> The Fearless Warrior
>  by Nevarius
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chaotic Arrive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I could feel the rain hit my helmet and soaking my cape. The sky was dark as the clouds covered the moon and the stars. Our captain was screaming for us to keep up with the oars as we fought with the rage of the ocean. My bones were chilling and I could feel my shoulders in pain as I put all my strength in each movement. Our only sources of light were the thunders. Our ears were filled with the roar of the wind. The small northern boat was thrown in the huge waves. So much for my first travel to that British island, full of treasures and adventures.
I never saw it coming, neither my companions. A huge wave made our boat turn upside down. I felt the ice cold water embracing my body and I cursed that I was wearing my armor. My round shield was in my back and it only added more weight to pull me down. I knew it, I was going to die. A shameful death, dragged by the ocean. I would never see the Valkyries come to take me to Valhalla and I would never be able to fight in Odin's army when the Ragnarok arrived. My lungs started to hurt and burn, I need air. The pressure of the water started to crush the inside of my ears. It was the end, I knew it. My body relaxed and my conscience slipped away into the darkness of what I thought was death.

I don't know how much time has passed, but I started to feel my senses coming back. First I could feel that I was in firm ground. Sand. Then I could hear the noises of the waves crashing in the shore and washing my legs. I forced myself to open my eyes and I felt the sun burning them a little. I close them shut and forced myself to stand up. My clothes were soaked, and my armor, shield, my sword and my axe, it all made the effort even harder. Under my eyelids I felt the light changing again, so I opened my eyes and I could see it was... night?
First I thought that I had lost my mind, but on second thought, I should have passed out again. But in the next second I saw the sun rising again, and I concluded that I indeed had lost my mind. As o looked around me I saw a dense forest right in front of me, and beyond that I saw... pink clouds?
“What in Odin's name is happening here!?” I said out loud in awe.
I took off my helmet to see better. My hair was at my shoulders, and had a dirty blond color. My eyes were light brown. It was indeed pink clouds floating around. I was in deep confusion to understand what had happen. I start to gather my toughs as the moon raised again.
First I was sailing to a British island; it would be my first battle. Then a storm caught my boat. I felt in the ocean and then... I woke up in a place where night and day lasted only a few minutes and pink clouds floated around. Yes, I was probably dead and ended up in one crazy afterlife world. But dead or not, I still felt thirsty, hunger and cold.
I reached for my water bottle, attached to my belt, and drank one time, I did not know when I was going to find drinkable water so I was going to save it for latter. Took off my clothes and armor, laid them on a rock, near the forest so it could dry. Without them I did not felt as cold as I was before, even if I had not a piece of hair in my well trained body, well, except for one part but that does not matter. In one of the small bags of my belt I reached for a simple fire kit. Made a bonfire with some dry branches of the border of the forest and said near it to dry my skin. In the whole process the sun and the moon raised at least five times. It was annoying to my vision to adapt so fast in those changes of light.
But then I heard a huge blast from beyond the forest as a huge half sphere of multicolored light started to rise and rise, coming fast in my direction. My eyes widened and I reached for my shield, crouching behind it and embracing for impact. The impact never came. The light only passed through me and when I looked around I saw that there was no more pink clouds around, only white. My clothes were dry and clean. I didn't know what exactly happen, but I was grateful that I could wear my clothes again.
I dressed my line clothes, my leather boots, and then started to get inside my armor. It was made with hard leather with plates of metal attached to it. The shoulders were protected with stripes of hard leather and small plates of metal. Chain mail covered my armpits to protect that area from cuts. Braces made of leather and metal and thick leather gloves with metal knuckles. My helmet covered the top of my head and the back of my neck was protected with chain-mail attached to my helmet. A piece of metal covered the front of my nose and two pieces covered my eyes leaving narrow spaces so I could see trough it. My mouth was totally exposed. A piece of hard leather covered the front of my neck to protect it. Under my knee I warped a piece of armor made in the same way of my bracers, hard leather with metal.
My belt had several small bags with essential herbs, my fire kit, salt and a sharpening stone. 3M of rope warped in loops, attached to the back of my belt. In my back I had my round shield, on my right side my sheathed straight Viking sword and on my left side my trustful axe. I breathed deep, feeling the weight of my full equipment and started to go inside the forest, going straight in the direction of the explosion. I knew that I was a crazy thing to do, but if I had any hopes of understand what was happening I needed to go to the source of all this mess.

> Ops!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Three days had passed since Discord was defeated. The world of Equestria was enjoying the end of chaos. Of course, not everypony was happy with that. Pink Pie missed the candy cotton clouds and the rains of chocolate milk, but despite that everypony was enjoying the normal and ordinary life they had, especially Fluttershy. She was the shyest pony around Equestria, with a kind heart and the memories of her mean self haunted her.  She often caught herself thinking about how mean she was with her friends and, even if it was not her fault, she still blamed herself.
Right now, the yellow pegasus was finishing her chores with the small critters that lived around her cottage. A soft smiled crossed her lips as she nuzzled the forehead of a squirrel that was eating a piece of nut that she gave him. A fresh breeze came and waved her pink mane, it was the perfect image of a peaceful world. But that peace broke when a loud roar startled her, birds started to fly away from the top of the trees in Everfree forest. She watched that with unease thoughts of what was that. Usually the wild animals that lived there did not roared in vain, something bad must have happen.
Without second thoughts she flew towards Ponyvile, where most of her friends lived. She wanted to talk with her most intelligent friend, Twilight Sparkle. As she approached the city she could see the tallest building in the center come into view first. Right after a few smallest buildings and the house that was carved in a tree. There was where her purple friend lived and was also the library of the city. She landed near the door and when she was going to knock the door suddenly opened and almost hit the yellow pegasus. From the inside a pink pony came shaking violently. It was Pink Pie having a strong attack of her 'pink sense'. Right after the pink pony was a purple one, Twilight.
“Oh! Hey Fluttershy, how are thing going at your cottage?” The purple unicorn asked smiling.
“Thank you for asking Twilight. Is good to see all my critters normal again” Fluttershy stared with a soft voice, more like a loud whisper. “What is happening with Pink Pie? Is that her Pink Sense?” The yellow pegasus asked, watching her pink friend shaking violently.
“Well, yes, she came to me talking about imminent danger, and something that we have never seen before. But after we saw what Discord made with us and with Ponyvile I think is hard to be something we never saw before.” The purple unicorn answered.
That made the yellow pegasus thinks. “Well, maybe it has something to do with what I heard today coming from Everfree forest.” Fluttershy said and made Twilight look at her with a confusion expression. “I heard a really loud roar coming from the forest today” Fluttershy explained. “But that is not normal. I never heard anything like that before. It was like the animal was... asking for help.” The yellow pegasus said widening her eyes. “Twilight! We have to go there; something terrible must be happening with the animals of Everfree forest!” The usually shy and calm pegasus had grabbed her purple friend on the shoulders and were shaking her.
“C-Calm down Fluttershy!” Twilight said with her head spinning from the shakes. “We don't even know what creature is! What if is dangerous?”
Fluttershy let her friend go. “It doesn't matter! If it needs our help then we got to help it!” The yellow pegasus's voice was urgent.
Twilight knew that it would be more than just dangerous for her yellow friend to go alone, and that would happened if she did not agreed to go with her. “Ok, ok. But first lets grab all the others first.” Twilight said starting to walk. “Come ‘on Pink Pie, We got to discover what is making your pink sense to go crazy!” The purple unicorn stated.
“Oky Doky Loky!” The pink pony said with her voice shaking and tried to follow her other two friends.

Soon all the six were at Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight Sparkle, Pink Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy herself. They stared at the forest in silence for a couple of minutes.
“Well? Shall we go?” Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus with rainbow mane and tail, asked in an impatience voice. She was flying in place, near her friends.
“Y-yes... Let's go... somepony is in there and needs our help” Fluttershy said walking towards the forest, surprising her friends with that display of courage.
“Who are you and watcha did with mah friend Fluttershy?” Applejack, an orange pony with blond tail and mane asked in her usual accent, but not louder than a whisper. The six of them were near the forest when they heard some footsteps. It where approaching slowly. The six of them gathered together, pressing into each other. Pink Pie started to shake again.
“Ohmygosh!” started to say. “t-that's it! THAT is the thing that my pink sense was warning me!” Her voice shaking from her spasms.
The creature approached the six ponies as it step into the light and were full visible, the six equines could see it and their jaw dropped into the ground. Right in front of them was a biped creature. All covered in blood, hurt and had the same stare of a dragon ready to attack.

> Out of control
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

|I went deep in the forest. Day and night were normal again, not switching every five minutes. That was a good thing, since I now could count the time I was wandering there and could have a nice night of sleep. The bad part was that I oversleep and woke up with a huge monster trying to devour me. It had bat wings, a lion head and body, a scorpion's tail and a pair of horns. I was running at my top speed, my chest going up and down fast as I breathe. The weight of my equipment making myself tired before I would normally be. The monster was going to catch me sooner or later.
“Enough! I'll not run anymore! If I die, I'll die fighting!” I said out lout turning to face the Manticore. I withdrew my sword and my axe and charged towards the monster. I was a Viking, a warrior and would not get caught running like that.
I jumped on the ground, rolling to escape a sweep of it claws. It missed my head for a few inches. I stood my ground as fast as I could, right in time to see the monster charging into me again. I turned my back to it, showing my shield attached to my back. The claws hit the edge of my shield and I spun in place, deflecting the hit and delivering a whirlwind attack. Two cuts on the side of the manticore's body. Luckily I had recently sharpened both my weapons.
The blood started to pour from the monster's body and it looked furious. The manticore charged at me again and I turned to show my shield to it, but the damn beast was smart and did not fall for it again. The monster stopped before passing through me and sweeps his claws at my side, sending me flying to a tree. I hit it hard. My side hurt like hell, I must have some broken ribs. The monster did not flinch; it came straight to me and gave me another sweep with its claws. I felt the sharp claws bending the metal plates attached to my hard leather armor. The air left my lungs with violence and I flew again.
I hit the ground. My vision started to blur. That was it, I was dead. My chest was burning with pain and I felt a chill down my spine. Fear took control of my heart as the manticore started to come slowly, to deliver the final blow. Suddenly I did not feel any pain. On the contrary, I felt my body filled with a gush of energy and my chest started to burn with pure rage and will to live. I stood up fast. My equipment did not weight anymore. The entire world was moving in slow motion and I could see every movement of the manticore that charged at me when saw me standing. I charged at it too, howling like a wild beast, running as fast as I could. The next images were a mess of claws, slashes, hits, cuts, blood and screams. The monster tore my armor and cut deep into my flesh, but I felt nothing. I keep striking it as hard and fast as I could.
Soon I was covered in blood, mine blood and the monster's blood. It started to try and run away but now I was chasing it. I was not letting it escape. My arm raised my axe high. I took aim and threw. The weapon spun into the air and landed head first on the maticore's back, burring itself on it. The manticore roared in pain and fell. I approached and finally delivered the last hit, ending it life. But I needed more. More blood, more fight, more kill. I started to wander in a random direction and the time did not existed for me. I heard something coming towards me and started to walk on that direction.
My head were filled with rage again when I saw that unnatural sight. Six horses with big eyes. Their bodies and manes were vivid with happy colors; I needed to taint them red. A wild growl came out of my throat and I raised both my weapons. They were not going to escape!
My legs started to move, leading my body into a wild charge. From the group, the cyan pegasus charged against me, flapping her small wings frenetically as she screamed against my roar. “NO YOU ARE NOT!” She screamed at me hitting her forehoofs in my chest, sending me flying to the ground. She smirked victorious, but I stood up as if nothing had happened. She frown her eyebrows and charged at me again. But this time she missed as I stepped aside and hit her back and wings with the back of my axe, sending the cyan pegasus to the ground. She cried in pain and her eyes started to pour tears. My sword rose above my head and I swung it down to finish her.
The other five ponies that were watching screamed for her wounded friend about to be killed. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, embracing for the strike. But the final strike never came. A light glow warped my whole body and I could not move at all, no matter how much as struggled. It was hard to breath. That rage cloud started to lift from my mind and with that, an unbearable pain came to me.
I felt all the strength leaving my body and I fell into my knees when the glow disappeared. My ribs were all broken. I had deep cuts in my legs, arms and chest. My mouth tasted like blood. I looked in the direction of the five ponies and saw a sixth. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. A tall horse, with pure white fur. Her mane and tail were from light colors and moved in an ethereal way. She had a sharp horn coming from her forehead and a pair of gracious wings from her back. The same eyes full of intelligence and wisdom, piercing my own eyes in anger. I looked back at the ground, watching that cyan pegasus squirm in pain, crying in fear.
My chest ached in pain, not only the physical but something more deep. I felt the air leaving my lungs and fell on the ground. Cold and darkness embracing my mind and I did not fight it. I thank for the peaceful of what o though, was death. But I had yet to learn that one does not simply die after the crime of hurting an innocent pony, especially one special as the cyan pegasus.   

> The Mare Queen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing that I felt was the pain. Pain in my head, in my limbs in my chest, in my back. Every inch of my body hurt. But as my old grandfather once told me: 'pain is good, it means you are alive'. But I was not sure if I was still alive. The second thing that came to me was my memories of the days past and the crazy events, also the realization that maybe I was in deep trouble.
My senses started to come back, I could hear water dripping and the sound echoing in whatever place I was. I could feel dry hay under me to serve as bed. When I opened my eyes I could see that I was in a dark room made of stone. A heavy wooden door was the only exit. Next to me there was a wall and at the top f the wall was a small window with bars. I was probably in some kind of cell in a dungeon.
Slowly I forced myself to move, feeling the bandages covering most part of my body. It hurt like hell, but I wanted to go to the source of the dripping water. My mouth was completely dry. The water was dripping from the ceiling and I put my head under the drops. One every twenty seconds or so, but each of them were more sweet than any other thing I have ever drank in my old homeland. After waiting patiently for my mouth to be filled of water, I swallowed it all with tremendous pleasure to make my throat fresh again.
The heavy door opened suddenly and startled me. Two white pegasi with golden armor entered and came towards me. One of them grabbed my sore limbs and pulled my body over the other pegasus. That made me groan in agony and more pain came to torment me as they started to walk me out of the cell. The cold and hard armor pressing in my chest wounds making my head spin. They took me along a dark corridor with torches. In the end of the corridor they entered another room, a big one, and shoved me in there. I howled in pain as my wounds hit the hard stone floor. My eyes started to shed some tears and I felt ashamed for not be able to hold back them.
“C-can't you see that I'm HURT!?” I cried at the guards in anger.
“They do, but one does not take kindly what you almost did back in Everfree forest.” It was a soft female voice. It touched my ears with the gentleness of the softest feather. My jaw dropped when I could see the owner of that celestial voice. It was the same white mare, with a horn coming from her forehead and beautiful wings from her back.
“What the... in Odin's name, you are a talking horse!” I shouted and tried to sit down but my wounds hurt again and I groaned, staying in my place.
“Why the ruler of this land should not be able to talk?” she answered at my statement.
“Because... ahm... cuz... wait a second, you? The ruler of this land? A horse that is a queen!?” I spoke with shock. She just sighted and looked at me with those piercing eyes.
“Yes, and I can see that you must be an inhabitant of the lands far beyond Everfree forest, and beyond any distant place that I can imagine, since all creatures know who I'm” She spoke calmly “I can also see that you don't look like the monster that almost took the life of a dear little pony of mine. What is your name?” She asked sitting on her hind legs in a more relaxed position.
“My... My name is Eravel, son of Dunothar.” I said trying to look respectful in front of the leader of this land, horse or not, she was still the ruler and I liked my head attached to my shoulders.
“I'm Celestia, the Sun goddess, ruler of all Equestria” She said in a more firm tone. “And I want to understand, Eravel, why you behaved in that way, attacking my subjects without reason.” Her horn glow and then a soft light warped my body, levitating me. It was good to not touch anything, it eased the pain. “When I arrived there, I saw in you a murderous aura, a creature ready to slay anypony in your way without flinch. But as I stopped your actions you suddenly changed in some kind of creature with similar aura as my subjects. I want to understand what happen” She kept me in the air while speaking, and now, was waiting for an answer that I didn't have.
I thought for a second before starting to speak. Without any satisfactory answer for the question i started to tell her my tale. Of how I was raised in a village of warriors. How I ended up falling from my boat during a storm and what happen after I woke up in the shore. About the weird pink clouds, the explosion and also the monster.
“It was then that I.. I changed. I don't know what happened, but no matter how hard I was hit, I did not feel a thing and... And I just wanted to fight more and more.” I said sighting. The whole time Celestia just stood there watching me as I told my tale to her. “I know it will be no enough, but I'm truly sorry for what I have done.” And of course I was. I had no intention of attacking someone if I had nothing to gain in exchange. It had no honor, no glory and no gold waiting for me if I had killed those fillies. 
Celestia looked deep into my eyes, it send me shivers. Her eyes could pierce into my soul, she sure was the most terrify being I had ever encountered. But then, she said that she WAS the Goddess of the sun. How can a God not be terrifying? I wondered if she knew Odin and the other gods, maybe if she knew them, this mare could send me to Valhalla.
“I believe in you.” She said pulling my attention back to her. “But, you will need to prove that you are worth to be forgiven. Not for me only, but for that young filly that you hurt, and her friends too. And another thing” She frowned her eyebrows. “I must warn you. If I ever see you threatening my subjects again, believe me that I'll send you straight to the moon! Am I clear?” I nodded my head, breaking a sweat. I knew that she could do far worse than that and I was not going to test her. “Good. I'll move you to another room so you can get healed.” She said in a more calm tone.
Two unicorns entered the room and warped their magic on my body carrying me away. I sighted in relief. I could not know where I was, but I knew that I should play along to avoid getting killed or worst. Both ponies carried me along more tunnels and stairs, going up until we reached a large corridor with various rooms. They took me inside one of the rooms and laid me in one bed. I was surprised how soft it was. I never ever have laid in anything as comfortable as that. My head rested in a pillow and I looked around. It has another door in there, a small table on the side of my bed, a window with curtains and a sofa. Soon I was embraced by darkness again, stepping in the dreams realm to get some rest.

> Steel Head
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think he's dangerous?" A female voice said in a worried tone.
"Don't worry, even if he is I'm here to protect you." A male voice answered.

"But… I heard that when he first came in he was almost dead. Nopony knew why he was still able to breathe!" Female again
"You worry too much my dear... I'm the best soldier around, and I doubt anypony can represent a threat for me" The male voice said confident.

"Ohh... you are so brave" The female voice said in a mellow tone. "mhhm and you look strong too" The female voice giggle.
"I can show you some of my strength in a more... interesting way..." He said in a seductive tone that made the female giggle. The next sounds I heard made clear that they had started to make out. The soft moans that escaped their lips in the unmistakable sound of kissing. I sighted. I did not want to hear or see where that would lead to.
"AHEM!" I cleared my throat and opened my light brown eyes toward them "I don't want to interrupt anything but, why you two don't go to another place to do that?"

Right next to my bed was a royal guard, wearing his golden armor and a female unicorn that I had never seen before around. Probably a new nurse. The male royal guard just stabbed me with his eyes, and the female, a light pink unicorn with a blue mane and tail, blushed heavily, starting to trot away from me and the guard.

"Thank you very much!" He snorted at me. "I was this close to take her and you HAD to blew it didn't you!" He said in an angry tone that made me laugh a little.

"Sorry pal, but I did not want to repeat the last time experience. I still have some nightmares of you and that other unicorn nurse. By Odin's name! Waking up to see you mating her was NOT a pretty sight right in the morning!" I said with a soft grin.

My wounds were not totally healed but I was able to walk on my own and eat without any problems. Well, almost without any problems. It took some time for them to understand that hay and flowers were not a good thing for me to eat. Almost a month had passed already. I had several scars all over my body from the already closed wounds. My body was torn apart by that manticore and only the Gods knew why I did not died. From one of the 'doctors' I heard that I had a cut so deep in my belly that my guts could have fallen any second. All my ribs were all broken. I had a pierced lunge and my limbs had cuts so deep that he said it was another miracle that no vital artery or tendon was cut. Or whatever that means. They look like to know a lot about the body structure, much more than any other healer in my village.

The royal guard beside me was there to watch me and his name was Steel Head. He was a white stallion with a light blue mane and tail. His cute mark was a helmet and he had the typical knight behavior when on duty. At first he was always with an angry face, but after days of me trying to talk to him he finally started to answer without cursing my name or threatening me. Actually he was a really nice guy... or pony. And despite he was a royal guard he admitted to me one day that he was never in the front lines or anything. Apparently this world had never faced a war and the guards were there only to deal with trouble makers. Any other serious threat was taken care by the royal sisters, or the 'Elements of Harmony'. Also I discovered that he was good when the topic was females. As we got close to each other, he started to relax more and more. To the point that he didn't care to use me, the big bad monster, to show off how brave he was. He was sharing the room with me, so he could watch me day and night, what means he had no other place to go when he wanted to be with a female. Usually he just went in that weird bathroom.

From where I was, the 'bathroom' was a deep pit that we usually covered with sawdust. But here, they had this weird ceramic pit that washed itself with water once you pressed a button. Also they had some magic metal objects that could produce cold or hot water to wash my body. The first time I saw that working was when I caught Steel Head under hot water, mating with a nurse. I can't explain with words how weird that sight was. The stallion slept next to me, in a small improvised bed made out of blankets and pillows and, despite all the bad points he had as mare hunter, he was a nice guy to talk and had turned to be a good friend of mine.

"Well, is not my fault that you don't like to see some good action" He said grinning back at me. I just rolled my eyes, sitting on the bed to see him better.

"Good action? You were pounding her so hard that I could swear that you wanted to throw her in the wall!" I arched an eyebrow.

"What can I say? She likes it rough hehe" He chuckled.

"And may I ask you WHO likes 'it' rough?" A well know voice asked. Celestia had just entered the room to hear the last phrase of her royal guard who broke a sweat. He tensed his body as he saw the white alicorn approaching and made a sign of respect. I could not contain my laugh at the situation. "Relax. You may leave for now, I need to speak with Eravel alone." She giggled softly watching the nervous white royal guard blushing. Steel Head bowed softly and leaved.

"Your majesty..." I bowed my head in respect. She just smiled at me.

"How are your wounds healing?" She asked approached a little more.

"Good, I can already walk on my own and the bandages need to be changed only once a day. Thank you for your concern." I said smiling back at her. She had show me only kindness since our first conversation at the dungeons and I was grateful for that.

"It's good to hear that. Soon I'll be sending you to the village near here and you will need your full strength to face what lies ahead of you." She said in a more serious tone. I knew what she meant with that. This village was where those six ponies that I almost killed lived and I needed to face them.

"Is that rainbow mane pegasus alright?" I asked with concern.

"Yes, it took her two weeks to recover completely from the incident, but now she's alright." The princess said and I breathed in relief.

"I'm a bit nervous to face them. My father was a warrior, and had taught me the ways of the battlefield and war. But he also taught me about the honor to fight a worthy opponent and I feel ashamed to have raise my sword towards her. I had nothing to gain from attacking her and still I did it. I hope she can forgive me." I said looking down at my hands.
"I think she will forgive you. Maybe not straight away, but one day." Celestia said smiling at me and I could not hold back my smile too. "Now rest. I'll ask for team of unicorn doctors to cast a healing spell on your wounds so they can finish closing. The day after tomorrow you will head to Ponyvile to start your new life." I just nodded in response and relaxed in my bed.

> Cured? Maybe not
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cyan pegasus was almost dying from boredom in the hospital bed. It was a real challenge for the doctors and the nurses to keep the filly in the bed to rest. She only had quiet down when the doctor threatened her to not give her any more painkillers if she did not behave and that made Rainbow Dash to give up her attempts to escape the hospital, after all, a broken rib and a damaged wing did hurt a lot after the painkillers lost the effect. After two weeks of nothing to do but to look at the ceiling and have long talks to her friends the cyan pegasus was finally good enough to leave the hospital. But the doctor had warned her to not fly too fast or try any kind of stunt for at least one week, to avoid further problems.

Rainbow Dash was walking out the hospital next to her friend Apple Jack, waving goodbye to the nurse behind them.

"GOSH! That took forever to get better. If I put my hoofs on that weird creature that did that to me…" RD started in an angry voice while walking next to her friend, going down one of Ponyvile streets.

"Hold yer horses sugar cube." The orange earth pony said. "You must know better than anypony how tha'creature is dangerous! If princess Celestia didn't have come in to save yer tail, tha'thing would have killed you!"

Rainbow Dash lowered her ears and her head a little.

"I… I know that. But he was going to attack us, all of us! I HAD to do something" She was a little frustrated that in the end she could not do a thing and, instead of protecting her friends, she had to be protected.

"Hush now sugar cube. That thing came from Everfree forest, is not like you could do something about that." The orange pony said striking her friend's shoulders in a gentle way. "Ah still have some apple cider at home, why don't we go there to drink some and forget all this mess?" The cyan pony just nodded and started to walk beside her friend toward sweet apple acres. It was hard to accept but she was beaten.

Meanwhile, Twilight was at Fluttershy's cottage. The yellow pegasus was more than just scared right after the incident. What made it all worse was that at the next day she found the mutilated corpse of the manticore lying in the forest. It was not a pretty sight and Fluttershy had some problemswith nightmares after that. But it was all on the first week after the attack. Now the yellow Pegasus was better. It was just the chock after having witnessed so much violence, something that never happens in Equestria.

On that afternoon Rarity and Pink Pie were there too. They wanted to go to the hospital do see Rainbow Dash but Applejack knew how her friend was a proud pony and the presence of her friends there would only hurt the already damaged pride of the cyan pegasus, since she failed to defend them.

The cottage was like a part of the landscape. There was grass and other plants growing in the walls and at the roof, almost as if the nature were trying to claim the house. Inside the cottage, there were small shelters for other critters to live. In the center of the room were a big couch and a center table with some teapots, cookies and cupcakes. The four ponies where sitting around the table with a little concern on their looks, except for Pink Pie.

"Twilight, dear, have you received any words from the Princess yet?" Rarity asked with a concern voice. Twilight simply shake her head in a negative motion.

"Not yet. Last thing she wrote me was for me not to worry, that she had handle it all but... I don't know, I'm a little worried. I mean, what happen to that creature?"
"Oh I bet Princess Celestia just taught him a lesson! Nopony has the right to do what he did to a friend of ours without getting punished!" Pink Pie said in a happy tone, grabbing a cupcake to eat. Twilight and rarity looked at her smiling pink friend. That was a weird thing for her to say, especially in that… joyful tone.

"I... I hope nothing bad happen to him..." Fluttershy said taking her friends in surprise. All the looks were turned towards her. "I mean, you all saw him right? He was hurt so bad..."

"And what that has to do with the fact that he almost killed OUR Rainbow Dash?" Rarity said with indignation in her voice, but Fluttershy just answer in her usual low tone.

"Well... we could have run from him... I know, Dash just wanted to protect us, but it was not nice of her to just... charge on him like she did..." Fluttershy was almost hiding into her pink mane as the words left her mouth and before Rarity could protest Pink Pie stepped in.

"Yeah, but it was not nice that he tried to kill us in first place. How would I be able to make parties if I was dead? Huh?" Twilight and Rarity just looked at her pink friend and sighted, not wanting to keep up the topic.

They had already discussed it many times. Twilight was uncertain about what to think. Rarity didn't look like she liked the creature and so was Pink Pie. The pink pony was one of the most dependable ponies around. She was nothing without her friends and the very tough of losing one of them drove her mad. Both, the earth pink pony and the white unicorn held a deep dislike of the creature. The only thing preventing that they hate him was the good nature of them, since they were the elements of harmony.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was used to deal with wild creatures and she knew that, sometimes, they could be very violent and act without thinking at all, to defend themselves.

"Well, I know that the Princess won't let him harm anypony else." Twilight said and took a sip of her tea. The ambient fell in an awkward silence. None of the ponies there knew exactly what to say next. All they could hope was the right judgment of their ruler.

The days passed. Almost two weeks since Rainbow Dash left the hospital. The incident was almost completely forgotten now as the mane six returned to their usual activities. The happiest of them all was Dash. She was finally back to her training and stunts after what seemed to be like forever. The good mood of the athletic pony touched the heart of the other five. Life was good again and the incident was left in the past to be forgotten.

After hours of training some old tricks and trying some new ones she was exhausted. The cyan filly laid in a near cloud to rest, her chest going up and down in a fast pace, a smile crossing her face. This was life for her. She was just enjoying the peace of the sky, the warmth of the sun on her chest when a big carriage passed fast over her head. She could see two royal guards pulling it and assumed it was Princess Celestia. She flew fast after the carriage to greet the royal alicorn but as she approached the carriage from the side her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. There was no royal alicorn on the carriage. Instead she could see the same creature that had attacked her. The difference was that now the creature was not covered in blood but it still had those weird clothes and the metal piece on the head, covering his face.

She stopped the flight, almost falling, totally in chock.. A chill went down in her spine. The memories of that day a month ago came vivid to her mind. The dark forest, the creature coming out of it covered in blood. The eyes of a beast ready to attack. The fear she felt, the same fear that gave her strength to charge at him. But then she got hit. The pain was excruciating. She could remember it all, and the deep despair as she, from the ground, saw he rise that long piece of metal to deliver the final blow. Her body was shaking lightly and she landed in a near cloud, hugging herself.

The monster was going towards the Ponyvile! Not only that, but he was riding a royal carriage! She had to warn her friends as fast as she could. Gritting her teeth, rainbow Dash took off to fly as fast as she could towards the small city. Her target was soon at sight, the library, where Twilight Sparkle lived. The library was actually a tree, a huge hollow tree. It was still alive, but it has several windows around and a big balcony.

The purple unicorn was humming a song while placing one book on the shelf. She never saw it coming until it was too late. A cyan blur broke through the window, sending glass all over the place. Rainbow Dash grabbed her friend by the shoulder, pinning her down shouting at her.
"HE'S HERE! THAT MONSTER IS BACK!"
> Second Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up in the next day after a whole day of intense healing magic over me, feeling my body much better. The healing team really was amazing. Near my bed I could see Steel Head, the royal guard that were taking care of me. He was sleeping so peacefully that I could not hold myself back. He was without his armor and lay in his improvised bed made out of blankets. He liked to sleep there since there was no captain to wake him up screaming if he was late.

Silently I step out of my bed, approaching the stallion in the improvised bed. I crouched near him and got my face near his ear, starting to whisper in a soft voice.

"he~ey... time to wake up sleepy head." I bit my lower lip to hold back my laugh. He mumbled something and smiled. Using my fingers I nibbled the tip of his ear. He chuckled and opened his eyes to end up face to face with me. His expression froze for two whole seconds and then he let out a scream and jumped. His fur standing up as he panted heavily.

"WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING!" He shouted towards me but I simply laughed standing up

"You had to see your face now!" I said while laughing hard at him My ribs hurt a little from the spasms, but that was not enough to stop me.
"Ohh you damn little..." He gritted his teeth at me and stomped at the ground, showing that he was ready to charge me.
"CAN YOU TWO STOP THIS!" A female nurse shouted, entering my room with an angry face.
Me and Steel Head looked at the angry nurse and we pointed towards each other. She shake her head in disapproval.

"I don't care who started! But behave! In Celestia's name, you guys are not foals anymore!" She stomped out of my room snorting in anger. The nurses and the doctors around were already used to me, except maybe, that pink one. She was definitely new around here.

I sighed in relief as I saw the nurse going away and then I sat on my bed. Steel Head did the same, only sitting on his own bed. We looked at each other and laugh softly at the situation. Never in my life I tough that I could have so much fun. It was all a little surreal for me.

"I can see that the healing team made a really good job on you Eravel." A known voice said from the room's door. Both me and the royal guard stop the laugh, looking at the door and then we bowed at the presence of the white royal alicorn. Celestia seems to like these stealthy entries.
"At easy boys" She smiled. "Is good to see that you have recovered completely now. I assume that you are ready to travel to your new home?" She asked in that voice that could calm down the most hysterical of the hearths.

"Maybe." I said a little nervous.
"Don't worry young one, soon you will know that my loyal subjects have a kind heart, kind enough to forgive you." She said stepping forward. "Also, Steel Head here is going to go with you."
"'What?'" Both, I and he asked in unison.

"Your majesty, I know is not my place to contest your orders but, are you sure about this? Letting a royal guard out of the castle? What about my duties around here?" He said in concern.
"Don't worry my loyal warrior. I have more than enough guards around to protect the castle but I think Ponyvile lacks of good and brave stallions like you." She said smiling at him.

His wings shoot up and he got a straight posture at the complement.

"You can count me on, your majesty!" He said in a firm tone, grinning with pride. I just bit my lower lip to not chuckle at his attitude. Celestia giggled at him, making the white stallion blush a little. She had that talent to make everyone around her act like a child, eager to get their parent's approval.

"Well, not that all is set, I'll provide the transport for both of you. Get ready to go by the late afternoon" The princess said walking out of the room.
"Ahm, princess?" I called and she turned to me. "Sorry to ask but, what about my things?"
"They are well stored, why?" She asked turning her full body towards me to speak.
"I was wondering if I could have them back. They are a memento of my father, and have a sentimental value to me." I said bowing a little. I knew that the chances were little, after all, I was talking about my combat equipment. The only really memento of my father was the sword, but I wanted my whole armor and my axe too, I didn't felt safe at all without them. She stood in silence, thinking for a while before answer.
"I'll give them back... BUT! You must promise me that you will not repeat the same actions you did a month ago." She was looking at me with those piercing eyes. Even Steel Head shivered a little. I don't think he ever saw that side of her princess.

"Y-yes your majesty. I... I humble thank you for that." I slowly kneel in front of her. I was really grateful to have my equipment with me. After all, a warrior without his sword was useless. She bowed lightly acknowledging my thanks. I lifted my head to look at her and she just smiled at me, turned around and then leaved the room. I followed her with my eyes until she had disappeared.

"I think she likes you..." Steel said when the white alicorn left the room.
"Why? Because she gave me my armor back?" I asked him. He just chuckled and answered.
"No, she did not turn you in a pile of ash after you stared her rump from down there" He said punching me in the shoulder lightly. I just blushed heavily. I did NOT stare at her rump... I just glanced for some seconds…

The hours went by and soon a unicorn nurse brought me my stuff, levitating it with magic. I thanked her and started to prepare the rest of my cloths and my equipment. At first I had so many bandages around my body that I did not need clothes at all. But after I had gotten good enough to walk I asked at least my pants back. It seems that clothes were not something for everyday use here and, horses or not, I didn't felt comfortable all naked.

First I put my brown line shirt and then my leather boots. Steel just watched in silence as I got dressed. My armor was torn open in some parts and had two pieces of metal missing. Several others were bend. I sighed and started to put it on. I would need to fix it latter. My bracers and my leg armor were completely covered with scratches. The hard leather piece that protected my throat was completely destroyed and I did not bother putting it on. My leather gloves with metal knuckles were intact and I was impressed as I saw my helmet with only a few scratches.

I put on my belt after checking the small essential bags. Then I attached my sword in my left side and my axe in my right side. I only missed my shield but I could remember that he has been completely destroyed in my fight with the manticore. Aside from that I felt complete again with the weight of my weapons and armor. I felt safe again.
"Ok, you just look weird in all this stuff..." Steel Head said as he watched me in full armor. "I mean... is just... weird." he walked around me, analyzing.
"Well that's how I get ready for battle" I answered smiling. He just nodded.
"I guess this must be useful, since you came alive after fighting a manticore." He said simply. "And what about those?" He asked pointing at my weapons.
"These are my sword and my axe. They are weapons used for kil... for fight." I said correcting myself. I did not wanted to think about killing, not here and now at least.

"They sure look... dangerous..." He said analyzing the head of my axe closely. I just chuckled.
"Yes, they are... anyway, get ready, we need to leave" He went to his armor that was at the room's corner and got dressed fast. Way too fast and all by himself. He told me that one of the first things they learned in the royal academy was to get ready in the armor fast.

After a Steel Head guided me through the corridors we finally arrived at the exit of the palace. We were in full armor, his light blue mane covered by his helmet. My head and part of my face covered by my own helmet. The two guards on the carriage tensed up as they saw me approaching dressed that way but eased a little as Celestia approached me with a smile. I bowed lightly and so did my companion, Steel Head.

