaning back in her seat, she looked back to Scamp, “you may begin when ready.”

“I have thought of the best way to handle this,” Scamp announced as she walked into the middle of the room, all eyes on her. “Starting from the beginning would be the best way to handle this. For that, I require my first victim to take the stand.”

The moment she finished speaking, the door behind the Judge’s seat opened and an aged stallion stepped out. He hobbled over to the Witness Stand and took a seat.

Scamp stepped up to him and gave him a nod. “Mr. Tinker, tell the court your relation to Frederic.”

The gray stallion cleared his throat and glanced at Frederic, seeing his furious eyes staring back. “I… was the first pony to find him. Or I at least believed I was. I was his assistant when he became the Royal Blacksmith, then his personal servant when he became the Prince.”

“I’ve gone through his memories, but would you like to tell the court about the ‘incident’?”

“I’d… rather not,” he said in a quiet voice.

“That’s okay,” she assured him as she turned to face the camera across the room. “Tinker here thought of Frederic as his best friend after he first found him, and the two formed a close bond. Or at least he believed they did.”

“I’ll tell it,” Tinker suddenly said from behind her. She gave him a nod as she went silent. “I took Frederic in and made it my life mission to help him achieve his goal of marrying Princess Luna. He spoke about her often, and I was a sucker for true love back then. But one day he told me his plans to get her into his bed… he wanted to find a form of Love Magic that would force her to love him. I told him that that was wrong and he…” he went silent.

“Take your time.”

“He…” Tinker shuddered, not looking at Frederic anymore. “... He punished me. He was furious that I’d speak ill of his glorious plans. Or him in general.”

“What did he do to punish you?” Scamp asked carefully, already knowing the answer.

“He… branded me,” Tinker muttered quietly.

“Where?”

“... He told me if I was to speak badly of him and his plans for ‘true love’ then I’d never have that chance…” Tinker said, his lip trembling. “He branded his cutie mark… onto my groin.”

Everyone in the court let out gasp and shouts of disgust, all directed at the bound Frederic.

“Order!” Nova yelled, slamming her gavel till everyone fell silent again.

“Why didn’t you say anything after this incident?” Scamp asked.

“He used a spell on me to keep me loyal to him,” Tinker answered. “I tried to warn others, but anyone I told he manipulated with magic to believe him.”

“Can you tell the court about the day the Rapture happened? What was Frederic’s reaction?”

“He was angry,” Tinker answered. “But then he became overjoyed when he realized his friend had come as well, and he made her-”

“Let’s not speak about her, she’ll give her testimony next,” Scamp interrupted. “Tell me what he did after learning the Bronies had arrived?”

“He used his friends' magic to manipulate the Princesses to think of him whenever they wanted something done. This caused Princess Celestia to have Princess Luna take him with her to meet the Bronies.”

“What was his reaction to finding out Lance Greenfield had gotten Twilight Sparkle pregnant?”

“He laughed and said ‘deserves her right!’”

“And why did he say that?”

“He hated Twilight Sparkle.”

“And why did he hate her?”

“Can I say this on Live TV?”

“You need to.”

“... He hated that she stopped him from raping a mare two years before the Rapture.”

The entire room gasped at this.

“Why didn’t anyone mention this? And why would Mrs. Sparkle considered him family if she knew of this?” Scamp asked.

“He used an artifact given to him by the Witch Lilith to manipulate her mind and change her opinion of him.”

“How often did he use this artifact?”

“It felt like everyday,” Tinker admitted with a frown. “He used it to do whatever he wanted. I know for a fact he used it on Lance and his family to-”

“That’s enough,” Scamp stopped him, glancing back at Lance and Twilight, seeing their horrified expressions. They didn’t need to know that part. “Thank you, Mr. Tinker, you may step down.”

He gave a nod and quickly climbed down from the stand, moving for the gallery as fast as he could. His eyes never returned to Frederic, as it was clear he didn’t want to make eye contact with the stallion.

“The next victim to take the stand will be able to tell us all of Frederic’s heinous acts,” Scamp announced as she walked along the Judges Bench, stopping before Frederic. The two of them made eye contact, with his eyes filled with hatred and hers bored content. “I’d like Annabel Fletcher to come to the Stand.”

All eyes turned to the back of the room where said mare stood, hiding behind Shayla. Upon having her name called, she nervously stepped out and walked down the aisle, head down. Stepping past the gate, she glanced at Frederic. The moment they made eye contact he began to thrash against his binds, yelling into his gag.

This caused the pink mare to rush forward and get behind the Witness Stand, just out of view of the raging stallion.

“Bailiff,” Nova said, causing the costumed mare to stomp over and press a hoof to Frederic’s chest. A wave of magic washed over him, causing him to go still as he was forced into a calm state.

“Miss Fletcher,” Scamp said as she stepped up in front of her. Would you mind giving the court your full name and previous alias?”

“Um, yes,” Annabel mumbled.

“But you’ll need to speak up,” Scamp added.

“Sorry,” Annabel said in a slightly louder voice. “My name is Annabel Tamara Fletcher. But I used to be known as Anarchy, the Queen of L-Lust while I was under his control.”

“Tell the court about your reunion with Frederic after the Rapture,” Scamp said, standing between Annabel and Frederic so she didn’t have to look at him. “And a little bit about your past.”

“I-I…” she began, but she froze, eyes wide as she began to tremble. “C-can you tell it?”

“I can,” Scamp said in a reassuring voice. She turned to the court and cleared her throat. In as much detail as she could, she recounted the events that had taken place years before the Rapture, telling how Annabel was kidnapped and tormented by a sick individual known as the Lakeside Stalker. She would stop ever so often to allow Annabel to recover, but she was able to retell the entire event.

“After being rescued,” Scamp continued, finishing recounting the horrific events. “Annabel was alone, as she could not bear to be around her friends or family. All except for one person.” Her gaze landed on Frederic, a fury behind her eyes that caused him to shrink. “She placed her trust in Frederic, because he was someone she thought she could trust. Instead, he used her trauma against her and forced her to do things for him. They started small, like stealing things. But eventually he was forcing her to manipulate others for his own gain.” Turning from him she looked back to Annabel. “Would you like to tell the next part?”

