A Promise Not Forgotten

Dan:

Looking at Aidan I could see that he had visibly changed over these two weeks. He was dirty and unshaven and wore a black jacket with many torn holes in it. His eyes had turned red and his skin was pale and covered with scars. There was a large scar from a burn stretching across his face from the left side of his neck to his ear; it just barely missed his eye. His regeneration must not have been properly working or else a scar wouldn’t have formed. Believe me, I would know; Colin doesn’t like to be fucked with.

The deranged boy stood about five feet from me now and his wicked grin sent a shiver up my spine. Is this really what prophet wanted; to drain all love from Aidan and use him as a weapon? Something didn’t add up about all that. Applying Discord’s logic to this nobody would want to ruin the whole world. It’s simply pointless.

“Dan, trust me, you don’t want to fight me. You will lose,” Aidan said with the double voice and a glare of boredom.

Aidan:

I stared at the man that was my old friend. He had lost the little weight he had when he came and was now pretty big. No Arnold or anything, but big nonetheless.

“Aidan, just come back home!” Dan yelled back over the scream of the electric cage.

“WE DON’T HAVE A HOME!” I yelled with such a force that debris on the ground flew away. “You are a fool if you think we can go back to Earth! You said it yourself, it’s ruined!”

“Aidan, come back to Canterlot! That is our home now!” Dan screamed. It was truly difficult yelling over the screech of the electricity but he could still be heard.

I let out a long laugh, it was about time someone said something funny. “Dear friend, I will come back in due time. When I do, you will wish you never crossed me!” I said readying myself for a fight.

“No, Aidan! Don’t do this! This isn’t you!” Dan yelled trying to reach the piece of me that was far gone by now.

“It’s over Dan, accept it!” I said taking a step forward while glaring at him.

“No!” Dan said while simultaneously snarling and readying his sword. Pity really, the useless weapon can’t do a thing against me, they’ve tried.

The man lunged for me and stabbed right through my gut. I won’t lie; it did tickle a little bit. Since my change I have noticed that pain is no longer an issue. The laugh I let out put a scared look on Dan’s face as I slowly walked towards him with the blade sliding through my open stomach. The poor fuck decided to fight me, he could have run, but he is far too stubborn for that. The one thing that has stuck with me since my change is my hate for martyrdom. It is a useless way to see an end to a job, and an even worse excuse for attempting to gain fame.

Using a little gift I got from Prophet as he lay in my head I picked up Dan using telekinesis. The wide ear-to-ear grin was terrifying to him. I grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled it out letting the wound heal and form another scar across my skin. I was decorated from head to toe with these scars. I have seen and created hell.

“Where is your God now?” I asked. Dan wasn’t a very actively religious man, but that didn’t mean he didn’t believe.

What the fuck? I would never say that! Prophet has really torn me apart… I have to get through and talk to Dan.

Dan:

I watched as I fell to the ground landing awkwardly on my leg causing it to snap at the knee. A fall from about twenty feet doesn’t feel too good. Now with a broken leg and a megalomaniac standing over me didn’t speed the healing process. Fuck, Prophet has really taken all that Aidan was and ruined it. I can’t let him out of this. This has to end here.

I looked up from my spot on the forest floor as the cage began to pulse and change colors. “GAH, FUCK!” Aidan yelled grabbing his head. The electric cage was turning blue in places but was quickly overwhelmed by the red. He looked up from the ground and over to me, “You stupid fuck…” He said to himself.

“Aidan, you can still fight Prophet!” I yelled. The screeching of the cage was deafening but we could still hear each other, miraculously.

Aidan grunted again and fell down to one knee. He was violently shaking and letting out pained grunts. In the moment of his confusion I got up onto my newly healed leg and kicked Aidan square in the jaw sending him backwards.

The kick didn’t do much, but it let down some of his mental barriers. The cage was turning blue again. There is still a chance!

Aidan looked up once more but now had blue eyes, “Dan! RUN! You have to get help!”

Fuck yes! My little buddy is in there! Just as I thought that the cage turned red again along with his eyes. He stood up and sprinted for me. The falcon punch was far more powerful than the one he gave to Discord but luckily was in the ribs. It still sent me flying back about five feet though.

“Aidan, you have to fight him! You can do this!” I yelled as he charged for me again. I ran to him and punched him right in the face. A good solid hit, it would have knocked over a fucking buss, but it was nothing to this conduit of energy. He shrugged it off and roundhouse kicked me into the cage, breaking bones as his foot made contact. The familiar sting from the bones breaking was nothing in comparison to the electricity of the cage surging through my body.

Aidan:

I walked slowly to Dan and stopped just in front of him. He was writhing in pain but I just wanted to watch. Another grin spread across my face. Through the agony he was muttering something. I couldn’t hear over the zapping so I leaned in closer to hear.

“Do it for Celestia…” Dan said faintly as he went unconscious.

I groaned at the mention of that dreadful name. I pulled Dan’s limp body from the cage and threw him to the ground in the center near where Discord lay. I walked slowly over and looked at the two challengers. It was a pity really; both of them could have done so well in my world.

This is NOT your world! I heard a voice in my head say. It reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Perhaps a memory better left forgotten. I took a few steps closer to Dan levitating his sword over to me so I could finish him off. Just before the blade fell I experienced the worst pain in the whole world.

Dan:

I was fading back into consciousness when I saw Aidan standing over Discord and I with a sword floating inches from my face. I slapped it away and sprung to my feet.

Aidan looked at me again with blue eyes, “You have to go! I can’t hold him back forever!”

Something possessed me to stay and help, “No, I can’t leave you!”