"You don't look very nice dressed that way Eravel." She said looking at my outfit.
"Sorry Princess... But I really need this to feel a little more comfortable." I answered with a respectful tone. She sighed.
"I think I can understand… But remember, there is no reason for you to protect yourself like this… not while you are at Ponyvile at least." She smiled at me "Have a good travel both of you, and Steel Head." He shoot his wings up and straightened his postures as the princess talked to him. "Take good care of him ok?" He answered her with a firm 'Yes your majesty' and then led the way to the carriage.
The carriage had 4 wheels and was completely open. The rear part had a piece well decorated to give the rider a feeling of safety. I held on that part firmly. Steel Head sit right beside me and then we took off.

The wind started to blow in my face, or what was exposed of it. At first I was terrify with the flight, but soon I started to enjoy the view. Steel Head looked like he was really excited to arrive at the village and I well knew why.
"You are such a pervert, you know that?" I chuckle and he grinned at me, catching my thoughts.
"Heh, you are jealous because you are a monster and can't get laid" He said smirking and I just laugh. New town, new ponies, new mares for him to start flirting. I just chuckled to think of how many times he would get his ass kicked by the mares there.

We passed by a farm of apple trees, and then we could see the mayor building, at the center of the city. I stared in awe. The city was so colorful and the buildings were so weird from what I had back in my own village. Everyone looked happy down there, taking care of their own lives, without a trace of worry in their faces. Passing through the city I soon could see the Everfree forest. Steel Head told me about that place and the dangerous that lurked in there. I also had a horrible experience involving that place.
The carriage landed at the side of what looked like an old tree. A huge old tree. There was not a single leaf at the top. The bulk had a grayish color. Despite its appearance I figure it out that was a house. It had three windows in the lower level and two on the upper level. One door that was just tall enough for me to enter without having to crouch. It had also, on the second floor, a balcony. The house looked like it was abandoned years ago, but Steel didn't seems to bother about that.

"Ahh! Home Sweet Home..." He said walking in. Our ride had just left.
"erm.. Home abandoned Home you mean right? Wow... this place is almost falling to the ground." I said walking inside.
A thick layer of dust covered the entire place. It had some shelves for books but they were all empty. Aside that, not a single piece of furniture around. Circular stairs lead to the second floor where I presume the bedrooms were. I walked across the living room to a door and discovered a small and simple kitchen and another door that leaded to the back of the tree house. Going upstairs I found two bedrooms and one bathroom. Both were almost at the same size except that one of them had access to the balcony.
"You can pick that room for you, I'll get the one at the back." Steel Head said going for the more simple room
"ahm, are you sure? I really don't mind..." I said
"Nah, you can have it. We are too close from the forest and I won't be able to sleep peacefully knowing that I have only a huge glass door near my bed to protect me hehe..." He chuckled and I just sighted, smiling at him.

I entered my room taking my helmet off to look around better. It was a rather big room with a locker and a shelf carved in the wall, but no bed. The first thing I did was open the glass door to the balcony to see it better. I had a nice view of part of the forest. This house was a fifteen maybe twenty minutes on foot from the city. It was good to have some privacy, especially if most of the people... or ponies around tough you were some kind of a monster.

After a while I just took off my armor and weapons, staying only with my line cloths, belt and my axe. I walked outside, and went for a near tree climbing it and chopping a long stick and some branches, making an improvised broom. If I was going to live in that house I needed to clean it all at least. Clean that big house was a hard job and Steel kept complaining about it. It took us the rest of the day to just clean the living room, so we could sleep there. The sun started to go behind the forest as the night approached. I was tired and my body ached from the hard work of cleaning.

"Damn and we only cleaned the living room!" Steel complained as we sat outside resting.
"Yeah. But if we are going to live here we will need to clean it all up." I sighted. "Tomorrow I need you to go to the city and get us some food supplies and also some cleaning supplies. We need buckets and pieces of cloth to properly clean"
"OR we can get a clean team to do this for us" He said grinning
"A what?" I asked in confusion.
"A clean team" he repeated. "Ponies who specialized themselves in clean houses and other places. I bet I can found one in the city!" He said smiling. It was a good idea except for...
"What about money? They don't do for free, do they?"
"I have some spare money that we can use for this and to get some furniture. When you live at the palace you don't have much expenses, so I have plenty of money saved." he said standing up and stretching his body. I chuckled and stood up again. He was too carefree to be a guard. I wondered if all others Royal Guards were like that.
"Ok, since you are the one paying for it..."
"I tell you what, why don't we go to the city now? I'm hungry, and I think you are too. And we don't have any kind of food here" he said.
"I... I don't know if I'm ready to get involved in the city..." I said reluctant.
"Oh don't be a sissy now! Let's go. I'll protect you if that's the problem" He teased.
I just laugh a little.
"Ok Ok... I'll get my armor and we can go." I said going inside and started to dress up. Maybe if I had a more aggressive look they would not come too near me? That made sense in my mind.

I left the house wearing my whole armor, including my helmet and my sword. I had no plans in using it against anyone, but I still did not felt safe without it. Steel Head was right next to me using only half of his armor. He had his head and mane free. The walk was short, fifteen minutes later and we arrived at the borders of the city and kept going further. My hand rested at the hilt of my straight sword. I could feel the stares around me and that made me unease.

"Calm down Erval... They are not going to hurt you... They are just curious..." Steel whispered to me.
"I know, but it is hard to relax when you are the center of the aten..." My speak was cut off when a cyan blur strike the side of my head hard. My ears rang and I was glad I was with my helmet, or that could have hurt more than I could take. I dropped on my knees and my hand reached for my sword instinctively.
"ERAVEL! NO!" Steel voice reached my ear and I did not unsheathe my sword. But in my hesitation I felt a second blow at my back, sending me forward and making me land with my chest at the hard stone pavement. The air left my lunges and I felt my head dizzy. I rolled on my back and tried to stand up, but the cyan blur landed on my chest again, making me gasp in pain. A hard hoof came and hit the side of my head. I felt the world spin when the strike hit my helmet and part of my face.
"Dash! Stop!" A Female voice called out. I looked to my side to see other five ponies coming closer and closer. I recognized them as the ones I tried to kill several weeks before. I knew I was done for, but I did not want to die like that. In a swift motion I unsheathed my sword, taking advantage that the cyan pegasus had hesitated. The sharp edge touched the cyan filly's neck. The other five and Steel Head gasped as I did that,
"d-don't move..." I said... my voice was trembling a little. I could feel that same emotion crawling in my chest. The unstoppable rage that took my mind in the forest, but I fought it, pushing it back. The other five stopped their advance and I pushed the cyan pegasus aside so I could stand up. I could see the suddenly fear and frustration in her eyes, all mixed in an angry expression.
I stood on my feet, Steel Head watching the scene in awe. I spit some blood on the ground. Damn, I hated that taste.

"Don't you guys get closer or I'll kill her!" I bluffed. I had no intention to harm them but I had also no intention to die there. I started to walk slowly backwards, in the direction of the city's exit. I slowly walked away from them, my hand holding my sword very tight.

"YEAH! Go away! And don't you dare come back near the town! You got it? NEVER!" The cyan pegasus shouted at top of her lungs. I took the chance to start running away from the scene. I had promised Celestia that I would never raise my sword against any subjects of her, and there I was, pointing the tip straight at the pegasus that I had almost killed once. I ran straight to my new home, praying to Odin that the Princess would have mercy on me, or at least give me a quick end.
> Moon Advice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Rainbow Dash!" An angry Twilight called out. "Why you did that! What in Celestia's name were you thinking!" Twilight said approaching her pegasus friend. Rainbow Dash just snorted and hit the floor with a hoof.

"I was doing what that good for nothing royal guard over there should have done already! Chasing the monster from our city!" She said pointing a hoof towards Steel Head. The angry royal guard walked towards her.
"Now look here miss..." he started but was cut off by her.
"No! You look here! That monster almost killed me and my friends! And I WON'T let that happen again! That... that THING should be in a dungeon rotting! If I see him again a mile away from Ponyvile I WILL beat him up again and then throw him in the Everfree forest from where it came from!" She shouted at the surprised guard and then took off, beating her wings to gain speed and leave the place.
The other five ponies looked at the scene in awe and so did Steel Head.
"Is she... always like this?" He asked to Pink Pie who approached him.
"Nopy! Only when she is face to face with the monster that almost killed her." The pink pony said smiling at the guard as if that was a normal thing.
"I'm sorry you saw that dear, our Rainbow Dash is not this violent. But I must agree with her in one point, why was that creature walking in ponyvile like that? He IS dangerous..." Rarity said to the guard who sighed and answered.

"Princess Celestia asked me to bring him here to live among us. He's not bad at heart, trust me, I know him. He's just scared at this whole situation." Steel said looking at the five ponies in front of him. Aside from them, a crowd of ponies were watching the whole episode. It would make things more difficult for him to adjust there.

"If the Princess let him stay around, I guess he's not that dangerous after all." Twilight said with her hoof on her chin, thinking.

"Are'ya kidding? You saw wha'that creature can do!" Apple Jack said looking at her purple friend and when twilight was going to say something Steel Head interrupted.
"I lived with him for a month, and believe me when I say, he regrets what he did. And those who can feel regret, surly have a good heart." The guard said and stretched his wings. "Just think about it, he could have killed that pegasus using the excuse that he was just defending himself. But he chooses to just run away." With that said the royal guard flew in the sky, heading for his home at the borders of Everfree forest. The five friends stood there, looking to each other not sure about what to say.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

I saw my house getting close. Running fast, I entered my house to grab my axe and then went outside, heading to Everfree forest again. Maybe there I could meet my end in a fight instead of being just executed. If I could just find another monster, so I could have what my people called a 'good death', to be able to enter Valhalla,

The sun had already gone by the time I reached the forest. The moon was high in the sky and that helped me to see the path. I did not went too far since it would be not nice to meet a monster with so little light. I wanted to die in a fight, not being taken by surprise in the dark. When I decided that I was far enough to not be followed I just sit near a tree and made a bonfire to warm me up during the night. I watched as the fire burned the branches and danced in place. It brought me memories of my father, his words, his training... and his love. He could be a warrior, one of the finest and most efficient in the art of killing, but he was also a wonderful father that was always there for me and my mother.

Lost in the memories of my past I did not see a shadow flying above my head. A dark figure landed in front of me, on the other side of the bonfire. Acting on instinct I pulled both my weapons getting ready to fight.

"If I was you, I would think twice in pointing those weapons towards the royalty." The shadow spoke. It came near and, in the fire's light, I could see a horn and wings. It was a little taller than the average pony. An alicorn, without a doubt, but, it was not Celestia.

"You are not Celestia. I can assume the Princess did not see me worthy enough to be executed by her hands then." I said with a firm voice but my insides were cold with fear.

"If you were going to be executed I would not even bothered to show up." The dark alicorn said and stepped closer. I could see that she had a dark blue fur all over her body. Her tail and mane were ethereal and remembered a night sky full of stars. "My name is Luna, I'm the younger sister of Celestia. I'm the second ruler of Equestria, the Princess of the night." She announced. I lowered my weapons but not sheathed them.

"Then, if you are not here to execute me, what you came for? You must know that I just broke my promise with your sister. I pointed my sword at one of her subjects and not only that, but I did it to the very pony that I almost killed once." I said still standing, looking her in the eyes. I would not deny that I was guilty.

"I know that, and believe me, my sister was really... disappointed at you." She said coming closer.
"Disappointed or mad?" I asked.
"Well more like mad at first but then I talked to her and she calmed down." She chuckled a little.
"I'm sorry..." I started letting both my weapons fall on the ground and then sitting. "...but I had no choice. That cyan pegasus came striking me without warning, and then the other five showed up and I knew that I needed to leave there fast. I just did what I did to escape; I had no intention to hurt them."
She came closer and lay beside me.

"I know...when Celestia told me what had happen and why she was so angry I knew that you did not have the intention to harm anypony." Luna said smiling softly to me. "You know, in a way you are just like me."
I arched an eyebrow. "How?"
"Well... have you ever heard about the tale about the Mare in the Moon? Or the Nightmare Moon?" She asked and I just shrugged. "A thousand years ago, Nightmare Moon tried to usurp the throne and make the night last forever. My sister then, banish her to the moon. Less than a year ago, Nightmare Moon returned. Those six fillies that you first meet, including the cyan pegasus, Rainbow Dash, defeated Nightmare Moon."

"And what about you?" I asked and she gave me a sad smile.
"I was Nightmare Moon" She said. My jaw dropped. "A thousand years ago I was the terrible villain. A creature that every single pony feared. Cast aside as a traitor and target of an annual festival where small children give offerings to a statue of me so I would not come and devour them. They were taught to fear me" She sighted. "And a few months ago I came back as Princess Luna and had to face a thousand years of tradition that pointed me as a horrible monster. I tried to recreate a connection with my subjects in this very festival, to show them who I was. But all I could see was fear… I felt so angry at the fact that I was feared. So I tried to put an end to that festival. But the kind heart of those six ponies showed me that, despite the festival, the tradition, despite all of that, all I had to do was to play along, show them that I was just Princess Luna and not Nightmare Moon." She finished her tale, making a pause before speaking again. "And here you are. You are considered a monster for something you had no control over, for an accident. You pointed your sword towards another pony because you were afraid. A thousand years ago I did the same to my sister, afraid that no one would love me, and then I did again when I saw my subjects afraid of me. But I know that there are ponies that actually want to meet you, and that already like you for who you are."
"I don't think so your majesty." I sighed. "Rainbow showed to me that she will never forgive me for what I did."
"Don't be a foal. She just acted in fear too. Just like you did and just like I did. Fear is a terrible feeling that makes ponies do terrible things. Fear can turn into rage, jealous, greed and even lust. Fear is usually the first step before a sin is committed, so, don't be afraid, don't let despair take your heart. Put yourself together, go back to your house, there is a pony there that is worry sick about you." She smiled at me and I could not hold the smile too.

"You... you are right. I can't let fear take my heart. My father would feel ashamed if he saw me drown in self pity!" I stood up straight. "I'll go back, and try again. Thanks Princess, and say to Princess Celestia that I'm sorry for brake the promise I made to her."
"I will, don't worry yourself with that. Now go back, I made the moon extra shiny this night just for you." She smiled at me.

I took both my weapons and then started to run back home. I felt ashamed now and, at the same time, a fire was burning in my chest. A fire that was giving me determination to do things right, and in Odin's name, I would not fail!
> The price of redemption
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash was in her home laid in the roof. The entire house was made of clouds so, it doesn't matter if it was the roof or her bed, it had the same feeling of softness. She watched as the sun went down and then the moon rose. She could swear that the moon was more bright that night than the other but maybe she was just imagining thing. The cyan filly was being tormented by the knowledge that the creature from Everfree forest was on the loose, and worst, had the protection of the Royal Guards, in other words, the protection of Celestia herself! How could the Princess shelter a monster like him! Her body shivered as she remembered the feeling of having her life in the line. If Celestia had come a second later... Rainbow Dash stood up to push that though away.

She felt tired, mentaly tired. She was not in condition to think anymore and decided to just go sleep. Tomorrow was another day and she was sure that the monster would not dare come back. Not after the beating she gave him and also, she knew that Celestia would do something against him since he threatened the filly. Yes, this was for sure. No way he couldn't escape that unharmed.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I could see my house getting close. I thanked Luna mentally for the bright moon; it made things a lot easy. But as I approached my home, carved in a tree, a blur came charging at me. It was too fast to react and I felt the strike in my stomach and sending me to the ground.

"DAMN YOU! IF YOU EVER MAKE ME WORRY LIKE THAT AGAIN I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU SO BAD THAT YOU WILL WISH TO FIGHT ANOTHER MANTICORE!"An angry Steel Head shouted at me.
"OK! OK!" I said covering my face with both arms. "I won't! I promise! Just get off me, dammit, you are heavy!" I said and he stepped out of my chest snorting at me.

"Really, what were you thinking! Running into Everfree forest like that!" He stomped at the ground, angry. I could not held a chuckle.
"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that ok? I'm sorry, really. I just... had to have some time for myself to think." I said standing up.
"Yeah, and I hope that next time you need some time to think, you just go inside your room and lock yourself in!" He said starting to walk towards home.
In the end, we had to sleep at the living room again. Our house was still a mess but Steel Head said that he found a contact at the city to clean it all up. He didn't though that i would run into the forest so he didn't came straight after me. Next day we woke up early in the morning, and I found that we had no food supplies. The fact that I had no dinner the day before made me feel a little weak.

Since we made a scene the day before I asked for Steel Head to go to the city to buy us our breakfast. I was starving and probably would eat even flowers if he brought some. Gladly for me he remembered about my diet and got some sandwiches of carrot bread and a cup of hot milk with cocoa.. It was not much but as my mother once told me: 'Hungry is the best spice for any food'

Shorter after that I went outside wearing only my boots and my pants. I brought my sword with me to do some exercises as my father taught me to do. It became a habit of mine and I didn't feel good if I skip them. Also, that would make me stay away from home until the clean team had finished the work. I spend the rest of the morning near the woods, training some moves against imaginary enemies. At lunch time, my companion came carrying two saddlebags with our food. He said that the team had finished the cleaning and now we just needed to go to the city to get our furniture. I took the chance to tell him a plan of mine. Something that came to me while training.

"I think that something fell on your head too hard." He said looking at me with an eyebrow arched. "Do you have any idea of the consequences of this 'plan' of yours?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Yes and I'm ready to take the consequences, no matter what." I said confident. "If I don't do it I'll never be able to look at myself again. I have to take this weight of my heart, once and for all!"

"You are going to get yourself killed" He sighed but he knew that nothing could stop me. I had made my mind and no matter what I would make that plan work!

I was wearing my full armor and both my weapons, I needed the comfort that my equipment weight gave me to gather courage. Firm steps towards my final destination...

"Excuse me!" I hear a soft voice calling me and turned to see who was. I saw a yellow filly pegasus approaching, coming from a near cottage that looked like a farm of small critters. When she saw that I was armed, she stopped her advance a few feet away. I just smiled at her an took of my helmet, exposing my face. She looked curious at me.
"I... I didn't knew that you could take that off..." She said in that soft voice.
"Well, I can. I just did not feel comfortable without it." She looked at my face for a while, analyzing me. My light brown eyes and my hair that had the same color. They were big enough to go almost at my shoulders.

"Ahm, where... where are you going?" She asked avoiding eye contact with me..

"I'm going to see Rainbow Dash." I said in a calm voice. But that information made the young pegasus wide her eyes.
"What! oh... no... no no no no! You can't! She... she did not attacked you on purpose, please! I'll make her apologize with you just... just..." She started to panic. I knew that she was one of those five that meet me at the forest, few weeks ago.
"Hey, calm down ok? uh..." I started to say but I didn't knew her name at all.

"Fluttershy..." She said.

"Thanks... So, Fluttershy... I just wanna talk to her; you have my word that I'll not harm her." She looked at me, not sure of what to say.

"do you... do you really promise?" She said approaching a little more. I nodded at her and then, kneed in front of her, bowing my head a little, enough to look at the ground. I grabbed my axe's head, pressing my palm at the edge. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes in pain as the sharp edge cut into my flesh and then showed Fluttershy the bloody cut.

"I swear for the blood that runs in my veins." I let the blood drip in the earth, sealing a pact with the nature. It was a tradition to seal a promise with blood. It bound you to your promise even after you died. When I looked back at the Fluttershy she was pale and I saw she faint. Probably at the sight of myself inflicted wound. I sighed and then took her back near her cottage, leaning her at the door. The animals around me just watched. I could swear that they had a human level of intelligence because, as soon as I stepped away from the young pegasus all the animals gathered around her to help.

I could see the cyan pegasus house floating in the sky. That was quite a sight. A house made of clouds, floating around. I took a deep breath drawing both my weapons and then shouted.
"RAINBOW DASH! SHOW YOUR SELF!" My shout echoed through the field. Silence at firs but then I say the cyan pegasus coming out the house, staring at me in anger. Her body shivered a little at the sight of my weapons in hands.

"What do you want monster!" She shouted back at me, not daring to come closer.
As an answer I threw my weapons away, one for each side, outside my reach. She looked confused. Then, I took of my Helmet, My armor, my leg armor, my bracers, my gloves and my belt. I was just with my ordinary line cloth, totally exposed. My hands were shaking a little now that I had no protection nor weapon.

"Come! You said you would beat me up if I showed myself again!" I dared her.
"What! You think that I'm stupid? Just because you took of that weird skin I'm not idiot enough to get close!" she answered.
"So, you admit you are afraid of me!" I teased her. She growled at me, gritting her teeth. "I'm without my armor, my helmet and my weapons. I'm just like you, bare hands. Now come! I dare you!" I shouted again. "Unless you are too afraid for that!" I teased her again. That was the limit and then she snapped. I saw she flying towards me as a missile, screaming and leaving a rainbow trace as she flew straight to me. I opened my arms and prepared myself for the impact.

Her head touched my stomach first. I felt the air being pushed out from my lunges. Luckily my lunch was no longer on my stomach or else I would have puked. I flew a few feets behind and landed hard on the floor. She was staring me, panting a little. I forced myself to get up and grinned at her.
"Is that it?" I teased her again. "And here I was hoping that you would be a challenge..." I saw the rage burning in her eyes... She charged at me again. Her forehoof hit me with all her might, right in the face, sending me to the ground... I could taste blood and felt part of my face starting to swell. My head was spinning but I gathered some more strength and started to stand again... I spit some blood and... aw damn it... a teeth too. I ignored that and looked at her defiant.

"Still not enough... still too weak!" I provoked her again. This time she lost control. Rainbow Dash jumped on me, sending me to the ground. Sitting in my chest, she started to hit my head and face in a frenetic rhythm, not even aiming. Blow after blow coming merciless at me. Her voice echoing through the field as she screamed in a blind rage.

I could take some punches but her hoofs where hard as wood. I feared that my skull would be smashed at any second now. She stopped punching me and finished with a headbutt right in my forehead. I saw all the constellations spinning around me.

My nose and my mouth were bleeding and my face was completely deformed, full of purple marks. I looked at her with only one eye, the other was badly swollen and I couldn't see a thing. I saw that she was crying, her face marked with tears and with an angry expression. She was panting heavily and looked tired. Not tired at beating me. Oh no, it was the opposite. Rainbow Dash was tired from holding back. She had the strength to rip a tooth with a single punch. If she didn't held back, my head would be probably something like… porridge. I think that's the best definition.

We kept staring to each other for a few seconds as I focus my strength in my arms. I lift both of them and warped around her neck, pulling her softly for a hug. She came without any kind of resistance. Maybe too shocked at the sight of what she had done? I knew that they had a pacific nature, so this lost of self control must have been something terrible to her... but it was necessary.

"'I'm sorry... I'm... truly sorry for what I did..." I said. My voice was weak, almost a whisper. It was hard to speak or even to think straight after that beating.
I felt she laying flat on me, put her face on my shoulder and cry in silence. All the strong emotions that she held against me were released in those punches. Now, the only thing left was saddens, a feeling that I knew for experience that no amount of violence could cure. Her hot tears soaked my shirt while I felt her sobs. I just cared her back and mane, fighting to not lose conscience now.

We stood that way for long minutes until she finally stopped. My arms were still around her body, in a soft hug.

"Why...? Why you did not fought back? Why you let me hit you so badly without defending yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked looking at my face. "You... you just kept provoking me... you made me do this!" She had a sobbing voice.

"You held a strong hatred towards me… And hate can lead to a path of self destruction." I started saying. "I had… to prove to you that I was not... that dangerous. That... I regretted the fact that I almost took your life..." Each word made my jaw hurt like hell.

"But you should have stopped me!" She said holding back more tears.

"I couldn't... because... you were just... acting out of fear..." I said smiling at her... or at least I hoped that a smile came out of my lips. "And I hope you can forgive me... because...me too... what... what I did that day... and what I did yesterday... was out of fear... fear is a terrible feeling... that develop in anger and rage... and turn you into a monster..." She let out two tears that fell on my face... I rubbed her back softly and saw a smile crossing her lips. I knew that she had finally forgiven me, and she only had to beat me up. Yeah, I think it was worth it. I relaxed, closing my eye, and then I felt the world diving into darkness.
> Dreaming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING:This chapter contains explicitly pornography! (not with human)

I open my eyes and then I could see... nothing. Also I could feel nothing around me nor below or above me. I felt weightless and incredibly calm. The first tough that came to my head was that I had died. That the cyan pegasus had beaten me to death. But that was really improbable. This was not what the druids told me about death so I pushed that away. The second thing that came to me was that I was dreaming.
"And that is the corrrrrect answer." A male voice echoed around me, coming from all directions. The voice had traces of joy, as if the person was smiling widely. I looked around trying to see who was but I still could see nothing.

"Who's there!" I shouted.
"Who, what, when, why... all the favorites questions of everypony." The voice came again.
Someone poked me in the shoulder and when I looked who it was I saw what looked like a dragon but... a weird dragon. It had two different types of horns, an eagle claw and a lion paw. His whole body reminded me of a serpent, the head of a hybrid lizard and horse, and his legs where a hoof and a dragon claw.

"What in Odin's name...?" I looked in awe at the creature in front of me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is... well, I have many, and forgot most of them. Just call me the way everypony calls me: Discord." He said bowing in an exaggerated way.

"Erm... my pleasure... I think..." I said a little nervous. That made him chuckle.

"My, my... what an extraordinary thing you are. And what great potential of chaos you have too." He said coming closer to me. "I can see in your eyes boy... All this chaos that lies inside your soul. It will be fun to watch you live around here." He laugh.
"What do you mean with that? Why are you in my head? And where are we?" I asked to him, in a serious tone.
"What, Why and Where. Questions, questions, questions. Everypony wants to makes questions to receive answers that will ruin all the surprises! They never allow themselves to just enjoy the small amount of chaos in life's surprises." He sighed "I'll answer your questions in time but, for now, I'll let you curious." He grinned. "I only came today to introduce myself. We will meet again when the time comes. Ah, and don't tell anypony about you dreaming with me ok?" He winked towards me "I'm not popular among them and they will be very suspicious of you later."
I didn't get what he was saying at all, but, in the middle of my confusion I felt a strong wind striking my body. I looked around to see where that came from, but the darkness was still surrounding me.
"Now... is time to WAKE UP!" He shouted the last part in a girlish voice. A high peach voice.

Suddenly I could see that I was near the clouds and then, I started to fall. The same voice repeating 'wake up' while I screamed in panic. My body was going faster and faster, spinning as I waved my limbs in despair. That high peach voice and the sound of the wind attacking my ears. I was done for, I was going to die! I was going to...
My eyes open suddenly and I felt the real world around me. I was lying on a bed and a spasm made my upper body rise fast. I hit something and a jolt of pain came in my fore head. I hear someone cry and a thud. I rubbed my head and looked around. I saw Steel Head, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and other four ponies. A white unicorn with a well cared mane, a purple unicorn with a pink strip on her mane and tail, an orange pony with a cowboy hat and blond mane, and a pink pony that was sitting on the floor rubbing her fore head.

"See? I told you girls that we just needed to call him back loud enough!" She said smiling at everyone, one eye closed as she was still feeling a little pain. The orange pony sighed and then came closer to me.
"Are'ya alight sugar cube?" She asked in a strong accent.
"Well... despite the fact that my face must be looking like a big purple grape, and I probably just got another mark in my forehead... yes, now I'm fine." I said looking around. "What are you guys doing here? And... Where IS here?" I looked around to see a house full of small holes and shelters for small critters.
"We are at Fluttershy's cottage." The purple unicorn said pointing at the yellow pegasus and approached to see the wounds at my face. "Hmm... It will probably get better in a few days..." She said and then Steel Head chuckle.
"Heh, looks like you took a hay of beating! Fluttershy came desperate to find us, telling something about you and Rainbow Dash. So we ran to meet you guys, but she found us first" He pointed towards the cyan filly. "and was caring you on her back. What a shame, letting a lady carry you…" He teased.

"Oh, please! Stop that!" The white unicorn said scowling the guard. "Tell me dear what happen to you? Why are you so injured? We asked Rainbow Dash, but she said that it would be better for you to explain to us." She said with worry in her tone.

"Ah, these... well... uh... erm... I... I fell..." I said in a nervous tone. They just looked at me in confusion. "Yeah! I... I fell from... from a tree! I climb up on a tree while trying to speak with Rainbow Dash and fell!"
"But, why is your face swollen like that?" Twilight said in confusion.
"Well..." I started nervous again. "I... Fell face first. That's it... My face hit the floor when I fell!" I smiled at them... no one looked to believe me, but I just ignored that, looking at Rainbow Dash. She blushed and looked away.
"Alright, alright! He needs some rest." Steel Head said out loud. "Everypony, go out!" He started to push the six female ponies out before more questions appeared.
"H-hey! But... but, but...!" The purple unicorn protested before disappearing door out. Steel Head closed the door leaving me alone. I felt a little tired and just laid there to rest.

I closed my eyes and chuckled at the memory of Rainbow Dash blushing. She was kind of cute when blushing. My mind then wondered to my weird dream. Discord was the name of that weird dragon and he said that he was not popular among other ponies. Was that just a dream or maybe that was something else? I could not answer that… and before I could think about it any further I fell asleep again, without any dream this time.

I felt something wet and cold on my face. That made me wake up to see a cyan blur at first. My sight slowly gained focus and I could see Rainbow Dash beside me with a wet towel, cleaning my face with some kind of herb mixture with a soft smell.

"Hey… how are you feeling?" She asked when saw that I had wake up.

"Fine, fine. I just wanted to have my helmet on when I fell from that tree." I chuckled.

"About that… look, I don't think..." She started but I gently put my hand on her mouth, interrupting her.

"I fell from a tree while talking to you. That's what happened, ok? No 'buts' and no more discussion about that." I said smiling.

"Thanks." She said and blushed a little. "But I still don't understand why you did that..."
"Well..." I started, looking in her eyes. "...what I did to you was far worst. Not only for you but also for me and I felt that I needed to settle things down. You deserved to have your revenge on me, to unleash all the anger you had in your heart to maybe forgive me." She looked away for a second. She looked guilty and feeling remorse. I tried to break that awkward mood saying… "Also my father always taught me that I shall never pick the fight if my opponent is weaker than me. The only exception is if I was under someone else order, like the chief of my village." I said and she arched an eyebrow, looking at me now.
"What do you mean 'weaker than you'?" Her voice sound a little annoyed.

"You are weaker than me because you don't know how to fight, and if I decided to do so, you would have no chance to win." I said trying to show facts, not aware of how much that pony was competitive.

"Now look here!" she said in a firm tone "I can beat you any time I wanted! Maybe not in a fight, because I never did it, but in any other requisite I could win easily!" She said full of herself.

I arched an eyebrow and grinned at her. My own competitive side showing up.

"Oh really? So to you know, I was the best swimmer back in my village. I bet you can't swim at all." I said teasing her. She snorted and then replied.
"Well, and I bet you can't even fly!" She said angry.

"Ahem... I got no wings, so that does not count" My competitive side speaking now.

"Well, then... I bet I'm faster at running than you are!" She said and stomped, challenging me.

"Oh really? I bet I could win against you any time you wanted... AND wearing my full equipment too." I smirked at her, confident in my skills.

"Fine! We will settle this with a race!" She said confident too.

"Choose the day and the path we will run. I'll be there in my full equipment." I said and spit in my had to seal the challenge. She spit in her hoof and we shook hand-hoof. The challenge was on and I had no intention to lose.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Eravel was hold in Fluttershy's cottage during his recover. Since the human's house didn't even have a bed for him, the yellow pegasus and Head Steel made him stay on the cottage. Now, without Eravel around, the royal guard was free to do whatever he wanted and that mean one thing: Chase after mares. He wore his full armor while walking around Ponyvile. A lot of ponies watched him as he passed, especially the mares. He smirked to himself, feeling to be the most handsome stallion around. He walked past the market place and went in Sugarcube Corner. There he found that energetic pink pony in the balcony, attending some customers. He waved at her and she answered waving with both hoofs, almost hitting the customer in front of her. He just chuckle and looked around, searching for a target. He didn't take much longer to find the perfect one.

Sitting in a table all alone was a light gray mare with black mane and tail. Her cute mark was a treble clef. He approached her table, smiling softly.

"I could not let to notice that you are all alone here, are you expecting somepony?" He asked in a soft tone. The mare looked at him, surprise to see a royal guard wandering there.

"No, I'm not. I usually come here by myself." She answered in a polite way. It was clear that she was used to talk with high class ponies by her tone.

"And don't you feel a little lonely?" Steel Head tilted his head and she smiled softly.
"A little. Mind joining me?" She said offering a seat. She used to come here all the time to eat some sweets, but her life was always dedicated to her talent, leaving almost no time for social life. What did she have to lose letting a royal guard approach?

"It would be my pleasure to accompany such a fine mare." He said in a seductive tone, sitting right in front of her, the table between both of them. She blushed lightly and he thought 'First step done.'
Both ponies talked for quite some time. He found out that her name was Octavia and, despite living in Ponyvile, she usually traveled to Canterlot to play her cello at parties there. He just took the opportunity.

"Well, I have to confess that I knew who you were." Steel Head said after long minutes of conversation. She arched an eyebrow. "You see, I saw you in some galas and other parties at the palace. I always tough that you were beautiful, but I'm just a simple guard, what chances I had? I think that this was fate that we meet here." He said smiling at her. She blushed heavily with that. 'Step two done'. He though with himself.

"Why don't we meet again another day? Like... tomorrow night?" He asked her.

"Ahm... I think that's fine. Where do we meet?" She asked. 'I knew that I had fans, but for a royal guard come to search me here? He must really like me!' She thought.

"Tell me where you live and I'll go get you at noon." The stallion smiled at her.
"Ok, it's a date then" She smiled, blushing lightly at him.

The guard went back to the house to strip from his armor. He flew as fast as he could back to Canterlot to grab a gala suit that he had. The next day came and he hurried himself to let his room ready for the after date. A big bed for two ponies and other details, like candles and flowers. He finally finished it all by the sun set. A quick shower and he slip in his gala suit. The suit was an armor made of light metal. It had several drawings at the edges made of silver and he wore a blue cape, matching his mane and tail. Locking the cape in the right shoulder was a medallion made of gold and silver with the royal sign. He really wanted to impress her. The only part he did not wear was the helmet.

The sun was almost completely hidden when he arrived at Octavia's place. The knock at the door and waited. The door opened to reveal the gray pony wearing a very simple dress. She looked at the royal guard. He looked like a prince that came out of some kind of fairy tale.

"You are beautiful Octavia." He praised the gray mare, and, indeed, he thought that the simple dress made her natural beauty to show up.

"Oh, stop this." She said blushing heavily.
"I mean it." He said in a seductive tone passing a hoof on her face, gently. "Your natural beauty is far better than any fancy dress from the high class. Come, let's go... let us celebrate your beauty together." He still used the seductive tone.

The mare almost fainted. Her face was burning hot and really red as she started to walk next to him. No pony ever told her things so sweets. All the attention was always on her music and never at her. She always tough that the others only saw her as some kind of music machine, but his words... he saw her as herself, not Octavia the musician, but Octavia the pony. He, on the other side, just tough: 'Third step done... only need one more and she's mine.'

Soon they arrived at the restaurant. He had already made the reservations, using his status as a royal guard to get a fine table for two there. He ordered the food and drinks and started to seduce the gray mare. Sweet words embraced her the whole night. To her, he was like a charming prince coming from some kind of fairytale. The hours passed and soon he invited her to leave, for a night walk. She, of course, agreed. They walked really close to one another in the perfect night for a romance. They stopped under a tree, watching the moon and the stars.

"I wonder how the moon can keep herself white like that..." He said watching the full moon.
"Why?" She asked not understanding his words.
"She should be red, jealous of your beauty..." He said looking at the gray mare who blushed violently.