“I think I can,” she muttered as she took a deep breath.

“Okay. Can you tell us about your first day in Equestria?”

“My first day…” she repeated. “After the Rapture, I was so excited to be getting a second chance at life. God told me I could be anything, and I chose a Draconequus because the idea sounded fun and comforting. No one could hurt me if I had that much power…” her body shook as she shrank back a bit. “At least I thought so. I chose Equestria because it was the only thing back on Earth that calmed me down. Watching the happy and safe world of MLP brought me so much comfort and made me forget about…

“But then, not even an hour after arriving, Frederic found me. He just seemed to know where I was…” she said, her voice getting quieter as she spoke.

“What did he make you do?”

“He… was overjoyed to see me. But not for the reasons you’d think… He wanted to use my powers to push his agenda, and to get payback for things that had happened since he’d arrived.” She took a deep breath, collecting herself. “The first thing he made me do was affect all the ponies' minds to make them more… susceptible to sexual thoughts. Then he wanted me to make it so their mental wills were… dampened.”

“Can you explain that a bit more?”

Her eyes flickered to the ponies in the stand, shame on her face. “He wanted all of the ponies to be attracted to the Bronies, so I made it so they couldn’t resist them.”

Murmurs filled the room at this.

“So,” Scamp began, knowing this part was going to be a big shock to those present. “You are saying you are the reason for all of the relationships between the ponies and the Bronies?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “F-Fre… He picked out who got with who, and I made it happen.” Her eyes flickered to Lance and Twilight. “I’m so s-sorry…”

“Every couple was picked out by Frederic himself?”

“All but one,” she confirmed. “He wanted Greg Campbell to be with Berry Punch… but Greg and Pinkie were unaffected by my magic.”

“How did Frederic react to this?”

“He… hurt me. When I failed to get those two together, he began forcing me to do things… Please don’t make me repeat them.”

Scamp nodded at her. “It’s okay. Tell the court about Frederic’s love life. How did he get Princess Luna to fall in love with him?”

“I-I manipulated her mind so that she wanted to be with him,” she answered, shame falling across her face. “Luna was… the nicest mare I’ve ever met… she didn’t deserve the things he did to her.”

“Let’s go back to the beginning. Tell the court about Frederic’s original plan for Lance and Twilight.”

“He wanted to punish Twilight…” she muttered. “I manipulated Rainbow Dash into wanting to harm Twilight by taking her magic, but when Lance ate the cupcake instead, he was overjoyed. Said it was a much better outcome. But when Lance returned to life… He decided he needed to get involved personally…”

“Now, the one thing everyone already knows. The Heats. Why did you make those happen?” Scamp asked, getting a few more murmurs from the gallery.

“H-He is obsessed with r-rape…” she answered, causing Frederic to start to yell into his gag again. “He wanted to force the mares to… violate themselves. And he… wanted a… t-threesome with Princess Celestia and Luna…”

The crowd beyond the railings began to yell, everyone jumping up and throwing insults towards Frederic. The cops who were on standby ran forward to try and calm the crowd, but the revelation that the Heats were caused by the Prince was too much for some of the gathered ponies as they jumped the railing and rushed for Frederic.

Reluctantly, Scamp got between the raging ponies and Frederic, holding them back.

“EVERYONE STOP, NOW!” Nova roared, her voice rocking the entire building and causing everyone to stop in their tracks. “Return to your seats or this trial will become private!”

With the raging glare of the current Princess, the crowd slowly pulled back, returning to their seats.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Nova nodded to Scamp. “Proceed.”

“Thank you,” Scamp said with a bow, sweat dripping down her face as her adrenaline came down. “Annabel,” she said, returning to the business at hand. “We’re now at the part about Richard,” she said, casting a little smirk at Frederic. “Tell the court the REAL reason Frederic was murdered by his father on Earth.”

“Gladly,” Annabel began, a determined look overcoming her face as she sat up straight. This was a topic she clearly wanted to get out in the open. “His original story about his father killing him for going against the family is a lie. On Earth, Richard was a mafia boss, but he was also the only person who was nice to me outside of Frederic. He used his connections to kill the man who hurt me. But Frederic, he misused his family's resources to do whatever he wanted.” She then looked right at Frederic, “but that’s not why he was killed. No. He forced himself on his own mother one night and tried to flee the city when his father found out. The best day of my life was hearing the news that he had been killed. Dying like a crying baby begging for forgiveness.”

“Okay,” Scamp interrupted her, not wanting her to go into too much detail about her hatred for Frederic. “That leads to this next question. If this is true, why did Lance not mention any of this in his book? Surely Richard would have said something referencing this event when he met back up with Frederic.”

“He did,” Annabel confirmed. “But Frederic used my magic and his artifact to change everyone's memories to forget that piece of info.”

More outbursts were heard, but Nova slamming the gavel repeatedly brought order before it got out of hand again.

“Moving forward,” Scamp said as she paced in front of the Witness Stand. “Tell the court about Pleasant Fields.”

“That,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Frederic was working with Val to bring back Nightmare, while pretending to be a victim like everyone else. He was the one who helped them form the town and lure in Bronies. As far as I am aware, only Val and Draco knew of Frederic’s involvement. Most of the town just knew he was a frequent visitor.”

“I can confirm that,” Scamp said as she stopped before the Witness Stand. “Why did he want Nightmare released?”

“He wanted a real villain to fight, to make the world love him even more,” she answered.

“Thank you,” Scamp said with a nod. “In regards to Lance’s book, the first one he wrote during his time in the alternate timeline, how much of it is true?”

“Well,” she began, thinking to herself. “I’ve read it, and it’s mostly spot on. The only problems are anything involving Frederic himself. Or any of the other points of views he tossed in for the villains. All of those were given to him by Frederic, and I can at least confirm a lot of info was changed.”

“Moving to his family life,” Scamp began. “We all know of Star Chaser and how he ended up. Did Frederic have anything to do with that at all?”

“That poor colt,” Annabel muttered. “Frederic was two types of father. To Nova, he ignored her and treated her normally. But to his son, Star Chaser… he wanted his son to be just like him. He forced him from a young age to endure all kinds of mental hardships. He made him watch… horrible things. He forcibly changed his mental state constantly… trying to shape him into the stallion he wanted him to be.