“Damn it Dan! JUST GO! Do it for Colin! Do it for me! For the Kingdom! FOR CELESTIA!” Aidan screamed back at me. He stumble upon Celestia’s name.

Aidan:

I know that I probably will be the reason that Celestia dies, and that will ruin what is left of me. Prophet has succeeded in thoroughly mind-fucking me. I will not be the reason that this world falls. When the time comes, I will have to do something, even if that something means I will die. Martyrdom is truly a sorry excuse to gain fame and a bad means to an end, but when in a position like this, there is no other choice.

While resisting myself and Prophet’s attacks on what’s left of my sanity I looked up to Dan, “Dan. Please, go.”

Dan:

I could do nothing but stand blankly as the small sliver of what was left of Aidan faded away. “Big mistake, fuck stick!” Aidan said as he punted me across the forest into a tree.

“God damn!” I yelled as I slammed into the jagged bark on the tree.

Aidan flew up to me and proceeded to punch me in the face as I slid down the tree into a sitting position. He grunted one last time and kicked me across the face. “Damn it Dan! I didn’t want to do this! I didn’t want to kill you!” He stopped at those words.

Again he grunted over and his eyes turned blue one last time. In that opportunity I kicked Aidan with so much force he flew across the forest and crashed into the trees in the distance. I was fading out of consciousness when Discord flew to me and teleported us away, back to Canterlot.

Colin:

I was running through the streets, they kept flashing between downtown and Park Hill. I kept chasing them, but every time I caught up, they were yanked away again. I couldn’t see their face, but I knew it was someone important to me. Someone who I was destined to be with. We couldn’t say much to each other, but I understood that something was holding them, keeping them from being free, from being themself.

I ran faster, trying to scream out at the thing that was dragging my friend away, but I could make no noise.

I just kept hearing screams of “COLIN! COLIN! COLIN!”

I tried to make one final push to catch up, but something caught me, it started to pull my backwards.

I made a final attempt to yell, using all my strength, I screamed “NOOOOO!”

I was awoken by a guard that was running into the library. “COLIN!” He shouted.

Springing up from the pile of books I was sleeping on I fell off my chair out of surprise. “What?” I asked a little annoyed at the yelling.

“Dan and Discord are back, you need to come quick!” He said before walking out of the library at a brisk pace. The reality of the news sunk in and I sprung up and followed the guard out of the library.

“DO THEY HAVE HIM?” I yelled at the guard as I ran to catch up with him.

“No, and if what Discord says is true, then we have much more to fear than we expected,” The old grizzled guard said in a gruff tone. He was one of the senior members of the guard and was one of the best. At his age anypony else would have retired, but he is the stubborn type and refused to give up.

“Then what happened? Why are they back?” I asked jogging to keep up with the guard.

“You need to talk to Dan when he wakes up, until then we have to make sure the kingdom is safe,” the guard said, with the tone of someone who a million things running through his head at the same time. God, I know that feeling. The captain, who wasn’t actually a captain but instead general of the royal guard, was away to the Zebra nation for diplomatic purposes so all the responsibility fell upon this old guard.

As we trotted and jogged down the hall he muttered orders off to guards we passed. All the orders went along the lines of some code I am unaware of. I assume it is similar to a police code, or a set of contingencies. One guard ran up to us, “General Iron-Hoof, the fourth battalion is in position!” He said trotting to keep up with us.

“Good, send word to the fifth and sixth and make sure that every post is doubled in defenses,” The gruff old colt said.

I thought that Iron-Hoof was an odd name, but then again so is Twilight Sparkle. I can’t argue with pony logic anymore, I just never win when it comes to these things.

“WHERE IS DAN!?!” I asked butting into the conversation.

The other guard saluted and galloped off to another part of the castle. “He is with Celestia. I am to escort you there,” Iron-Hoof said with a stern look on his face. He never looked to me, but instead always looked forward or to the guards he was giving orders to. Maybe he had some unpleasant history with Prophet that didn’t go unforgotten.

The rest of the trip went in silence other than the clicking of hooves and the much quieter patting of shoes on the stone floor. My heart and head were racing, but I didn’t ask any other questions. I don’t think he liked humans very much, and I’d decided to stay out of his way until further notice.

The two of us barged into Celestia’s throne room to Discord sitting on a table, Celestia on her throne, and Dan sprawled out on the floor. Discord looked to Iron-Hoof with a half-smile; he must also have a history with Iron-Hoof. This guard was certainly more prestigious than he showed. Celestia looked to me as I stepped into the hall. “Looks like you came just in time,” She said looking to Dan as he opened his eyes and looked about the room.

Journal Entry 02:

Today Mendax and I have made plans to go search for the relic in the abandoned castle in the Everfree. In my opinion the ponies over-react to the forest. In reality, it’s not so different from Earth. Reminds me of a forest I used to go to when I was young.

The relic is supposed to be under the castle, in the dungeons. It was placed there so that it would be kept safe from treasure hunters. With our powers, getting it will be child’s play.

-Five Hours Later-

The relic was a small black orb with a red fog floating about inside. It was beautiful, honestly. The way it pulsed with energy made me believe that taming my powers was not only possible but would be easy. What I have now, in comparison to what is in this orb, is nothing. I will research ways to tap into the energy inside this orb and will attempt to harness it.

It is in my best intentions that Celestia knows not what I do with this orb until I finish my research. If she were to interfere with my efforts then I might never tame these powers, burden that they are. I hate to lie to her, but ever since I laid my hands on that orb I can’t help but want to get inside and tap into the powers that pulse through it.