"S-stop that..." She said embarrassed.
"I can't..." He said approaching his snout to hers. "It's stronger...than what I can control..." Every word, Steel Head came closer to her snout. She could feel his breath really close. Octavia closed her eyes and moved the last inch between them. Their lips touched in a soft kiss... he moved his body close to her and reached a wing over the gray mare's body. Her heart was pounding hard. Octavia felt the happiest mare in the world. She wished that this moment would never end. Steel Head pushed his tongue forward, wanting to meet hers. She opened her mouth slowly, letting him in. Both tongues meet in a passionate kiss under the tree. The moon and the stars watching the two lovers.

He brought her to his house. She could not say no after that amazing night she just had with him, afraid of losing that stallion of her dreams. Both entered the house carved in a tree, near the Everfree forest, and went upstairs. The couple went in the guard's room and, once there, he started to kiss her pulling her dress out, uncovering her body. She lay on the bed and watched him strip of his armor. Soon he was on the bed too, right next to her. Their snouts attached in another brief kiss. 'Objective complete' he thought to himself, looking in her eyes and smiling.

Octavia's face was red and she could not look him in the eyes for too long. He approached his snout and she felt him start to kiss her neck. That sends a shiver in her spine and her fur stood up. He kept kissing her, going down, making the mare squirm a little. Before she could say anything, he was really close to her most private place. He turned her with her hoofs up, spread her hind legs and then got his mouth really close to her most private parts. She felt his breath really close and then his tongue caressing her pearl. That made a jolt of pleasure hit her and she moaned. Her slit started to produce a lot of juices and he licked it all, savoring the female that moaned in pleasure.

His shaft was hanging from his hind legs. He looked at her and licked his lips smiling at the gray mare.

"Not only you are beautiful, but also, sweet" He teased her. She blushed more and closed her eyes
"S-stop saying t-those things!" She said feeling so embarrassed that her head could blow any second. He just chuckle and stepped forward, making his head at the same level as hers. He approached his snout and kissed her again. Octavia kissed him back and shivered when the tip of his shaft touched her nether. He pressed forward, making her moan in the kiss as her insides were spread by the intrusion. Her inner muscles started to contract, making him grunt in pleasure.
"S-so tight..." He moaned softly while pressing forward, until he was all the way in the female.
She was panting heavily and her head was a little numb from the strong pleasure of the act. He started to move his hips against her, slowly at first, but soon he starting to speed up. Octavia started to moan out loud for each thrust he gave. His shaft going deep in her soaked love cave.

She warped her hind legs around his hips as he started to pound faster and faster. Her tongue out of her mouth while she moaned in pure pleasure. He was going faster and faster, thrusting hard in her. He could feel her inner contractions, milking his shaft.
"c-cant... hold..." he grunted, using all his might to hold back the orgasm.
"Don't hold!... l-let it come!" She shouted.
With that he exploded in a strong orgasm. His white milk started to fill the mare as jolts of pleasures hit him. Spasms made his hips continue to thrust in the mare and she reached her own orgasm, squeezing his shaft hard and let out loud moan, closing her eyes tight. Her orgasm produced an overflow of juices that soaked their crotches.
Both ponies relaxed, panting hard. She smiled at him and kissed the stallion on the lips, quickly. He smiled at her and hugged her tight. Both kept the embrace until the darkness came to their minds, sending them to the dream realm to rest. She felt loved and desired in a way she had never experienced before. He, on the other hand, was happy with his first achievement. She was nice, but he was not a stallion for monogamy. He could think about two or three other mares he wanted to try out.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

> Awkward moments and race
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If someone would ask me, without any doubt I would say that Fluttershy should be in charge of training the others nurses in the hospital at the royal castle. I never saw anyone so gently and tender in my whole life. Ok, nineteen years is not much, but not even my own mother could make me feel so cared and... Powerless. Yes, I think that's the word. The yellow pegasus was so concern about me that didn't allowed me to do a thing in the first day there. At first I tried to convince her that I was fine, but when I started to be too much insistent she gave me a stare that could be compared to the one that Princess Celestia used when we first meet at the borders of the Everfree forest. After that, I never tried to disobey her again.

Beside that small incident, I didn't have a thing to complain about how I was being treated. She didn't allow anyone to come visit me, so I would not be disturbed. Also, she always asked what I wanted to eat, and would keep asking until I gave her an answer with full details. The second day started with some more turbulence. What can I say? My head is hard as rock, and so is my temper some times.

"...but Eravel! You can't stay like this!" She said beside the bed I was using, with a pleading voice.
"I said you didn't have to worry, I've faced worst situations, and I just can't let you do that!" I answer with my arms crossed, sitting with my back resting in a pillow.

"But everypony here already did it today... I can't let you go without it!" She insisted.
"OK, I can do it on my own then." I said looking at her with my good eye. The other was better but I could not open him fully yet.

"No! You are still hurt and you need help to to it properly." She said still pleading.
"So, forget it. I won't do." I Said and laid on the bad, turning my back at her.

"Eravel!" She said in a serious tone. I felt a chill on my spine. She was using the 'stare', I could feel it freezing my back. "Look at me while I'm talking to you!" She stomped her hoof. I only remembered my mother talking to me like that. I didn't like her tone at all. Who was she to talk to me like that? I turned to face her, ready to unleash my anger towards the yellow pegasus but my eye meet her stare.

I simply felt my words and my anger running away in fear. I shrank facing her eyes. How could the most kind and shy pony around her be so terrifying at the same time!
"You WILL let me wash you properly! You don't take a shower in days and your face need to be cleaned before I can apply the medicine! And you CAN'T do that alone, so I'll do it!" She said in a firm tone.

I didn't know what was happening to me and I could bet that, if the warriors in Valhalla could see me here, they would laugh so hard that Raganork would happen earlier! Me, a warrior, trained from birth by the harsh weather of the north lands and the unstoppable lessons from my father, reduced to a simply baby in front of a stare from a small pegasus with a damn pink mane!

I simply nodded at her.

"Good!" she said and started to walk to the bathroom, looking back to make sure that I was following her. And what choice did I have there?

I dragged my feet, following her. She entered and looked at me with a more soft expression, smiling. I went inside too, and took of my shirt, sitting next to the shower.
"Ok, get over with it." I said in a bad mood, waiting for her to star washing my face..
"You need to take all your clothes off Eravel...You can't take a shower with them." She looked at me.
"Oh no, I won't be naked in front of you!" I said serious.

"Why not?" She asked in confusion. Always the same question.
"Because I don't want to!" I said and then quick add in a more firm and loud voice. "AND STOP USING THE STARE ON ME!"She shrank a little, hiding behind her mane when I almost shout.
"B-but... I want to take care of you... you... you are hurt... I can't let you do things on your own..." She said pouting her lips. I arched an eyebrow. Didn't she have any limits in her arsenal of ways to convince people to do what she wanted? I didn't know what was worst: The chill that her stare gave me, or the pain in my heart to see her pouting like that.

I looked away, crossing my arms. She looked down, still with those damn cute eyes. It was like she was going to cry any second now. I sighed in defeat. She was the most timid creature that I have ever meet, and at the same time, the most convincing when she wanted something from someone. I didn't know if that was some kind of passive skill, or active talent, but it was efficient!

Far as I knew, she was the element of kindness, so it was in her nature to help anyone that she sees in need. To her, I was just some creature, some animal, hurt, lost and in need of help. All she did was for my sake but still... it was more than awkward to be naked in front of her.

"FINE!" I finally said starting to take off my pants and then stepping in the shower. She smiled widely at me and pulled the leavers. Warm water started to pour on my body, soaking me. She grabbed a soft sponge and called me outside the water so she could rub my body. I could feel my face burn as I was in the most embarrassing moment of my whole life. Luckily, my face was still full of purple marks, so she could not see me blushing. She, on the other hand, was very happy that I was cooperating now, she even started to hum a song while bathing me. I sighed. I was just another kind of pet in her hands.

"Don't worry... I don't mind to see them..." She said bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What...?" I asked in confusion. Was she talking about my...
"Your scars..." She said and smiled at me, rubbing my back. "I know about the manticore you fought... I... I found the body..."
"Oh.. ahm... sorry... was it some kind of friend of yours?" I asked. Since she lived so close to the forest and was always surrounded by animals, I thought that that monster could be a friend of her.

"Well, no. I once meet a manticore and helped it. But the one that you... fought... was not that one." She said a little lost in her thoughts, rubbing my back. We stood in silence for some time and she taped my shoulder, indicating that I could go under the water to wash the soap away. I did as told and she made me sat on the floor, starting to gently clean my face, with a soft sponge. I waited her to finish, in silence. When I washed the soap of my face, Fluttershy grabbed a dry towel so I could dry my body. She looked away from me and then started to talk.
"ahm... about your wounds..." She started to say and I looked at her. "I know that it was Rainbow Dash" I arched an eyebrow and she continued. "No one can get wounds like that from falling from a tree... And I saw she blush when you lied to us about how you got wounded too."

I just smiled at her. Cute, caring, shy, scary, persuasive AND very perceptive... Was something that this pegasus couldn't do?
"I don't know what you are talking about..." I rolled the towel around my waist "I fell from a tree, face first..." I winked at the yellow pegasus and she nodded at me.

"I just hope your fur grow back.." She said walking out of the bathroom, changing subject.

"My... my fur?" I asked in confusion
"Yes, your, fur... I saw those scars, and it's obvious that the doctors shaved your whole body to be able to take care of you. I'm just wondering why they left hair on your crotch… But anyway, I just hope the rest grow back soon so you can be complete again." She said smiling ant me. I was going to face palm but remembered that my face was hurt and stopped midways.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Four days had passed since that day. Rainbow Dash was and the others were gathered under her home made of clouds. She was stretching and preparing for the race that we had agreed to do when I was fully healed. Eravel had no chance to win, she knew that. Soon the six girls and a purple dragon could see him and his companion, the royal guard approaching.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I was wearing my full equipment again, armor and weapons. Fluttershy covered her face a little more with her mane when she saw me. Once, while she was taking care of me, she told me that she hated to see me in that outfit.

"So, this is the new guy?" Spike, the young purple dragon said. "He sure is weird."
From far I saw the small purple spot on Twilight back but I needed to approach to finally realize that he was a dragon. Well, what could I expect from a land with talking horses and monsters?

"So, ready to eat dust?" Rainbow Dash said confident, approaching me.

"Sorry, but I think that you are the one that will eat dust." I said grinning at her.
"A'right guys!" The other athletic pony, Applejack, said approaching us. Fluttershy had explained to me a little of each other friend that I didn't meet properly yet. "Ya know tha rules right? No flying and no fighting. Jus'running! Now... On yer marks!" She said. I and Rainbow Dash stepped closer to each other, side by side, behind an imaginary line. "ready..." We tensed our muscles, ready for the initial dash. Applejack looked at us. The tension growing. The spectators, me and my rival were going nuts with the long pause that Applejack was making. Pink Pie could not hold the tension and snapped, screaming at top of her lungs. "GOOOOOO!"
Me and Rainbow started to run, almost hitting Applejack in the process. The weight of my equipment holding me a little but I was determinate to not loose. I had just forgotten something very, VERY important. Rainbow Dash was not only an athlete, but also, a HORSE! Right after the race had begun she took the lead without any problems with me behind. I was fighting to keep up with her but failing miserably. She saw that and laughed, slowing down to be side by side with me.

"What's the matter Eravel? Too fast for you?" She teased. I only stared at her and pushed my body further, gaining a little more speed but the cyan pegasus just laughed again and ran faster. She was going to win, that was for sure, but at least I would try and finish the race. I realized now how stupid this race was. She was at her top form and was a horse. I, on the other hand, was locked in a bed for a month after several injuries that almost took my life. I had only two legs and was wearing my full equipment. What in Odin's name was my good sense when I challenged her?

I slowed down a little, my legs burning from the huge effort. We had just passed Fluttershy's cottage and we were approaching my house. The house was in the same model of Twilight's, except that my 'tree house' was dead and without a leaf on the branches. I forced myself to keep running but then one of my legs failed to obey my command and I fell on the ground, exhausted. Rainbow Dash stopped running and approached me with concern in her look.
"Eravel? Are you alright?" She asked.
"If with alright you mean still alive and breathing, yes. I'm breathing." I said and rolled to stay with my chest facing up. I was without a trace of strength to stand up and my armor was suffocating me a little.

She chuckled and extended a roof. I grabbed and she helped me to sit up.

"Heh, guess you were right, I can't beat you in a race. Even without all this stuff I would have lost to you." I said.

"Of course you can't beat me! I AM the most awesome pony around!" She said full of herself. I just chuckled at her and took a deep breath, to regain my strength.

"I'm such a shame for my people. I totally lost to a girl and not only lost, but I couldn't even finish the race." I said starting to walk back to where the other would be waiting us.

"Aw, don't be like that. After all, it's been just a few days since you came here. You told us that you were at the hospital in Canterlot palace. Also, I remember how wounded you were." She said trying to cheer me up. I smiled at her, she was right but still I felt the weight of defeat on my shoulders... and the weight of my armor to make things worse.

"Back at my home, no one would try to cheer me up like this. They would only point at me and laugh at my weakness." I said while walking with her. We walked slowly, since I had not the energy to go any faster.

"That's not a nice thing to do. I mean, where is the sportive spirit?" She said arching an eyebrow.

"There is no such thing from where I come from. We all fought to survive back then, to be the best warrior, to be stronger and faster than anyone else." I explained to her.

"Must be hard to grow up in a place like that." She said with her ears low, in a sad expression.

"Yeah… But you get used to it. Not that you have any other choice than to get used to it" I chuckled.

We both walked in silence to Rainbow Dash house. I was lost in my toughs about this weird place. Not only for the talking horses, dragons and monsters, but the fact that everyone seems to be nice to each other. Back in my homeland, people were kind to each other but we all knew that most of the time it was all fake smiles and sugar top words. No one really cared for each other. We all fought to survive the harsh weather and the short food. Among us, mans, there was a constant fight to see who was the best, and was not a friendly competition. No one wanted to see his companion stronger than yourself, so you had to train harder and harder to improve.

"Didn't you have any friend in your homeland?" She asked after a few minutes.
"Friend? Well I had some companions, but friend like you have… I guess only one: My father. He was the one who taught me the art of the sword and my honor code. He was always there for me, and even now, I know he's watching me from Valhalla, waiting for my arrive." I felt a knot in my throat. That damn mix of strong emotion always came to me when I remembered of him.

"Valhalla?" She asked curious.

"Yes, it's where all the brave warriors go when they die in battle. Those who are worth are taken there to live with Odin and the other gods, and to fight when the time come. It is the greatest honor any warrior can achieve." I explained.

"But then, you have to die in a fight. That does not seems to be a good way to die… well die is a bad thing no matter what." She said

"It all depends. If you are fighting for something you believe, for someone you care about or even for the pure reason to survive. That is a good death that will send you to Valhalla. If I had killed you back then, for example, you probably would end in Valhalla. That would be a warrior's death; you fought for your friends, risking your own life." She laid her ears flat in her head while thinking. We didn't spoke anymore after that. In the middle of our path we meet our friends. They all had worried faces. Apparently we took more time to get there than we realized.

"Finally! We found'ya!" Applejack came running toward us "Wha'happen? Why yer guys took so long?"

"My body gave up on the race" I said shrugging.

"You didn't even finish the race? Haha! You sure are out of shape!" Spike teased me. "But I already knew you had no chance against our Rainbow Dash!"

"Stop this!" Twilight said to the purple dragon and approached me. "I knew it was a bad idea, you are still weak after all you have passed. You need to rest!" She said in a firm tone and I had no strength or the will to counter argue with her.

"Ok… ok… I'll just need to go back to my house to rest… By the way, where are Steel Head and Rarity?"
"They went to find'ya but haven't come back till now." Applejack said.
"Don't worry about them." I said "Steel Head is a royal guard, she's safe as long as she's with him"
"Ya'sure?" Applejack asked still a bit worried.
"He was with me a whole month in the hospital. That guy is a fine stallion, I'm sure she will be alright with him... now... do you mind helping me out with all this things? They are really heavy!"
I said starting to remove my armor. I felt desperate to head home and lay down on my bed. Yes, I know, it took me by surprise too but I finally had a bed on my room!
> Turn of tables
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Look, there they are!" Rarity said watching Eravel and Rainbow Dash walking in the direction of where their friends were.
"Looks like he did not even completed the course. Heh, poor guy." Head Steel said.
"Well let's go meet them!" Rarity said starting to trot in their direction but Steel head ran to stop right in front of the white unicorn. She stopped and looked at him with a confused expression.

"Let them go. They seem to have a nice conversation and, after all that both have been through, I think they need some space to be alone." The royal guard said watching his friend walking next to Rainbow Dash… 'Get her boy!' He thought to himself with a smirk and then looked at Rarity.

"Yes, I think you are right" Rarity said watching them go away.

"So, back to our subject. I think it is possible for me to arrange with my superiors to let you design our gala suits." He said smiling at her.

"Really? You think you could do that for me? That would do WONDERS for my career as a fashion design!" She said excited with the idea.

"Yes ma'am! You can count on me for that" The stallion said proudly. He had the intention to talk to his superiors about that BUT, he also had several other intentions with the white pony.

"Oh darling, don't call me 'ma'am'" She said smiling at him.
"Sorry miss Rarity, but what can I say? Your beauty makes me a little nervous" He smiled softly at her. 'First step' He tough. She was caught off guard with that and blushed at the complement. Not that she wasn't used with that but this time was totally unexpected.

"Please don't say such things out of the blue" She said waving her hoof softly at him, regaining her posture. For her surprise, he took her hoof in the air, looking at her with a seductive look.
"My admiration for a mare with you level of beauty is like an urge of inspiration. It just can't be held." He said and kissed her hoof. She winded her eyes and blushed hard.
"Oh my... w-what a gentlecolt you are." She said smiling at him. Rarity was not an innocent foal; she knew that he was experienced in the art of gaining someone's heart. She was just caught by surprise by the fact that a royal guard was doing that. Usually this kind of game was only played by those ponies that had spare time to do so or really enjoyed it, like herself. "If you keep talking like this, you will make me blush. So stop or I'll need to make you stop." She said in a soft tone, playing along with him now.

"And there is a way to stop the urge to say how much you are beautiful? He said looking her in the eyes.

"Only temporary, but I think this will be enough." She said and then moved her snout forward. Her lips meeting his in a soft kiss. Both with their eyes closed. Steel Head was the one caught in surprise now.

The kiss was a quick one. She looked him in the eyes. She was blushing a little, and so was he. 'I guess she made the second step for me' He tough.

"Why don't we go to your place? I think of a more effective way to make you stop all this sweet talk." She said in a seductive way. He arched an eyebrow and smirked. 'It's just me or SHE have turned the table now?'

He started to walk toward the house that he shared with his human friend. Not far from the Everfree forest. The only places with furniture in the house were the rooms and the kitchen. The guard had already ordered some more but it had not yet arrived, so, the house was almost completely empty. He opened the door to let her walk inside first. She went in looking around, walking in a provocative way.

"This house reminds me of the library." She commented "only with far less books and furniture"
"I ordered some more already, but only my room have arrived yet. Want to go and see it?" The royal guard invited with a smirk.
"I would love to go and see your room" She answered with the same suggestive tone that he had used. Steel Head just pointed at the stairs and she started to climb. He was right behind her and pointed the correct door. Letting she enter first the royal guard went in right after, stopped at her side and pressed his snout in her neck, softly, feeling the sweet aroma of her mane. She giggled and stepped aside.
Quickly Steel Head slip out of his armor, revealing his full white body and a helmet as a cute mark. Then he jumped on the bed, laying on his side, resting his head in one of his hoofs and grinning at Rarity. She giggled and climbed on the bed too, approaching the white stallion and kissing him tenderly on the lips. Their tongues meet on this kiss, making a sweet dance of passion. While kissing him, Rarity laid down too. One of her forehoofs extended to reach between his hind legs. She soon felt his length, half way out of hi sheath. She giggled and broke the kiss.
"Already like this with just one kiss?" She teased him
"I told you, your beauty is a rare thing. I think I understand your name now, you are really..." He moaned softly when she pressed the tip of his length against his belly "...a-a rare jewel." He finished and rolled a little, to let her have full access to his stallion member that was really hard now.

It was quite some time since she had a stallion to share her bed with, and this royal guard was not disappointing her. She approached her snout to his shaft and started to lick it, teasing him. Steel Head usually was in control, but now, for the first time, he was not. He moaned softly when Rarity took the tip of his length on her mouth and rolled her tongue on it. Slowly, she moved her head down, letting his shaft going deeper. Steel Head arched his back in pleasure, feeling her soft mouth suck him hard. Her head starting to go up and down in a slow motion, her lips pressing hard against his length.

She felt a salty flavor when a little of precum hit her tongue and then she moved her head up, sucking hard, until finally letting his shaft out of her mouth. He moaned and almost came with that.

"D-damn..." Steel Head said panting. "You are making me feel like... a young foal!" He chuckled. She smiled to him and then turned his rear towards him. Her tail up and her hindlegs spread, exposing her marehood soaked from her own arousal.

"Come… and show me that you are a big colt then" She teased him

Steel head didn't waste time, standing up and mounting the white mare in front of him. She shivered in anticipation. The tip of his shaft touched her especial cave and then he pushed all the way in with one single thrust. Rarity Moaned loud with the intrusion and squeezed him with her inner walls.

"S-such a b-big boy!" She moaned, feeling him all the way inside, spreading her insides.

He snorted and then started to move his hips, taking half of his lenght out to shove inside again, repeating the movement in a constant rhythm. Their voices and moans echoed through the room. Jolts of pleasure hit the mare and the royal guard. His fore legs warped thigh around the mare's chest to give him more stability. The stallion started to speed up, going in and out like a piston. Rarity had her tongue loling out, her legs shaking as the jolts of pleasure hit her.

Steel head felt her inner wall squeeze his shaft hard, milking him. Rarity let out a loud cry of pleasure when she hit an orgasm. The stallion bit the back of her neck to muffle his moan as he let himself cum. The white and gooey milk started to pour inside the white mare, an enormous amount of cum, filling her especial cave until its limit. Rarity felt the strength abandon her legs and she fell on the bed with him on top. Both equines panting hard.

He rolled to his side, bringing Rarity with him. She lay right next to him, his shaft buried deep in her especial cave. She felt that he was kissing her neck and giggled.

"You were awesome Rarity..." He said panting. She just smiled and snuggled on his hoofs, warping her chest in a tight hug.
"You were not bad too. It's been ages since I last had a stallion." She confessed and he chuckled at her words.
"And here I was thinking that you were as innocent as your friends." He said
"Oh dear, I'm not young as they are… I already had my share of experience." She explained. "Besides, I think you deserved a little reward for helping me with my career."

"Is that so? Then, if I had said nothing about you making some designs for the new gala suit for the royal guards I would have been turned down?" He said teasing her.

"As I said, it has been ages since I had a stallion. Let's just say that it's fun to be with another mare… but I missed the 'real thing' if you know what I mean" she teased him again and he bit her neck several times, playing and teasing her, making her squeal and laugh in his hoofs. He held her close and stopped.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"I hope not a word will come out from here about this..." He said to her kissing her neck. She was not like the others that would get offended by that; so, it would be nice to let things clear from the start. He was already preparing his explanations and whys that he was pushing her aside.
"Don't worry; I don't usually talk about the colts and mares that I do. Besides, I know that you are just a player, a hunter, and it would be bad for both of us if anyone though that we were together." She said and closed her eyes. It was the first time he heard those kinds of words in a very long time. He was the one that usually pushed the mares away after the 'fun' so, that caught him really off guard. A spike hit his heart, a little painful but not hard enough for him to care. She was right; he was no stallion to be with only one mare. He simply pushed his thoughts towards his other targets and relaxed to regain his energies.
> Nightmares and Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the race I came back to my house. Next to me was Applejack helping me carry my equipment. But as I was going to open the door Steel Head opened first from the inside, behind him was Rarity. I looked at them and it was not hard to know what had happen, the month I spend with him was enough to know Steel Head and some of his behaviors. I gave him a significant look, but he ignored me.

"Oh, there you are Eravel, me and Rarity came to the house to look for you!" He said smiling at me and Applejack.

"uhum..." I looked at him. What a cynic bastard...

"Hey Rarity. We'r looking fer'ya too." Applejack said, apparently unaware of what I knew that had happen between the two white ponies.
"Oh, you did not had to worry about me darling" Rarity said, playing along with Steel Head. "I was with Steel Head after all..." She said walking out of the house. "Well, now that Eravel is back safe and sound I need to go too. I have a few things to prepare in my store." She looked back at Steel Head and winked. "oh, and Eravel, dear, you should go inside and shower! You are in an awful state! And... What about those clothes of yours?" She looked with a frown to my line cloths.
"I use them all the time; it is the only clothes I got." I said looking at myself.
"Uhg... You should get rid of them! They are awful. Almost as bad as that armor you usually wore." She said walking away. "go to my boutique some day so we can make proper clothes for you!" Applejack sighed.
"Don't yer mind that fancy pony" The orange pony said to me. "She's not usually this rude with other ponies. Well, ah got'go too, mah big brother's probably need mah help in the farm." She looked at the sky, watching the sun going down. "Not that ah'll be of any use at this time. Well cya'soon" With that she gave me my armor back and started to leave. I watched she disappear in the horizon and then looked at Steel Head.

"I can't believe you did that to her!" I said scowling with him. The royal guard just chuckled.

"Me? I did nothing; SHE is the one who did me!" He said and walked inside. I closed the door and followed him.
"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too! But hey, you got no right to judge me. I saw you and that cyan pegasus chatting. The way she was looking at you... If she is like Rarity, soon enough you will be under her sharing a bed!" He laughed. I rolled my eyes and started to strip my shirt.

"Stop saying nonsense! She's a pony, and I'm a human! This is wrong in so many different ways that I can't even start pointing them!" I said going upstairs, where our bathroom was, taking all my stuff with me. He followed me with a smirk.
"Don't act like you are not interested in her too. You even let her beat you so you both could be friends." He said
"And that's what we are: friends! I did what I did so she could forgive me. I deserved that and she deserved to have her revenge." I said in a firm tone. He rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say Eravel, but trust me when I say that she got an eye on you." He said going to his room.

I sighted and went to my own room that was still completely empty. I left all my stuff in a corner and then went downstairs again. My clothes had been almost destroyed in my fight with the manticore, but I manage to sew it all together again. But since I arrived here, I did not wash them even once.

I filled a bucket with water and something that Steel Head told to be 'powder soap'. I put some in the water and went to my room. I had no spare clothes with me so, I had to be naked while washing it. The clothes were so dirty that I had to change the water that turned black and then restart the whole process of laundry. After long minutes in that boring job I stretched them in my balcony to dry. Now I could wash my own body. I walked into the bathroom and then turned the shower just as Steel Head taught me to do.

One leaver was cold water and the other was hot water. You had to lower them to regulate the amount that would come out. My first time using it I had the help of the royal guard and it was back at the hospital. The second was at Fluttershy… Now it would be my third time using it and I wanted to try on my own. I pushed the leaver for hot water first, but I over did it and a torrent of almost boiling water came all over me.

"DAMN LOKI!" I yelled as the hot water hit my skin, leaving light red marks on it. I hurried and pulled the leaver up to stop the water. The bathroom door slammed open. Steel Head had come to 'rescue' me when I yelled.
"What happen! Are you ok!" He said in a worried tone. I stepped out of the shower.

"Almost..." I said partially wet, mu pale skin with some light red marks from the almost boiling water that hit me. It did not even hurt anymore. I only got the marks because my skin was too pale. Steel Head understood what happen right away and chuckled.
"You need to pull both leavers at the same time and THEN adjust the water temperature." He said smiling. I went back inside and then did what he told me. Pulling both at the same time, slowly, the water came out warm, not too hot nor too cold. I just stood there, letting the water soak my body, enjoying it.

"Back in my home land, we had to warm the water in the fire before taking a bath. And we need to do it quickly because the weather was always very cold." I Started to rub my body.
"Yeah, I can imagine that. And I don't like what it looks like" He chuckled. "Well, if you need anything else, just call, ok? I'll come to rescue you." He teased me leaving me alone.

I took my time letting the water pour down my body. It felt good on my sore muscles, it helped me to relax. My thoughts wondered about how peaceful this place was. I just could not understand how these ponies could live so... carefree. Steel Head used the time I was in the palace's hospital to teach me a little about this world and the forces that ruled it. Clestia and Luna were really goddess of the sun and the moon. The pegasi around had almost total control over the weather. The crops grew a lot faster than the place where I was from and they never, EVER, had a war.

This... excess of peace made me uneasy. My whole life was a struggle to survive, to be the best, to always be able to defeat my enemy and, the whole world WAS my enemy. But suddenly I had no such purpose anymore. All the dangerous creatures lived in Everfree forest and they had no enemies to fight. Even Steel Head had never killed before. What kind of guard had never killed at least once? This was very, very strange to me.

I turned the shower off and took a towel, drying my skin. Once I was dry, I walked to my room, went to the balcony to watch the sky. The moon was high and beautiful. I could feel the fresh nigh breeze on my skin and then closed my eyes, letting my mind dance with the sound and feelings around me. No one would come closer to this house, so I didn't care that I was naked. My father always told me that was important to sometimes, relax and let you blend in the nature. I heard the sound of the leaves in the trees... And the flaps of the wings of some bird that was passing by... and then I heard a thud right next to me of something landing... and then... 'wait a second'.

I open my eyes and looked to my side. There was Princess Luna smiling over me.

"Good evening Eravel." She said in a soft tone. I jumped back, startled by her presence AND the fact that I was naked. Using my hand I covered my shames.

"P-P-Princess! What are YOU doing here!" I said panting and she frowned.
"Is that something wrong that I wanted to see one of the few creatures that enjoyed my night?" She looked like she was offended.
"Ahm... n-no, of course not! What I mean is... why you did not knock on the door or something like it?" I said looking around for something to cover me but my clothes were still soaked. I used then the closest thing in my hand. My helmet.

"I saw you enjoying the night so much that I didn't want to pull you out of this nice spot." She said smiling and walking near to the balcony's edge. I walked behind her. "Tell me, did the element of loyalty, Rainbow Dash, forgive you?" She asked looking at the night sky.

"Yes... we had... a friendly talk. And then she accepted my apologies." I said to her. The princess giggled a little.
"She beat you didn't?" She looked at me smiling. I shrugged in response. "Rainbow Dash send a letter to my sister. Talking about the thing she had learned about friendship. My sister was more than pleased to hear what you did." She turned her head towards the sky.

"I'm glad that your sister is not angry at me anymore." I said a little more relaxed but still covering myself with the helmet. "I mean, having a Goddess angry with you is NOT a good thing" I completed and she giggled with that statement.

"Yes, indeed. Also, I came here at her request to ask you about something." She said looking right in my eyes. "She wanted to know more about that 'other Eravel', the one that had to be stopped by her." I froze. The princess never asked even once about the incident after I was taken to the hospital room. Why now?
"She feels that you are good enough to talk about what happen. She knows that at first you lied to her about you not knowing what happen" Luna said, as if she had read my mind. "But now she wants answers... Not now, now. She will give you some time to answer that. In a week she will come to Ponyvile to attend a small morning party at Sugar Cube corner. Be there so she can talk to you." She smiled at me and then flapped her wings, flying high and disappearing in the night, leaving me a little choked.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I could not sleep… The words of Princess Luna spinning in my head, driving me crazy! Celestia knew that I had lied to her, but STILL trusted me. That made me feel a little guilty, but it was suppose to be a white lie and, I though, there was no way she would find out. But now she knew and I had no idea what I would tell her. Those toughs kept tormenting me. I was laid on my bed, staring at the roof. My clothes were still drying out in the balcony.

"But you at least have a week to think about this, right?" A male voice echoed through the room. It sounded a little joyful and came from all directions.
"Who's there!" I said standing up, grabbing my sword. Not caring to cover my still naked body.

"Again with those questions... you mortals really have no imagination at all do you?" The voice came from behind me andIi turned to face the intruder. There I saw that creature made out of other creatures: Discord.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you could come only in my thoughts." I said lowering my sword.
"But we ARE in your head, you slept and didn't even realized" He chuckled.
"Oh... I see... well, whatever! What do you want this time?" I said in a not so friendly tone. I didn't like the idea of that creature coming inside my head.

"What? Can't I come to visit a friend?" He said looking at me. He acted as my words had hurt him. My expression changed to soften a little.
"Erm.. no... I..." I was going to apologize but he started laughing at me.
"Hahahahah! Got'cha boy!" He teased me. I just shake my head... what a weird creature. "I see that Celestia was right about you having a good nature after all, despite all the chaotic energy in you." I looked at him with a serious expression.

"You saying those things again... can't you be a little more specific?" That thing about 'chaotic energy' was getting in my nerves.

"Yes I can, but I don't know if I want to..." He said teasing me again. "You see, the chaotic energy is something everypony has, and you have a lot of it. Of course, it has other names, but if I tell them to you it will be no fun." I just rolled my eyes and looked at him angry. "But! I can provide you with some clues about what is the chaotic energy that you have." He snapped his fingers and the whole scenario changed.

I could see myself in a really familiar place. The weather was cold, very cold. No sun in the sky. The smell of grass and soaked earth... also the smell of farm animals and food. I looked around and saw myself in my home land. I was back in my village! The houses had a good space between each other and were really similar, since they were all built the same way. Dry hay and clay for the roofs, wood for the walls and structure. The only stone part was the fireplace structure that could be seen from the outside.

Farm animals walked around, the sound of people talking and working. Not far from there I could see the old blacksmith working on his forge, he worked hard to make farming tools and weapons. I looked behind me and could see the ocean, just a few miles away. A few ships standing at the port but we were too far away for me to see how many of them were there.

"In... Odin's name... you... you..." I started but he cut me off.
"No, this is just a memory. I did not brough you back to your world..." He said and then pointed to a boy walking with stick on the belt, as if it were a sword. I recognized the boy as being me, at least five years younger.

"Can they see us?" I asked.
"No, this is just a memory, as I already said, and we are just here to watch." Discord said walking towards the boy. O followed him, not caring that I was still naked.

The younger me walked for some minutes until he reached his house... my house, where I used to live with my father and mother. As the Young me was reaching the door to open, someone yelled at him.

"Defend yourself!" I looked to some bushes nearby and saw a tall man, with a long braided hair. His face had only a small amount of bear and it was all on the tip of his chin. He had deep blue eyes and the expression of a mad man.

The young me quickly 'unsheathed' the stick and parried a strike coming from above. The man was also using a stick to fight. The boy stepped to the side, letting the stick of the older man slide down. He delivered a quick counter attack to the man's head. The older men hold the strike coming for his head with his forearm and smiled at the boy.

"Good technique son! You are getting better and better by the days!" The older man praised the young Eravel.

I felt my eyes sting a little. Hot tears marked my face I watched that scene. The older man was my father, the man that inspired me to be who I was... The man who taught me how to live and how I was suppose to die one day. My chest ached in pain. It was like someone was grabbing my heart and squeezing it.

"Why... why you brought me here? Why to this day... WHY IN THE NAME OF THOR'S HAMMER YOU BROUGHT ME TO SEE THIS DAY YOU WRETCHED MONSTER!" I snapped and before I knew I was pointing my sword toward Discord. He didn't even blink. I could feel the rage, the anger... the blood lust was crawling under my skin, pinching my muscles andI fought to keep myself in control.

"Because is here where you will understand what your chaotic power is..." he said calmly "Your father had it too, and I need you to watch it to understand." He said looking me in the eyes. My sword kept pointing at him. My grip was tight enough to hurt my own hand.

The sound of a horn blowing in the distance took my attention from the draconian creature. I saw in the horizon a line of mans. They were all armed with spear, shields, swords, axes and hammers. My father saw that too and hurried to go inside home. He took me with him. I didn't need to go with them to know what happen inside the house. My mother was there. She had a pale skin with golden hair... Her eyes were light green and she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Not to mention she was the strongest too. Despite the role of woman in our village, she had trained to use the bow like no one else.

My father and mother got dressed for the battle. My mother with her bow and arrows and my father with his full armor, sword and axe. They told me to get ready to run for the hills, where I would be safe. I argued with him that I wanted to fight and he slapped me across the face. He said that I had to survive and if I was there in danger he could not fight properly. I could remember his heavy hand on my face and the fear on his voice. We were outnumbered, he knew it, and that was why he forced me to leave.