“Even worse,” she continued. “Was the…”

“You can say it,” Scamp said, a frown on her face.

“... he made Star Chaser watch him when he’d go to other countries to… sample the culture.”

“That’s enough,” Nova said sternly, her body shaking in rage. “Move on from my late brother.”

“Yes, Princess,” Scamp said with a bow, turning back to Annabel. “On family affairs. Tell the court about the control Frederic enacted over his wife, Princess Luna.”

“Ah,” she mumbled, shrinking back again. “He forced her to link minds with him so he could see and hear everything she did. He never let her do anything he did not approve of. When she tried to rule, he’d make her take a step back and do it himself. He wanted her to stay in his shadow…”

Nova made a sound, causing Scamp to cough. “Is there anything else you’d like to add before I ask the final question?”

Annabel thought for a moment, before giving a sharp nod. “Yes,” she turned her attention to Lance and Twilight. “Frederic was obsessed with his children marrying Lance’s.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s a creep and wanted to see them together. He talked about the kids they’d make… all the time.” A look overtook her face as she looked away from everyone and looked right at Frederic. “There is one thing that needs to be said. Something he tried to do that was so horrible… it caused him to finally start abusing me to the point he finally had me banished.”

This seemed to surprise Scamp, as she did not know what she was referencing.

“Star Chaser showed zero interest in Fawn, which angered Frederic. But then he… took an interest in Lance’s daughter and tried to make something happen between Star Chaser and her anyway.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Frederic used a spell to turn into a colt and started dating Fawn to try and get her with his son.”

“You fucking-!” Lance roared as he tried to rush forward, but was stopped by his friends.

“But Fawn didn’t like him and the relationship lasted only a week. So he used my magic and his artifact to make Lance and Twilight… neglect their daughter. He put blocks in their minds so they wouldn’t care about her as much as they really did.” She lowered her head, “I spoke out against this and tried to fix it, but he became enraged and locked me away for a while. Then when I started to try and break away from him, he used his artifact on me and forced me to reveal everything we’d done. But made me say it was all my doing…”

Scamp did not have a response to this as she tried to process it. She had somehow not seen this when going through Frederic’s memories, but she did skip around so it was possible she missed it. His mind was a mess and hard to navigate.

“... Okay then. I have one last question,” Scamp said, forcing herself to continue. “When he came back and took you away, what happened?”

Annabel took a shaky breath. “He… His favorite way to punish me has always been to make me relieve my… ordeal. He gets off to it… He locked me away in another dimension and left me in a… shipping container while he tortured me mentally to join his side again…” She began to cry at this point, tears pouring down her face. “I’m so sorry everyone, I broke and let him use me again. I’m so-”

“It’s okay,” Scamp said, putting a hoof on hers. “No one blames you.”

“Yes they do,” Annabel mumbled. “May I go?”

Scamp seemed reluctant, but she gave a nod. “You’re free to go, Miss Fletcher.”

Without a word, Annabel climbed down from the Witness Stand and rushed out of the courtroom. Shayla stood up to follow, but Scamp stopped her.

“Shayla,” she called out, causing the mare to stop. “Come to the stand, please.”

“What why?” she asked with a frown. “I’m not a part of this shit.”

“Shayla,” Scamp said firmly, causing her daughter to sigh.

“Fine,” she grunted as she walked to the front and sat down roughly behind the Witness Stand.

Stepping up to the Stand, Scamp placed a jar on the table. “Bring out the Watcher.”

“Oh,” Shayla said with a sheepish smile. “I can do that.” Placing her hand on the jar, everyone watched as it slowly filled with a cyan, followed by the face of the Watcher appearing. A displeased look on his face.

“Hello, Watcher,” Scamp said with a hint of disdain.

“It’s Buu,” he corrected her, causing her to narrow her eyes.

“Are you willing to answer the questions I have?” Scamp asked, ignoring him.

“Depends on the questions' contents,” he answered a bit smugly.

“Hm.” Scamp came to a stop before the jar, glaring at the Watcher. “Explain to the court your relationship to Frederic.”

“Relationship?” the Watcher asked with a chuckle. “My only connection to this specimen of a life form is a transactional partnership that ended thirteen years ago.”

“Explain that,” Scamp ordered, getting a smirk from the jarred Watcher.

“I think my current explanation is enough,” he said with a smirk. “Unless I need to dumb it down for you.”

“I ask, as nicely as I can, for you to be cooperative, Buu,” she said, forcing herself to use his new name.

“Better,” he said smugly. “The partnership I once had with this child was brief, and only involved him informing me of the location of someone with an exceedingly high amount of Holy Energy within them. Is that simple enough for you?”

“So, to clarify, Frederic is the one who brought you to Lance?” Scamp asked, remaining as professional as she could.

“I guess it wasn’t simple enough for you,” the Watcher mocked.

“Buu,” Shayla scolded, slapping the back of the jar.

“... Yes. It was the one called Frederic who brought me to Lance,” the Watcher confirmed with a displeased look on his face.

“What happened when Lance and the others attacked you on your ship?” Scamp asked. “It was written that you killed them, and sent Lance to an alternate timeline. How accurate is that?”

“I didn’t kill any of them,” the Watcher admitted. “I only stunned them. It was your Prince who killed them once he recovered.”

All eyes turned to Frederic as people began to get riled up again. HOwever this time, it was the costumed Alicorn who lost her temper as she suddenly slammed a hoof into Frederic’s face. The bound stallion began to squeal in agony as she began to stomp on him, not saying a word.

“Hey, control yourself!” Scamp yelled as she fought to get the Alicorn off of the screaming Frederic.

On her own, the mare stopped her assault of the restrained stallion and took a step back, breathing heavily.

“I need you to leave the courtroom,” Nova said calmly, not seeming upset about what had just happened.

“Yeah, I think that’s best,” the Alicorn grunted as she did an about-face and stalked through the courtroom. Everyone watched her go, not one person surprised by her reaction, just not sure why she had it.

Using her hoof, Scamp stomped on the end of the dolly, causing Frederic to shoot up and return to his upright position.