I stood outside the house, next to the Discord. I saw my father and mother coming out and joining the others that would stay to fight. Then I saw my younger self going out and joining the rest of those who could not fight. Reluctant I approached the small contingent that formed a line at the borders of our village to defend it against the invaders. I wanted to be there, next to those two that I loved most but I knew that was impossible... and that was what hurt most.

The two lines were ready to fight. Horns started to blow as they were getting ready to engage each other. Both sides roared challenges and curses. Caught in the emotion of the moment I joined the voices. It was tradition to make those verbal competition until one side decided to fight for real. My mother was the one who started. She pulled an arrow, aimed in a high angle and shoot. The deadly projectile flew fast and, making an arch in the air and landed in the eye of one of the invaders who were not wearing any helmet.

The soldier with an arrow in the eye fell limp and his side charged. My side charged too to stop their advance. The sound of swords clashing and shields striking each other echoed though the field. My mother was a fast shooter, and had an excellent aim. Men after man fell with her arrows. All our warriors were fighting for their families and their homes, but, even though they say numbers don't win a battle they surly help.

I saw as the warriors from the village started to fall, one after the other. The enemy was pushing forward, tainting the earth with blood, the blood with those who once I knew, the blood from my people. It was a horrific sight even for Discord. I saw that in his eyes. My attention was caught by a woman's scream. I saw my mother hit on the shoulder by a spear that was thrown at her. She fell on the ground, crying in pain. My father saw that too and then, all around me started to move in slow motion.

I could see my father's eyes. I saw fear. Fear of losing his wife, fear of losing his love and then, that fear ignited like a pool of oil hit by a sparkle. I almost saw my father's eyes shine with rage. He went in frenzy state that my people called 'Berserker'. Our people had legends about that. It was said that we had dragons blood in us, and in the time of need the blood would awaken and make us as powerful as a raging dragon. But with a high cost. Our mortal bodies were not prepared to deal with such a power and as a result, we simply lost our minds.

I feral howl came from my father's throat. He dashed towards the enemy, forgetting his companions, his life, his surroundings. He was taken with a blood lust and there was nothing that could stop him. He broke through the enemy's lines, slashing and killing one after the other. Shields were broken under the power of his axe… Limbs were separated from the bodies under the sharp edge of his sword. But I felt a hot tear rolling down my face as I watched my father being hit and cut several times. But he didn't felt it. He didn't care. I saw him slowly running toward his own death in a killing frenzy. It was thank to that that the enemy started to retreat. My father alone killed enough of them to set panic and turning the tables.

I saw him standing victorious on the battle field, surrounded by the dead. His body covered with blood and wounds. He looked back to where my mother was. She was hurt but alive. It was the first time I saw her crying. Around us, cries of joy and victory from those who were unaware of the true hero that saved the day. I watched my father fall on his knees; he smiled at the sight of her love, still alive. He held both weapon as hard as he could... and then his life escaped his lungs. The last thing I heard was my mother scream for her loss and then all my surrounding changed again. I was in a place without any kind of light. It was all darkness around me.

Standing in front of me was Discord. He was not smiling, or making jokes. He just stood there silently for some time, to let me recover from what I had just seen.

"I hope you understand what chaos is boy... and what is the chaos that lies inside you." He said in a serious tone. I only nodded in response. "Good." Were his last words before finally wakeup. I gasped for air. The tears marking my face and I was covered in sweat. I looked around me, grasping the reality. I didn't fully understand what Discord talked about what was the chaos, but I knew that it was just a matter of time.
> A little incident
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stood up and went straight to the shower. The dream I had was still fresh in my mind and I needed to relax. I stepped in the warm water, a little more hot than I'm used to but that helped to relax my tense muscles. I felt like I had not rest during the night at all.
"Hey Eravel! Come out already, there is a visitor for you!" I suddenly heard Steel Head call me from outside the bathroom.

I quick turned it off and went to my room to get dressed. My line clothes were still no completely dry but I would not show myself naked. I shivered at the touch of the cold fabric. It was still too early for the sun to be able to get the weather more warm. I got downstairs and found myself face to face with rarity, she was looking in disgust to my clothes.
"Ahm, hi Rarity... you wanted to see me?" I said walking near her.

"Yes darling... I came to pick you up to get some new clothes!" She said opening the house door with her magic.

"What, now?" I asked looking at the open door.
"Well of course it is now! I just received the news that Princess Celestia is going to come by the end of the week to a morning party and I will have NONE of my friends to be dressed in some clothes made out of potato's bag!" She said and went behind me, pushing me outside.
"W-wait a second! I don't have any money at all!" I said trying stay. I remembered how boring was to stand still while someone took your measures to make clothes.
"No problem! Take this as a welcome gift!" She said pushing me harder.
"But but but..." I tried to make some arguments but couldn't think of any one. She shoved me outside hard and I almost fell on the grass outside...
"I'll bring him back later Steel darling" She waved at the royal guard inside the house who was laughing.

She dragged me all the way to her Boutique. On the positive side it was a good chance to actually see around the city. I still hadn't the chance to do so. As I passed through the streets I got all kinds of stares from the ponies that were not used to my presence. This time I tried to look friendly to them, smiling a little and waving occasionally.

"Think they remember the last time I was here?" I whispered to Rarity.
"Of course they do... it was quite a show you've put here. But most of them didn't understood what happen at all. Also, you are much different now, without those... things you wore last time." She said while walking beside me. It was a good thing… maybe I could pretend that nothing happen.

We walked across the city for a few minutes until I was able to see her boutique. It was a cylindrical building with many big windows showing all sorts of dresses in fake pony bodies. The walls were all white full of pink, purple and blue details and, for me, was as weird as any building around that town. She walked inside holding the door open for me. The inside was well decorated and had more dresses in display. A small platform surrounded by big mirrors and some chests open with various types of gems.

"Ok dear, take off those 'potato bags' and step here." She indicated the small platform. "I want to take your measures. I think I have an old model that I made for Spike, but the measures are completely different."

"Ahm, does I REALLY have to take the clothes off?" I said not liking the idea of being naked in that place where anyone could come inside OR see me through the huge windows.

"But of course! Why would you not take them off? I don't even know why you keep wearing them anyway..." She said and her horn started to glow. My clothes got warped in that glow and started to come off my body but I held them.

"H-hey! Don't do that!" I said trying to hold them but soon I heard them ripping and coming off. I was completely naked there, blushing hard. What was wrong with her! One does not come and simply take your clothes off like that!
She blinked a few times, staring at my naked body. The pale skin all covered in scars from my fight with the manticore. I was using my hand to cover my crotch.
"Oh my... now I know why you keep wearing clothes all the time..." she said with a tone of regret in her voice. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't know you had... Oh Celestia... I'll fix it!" She bit her lower lip looking nervous around and then I saw a large piece of blue fabric coming towards me. While the fabric was flying, a scissor started to cut a hole on it and needles with blue line sew around the hole so the fabric would not fall apart.

My head passes through the hole and the rest of the fabric covered my body. A black belt, made out of thick fabric wires came and warped around my waist. More needles came and started to sew the sides of the fabric, closing it like some kind of robe. Soon more fabric came to warp my arms. I was amazed in her ability to make a robe in a few seconds. Four needles moving at once. In less than a minute I was wearing a nice blue robe that covered my whole body. It was very large for me, but at least I was not naked.

"Ahm... thank you..." I said looking at my new outfit.

"Sorry about your clothes... I didn't know that you had so... so many scars to hide." she said looking sad.

"Don't worry, I mean, in the end only you saw" I said feeling a little guilty. The scars didn't bothered me at all, I actually was proud of them. It was proof that I had survived a hard fight. "Besides, it's not the scars that I want to hide..." I said softly.
"No? Then what?" She asked curious.

"Ahm..." How can you explain the concept of 'decency' to a pony that only uses cloth as an accessory? "From where I come from is very cold. So we started using clothes, and that was something so normal that now no one walks around without clothes... and if they do, they are punished for it." I tried t explain to her. "The only way you can see someone naked is if you are very intimate of that person... or if you are a healer." I tried my best to explain, without going into further details of what we wanted to hide under the clothes.

She stopped for a second before talk.

"So... if that's the case... don't you feel awkward to see everypony naked around you? I mean... I don't use clothes unless I have something important to attend to." She said looking at me.
"Of course not... Why would I feel awkward to see..." I stopped there. I was about to call them animals.

"...to see...?" She looked at me with an eyebrow arched.
"ahm... well... how can I say it..." I scratched the back of my head thinking. "From where I come from, there are some... some animals that are very similar to you... but they don't speak or even think." I said hoping for her to not be offended.
"You mean... ponies like us that don't speak... or think?" She asked a little confused
"Yes, they are only farm animals; we use them as transport or to push heavy things. So, for me it's not weird to see you all naked." I said a little unconformable with the situation.
"So we are just not enough for you... is that it?" She said with an offended tone.

"NO! Of course not! It's just... erm... it's just..." I was searching for words to explain myself.
"No, that's fine... I understand... we are not worthy to be recognized as a thinking race!" She said in a dramatic way. She lay in a near couch, one hoof in her fore head, making a dramatic pose. "And here I was thinking so high of you... I even wanted to make some free clothes for you!"

"Oh damn..." I whispered to myself.
"I think it's better for you to just... just go away! I don't want you to dirty your eyes with an unworthy sight!" She was almost screaming, making a huge scene.

"STOP!" I yelled at her and she looked at me a little surprise. "I DON'T think you or any other pony is unworthy ok! The fact that I don't feel awkward of seeing you all naked is only because of a cultural reason, because you guys look too much like the farm animals that I have back in my home. And THAT'S IT, no other reason at all! Besides, I would never be embarrassed of being naked in front of horse in my old home land as I'm here." I said a little too loud. Rarity looked at me and stood up. She keep looking at me for a few seconds, analyzing what I had just said.

"Ok then, let's get upstairs so I can take your measures were nopony can see you" She smiled at me and started to walk towards the stairs as if nothing had happen. I arched an eyebrow. How can she just change the mood so fast like that!

I followed her to the second floor and we went in her studio. It had several rolls of fabric and other sewing tools. It also had more of those fake pony bodies but they had no clothes on them. I realized that her studio was also her bedroom. It has a large bed with columns and curtains.

"OK, no one will be able to see us here." She said and her horn started to glow. A measure tape started to fluctuate near me. She just looked at me, waiting for me to take out my new robe. I sighed and started to remove it. My face getting a little red again. I never did this in front of a woman before and, as I said to her, these ponies were just like people for me now. They could talk, could think and could make weird buildings… They were people. Even if they were not humans.

I stood there just as I came to this world, not a piece of cloth covering me. I used one of my hands to cover my crotch again and lifted my other arm. She started to take my measures, using the measure tape in every inch of my body. I felt really exposed there. The way she looked at me, taking notes and analyzing the shapes of my limbs, it was really weird.

"Finished!" She said walking away from me after a few minutes. "I'll start making your clothes right away! And I have some nice ideas for it, you will look lovely!" She said happily and I rushed to cover my body with my robe. "You can come to see if it will fit tomorrow ok?" She said starting to pull some fabrics to start her work.

"Just don't do something to… colorful… ok?" I asked her.
"Don't you worry dear, I'm sure you will love your new clothes" She smiled at me wearing her half moon glasses now. I just hoped that she didn't make a dress for me.

We said our goodbyes and I started to go downstairs. As I arrived at the end of the stairs I saw a young stallion walking in. He had a brown fur and dark brown mane and tail. He looked at me, with a little surprise.

"Hey…" I waved at him. He hesitated for a second before answer.

"Hi. Erm… Miss Rarity is here?" He asked.
"Sure, she's upstairs" I said pointing the stair right behind me.
"Thanks." He said and trotted fast to the second floor. I looked at him going up and thought that was strange. There was not a single piece of masculine cloth around. But maybe she did some clothes for stallions.

I was near the door when I heard a scream coming from the second floor. I turned around, my eyes widened. Did I just imagine that or… I cursed myself. That stallion just went upstairs and he was attacking Rarity! My legs started to move fast inside the large robe. I dashed upstairs and slammed the door open. I saw Rarity on the floor covered in a long piece of fabric. It looked like she was all tangled on it, totally defenseless. On top of her was the stallion. That sight… it made my blood boil. I felt the rage crawling under my skin.

The brown stallion lifted his head to see me with a shocked expression. I dashed inside with my hand closed in a fist and landed a blow right on his snout. He closed his eyes in pain and stumbled back. I heard Rarity calling me, but I ignored her. This bastard was going to feel a little of the north's rage! I struck another blow on his snout and another and another, coming from different directions. I was not going to give him the time to fight back. After the forth blow he fell on the floor, moaning in pain… his snout bleeding and swollen. I took my belt off and mounted on his body. The thick belt made of cloth warped around his neck and I started to strangulate him. I could feel my gust screaming to kill him, and I had no will to fight that scream. Who the hell was him to come and attack Rarity!

The stallion started to gag and choke, struggling to escape, but he was in a bad position and was not able to fight back. I saw his eyes rolling up, his mouth opening and closing. He started to cry. Large tears coming out from his eyes that had turned red from the bad flow of oxygen and blood… he was losing conscience. I grinned. He was going to die! He was going to… I felt a hard blow on the side of my body and I fell on the floor, releasing the stallion neck. I heard him choking and gasping for air. I looked up and saw that Rarity had hit me. I looked at her with a confused expression. She was panting a little. How did she break free from her bounds so easily?

She helped the stallion to stand up… he looked terrify and standing up was proving to be a challenge for his trembling legs... I saw that and could not understand what was happening. Why was she helping her aggressor? Her horn started to glow and she cleaned his snout with the very piece of cloth that has binding her just a moment ago…

"Can you walk dear?" She asked with a soft tone… he nodded and she kissed him on the cheek. "Go downstairs, grab some ice and put in our snout, I'll be right there…" She said and he walked away. I stood up to chase him but Rarity blocked my way.

"NO! Leave him alone!" She said a serious tone.

"But Rarity!" I said controlling my anger. "He was going to rape you!" I said almost in a shout.

"What! Are you out of your mind!" She said in shock. "He just came to help me with some work!" She shouted.
"But you were all tied up! And he was on top of you!" I said to her. To me he was attacking her. Back in my home land, that kind of thing was very common. Woman had not much place in society; the only role was to tend the house and give birth. Aside from that, they were some kind of sex tool for the winner when it comes to battle. And stories of rapists that attacked woman from different villages were not that rare. That's why my mother was taught how to fight… My grandfather was one of the few mans that hated that conception and, not wanting my mother to be an easy prey, he trained her how to be a huntress and how to fight. She passed to me all that vision about how much rape is wrong and how despicable is a man who enjoys it.
"Yes, but it was an accident!" She sighed "I was working on that piece of fabric and when he entered, he stepped on a roll of line for sewing and fell over me" She explained. It took me a few seconds to imagine the scene... Rarity using her magic to make the fabric float in the air... The brown colt entering and then slipping on the roll... and then bumping on her. She fell over the fabric and got all warped... and he went to help her... yeah... it made some sense... Damn it... I almost killed a pony because he fell over her and I thought he was a rapist… What was wrong with me! Things were looking better and better. I sat on her bed, putting a hand over my face.

"Look, don't feel so bad about it. I'll talk to him and explain everything, OK?" She said putting a hoof on my leg. "I doubt he will hold any grudge against you after I talk to him. After all, you only acted that way to protect me." I looked at her and nodded. Of all the crazy stuff that could happen...

"Say to him that I'm sorry for almost killing him" I said getting up and warping the belt around my waist again. She nodded and escorted me to the exit of her room and then to the street. From the corner of my eye I saw the brown stallion half hiding behind a curtain that covered the door to the kitchen.

I walked outside the boutique thinking about the poor stallion that I had attacked. I hoped that he could forgive me. 'If it wasn't for Rarity to escape her bindings...' In my mind the image of the colt with his eyes rolled up, gasping for air and crying... I shivered at the thought. What made all worst was the fact that he didn't looked like the kind of guy who would actually rape anyone like that. I don't know why I assumed something so absurd like that… Maybe I was losing sanity?

Lost in my toughs I didn't saw the incoming danger until it was too late. A cyan blur hit me in the chest, sending me to the floor. We both rolled a few times until we finally stopped. I was lying on the hard floor, my new robe got all dirty. I could feel something heavy in my chest. It was Rainbow Dash and she was looking all dizzy too.
"Are you OK?" I asked looking at her. I cough a few times, my chest hurting a little. The cyan filly recovered and looked at me.
"Kind of... thanks for holding me..." She said with a hoof in her head.

"Don't mention..." I said raising my upper body. The cyan filly rolled and ended up in my lap with her hoofs up. I put my arm around her neck to avoid her falling with her head first. She was just like a baby in my lap.

"You need to stop hitting me like that you know?" I said looking at her and smiling. She Chuckled and stood up.
"Sorry... I was trying a new trick but I lost control of my flight!" The rainbow mane filly said smiling at me. "I was thiiiis close to complete it..." She said narrowing one of her eyes. "...but I lost control in the last moment." She sighed.
"Well I think you need a break." I said standing up "If you push too hard, you will end up hurting yourself." I said just repeating one of my father's phrases about training.

"Yeah you're right... want to hang out? Maybe we could eat something; it's almost time for lunch." She said looking at the sun in the sky. She wanted to have lunch with me? And to think that a few days back she swore to beat me up if she ever sees me near Ponyvile.

"Sure, why not? But I don't have money, so... I guess you will have to pay mine too." I grinned at her. She rolled her eyes.
"Hey! You are having the chance to lunch with the most awesome pony around! At least you could pay." She said crossing her forehoofs.
"I would love to pay for both of us but, I just don't have any money." I shrugged, still grinning. She snorted and frown her eyebrows.
"Fine! I'll pay, but you owe me, got it?" She said and started to walk. I chuckled and started to follow her.

"Now, what with those weird clothes you are wearing?" She said scanning my blue robe.

"Rarity ripped my old clothes off..." I said and shrugged. Rainbow Dash looked at me and blushed lightly.
"She... what?" The cyan pegasus stopped looking at me.
"She ripped it off when I told her that I would not take them off." I sighed. "I forgot to tell her that where I'm from everyone uses clothes all the time. She tough that it was normal for me to just walk around naked like you guys does ..." I explained. I saw the cyan filly sigh in relief.
"Oh... heh, well at least these have a better color than the others." She started to walk again. I looked at her a bit confused... why would she blush like that? It's not as if the fact that Rarity stripped me meant anything at all… or maybe it did?

We walked near each other talking about some other random stuff. And by 'random' I mean a group called 'Wonderbolts'. She was obsessed with them and could not stop talking about the flying team. After just fifteen minutes of walking we stopped at a restaurant with some tables in the open air. She approached one of them and I pulled a nearby rock to sit too. A light gray pony wearing a suit came near us holding two menus. He scanned me for quite some time. I just ignored his stare... and the other dozens around me.

Looking at the menu I soon realized a thing that didn't came to me until now. I didn't know how to read. I kept staring at those weird symbols and pictures of food. I could not read a thing there... I knew the basics of the runic write that the druid at my village taught me, but this symbols they used to write were totally unknown for me. I kept staring at the menu with a confuse expression for some time, until Rainbow Dash realized that something was wrong.

"What's the matter Evarel? Can't decide what to pick?" She asked lowering her menu to looked better at me. The attendant was looking at me too. I blushed a little before answer.
"Well you know... I... I can't read these..." I said a little embarrassed. She arched an eyebrow and I heard the attendant hold a chuckle. Rainbow Dash glared at the light gray colt and then looked at me.
"What do you eat?" She asked in a simple tone.
"Anything but flowers or hay." I said putting the menu on the table. She nodded and looked at the attendant, making the order. Two carrot soup with some pieces of toast and an extra large cup of strawberry juice. The light gray colt got the menus and left

"Sorry..." I said. I didn't know why I was sorry for, I just felt the urge to apologize. Maybe for not telling her this before?
"Don't worry. It was not your fault at all." She smiled at me. "And as long as you have me, the most awesome pony around, you will not have to worry about anything!" She said stuffing her chest in a proud way.

"Including paying for our next lunch again?" I chuckled and she smirked at me.
"Almost anything..." We both just laughed.
> Incomplete Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The purple baby dragon watched as her unicorn friend walked from one side to another in the library. She had her eyebrows frowned and didn't looked happy at all. She was like that for quite some time, well, not like THAT, but she was acting a little strange since the arrival of the human boy. Something was bothering Twilight Sparkle but Spike could not figure out what it was. His green eyes followed the purple filly, his patience growing shorter and shorter... until he snapped.

"Twilight Stop!" He said standing on her ways and pressing his hands against her shoulders. "If you keep walking like this you will make a trench in the middle of the library!"
"Sorry Spike..." She said coming back to the real world. "Is just... I can't stay still; I'm feeling very unease with this whole situation with Eravel." She said sitting on her hind legs.

"What's to be worry about? He proved that he is not going to do any harm to anypony..." Spike said looking at his friend.
"I know, but this is not what is bothering me... Its... well..." She hesitated.
"Well...?" Spike asked, putting some pressure on her.

"It's Princess Celestia..." She sighed.
"What about her?" Spike asked her, in confusion.
"She is letting me out of all this, Spike... I didn't receive a letter from her since that day she appeared to save Rainbow Dash. She only send me a note the day after, saying that she had taken care of the situation and then... nothing else." She looked extremely sad. "I... I know that I'm still her pupil and I don't doubt her judgment... but... but is not fair that she's leaving me out of this! I wanted to help her... I know I could be useful..." She said with pain in her voice. "I thought that I would be the first that she would ask to help... but instead, she asked some random royal guard to do."
"Now now Twi... Don't say things like that..." Spiked said taping her shoulders lightly. "It must have a good reason for that."
"I know Spike... is just... I don't know why I'm feeling like that... If at least I could..." She got interrupted by her front door slamming open.
"HEY Twilight!" Rainbow Dash's voice came from the entrance. Next to the cyan filly was the human, dressing a long blue robe.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Me and Rainbow Dash left the restaurant with our stomachs full and my mood had improved wonders. We had a nice conversation during our lunch together, talking about everything. Well, actually she was the one that made the most part of the talk. Rainbow Dash was telling me her adventure with her friends when they fought Nightmare Moon. I never really got the thing about the Elements of Harmony until now and I was impressed with the power they had together.

"Rainbow, do you think you could help me with something?" I said as we just walked without any direction. It was good to be with her, even when we didn't talk at all.

"Sure! What you need?" She said flying at the same level of my face. Not that I was much taller than her, but the filly just could not stay in the ground.

"I want to learn how to read..." I said.
"Read? Really?" She arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I mean... Is awful not to be able to read signs and other things, and since I'll be living here for an indeterminate amount of time, I think this will be important." I explained to her.

"Well, I could, but that would be too boring for me..." She said thinking. "I know! We can ask Twilight Sparkle! She's an egg head from birth. I know that she'll love to help you with that! C'mon! Let's go to her house!" She said and started to fly fast. I ran after her, trying to keep up. But it was more than hard to run inside the long robe I was using. Soon I started to grow tired but luckily I could see our destination. A house carved in a tree, just like mine, but this was full of leaves and looked very alive. It was there where the purple filly lived.

Raibow Dash was there already, waiting for me.

"You are so slow!" She teased.
"Yeah yeah, I know that... don't need to throw that in my face all the time..." I sighed.
"Heh, just saying..." She shrugged and then slammed the door open. I saw Twilight inside, jump when the door slammed.

"HEY Twilight!" Rainbow dash waved at her startled friend.

"Hello there..." I said walking inside too.
"OH, hi you two... ahm... what can I help?" She said approaching, recovering from the surprise.

"I want to learn how to read..." I said a little embarrassed. I saw twilight looking at me in confusion and then I started to explain. "From where I come from, there are some symbols that we use to write, but your symbols are totally different from those that I know."
"hmm I see..." Twilight said thinking... I saw the purple dragon hitting her with his elbow and then making a signal with his eyes. The purple filly smiled understanding what the little dragon wanted to say and then looked at me. "Of course I can! Actually, we can star right now!" She said smiling widely.

I don't have a clue about what the dragon said to her, but I'm sure it was about me... And I got a little worried with that.

"This is great! I'll leave you two alone then." Rainbow Dash said, starting to walk towards the exit. "I have to fix a few details in my stunts and, no offence, this place tends to be super boring for me." The cyan filly said ignoring the look on Twilight's face.
Me an Twilight waved good bye to the cyan filly and then we looked to each other. The purple filly was looking at me with a smile that made me nervous.
"So... ahm.. Shall we start...?" I asked trying to break that awkward moment.

"Sure!" She said and her horn started to glow. Some books started to levitate from the shelves.

"Ahm, what happen to your clothes? Why are you using this...?" Spike asked coming close to me, examining my blue robe.
"Oh, this... I was at Rarity this morning... She ripped my clothes off, trying to get me naked." I explained.
"what!" I heard Twilight ask in shock... all the books she was levitating falling on the ground. I looked at her and saw her face all red, blushing heavily.
"Ahm... yeah, she wanted to take my measures for new clothes... and ripped my old ones... But my body is all covered in scars that I want to cover so, she made this one for me..." I used this excuse. It was too hard to explain the concept of wearing clothes all the time so I went for the easiest answer.

"It was... only that?" Twilight asked, biting her lower lip, a little apprehensive.

"Yeah, only that... are you alright Twilight?" I asked arching an eyebrow. I saw she sighing and relaxing.
"Oh... good..." She said looking relived. It was weird... Rainbow Dash reacted the same way when I told her about my clothes... but before I could think any further about this Twilight started saying. "ahem... let's start then..." She levitated the books again, putting them on the table.

I sat next her using a trunk as a bench and we started the lesson. At first it was a little hard for me, since I never ever had any kind of contact with those symbols. But for my luck, she was a good teacher. I felt a little embarrassed; it reminded me of when I was a child learning how to read the basics with the druid. But of course, this time no one would hit me with a staff if I made some kind of mistake.

The hours went on. Soon I saw the sun set through the window. I let out a yawn and stretched my arms.

"Tired already?" Twilight asked chuckling
"Yeah... Too much brain work... I don't do that in ages" I chuckled and rubbed one eye.

"We can stop for today..." she said standing up and stretching too. "Stay here tonight, I wanted to dine with you. We can talk a little." She smiled at me.
"Sure! I would love to stay here" I smiled at her. "We never had the chance to actually talk anyway..." I said and stood up, stretching my back "I bet Princess Celestia already told you all about me... She told me about you when I was at the castle. 'Twilight Sparkle is the name of my pupil. She is the closest pony I have, besides my sister'... she told me once" I smiled at the purple unicorn, but she didn't smiled back at me... not even looked at me. "Ahm.. Something I said?" I asked, afraid that I might have said something wrong.

"No... Not at all... is just..." She started. "The princess didn't tell me a thing about you actually... And, it's been quite some time since I spoke to her." She said looking very depressive. I felt a little bad for her since I knew that it was my fault, or I tough it was.

"Well, she's a princess after all. I think that she's busy, that's all. Nothing to worry about" I smiled at her. She looked at me and smiled softly.
"Yeah, I think I may be over reacting a little... again..." She chuckled. I didn't felt that she was convinced of her own words.

"Look, what do you think about me passing the night here? I mean… the whole nigh… I only need to look at you to know that you like to learn and let's just say that I'm a perfect 'thing' to study… I can stay here and answer all your questions." Her eyes shined and now smiled for real... And I started to regret my proposal.

"That will be perfect! I want to know everything about you and the place where you come from!" She said very excited.

Twilight filled me with question after question... As promised I answer them all. The hardest question of all was that damn one about 'why I do always wear clothes'. She saw through my lie about the scars so I had to explain her the 'why's about wearing clothes and covering the body. As predicted she got the concept... but it was clear that it was ridiculous, in her opinion. But then, it was my turn to ask her some questions.

"Ok... I think that is fair that you ask too" She said.

We were laid in some pillows and blankets that Spike brought to us.

"First... You said that you lived in the palace right? How was the guards there?" I asked curious. I wanted to know if all of them were like Steel Head.

"Fine I think..." she started. "Some of them were annoying... always coming with sweet talks towards me, as if I was dumb enough to fall for it." She chuckled. So... it appeared that the other guards were like Steel Head too. Or at least some of them.
"But you never even gave them a chance?" I asked.
"Of course not! I was there to study, not for... mating..." She blushed a little.

"But you never got lonely?" I was a bit curious about how relationships started here.

"Well, a little, sometimes. But I had Spike with me and also, I was always with Princess Celestia." She explained. "And now, I have my friends too."
"Yeah, you really like them all don't you?" I said smiling softly… She smiled too.
"Yes, very much. I can't imagine myself without them. I experienced it once, and it was horrible!" She said.
"Really? You fought with them or something like it?" I asked curious. They looked so united that it was hard to think of them having a bad fight.

"Almost. Once we faced an enemy called Discord." She said and my eyebrows closed in a frown. "He made my friends change in a way that it was unbearable to be near them. Applejack started to lie. Fluttershy turned into a cruel pony. Rainbow Dash abandoned us. Rarity turned into a greedy person and Pink Pie was angry at us for no reason at all. I almost gave up on them…" She said with a sigh.

"I… see… Can you tell me more about this Discord?" I asked.

"Sure. He's the incarnation of the chaos. His body is made of different part of creatures and he is as powerful as Princess Celestia." She explained
"And what happen with him?"
"We used the Elements of Harmony to turn him into stone. He's in the palace's garden now and can no longer harm anypony." She smiled at me.
"Ahm, Twilight, I got to go now…." I said standing up.
"Now? But is late… and didn't you say that you would sleep here?" She stood up too.
"Sorry, I just remember of a thing that I need to do" I smiled at her. She didn't looked very happy with that. "But I can spend the night here another day, I promise." She looked at me and smiled
"Promise?" She asked arching an eyebrow. I chuckled a little.
"Of course!" I said and then started to walk out her home, going towards mine.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So, he found out who you really are?" A feminine voice echoed in the Darkness.
"Almost… He found out what most of ponies know about me…" A male voice answered. "And now he will demand answers too..." The male voice let out a sight. "... sooo boring. I wish that those mortals would appreciate more the thrill of the unknown... All the sweet surprises that chaos can provide. Ungrateful jerk..." The male voice chuckled
"Let's just say that I know how you feel about it... But back to the point. He will be suspicious of you now, how will you deal with this?" The female voice asked again.
"You worry too much my dear... You know that I can handle this kind of situation, don't you? It was the same for you and your sister the first time we meet. Ahh... sweet memories..." He chuckled "I guess I'm becoming old. After all this I'll go back in time to enjoy those events again." He said and a smirk appeared in the middle of the void. A single smirk, floating on the empty darkness.

"Focus! You know we have a job to do here... We need to fix what that mistake first... then you can do whatever you want." The female voice said again.
"OK...OK... I will fix it all..." The male voice said in chuckle and then the darkness stood in silence again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I could not believe how stupid I was. Discord was in fact a monster defeated by the elements of harmony not too long ago and now he was in my mind! I did not understand much about magic, but the druids back in my village told me a little about the spiritual world and how, sometimes, the spirit of the dead warriors could help us in time of need. But this was completely different. Discord was turned into stone, so, how was possible for him to come into my mind? And more important, what did he wanted with me? He metioned something about the chaos inside me... was he trying to use me in some kind of way to come back or maybe...

I was totally lost in my thoughts, walking fast in the middle of the night. The moon was not that bright this time, so, I guess that it was not a surprise when I tripped in something and fell. The last thing I saw was a stone on the floor coming closer and then... darkness.

I opened my eyes and saw my body floating in the void. I knew where I was and shouted.

"DISCORD YOU DAMN SON OF LOKI, SHOW UP!" I was more than angry because, first, he was probably just using me or playing with my emotions and, second, because I tripped and fell with my head in a rock. I knew that when I wake up I would fell a lot of pain.

I felt my weight back and a solid floor under my feet. The scenario started to change until I saw myself in some kind of dark forest. Right in front of me was the ruins of an ancient castle. Behind me was an old bridge over a deep cliff. The main gate was open, inviting me to go inside. I didn't flinch. With firm steps I went inside the ruins but, when I crossed the main gate the whole scenario changed again. It was the same castle, but now it was daytime.

I was not in the entrance anymore. I could see a corridor on what looked like the third floor. On my left I could see some tapestries with the royal symbol of Sun and Moon and some wooden doors. On my left I saw columns that held the roof and no wall to cover my sight. I could see the central yard with a fountain and some plants. All around me there were ponies chatting or walking. Some royal guards but they wore different types of armor. Some of them wore golden armor with the sign of the sun on them. But I also saw some others wearing a dark gray armor with the moon sign. This place was not even close to be like the palace in Canterlot.

A stallion walked towards me and stopped, blocking my way. He was an earth pony with no mane or tail. His fur was pure white and his eyes where pitch black.

"Follow me." He said in an ethereal voice.
"Are you with Discord?" I asked to him
"Follow me..." Was his only answer and then started to walk. I followed him through the hallways. At some point, we passed in front of a large corridor that ended in gate with two heavy doors. One had the sun sign, the other had the moon sign.
"What's in there?" I asked when we passed.
"That's the throne room. It is where the King and the Queen are." The pony said while walking. My curiosity pulled me to the door but my will to punch Discord was stronger so I kept walking. Also, I didn't want to get lost here.

We reached some stairs and started to climb down. They were very large and ended in what I though, was the entry hall for those who came from the main gate. There I saw two alicorns running past us and laughing. One was a little taller than an average pony, with pure white fur and light pink mane and tail. The other was smaller, the same size of any other pony. Her fur was dark blue and she had a light blue mane and tail. Neither of them had a cute marks.

"Wait Tia!" The smaller one called between giggles as she ran after the older mare.

"Come on Luna! We don't want get late to the Sugar Cloud party!" The older mare called, smiling at the smaller one.

I looked at them and arched an eye brow.
"Are they..." I started to ask but my mysterious guide cut my phrase.
"Yes... They are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." He said and stood quiet it was a little weird to see them acting like normal ponies.

We kept walking until we reached the end of the stairs. We passed through the main door, ending in the front garden, full of trees and flowers. The sun was high in the sky, bathing the whole place in its golden light. My mysterious guide lead me through a small path until we ended in a a small fountain. There I could see Discord, laying in some kind of long chair, taking a sun bath.

"Welcome... Welcome Eravel." He said standing up. "Hope you enjoyed this little memory of mine" He chuckled. But I kept serious.
"You lied to me Discord!" I said angry. "You are not just 'unpopular' with the ponies... You are actually a monster! What do you want with me!" He laugh softly at me.
"Oh my... such an angry little boy." He said coming near me. My hand reached for my sword and I... I was not with my sword... Damn it! "Don't need to be so aggressive Eravel. After all, my body is just a statue in Canterlot's garden now. I can't harm you or anypony. Not enough to do some real damage anyway." He said standing right in front of me. He was at the same height, looking eye on eye.

"So, why do you come to me in dreams? Why you said I had a 'good potential in chaos'? And why do you want me to learn what 'chaos' truly is?" I said angry.
"Ok, I see you won't be happy without your answers so... Let's began... First question is 'because I wanted.' Second question is 'because is true'. The last question... well, let's just say that soon enough you will need to learn how control the chaos in you... or else you will end up dying or killing somepony that you care about..." He said smiling at me. "But, I can give you some explanations." He started to walk and I followed him. "Chaos is a very interesting thing. Is the exact opposite of the Order. But don't see it so bluntly as 'good' or 'evil'. Have in mind that one needs the other. If we had only Order, then we would end with an empty space, a void of darkness with nothing inside. If we have only Chaos, things would be the same, because chaos is a powerful self destructive force. Order is the stability, Chaos is movement. One needs the other so the world can exist. The elements of Harmony are the most powerful face that represents Order. That's why the elements are just objects. Nothing is more stable than an inanimate object. And I'm the pure representation of Chaos... I think is pretty obvious why. The problem is: I'm much stronger than Celestia and Luna." We stopped at the gates of another garden.
It was a space all surrounded by a living wall of bushes. In there I could see a small party. Some ponies where playing a happy song with various instruments, while the others would dance or just chat near the buffet table. In there I could see the young version of the princess sisters. Luna and Celestia were dancing and laughing, just having some good time with their friends.

"Look at them. So young and innocent." Discord chuckled.

"Ok, they are weaker than you. But so what? You were defeated anyway." I said not understanding where that conversation would go.
"Not defeated" He corrected me. "My physical body was turned into stone, so my powers would grow weaker. You see, different from Celestia and Luna, their parents were not immortal. Yes, they lived for thousands of years, but one day, both died. And they knew that the two sisters were not strong enough to contain my power."
"You see, I'm so strong that my single presence is enough to make things impossible happen. And I alone can't simply hold back the chaos that emanates from me. So, when the couple of alicorns knew that their time in this world would end, both used all their powers to create the Elements of Harmony. An instrument that could contain my powers and bring the balance to this world."
"At first, Celestia and Luna refused to use the elements on me. They were my friends, how can you simply turn a friend into stone? Heh... no, they couldn't. So, both tried to contain my influence on this world. The result was disastrous. Monsters started to appear everywhere and the chaos started to take everything. The once pacific ponies abandoned each other forming their independent nation, the pegasi, the earth ponies and the unicorns." He sighed. "Those were dark times... It was needed that a critical situation happen before both sisters would imprison my body."

"Though my body was finally trapped in stone and my powers were contained, the scars where everywhere now. It took some centuries for the three tribes of ponies to finally reunite under a single nation again. Not only was that, but the whole area surrounding the castle contaminated with pure chaos. Celestia and Luna, not wanting to move the castle, used their powers to control the area. But it was another mistake. Luna was younger than Celestia and very vulnerable, little by little, the chaos started to contaminate her. When Celestia realized what was happening, it was too late. Her beloved sister had turned into Nightmare Moon. Both fought over the control of Equestria. I watched the whole thing and saw when Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to banish her own sister. The intention of Princess Celestia was not to banish her sister, she only wanted to clean her from the chaos but... the contamination was too strong. So, without any other option, she banished Luna to the moon, to be far away from my contamination. Well... It was not exactly to the moon... Luna was banished to the void. A place where chaos didn't exist and the chaos inside her would grow weaker and weaker. Celestia moved the capital to Canterlot, abandoning this castle. It took only five decades to Everfree forest born around it." The scenario changed. Now we were at the ruins of the castle. "Celestia was so sad at the time that even the Elements abandoned her. She was not considered worthy enough to bear all the six elements anymore... So, we agreed that, if my body would ever turn into flesh and bones again I would act as villain. If the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony knew the truth, they would hesitate in trapping my body again and the events of thousands years ago would repeat. Chaos dominating the land, little by little, until it was out of control." The scenario changed one more time. We were floating in the void again. "Now you know what I'm, and one of the sides of chaos. But there is more than that, as I first say, don't see Order and Chaos as 'good' and 'evil'. You have a great amount of chaos inside you, but I can see that you have a good nature. You are just contaminated by a world that is moving in a spiral towards its own destruction." He started to fade away... I could feel my conscience returning slowly. "Remember... soon you will need to face the chaos that contaminated your heart." His voice faded away and I felt the real world again.

I felt a bed under me. My head was in pain on the spot that hit the rock. My eyes slowly opened and I could see only blurs and shadows at first. Slowly my vision recovered the focus so I could be aware of my surrounds again. The first thing I saw was lizard. A small creature that was in my chest, staring at me. I stared at it thinking about my options. I could just lay back e go back to sleep… or I could scream and throw that thing away. In normal conditions I would go for the second, but thinking back of all that had happen to me so far, I just laid back and caressed the back of the lizard.
"Hey! You are awake!" I heard a high peach voice. Looking to my side I saw A bouncing pink pony.

Just now I started to look around me. I was not in a normal room. The walls, the floor and the roof were made of stone. The light came from several torches around me. The bed I was laying was a big round bed, with red sheets and some red pillows in the shape of hearts. A big wooden wardrobe made out of wood and with fine details was placed in a corner.

"Hey Pink Pie..." I said a little weak. "ahm... this... lizard... Is it yours?" I said looking at the green creature lying in my chest, staring at me.
"Yup! This is my crocodile pet, Gummy!" She said picking the small crocodile and putting in her head. "I put him here to watch over you until you wake up!" She said jumping in the bed, lying right next to me. I lifted my upper body, sitting and rubbing my forehead.

"Where am I?" I asked looking around. "Is this your bedroom? It is not what I expected..."
"Oh no silly, this is just my 'fun' room." She smiled at me. "My bedroom is in the top floor, we are underground here."

"Well... Thank you for rescuing me... Last thing I remember was that I tripped in something and fell with my head on a rock..." I said still feeling my head hurt.
"Is that all? What about your talk with Discord? He said that he would talk to you..." She said with a confused expression. I looked at her and arched an eyebrow.
"How do you know about Discord?" I asked in a serious tone. I thought that I was the only one that talked to him.
"Well... It was right after we turned him into stone... He came to me in dreams! And yesterday night he told me where to find you" She said in her usual happy tone.

"And why did he come to you?" Discord mentioned that he wanted to have the image o 'Villain', to make it easy for the new element's bearers to imprison his body.
"Because I was the only one that liked his cotton candy clouds and rains of chocolate milk! BUT! He said that no one should NEVER EVER know that we meet in the nights!" She said the last part in a serious tone, staring at me. But that face only lasted for an instant and she relaxed again, smiling. I kept looking at her in silence. So, Discord had already talked to someone else than me. Well, is not like it was a mystery the reasons that made him like her. She was like a mini Discord, a chaotic creature, and the same time, one of the Elements of Harmony, the most contradictory of them, Laughter.

"Why you took me here? Was it not better for you to just take me to my home?" I asked.
"Oh no, I didn't want my friends worried about you, so, I just told them that you were still sleep at my fun room." She said still smiling. I didn't saw any connection about my friends getting worried about me and her fun room. I didn't even know why this was called a 'fun room'. It had no toys or anything that looked fun there. But the bed was very comfortable, I had to admit.

"Well, good thing you did that. I hate seeing everyone worried about me." I started to get up. "Better I get going... I want to go home soon. There are a few things that I still need to do." I chuckled.

"Are you not hungry?" She asked looking as I stood up.
"Well… very… but I have some food back at home." I smiled at her

"In that case, why don't you stay and eat here? I have some bakeries that I wanted you to try out before the breakfast party to Princess Celestia and the dinner party for Princess Luna." she said standing up, walking upstairs with her crocodile laid in her head.

I followed the pink pony, and we ended up in a storage room, very dark. She opened a door revealing the kitchen. The counter was full of cupcakes and muffins… Cakes and pies. I never saw that much variety of food in my life. They were so colorful that it was almost surreal.

"Ok, now I'm impressed... You did all this by yourself?" I asked incredulous. It was not quantity; it was the variety that impressed me.

"Yes! I did them all alone" She bounced in place. "Go on, enjoy and tell me what you think!"
I approached the counter, picking a cupcake that had a rainbow pattern frost. It was simply amazing. The taste, the texture... It was something I had never tasted before.
"Wow... this is amazing!" I said finishing the rest of the bakery in just two more big bites.
"Go on... keep eating, If you feel that something needs to be changed just tell me so I can fix" She said giggling at my reaction.
I didn't waste time. One after the other I eat all the cupcakes and the muffins, from the cakes and pies I took at least one piece. Back in my home world, the sweets were not this sweet, and the texture was rougher. Not that I didn't like it, but these that Pink Pie made were just awesome. In just a few minutes I had tasted them all. My stomach was almost bursting from all the sweets and I felt at least twenty kilograms heavier.

"So... how was all that?" Pink Pie said joyful after watching me devour the entire bakery.
"Awesome" I said smiling at her. "I never eat so many delicious foods in my life!" I said chuckling. She giggled at my commentary.
"Good! I'll make more of them for the parties then!" She said happily, bouncing around.

The kitchen's door opened suddenly and I saw the Rainbow Dash with a worried face.

"Pink Pie, Where is..." She looked at me. "There you are! I need your help! NOW!" She said and flew behind me, pushing me through the door.
"H-Hey! What's wrong Rainbow!" I asked in surprise
"No time to explain! We need your help!" She shoved me outside the shop and I saw Rarity and Fluttershy. Engulfed by Rarity's magic were some clothes and also, my equipment, floating right next to her. Both had worried expressions and I knew that something really bad was happening. Bad enough that they need me ready to fight.
> The Hydra
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"BIG MACINTOSH!" Apple jack cried out. The big red stallion was flying, his eyes closed in pain. His body hit the barn's wall and the wood broke under the impact... He was out of sight among the scrubs of wood.

The orange pony looked at the creature that made that to her brother. It was a huge hydra. Four strong legs holding a long body, three longs necks ending in draconian heads and one strong tail. The hydra had fifteen meters high and was at least thirty meters long from the tip of the center head to the end of the tail. It got big scales covering it's body and the colors went from a dark brown to a light cream. The eyes were a dark red, resembling the color of blood.

Steel Head was fully armored and flying around the creature, trying to catch his attention and confusing the three heads. Twilight Sparkle was using her magic to levitate some farm tools and big branches, hitting the hydra's body from all directions. Applejack started to run near the legs of the monster, bucking whenever she got the chance. The three ponies were trying their best to make the hydra go away and leave Sweet Apple acres, but the monster was only getting annoyed by them and growing anger and anger.

Head steel flew too close from one of the heads. The monster tried to bite him but he dove to the ground avoiding it. When he tried to recover from the dive a strong leg hit the side of his body, sending him flying away. Twilight Sparkle used her magic to hold the royal guard in the air, preventing him to land in the ground.

"T-thanks!" He said to the purple unicorn. His sides were hurting a little and he thanked the armor, who protected him from any serious injuries. Twilight was landing the royal guard on the floor when she was hit by Applejack. The orange pony was hit by the monster's tail and landed on her friend. Both fillies rolled a few times on the ground and now both were out of combat, moaning in pain.

"Why damn you!" Steel Head charged towards the monster and, like a missile, hit one of the heads with his forehoofs. The head that received the strike went dizzy, and the other two roared so loud that Head Steel almost lost his balance in flight.

Suddenly he saw, Not too far away, something approaching fast. It was a rather comic sight. It was Rainbow Dash, flying at her top speed. On her back, holding in her mane was Eravel, fully armored and with an axe on his hand. It was weird to see him mounted on the cyan filly because he was taller than the ponies around, at least 60 to 70cm taller. It was just out of the normal proportion expected of a man riding a horse. But the cyan filly was strong, and she didn't seem to have any problem carrying the human in full armor.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x

I took the clothes and the armor floating in the air. I was so worried about what was happening that I just took my blue robe off in the middle of the street. Quickly I put the new clothes on; it was probably the ones that Rarity made for me. Black pants and a cream shirt with some green details. They were really nice clothes and very comfortable, the cloth used was soft and very light, different from the rough line clothes that I had before.

I put my armor over the clothes and felt that familiar weight. It was really nice to feel it again. I put my sword on my left side and the axe on the right side. It's been a long time since I last sharpen both, so they were a little dull, but still sharp enough to be dangerous.

"OK, I'm ready… let's go!" I said and was going to start walking but I saw the cyan filly in my way.
"If you go running there it will be too late! Get on my back!" She said serious. I had my doubts about that, but we had no time to think about it. I mounted her and took my axe of my belt, since the exposed blade was dangerous for her wings.
She jumped and started to flap her wings fast. It was amazing that she was carrying me with so little effort and going so fast. Actually, I was scared… REALLY scared of the speed we were flying. It was much faster than when I used the royal carriage and I had no place to hold properly. Without much choice I grabbed her mane and clenched my knees on her sides.
"HEY! DON'T PULL IT!" She shouted at me when I grabbed her mane.
"Sorry! But I have no other place to hold!" I said still holding tight.

Her speed was astonishing... Soon we started to fly over a large area full of apple trees. At distance I could see some constructions… A simple house with two floors and a barn. As we approached more I saw that the barn was damaged. On the floor I saw Applejack and Twilight, one on top of the other, recovering from some kind of hit. Steel head was flying around the reason I was here. A damn huge hydra!

We had some stories about the Hydras and other kind of dragons, but this was the first time I saw one and I felt my insides grow cold. It was huge and had nasty claws and teeth. I gripped Rainbow Dash's sides with my legs and pulled my sword… This was going to get messy.
"Rainbow! Go faster! Between their necks!" I shouted and inclined my body forward. I lifted my weapons and Rainbow started to go faster, dashing at her top speed. We passed through their necks leaving a faint trail of a rainbow. I swung both weapons and hit the side of two necks.

Thy Hydra roared in pain as the cold metal cut in its flesh and made the blood gush out. The cuts were not deep as I intended… The weapons were not sharp enough. Rainbow Dash spun in the air to avoid being hit by the Hydra's tail. Without my hands to hold on her I fell on the back of the monster, rolled and hit the floor, losing the air in my lungs.

"ERAVEL!" I heard Rainbow Dash yell and saw one of the heads of the monster coming to me. I rolled to my side, right in time to avoid being caught between those mighty jaws and jumped on my feet.
"Damn, it was close!" I said to myself. "Rainbow! Head! Fly around the Hydra, distract it!" I shouted to both pegasi. I saw both starting to fly around the monster... The heads started to try catch the two and that made the opportunity I needed! I ran towards the monster and went between its legs lifting my sword in a fast swing and making a deep cut on the Hydra's belly. I heard it roared in pain again… All the blood gushed and covered my body. But then again, the cut was not deep enough… I prepared to use my axe to strike again but I felt something warping around my waist and pulling me to the side. The monster used the tail to grip me and lift me in the air. I struggled as hard as I could, but the monster was too strong. The hydra swung me in the air and threw me away. Last thing I saw was a tree getting close fast and then… the darkness warped me.

I opened my eyes and saw the already familiar void surrounding me. I knew I was unconscious and I knew I needed to wake up! My friends were in danger there!

"Discord! Where the hell are you! Make me wake up! I need to keep fighting!" I shouted to the void but no answer… "Discord damn you! I need to wake up!" I was yelling, almost begging… My chest was hurting. The feeling of being powerless was crushing my soul.

"Why you need to wake up?" An ethereal voice echoed around me… and it was not Discord. "Why keep risking your life for them? They are just animals, not worth the effort…" The voice came again.
The scenario changed… I was floating over the apples trees. I could see the Hydra roaring, trying to catch the two pegasi that were still flying around. Applejack and Twilight were on the floor, they looked hurt and unable to fight. To my horror, I saw Rainbow Dash fly too close from one of the heads and the Hydra hit her with a head strike. The cyan pegasus fell hard on the ground unconscious.
"No…" I said almost in a whisper. Head steel flew to help rainbow dash but the Hydra caught him in a bite, and then threw the royal guard on the barn. I had a glimpse of blood coming out of his body and his armor full of holes. It had the same feelings when Discord showed me the memory of the day my father died. Those who I cared were in danger, and I could do nothing about it!
"Do you want to help them?" That voice came again to me.
"Yes.. please… I'm begging you, whoever you are…" I said holding back tears… The Hydra looked at the cyan filly, she was recovering her conscience, but still too dizzy to run.
"So don't deny your fear… feel it… embrace it… and let the hatred… consume you…" The voice said again. It was right...Until now I pushed all that cold fear out of my mind, trying to be brave to do what it has to be done… but I was afraid, not only for me, but for them. They were the first creatures that I could call friends in years. They cared about me, and I didn't want to lose them! I was so scared of being alone again… so scared… so scared… so… angry… The cold fear that was filling my guts started to fade away. A burning fire took its place. I was angry, I felt hatred… and desire for blood.

I looked to the scene down there… and saw Rainbow Dash looking at the Hydra… The cyan filly was terrified, her eyes full of tears and her body shaking from fear. Completely freeze. Watching her like that was the final spark for me.

I felt the real world around me again. My body was light and the mist of rage was on my mind again... In front of me was the enemy and I was about to engage it... I felt happy... The air passed through my throat, making a guttural howl echoes through the farm, grasping the Hydra's attention, like it was a challenge from another wild beast. My eyes meet the monster's eyes and I charged in, running at my top speed, my weapons lifted ready to strike. One of the heads came to bite me but I jumped in the last second, landing on it and started to run on its neck. When I was near the base of it, I jumped again, to my side, with my axe ready. I landed a strike in the neck next to me. The blade carved its way deep in the flesh, getting stuck. All the heads roared in pain and that was music for my ears. I pulled myself up as hard as I could, lifting my body and giving more power to my sword arm. My sword pierced the base of that head. The tip went through the skull and reached the brain.

That neck fell limp on the ground and I fell with it. I was able to land on my feet and with a strong pull my axe was free again. But right after that the middle head came and bite my sword arm. I felt its teeth carving my flesh, tearing it apart. In a split of second I answered that with a strong swing of my axe. The weapon landed on the head crushed the Hydra's skull… I felt the bite loosen its grip, enough so I could pull my arm out. With two of the three head dead, the last one was using her strength to try and run, but it tripped on the other two necks that were hanging lifeless.

The Hydra fell hard on the floor and I jumped on it, landing on the side of her body. I charged, going for the last head. In her last desperate move she came to me with her mouth full open. I jumped to avoid it but the monster move faster and caught me in the air. The huge jaws clenched around my body and I felt the teeth crushing my armor and piercing my flesh. My sword arm was free and I pierced the Hydras nose right before it could crush my body. The monster roared in pain and let go of me. I fell on her body, rolling to the side and ending on the floor. I soon stood up and aimed for the nearest target: The exposed belly.

My arms started to move in fast and strong strikes, cutting and tearing the monster belly apart. I tore it open... The internal organs came out, and I kept striking, digging in, and covering myself in all the blood that was pouring out. I could hear the screams of pain as I tore monster inside out, but that didn't last much... the last neck soon fell limp on the ground. The creature was dead and I wanted more... I could taste a bit of the blood that came to my mouth... it was delicious... I wanted more blood... MORE!
I looked around, finding the nearest target... a cyan filly. She widened her eyes and I grinned. I started walking towards her... I remembered her... she was the one that got away... but not this time... she was not going to escape!
"Eravel! Stop! It's me!" I heard she saying to me while I approached her. I knew it was her... She was the one that got away... I knew it already.

When she was in my reach I lifted my axe, aiming for her head. She just looked at me with her teary eyes... I stare deep in them, my arm tensed to deliver the final blow...
"Please... Eravel..." She said again, shaking a little.
I moved my whole body to strike her down, it would be a fatal hit and she was not going to escape! But then... My axe hit the ground, digging in the earth right next to her. I froze in that position. What happen? Why did I miss her? There was nothing around to hit me, to stop me... what the hell happens! And why was I not able to move!

I felt something soft rub against my face and hear a soft whisper near my ear.
"It's ok... don't be afraid... the monster is gone... no need to be scared." It was Rainbow Dash voice. At that moment the mist of rage started to lift from my brain... My sword arm started to burn in an intense pain and it was the same for my chest, belly and back. I fell on my knees, losing all my strength. My reason took the lead now and I realized that, once again, I almost killed that cyan pegasus... That hit my head like a thousand arrows.

"I'm sorry..." I said in a weak voice... my chest hurt each time I breathed. I felt she coming closer to me, leaning her head in my shoulder and then puling me closer in some kind of hug.
"It's ok... you were only acting out of fear." She said. It was the last words I heard before I dive into darkness again.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rainbow Dash held the human's body as he fell limp over her. He had nasty wounds and was completely covered in blood. Her cyan fur got stained with all the red liquid he was covered with and she felt her stomach sick from the stench of death he had. From the crumbles on the barn, Big Macintosh came; he had a hurt leg and was having difficult to walk. He went straight for Applejack and Twilight, both still on the floor. Twilight had strained a leg and Applejack had a serious pain expression.

"You a'right apple jack?" Big Macintosh asked nuzzling her head softly, worried about her sister.
"Ah think so... but it hurts t'breath" She said not daring move.
"Don't move Applejack. You may have some broken ribs..." Big Mackintosh said and looked at Twilight.
"I'm alright, I just hurt my leg when Applejack landed on me" She said starting to stand up with a little difficult.
"Twilight! You've got to get help!" Rainbow dash said landing near her purple friend. "Eravel is almost not breathing and Steel head is badly hurt too!" Rainbow was all covered in blood from Eravel.

At that point, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pink Pie arrived at the scene. The three stopped in shock at the sight of the mutilated Hydra, lying dead.

"Thank Celestia you three arrived!" Twilight said in hurry. "Why you guys took so long!"
"I went to Cloudsdale to call for help." Fluttershy said, panting heavily.
"And we were asking for help around town! Red Heart nurse is coming with a medical team too, they'll soon be here." Rarity spoke and then her jaw dropped at the sight of Rainbow Dash, all covered in blood. "Rainbow Dash! What happen to you!"
"I'm fine... just got some bruises..." She said.
"But... what about all this blood!" Rarity spoke, still in shock.
"oh... this..." She said looking at herself. "It's not mine, it's from Eravel. He's too injured... I hope the medics come soon…" She spoke really worried.

She barely finished her phrase and various ponies started to arrive at the scene. Pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns, all coming to help. They didn't waste any time, rushing to help the fallen human and the other ponies there. Rainbow Dash personally helped to carry the human to the hospital, to receive emergency treatment. A letter was sent to Canterlot summoning the medics there that had taken care of him before. Octavia was among those who came to help and she was the one that found Steel Head. He was conscious and trapped in his armor. The armor had several holes from the teeth of the Hydra and the sharp metal had bend in a way that had entered his flesh, causing a great amount of pain and making him stuck.

The day was saved by those who fought the Hydra, but there was still some questions that everypony had in mind. Why a Hydra, an inhabitant of Everfreeforest, was doing there? They usually lived in the swamp part of the forest, but never in Ponyvile history one had come to attack. The whole picture of a monster coming out of the forest and rampaging near the city was something totally new to them, and fear started to lurk on their hearts.
> New Feelings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Am I dead…?" The thought passed through the white stallion head. "Of course not, idiot, If you were dead you would not be able to think… or would I?"

Steel Head slowly opened his eyes. He could feel a soft bed under him and the typical smell of a hospital... something that reminded him a rubber glove… He looked around to find himself in a room; his body was covered by a light sheet. His light blue mane was a mess over the soft pillow where his head rested. He tried to move but stopped when he felt his body hurt and that was the trigger for the memories of the fight against the hydra.

A shiver came down his spine when he remembered the sensation of those sharp teeth piercing his armor and carving his flesh. That was a pain that he never ever felt before... And the impact of the hard ground when he was tossed like a ragged doll... He didn't lost conscience right away… no… he was awake for just a minute, but that was the longest minute he will ever remember. The blood coming out of his wounds, the cold crawling under his skin… He really though that he was going to die there.

The door opened and interrupted his thoughts. Steel Head looked to see who it was and he was really surprise. A light gray mare with black mane and tail walked inside. He stopped for a second, trying to remember her name... 'Something with O …. It was… ahm… aw buck!' He smiled nervous to her, still trying to figure out what was her name.

"Hey" She smiled at him "Feeling better?" She approached the bed, standing right next to him.

"Ahm… sure, sure... a little sore but I'll live" Steel Head smiled softly at her 'DAMN IT! What was here name!' He started to panic.

"Good to hear" She smiled widely and approached her face to his, kissing him on the lips softly and he widened his eyes. "I was really worried about you… You slept for three day straight."

"Three days!" He looked at her in shock.

"Yes… You were really hurt… you were stuck in your armor and it took a long time for the medics to take that out of you…" She explained. He started to feel a little guilty now. She was worried sick about him… and he didn't even remember her name.
"I think it was luck then that you were coming right when I was waking up right?" He smiled at her.
"Oh no, I'm here since you arrived. I just went out for a few minutes to speak with one of the medics" She smiled at him and he suddenly felt like he wanted to be in the Hydra's mouth again.

"You… stayed with me the whole time?" He asked trying to keep his posture.
"Yes… Rarity wanted to stay but she was too busy, to take care of her little sister… so I offered myself…" She blushed a little "and also… I would stay here for you even if she was not that busy…"

Steel Head's mind just blew. This little mare was in love with him, and he knew that that was a huge problem. He never wanted to hurt anyone, so, he always avoided contact with the mares he slept with for a few days. After that no mare would come after him, unless she had the same ideas of 'fun' as him. The little gray mare was the first one that was, maybe, too innocent to realize what Steel Head had done, and so, she came after him. And to make things worse, she stayed with him in the hospital for three days.

"Ahm... thank you… not many would do that for me" He said being honest and smiling at her. She blushed and approached her snout to his again, starting to kiss the white stallion… he simply kissed her back and, like some kind of magic, in that moment he remembered her name… 'Octavia…'

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rarity was trotting down the hallway, going to the room where Steel Head was. But as she approached the door, the white unicorn heard a bass sound, very fluid... A calm music played by some kind of expert. She got near the door and opened just a small crack to peep. There she saw Steel head laying on the bed, and right next to him was the gray mare, Octavia, playing her cello. Both ponies had their eyes closed... The music was simply divine, even Rarity felt a shiver down her spine.

Rarity knew that gray mare only by her fame among the high class ponies and a few exchange words a few days ago. She was the best cello player in all Equestria, and the white unicorn could see that her fame was not exaggerated. Every single note carried a world of strong emotions, something that only those who were able to feel the music and play with their hearts were able to do. The cellist finished her piece of music and Steel Head started to clap (or should I say clop?) with a wide smile.

"Wow... that was awesome! I knew you were the best, but hearing you play like this... is just surreal" The white royal guard said…. Octavia put her cello against the wall and approached Head Steel.
"Thank you... I usually hear that a lot... but coming from you is more... well... is more" She said blushing lightly.

It was the second day since Steel Head was awakened. At first he almost panicked to see that the gray mare had fallen in love with him. But now... he was not so sure that that was a bad idea. The closest person he had back at the palace was his brothers in arms. Other stallions that were royal guards too. But they were nothing more than just comrades.

Then he meets Eravel, the monster. In less than a month, both created a strong bound of friendship. He knew he could count on the human for almost anything. But now, he had a mare that was more than just 'another mare he banged'... Octavia was showing to be much more and, in a way, that scared the white pegasus.

Rarity saw that too...she could see that the gray mare was in love with Steel Head. But Rarity knew that the royal guard was NOT a stallion to be with a single mare. She knew that Octavia was in danger of having her heart shattered in one of the worst kind of way. She breathed deep and then opened the door fully, smiling widely to cover her true intentions. Octavia and Steel Head were a few inches to kiss each other when the white unicorn entered the room.

"Hello darlings!" She said interrupting the romantic moment of both ponies, but pretending innocence. Octavia stepped away from the royal guard, blushing deeply. Steel Head just arched an eyebrow. "You are the mare that was playing the cello right?" Rarity said approaching the cellist.

"Ahm, y-yes... yes it was..." Octavia said a little frustrated by the interruption. She didn't really know the white unicorn. Never talked to her long enough… just a few exchanges of words a few days ago.

"I knew it! That song was simply divine!" rarity praised the gray mare and put a hoof over her shoulder, pulling her lightly... to increase the distance between her and the white royal guard. "I'll tell you what my dear... why don't we go to the next room? You simply MUST play that song again to the poor old lady over there... she looked so sad all alone..." Rarity was acting in a very dramatic way.

"Ahm... Rarity… is that it?" Octavia was not sure about the white unicorns name. "I... I don't think that it is a good idea... I..." She started to say but got cut by Rarity pouting.
"Pretty please...?" The white unicorn begged. The gray mare just looked over the royal guard, biting her lower lip. Steel Head just nodded, indicating that it was ok.

"Ok... I'll go there..." Octavia said in a sigh. She got her cello and got out of the room, heading to the next one to play.

Rarity was smiling at the gray mare, but the smile only lasted until the door was closed. The white unicorn turned to glare at the royal guard... he shivered at that look.
"What the hay were you about to do with her!" Rarity said stomping near the white stallion.
"Ahm... l-look… I can explain... I... I..." The royal guard was in panic.
"I hope you have a really good explanation of WHY you were trying to seduce Octavia! She's not like us and you know it!" Rarity scowled the royal guard, controlling her voice to not shout.
"Look, I know it alright? You think I'm some kind of inexperienced foal here?" He said a little angry. "Is not my fault that she fell in love with me! No mare ever had come to me after a few days of distance!" He crossed his forehoofs. Rarity let her jaw drop in shock of what he said and shoved a hoof over his face. The white pegasus moaned in pain as he felt the hard hoof hit his face hard, leaving a bruise.

"YOU JERK!" She said almost screaming. "Do you have ANY idea of how a mare feels at all! How can you just go and seduce them and then throw away like garbage?" She was livid. He looked her in shock.
"May I ask you who are YOU to say those things to me!" He replied angry too. "Far as I know, you do the same thing that I do!"
"Don't compare me with some lowly life jerk as yourself!" She hissed. "I can remember all the names of those who I stayed with. And every single one of them were well aware of what I was doing. I just wonder how many mares do you actually remember the name... I wonder if you even knew HER name at all!" Rarity said expecting an answer... But Steel Head just looked away, Rarity was right... At first he didn't remembered the name of the gray mare... "See? I know that you are Everal's friend... and I THINK you are my friend too... so, step aside and don't get near Octavia again... If not for her, for your friends... and if not for us, at LEAST for the reputation of Celestia and her royal guards." She said staring at Head Steel...
'Yeah... maybe she's right... I know that in the end I'll only hurt her anyway... better to just go away... besides, I still have some other mares in Canterlot...' Steel head thought before starting to speak. "Ok... I don't want to hurt her... tell her that I'm not feeling well and I want to be alone... can you do that favor for me rarity?" He asked looking in her eyes. He truly had no intention of hurting that specific mare... not after he saw how much she liked him...

"Yes... Don't worry about that... I'll try handle this." Rarity said with a more soft tone. "And please dear... be careful with those that you approach like that. We are not in Canterlot. Here the mares are not very used with those things..." The white unicorn said before leaving the room. Head Steel just laid there, lost in his thoughts and with a strange feeling of emptiness...

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I looked around and saw the sky clean of clouds and with multiple colors… From the dark blue to light orange, passing through purple and red…. The sun was hiding beyond the horizon and I could see a vast landscape with threes and green grass... Not too distant was a small city very colorful too. Under me I felt something really soft... I looked to see where I was laying on and could see that it was a cloud. Normally I would freak out, but I felt really calm.

"Hey... it was already time for you to wake up..." A female voice, really joyful said coming from behind me. I saw Rainbow Dash there, lying with a sweet smile. I never saw her so... beautiful. "Nice view huh?" She said looking at the sun set.
"Yeah... a really nice view..." I said looking at her. She realized that and just chuckled.

"You little jerk..." She said coming closer to me, looking me in the eyes. I just smiled at her. "You know... In a way I think I'm lucky... but I never thought that I would date a dragon..." she said and kissed me in the cheek.
"A... A dragon?" I said arching an eyebrow. I raised my hands and widened my eyes when I saw my arms all covered in a green pattern of scales. My hands had now only four fingers that ended in sharp claws... I realize then that I also had a pair of wings and a tail. What the hell was going on! I stood up fast, in panic, spreading my wings, without any kind of control of my new limbs... a strong wind hit them and I fell from the cloud, spinning out of control. I tried to scream but a roar escaped my mouth. I saw the ground coming closer and closer until...

I open my eyes, grasping the real world around me again. I felt something soft under me and there was a blanket covering my body... I was in a bed. Looking around I saw that I was in a hospital room. From the corner of my eye, I saw something lying in a couch near my bed. When I turned my head I saw Rainbow Dash sleeping peacefully there.

I moved my arms, and felt my right one immobilized, so I just slipped my left one from under the blanket to see my pale skin and fingers... I breathed in relief. I was still human after all... I pulled the blanked out of my body to see my state. My memory was full of missing events, but I could remember most of my fight with the Hydra. I was full of new bandages and my right arm was completely warped in some weird blue bandages full of runes that emitted a faint light. At least I still had my arm attached to my body, which was a good thing. But then again, I was totally naked...

I used the blanket to cover my lower body, warping it around my waist. My body was very weak, and it took me some time to finally be able to sit and then start the process to stand up. I breathed and then moved a leg forward, giving a step. Good, they still worked... Step by step I walked from my bed to the couch where Rainbow Dash slept. She was beautiful in a way that I had never seen before. It was just like my dream.

Her rainbow mane covering part of her face and neck… her body moving softly, following the rhythm of her breath. So peaceful… I sat right next to her and used my left hand to caress her neck… She was warm… I just smiled while looking at her. She opened her eyes after a while of my hand passing on her mane and neck and yawned, looking at me still little sleepy.

"Eravel?" She said in a mumbling voice…
"Hi Dash… slept well?" I asked in a soft tone. I looked in her eyes… and saw her expression changing… a tear came rolled her face and she jumped on my neck, hugging me thigh.
"ERAVEL!" She screamed while her forehoofs were around my neck. I fell under her weight and my chest ached in pain, but I just gritted my teeth, enduring it.

The cyan pegasus was laying over me in the couch. I used my left arm to hug her body and rested my face against her neck.

"I'm happy to see you too…" I chuckled. She looked at me, smiling widely.

"I thought you wouldn't wake up again… They… They said you were too weak… you had loose too much blood…" She started to say but I cut her.
"I'm not good enough to go to Valhalla yet… Don't worry, I'll be here for a while" I smirked at her… The cyan filly just laughed softly and kissed me in the face… Something that I didn't expected.
"Don't you ever scary me like that again… Or I'll beat you! Got it!" She said showing her hoof at me.
"ok! Ok! I promise!" I said laughing a little. "Can I stand up again? My chest is still a little sore" I said.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry!" She beat her wings, lifting her body and landing on the floor. I lifted my upper body, sitting in the couch.

"So, what happen to my arm?" I asked looking at my right arm all warped in those runic bandages…
"You don't remember?" She asked arching an eyebrow.
"There are still some blank parts of what happen…" I shrugged.
"The Hydra almost bit your arm off… it was hurt so bad that the doctors didn't knew if you would ever be able to use again.." She said and I gulped… never use my right arm again? "…but Princess Celestia came to help… She cast a really strong healing spell over your arm, but it will take at least a week more to completely heal." She explained.
"A week more? How much time I took to wake up?" I arched an eyebrow
"Five days… today would be the sixth…"
"Wow… not even the manticore got me out for that long…" I said surprised.

"They said that it was because you already had passed through an intensive treatment before… and also you had a great amount of blood loss." She said sitting on the floor. Thinking back, the last time I had Celestia there to help me out faster than this one. It didn't take more than a few minutes for her to appear and… and she probably healed part of my body during the trip to Canterlot.

"I see… Well, I know that I'm hungry, what you think of us having a little breakfast now?" I smiled at her.

"Hehe, you read my mind on this one" She chuckled. "Rarity fix some new clothes for you... look under the bed." She told me. I crouched, fighting to keep my balance, and found my leather boots, a pair of pants and a shirt. The pants were dark brown, made of a more resistant fabric than the ones she gave me before I fight the Hydra. The shirt was white and a little loose but very comfortable, made of a light fabric.

"Speaking of breakfast..." I started to say after I was fully dressed. "...What about that little morning party with Princess Celestia?"

"It was canceled." She said walking through the door. I walked right next to her. "The ponies that came to help us after the Hydra was defeated were too worried about you and Steel Head... So the Princess thought that it would be better to cancel the morning party... and make a festival in honor of those who defended Ponivile" She said smiling happily.

"Oh no... I won't go to something like this." Eravel said seriously.

"What? Why not!" Rainbow stopped walking.
"Because I don't feel like I deserve it... I mean, sure, I fought the Hydra... and almost died... But Also I do remember that I attacked you again..." I said looking away from her... I could remember me going after her... wanting to kill her... but my memory just went as far as my axe rising to strike her... after that was a blank.

"But you did not..." She said beating her wings lightly, lifting her body so her head was in the same level as mine. "You stopped yourself before striking me... You regain your control." She smiled.
I looked at her, deep in her eyes... I felt my heart beating a little faster... she was so close... My mind started to wander in that strange dream I had about her. Our faces just a few inches away...
We heard someone giggling and we looked to our side. There were two nurses looking at us and whispering to each other, giggling. I felt my face burn and saw Rainbow Dash's face bright red.
"a-anyway... Let's just go and eat something... I'm starving!" She said flying through the corridor and I followed her, feeling really awkward.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

In another part of the hospital, a light gray mare was with her ears down, looking really sad.