“Continuing on to my next question,” Scamp said as she returned to the Witness Stand, everyone ignoring the groans coming from Frederic. “Why did he feel the need to kill those you’d stunned?”

“Tying up loose ends, of course,” the Watcher replied with a laugh. “Should I explain every little detail for you? Would that help you follow the course of events?”

“Tell me,” Scamp said as she came down hard on the Witness Stand, scaring her daughter. “If you knew all this, why didn’t you warn any of us when he returned? Why didn’t you speak up, seeing as you’ve had a change of heart and all.”

“He was hibernating, mama,” Shayla answered for him, getting a raised eyebrow from Scamp.

“And when did he start this, ‘hibernating’?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“... Uh,” Shayla began to look a bit sheepish as she forced a smile. “The moment Frederic appeared…”

“Uh-huh,” Scamp said, snatching the Jar and stepping away from her daughter. “Sounds kind of… suspicious, don’t you think, Buu?”

“More bad timing than anything else,” he laughed.

“Sure,” Scamp said as she opened her pocket dimension and tossed him in.

“Mama!” Shayla yelled, standing up in her chair.

“Shayla, go check on Annabel,” Scamp ordered, keeping her tone even.

“You can’t just take him like-”

“Now,” Scamp interrupted her, staring her daughter down.

Her daughter growled as she seemed to contemplate what to do, but looking around, she saw all the eyes on her. Reluctantly, she stepped down and stomped towards the exit. “This isn’t over,” Shayla said as she passed her mother.

Scamp remained silent as she watched her daughter kick open the doors and step out of the courtroom. A few more loud slams were heard as she made her way through the building.

“Now then,” Scamp said after everything went silent. “That concludes my victims and speakers,” she said as she walked up to the Bench, turning to the gathered ponies. “I planned to list off his remaining crimes, but I was given a different course of action. Will Babel Yarn take the stand.”

A squeal was heard from the back as a mare suddenly barreled through the crowd and jumped over the railing. She quickly ran to the Witness Stand and slammed herself into the chair, causing everyone to cringe.

“Can I just say,” Babel suddenly said, a wide smile on her face. “That it is a HONOR to speak to you Scamp outside of life or death scenarios!”

“Uh, yes, likewise?” Scamp said, a bit taken aback by the energy of the mare. She coughed as she regained her composure. “I understand you have questions compiled from the public?”

“Oh yes yes!” Babel exclaimed as she threw her bag onto the table and dumped it out, covering it and the floor beneath her in paper and other junk. “I asked for questions on the fan site, and went through them for all the best ones!”

Scamp gave a nod as she stepped over to Frederic. “For this next part, we’ve prepared a spell that will force the former Prince to answer any question we ask him truthfully, and nothing more.”

His eyes went wide as Mr. Bleak stepped up behind Nova, handing her a runed object.

“Princess, if you would,” Scamp said, taking a step back.

“Certainly,” she said as she crushed the object, causing her horn to ignite as a spell transferred itself to her. Tilting her head down, she shot a beam of magic at Frederic, causing him to squeal in panic.

Once she finished, the stallion went limp in his restraints, a distant look on his face.

“Perfect,” Scamp said as she stepped back up to him and unclasped the mask from his face, removing the gag from his mouth. “Now then,” she began, locking eyes with the dazed stallion. “What is your full name?”

“Frederic Darlington Bourdages,” he answered in a clear voice.

“Good. Has everything said here today been true in regards to your actions?”

“Yes.”

“We’re ready,” Scamp said as she walked over to Babel and gave her a nod. “You may begin.”

“Awesomesauce!” she exclaimed as she dug around in her empty bag. “Eh… lost my phone again… But no worries! I memorized everything!” she said as she grabbed a notebook and began to write very rapidly onto it. “Alrighty then! First question! Frederic, the fans of LTD must know: How did you become an Alicorn when you married Princess Luna? Because as we all have seen, you’re the only one to do it! No other has ever become an Alicorn in the same way!”

“I used magic to make the transformation happen, but it’s forbidden so I made the world believe true love was behind the transformation,” Frederic answered, his face twisting as he tried to not speak, but the magic easily overpowered him and kept him talking.

“Interesting!” Babel said excitedly as she continued to write. “What about Princess Luna’s pregnancy? Not only did she have twins, but she had them months earlier than she should have! Did you use even more magic to make that happen?”

“I wanted twins, but her first pregnancy was just a single foal. So we tried again and again till we got it right. Then I used a spell to speed it up because I wanted them to be born before Lance’s kid,” Frederic answered, foam forming in the corners of his mouth as he struggled to not speak.

“Wait,” Scamp interrupted, a hard look on her face. “You forced Luna to abort her pregnancies till you got what you wanted?”

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“How… many?” Scamp asked.

“I did not keep count. It took a full week to get the twins. I used Magic to speed up her pregnancies so we could see if it was twins or not. When it wasn’t what I wanted, I used forbidden magic to kill the fetus and started over.”

Scamp seethed with rage as she struggled to keep her composure.

“Scamp, do you need to step out?” Nova asked, but Scamp took a deep breath and shook her head.

“Continue, Babel,” she said as she held eye contact with Frederic.

“Okay!” Babel said as she looked over her fresh notes. “Ah! Fun one next! Where were you during the Violent Inferno fight?”

“I was watching from a distance, waiting to see if Inferno could do what I needed him to do.”

“What was he supposed to do?” Babel asked.

“Kill one of the bronies,” Frederic answered.

“So does that mean you are behind Violent Inferno?!” Babel asked with an excited expression.

“He was my creation, yes,” Frederic confirmed, causing her to squeal in delight. “I used Lilith’s magic to bring it out of him, just like she did for me with Darksteel Edge, but it was a failed experiment. Violent Inferno was useless, and died too easily.”

“Ooo, I have a lot of questions about that then!” Babel said, but Scamp held up a hoof.

“Move to the next question, please.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Babel said with a salute, turning her attention back to her notes. “So! Another major lore question the fans want to know involves Omnious! How did you fool him?”

“It was simple,” Frederic began. “When he arrived, I used Princess Celestia to call him to the Palace, then I used Annabel and my artifact to bring him under my control. He was too trusting and didn’t even try to stop me. After that I never had to worry about him again.”

“Interesting!” Babel said with a wide smile. “Ooo, can you tell me about your father? Richard?!”

“What do you want to know?”

“Babel, keep the questions to Frederic,” Nova said sternly.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, flipping through her notes. “Hmm…. AH! So, why didn’t you just clap your father? You had no qualms with killing Cody, but you just wanted to imprison him instead?”

“I wanted him dead, but Lilith was very insistent on him being alive. So I had to do things her way, because I was scared of her.” His eyes went wide as he admitted that.

“Babel, move to a different line of questions,” Scamp ordered.

“Okay, because I do got some fun ones lined up!” she said happily. “According to Nova, you were on the Eternal Plains for the last thirteen or so years. What were you doing?”

“I was hunting down all the alternate Frederic’s,” he said. “There can only be one of me, and I am the Frederic Prime.”

“Jesus,” Greg groaned from the gallery.

“Did you get them all?” she asked.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“Good,” Lance growled, causing Nova to hit her gavel twice.

“Now for the fun questions!” Babel said as she began to shake in excitement. “These are ones I came up with! First question! Keeping it safe for work, what happened to the Elements of Harmony?!”

“I used a horn from the Biblical Devil to corrupt them to change them into something completely different. But now they’re in the hands of Lilith, and I do not know what her plans are.”

“Well that’s not good at all,” she mumbled, making a note. “Guess that will be handled by Scamp, won’t it?”

Scamp raised an eyebrow at the excited mare, giving her a shrug.

“She’s got this!” Babel chuckled. Then an overly excited look appeared on her face, “OOOO! Frederic, for my shipping charts, how big are you?!”

“In human form or Alicorn? Because I am rather tall.”

“No! Not height! I mean your hog!”

“Hell yeah! Answer it, fag!” Jun yelled out, causing everyone to laugh as Nova slammed her gavel over and over again.

“Which form?” he asked as Nova continued to slam her gavel.

“Do not continue this line of questioning!” she demanded, but Babel didn’t seem to hear her, or just didn’t care.

“Both forms! I need to confirm if my fan art is accurate!”

“Human form two inches. Alicorn form, I made myself have a twenty eight inch one.”

“I was way off!” Babel laughed as everyone joined her, but Nova slammed the gavel so hard the Bench shattered, silencing everyone.

“Enough,” she said simply, standing up. “We’re moving to sentencing.”

“Wait!” Babel yelled, flipping through her notes. “EH! UH! Why are you so homophobic?!”

“Because gay men disgust me and I wish they were all dead. Lesbians are fine, because they’re hot and I enjoy the concept of them getting together. Plus I like the idea of fucking them straight.”

“SILENCE!” Nova bellowed.

“Why do you-” Babel tried to continue, but her mouth was suddenly zipped shut with magic as she was lifted and forcibly carried across the room by Nova’s magic.

“We are done here,” Nova declared, plopping Babel down next to Roxxy and the others. “Scamp, begin the sentencing process.”

“Very well,” Scamp said as she cleared her throat, moving for her table. She’d spoken with the others and come up with the perfect plan. Bronwyn and Balgore had come up with a punishment, one that none of the others would have thought possible. One that Scamp was not looking forward to carrying out.

Turning back to the Bench and Frederic, she looked to Nova. “If you want, we can allow him to have a moment to share his thoughts, unaffected by magic.”

Nova leaned over the Bench to stare at Frederic, a hard look on her face, devoid of emotion. “I’m interested in hearing what he could possibly say after all this. You have the floor. But I will cut you off when I deem you unworthy of being allowed to speak.” With that, her horn flashed as she leaned back, an annoyed look on her face. “Speak.”

Frederic remained silent for a long moment, just looking around at the ponies gathered in the room. He seemed to be picking his words carefully, working his swollen jaw.

“Well,” he began in a calm voice. “I heard I am going to have a grandchild. So I am excited for that, because he will be just like his father, and me, and my father.” A few murmurs filled the room, but he continued, “speaking of sons. Greg, how well did you know your boy?”

“Don’t you fucking talk about Dude,” Greg growled as people moved to hold him down.

“Did you know,” Frederic began, a smug smirk on his face. “That your beloved son was a fag? A dick sucker if you will.”

“Fuck you, Fred,” Greg roared, fighting against his friends. “I knew everything about my son! YOu think that’s news to me?! You think that would upset me?! I’m not like you! I’m not scared of the gays, you retarded faggot!”

“Oh,” Frederic muttered, taken aback by that reaction, as it was not what he had expected.

“Yeah! OH!” Greg yelled as Pinkie grabbed his chair and quickly moved him out of the courtroom as he continued to yell insults back at Frederic.

“Guess I win!” Frederic called after him. “My son killed your little fag. I’m proud of my son!”

“Oh fuck this!” Greg said as he jumped up and sprinted across the room, diving over anyone who tried to stop him, even getting around Scamp, and tackled Frederic. People moved to stop him, but the screams of Frederic echoed through the room. Scamp quickly pulled Greg off of him and threw him to the side, trying to prevent anything from happening. But as she looked down at Frederic, she couldn’t help but cringe.

“Oh fuck,” Lance gasped as he looked at Greg.

“Holy orchiectomy!” Babel exclaimed, eyes wide. “Now that REALLY messes with my fanart!”

“Damn it, Greg,” Scamp groaned as she stepped away from the screaming Frederic and grabbed the bloody parts from Greg. “Did you have to do this?”

“He deserves it and worse,” Greg spat out.

“Can someone heal this dumbass before he bleeds out,” Scamp ordered as she helped Greg get back to his wheelchair, leaving the genitals of Frederic on the floor.

“Greg,” Nova groaned, an exhausted look on her face.

“Get him home,” Scamp said to Pinkie, turning back to the chaos behind her. “Great…” she muttered as she moved back in, seeing Calypso using some items to heal the wounds on Frederic.

“Scamp,” Nova said over everyone. “Finish this.”