"But... But why he didn't say that to me... personally?" Octavia asked to a white Unicorn next to her.
"He knew you were going to be really sad... And he didn't want to see you like this... He wished that things could be different but... well... some things aren't meant to be..." Rarity was trying to console the gray mare.

"He told me so many sweet things... is hard to believe what your are saying..." She looked at the white pony
"I know how that feels, but you've got to believe me... He told me that... He likes you very much, enough to want you to be happy. And that will only be possible if you forget him." Rarity explained. "You have your career and he has his life as a royal guard... Steel Head wants you to go on, and be happy doing what you love most.. And to find a stallion that can really complete you." Octavia had a tear in her eye... how could Steel head wanted them to be separated?
"Look..." Rarity put her hoof on the Octavia's shoulder. "I know that this hurt now... But you will soon be able to move on... ok?" The white unicorn caressed the gray mare's face. "Promise that you will move on... for him?" Octavia looked at the white unicorn... As hard as it looked like to believe, the gray mare had to give credit to the white unicorn. After all, Rarity was one of the elements guardians… And that was nothing new for those who went into the palace with some regularity.

"Ok... I... I promise..." Octavia said, feeling her heart being pierced. Rarity saw that, and felt bad too for lying like this... but in the end, that was for the best. Octavia deserved a stallion that would have eyes only for her, something that Steel Head was not able to be.
> Almost
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I think that they will be really disappointed with that..." Celestia said with her sister.
"Yes I know... but honestly? I don't care. I never like them anyway" Luna said shrugging. Celestia just chuckled.
"I know that... Well, but in one point I agree with you. If we do it here, we won't have the time to speak with him." The sun goddess said.
"So it's settled. We will be doing the festival at Ponivile. If those high class ponies want to come, they'll need to learn how to enjoy a party organized by Pink Pie." Luna smiled and using her magic, started to write a letter. "But tell me sister... what do you expect to hear from Eravel now? He already know about Discord... and about us. What else there is to be discussed?"
"The incident with the Hydra..." Celestia said "Never a monster from Everfree forest has came out... Something must have attracted it. Also, Discord said that we needed to keep the human in check."
"He said why?" Luna asked curious.
"As if he would really speak something straightforward..." Celestia sighed. "No... He only said that the human is dangerous. Eravel don't even have the slightest idea of how much his presence is dangerous for us..."
"You are not proposing that we..." Luna started with a worried tone.
"Of course not!" Celestia cut her sister "We will find another way to deal with this... We will fix all this mess without having to hurt anypony!" Celestia said in a serious tone.

Luna came closer to her sister and presser her head against her in a soft gesture.
"Calm down sister... we will make it... you will see..." Luna said comforting her sister. The moon princess knew how much her elder sister felt guilty for the whole incident of a thousand years back.

Celestia breathed deep for a second and caressed her younger sister head with her snout.
"Yes... we will make it..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Pink Pie was usually a very happy pony, always smiling and bouncing around... But on that morning she was so excited that her friends feared that she would blow up any second. The reason for her burst of joy? A letter from Princess Luna saying that the festival in honor of those who fought the Hydra was going to happen in Ponyvile and she was the responsible for organizing it all.

Twilight Sparkle was busy helping Pink Pie on the organization, Applejack was with the Cakes making the food. Rarity was locked in her boutique making some gala clothes for Big Mackintosh, Eravel and Steel Head. The six bearers of the elements already had their dresses from the Grand Galloping Gala. Fluttershy was working in a small choral of birds that would perform with the musicians on the festival and Rainbow Dash was with the other pegasi taking care of the weather. They wanted a perfect and clean sky. The whole party was going to happen tomorrow so, all the six ponies were working their hardest to make it all possible. The only ones that were left out of it was Eravel and Steel Head. The first on because of his right arm that was not completely healed yet, and Twilight forbid him of moving to help at the preparations and the royal guard was long gone to the capital. Nine days had passed since Eravel woke up, and he was finding it hard to not be able to help anyone.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Looking around, watching all those ponies working so hard to make the event on the next day made me feel bad for not help at all. But after a few threats of being locked in a room at the hospital I gave up my attempts of offering any help. Also, my sword, axe and all my armor were taken from me by Rarity. She was working to fix them with the help of some other unicorn that made the armors for the royal guards. A blacksmith probably. And it was funny to think that a delicate pony like Rarity was helping someone so ruthless like a blacksmith.

Steel Head was back in Canterlot too. From what I've been told, he left to the capital as soon as he got good enough to fly, and, since I woke up at least two days after him, I still hadn't see the royal guard yet. I had no doubt of the reasons that made that perverted white pegasus travel to the capital, but the 'official story' was that he was called back by his superiors to give a full report of the incident, what was possible too. Either way, I was all alone now, without a soul to make me company and without my sword. For that reason I was now just wandering around Ponivile, watching everyone work and dying of boredom.

"LOOK OUT!" I hear someone shouting. As I looked back I saw a huge wooden barrel rolling towards Applejack. The orange pony was pulling a cart full of bakeries from the Cakes and couldn't run... I didn't hesitated and ran as fast as possible, jumping in front of the barrel. The barrel was something like 1,5M high and 1M wide and was coming really fast. I braced myself for impact, locking my legs on the ground and exposing my left side. I felt all the weight of the barrel on my shoulder. Luckily for me, the wood was not too strong and it broke on the impact, covering all my body with some kind of apple cider. Immediately after the impact my shoulder started to hurt a lot, along with my chest and other sore parts of my body. Damn it... If this was hurting now, I didn't even wanted to think of the next morning and the a nice purple mark that would appear.
"Are you ok applejack?" I asked the orange pony
"Yeh! Buh what'about yer shoulder!" She said in a concern tone.
"Don't worry, something so small can't hurt me" I smiled. But inside of my head I was using all my vocabulary to curse the barrel and the pain.

"Well, thanks a lot then partner." She said in a relieved tone. "Yer just saved all this food here... But ah suggest yer go an' take'a shower… All this apple cider will dry an' you'll got all sticky…"
I was about to agree with her when suddenly rain starter to pour on me, soaking my entire body and my clothes, washing all the cider away. I looked up to see what was happening and saw a black cloud going smaller and smaller until it vanished, completely dry. Right next to the cloud was a cyan pegasus laughing.

"Rainbow!" I shouted at her, in a fake angry tone. I wasn't really angry at all, my lips were arched in a soft grin. She just laughed harder landing right next to me.

"You have to see your face!" She said lying on her back, embracing her stomach and laughing.

"Oh you little…" I jumped on her, warping my arms around her neck, pressing my body against her. My soaked clothes started to soak her fur and wings.

"NO! Argh! Let me go!" She started to squirm in my hands but I grabbed her more firmly. Soon we were both rolling on the ground, over the water from the rain, cider and mud. Both our bodies started to get really messy. "Aww! Look what you did to me!" Rainbow dash said when I finally let her go. We both were completely covered in mud. Apple jack just sighed.

"Not even mah lil'sister do this kinda'of foalish thing..." She said with her eyes closed in a disapproval tone.

I looked at her... and then looked at Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus looked back at me and we both grinned to each other. Me and Rainbow jumped on Applejack, hugging the defenseless pony and messing her fur and mane. Without wasting any time, we both started to run from the danger zone... We could hear Applejack screaming at us, her voice echoing through Ponyvile while we both laughed.

We run for some time until we reached a safe distance.

"Did you saw the look on her face!" Rainbow Dash said laughing again.
"Yeah! It was awesome!" I said sitting on the floor "But we are a mess... guess we both need a shower now... a real shower this time."
"Agree... I'll go back to my home to wash... we see each other later." She said spreading her wings and beating them fast... but something was wrong because she couldn't fly. "Oh no..." She said looking at her wings. They were totally covered in mud and the feathers were all messed up... She couldn't push the air to lift her body.
"My home is not so far from here... why don't you shower there?" I offered.

"Sure... why not? I don't think I ever went to your house anyway" She said starting to walk next to me. "So... Nervous for tomorrow?" She asked to me."
"Very... I never went in any kind of event of this size..." I answered. "And I still have the feeling that I don't deserve it..."
"Oh, don't start this again..." She sounded a little annoyed.

"Ok, Ok... I won't..." I chuckled

It didn't take long for us to finally reach my house. I open the door and waited for her to go in first.

"The shower is upstairs, go ahead and make yourself at home" I said to her
"Heh... If you say so... But I don't want you complaining latter if I REALLY 'make myself at home'..." She said going upstairs... My eyes followed her forms while she was walking. I couldn't refrain my thoughts about her... 'strong, valiant and cute'... all at the same time.

I waited until I heard the shower sound. Then, I went upstairs, taking my clothes of and dressing my blue robe. While Rainbow Dash was cleaning herself I was outside, cleaning my clothes and then putting them to dry in the sun.
"Hey, you can go now" I heard Rainbow saying from the second floor window after a few minutes. I ran upstairs to shower too, but when I went inside the bathroom Rainbow Dash was still there.
"Ahm... yes...?" I asked as she looked at me.
"Nothing..." She said and just sat there. I kept looking at her.
"Well... you can leave if you want to..." I encouraged her. She chuckled a little.
"Just like Rarity said... you are really shy of your scars... You know you don't have to be right? I mean, they are proof that you fought two monsters and survived!" She said and I just sighed.
"Look, I just don't like to be naked in front of others... Can't you just... step outside and wait until I'm finished?" I asked gently.
"Ok ok..." She said laughing lightly and went outside. After that I just took a quick shower, washing all the cider and mud from my body… My robe was going to be washed too, but that could be done later.

Once I was finished, I used a towel to dry my body and went to my room. But when I went there, Rainbow Dash was in the balcony looking outside. I quickly got dressed in what was left of the previous clothes that Rarity had made to me. They got all ripped after the fight with the Hydra. The shirt was beyond my capacity to repair, but the pants were fine.

I stepped outside the room, in the balcony. I was wearing just the pants. My chest completely exposed, full of scars. I got close to Rainbow and she smiled at me.
"I thought that you didn't like to be naked in front of others..." She said
"I'm wearing pants, I'm not naked" I shrugged and sat right next to her. Our heads were almost on the same level now... she was a little taller.

"Heh… weirdo." She chuckled and turned her head to watch the sunset. "When you were at the hospital, I had the weirdest dream about you..." She started and I looked at her.
"Really? How was it?" I Said curious.

"Well, I dreamed that we were on a cloud, watching the sunset..." She looked at me. "...but you were a dragon! And then I said something that I couldn't remember... and you stood up and fell from the cloud. I jumped after you, but I was not fast enough and... well.." She looked away.
"I know..." I said looking at her. "I hit the ground... ... ... You know, I had the same dream... I was a dragon, and we were in a cloud, watching the sunset..." She looked at me and our eyes meet.

"Do you... remember what I said to you in the dream...?" She asked and I saw a light blush on her face. I got a little closer and she approached too.
"Well... a... a little..." I felt a little awkward... Her forms under the orange light of the sun... her big eyes staring at me... that rainbow mane that were never in place. To me, all that was just... Beautiful.

I couldn't control my body... I started to get closer and closer to her. I saw her moving too. Our faces getting closer by the second. She closed her eyes almost at the same time I closed mines. I felt her breath near my own. My heart was beating so hard that I feared that it would blow out of my chest. I could feel... just an inch from her snout... and then...

"RAINBOOOOOWWWW" A female voice echoed. We both looked to the sky to see a gray blur coming fast. The gray figure hit Rainbow Dash before she could even think of dodge and both rolled on the floor a few times. I jumped on my feet to see if they were alright.

Rainbow Dash was laying on her back and a gray mare with blonde mane was on top of her, smiling like nothing had happen. I saw her eyes and got a little shocked for a second. They were completely crossed. Each one looking in a different direction.

"Derpy! What the hay!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the gray mare.

"I found you!" She said smiling widely. "Rarity told me to find you so you could help me look for... what was his name again...?" She stopped for a second thinking.
"Eravel...?" Rainbow said pointing a hoof towards me. Derpy looked at me and smiled again.
"Yes! That's him!" She said happily, coming towards me. "Rarity wants you to go see her in the boutique... she said that your clothes are ready but she wanted to see if it will fit good."

"Ahm... now? I mean..." I looked to Rainbow Dash but then I felt Darpy passing her forehoofs under my arms and lifting me in the air. "H-hey!"
"Come on!" She said giggling. "Rarity is very impatient!" With that she started to fly away from my house. If I thought that flying with Rainbow was scary, I can't find words to say how the feeling of flying with Derpy was. She flew fast, not as fast as Rainbow, but still fast, and the problem was that she didn't really considered that I could hit the top of trees and buildings if she didn't had high enough, so I had to dodge some trees and buildings as she flew to our destination.

"Derpy! Look out! Careful please!" I screamed at her while dodging the obstacles. I saw a huge metal shaft o the top of a building approaching fast and a swung my body hard to the side, making the gray pegasus change her course by force. "By Odin! You are going to kill me!"
"Sorry!" She said still smiling like it was nothing.
Soon we landed near the boutique. Well... more like I was dropped at the door. But I never felt so happy to feel the firm floor... even if it was after falling from over six meters.

"Oh there you are!" I heard Rarity voice calling me. I looked at the boutique's door and there she was. "Come in! Hurry! I need to see if everything is perfect!"

I Stood up and went inside... she started to push me with her head near that little pedestal surrounded by mirrors. She closed the curtains to give me some privacy.

"Ok, strip of... and put this on..." She said opening a chest nearby... I simply started to dress as told and then got near one of the mirrors to have a better view at myself.

It was a light green shirt with long sleeves and it was a little thigh, but still comfortable. The pants were black and very simple too. She had made new boots with some material that was really close to what good quality leather would be, but didn't had that smell that leather always had. Everything fit perfectly but was too plain for the taste of someone like Rarity. I just looked at her e nodded my head, making a sign that everything was ok.
"Good, now... I want you to wear this..." She opened a curtain that hid what she really wanted me to wear. It was a shiny new armor that I could only dream to have back in my home.

The chest piece was long enough to almost reach my knees. Past the waist, it had a frontal opening to not hold my legs when walking or running. It was made of the same material of my boots but looked more resistant and was covered with several pieces of metal arranged like small scales with 5cm each. In regular intervals, you could see some golden scales to decorate it all. In the center of the chest was a round piece of metal with the Moon and Sun emblem, made out of silver and gold. The shoulders were made of three metal plates, decorated with gold and silver in several delicate drawings on the edges. Under the arms was a piece of a well made chain mail.

The bracers were made of only two pieces of metal, full of drawings and details. It had also two pieces to protect my shin and knees with drawings that matched my braces. Around the armor was a fine belt made of the same material that imitated leather and also had the Moon and Sun emblem. I could see also a pair of gloves, same material as the boots. A piece of metal to protect the back of my hand and several small pieces for each finger. It was not enough to hold a full blow, but was still good against weaker ones.

One of the parts that really called my attention was the helmet. It was nothing like my previous one. The design resembled a dragon with the mouth open. The jaw covered my own jaw. The yes of the dragon had opening so I could see through it and the nose of the dragon covered my own nose... Only my mouth was a little exposed for me to breathe without problems. It was like the helmet was made to replace my own head with one of a dragon. Several green feathers, matching my shirt, were placed in between a pair of horns, on the top of the helmet.

"Go ahead, put it on, see if it suits you" Rarity said after some time I just stared at the armor.
I started to dress myself feeling the weight of it all… It was incredibly light, I thought that it all would weight far more than mine previous armor. When I finished dressing, I saw a dark green cape, matching my shirt floating towards me. It covered my shoulders and attached itself on the center piece of my chest, the Moon and Sun symbol.

"This it amazing…." I said looking at myself in the mirror. "But… how… why?" I looked at Rarity through the holes in the helmet.

"It was Princess Luna's idea…" She started to say "nothing suits better a warrior than a nice and new armor."
"But this helmet… why it has a dragon shape?" I took the helmet off to analyze the details.

"The helmet was Princess Celestia's idea... I don't know from where she took the inspiration to think of something like this, but I have to say that this suits you very well." She smiled at me.
A dragon… Maybe the legends were true? My family really had dragon's blood that would activate whenever we needed it and that was what inspirited Celestia?
"This is just perfect… I don't know how to thank you properly!" I said still looking amazed at my image on the mirror.
"Don't worry with that… I had my share of help from Canterlot's blacksmith" She said smiling and I started to take off the armor. "Put it over there and you can go now… I need to finish some small details for my own dress and also some others that are with me until tomorrow…"

I looked at her and noticed that she was tired... but at the same time, really excited with her work. Not wanting to bother her more than necessary I quickly stripped off the clothes and put my ragged pants to go home. We said our 'goodbyes' and I left her boutique. It was already night, Luna had just rise her moon and I used it's light to find my way home again.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A white stallion was looking at the moon that night. He never really stopped to admire the night, unless he was in the company of a mare. Technically he was in the company of a mare... but she was sleeping on the bed, right next to her was some kinky toys and she had some red bruises on her body. She had a cream fur and black mane and tail and was resting peacefully.

Steel head knew this little kinky filly from some time, and she came looking for him from time to time. Some weird fetish for royal guards arresting her and then punishing her form some imaginary crime she did. At first he thought that was weird, but he got used to it and started to like it a little too. But this time... No... This time he was feeling empty and far from satisfied. He never felt this way before...

It started after his chat with Rarity back in the hospital. He came back to Canterlot to find a cure for that emptiness in his chest. It was his third day there, and this was his third mare... but still the feeling was haunting him... He was starting to get really desperate and depressive now, and he didn't even know why!

Steel Head let a sight escape his mouth and the grabbed a pen and a paper. He wrote a simple note to the sleeping mare, something about him needing to attend to some royal duties and then he left her room, going back to his own room in a hotel. He didn't wanted to show at the palace, didn't want anyone to bother him.
> Flora's lust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING!

This chapter contains explicit pornographic scenes, violence, bondage and S&M play between two ponies!
Read at your own risk!

(This is just a pure clop-fic that I made for fun. The story goes on the next chapter, so you can skip this one if you don't want to read some twist and juicy scenes.)

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Almost all apartments in the lower circles of Canterlot were the same and this one was not an exception. It had a small kitchen, a bathroom with a tub, a small living room with a sofa and a couch and a bedroom with a large bed for at least two ponies. The whole place was very well decorated with plants and flowers. A cream mare was singing a happy song to herself while taking care of a vase of purple flowers. She had a black mane and tail, and her cute mark was brown vase with four flowers on it, each one with a different color.

The sun was almost out of sight over the horizon when she heard hard knocks on her door. She jumped a little startled by the violence of the knocks and went to see who it was. When the cream mare opened just a crack of her door, the pony on the other side kicked it hard, making the door open with violence and sending her to the ground.
"Uhnn... what the..." She whispered recovering from the impact and looked at the entrance... She could see a white pegasus wearing a golden armor. The royal guard entered the living room and closed the door behind him.
"So... you must me miss Flora Hoofs am I right?" Steel Head said in a serious tone.
"Y-yes... I-I am..." She said nervous "What is this all about?"
"Don't you play dumb on me!" Steel Head said using his fore hoof to strike her across the face, leaving a soft red spot where it hit "I saw you fleeing from the crime scene!"

She screamed and fell on the ground again. He approached her an stepped on her shoulder to hold her down.
"Do you have any idea what is the punishment for robbery?" Steel head said showing his teeth in an angry expression and not waiting for her to answer. "A year in the upper levels of the castle dungeon... not so bad eh? But there is a problem here..." He said pressing his hoof harder on her, making the mare whimper in pain. "The store that you broke in... the owner of that place is a close friend of mine, and I feel that you deserve to suffer what it would be a whole year in jail but in a single night!" He used his forehoof to kick her side with a controlled force. The strike was just enough to send a medium amount of pain on her ribs and make her whimper again. "And don't think you are going to scape jail... Because after this night you will be behind bars!"
"P-please... no... I... I'm sorry!" She started to whimper, still laid on the ground. "I... I will give it all back, I promise, just... just don't take me to jail!" She begged in a sobbing voice.
"Stand up..." He said looking at her but the mare didn't move at all. "I said to stand up bitch!" He kicked her side a little harder and she moaned in pain... not wanting to receive another kick, Flora quickly stood up.
"Where are the goods that you stole?" He said in a serious tone and she pointed her bedroom. "Move." He commanded and she started to walk to her bedroom... he went right behind her.
She approached a wardrobe and he stood next to her. As she opened the wardrobe he smirked. The inside had some dresses but in the lower part he saw several adult toys and ropes.
"So... looks like you are not only a thief, but also a whore who enjoys naughty things..." He said looking at her. Her face burned red as the statement and she didn't answer.

Steel Head grabbed a rope and then grabbed her mane, pulling towards the bed.
"A-ahn! L-let me go... what are you doing!" She whimpered. He held her upper body on the side of the bed and then tied her forehoofs together. The royal guard then pulled the rope that was on her forehoofs across the bed to wrap it in one of the feet of the furniture. She was forced to stay with her upper body on the bed, her stomach pressing against the sheets and her hind legs on the floor. He got two more ropes and tied her hind legs on the base of the bed too, forcing her to keep them spread wide. She was shaking a little now, fear was something really obvious on her face.
"Wh-what are you going to do...?" She asking with a trembling voice.
"What I told you I was going to do in first place... You will give back all the goods you stole... but that doesn't mean I won't punish you for breaking in the store." He said in an evil grin and reached for the wardrobe, grabbing a small black whip. "Lift your tail..." He commanded... But she didn't move. Steel Head swung the whip really hard and made it crack against her back, leaving a bright red mark and making her scream. "I told you to lift you damn tail!" He shouted at her.

She started to sob... two tears rolled her face as she lifted her black tail, exposing her most private parts in that humiliating position.

"Let me see... fifteen swats for the robbery... and five more for you being so naughty" He said in an evil tone.

"P-please... no... I... I'm begging you" She sobbed in a pleading voice.
"Now it will be twenty for the robbery..." He said in a simple tone. She rested her head on the bed and whimpered in defeat. "And I want you to count them out loud..." the royal guard said and lifted the whip, aiming for her rump. "Start." He commanded.

Flore gulped… her lower lip trembling a bit as she hesitated for a second.
"O-one..." She said in a hesitant voice. Steel Head swung the whip and cracked on her rump, leaving a light red mark on it and making Flora whimper in pain.
"T-wo..." She counted again and the whip cut the air, cracking on the other side of her rump, leaving another light red mark.
"Three..." She sobbed and another ckrack came from the whip on her…
"F-four..." She counted and the forth strike came, sending a sharp wave of pain and making the mare sob... She kept counting and each strike landed on her buttocks and thighs with a good amount of force, leaving red marks and making her scream and cry in pain.

"twe...t-twenty o-one..." she counted between sobs and moans. Steel head cracked in her rump gain making the abused mare scream and contract her body in pain, pulling the ropes that were binding her in place.
"What is this...?" he said suddenly lowering the whip and rubbed it against her nether, sending a shiver on her spine. By Celestia... look at this! You are soaked just from being spanked!" he said laughing softly. "Aren't you a naughty one? Eh!" He pointed his last word with a hard swat of the whip on her nether making she squeal in pain and pull the ropes really hard.
"N-NO! P-lease! S-stop!" She begged but he landed the whip on her nether again making she moan in a mix of pain and pleasure now. "AHHN!" He just laughed at her reaction and hit her labia and clitoris with the whip again and again, making the mare moan and cry in a mix of intense pleasure and pain... She pulled the ropes that held her hind legs open, to protect that sensitive spot from the rough abuse but all her efforts were useless. When he finally stopped the whip was all covered in her juices and he was very excited... his length was hanging between his hind legs. Flora was panting, with her hind legs shaking a little.
"P-please... no... no more..." She said panting hard. He just dropped the whip and went to the wardrobe again. He grabbed a replica of a stallionhood made of rubber, and pressed the tip against her sore labia. She whimpered softly at the touch and tensed her body. "N-no more... I... I'll never d-" Her phrase was cut when he shoved the dildo on her cave with violence. She let out a loud scream as she felt her insides being stretched so suddenly and then the tip of the dildo hitting her cervix. She laid her head, panting hard and whimpering softly... feeling that massive toy filling her completely. She almost hit an orgasm with that and her marehood was dripping wet now.

Steel Head pulled the dildo out slowly, making Flora moan in pure pleasure now... She looked over her shoulder trying to so what he was doing... It was impossible in her angle but she felt a shiver down her spine when the tip of the rubber dildo touched her anus. She tensed her muscles and started to shake her head violently. "N-no... please... please... d-don't don't do it... don't do it... I'm be-" Her phrase was cut again when he shoved the dildo in her ass with the same violence he did in her nether. Her thigh entrance was forced open and a sharp wave of pain hit her brain. Steel head pushed the dildo all the way in her bowels, making the tip of the toy hit her deepest areas. She screamed again, but this time she couldn't hold her climax... her nether and legs got all covered in her juices and she was having all kind of spasms from the intense pleasure and pain.

"You really are such a dirty whore... You just came didn't you? HA! Such a low mare as you doesn't deserve any kind of mercy!" Steel head said and hit her labia with a forehoof, with low force. She just whimpered, lost in the after climax.

The royal guard lifted his body and put her forehoofs on the bed... his length was really hard now and he didn't want to wait anymore. He touched her vaginal entrance with the tip of his shaft and then forced all the way inside her nether with a really strong thrust. Flora let out a loud moan in pleasure of having a stallion inside her while she was in such humiliating and vulnerable position.

Without any warning, Steel Head started to thrust with full force and really fast, almost as if he didn't cared about her... And she was going crazy with that. He could feel her insides clenching his shaft as he moved in and out, hitting her sensitive and abused cheeks and pressing the dildo in her anus, making it move a little too.

He lowered his upper body and bit her neck, in a dominating position and started t thrust faster and faster... She didn't hold back her moans of pleasure and a new orgasm started to build up inside her. All that pleasure of having a stallion fucking her like she was just some kind of toy... that's what she really liked.

The royal guard let a few ropes of precum inside her... He was almost at his limits now, going in and out as fast as he could, in short thrusts. She felt him biting her neck harder and then a muffled moan coming from him as he hit his orgasm. A huge load of cum started to pour out of his stallionhood, filling the mare with all that white hot milk... She hit the climax almost at the same time as him, contracting her insides and squeezing his length with all her might for a second and then relaxing... her conscience fading away...

Steel head was panting hard on top of the mare and it took him a few seconds to realize that she had passed out. He pulled himself from her and then undid the ties, gently putting her on the bed. He slowly took the dildo off her and took it to the bathroom to be cleaned later. He was feeling exhausted too and just climbed on the bed to rest next to the mare… But he only got a quick nap. Soon he woke up with that emptiness feeling again. He just sighed and stood up, looking at the moon from the window.
> Chaos is?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I arrived at home, Rainbow Dash had already left. For the whole time I was walking to my house my thoughts were spinning around the fact that I almost kissed her... I almost kissed a pony! But, she was not a normal pony. She was what I could call 'people'. She had feelings, thoughts... she could fell fear and joy. She had her own dreams and... She was beautiful. I didn't know how to explain that, but I was feeling attracted to her... more and more I was falling for that cyan pegasus… I went to my bed to sleep, but it took me a very long time to be able to rest. Her image and the moment our lips almost connected were still too fresh in my mind.

I woke up with the feeling of something climbing on my bed. I open my eyes... it was still dark and I could see just shadows. I rubbed my eyes to see it clearly...

"Steel Head?" I asked when I could see the silhouette of a pegasus.
"No silly... It's me..." a very familiar voice said. My heart started to pound fast.
"R-Rainbow! What... what are you doing here!" I asked in shock, very alert now.
She walked on my bed, getting right next to me and laying down. Now that my eyes were used with the darkness I could see her forms clearly. She had a soft smile and was looking straight into my eyes.

"I came because... I couldn't stop thinking of this afternoon... how... incomplete it was…" She said looking away, embarrassed. "You know... before Derpy came... we..." She said an incomplete phrase, maybe too embarrassed to finish it. I simply felt my face burn.
"A-about that..." I started but she pressed her hoof over my mouth gently.
"Shh... don't need to say it..." She said getting her face closer to mine. My heart was pounding so fast that I was sure she was able to hear it. She put her hoof over my nude chest... looked deep in my eyes... and smiled. "You are really a foal" She said and I arched an eye brow.
"what...?" I asked.

Suddenly her head started to inflate, like a balloon and exploded with a loud 'pop'. I jumped out of the bed, startled by that. Then I saw one of the most bizarre views: Rainbow Dash with Discord's head. It took me a few seconds to assimilate things.
"DISCORD!" I shouted in anger and the bastard started to laugh very loud. The rest of the body started to change too, until it was in the same shape and size of the weird dragon, Discord.
"By Celestia! You had to see your face! It was PRICELESS!" He said rolling in my bed while laughing.
"Damn! You are lucky I'm not with my axe around!" I said crossing my arms. He stopped the laugh and then sat up on my bed.
"Awww don't be so angry..." He said teasing me. "One day... who knows? It will be really her climbing on your bed... while you are naked... your bodies pressed against each other..."
"STOP!" I cut him and he started to laugh again. Damn, this guy knew how to be annoying! "What do you want this time Discord?" I said sighing... knowing that getting mad at him would not do any good.

"heh, I just wanted to see how you were doing..." He said lying with his arms crossed behind his head. "Did you like your new armor? I gave the inspiration to Rarity and that old blacksmith to do it that way." He smirked at me.
"Well... yes... very much. Was your idea to make the helm like a dragon's head?" I asked
"Yes and no... I just commented with Celestia how your soul looked like when you fought the Hydra... it take the exact shape of a dragon. Pretty scary I need to admit." He said looking at me.
"So... the legends about dragons were true?" I asked curious now.

"Hmm... no. How can a human possibly have the blood of a different creature like that?" He said chuckling. "No... that loss of control you have is because you have to much chaos in your heart. When that chaos take control over your minds, the shape of your soul change to match your new nature..." He explained to me.
"So... My father changed into a dragon too?" I asked
"Nah, he had the shape of a wolf... A creature that is very loyal to his family and will do anything to protect it. You have the shape of a dragon because you really go on a rampage. One of the strongest traces of a dragon is that it is very extremists. It can be the most loyal and selfless creature, like that little Spike, or really selfish and greedy." Discord explained.
"Ahm... so... that means...?" I asked not fully understanding.
"That means that you are always going from one extreme to the other. The first time you changed was for a selfish reason. Fear of losing your own life and every single creature turned out your enemy. The second time was for a selfless reason. You feared for those who you cared most and you fought to protect them." He said.
"But... I remember trying to attack Rainbow" I said in a frown.

"Yes, but you didn't, you moved your body to the side so you would miss her. Imagine that a dragon have always two personalities fighting each other... usually one is always a lot stronger than the other, but on your case, both had the same strength. The factor to decide who would take control in the end was your love for the element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash." He said smirking at me and I blushed lightly. He chuckled.

"Ok... but what the real reason that made you come here?" I asked changing the subject.
"I wanted to know if you realized what is Chaos yet" He asked and stood up.
"Well... not really..." I scratched my head and he sighed.
"Yeah... I thought so... It seems that you are so immersed in it that you can't see it alone... maybe you need a little help..." He said and the sun outside suddenly rose, illuminating the room completely. He snapped his fingers and a copy of me appeared right next to him. But his eyes... they were completely black.

"What the..." I looked at that thing a little shocked. Discord snapped his fingers again, and my body got covered in my new armor. My sword in one hand a brand new shield in the other. "What's going on!" I asked totally lost.

"This is the representation of your chaos... you two will have a little chat to each other." He smiled.
"But why I'm dressed like this?" I asked looking at my armor.
"Because you will be chatting with your own chaos.. and... well... he tends to be a little violent. Anyway good luck" Discord said fast and disappeared.

I looked at that version of myself. He was wearing only a pair of pants. He stared at me and in his hands a huge sword appeared. He came charging at me and I used the shield to hold his charge by punching him with the metallic part of the round shield, acting on impulse. He lost his balance and I used that chance to run to the balcony of my room and then jumped to the ground below. I knew this was just a dream so I was not going to hurt myself... but of course I was wrong.

I fell on the floor and hurt my leg when I hit the ground. Nothing bad enough to do some big damage, but that still hurt. I saw my twisted version jumping after me. He was with his sword over his head coming for a monstrous blow. I rolled to my side right before the deadly blade hit me. I stood on my feet staring at him. My twisted version came charging again in a sequence of strikes that I knew well.

Since he was me, I knew every kind of movement he knew, we both were trained by the same person. I started to dodge at first, waiting for the opportunity... it came when he rose the sword. I charged at him to punch with my shield. But he didn't execute the blow. He only lifted the sword as a decoy and I fell for it.

When I charged he stepped to the side, spinning his body, and I felt a hard blow at my back that threw me at the ground. If it was not for the armor, I would have been cut in half with the power of the blow. I rolled again to face my twisted version and saw when his sword was falling to hit me. I used both hands on the shield to hold that blow. I felt my arms going numb with the impact.

"You attacked Rainbow Dash! You betrayed Princess Celestia! You let your father die!"
I hear him shouting at me, all the things that I did and avoided thinking because I knew it was all my fault. In my position I could do nothing but defend myself against his blows...
"You attacked an innocent pony! You are a coward! Afraid to be alone! Afraid to die! Afraid of the world and afraid of yourself!" He kept screaming at me. I didn't know what hurt most, his words or the blows I was blocking.

He kicked my shield to the side. My arms were already swore and tired from blocking so many blows. I had no strength to hold my shield and it escaped from my grasp. Right after I saw the pointy blade of his sword coming at me, piercing my armor and my flesh, right in my stomach. I gasped and felt the taste of blood. The pain was overwhelming.

"You don't deserve to live... you don't deserve to be in control and you don't deserve your friends!" My twister version said between teeth, in his eyes I could pure hatred. He pulled the sword out of my body and lowered with a full force blow at my head, I just closed my eyes...

I didn't felt any pain. Even my stomach was fine now. Opening my eyes I could see myself in the void. My armor was gone too and I could see discord in a relaxed position, floating around.

"Had a nice conversation?" He chuckled.
"What the hell what that!" I shouted at him, standing up.
"Your chaos, hehe... strong isn't he?" Discord said looking at me, grinning. I just stared at him. "Tell me... what did he said to you?"

"He told me all the bad things that I have done... The things that I did and I regret most..." I said breathing deep to try calm myself.

"Yes... And how did you felt?" He asked again.

"I think it is pretty obvious how I felt..." I said angrily at him. "I felt horrible..."
"Yes... and he got stronger and stronger, didn't he?" Discord chuckled. "Tell me... What do you think I used to create him? And don't say chaos... think of something else." Discord said getting closer. "Think before answering… what was his stronger characteristic? And what was he hitting, beside your body, of course."
"Well..." I stopped for a moment to think. I was not sure of what it was so I took the first thing that crossed my mind. "Emotions...?" I asked a little hesitant.

"YESSS! FINALLY!" He said and hugged me thigh for a moment. "Now! Tell me! Chaos is...?" He looked at me smiling widely, waiting for my answer.
"Chaos is... emotions...?" I arched an eyebrow and he threw me up. The scenario changed I saw myself very high in the blue sky. When I was going to fall a cloud came and held me. Discord was right next, looking really happy.

"You finally got the first step to understand what chaos is boy... it took you long enough... But, I guess not everypony is smart as Celestia" He chuckled.

"Wait a second..." I said looking at him "You mean... that chaos is made of emotions?"
"Remember what I said before Eravel... Don't put Chaos and Order as evil and good. One completes the other so we can have harmony." He said pulling a cloud to lie on.
"Ok... now I'm confused..." I said giving up. He just rolled his eyes.
"Mortals... pff..." He said annoyed. "Look... Chaos is made out of pure emotions, it is in constant movement. Order is reason, is the very opposite of chaos and tends to just stay still, not moving at all. If we have only order, then, nothing happen, if we have only chaos then they go out of control and... well, you see how your home world is don't you?" He started to explain. "The elements of harmony are the pure representation of order, as I already said. Inanimate objects, memento of those who once ruled Equestria for so long. Their purpose is to bring order and suppress the chaos. Their names were chosen after the virtues one can develop when harmony is achieved: Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty and finally Magic. This last one is more of a symbolism for the bounds between ponies." He said making small images, made of clouds, of Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pink Pie and Rainbow Dash.