“Yes, Princess,” she said with a bow, turning back to the camera that was currently pointed at the crying Frederic. “Put that thing on me, now,” she ordered sternly. The camera quickly moved back to her as she stood up tall. “We have already decided on the punishment for the former Prince, Frederic Darlington Bourdages.”

Everyone not involved in handling Frederic turned their attention to Scamp, taking an interest in her next words.

ooo000<^>000ooo

“Please!” Frederic screamed as he was wheeled down a long walkway with Louie pushing him and Scamp walking next to him. “This… THIS IS EVIL!”

“Sometimes the only way to deal with evil is to take a step above it,” Scamp said back, using her wing to push the gag back into his mouth.

“No!” he roared, getting the gag out of his mouth. “Listen to me! Just listen! Just do anything else to me! ANYTHING!”

But Scamp ignored him as she checked her Dimensional Dagger, seeing that it was glowing red. This made her very uncomfortable, as it had been doing that ever since they’d arrived in this… realm.

“I have a lot of money and items buried in Equestria! Just take me back and I’ll show you!” he continued to beg.

“Even if I was tempted,” Scamp said with a smirk. “We’re not on the same Equestria that you were in.”

“I know things! About Lilith! I can tell you-”

“I already got all your information about Lilith from your memories,” Scamp interrupted. “None of it was useful, you spend too much time thinking about yourself and not paying attention to the world around you. No wonder you were so blind to her using you.”

“But my grandchild! He’ll benefit from having me around!”

“Yeah, not happening,” Scamp laughed as the path began to get narrow, seeming to shrink the further they went.

“Okay, but what if-”

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I will tear that tongue out of your mouth and heal you so you can only scream from now on,” she said coldly, her eye twitching.

“I don’t think he’ll be doing anything else other than screaming going forward,” Louie mocked, giving Frederic a hard shake.

“Please, you two are supposed to be heroes! HEROES DO NOT DO THINGS LIKE THIS!”

“I ain’t a hero,” Scamp chuckled. “I do good shit for the sake of it, but I don’t play the ‘can only do good’ hero, like Lance used to be like. I do whatever needs to be done.”

“Scamp, you’re a good mare, you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself!”

“You clearly do not know me,” she said with a smirk. “Or my body count.”

“Louie! You’d never be able to-”

“I personally think this is the funniest shit ever, Freddy, so I’d be quiet if I were you. I’m not as… reserved as Scamp is.”

“If you let me go, Louie, I’ll make sure you-”

“Shut it,” Louie growled, reaching around and clamping his large paw over Frederic’s snout. “It’s your fault my girlfriend's father died, because you wanted to be the hero at the last second. You’re so damn LUCKY I don’t take a few moments to thank you for your actions.”

As he released his snout, Frederic let out a whimper. “Luke please…”

“Let’s speed this up,” Louie said as he began to push the dolly faster, the ground around them starting to glow red.

Frederic continued to beg for his life as they continued forward, a bright light ahead showing the end of the tunnel they were walking down.

“Are… we good to be here?” Louie asked. “Because this is risky, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Scamp said as she stood on her hindlegs and grabbed the dolly’s handles from Louie. “Which is why you are going back. Now.”

“I’m not letting you do this alone,” he said as the sounds of distant screams began to reach their ears. “... are you sure you can do this alone?”

She chuckled at this, giving him a nod, “I’ll be fine. I can mentally handle this better than you can. Go back, I’ll be done soon.”

Louie looked conflicted, but the wailing in the distance unsettled him, causing him to take a step back. “Good luck, Scamp.”

Pushing forward, Frederic began to sob loudly, causing her to roll her eyes. Soon they walked through the opening in the tunnel and found themselves in a massive cavern, with a large door on the other side. To her surprise, a forest stood all around them, with a path leading towards the doors ahead

“Please please please,” Frederic began to repeat, fighting against his restraints.

Continuing to ignore him she pushed forward, a heavy pressure coming down on her mind. She shook her head, barely able to shake it off. But Frederic wasn’t as resilient as he began to scream in horror.

The sounds of birds singing could be heard as they pushed forward, which just felt unsettling with the current setting. Whispers were mixed in with the birds, as well as some kind of low droning sound.

“Scamp please, take me back,” Frederic cried, no longer fighting as he trembled in his restraints.

Scamp pressed forward, her ears perking up as she was assaulted with all kinds of voices, all repeating the same warning over and over again. They were all in a language she did not understand, but the moment they reached the large door, everything went silent.

“Scamp…” Frederic begged as she looked around, glancing back the way they’d come. An unsettling feeling washed over her as she saw many emaciated people staring back at them, all sitting among the rocks and trees. She hadn’t seen them as they’d approached, and this caused her heart rate to increase.

Then a single voice spoke up, in perfect english, causing her fur to stand on ends. It seemed to be repeating the same warning that all the other voices had been whispering.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

“Turn us back, please!” Frederic yelled, but she ignored him as she pushed forward, using the Dolly to open the gates, which despite their size, opened with ease. The wails they’d heard previously increased in volume as distant drum-like sounds could be heard, but she just gritted her teeth and pushed through the entrance. The item Balgore had given her humming faintly as it hung around her neck.

The pressure around them only increased as they entered a completely dark area, with no sounds but the distant dripping of water. Each drop echoing around them, acting as if they were in another massive cavern.

“It’s not to late, we can-”

“If you say another word, I’m going to silence you myself,” Scamp hissed, her heart rate increasing even more as she carefully moved forward. The ground was becoming uneven, making it hard to move the dolly’s wheels without having to use all her strength to keep it upright.

A distant lantern flared to life, seeming to be over a lake of some kind as its light was reflected in the water below it.

“What the fuck is that?!” Frederic yelped, but Scamp lifted the gag and forced it into his mouth, tightening it down till he was squealing in pain.

The lantern was slowly coming towards them as she kept moving forward. Suddenly the wheels hit water and fell forward. She barely caught a hold of the handle as the dolly sank all the way up to Frederic’s chest. His screams of horror did not help as she struggled to pull him back up.

Luckily for him, she got him back up and onto the stone floor. She didn’t say a word to him as she sat him back up and turned her attention to the slowly approaching light. As it drew closer, she saw that it was attached to a boat, with a single person within it.

She set her jaw, not sure what to expect as the boat neared. Silently, it came to a stop right along the edge of the water, the figure within turning their cloaked head towards the two of them.

“You’re not my normal passengers,” the man said in an old gravely voice. “More lively than I’m used to seeing.” The figure turned his attention to Frederic, a toothy smile barely visible inside the dark hood. “We were expecting you at some point, Mr. Bourdages. Just not like this.”

“I need to take him to the end,” Scamp said firmly, getting a rough chuckle from the man.

“There were easier ways to get him here,” the man said in an amused tone.

“We want him here. Alive,” Scamp said, narrowing her eye. “He doesn’t deserve the easy way out.”

“Very well,” the man said as he waved a hand for the boat. “But I must warn you. He’ll never leave here, and there’s a chance you won’t either, if you fail to listen to me.”

“I’ll take the risk,” Scamp grunted as she pushed the dolly over, sending Frederic tumbling into the boat with a scream. She jumped in after him, taking a seat on the other side of the boat from the man.

“I’m afraid I do not know your name,” the man said with a smile, the light revealing some of his decrepit face. “We don’t make it a habit of learning the names of those we’ll never see, after all.”

“Scamp,” she answered, keeping her last name out of it.

“Well, I am Virgil, your guide,” he answered as the boat took off, heading into the darkness.

“How long till we get to the end?” Scamp asked, a feeling of uneasiness passing over her as she saw faces in the water staring back at her.

“Depends,” he said, his eyes on Frederic. “Sometimes it’s a few minutes. Sometimes it’s a few millennia.”

“I can’t be here that long,” Scamp said with a frown.

“Then it is best to hope he deems it so,” Virgil answered, reaching up and running a hand over the lantern. It brightened slightly, pushing away the darkness. All this did was reveal even more faces in the water, all of them watching them as they went.

Scamp had questions, but decided to keep them to herself as she forced her eyes to rest on the man ahead of her.

Hours passed in silence, with just the sounds of the water hitting the boat filling the air. Scamp remained patient, staring at the smiling man ahead of her. No one spoke, except for Frederic who just sobbed into his gag.

After even more time passed, Virgil moved a bit. “Is this worth it?” he asked suddenly. “This journey could take the rest of your life to complete.”

“I’m immortal,” Scamp answered gruffly. “But I don’t plan to be here that long.”

“Ah an immortal,” he laughed. “This place is not for you then. Getting stuck here… there are no worse fates.”

“I know, that’s why he’s here, alive,” she said, kicking Frederic’s hoof.

“We’re currently in Limbo,” he said, looking over the edge of the boat. “Tossing him overboard here would be a terrible fate in of itself.”

“Not good enough,” Scamp muttered, seeing the panic on Frederic’s face. “Straight to the bottom.”

“Very well,” he said as the boat suddenly jerked and rocketed down a tunnel that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The boat navigated the many twists and turns as Scamp held on tightly to the side of the boat, dread washing over her as she heard the sounds of voices calling out all kinds of names.

They violently exploded out into an open sea of sorts, with sharp rocks all around them and a blank sky above. But what really caught her eye was the massive man with serpents body wrapped around himself, his massive eyes locked onto them.

“Confess your sins for judgment,” the large man bellowed, causing Scamp to flatten her ears to her head.

“These two will not be judged by you, Minos,” Virgil said sharply, moving the boat towards the massive man. “Now aside, let us pass.”

A loud snort of hot air was blown onto them as he moved aside, water pouring off of him as he did so. His eyes remained locked on Frederic, a sinister smile sliding onto his face. “I was looking forward to your confessions. I knew exactly where you would have gone.”

Virgil moved them forward, entering into a rough sea with people screaming for help as they were tossed around by the waves.

“Hold tight,” he warned as the boat rocked with the waves. “Falling out here is not ideal.”

Scamp did as she was told as she watched people and creatures of all kinds trying to grab onto the boat, but were unable to get a grip on it as they were ripped away by the currents. The boat pushed forward, seeming to take hours to reach the end of the rough seas.

Her biological foreleg was sore from holding onto the boat for so long, but she remained strong as they finally broke from the endless storm and began to enter another tunnel.

“Scamp!” a voice suddenly called out from the open sea, but looking back she couldn't see the owner of the voice, but it was vaguely familiar. Then an object flew from a distant wave and landed in the boat. It was a simple necklace, but she didn’t recognize it from anywhere.

“What is that?” she asked, but Virgil just shrugged at her.

Carefully, she picked it up, not seeing anything abnormal about it. It was a simple chain with a heart pendant attached to it.

“Careful taking anything from here,” he warned as they entered the tunnel.

“What should I do with this?” she asked, staring at the little pendant.

“Anything you’d like,” he answered. “Someone wanted you to have it. Risked everything to get it to you as well. Toss it over board, or keep it. The choice is yours.”

“How much further?” she asked, opening her pocket dimension and tossing the pendant into it.

“We’re progressing much faster than I’d expected,” Virgil said cheerfully. “You must be a welcome guest after all.”

“Great,” Scamp muttered, not liking the sound of that.

As they moved along, the water began to turn to a foul smelling sludge, causing her to gag and vomit over the edge. Frederic did the same, but she didn’t bother removing his gag.

“I would avert your eyes for this one,” Virgil warned. “This circle is… putrid.”

She took his advice and hunkered down in the boat, her nostrils getting assaulted with all kinds of smells. Thankfully, they were not in this area long as they entered a tunnel. However she stayed down, not wanting to see any more than she had too. They pushed into a new area, one that was filled with the sounds of grunting and the sounds of coins giggling in sacks.

Yet she stayed down, and was very thankful when they passed through this area much quicker than the last one. The next area they entered was filled with the shouts of angry voices, and the sounds of fighting.

Pushing herself up, she saw they were in a swamp, with people fighting on top of the sludge, stepping on the bodies of those who seemed to just be laying in the mud. No one paid them any mind as they continued to violently attack each other, endlessly.

“I have a feeling if you were to come here,” Virgil began with a smirk. “That this is where you would be sent to, Lady Scamp.”

“Eh…” she muttered, not sure how to feel about that as she watched the raging people around them.

In the distance, she saw a few high towers, but Virgil turned the boat from them, heading in a different direction.