"But I still don't understand what you mean about the chaos in me..." I said a little impatient with all that weird talk.

"Calm down boy, we will get there." Discord laughed a little. "Now... pay close attention... chaos are emotions, good emotions and bad too. Your world is full of bad emotions... Fear and anger runs loose in the hearts of your race. Some humans are more vulnerable to that than others. You, for example, are very vulnerable to that. You have a pool of fear and anger in your heart and this 'pool' is so big, that it turned into a different being. Something like your 'evil twin'" He concluded.

That made sense... I remembered someone talking to me when I was fighting the Hydra. Saying to give in to my fear and anger.

"I... I understand..." I said staring at my own feet. "So... what I need to do now? How do I get rid of this 'evil twin' I have inside me?" I looked at him.

"Heh, this, my little human, is something that you need to discover by yourself. But I can give you a little direction: 'If your cup is filled with poison, what you need to do to fill it with pure water?'" He said starting to fade away. "Think about it, and, when you understand my words, you will discover the first step to get purified ... But be warned: like any other thinking being, your 'evil twin' will fight back if he is threatened." Was his last words and then I felt the real world surrounding me.

I opened my eyes and saw my room again... It was already morning and some birds were singing outside. The sunlight was passing through the big glass door that leaded to the balcony. I sighed lightly... I always felt a little awkward after my encounters with Discord. And as always, he left me with more questions then I first started.
"'If your cup is filled with poison, what you need to do to fill it with pure water…?" I repeated his words, trying to make some sense... but it failed. What the connection of a cup and my emotions anyway?

I stood up and stretched my body before walking towards the balcony. I open the glass door to let the morning air come inside. It was really good to actually feel the real world after my encounters with Discord. I walked outside, feeling the warms sun rays on my naked chest. I was only wearing my pants.

Not far away I could see a yellow pegasus flying followed by a strange pink cloud. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see better, and realize that the pink cloud was in fact hundreds of pink butterflies, following her leader, Fluttershy. I was amazed at how she was leading the insects like that towards the city. I kept looking at that scene until I saw a golden spot coming closer. It was flying fast, and didn't took long to me recognize the spot as the missing royal guard.

As he approached I saw that he was wearing something different from the usual golden armor. This one was very shiny and much more elegant. He soon landed on the balcony smirking at me and I could see the armor better. It has a golden one and each plate had different drawings on the edges, made of silver. Gems were carved where the pins held the plates together. His wing bones where covered by thin golden plates with elegant designs. His helmet was not much different than the normal, but it had an opening in the back where his blue mane came out.

"Hey! What do you think?" He asked standing in a heroic posture.
"Awesome." I said smiling. "But what was not even close to 'awesome' was you going to Canterlot and not even saying goodbye to me."
"Oh… about that… sorry… I had to figure a few things there." He said standing in a more natural posture.
"Let me see… some mares around there right?" I arched an eyebrow and crossed my arms.
"Yes and no…" He said looking away and I saw that there was something wrong.

"Hmm… something happen there?" I asked a little concerned.
"Not there…" He sighed. "And I don't know if I'm ready to speak about this yet. Can we… you know… change subjects?" He looked at me looking rather depressed. I simply nodded not wanting to ruin the festival that would happen in a few hours.

"Sorry…" I said scratching the back of my head. "Hey! I got a new armor too!" I said to him smiling, wanting to change to atmosphere.

"Really? Can I see it?" He said smiling.
"Not yet, is not here with me. Rarity was the one that made it and it is at her boutique" I shrugged. "And by the looks I suppose she made yours too, right?" I asked looking at him and the white pegasus nodded with a smirk.
"You are looking at the new gala armor of the entire Celestia's army. And I'll be the first one to wear it in public." He said looking very proud of himself.
"Heh, careful with that ego… if it keeps swelling like that you'll hit the ceiling." I teased him and he just chuckled.

"Mr. Eravel...?" I heard a male voice calling me and looked behind. There was a brown pegasus wearing a weird blue hat and carrying a large saddlebag.
"Ahm... yes?" I asked and he landed on the balcony.
"A delivery from Miss Rarity." he said dropping the saddlebag near me. He looked relieved to get rid of whatever that was and then flew away.

I opened the bag and Steel Head approached to see it better. I started to pull out pieces of my armor.
"Wow, impressive..." He said looking the details on the shoulders and chest. "But mine is still better" He teased. I just rolled my eyes and started to put all the things inside my room.

He took his armor off too and we went downstairs to eat something. The festival would start right after mid day and I didn't wanted to be late.
"Well... I need to take a shower before start to dress up..." I said after a good meal of fruits.
"Just don't take too long... Soon a carriage will be here to take us to the city." Steel Head warned me.
"Already? I thought that it would take a lot longer..." I said.
"The sun will soon be at the middle of the sky... and I was told to not get late or we would miss the royal entrance." He said with some hurry in his voice.

I rushed towards the bathroom and started to shower. I was tempted to stay for a long time under that warm water... That was really relaxing... But Steel Head was really insistent that we hurried, so I took a quick shower and soon I was encased on my armor. My cape attached on the Sun and Mon sign in the middle of my chest and my draconian helmet covering my face. The only thing that I missed was my sword. For some reason Rarity did not send it to me.

Soon the carriage arrived and we were taken to the city. Ponyvile was full of different decorations... The central part had several tables with all kinds of food around the fountain and the frontal part of the major building had turned into a stage. Several ponies were there already... All of them dressed in their best dresses and costumes. They opened space for the carriage land and I jumped off.

I saw some ponies staring at me a little chocked and others a little scared. I looked around to see if it was just me or... nop... most of them were really staring at me and I knew why. I took my helmet off, showing my face and their expressions eased a little. I smiled to them and waved lightly... It was a really awkward moment there. Lucky for me it didn't take long for me to spot a purple unicorn coming closer, dressed in a really pretty dark blue and purple dress with some silver stars.
"There you are Eravel..." Twilight said smiling "Steel Head..." She smiled at him e he smiled at her too. "Come you two! The girls are over there." She said leading the way
I and Steel Head soon could see the other five ponies on their respective dresses. Each one of them matched their personality in many ways. I looked at each one of them, waving hello... but when my eyes meet Rainbow Dash I just froze. She was wearing a rainbow cape... golden leaves on her head and golden bracelets on her hoofs... her wings standing up like she was ready to fly... and she was beautiful. I dare say that she could be some kind of Valkyria...
"ahm, hey Dash..." I said after coming back to my sense.
"Heh, hey..." She smiled at me... and I simply got lost on her smile. I just kept in silence staring at her... looking deep in her eyes... until I felt something bumping hard on my leg and I almost lost balance. I looked angry to see who the attacker was and I saw Steel Head pointing up with one hoof.

I looked to the sky and saw the moon moving towards the sun. My jaw dropped, I never saw the moon moving so fast. It usually takes hours for it to move on the sky, but now we could see as she approached the sun very fast, as if it would collide. The moon stood in front of the sun and a huge dark circle was in the sky... around the dark circle I still could see the sun rays and some stars started to appear around it… this was the most impressive thing that I have ever seen... not in my wildest dreams I would imagine such a scene.
Both celestial beings started to move at the same time in different directions and from between them we could see two flying objects coming fast towards us. A golden and white carriage pulled by four royal guards, carring Princess Celestia. At her side was a black and silver carriage, caring Princess Luna and being pulled by four gray pegasus wearing dark armor. As both started to get closer and closer to the ground they speed dropped. Sun and moon were still in the sky on opposite sides. That was quite a show to see...

All the ponies around opened space for the carriages to land and then bowed. I dropped in one knee and lowered my head too.
"Citizen of Ponyvile!" I heard Celestia voice echoing through space in a volume that probably could reach Everfree forest. Everyone looked at the sisters standing now side by side, out of the carriages. "Rise your heads and listen well! We are here to thank those who we can call heroes! The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony that once again proved how worthy they are! Steel Head, a royal guard that did more than what his duties called... And Eravel, an outsider who had no obligation towards us, but didn't hesitate to step in and fight to defend Ponyvile!"

I hear every single pony around me hitting the floor with their forehoofs, praising Celestia's words. The princess waited until everyone to stop and then started to speak again.

"And now it's time for us all to enjoy what those brave ones fought to defend! Let the festival began!"She said louder than before and we saw many birds flying over our heads. They started to sing a joyful song in choral. I never thought that birds could sing like that... It was simply amazing. The birds landed on the stage, where the musicians were. Soon the sound of a small orchestra started to echo... The same song that the birds were singing. The festival had started for real now.

"Mr. Eravel!" I heard a strong male voice calling me. When I looked the author of that voice I saw a white pegasus with a black mustache approaching. Steel Head, that was right next to me, straightened his posture suddenly.
"hm... hi..." I said a little hesitant.
"At easy soldier." The mustached pegasus said and Steel head relaxed a little. "My name is Thunder Wings. I'm the general of the royal guards. It's an honor to meet such a brave warrior as you." He said on that strong voice. He looked much older than Steel Head.

"Well, thank you. But I just did what I had to do... If you want to praise someone, do it to this guy here..." I pointed the white royal guard next to me "Even though he had no real experience in fighting and had little chances to win, he charged that Hydra to defend me when I was thrown away." I smiled to Steel Head.
"Is that so? Well... I think we will need to do something about him later than... maybe a promotion?" The general said with a smirk. "But that will have to wait. I hope you enjoy the party... Steel Head, you too. Don't worry about being a guard today"
"Yes sir!" Steel Head straightened his posture once more and the general left. "Wow... a... a promotion! That's just AWESOME!" Steel Head said when the general was out of sight and smiled from ear to ear.
"Heh, congratulations... You deserved it" I smiled back to him.

After that, some other ponies started to come chat with us… most of them wanting more details of what happen that day… I was not very comfortable in being the center of the attention…

"Eravel?" I heard Twilight's voice calling me after just a few minutes, and turned to see her.
"Hi twilight..." I smiled to her.
"Come with me… the princesses want to speak with you..." She said in a more serious tone. I kind of knew what they wanted... But that didn't make me feel any better.

I followed Twilight Sparkle to the major's building. The princesses were probably inside... She opened the door and went in. I sighed and got inside too.
> Emotions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steel Head was surrounded by many mares and some colts too. They all were amazed by his tale of how he fought against the Hydra and almost died. He has lost his account on how many times he repeated the story and every time it was slightly different... Some versions he even knocked out one of the Hydra's head, others he saved Eravel from being caught by the Hydra's fire breath... And even one that he was the one who actually defeated the monster. He thanked Rarity in his mind for the amazing design of his armor since good part of his success in attracting so much attention was because of it. The feeling of emptiness was gone by now, with all those ponies around, smiling and making him feel the most awesome being in Equestria.
After talking so much with everypony around, Steel Head just went to the table where the drinks were.

"Enjoying the party dear?" He heard a well known voice.
"Very." Steel Head said turning to see Rarity. "Most of it thanks to you and your design for the new armor… mares are going crazy!" He chuckled and she giggled.
"I need to admit… You are very handsome in that armor. Just hope you choose the right mares this time" She smiled at him.

"Yeah yeah… don't worry… I won't get close to Octavia again." He said and drank a sip of his drink, trying to swallow that cursed feeling of emptiness that started to crawl on his throat at the thought of the mentioned mare. Rarity felt an annoyed tone on his voice and got a little worried.

"Is everything alright dear?" She asked, afraid of having said something wrong.

"Hm? Sure… Nothing to worry about…" He said. But it was an obvious lie. Rarity looked at him and saw Steel Head wandering with his eyes through the crowd of ponies, probably lost in thoughts… But he was not.

The white royal guard wandered with his eyes until he found the stage where the musicians were playing. Among them he saw the gray cellist, Octavia. She was on her hind legs and her eyes closed, focused on the music she was playing. Next to her were Lyra and also Vinyl Scratch. The three mares playing a mix of electronic music and classic. It was a really fluid and nice song they were playing, making almost everypony near the stage dance. But Steel Head didn't care. He had eyes only for the gray mare, the only mare who ever did something as nice as stay with him every single day in the hospital, even when he was sleeping.

That feeling of emptiness came with full force now. His chest started to hurt… as if somepony had grabbed his heart and squeezed it. He shut his eyes and turned to the other side… Was Octavia the reason that he was feeling this bad? No… it couldn't be… He was not a stallion of a single mare, he never was. Love, after all, was only an illusion… it could only lead to a path of pain and frustrations. No… all he needed was some new mare to feel alright again. With that in mind, Steel Head took a deep breath and looked around.

Not far away from the table, he saw a cute filly with pink mane and white fur. He drank the rest of his drink in a single gulp.
"Well, I got to go now Rarity… another time we can talk" He said smiling to the white unicorn and then trotted towards the white earth pony. Rarity was left behind, totally confused.

"Hi there…" Steel Head said approaching the white filly. She looked at him and smiled.

"Hi… You must be Steel Head… It's a pleasure to meet a hero." The filly said.
"Heh, not that much. I only did what I was supposed to do." He said smiling in a seductive way towards her. "What is your name?"

"Am I that important for a hero to ask my name?" She asked giggling.
"Yes if I'm flirting with you" Steel Head chuckled and got closer to her. "Can you give me the honor of walking a little with me?" He asked standing next to her.
"Would be my pleasure..." She said and started to walk with Steel head "And you can call me Sweet"

Not far from them, Rarity just watched as both started to walk away. She saw Steel Head looking back one last time, towards the stage where the musicians were, and then blending in the crowd of ponies on the festival. She frowned her eyebrows... there was something wrong here... something very wrong...

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

First thing I saw in there was that the entrance hall was very simple and was not decorated. Probably no one knew that the princess would use that space. In the middle of the room, Celestia and Luna were side by side, watching me as I walked closer. Both had a neutral expression on their faces. It was impossible to know what they were thinking. Twilight walked near Celestia and turned to look at me too... Those three mares looking at me in that way... it was really intimidating.

"What do you think of your new armor Eravel?" Luna asked and smiled, finally showing some kind of emotion.
"I liked it a lot. Thank you... especially the helmet... Discord said..." I stopped my phrase and felt a knot in my throat. Far as I know, Twilight didn't knew about Discord at all! I looked at the princesses and then to the purple unicorn. She kept her serious expression looking at me. It was not anger... it was coldness.
"Don't worry... She knows about Discord now..." Celestia said and I breathed again in relief. But when I looked at Twilight again she pierced me with her eyes and then looked away.

"Putting that aside... I hope you have some answers now..." The white alicorn started to say "Discord didn't say much about the conversations you had with him, and he said that he won't reveal anything either... so, we are here to ask direct to you. We want to know what are you... and what happen when you arrived here, and also, what happen when you fought the Hydra."

I looked them and scratched the back of my head. What they wanted to know... even I didn't have the answers! But at least I had a better view of the situation.

"Well, as you may know, I'm a human and I'm not from this world..." I started... from the obvious, yes, but I had to star from some point. "Where I'm from, there is a legend about my people that says we have dragon blood in our veins... and when we face great peril, some of us can awake this power. But as we do so, our mind suffers because our bodies can't hold so much power... My father he... He died like this..." I made pause... to think of what to say next... About what I discovered of the alicorn sisters... and about myself.

"But you said yourself that dragons don't exist in your world... how can you possibly have dragon blood in you?" Luna asked now.
"We don't have real dragons... but we have legends about them..." I answered. "And now I know that I don't have such a thing in me. Discord showed me what it is... what I truly have... He explained me about chaos and order... the origins of the Elements of Harmony... and the truth about Nightmare Moon..." I saw Twilight looking at me and then to Celestia... she looked really confused but the alicorn didn't seemed to notice or didn't cared, so I continued "...and after all that I understood that I'm something that should never exist here in Equestria... My heart is contaminated by all the bad emotions from my world, and probably, the attack from the hydra was my fault." I said finally.

"And what makes you think that the Hydra's attack was your fault?" Luna asked.

"Discord said that the monsters started to appear thanks to his influence in this world... And you changed because of him too… so probably the Hydra was lured out of the forest because it felt the same energy coming from me..." That was a conclusion that came to me after I realized that I was also contaminated.

"That's probably true…" Celestia spoke stepping forward. "…but that don't change the fact that you are here now. You are living among us, and created strong bounds that cannot be ignored. The simple solution is to simply banish you to the forest or someplace else, far from us…" I gulped, hearing that…I didn't wanted to be far away from my new find friends… specially Rainbow Dash. "But I'll not do that…" Celestia said in a sigh. "Is not fair with you and it's not fair with your friends too. So we'll need to think of something else…"
"What about the Elements of Harmony?" I asked. "They purified Luna when she was Nightmare Moon and could turn Discord into stone… maybe they could clean me too…"
"Or it could kill you… turn you into a stone or send you to the moon…" Luna said now. "The Elements have the sole purpose to establish balance, to bring Order where there is too much Chaos… And if even Discord said that you have too much chaos in you…well… I think you can get the picture."
"She's right; using the Elements in you can be very dangerous… For now, we just need to think an alternative to reduce or maybe eliminate that chaotic side of yours." Celestia started. "For now, just try to keep your calm and control over your emotions… I don't want you going in another rampage and endanger the ponies around."
I just nodded in response.

"Good… now if you excuse me and my sister, we need to go back to the festival…" Celestia said and walked out, followed by her sister.

I looked at Twilight sparkle and she stared back at me with a serious expression… an awkward silence surrounding us... When that situation started to get almost unbearable she spoke.

"So… Is there anything else that you and the princesses were hiding from me?"
"Well… no, I don't think so…" I said scratching the back of my head. "Sorry for not telling you all this on that night… Is just…"
"That's ok… I understand…" Twilight cut my phrase "You couldn't right? My mentor probably didn't want me to know that…." She said and was very clear to me that she was a little hurt with the idea of her mentor hiding information from her like this.
"No, the Princess had nothing to do with this..." I said kneeling to be in the same level as her head. "I didn't tell this to anyone... I didn't want anyone getting worried with me, thinking that I had some kind of sickness... I'm sorry for not being honest with you before." I wasn't. Not at all... These were very private information, I didn't felt really comfortable sharing it with others like that... But she was hurt because of her mentor, this was very clear, and to avoid hurting her more I choose to lie, and say that I was sorry.

I looked at her, waiting for an answer... She looked in my eyes and just smiled
"That's ok... I... I kind of understand your reasons..." She said finally and approached me, putting her neck on my shoulder and I warped her neck with my arms in a brief hug.

The door suddenly slammed open with a loud noise making me and Twilight look back fast. I saw Rainbow Dash coming inside, standing a few inches from the ground while flying.
"Eravel! there you a-..." She stopped before finishing her phrase. I let go of Twilight and stood up.
"Hey Dash" I smiled at the cyan filly but noticed something really wrong. Her smiled shrank and she frowned her eyebrows.
"Sorry... sorry to interrupt..." Rainbow Dash said and dashed out of the room. She had a really nervous tone on her voice. I saw Twilight looking at her friend, really lost in what had just happen. I wasn't sure of what I had happen either and just arched an eyebrow.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sweet was pressed against her home's door by Steel Head. Their snouts were pressed against each other in a passionate kiss. His tongue inside her mouth, dancing with her's. She reached to the door's knob and opened it. Quickly she stepped back to avoid the fall and got inside, walking to her living room. The room had a single big couch and a center table with some flowers. The rest of the room was well decorated but still had a touch of modesty.

Sweet got her dress of and jumped on the couch, laying on her side, looking at the royal guard in a seductive way. Steel head stripped his armor and approached her... She moved her head to approach her snout and both started to kiss again. He put one hoof on her belly and she lifted one of her hind legs. He slowly rubbed her belly, moving his hoof down until he had reached her special place and started to rub slowly, just teasing her... Sweet let out a muffled moan.

He started to move his hoof over her clitoris in a circular motion. She gasped and broke the kiss. Her nether starting to get all soaked from the arousal. Steel Head grinned and moved his snout over her body, kissing every inch of her chest... stomach, belly... slowly approaching her private parts. His hoof moved away and then he approached her soaked nether...

She bit her lip in anticipation and closed her eyes. A soft moan escaped her when the royal guard pressed his tongue against her clitoris, moving in a circular motion... his tongue went a little down and then pressed against her entrance and slowly going inside. She gasped as she felt the wet member moving in her cave and his lips pressing against her labia... Steel Head was devouring her private parts, drinking of her love juice and enjoying the sound of her moans. Soon his shaft was hanging under his body, full grown and very hard.

He kept his tongue in her, using his upper lip to press her clitoris. Her moans started to grow louder and louder as she was losing herself in lust and pleasure.

"w-wait...! a-ahn!... D-don't... don't go so fast!" She said between moans as he was moving his tongue in a circular motion in her cave, driving her insane. She let out a cry of pleasure and arched her back when she hit a climax. Steel Head's mouth was filled with all her love juices and he drank it all, savoring all her sweetness... 'Now I understand why ponies call her sweet'... He thought.

The royal guard pulled his head away from her, licking his lips and looked at the panting mare on the couch. He loved to do that... make the mare hit a climax and THEN start the 'main event'. He jumped on the couch and she rolled on her back, with her hind legs spread for him. She looked down, watching as his length approached her soaked nether. She bit her lip and closed her eyes again. She felt a soft touch of the tip of his stallionhood on her entrance... and then he shoved all the way inside her cave.

She screamed in pleasure and arched her back again. Steel Head bit her neck softly and started to move his hips, almost taking his length out of her and then shoving back inside. Every thrust he made she could see stars and felt jolts of pleasure. Her forehoof warped around his neck and she started to pant heavily.
He started to grunt and moan too, after a few thrusts. His body being assaulted by those strong waves of pleasure, making him move faster and faster, thrusting with all his might. She squeezed his length inside her as another climax started to build... he could feel her walls contract around his member in a constant rhythm until she hugged him tight, moaning out loud as another climax hit her. He shoved all his length inside her and started to cum. Thick streams of hot sperm poured inside her. He let out a hard grunt as his climax burst... and as he looked at Sweet he saw Octavia... for just a split of second... but that was enough to ruin that great sensation of the after sex.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could... The sun has starting to approach the horizon now, and the moon was high in the sky... She didn't know what was happening. Her chest hurt a lot, her vision was all blurred by hot tears. She never felt so sad before and by something so... stupid! She just saw Eravel hugging Twilight, both were her friends, it was normal that they had a hug sometimes wasn't? So why did she felt so horrible by just watching them like that? The cyan filly simply flew faster and faster... Her dress ripped by her speed and fell, but she didn't cared. Rainbow Dash just wanted to fly until her wings could not move anymore.

She landed in a cloud, after long minutes of flight without direction, just going forward. Ponyvile was really far now and she noticed that she almost reached Canterlot. Her eyes stung a little after flying for so long while crying. Rainbow crossed her forelegs and just laid there, thinking. Her mind wandered at that scene... She and Eravel in the balcony, watching the sunset... their faces coming closer and closer... then the image of him hugging Twilight appeared and she felt angry at her friend. How dare Twilight hug her... mate...?
"Did I just...?" Rainbow Dash blinked a few times... She just thought of Eravel as her mate! But... he was not even a pony! How can that be!

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes... As she thought in Eravel again her heart raced... and then, she imagined him hugging Twilight and felt her chest hurting a little with anger to see him with another mare. She opened her eyes suddenly breathing fast. She liked Eravel... not like a friend... more than that! She looked at the horizon and saw the sun starting to disappear... the scenario was just like her dream where Eravel was a dragon... and she said that both were dating... With that memory in mind, she slowly started to fly to her home... she didn't wanted to see anyone right now, just wanted to be alone with her thoughts.
> Hangover
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eravel was with his full armor, a shield and his sword... He was in the middle of a destroyed Ponyvlile, facin a huge black dragon. Some houses were burning and others were completely on the ground. Bodies of dead ponies lying all around and among them, he could see Twilight, Fluttershy, Pink Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. He gritted his teeth in anger and then charged at the huge lizard but the dragon simply swung his tail and hit the human right in the middle of the chest, sending him flying away. The viking hit the side of a house wall and fell on the floor. All his body was in pain and he couldn't breathe right.

A thunder voice echoed through the air when the dragon started to laugh.
"Foolish human... How long do you think you will be able to fight me? You are weak and fragile... You need a thousand years before even think of fighting me!. So... BURN!"
Eravel saw the huge jaws of the black dragon open and sending a wave of fire that engulfed his body.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I jumped out of my bed with my eyes wide open. The day light hit them and I felt both burning, so I quickly closed and covered both with my hand. The reality was grasping my senses now and I slowly I sarted opened my eyes, breathing in relief... I was in my room and my armor was arranged in a pile at the corner.. I was wearing only a pair of pants and my body was all covered in sweat. My head was pounding a little and my eyes were still a bit sensitive against light. The memories of the day before started to gradually come to me as I walked to the bathroom to take a shower.
I was at the festival... I talked with the Princesses and Twilight... And then Rainbow Dash appeared. That was the strange part... She saw me and suddenly flew away and no one had seen her since then. Applejack convinced me that there was nothing to worry about and then made me drink some apple cider... and then...
"Of course... the Cider..." I sighed as I stepped in the shower... it had something on it because I could remember how the liquid burned my throat and made me dizzy after the first cup... How in the world they could make a cider so strong and did not get drunk! I saw several ponies drinking cups and cups of it and they all seemed ok... and not only that, I swear I saw Pink Pie drinking a whole barrel of it like it was apple juice!

I took a long shower, washing my body and mind. The previous nightmare was now a faint memory at the back of my head and there were a lot of blank spaces in my memories of the festival after I started drinking. I just hope I hadn't done anything stupid.

After my shower I dressed with a clean set of clothes and went outside... Steel Head was not at home and I didn't really wanted to know where he went after the party so I just walked to the city, going to Sugar Cube Corner to see how was Pink Pie. What I noticed during my walk is that every pony that crossed my path waved at me and smiled. One olive colt approached me smiling widely.

"Hey, when are we going to do that again!" He said really excited.

"Hm... 'that'...?" I asked... what was he talking about?
"Yeah! That race! Man, I never saw something that crazy! Heh, I hope you are around for other parties!" He said and trotted away, leaving me behind completely at loss.

Right after him, a gray mare approached me grinning.

"Hey! You there!" She said coming closer "Yesterday you really had the luck on your side... just don't think you will have this again! Next time I'll be ready for you!" She said and trotted away with her snout high before I could even ask something. My confusion grew by the second now and I started to get really worried... I needed someone to explain me what happen yesterday and fast!
I ran towards Carrousel Boutique to meet Rarity...I needed someone to explain me the events of the past night and Pink Pie was not the best option at hand. As I got close to her boutique, I saw the white unicorn trotting out.

"Rarity!" I called her and got closer.
"Oh, good morning darling. What brings you here so early?" She asked smiling. When I opened my mouth to answer she cut me. "I know! How silly me... After yesterday you must want to relax a little, and somepony probably told you that I was going to the spa this morning... Well, you come just in time! Come let's go!" She said and started to trot again and I just started to walk next to her.

"Spa? What is this?" I asked arching and eyebrow.

"Is a place where ponies go to relax and improve their look... not that I need an improvement, I only go there to maintain my natural beauty." She said with her snout high, her lips arched in a smile.

The whole concept of a place like that was weird to me, so, I just followed her with my curiosity leading me... This 'spa' was a few blocks from Rarity's Boutique and had a simpler look... Well, simple if you compare with the Carrousel Boutique or Sugar Cube Corner. As we entered a pair of mares that looked almost equal to each other, except for the colors, came to receive us. One was light blue and the other was light pink, both used the manes the same way and had the same expression on their faces.

"Welcome miss Rarity" The pink one said.
"The usual?" The blue one said.

"Yes, the usual for me and for my friend here too..." Rarity said e and then started to walk inside next to the pink one. The blue one came near me to speak.
"Over here mister... you need to take off your clothes before you come inside." She said guiding me to a room with several places to store clothes and other accessories... And here I was hoping to keep my clothes, for a change...
I simply stripped and grabbed a near towel, warping around my waist. She looked at me for a second and arched an eyebrow.
"Don't feel comfortable near others if I'm all naked..." I said not making any breach for her to make more questions.
I was leaded to a huge tub with hot water... Rarity was already in there with her eyes closed and her head all warped in a towel. As I approached the tub I could smell a light sent of herbs and the water was a little green.
"Herb bath to smooth my fur and skin..." Rarity said smiling. "It will do wonder for your skin and those scars..."

I probed the temperature of the water with my hand and then got inside, with the towel still warped on my waist. The warmth of the water embraced my body and sends me a light shiver down my spine. That sensation was really good and relaxing... We stood there in silence for some time. All I know is that at some point I slept because in a moment I was closing my eyes... and then I felt a pair of hoofs on my chest and someone calling me.
"Eravel...?" A faint voice called me and I slowly opened my eyes... Rarity was really close with a soft smile... her forehoofs on my chest. "You ok?" She said chuckling lightly.

"Yes... yes I'm..." I said smiling a little "I don't know what happen... heh" I chuckled a little embarrassed.
"Hey Eravel, I heard you were..." I heard Rainbow Dash voice and turned my head to see her. The cyan filly was with shocked expression as she saw me on the tub with Rarity.
"Oh, hi Rainbow..." I smiled at her. "Why don't you..." I started to say but she cut me,
"Oh my gosh! Look at the sun! Gottagobyecyalatter!" She said really fast and dashed out leaving me behind really confused... I looked at Rarity looking for an answer but the white unicorn just shrugged.
"Well... she didn't really like here... guess she can't stand watching you doing this too... you can talk to her latter..." Rarity said getting out of the tub. "Come... I'm paying for full service!"

I wanted to go after rainbow Dash, but if Rarity was paying I coudn't just walk away, so, I followed the white unicorn. From there we went to some tables where I received a massage from the blue mare... and she was REALLY good at it. But after that, we started to do some really weird things... not bad... but weird. Like cover our faces in some greenish mud and cover our eyes with cucumbers, having our bodies warped in sea weed and they did something with my nails that made them shine like a well polished blade. But in the end I felt like a fresh new person.
"Thank you for your company Eravel" She smiled at me as we walked out of the spa. "I hope next time we can do this with all the girls too! And who knows your presence can persuade Rainbow Dash to pass through all this too? Hm?" She said smiling.
"Well, It was really nice to spend the morning here... heh, I really feel a lot better." I said smiling too. "Now... about what I was going to..." I started to say but she cut me.
"Oh! Look at the sun! Sorry dear, we'll need to chat latter. I have an important client coming today and I simply CAN NOT be late! Good bye darling!" She said and trotted away, leaving me behind with all my questions unanswered.

I sighed and started to walk without any real destination. What had happen the day before? Probably something good but I couldn't remember what it was. This was honestly getting annoying...
"Honestly? Honesty... APPLE JACK!" I said out loud. She was the element of honesty, so, if I asked a question to her she would answer without changing subjects. Yeap! She was the solution!

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rainbow Dash only stopped flying after she was out of the city. Her heart was beating fast and the image of Everal and Rarity was still fresh on her mind. She knew her friend... and knew how Rarity enjoyed to have several partners but to go for Eravel? That was a little too much! Rainbow landed on a near cloud e lowered her head.

'Calm down Rainbow! Probably nothing happen at all!" She thought 'Yes... Rarity wouldn't go as far as that... She was probably... ahm... looking his face better! Yes! That's it! She probably saw something that was out of fashion!' She said lifting her head and then took off again to find the human.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I walked out of the city and took the road that leads to Sweet Apple Acres. It took me only a few minutes of walking until I could see that vast ocean of apple trees, the rebuild barn and the house. I passed through the main entrance of the farm and went straight to the house, knocking a few times. As the door open I saw a light pale green mare, very old.
"Yesh...?" She said in a shaking voice.
"Ahm.. Hi, I'm looking for Applejack..." I said looking at her. The old mare looked at me for a second, scanning me.
"She's not home. You'll probably fin'her at the barn with her brother..." The old mare said and I simply thanked her before walking towards the barn. There I saw the big red stallion puling a large cart of apples.
"Hey Big Mac..." I said getting closer.
"Howdy... wha' brings you to the farm Eravel? Your head'is a'right?" He said in that bass voice of his.
"Yes... I guess..." I found the last question a bit weird. "Anyway... I'm looking for Applejack... knows where she's?" I asked.
"Heh... Yeup! She's at tha' direction. Bu' I would be carful to approach her righ'now." He said in a chuckle.
"Why?" I asked arching an eyebrow.
"heh, ye'r a funny guy..." HE said chuckling again and pulling the cart inside the barn. "Jus' walk in a straight line from here... yer gonna fin'her over the hills."
Another one avoiding answering my questions... Anyway, at least he told me where to find Applejack.

I walked in the direction he indicated and soon I saw the orange pony... She was pulling a really heavy cart, filled with rocks... That was a really weird sight... Why would she pull a cart full of rocks?
"Hey Applejack." I said approaching to her side.
"Wha'do yer want!" She said in an angrily voice.
"Ahm... Is everything alright?" I asked getting confused.
"Very funny question!" She said with her teeth gritted from the effort of pulling the heavy cart up. "If yer came here t'mock me, go fin' something else to do!"
"And why would I mock you?" I asked really confused.
"wha...? ya serious!" She said losing concentration for just a second, and her hoofs started to slip. I ran closer to her and grabbed the side of the cart o help her out.
"What yer doing!" She scowled me as I helped her.
"I'm... helping you! Damit this is heavy!" I cursed and I used all my strength to hold the cart.
"I don'need yer hel-" He phrase was cut when her hoofs lost the adherence on the ground and the cart started to roll down the hill. I tried to hold it but I was not even close to be strong enough to hold that cart. We both yelled as we were dragged with increased speed. The cart hit a tree and we were thrown away, landing hard on each other. Me and Applejack rolled a few times until we finally stopped. She was with her hoofs up and I was on top of her.
"Y-you allright?" I asked lifting my body a little... my face really close from her snout... enough that I could feel her breath...
"Yeh... nhg... jus'a little dizzy..." She answered... Suddenly I heard a gasp of surprise and when I turned my head, I saw Rainbow Dash with her mouth open, in shock.

"A help here...?" I asked at the cyan filly as I started to stand up but the rainbow maned filly just took off, leaving me behind.

"Wha' bit her flank?" Applejack said standing up too and I just shrugged.
"I wish to know... she's acting all weird since yesterday..." I said and stretched my back a little. "But back to the main subject... I need to know what happen yesterday." I said looking at the orange mare.
"You honestly don' remember?" She said a bit incredulous and I just nodded. She sighted and started to explain. "Yesterday you started to drink som' apple cider and, yer must be really weak fer alcohol because it only took three cups to get'ya completely drunk! The cider tha' my farm makes hav' almost no alcohol on it, but yer still got drunk. Yer started t'sing some songs from yer homeland and then started to organize som' games to make the party more interesting. The first one was a mounted race. Yer used Pink Pie as yer partner to race and won against all the others... And I hav'to say, that was a fun thing to watch." She chuckled.
"Ok, but why you were pulling that cart full of rocks? And why you looked so angry at me?" I asked trying to link the facts and the fragments of memories.
"Well, th' second game was sumthing you said tha' all the boys in yer homeland did. It was a circle in th'ground and the objective was to throw yer opponent out of the ring or on th'gorund and immobilize him. When Ah said ah'would do it too, yer just laughed at me... saying tha' a girl could never win 'gainst you. So we made a bet... if ah lost ah would hav' to move all rocks from one side of mah farm to the other..." She said and looked away.
"And... I suppose I won... heh" I chuckled. "Well relax, you don't have to do that... after all I was drunk and a bet against a drunk man is never valid. Another thing... why did your brother asked about my head?" I asked.
"Well... yer fought with him... and he exaggerated a lil'on his strength... you wer' thrown against a table of food and got unconscious... Fluttershy took yer back home"
I sighed in relief. At least I haven't done anything stupid.
"Well, thank you AJ... I'll go talk to Fluttershy, you know, thank her for caring me back to my home." I said as I walked away.
"Don'metion!" Applejack said waving a hoof.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rainbow Dash was lying on a cloud, near her home... her chest going up and down fast as she was panting. That scene she witness... their faces were so close, almost as if he was going to kiss Applejack! The imagination of the cyan filly had completed the image, making Eravel kiss Applejack. She tried to push that image away but it kept coming back again and again... and every time it did she felt like a spike was poking her heart. She could not let this like this... she knew she had to do something!
'Damn it! What is wrong with me! Why do I feel this way every time I see him with another mare!' She thought angry with herself. '... ... Maybe... Maybe I… NO! This can't be… But… Wel… That could explain why I'm feeling like this...but... but wha if... damn it... I need to talk to him or I'm going to go crazy!' The rainbow maned pegasus stood up slowly, looking at the ground below. She decided to just follow him and wait until he was alone. She hated the idea of having to wait but it was still better than catch him in another awkward moment with another pony.