“Pray you never earn this fate,” he said as they carried on.

Like before, they made their way through this area in only an hour, much to her relief. But upon entering into the next area, she was met with the smell of burning flesh. A scent she knew all too well due to her time served in the military.

She sat back down in the boat, staring down at Frederic as they passed by tombs filled with flames and screams.

At the end of this area, the boat came to a stop next to some rocks.

“Now we walk,” Virgil said as he climbed from the boat.

“Oh great,” she complained as she hefted Frederic up and out of the boat. Before them was a massive cliff side. With a frown she opened her pocket dimension and pulled out a syringe.

Frederic began to panic as she injected it into his side, causing him to go limp. She removed his restraints and threw him over her back, a look of displeasure on her face as she began to follow Virgil up the rocky cliff.

“You can dump him anywhere and his fate would be sealed,” Virgil commented as they moved upward.

“I want him to get exactly what he deserves,” she answered simply.

“You’ve gone far above most who have walked a similar path.”

“It has to be done.”

He cackled as they reached the top of the cliff and entered the next layer. But then he stopped, turning his gaze upward. “I must leave you here,” he suddenly said.

“Why?” she asked with an annoyed grunt.

Virgil turned and walked past her, moving faster than he had before.

“Hey, Virgil!” she called after him as he basically ran away from her. “What am I supposed to do?!”

The sound of a thousand screams behind her caused her to freeze. The sounds increased in volume as she started to make out individual voices among the cacophony of chaos.

Sweat began to run down her body as a different pressure began to beat down on her, one she’d never experienced before and could not even begin to understand. Without warning, she blinked and found herself in a completely different area, no longer on the top of a cliff.

A deep chill ran down her spin as the atmosphere changed from muggy to impossibly cold. The sounds of crying people could be heard all around them as she slowly turned, seeing people embedded in the ice, their features impossible to make sense of.

“Those who make the journey to see me usually bring gifts,” a large man said as he leaned against an icy pillar, a wide smile on his face. His massive and naked body caused great discomfort in Scamp, but she ignored it as she flipped Frederic over her shoulder and onto the ground.

“You the devil?” she asked, glaring at the imposing man.

“Satan, Lucifer,” he said with a laugh, shaking his hands. “The devil. All the fun little names mortals have given me.”

“Good,” she said flatly, kicking Frederic’s side and causing him to groan as the sedatives seemed to be wearing off much faster than they were supposed to. “I brought you this guy, as a gift.”

“By gift,” he said as he strolled towards her, towering above her, “I meant your soul.”

“Too bad,” Scamp said with a smirk. “You’re gonna have to settle with this guys.”

The man stood stalk still, just staring at her. A grin slowly spread across his face. But then it was wiped from his face as he saw the item around her neck, a sour look overtaking his features. “Someone came prepared.”

With that he grabbed Frederic by the hindleg and lifted him up, looking him over. “You could have killed him. He’d have come here on his own.”

“Yes, but I know him being here while still alive is much worse for him,” she countered, getting a genuine grin from the beast of a man.

“That it is,” he laughed as he shook Frederic, causing him to wake up. He looked around in a daze, then when his eyes met the man holding him, he began to scream. “Ah, music.”

“Scamp! SCAMP!” Frederic screamed, jerking his head to her. “Please, do something!”

“So you're going to deal with him?” Scamp asked, ignoring Frederic.

“There are few in life who get the pleasure of being with me,” the man said in a sinister voice. “And Freddy boy, you are among those rare few.”

“W-What’s that mean?” Frederic asked, getting a large smile in return.

“It means very good things,” the man assured him as a groan was heard behind him.

Looking behind him, Scamp saw a man drag himself out from behind a pillar, his body looking absolutely wrecked.

“Oh, mein arschloch,” the man exclaimed in a German accent, pulling himself along the ground. He came to a stop near the man and Frederic, tilting his head up to look at them.

“... oh fuck…” Frederic muttered, his eyes wide.

“Remove that necklace,” the large man said with a smile, locking eyes with Scamp. “It’s the only way you’ll be able to leave here.”

“Yeah, not falling for that,” Scamp said as she flipped her dimensional dagger around her claws.

“Worth a try,” he laughed as Frederic suddenly turned back into a human, completely nude.

“Whoa whoa WHOA!” Frederic screamed, fighting against the man's grip. “This is NOT going to happen.”

“Perfect,” the massive man laughed as Scamp watched in disgust as a large and barbed penis rose from between his legs. Screams filled the air as Frederic was violated, his screams almost being drowned out by the laughs of those around them.

The man on the ground was laughing like a maniac, clapping his hands as the massive man went feral.

“Eh…” Scamp said, raising an eyebrow as she tore open a portal between her and the scene before her and stepped through it. The screams of Frederic were cut off as the portal snapped shut, leaving him there for the rest of eternity.

A horrified look sat on her face as she stood there, processing the scene she’d just witnessed. After a few moments, she shook her head, putting those memories away in her vault and forced herself to move forward. Just like she’d done with all her past trauma.

“Scamp?! You’re back!” Lance exclaimed as he rushed towards her, pulling her into a hug.

“Yeah, I am,” she said, still slightly dazed.

“Why are you back already?!” he asked, leaning back as a few others ran towards them, as they were standing in the middle of the street.

“... How long have I been gone?” she asked, a confused look on her face.

“Barely ten minutes!” he exclaimed, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

“That’s weird,” she muttered, not sure how only ten minutes had passed for them, but decided to not think about it. For her own sake.

“Did you…” he started to ask, but she gave him a sharp nod.

“He’s where he deserves to be,” Scamp confirmed. “Without going into details, he’s going to have a very bad time there.”

“Good,” Lance said with a shake of his head. “I still can’t believe…”

“I know,” she said, patting his back.

“Mama!” Shayla yelled in the distance as she and Mallogory rushed towards her.

“Scamp!” Mallogory yelled, clearly upset.

“Oh, Mallo is pissed you left without telling her, and that you sent Louie back,” Lance warned as Scamp put on a brave smile.

“Oh, wonderful,” she turned to face her family, holding up a hoof to wave to them. “Hey you two…”