It took some time, but she finally found Eravel. Rainbow Dash was using a cloud as a disguise as she followed the human from above. He was going out of the city, towards Fluttershy's cottage... she waited until he was out of sight from other ponies and the dove from the sky, caring the cloud with her.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I was thinking about how nice Fluttershy had been in taking me back to my home and even taking my armor off, so I could sleep better. She was truly the element of Kindness after all. I smiled to myself thinking about the yellow pegasus but then I saw something from the corner of my eye. When I turned to see what it was I saw a cloud approaching fast. I didn't even had the time to thing and the cloud hit me.

I felt something grabbing me under my arms and lifting me from the ground, taking me to the sky really fast. The cloud that was blinding me fade away as I got higher and I could see a cyan fur really close to my face.
"R-raibow!" I called and warped my arms around her neck as she kept flying fast. I saw that she was going towards my home and soon we landed at my balcony. She was right in front of me, looking at me with a frown.
"Rainbow? What happen? Why you grabbed me like that?" I asked worried that something had happen.
"Eravel... I want to you to just listen to me... ok?" She said. I arched an eyebrow and nodded. She closed her eyes for a second and then looked deep breath. "Eravel... I... I need to tell you something... I'm not really good at it so, well... Better if I just say it..." She made a pause taking her breath again. "Eravel I-" She started to say but then a purple light engulfed my body and I felt the ground and all my surroundings disappearing. I started to fall fast, surrounded by all types of purple lights and black dots until I landed hard on something. My whole body was a little numb from the fall and it took me a good amount of effort to look around to see where I was.

It was a dark room with stone floor and walls. The light came from some torches on metal supports.

"It worked! Yes!" I heard a familiar female voice cheering behind me. I turned my head to see who it was and saw Twilight Sparkle. She was holding an old book with her magic and looked extremely happy.
"What the... Twilight! What am I doing here! And WHERE exactly is here?" I asked completely confused.

"We are at the library's basement... I just found this new spell book here and HAD to try this new teleportation spell! And, well, I was thinking of spike... but in the last second I thought about you and here you are!" She said smiling widely in a weird manner. I just sighed and lowered my head... And for some reason I could swear that this whole mistake was Discord's fault.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rainbow Dash started to shake the human body, really worried. He had suddenly passed out and fell limp in the floor.
"Eravel! Eravel wake up!" She said shaking him violently, on the edge of panic. "Please... wake up!"

He started to open his eyes slowly. A faint purple sparkle appeared in his eyes for just a second, too fast for Rainbow to notice, and then he looked at the cyan filly next to him, blinking a few times. The human stood up and looked around, looking a bit confused... Rainbow Dash looked at him very worried.
"You... You ok Eravel?" She asked with hesitation in her voice. He looked at her and smirked.

"Yes... Yes I'm fine... actually, I'm more than fine" He said and chuckled, starting to walk inside his room, going for where his armor rested. Dash followed him inside, confused by his weird behavior.

"You sure you are fine? You just fainted over there!" She said following him.
"Yes, I'm fine... and you are annoying." He said smirking and turning to see her with his helmet on his hand.
"I'm... what!" She said in shock. But she didn't had much time to think. Eravel moved his arm and hit the side of the filly's face with the metal helmet. Blood came out of her nose and she fell limp on the floor. An evil grin crossed Eravel face and he started to laugh in a maniacal way, looking at the unconscious pegasus on the floor.
> Captives
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stood up and looked around to see it better. The floor and walls where made of stone blocks. Coming from the roof, one could see some parts of the roots from the huge tree above us and the light came from some torches on the walls. Scattered all around me was some old pillows and several books. There was also a small wooden table, all stained with ink and some brownish substance that looked like... dry blood? no... probably some ink with a different color. But what was really weird was that the whole place was a completely mess! And I knew that Twilight was the most organized pony around.

"Well, I need to get going... I was talking to Rainbow Dash when-" I started to say but Twilight cut me.

"You were talking to Rainbow Dash? Really?" She said giggling "right... sure you were" Her giggle transformed into a maniacal laugh.
I blinked a few times and stepped backwards, starting to go towards the stairs and climbing to the door. She was starting to creep me out and a voice at the back of my head was saying that something was terribly wrong, not only with Twilight, but also with Rainbow Dash. When I reached the end of the stairs, the door had several boxes blocking the way. It took me a few minutes to be finally able to get out of that basement... the whole time my ears was assaulted by that twisted laugh coming from Twilight, like someone had told her the most funny joke on the world.

When I stepped in the library my jaw dropped at what I saw. A thick layer of dust was covering every single piece of furniture around. Some windows were broken and several books were missing from the shelves. The whole place looked completely abandoned. I could see that the door had several pieces of wood nailed on it, sealing the entrance. I just sighted and went for a near window... I had to get out of there.

Using a piece of wood I smashed what was left from one of the window and slipped outside. It would be impossible for a pony to slip through a window so small, but I was very slim compared to them, so I had no problem on that. What really gave me problems was to understand what was happening all around me. Bunnies with deer legs running around, pink clouds, buildings floating upside down... I walked on the city, looking around with my jaw dropped. It has to be a dream... well, more like some kind of nightmare!

Not far from where I was, I saw the familiar image of an orange pony with blond hair...

"APPLEJACK!" I yelled while running towards the orange farm pony but stopped at the moment she looked back at me. Her eyes were a little red, just like her face. She didn't seem capable of walking straight and I could see an empty green bottle at her forehoof. "Applejack? is... is everything alright?" I said a little hesitant.
"HELL YEAH!" She shouted suddenly, lifting her upper body, standing o her hind legs for a second before losing balance and falling on her side. "Of coursh everything ish alright... why would something... hic!... not BE alright!" She said fighting to stand up and looking at me.

"Applejack... are you... are you drunk!" I asked in shock, approaching her.

"Drunk? Don' be silly... Ah am perfectly fine!" She glared at me "And Ah dare you say tha' Ah am not!"

"Well, sorry to say it then, but your are NOT alright!" I said glaring back at her. "You are drunk and worse than tha-" I was almost finishing my phrase when she turned around and lifted her hind legs. I barley had the time to put my arms in front if my chest when she bucked with all her might. I flew high in the air for a few seconds before landing hard on the floor.

My arms and my back were hurting a lot and I had some difficult to stand up. What the hell was wrong here! Applejack just bucked me without any real good reason and also, she was drunk.
"Ahem... you are in MY way..." I heard a familiar voice next to me and turned my head to see who it was. I saw Fluttershy with a really angry face, staring at me. "...You better get out now, or else!" She said and stomped with one forehoof, threatening me.

"You... what!" Did I just got threatened by Fluttershy? The most gentle and caring pony around? My head started to spin... what was happening! Why the town was like that! Why my friends were acting like they were someone else! This was not right... not right at all!

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Eravel ripped his sheets in long strips and used it to tie and gag the unconscious Rainbow Dash. He put her in his wardrobe and locked her in. After securing his victim, the human went for his armor and started to dress up. He looked all over the house but couldn't find his sword or axe anywhere, so he just went to the kitchen and grabbed the bigger knife he found, slipping it on his belt and then going outside to get his next target... Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus was feeding the critters that lived inside her house while humming a soft song. When she finally finished a yawn escaped her mouth and she looked at the window. The sun was almost completely gone now. The sight was really peaceful and she let out a sigh, smiling at herself. It has been a long day taking care of her friends but it was always worth it.

Her peaceful moment was broken by hard knocks on her door. Fluttershy yelped and jumped behind the couch in surprise. The hard knocks came again followed by someone calling her.

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy, is me, Eravel! Hurry up!" He said.
As the yellow pegasus recognized the humans voice, she ran to open the door for him.
"Eravel? What happen?" She asked in her soft voice, looking really worried.
"It's Rainbow Dash! I need your help! She crashed at my window and is bleeding!" he said in a worried tone.
"Oh no! We need to take her to the hospital!" Fluttershy said widening her eyes. "Where is she!"
"She's at my place; I didn't dare to move her too much... I don't want to make thing worse! You have to help me there, let's go to my house! Hurry!" The human said starting to run towards his tree house. Fluttershy ran after him too; her heart was full of worry towards her friend. In few minutes they arrived and he ran upstairs to his room, followed by Fluttershy. He opened his room's door and let Fluttershy go in first.
"Where is she! And... wait... your window is intact..." She said in confusion. But those were her last words before a heavy wooden staff hit the back of her neck. Fluttershy fell limp on the floor, unconscious, and the human didn't waste any time. Soon he was throwing a bounded and gagged Fluttershy in the wardrobe, with Rainbow Dash. The Cyan filly was awake already... there was some dry blood on her nose and anger in her eyes. Eravel just smirked at her and chuckled.

"Ok... just four more..."

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I had already forgotten how hard a pony hoof was, and I guess nothing was more awkward than taking a beat of Fluttershy. Damn, she knew how to punch! I had a purple eye and few bruises all over my body from the hits I took before I could run away from her. Never knew she could be THAT dangerous. Anyway, I needed to find someone to explain me why the whole town went crazy like that.

"Hey Eravel!" I heard a high pitch voice calling me. I could see Pink Pie coming to me with a wide smile, but there was something weird about her. Her mane and tail was straight and her eyes... they were really strange. Not physically, but the way she looked at me... "Want a cupcake? It's a new recipe that I made... I call it 'Sweet Rainbow'" She said offering me a cupcake with a rainbow frosting and starting to giggle, like it was some kind of joke.
"ahm... sure... I guess..." I said and when I was going to pick the bakery something swoop me out of the ground. I looked up to see who had grabbed me and saw the one I was hoping to find: Discord. We flew for a few seconds and he dropped me at the top of one of the floating upside down buildings... or it would be at the bottom?

"I knew you had a hand... or claw... in all this mess!" I said crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"Let just say that yes... and... no... both at the same time." He said landing in front of me. I just arched an eyebrow, waiting for a better explanation. "Well... remember when I made you fight with your inner chaos?" He said and I just nodded "You see, it looks like that when I did that your 'twin' got strong enough to get free..."
"And that means...?"I asked.
"That now you are trapped in a small part of your mind and your 'twin' got the control over your body." He said in a casual tone.
"... ... W-H-A-T!" I shouted at him. "You are saying that that... that THING, made of pure bad emotions is controlling my body!"
"In the words of the wise Big Macintosh... 'Yeup'" He said smiling. I don't know how it happen, all I know is that my body started to move on its own and in a blink of an eye, my fist made contact with Discord's face and I was now pulling his beard so he could look me in the eye.
"HOW CAN YOU EVEN JOKE ABOUT THIS! THAT MONSTER IS OUT THERE, CONTROLLING MY BODY! MY FRIENDS ARE IN DANGER!" I yelled so hard that my throat started to hurt.

"And you are making him stronger..." He said unaffected by my aggression. His lack of emotion broke my rage state... I let go of his beard so he could stand straight again.
"What do you mean?" I was starting to slowly get control over my temper again.
"Remember what he is made of… bad emotions, fear, anger and etc. Why do you think he threw you here in first place? Because he needs you to be anger and to feel despair…" Discord said caressing his beard. "And believe me, this place had the potential to make you permanently insane."

"So, all I need to do is calm down, right? And then what?" I said very impatience

"Then, you will have to have faith on your friends out there. Right now you are trapped and there is nothing you can do about it." He said still caressing his beard.
"But… but it can't be! I HAVE to do something!" I was starting to get desperate again.

"This will take some time…" Discord said in a sight, putting a paw on his face. "Ok… let's began… I'll teach you how to counter this chaos, but you need to trust your friends, or else you won't be able to focus."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A whole night has passed with the two pegasus trapped inside the wardrobe. They were both awake now and Fluttershy had some tears in her eyes... Eravel had betrayed them. But more hurt than the yellow pegasus was Rainbow Dash. She was the element of Loyalty, and treason was the WORST thing of all. The cyan filly had so many emotions on her chest that was hard to simply choose one. She was sad, anger, frustrated and afraid of what would happen next. Sad for her friend Fluttershy... anger at Eravel for his betrayal, frustrated with her lack of power to do something and afraid that the others would be hurt or worst.

Both pegasus closed their eyes when the door of the wardrobe open. Eravel grabbed both fillies by their mane and dragged them out. Flutthershy whimpered in pain and Rainbowdash started to squirm. Eravel put both near a white unicorn, all tied up and blindfolded too. It was Rarity and she had a small cut on her head... she was unconscious.

"You girls are really easy to be fooled..." The human said in a grin while ting all three together, making it impossible for them to move on their own. Fluttershy looked at Eravel with pleading eyes and whimpered. "Oh? You want to know why I'm doing this?" He chuckled "This is simple... Once I have captured the other three, I'm going to kill you all."
Rainbow dash and Fluttershy widened their eyes in shock.

"I'll kill the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and make this world defenseless!" He said and started to laugh. Fluttershy started to glare at Eravel, using her stare, but the human smacked her across the face. Fluttershy whimpered in pain and started to cry softly. "Damn you and that stare of yours!" He cursed and then stood up. "You three behave... or else I'll have to break your legs." He threatened and left the room.

When Eravel arrived at the bottom of the stairs, someone knocked at his door, but he simply ignored it. The human didn't want anyone to come inside his house.
"Maybe he's not at home?" He heard Applejack's voice.
"Yeah... OORR he's sleeping, come on! Let's climb to his balcony! We will surprise him!" it was Pink Pie's voice.
If they went to his balcony, the three captive ponies would be discovered. Eravel hurried and opened the door.
"Hey Pinkie... Applejack" Eravel greeted both earth ponies.
"Howdy Eravel." Applejack said smiling.
"Hey Eravel!"Pink Pie said bouncing in place. "We need you to do us a favor!" She said in her usual joyful way.
"Ahm... a favor..? well... sure.." He said scratching the back of his head. "What can I do for you two?"

"Pinkie here will be makin sum apple pies and she need fresh apples... so we wer' thinking that you could com' and help me fetch the apples that she choose. Since she doesn't need that much apples… Ah don't wanna waste'em" Applejack explained. That whole situation gave him an idea to take both earth ponies at the same time.

"You can count on me Applejack!" He said and stepped out of his house, closing the door behind him and grinning softly.
> Chapter 24
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steel Head was hiding at the top of the tree house... watching the human and the two earth ponies leaving. When both were out of sight he flew out of his hiding spot, landing on the balcony. From there he waved and Twilight appeared right next to him, using a teleportation spell. Without any waste of time, she used her magic to unlock the glass door and both entered the room.
"By Celestia... Girls!" Twilight said and used her magic to undo the knots and bounds of the three captive ponies.
Rarity was still out and the two pegasi had they limbs numb from the amount of time they were bound.
"T-That bucking traitor! I'm going to smash his face when I get my hoofs on him!" Rainbow dash said fighting to stand up. Her limbs were numb after being bound for so much time.
"Calm down Dash!" Said Twilight. "You will end up hurting yourself if you go after him like that!"

"Yes, we need to calm down and get help" Steel Head said "Going after him like that is dangerous!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Rainbow Dash screamed "I trusted him! I was about to say my feelings for him and that bastard attacked me!" That statement made Twilight and Steel head blink a few times in surprise.
"T-That was not... not Eravel..." Fluttershy soft voice caught their attention.
"What do you mean by that Fluttershy?" Twilight asked in confusion
"I don't know how to explain... is just... It was not him... his eyes were... were different." She tried to explain.
"Now that you mention it..." Rainbow Dash started after a short pause to cool her mind "...he fainted right before attacking me."
"What? How...?" Twilight asked really interested now
"Well we were talking... and then, all of sudden he fainted. It last only a few seconds but when he woke up he was acting different..." Rainbow explained.
"Now, that's interesting..." She said and looked at the royal guard "Steel Head, can you take care of them? I need to go to the library... I have to warn the Princesses."
The royal guard nodded in response.
"Go Twilight... I think they will know what to do better than us... I will take care of them" He said firmly.
Twilight teleported herself out of the house and started to run towards the city as fast as she could. Just a few minutes after, she arrived at her own house, storming inside and calling for Spike.
"SPIKE! I NEED YOU NOW!" She yelled.
The baby dragon was sleeping peaceful in a chair when she burst inside the library yelling. He jumped in startle and fell hard on the floor. His heart was beating so hard that he feared that it would break his ribs from the inside.
"Jeez Twilight! W-What's going on!" He asked recovering from the startle.

"Here, write a letter!" She shoved a roll of paper and a quill on his face. The baby dragon didn't waste any time and got ready to take note.
"Dear Princes Celestia. I must inform you that something terrible is happening. Our trustful friend, Eravel, has gone mad and is attacking innocent ponies. He attacked Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy, kidnaping them. Now, he is heading towards Sweet Apple Cares. I fear for my friends Pink Pie and Applejack that are with him right now. I beg for your help because I won't be able to stop him without hurting him and I have reasons to believe that he's not acting on his own will."
Spike write as fast as he could and then send the letter through his fire breath. Not a second passed and he burped the answer. Twilight grabbed the letter and unrolled it in front of her, using her magic. Her eyes moved fast through the words and she frowned in worry.

"What did the Princess said Twi?" Spiked asked, now really worried with the whole situation.
"Dear Twilight Sparkle. I'm aware of how urgent this situation is and I must ask for you and your friends to meet Eravel and stop his actions. I understand your fears but this situation demands immediate action. I'll send help as fast as I can." Twilight read out loud. "I'll go to sweet Apple Acres Spike. If Head Steel shows up, I need you to inform him where I go and tell him to bring the girls with him. I'm counting on you Spike!" She said and rushed outside, not giving the chance for the bay dragon to answer.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey Eravel, why don't you take off that heavy armor?" Pink Pie said bouncing right next to the human. Eravel, Pink Pie and Applejack had just arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and were heading to the trees.

"Yeah, it mus'be really uncomfortable in ther'" Apple jack said looking at him.
"Not that much... It's lighter then my original one and gives me a feeling of safety." He said shrugging.

"If ya say so..." Apple jack said getting near one of the trees. "Ok everypony! Time ta get yer hoofs working" She said stretching her hind legs before rising them for a buck.
"Wait Applejack, you brought me here to pick up just a few apples, right?" Eravel said before she could buck the tree.

"Oh... that's right... hehe... force of habit" She said stepping aside

Eravel got near the tree and started to climb up. Even wearing his armor, he had no trouble to get at the top of the tree, disappearing between the leaves. Soon few apples started to fall on the baskets below. He was choosing only the best apples to be used.
"I think that will be enough Eravel" Pink Pie said when the basket was almost completely full
"Ahm... Girls? I think I'm stuck..." The human said looking a little embarrassed.
"You what? How did ya get stuck?" Applejack said trying to find him in the middle of the leaves, to see how he got stuck there.

Suddenly Pink Pie had few different spasms all over her body and that didn't go unnoticed to Applejack.
"What happen Pink? You ok?" The orange pony asked a little worried.
"Y-yeah... I think so... it's just... my pinky sense is telling me that something scary is about to happen!" She said looking around. Applejack looked around too, really worried.
"Eravel! We need to leave here NOW!" Applejack said aware that the pink sense should never be questioned.

A loud crack was heard coming from the tree. Applejack and Pink Pie turned to look at it.
"Girls! Look out! Behind you!" Eravel yelled from the tree.

Both ponies turned their back to the tree fast, trying to see what the danger was. Right in that moment, the human jumped out of the tree with a club like branch and one fist closed. He fell fast and when the human was going to deliver the strikes to knock out his victims a purple light engulfed his body, holding him on the air.

"Applejack! Pink! Get out of there!" Twilight's voice echoed and the mentioned mares jumped away from the human. They had a shocked expression on their faces when they saw that the human almost succeed in attacking them.

"What in tarnation!" Was the only thing that Applejack could say at the situation. Pink pie was speechless.

"Tsk... Nice timing Twilight..." Eravel said still trapped on Twilight's spell. "But this all is useless!" He said and stretched his body, using all his might, and broke free from Twilight's magic. The purple unicorn stepped back and clenched her teeth when her binding spell broke.

Eravel charged against her, raising the heavy branch he had in hand to strike. She widened her eyes and used her magic to make a bubble around her right before he delivered the strike. The impact made the purple bubble shake a little. Frustrated, the human started to hit the bubble again and again, trying to break it using only his strength. Unfortunately for him, Twilight was no ordinary unicorn, and the shield stood firm against his blows.
"Leave her alone!" Apple jack shouted charging against Eravel. She stopped in the last second, turning her back to him and using her mighty hind legs to buck. The human flew a few feet from the orange mare and fell hard on the floor.

Eravel stood up and then charged against Applejack. She turned to buck him again, but when she did, the human dodged to the side. Quick as lighting, he grabbed Applejack's leg in the air and then kicked her hard, right in the stomach. Applejack fell on the floor, her eyes full of tears from the pain. She could hardly breathe. The human still held her leg and raised the heavy branch to hit her. A purple beam hit the human on the chest, making him step back and fell letting go of the orange mare.
"Damn you unicorns!" Eravel cursed looking at Twilight.
He started to charge against her, but Twilight simply shoot him on the chest again and again... every time he stood up she shoot him to stay on the ground.

"Enough of this!" He shouted "I already have three elements in my possession, and if you don't want to see your friends hurt I advise you to come quiet with me." Eravel said panting a little.
"You mean you HAD three elements!" Rainbow Dash's voice came from above. Right after, Fluttershy, Rarity and Head Steel arrived at the scene.
Eravel stepped back, clenching his teeth and drew the knife he had on his belt... he was really in disadvantage and he knew that he had no chance now.

"Give up Eravel! You have no chance to fight us now!" Steel head Said stomping his hoof hard on the floor. "We don't want to hurt you! So please, come quiet!"
The human made another step back in a defensive stance. He was ready to run for it when a gray pegasus arrived at the scene, getting close to him. She had blond hair and crossed eyes... on her back she was carrying a long object all warped in cloth.

"Derpy! What are you doing here!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the mail pegasus.
"Oh, hi Rainbow!" She said waving a hoof to the cyan filly. "I just came to make a delivery to mister Eravel here." She said and unwrap the object on her back. It was his sword inside the sheath.

The human jumped forward and grabbed the weapon by the scabbard, grinning victorious. Now that he had a weapon, he had a chance to fight against them all.
"Derpy! What have you done!" Rainbow Dash said angrily.

The gray mare looked at the cyan pegasus, confused.
"Thank you Derpy..." Eravel said chukling. "As a payment for you services... I'll make you my first victim!" The human said drawing his sword. It was sharper than ever and had several runes carved. The human looked at his blade, smiling widely. Every pony around him stepped back now, except Derpy that was completely lost there.

"The blacksmith in Canterlot is really talented, I have to admit..." Eravel said looking at his blade "And look, there something written here..." He said looking at the base of the blade. It was written in equestrian and, thanks to Twilight, he knew how to read it. "May this blade be used to defend the spirit of friendship" Eravel read it out loud and then chuckled. "Oh the irony..." He said and lift his arm, aiming for the gray pegasus in front of him.

His face suddenly changed... the grin on his face disappeared and he widened his eyes. The human simply stood there... it was like something was holding him.

"What... What have you done...!" Eravel said in a choking voice, looking at the ponies around.

"I'm only taking my body back!" A voice echoed on Eravel's head.
"WHAT!" The human yelled and the sword started to glow. The human fell on his knees and then to his side, unconscious.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

All the eight ponies were really confused of what had just happen. Derpy took off saying something about that that game didn't had anything funny. Steel Head approached the human body and poked him with a hoof.
"What... What happen?" he said totally lost there.
"I don't know..." Twilight said getting closer too.

Applejack was standing up a little shaky after the massive blow she had in her stomach. Rarity was at her side to help. Rainbow Dash landed next to the human body to look at him closer too. She simply looked at him for a while with a blank face... Her emotions were still a whirlwind on her chest after all that. Something then caught the attention of everypony around. A white carriage pulled by two royal guards was landing near. Princess Celestia had arrived. Head Steel immediately bowed and dropped to his knees, showing his respect to the royal alicorn. The other six mares simple bowed their head.

"I can see that the spell I put on his sword worked just fine." She said approaching the human.
"Spell?" Twilight asked curious.
"Sorry for not telling you about this... I knew that something like this might happen so I prepared his sword with a spell. If he tried to use it against an innocent pony the spell would force him into a coma." She said simply.
"A coma!" Rarity said getting close "like... he's going to sleep for a long LONG time!" She was a little concerned about the human, even after he had attacked her.

"Maybe..." She said in a sigh. "He will wake up when the real Eravel or that other Eravel, the one who attacked you girls take control over the body. Right now, they must be fighting."

"And there is nothing we can do to help him?" Steel Head was the one who asked. He was a really good friend of the human, and aside Rainbow Dash, he was the one that was really concerned about his safety.

"You? No. You can't do anything to help him..." Celestia said looking at the royal guard "but the Elements of Harmony can." She said ad an adorned box come flying from the carriage, engulfed by Celestias magic. The box opened and she put each jewel on the right pony. "When I give the order, I need you girls to shoot the elements on him."
"WHAT!" The six bearers asked at the same time.

"Princess, this is too dangerous!" Twilight said really worried. "What if he is turned into stone or.. or.. Send to the moon!"
"That will not happen Twilight." The princess said with a patient tone. "There are only two possibilities and none of them have anything to do with stone or the moon, I can assure you..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"It is time... are you ready Eravel?" Discord said to me. We were in a large green plain near Everfree forest. I had my full armor and my sword in hand.
"Yes..." I said with a neutral tone.
"Ready for the consequences too?" He asked again.
I felt a warm pulse in my chest when I thought about Rainbow Dash and the others.

"... Yes..." I said after a few minutes of silence.
"Good... because here he comes." Discord said and disappeared.

Right in front of me another human appeared, wearing the same armor as me with an axe on his hand. At first this other human looked around a bit confused, but soon his face fill with comprehension of what was going on.

"Looks like you managed to break from the prison I've send you to." he said to me with a grin. "But that don't matter. I'll simply crush you here and now and then take over your body permanently. I'll kill the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and then free Discord! All Equestria will dive in a chaos of war and death!" His voice was of someone completely out of his mind. But, on second thought, that's what he was. He was me, my emotions, my chaos... My curse and my blessing at the same time.

"I think you are wrong..." I said and lifted my sword in a defensive stance.

"Really? Hehahahah! We will see that!" He said and entered in an offensive stance with the axe. "I already beat you once and I'll do it again!" With that said he charged at me swinging his weapon.

I started to dodge and deflect his blows with my sword, trying to take him off his balance. The problem here was that we were the same person, with the same level of skill and no matter how much I tried, he kept striking and swinging the axe against me. When I deflect one of his blows, I used more force than necessary and that made an opening for him. I felt his fist colliding against my helmet and I stumbled back.

"I knew it... you are weak! I'll end this now... show me your fear... your frustration! Feed me with your... what!" He glared at me. "What happen? Why can't I feed of your emotions!"

"Because what is giving me the will to fight is not some low emotion that you can feed on" I said simply going for a defensive stance again.

"But HOW!" He looked really frustrated. "I'm your chaos, I feed of your emotions! How can be an emotion that I cannot feed!"

"There are some emotions that can only be achieved through balance between chaos and order. In this case, what I'm feeling, what is giving me strength to fight is love. Not the possessive love, but the true Selfless Love. The emotion that can free one from any other lower emotion such as anger or fear." I said and breathed deeply, feeling the warmth in my chest again. "What is giving me strength to fight you, to fight myself, is the knowledge that if I don't defeat you, many will suffer!"

"So, you are willing to simply get rid of a part of yourself? Don't be ridiculous!" He growled at me.
"I'm only getting rid of a rotten part of me. A part that has no place in my heart anymore!" I said and got in an offensive stance. He stepped back.

"Do you know what will happen to you if you kill me here?" he said glaring at me.
"Probably I'll lose all the ability to feel again, to care again and even to love again..." I said.
"Exactly! And still you will fight me!"
"Yes! And I'll end you here and now! I rather live forever without any kind of emotion than see you hurt the ones I love!"
"But that don't make any sense!" He said almost screaming.
"A selfless action is something that someone like you couldn't understand." I said simply.
He charged at me again at full speed. He swung the axe to the side, aiming for my head, totally blind by rage now. I crouched to avoid the sharp edge of his weapon and trusted my sword upwards. The tip found its way in a small opening on his armor, under his arm. I pushed forward and my blade trespassed his shoulder. I heard his scream of pain and the blood gushed out of the wound. I stepped back, pulling my blade of him. He fell on his knees letting go of the axe.

"This... will... not… END LIKE THIS!" Re roared and his body started to change... He grw in size and the armor was ripped of his body. He turned into a black dragon with wings, sharp teeth and claws, just like my dream. "Let's see how you can handle this now!" He said and opened his mouth, sending a cone of fire in my direction.
I jumped to the side, avoiding a fire breath by inches. When I turned to face him again I had only time to see his massive tail swinging at me. It hit hard against my chest, making me fly a few meters away, landing hard on the floor. I cough a little of blood and started to sand up again. I heard him laugh.
"You are weak! You don't deserve to be in control! BURN!" He roared again and I saw a torrent of flames coming in my direction... I had no time to jump so I simply put my sword in front of me. I saw in awe as the flame was cut in two...

"W-What! How did you do that!" The black dragon, my evil self said stepping back.
"I don't know... and honestly... I don't care!" I charged at him, suddenly feeling my whole body really light. The sensation was like the time I lost control against the Hydra, but this time there was no rage to cloud my mind, no fear to control my actions. I was doing all that on my own

The black dragon started to use his fire breath against me, and every time I simply hit the flames with my sword, making it disappear. Along the way I grabbed the axe that was on the ground and rolled to escape a hit from the dragon's tail. I ended up under him and trusted my sword on his belly, drawing a large and deep cut. He roared in pain... I rushed to his front legs and made two deep cuts on it. He fell in the ground... I had to jump to avoid being crushed by his massive body.

I stood up and face the black dragon that couldn't stood up thanks to the cuts on his front legs.
"D-damn you!" He growled in pain.
"This ends now!" I said and charged against his head to deliver the final blow.
Suddenly, Discord appeared between me and the dragon I had no time to dodge him and felt a trust from his eagle claw against my chest. I felt the claws piercing through my armor and flesh.
"D-Discord!" I looked him in the eyes... why did he do that! Why did he betray me!
Discord vanished and I fell on my knees. I looked at the dragon in front of me. He smiled victorious.
"This... ends now..." He repeated my words and opened his mouth, moving his head and grabbing my body between his jaws.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The six bearers were standing in a circle around the human... Celestia shout the order and they shoot against the human's body. Eravel was lifted in the air, surrounded by a whirlwind rainbow and his eyes started to glow.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I had lost... my evil self was going to kill me and I couldn't do a thing to stop him. I felt a wave of pain when he started to crush my bones but he suddenly stopped. His whole body started to shine and soon I was engulfed by that same light. I closed my eyes shut do protect them.

When I opened them again I was floating in a sea of light... I couldn't see anything around me but light. I started to look around, totally confused. My armor was also gone and I had not a single wound in my chest.
"Hello Eravel..." I heard a familiar feminine voice coming from behind... As I turned, I was face to face with Celestia.

"What... What happen? Am I dead?" I asked
"No, not yet" She chuckled lightly "You are alive and well... we are inside of the Elements light."
"The Elements... of Harmony?"
"Yes... You fought well, better than me, Luna or Discord would expect... We underestimated your love towards your friends." She explained.
"Discord... he attacked me when I was about to finish the fight!" I frowned.
"Yes... he only did that to save you..."
"What? How?" Those situations were really annoying... I felt like a small child, totally ignorant.

"If you had killed you 'evil self' you would turn into an emotionless person. So, you were suppose to be defeated, so that when the Elements of Harmony were used it would affect him more than you and make you two one again."

"So... you were expecting me to loose... " I sighed a little hurt by that statement. "Anyway... at least now my Chaos don't have a self conscience, right?"
"Almost it... He's weak now, and will never have the power to influence you the way he did before. And I'm here now to give you a choice. If this is your wish I can send you back to your own world... or you can stay here. But if you choose to stay here you cannot stay as a human."
"And... What does that means?" I asked afraid of the answer.
"I'll use my own powers to transform you into something more... appropriate to live in this world"
"You mean you will transform me into a pony isn't it?"
"I was thinking in making you into a dragon... Well not really a Dragon, but something really like it. You would not have the same powers or the live spawn of one, but at least you wouldn't be so different from us" She said in a simple tone.

"But there is more than that isn't it?" I asked.
"Yes... there is one more reason, the principal reason actually. If you stay as a human you will be still connected to your world, and I don't want to take any chances of you rampaging again... I want to you to cut any links from your world permanently, and to do so you have to give up on your humanity." She said in a serious tone.
"Well... I..." At first it looked like a hard decision to make... but as I thought how my life in my world was... and the fact that probably every single person back in my world thought that I was dead the answer came really easy. "I'll stay here... I don't have anything else back in my world and here I have friends, I have people that I care about... I just have one question... When I die, will I be able to go to Valhalla?"

Despite everything I still believed in the halls of Valhalla and that my father was there.

"This is an answer I cannot give you Eravel... I'm sorry." She said simply.

"Well, I guess I'll have to figure it out when I die then." I shrugged. She chuckled and then our bodies were engulfed by a warm light.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Epilogue

It was a warm afternoon in Ponyile. Most of the ponies didn't knew what had happen at all... how close they got to dive in a chaos that would last for centuries. The mane six had returned to their normal activities but they were not really happy. After the episode in Applejack's farm, Princess Celestia took Eravel away, without saying where she would take him. Twilight knew what was happening but the Princess asked that she didn't tell to her friend the whole situation yet.

The one that was more affected was Rainbow Dash. She told her friends about her feeling towards the human after the incident. Applejack and Rarity were the only ones that were not surprised. They both saw the signs and when R-D revealed the truth it was a mere confirmation.

Day after day came, and no word were heard from the Princess until finally Twilight called all her friends to the library, talking about a surprise. Rainbow Dash was the first to arrive there but she had to wait until everyone to arrive too before Twilight let her inside.
"What with all the mystery, dear?" Rarity said walking inside the library.

"It's about Eravel... I have something to show you girls" Twilight said with a smile.
"I hope it's good news." Rainbow Dash said a little impatient.

"Oh it is..." Twilight trotted to the stair that leads to her room "Spike! You can bring it!" She called the bay dragon.
Spike got downstairs carrying something really special. All the guests gasped in shock
"Is... Is that what I think it is!" Rarity said with her jaw dropped.
"Yes... nice isn't it?" Twilight said with a wide smile.
"Oh my gosh..." Rainbow Dash said breathless.
"What in tarnation!" Applejack was too shocked to comprehend it all.
"You HAVE to be joking Twilight... I mean... HOW!" Steel Head said.
"The Princess can move the sun, why not do something like this?" Twilight said
"Oh... my... gosh..." Rainbow dash said, sitting in her haunches, totally awestruck.
All the ponies there looked really surprised and happy... except for Rainbow Dash... She was surprised AND worried with what she saw there... life was about to get more complicated to her.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N:

!THIS IS NOT THE END!

So, finally finished posting it all here ^^
As said in fanfiction.net, the site where I originally posted this fic, the story is not over. I decided to end "The fearless warrior" like this because his journey had ended. Eravel finally took control of all contamination he brought with him from our world. The sequel will be called Live&Learn and Eravel will have some new challenges as he starts living in Ponyvile with a brand new body and purpose. 

So, I hope you guys enjoyed the story so far and we'll see each other next week /)*(\